Enjoy It While You're Here

Wow. It will never continue to amaze me how faster and faster each year goes by. I continually think “there’s no way this year will go faster than last year” and at the end of each and every year, I sit here thinking the same exact thing: “did that year just happen?” FATHER TIME PLEASE SLOW IT DOWN I’M NOT READY. If only he would listen. If he was listening, I wouldn’t already be halfway through my college career. Sometimes I sit and wish my life away planning out how my career will be, my dogs name, what my wedding will be like, and how many kids I’m going to have. And at the end of each year like this I sit and wonder, why would I ever wish my life away like that? And each year I also think to myself that there’s no way next year could top this next one, and once again I’m proven wrong.

            Now let’s get to the real stuff: my sophomore year in college is over. Like the snap of my fingers. So many people. So many memories. So many changes. I have learned so much. (And not just in school.) I think I met more new people this year than the past four years combined. I’ve loved every minute of this year. (Relatively).  I’ve had ups and downs, but over all it has definitely been my most memorable year yet. But how could I expect less? With each new year I carry with me the new people and new things I have in my life.

            In this year I have decided what I want to do with my life. I had the best concert experience of my life (and touched Blake Shelton’s boot). I moved into my first apartment.  There are innumerable amounts of things that I did this year that I will hold on to forever. Although I will one day be excited to get out of college and into the real world, I know I’m not quite ready yet and I still have more memories and mistakes to make. School has never been my absolutely favorite thing, but I do enjoy it at times. Especially college. There is truly nothing like it. There are some things that I don’t like about it. But how could you not love living on your own without ALL the responsibilities of being a full on adult yet? It really is wonderful.

            Now after this year is said and done I have a few things to say and people to thank. First of all, to my family: thank you so much for supporting me in everything I do. I know that no matter what choices I make, good or bad, you all will always be there and have my back. No matter how many fights or what family drama is taking place, when someone needs one of you, you are always there for them. I love you all so much.

            To one of the best people I know, and my roommate for at least half of this year, Mags. Regardless of what happens you were always there for me. You are such a fun person to be around. I have made some of my best memories over the past two years with you. Between streaking the stadium and watershed, its hard to pick the best. But thank you for being a wonderful friend and roommate.

            And of course, you knew you had to be in here Bryce Jackson, since you’ve become just about the biggest part of my life and my bestest friend in the entire world. You are such an amazing person and influence on me. This year couldn’t have gone any better because of you. I have already experienced so many amazing things with you. New years, shooting shot guns, fishing, camping, I can’t get enough of any of it with you. I know that no matter what happens in the next few months, we’ll be as strong as ever. And thank you to your family for accepting me to hang out with them all the time. They are amazing too so I know where you get all of your beautiful qualities from. I hope in the next year we will still be watching Duck Dynasty on Wednesday nights and having my best friend always there with me. But just remember that I’ll support you in whatever you do or whatever decisions you make. I am always always here. I love you.

            I also must mention some of my other pretty-much-roommates, Ty and Chelsey. J You two rock and I’ve had so much fun spending time with you. Camping and fishing. At least I have someone who knows how terrible it is to have the twins ganging up on you. I can’t believe you’re leaving me next year Ty. I mean c’mon we just became best friends. It will be extremely weird with you not being here. But I know you’ll be in my life for a long time because I’m kind of crazy about your brother, so guess what, you’re stuck with me. Lucky you. I wish you the very best of luck on your new journey. I know you’ll do amazing things.

            I just can’t believe this year is over already. I feel like I should at least still have a few months of it left. But no, in a few months I’ll be starting a completely new year. And, like this one, I know I’ll make great memories and great friends and it will be an even better one, if that’s possible. So I’ll take all of these lessons I’ve learned, and memories I’ve made and go on to the next one. There’s no need in dwelling on the fact that another year is over. It is sad. But time is a forever-changing force that cannot be stopped. So the best thing to do is take everything you can and keep going along, because if you spend your time in the present thinking about the past, how are you supposed to make new memories to be remembered in the future? (this is some deep sh** going on right now, I know)

            Here’s a toast to the upcoming summer, the upcoming year, and all of the years to come. Enjoy it while you’re here.

An Ode to Something Special

You know what the best thing in the entire world is? Well I'll tell you.

Any mood, any situation, any person, any feeling you're having, there is at least one country song out there to suit your mood. 

Whether it's here for a good time and five o'clock somewhere, 

Or its one of those laughing till you're crying, gonna miss this type moods. You're girlfriend broke up with you. 

You broke up with your girlfriend. 

Gone fishing. 

Enjoying a beer. 

Lost a loved one. 

Making memories. 

Making love. 

There is literally not a song you can't relate to something. 

And it's so....so American!! What do I wanna play when there's fireworks going on the Fourth of July? Brad Paisley. Dancing at a concert? Luke Bryan's my guy. Expressing feelings of love? I go to George. Just want to have a good time? Jason, Eric, or all of the above. And that's just dipping your toes in the water of country music (Zac Brown).

If you just feel like sobbing your eyes out or having the roughest year of your life, there's always country songs to attune to your mood. 

If you got cheated on, Taylor, Carrie, and Miranda have your back. 

Country music has that good feelings, bonfire on a Friday night, baseball, fishing, woo your woman kind of attitude.  

The what I would call epitome of the American culture.

Obviously our culture has been frequently into rap, hip hop, techno whatever you wanna call it. I mean I like other kinds of music too but nothing compares to country music. 

Country music videos can have sexy girls in bikinis dancing in the back of pick up trucks. Or sexy tan men in cowboy boots, wranglers, with a cowboy hat on picking up lemonade on the side of the road. Sexy people without degrading words or explicit images.

Country music can talk about sex and making love without calling the girls bitches or hoes. My baby loves to "FISH"!! Who would've suspected ;) Yeah Craig we know you're not actually talking about fishing. Hehe. 

I mean I feel like I'm rewriting Brad Paisleys "This is country music" but that's essentially exactly what it is. 

Pissed off, hurt, heart broken, depressed, 

Utterly in love, having the time of your life, unbelievably happy in every way, out on the town for some fun. 

Every mood, every situation, I honestly cannot think of a time in my life where I couldn't relate what I was going through to a country song. And for me, it always seems like there's a new country song they play on the radio at just the right time when I need it. 

The other day being tickled and attacked while driving and Easton Corbin's "All over the road" plays and is perfect. 

Not only that, I can attach so many of my greatest and hardest memories to a particular song and every time I hear that song it takes me back. 

And then there are the songs that make me look forward to my future, and the ones that lead me to embrace my past. 

I don't just relate it to the mood I'm in either. 

A sad country song can turn me from the highest mood to bring me to tears. 

Or hide my tears and have me smiling, laughing, and singing along. 

Country music makes the city people want to be cowboys and cowgirls and the cowboys and cowgirls sit back and realize how good they have it.

It makes riding in a truck with the windows down epic. 

It makes me think of camping at the lake, fishing, drinking "beverages" (how dare you think that! I'm not 21 yet sillies) summer sun, being free and not having a care in life. 

In that moment when a country song plays and everyone sings along, they are all sharing memories and feeling the same things and different things all at the same time but just thinking about those moments gives me chills. When those songs play and everyone sings along I get goosebumps every single time.

Amongst the homework, the drama, all the stresses of life, it can put me in a memory, a daydream that is happiness at it's finest. 

It is my cure for any glum moods. 

It's like the fairy tale of music. If you want it to be. 

Each and every country song tells a story of some kind. Has a past behind it. Or a memory to come. 

And the best part about it? Of all music, it is the one that sounds the best of all genres of music when played live. No voice overs, no fake, just a man and his guitar (or woman). 

Country music is without a doubt the best thing in the world. It's perfect in all it's imperfect stories. It's simple. They tell you how it is. There's nothing better than country music. And that's why so many people are such die hard country fans. And even the ones that aren't die hard fans still show love for it. Because it reaches out to everyone. 

Every time I'm listening to a country song that just fits my mood perfectly I just want to share it with everyone and say listen to this! It's so perfect!!...I don't. Don't worry. People would go crazy if I did that. 

And you know what made me think of this? 

I was listening to the song "letter to me" by Brad Paisley and I was thinking about how much I missed the simplicity of being young and how easy it is and how much I loved being little, and loved being in high school.

How I wish I knew at the time how amazing it was that I could do whatever I wanted and how every little thing seemed like the big things. How I wish at that age that we could even comprehend how easy and simple it was, but there's no way that we can know that. There's no way we can know in the moments we're in what we'll feel like 5, 10, 20 years from now about this moment right now. 

And now thinking about this, thinking about how I'll look back on this moment and say things like "Oh remember those times in college. We were crazy. We were so young and life was so simple" 

And that's exactly it. That's what country music does. Each song, three or four minutes, does something like that and it's something different for each person. But it's something. Oh yeah, it's definitely something alright, like nothing else in this world. 

And that's why I love country music. Do you get it yet?