Congratulations to my little sister who has officially graduated high school :) :) 

interesting links

THANK YOU.

fascinating.

super cool :P
 (this description cheesiness is brought to you by the brain mush that follows finals week)

Junior year. FINISHED.

. . . and, I'm still alive :O

  . . . There isn't much sanity left, buuuut that's really nothing new. . .

Inscriptions, Raw Edges 2014

photo credit: Maggie Sullivan 

Happy Mothers Day to this beautiful lady that I am so incredibly blessed to be able to call my Mama :) :) :) Thank you for the twenty years you've spent patiently and continually explaining to me that sometimes there aren't detailed directions and extreme planning will not solve all of life's problems :P Thank you for all the times you've listened on the other end of the line when I've called from Erie (with the wind howling in the background) freaking out about something. And, thank you for always directing my heart back to Christ and his unfailing love :) 

"Impatience is a form of unbelief. It's what begin to feel when we start to doubt the wisdom of God's timing or the goodness of God's guidance. It springs up in our hearts when our plan is interrupted or shattered. . . . The opposite of impatience is not a glib denial of loss. It's a deepening, ripening, peaceful willingness to wait for God in the unplanned place of obedience, and to walk with God at the unplanned pace of obedience - to wait in His place and go at His pace." ~John Piper

On the fourth day of tech week, the very hungry dancer ate through one apple, one pepper and a bunch of grapes . . . all in one afternoon. 

. . . and the due date of a 6-8 page paper

. . . and the due date of a 10-15 page paper

. . . and the due date of an honors portfolio

. . . and the due date of a Pedagogy final 

. . . all in one week 

. . . I'm going to survive, right? 

Young Bull Elephant at Amboseli by Billy Dodson

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/551409548098626853/

Everywhere We Go 

looks quite interesting

(and will not upload directly to my blog,

so you'll have to go through the trial of clicking the link) 

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/551409548098626861/

interesting links

Another reason why elephants are awesome . . . and, this is a stretch, I know, but possibly also using dance to disprove standard evolutionary theory? :P

Unconditional love

sounds quite a bit like ballet dancers (please ignore the unbelievably lame title)

. . . because it's national siblings day, and I miss my siblings so much . . .

"Examine your words well, and you will find that even when you have no motive to be false, it is a very hard thing to say the exact truth, even about your own immediate feelings -- much harder than to say something fine about them which is not the exact truth." ~George Elliot, Adam Bede

"Storytelling is imaginative and creative in nature. It is an act by which man strives to realize his capacity for wonder, meaning and delight. It is also a process in which man invests and preserves himself in the context of ideas. Man tells stories in order to understand his experience, whatever it may be. The possibilities of storytelling are precisely those of understanding the human experience." ~N. Scott Momaday, "The Man Made of Words" 

thank you Lord for sunshine
thank you Lord for meeting with others who desire to glorify You in the art they create
thank you Lord for the songs of the birds
thank you Lord for universities that still allow choirs to sing your praises
thank you Lord ballet flats and twirl-y skirts
thank you Lord for little girls with curly hair and bright smiles
thank you Lord for patience
thank you Lord for simple reasons to make quick phone calls to my sister and hear her voice again
thank you Lord for worship
thank you Lord for long conversations with my boyfriend about who are You and glorifying You

"Now [Jesus] was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. And behold, there was a woman who had had a disabling spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself. When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, 'Woman, you are freed from your disability.' And he laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and she glorified God." ~Luke 13:10-13 

Oh, that I may be like the woman in Luke 13 
-- that all that would need to be said of me is that 
the Lord healed me and I glorified Him. 

" 'I've appeared in character, modern, and classical companies, as well as in films and musicals. I think as a dancer I was probably searching for my own medium, and in this search an enormous interest in all kinds of dance was awakened in me.' She regrets that dance is inclined 'to be bracketed.' One of her ambitions, she says, is to instill a very full appreciation of all kinds of dance in her students. 'Dance, for me,' she states, 'is the greatest expression of art through movement and it cannot be confined to one form!' " ~Gretchen Warren, speaking about and quoting Anne Woolliams 

interesting links

bananas are awesome :)

this.is.heart-breaking.

the brain, the captivating nature of mature movement (the visual part of the film), and a child's simple understanding of movement (the "soundtrack"/soundscape part of of the film)

Dear social media/culture-at-large,

Could you be more self-obsessed?

"You mustn’t be nervous in classical dance. It’s a very generous art. 

You must attack a piqué before it attacks you!” ~Anne Woolliams

"Morrie . . . had developed his own culture--long before he got sick. Discussion groups, walks with friends, dancing to his music in the Harvard Square church. He started a project called Greenhouse, where poor people could receive mental health services. He read books to find new ideas for his classes, visited with colleagues, kept up with old students, wrote letters to distant friends. He took more time eating and looking at nature and wasted no time in front of TV sitcoms or 'Movies of the Week'." ~Mitch Albom, Tuesdays with Morrie

"The rest of the pretty sitting-room--looking into the orchard, and all covered over with dancing tree shadows--was filled with books. They lay on the ground, they covered the walls, they strewed the table. He was evidently half ashamed and half proud of his extravagance in this respect. 

They were of all kinds, --poetry, and wild weird tales prevailing. He evidently chose books in accordance with his own tastes, not because such and such were classical or established favorites. 'Ah!' he said, 'we farmers ought not to have much time for reading; yet somehow one can't help it.' " ~Elizabeth Gaskell, Cranford

"If our identity is in our work, rather than Christ,

 success will go to our heads, and failure will go to our hearts." 

~ Timothy Keller

interesting links

an observant sixth grader and an easy way to save a huge amount of money

ballet dancers, photography, and creating relevant, relate-able art

an article that actually made me laugh out loud (babysitter problems)

I've been to Shakespeare and Company and I didn't know about this at all, it's pretty cool though :)

Novels I have read thus far in my class The English Novel

(i.e. the headings I create for my notes while I'm waiting to hear something important enough to write down because I'm terrible at just sitting still and listening which I am now uploading to my blog because I have lost all ability to focus on studying for my midterm which is clearly solved by taking pictures of the least important part of each page of my notes)

“Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight,

At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more,

When he bares his teeth, winter meets its death,

And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again.”

~ C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Dear Winter.
Please meet your death. 
In all sincerity, 
Rachel

I am so incredibly thankful to have this guy (gentleman, actually) in my life :) :) :) 

Thank you Lord for his steadfast devotion to You and thank you Lord for how thoughtfully he cares for the people in his life :) 

Sarah Lamb :) :)
and the challenges of lead roles . . .

Then Moses said to God, 

“If I come to the people of Israel and say to them,

 ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ 

and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’

 what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, 

“I am who I am.” 

And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel, 

‘I Am has sent me to you.’” God also said to Moses, “Say this to the people of Israel,

 ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, 

and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ 

This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered 

throughout all generations.

~Exodus 3:13-15

This made me smile :)
The staged "reading" people are really awkward.
Whoever put together the section that started around 1:52 was probably OCD or at least really likes sorting things by color and shade. Maybe each section is sorted by some category (e.g. author's name, genre, etc.) and it's just that only the color section is distinguishable on the film . . . or maybe not. Okay, I'll stop now.

The opening statements of this video certainly have a bit of an evolutionary worldview with which I would disagree, but the message is powerful.

The end is rather abrupt. And, doesn't reach a conclusion.

So, I'll just supply my own brief (and therefore far from comprehensive) conclusion.

There is beauty in community, but that beauty is much more true when the community is founded in a perfect standard and a perfect love and the desire to know that Love more deeply. It's not about personal promotion. It's about pursing Perfection in all of His glory. Conformity is not community.

"Resolved, That I will do whatsoever I think to be most to the glory of God, and my own good, profit, and pleasure, in the whole of my duration; without any consideration of the time, whether now, or never so many myriads of ages hence. Resolved, to do whatever I think to be my duty, and most for the good and advantage of mankind in general. Resolved, so to do, whatever difficulties I meet with, how many soever, and how great soever." ~Jonathan Edwards

interesting links

Cinemagraphs are fascinating :) I especially like the taxi cab reflected in the window :)

How do you use your utensils? I particularly like the first one, surprising, I know :P

generation and culture displayed through attire

"Then Abram fell on his face. And God said to him, 'Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations. No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham, for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make you into nations, and kings shall come from you. And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you

throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, 

to be God to you and to your offspring after you.' " 

~Genesis 17:3-7

"The power of the gospel comes in two movements. It first says, 

'I am more sinful and flawed than I ever dared believe,' 

but then quickly follows with, 

'I am more accepted and loved than I ever dared hope.' "

 ~Timothy Keller

interesting links

Olympians, frame by frame

The time it takes to steep a tea bag

Music that I never want to hear again (#techproblems)

truth

another beautiful ballerina

Joanna Schmidt

"That the great are not as happy as they seem, that the external circumstances of fortune and rank do not constitute felicity, is asserted by every moralist; the historian can seldom, consistently with his dignity, pause to illustrate this truth, it is therefore to the biographer we must have recourse. After we have beheld splendid characters playing their parts on the great theater of the world, with all the advantages of stage effect and decoration, we anxiously beg to be admitted behind the scenes, that we may take a nearer view of the actors and actresses." 

 ~Maria Edgeworth in her preface to Castle Rackrent

The costume is not my favorite, but this variation is basically perfect 

note on life

It is a sad day when Microsoft Word doesn't recognize the correct spelling of Sylvie Guillem's name :( 

"Corporate worship is designed to remind you that the story of your little life has been included in the grand eternal story of redemption." ~Paul David Tripp

Thank you Lord for this beautiful reminder today :) Thank you for a pastor from Maryland who shared this quote this morning and thank you for a pastor's wife from Erie who took time out of her busy morning to go out of her way to pick me up :) Thank you for her lovely little girls that make me smile  all morning long :) Thank you for the opportunity to stand (and dance) next to these little girls as we worship You :) and thank for the blessing of sharing time with their family every Sunday :)  

Aya again . . .

* * * advanced warning - a flood of Prix de Lausanne videos may occur over the next few days . . . I haven't decided yet . . . Anyway, Aya is lovely :)

I called home to ask my Dad a few questions and he told me some of my siblings wanted to say hi.

 Zach -- "How is Caleb?"

Charlotte -- "What is your address? You'll be getting mail soon."

Joel -- "What do you think it would feel like to enter a black hole?"

interesting links

best bookstores in the world

dancing with family

looking God in the face

a way to understand the scale of some of  the Olympic tracks

"Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! 

O what a foretaste of glory divine! 

Heir of salvation, purchase of God, 

born of his Spirit, washed in his blood. 

This is my story, this is my song, 

praising my Savior all the day long; 

this is my story, this is my song, 

praising my Savior all the day long. 

Perfect submission, perfect delight, 

visions of rapture now burst on my sight; 

angels descending bring from above 

echoes of mercy, whispers of love. 

Perfect submission, all is at rest; 

I in my Savior am happy and blest, 

watching and waiting, looking above, 

filled with his goodness, lost in his love."

~Fanny Crosby, "Blessed Assurance" 

blessed assurance -- I don't need to live in worry or fear, I can live in full assurance of the beauty and eternal stability of the gospel

this is my story -- people love stories - they love to hear/read/see them and they love to tell them, it is so beautiful that my story is in fact the story of my Savior and I can share joy and friendship with others who have the same story :)

lost in His love -- I don't need to have any reservations about the way in which I interact with my Savior, I am free to be fully lost in His love

"To live beautifully from day to day is a battle all the way." 

~ Anna Lee Walters, The Warriors

source: http://soliroma.tumblr.com/post/75310181877

"One effect of the Technological Revolution has been to uproot us from the soil. We have become disoriented, I believe; we have suffered a kind of psychic dislocation of ourselves in time and space. We may be perfectly sure of where we are in relation to the supermarket and the next coffee break, but I doubt that any of us knows where he is in relation to the stars and to the solstices." 

~N. Scott Momaday, in "The Man Made of Words" 

"Optimist:

 someone who figures that taking 

a step backward after taking

 a step forward is not a disaster,

 it's a cha-cha." 

~Robert Breault 

Esmae decorated our window :) 

Those moments when being in three literature classes really means reading from different authors, in different cultures, at different time periods, in different genres with different stylistic elements, but about the same thing . . .

" . . . Once again/Do I behold these steep and lofty cliffs,/That on a wild secluded scene impress/Thoughts of more deep seclusion; and connect/The landscape with the quiet of the sky./The day is come when I again repose/Here, under this dark sycamore, and view/These plots of cottage-ground, these orchard-tufts,/Which at this season, with their unripe fruits,/Are clad in one green hue, and lose themselves/'Mid groves and copses . . . These beauteous forms,Through a long absence, have not been to me/As is a landscape to a blind man's eye:/But oft, in lonely rooms, and 'mid the din/Of towns and cities, I have owed to them/In hours of weariness, sensations sweet,/Felt in the blood, and felt along the heart;/And passing even into my purer mind,/With tranquil restoration:--feelings too/Of unremembered pleasure: such, perhaps,/As have no slight or trivial influence/On that best portion of a good man's life,/His little, nameless, unremembered, acts/Of kindness and of love . . .."
~William Wordsworth, "Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey" lines 4-14, 22-35

"Once in his life a man ought to concentrate his mind upon the remembered earth, I believe. He ought to give himself up to a particular landscape in his experience, to look at it from as many angles as he can, to wonder about it, to dwell upon it. He ought to imagine that he touches it with his hands at every season and listens to the sounds that are made upon it. He ought to imagine the creatures that are there and all the faintest motions in the wind. He ought to recollect the glare of noon and all of the colors of dawn and dusk."
~N. Scott Momaday of the Kiowa tribe, in "The Man Made of Words"

"Nothing in my hand I bring, 

simply to the cross I cling; 

naked, come to thee for dress; 

helpless, look to thee for grace; 

foul, I to the fountain fly; 

wash me, Savior, or I die."

~Rock of Ages

"It gets to why letters are so valuable. There is this

tangible quality to holding the actual paper 

that these troops once held. . . . 

There is something very intimate about a letter." 

~Andrew Carroll (speaking about American war letters) 

"Legalism says God will love us if we change. The gospel says God will change us 

because He loves us." ~ Tullian Tchividjian

interesting links

these pictures are fantastic (the video is a bit weird, but definitely scroll down and look at the pictures)

nutrition myths

Matt Walsh has an article in Huffington Post :)

the search for silence

 

ah. lines.

source: http://soliroma.tumblr.com/post/74989917073 

" 'Oh I can't describe my home. It is home, 

and I can't put its charm into words.' " 

~Margaret in North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

"In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with thing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort." ~The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

" 'Bother burgling and everything to do with it! I wish I was at home in my nice hole by the fire, with the kettle just beginning to sing!" It was not the last time that he wished that!" ~The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

"So ended the adventures of the Misty Mountains. Soon Bilbo's stomach was feeling full and comfortable again, and he felt he could sleep contentedly, though really he would have liked a loaf and butter better than bits of meat toasted on sticks. He slept curled up on the hard rock more soundly than ever he had done on his feather-bed in his own little hole at home. But all night he dreamed of his own house and wandered in his sleep into all his different rooms looking for something that he could not find nor remember what it looked like." ~The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien 

"Now it is a strange thing, but things that are good to have and days that are good to spend are soon told about, and not much to listen to; while things that are uncomfortable, palpitating, and even gruesome, may make a good tale, and take a deal of telling anyway." ~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit

glimpse of the gospel

"Redemption, transformation-- . . . how she wanted these things. Every day, every minute. Didn't everyone?" ~Jennifer Egan, A Visit From the Good Squad

"Seeing that a Pilot steers the ship in which we sail, who will never allow us to perish even in the midst of shipwrecks, there is no reason why our minds should be overwhelmed with fear and overcome with weariness." ~ John Calvin

"What really knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it. That doesn't happen much, though." ~J.D. Salinger

" . . . And I will find my strength

In the shadow of Your wings . . . " 

~Third Day, "Your Love Oh Lord"

"Trust in the Lord, and do good;

dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.

Delight yourself in the Lord,

and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the Lord;

trust in him, and he will act.

He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,

and your justice as the noonday.

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him. . . ." 

~Psalm 37: 3-7a

Here are my spring "textbooks" (except for the two that haven't made it to my mailbox yet). 

It's going to be a crazy term :) 

"The Christian concept [of 'hope'] isn't very well served by our English word 'hope' because the English word 'hope' connotes uncertainty, but the Biblical understanding of 'hope' is the life-shaping joyous certainty that your future is the eternal love and glory of God." 

~Tim Keller

"I think sometimes we think that happiness is the most important thing in life. But it’s not. You see, happiness… is just an emotion. Joy is a state of being. Even in hard times." 

 ~Rachel Hatcher

another beautiful ballerina

Olga Smirnova in La Bayadere

note on life

When your university's Campus Ministry quotes Walt Disney . . . 

. . . and you have just one more reason to justify your lack of direct involvement within the "ministry". 

Okay, so I generally don't post about this kind-of thing . . . but my boyfriend is so incredibly sweet and thoughtful :) :) :) :) :)

It's been beyond cold in Erie and, for a while, I couldn't get the heat to work in my room so he sent me a lovely warm and fuzzy blanket and one of his super warm jackets and a book of German folk tales all accompanied by a lovely little card :) :) :)

*Disclaimer in response to various text messages: The heat in my apartment works wonderfully and the apartment is generally quite toasty. The knob for the heat in my bedroom just got stuck. I think, in general, the gift was more a response to the temperatures outside in Erie (and Boston). In short, my heat is just fine :) . . . and the blanket and jacket are quite warm :)

a letter without postmark

Dear producers of The Hobbit and other concerned parties, 

There are innumerable reasons why I have a strong disliking for your artistic representation of the beloved story originally compiled by Mr. Tolkien. However, there is really no need to list all of them as it will not change anything for you (plural) or me. 

I really just have one simple request. 

Would you please record the rest of the Misty Mountains song?

I really loved your composition and arrangement (and lots of other musical terms I don't quite understand), but when I make some tea and find a warm blanket and play the version from the soundtrack, it is over before my tea is even cool enough to start drinking which is hardly helpful when trying to set a mood for an evening (or afternoon or morning for that matter).

I would be willing to reconcile a few of my differences (I can't promise all of them) if you would just record the rest of song (i.e. all of the verses written by Mr. Tolkien in the actual story with the title "The Hobbit").

that's all,

Rachel

generations

"Generations are amazing measures of time -- overlapping, merging, each new one dependent on the past ones for very existence; affecting each other, passing genes to the next ones, influencing coming one both during a lifetime and after a lifetime is over. There is a terrific responsibility we have during our lifetime: 'The living, the living -- they praise you as I am doing today; fathers tell their children about your faithfulness' (Isaiah 38: 19, NIV). How many generations are being talked about? Children become fathers for century following century: 'He is the Lord our God . . . He remembers his covenant forever, the world he commanded, for a thousand generations . . .' (Psalm 105:7-8, NIV). With which generation will the responsibility stop? Certainly not the one we are in today . . . unless 'today' is the day Jesus will return. Until that moment, until that 'twinkling of an eye,' we are to 'walk around the reality of God's Word and His Works' in a way which seems to me to described in Psalm:12-14 (NIV): 'Walk around Zion, go around her, count her towers, consider well her ramparts, view her citadels, that you may tell of them to the next generation. For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end.' "

~Edith Schaeffer, The Tapestry (pg. 101) 

College students have a great tendency towards getting caught up in their own lives (which is only further fueled by the culture). 

What will happen to me in the few years? What will my career be? Will my life be "successful"?

In this though, we start to become oblivious to the beauty of generations.

Our lives are most beautiful as we interact with and enrich other lives. Our lives are most beautiful as we learn from those who have gone before us and pass along to those who follow after us. Our lives were never meant to be independent.

"Not every great moment needs to be shared. In fact, some of the best times are most enjoyed privately. If we suspend the present in an attempt to capture its beauty in 140 characters or less, we sacrifice our experience of the moment itself." ~Cara Joyner

I know this blog is turning into a Tumblr (or maybe a Pinterest board) and I know I need to return to posting thoughts sometimes, but sometimes I don't have any new or interesting thoughts to post and sometimes I have thoughts that are too personal to post or thoughts that I'm still trying to work through and, so, in the meantime, I post pictures. 

Also, I really like this clock :)

(And, the first sentence is a bit of a mess in terms of format, but that's okay.) 

source: The Dancer Project

another beautiful ballerina

Sylvie Guillem onstage during a Sleeping Beauty rehearsal 

source: Pointe Magazine 

photographer: Gilles Tapie

on your toes

Did you know that walking on your toes requires 83% more energy than walking "normally"? 

The study that determined this was actually comparing toe-to-heel walking to heel-to-toe walking to "prancing on ones' toes", but it still totally relates to ballet because, even in flat shoes, 

dancers have to walk toe-to-heel and prance. 

*Also, these are the feet of my lovely roommate Kathryn Tokar 

and this is the photography of Rodolfo Claros

heritage

Today in 21st Century Literature we discussed Graphic Novels. We were then given a short amount of time to create our own panel in the style of a graphic novel that portrayed our personal ethnic heritage. For the most part I am a product of the Great American Melting Pot. However, some small aspects of my parents' heritage still color their behaviors and preferences. So . . . this is what I drew :)

I chose to make the setting the kitchen because this where such encounters occurred, but also because much of family life and many of my childhood memories took place in the kitchen. My mom has quite a bit of Italian in her and she is always telling my siblings and me that you can put garlic in almost any dish :P My dad has quite a bit of Scottish in him and he doesn't talk nearly as much as my mom, but he often plays music that includes bagpipes. In past couple of years, he has played it on his smart phone, but, in our old house, we used to have a boom box in the kitchen for playing music :)

a letter without postmark

Dear Erie,

You need to work on your hospitality/welcoming skills.
I am not excited to walk to class tomorrow.

 You should be very thankful that I'm excited about the class.

That is all,
Rachel

Sometimes at Thanksgiving . . . 

. . . and Christmas . . . 

Miriam tries to take pictures of Caleb and me  . . . and I protest by making faces . . .

. . . but sometimes Caleb does too.