On My Favorite Blog Post And Why My Thoughts Have Changed.

It was a little over a year ago that I posted on a blog that I’m not sure many read about a movie I now can’t remember much about. I remember The Lorax being a semi-inspirational movie and the little article I wrote about it being somewhat transformative. It was, at the time, one of my favorite posts. I reviewed the blog post recently and I recalled some of the emotions the movie stirred up. I laughed at my funny points, cringed at my bad grammar and slowly began to remember why the movie left such a strong impression.

I desired to live a life worth celebrating, I remember this being my main point, and it is still one that drives me today. I wanted to do something worth remembering, I wanted to fearlessly take the steps that would lead me to my destiny, and most importantly, I wanted to live without regrets.

This is a pretty tall order.

When I look back at that blog post, I made it pretty clear that I was up against some distinct life altering decision, a fork in the road that would certainly dictate the course of my life. When I think about it now, I can’t pinpoint what the decision was that had me in such upheaval.

And this is probably because as soon as I crossed this obstacle in my life, another soon presented itself, followed by another and another and another.

All too often, I put pressure on myself to narrow everything in my life down to one life altering decision. I’d ask myself “what is the single most successful thing I could do?” and then I would try to decide on the best and only way to get there. Then the pressure was on to determine my destiny and choose the correlating path to achieve it.

When I examine what I have achieved thus far in my life, I realize that no one monumental moment has let me to this place. My fear of making mistakes, though still present, is not quite as painful when I realize that I have already made quite a few. My desire to avoid regret is lessened by my realization that I already have some, and they haven’t killed me as I once feared they would.

 I have recently plucked up my comfy little southern life and transplanted it in California. I am currently looking for a job, perhaps a career, maybe even some purpose, let’s hope. This wasn’t a light decision to make, but it has been one in a long stream of decisions that will make up the story of my life. I’m not too worried about finding a job or a place to fit in, because I know each thing comes in its own time. Putting the pressure on myself to narrow everything down to one life altering decision is simply too much.

Life is full of questions. It often feels like there are all-defining moments where one drastic decision must be made forever altering our future in one direction or another. Truth is, there will always be crossroads in life. One decision carries on to another, and just when you think you have it figured out, another junction presents itself. Making the best decision isn’t always clear, and mistakes will be made. You will have regret, I promise you. But this doesn’t have to keep us from having a life worth celebrating. In the movie, The Lorax, the Once-ler made plenty of bad decisions in life, and it seems reasonable to me that hiding out might just be the best option for a while. But he eventually made a few good decisions, and for that, the Lorax was still grateful, he had still lived a life worth celebrating.

Student Art Show Up in Library

Art students at Southern Miss are displaying their art again in an exhibit at the Library. The show, which has been up for nearly a month already, shows off various art projects, from paintings to 3D graphic models.

Im proud to say that I have a few friends who have their art at the show. Walking around it didn't take long for me to spot Ethan manning's work wich I recognize from his many projects with band's and student's flyers. Ethan's work was also used for the South City Records Music Festival this past weekend. 

His modern graphic design work is always bright, clean and fun. I always enjoy seeing Ethan's work around campus and in the student art show.

The Silver "Brass Instrument" Lining.

It's been two weeks to the day a tornado ripped through the center of Hattiesburg and turned everything on it's head. Classes were canceled, roads were closed and several students and area residents had to endure the strenuous task of finding a new place to live. For a moment, it felt as if nothing would never recover.

Now, things are slowly returning to normal, or what we are coming to know as the "new normal." You can't see nearly as much debris when driving down Hardy Street and classes are back in session...for most of us.

Then there are the groups of displaced music students. With one practice building destroyed and the other condemned, music students, jazz students in particular, have recently had no where on campus to practice. Much work is being done to provide a space for these students on the far end of campus from what they used to call home; double-wide trailers are being set up on the parking lot behind Hillcrest Apartments and is being dubbed "twister town."

But this temporary practice space couldn't come soon enough for students desperate to get back to work.  

Which is why, when I stepped on campus Monday morning, I could hear the faint sounds of a euphonium playing from the green. Turn the corner and another brass instrument could be heard from across campus. The moody tunes of these deep sounding brass instruments reflected the mood of city broken at twilight, but slowly rising again at dawn.

The past couple of weeks have been rough to say the least, but seeing these music students bring their practice outdoors was a pleasant surprise. And for those of us walking around campus these past few days to enjoy the temporary sounds of practicing students, I would certainly say this is one silver lining to a cloud that has brought so much recent destruction.    

Music in the face of tragedy.

It's hard to talk about the arts on campus right now without talking a bit about the terrible tornado that graced itself in Hattiesburg, MS Sunday evening. Estimated as an EF4, the Tornado that hit Hattiesburg tore up everything in it's path, including the Jazz Station music building and other buildings on USM's campus as well as around town.

This catastrophe has greatly affect all the USM music students as many students stored their musical instruments in these buildings and now may never see them play again. The destruction of the Jazz building has also brought the morale of USM students, especially music students, way down. Classes have been cancelled along upcoming orchestra performances and music events.

This tragic natural disaster may have had a negative impact on the morale of students and Hattiesburg residents, but it has not broken us. In light of these horrible events many are banding together to rebuild, restore, and raise money for those impacted around town, including the Southern Miss Jazz Bands.

Tuesday night at 10 pm, the Thirsty Hippo will be sponsoring an event featuring Brownout, a latin funk band from Austin, Tx. A portion of the proceeds from the event will go toward the USM Foundation to help rebuild. Music will be used to bring the Music Department back to life.

It's events like these that will help restore morale of those in the affected area. If you have a chance, please come out and help support this great cause while taking a load off, after all, it's been a long week.

Understanding the arts.

In my time at USM I have been to a variety of on campus "arts" events. I've seen a few theatrical showcases and been into the art gallery for a few shows. I didn't know much about art when I first came to USM aside from the fact that I liked it. The more time I spend at the university, the more I am opened up to the world of the arts on campus.

I took an art class in the spring that really helped me understand a lot about art in general. It taught me more than just how to draw, it taught me to appreciate the craft as a whole and those who specialize in art. Going to an art show is so much more than just seeing nice paintings, now I know what to look for in these paintings.

I never went to any on-campus productions until I met a friend who is in the musical theater department. Seeing a show with her is much more fun because I can see on her face how much she loves the whole process of acting.

I also have friends in the music department and listening to them talk about their love for music helps me understand musc that much more.

It isn't always easy understanding the arts, but knowing others who love and understand it makes all the difference.

The Arts at USM.

So, this semester I have been given the task of blogging about the arts on campus here at the University of Southern Mississippi. USM has a longstanding history of great arts programs including the School of Music, the department of Art and Design, the department of Theater and the department of Dance.

This semester will be full of exciting events, exhibits and showings including the upcoming production of "Sweeny Todd". Other events include guest singers, musicians, and new art gallery openings.

This semester will be a great opportunity to see some of the most talented students on campus do what they are best at, and I am excited to bring it all to you, so stick around, won't you?

Beth Bolyard: New Semester, New Introductions.

In the fall semester of last year I was in a class that required me to blog on a regular basis. Since I started that class with an introductory post, which you can find earlier in this blog, I figured I would give more of an update on my life and where I've come in the past five months.

I am still at USM and I am still studying Public Relations. I think now more than ever I am convinced this is the right degree for me. First, the program lends itself to learning multiple disciplines, both within the department of Mass Communication and without. I'm learning how to problem solve in the real world, how to use social media to my advantage and how to be a good, well rounded reporter. I also have the advantage of learning Spanish, which is an extremely useful tool in todays job market and will greatly increase my chances of being hired once I'm out of school. Along with that, I am minoring in English, wich is fulfilling my "school of thought" desire. In all, I feel that this degree will make me the most well rounded candidate for whatever field I decide to go into; for this I am extremely excited.

Outside of school, these past few months have been equally trying and rewarding. I have given of my time to various outlets and passions only to see nothing in return. I have questioned and re-questioned the direction I was going in life and have considered switching majors or even just dropping school altogether multiple times. I have set aside toxic relationships and gathered new, rewarding ones. I have met people who share different ideals than I do, but still share a common, human bond to move forward together to figure it out along the way. I have re-learned what it means to be loyal and what it means to care for someone and be cared for in return. 

My faith has also been tried these past few months and I believe I have grown greatly because of it. I have questioned God's providence and overall will for my life and I have even had some angry words with Him over the whole issue. I have mulled my faith over and over in my mind and I feel that I am finally beginning to see some light at the end of this tunnel. I don't know that I have all the answers, in fact, I don't expect that I ever will, but my desire to pursue the truth in all areas of my life will continuously drive me forward. I expect I will have struggles with faith again in my life, but I know where truth can be found, and I will continue to turn there when things get dark again.

I would like to take you all on this journey if you are willing to come. We will be discussing issues of humanity, culture, policy, philosophy and what this all means for all of us. I'd love it if you would join in; the more people, thought processes, ideals, faiths and beliefs, the better. I cannot wait to see where this takes us all, until then, thank you for reading.

Beth Bolyard