A few statistics for you:
I have ¼th left of my senior year. 1/16th left of my college experience. And 1/80th left of my school journey. This is my 20th and final year of school. Holy crap. When it comes to lasts, for some reason this is often when revelations start hitting people. At least this is what seems to be the case for me. I’m going to keep this short, but I’ve learned a few things these last few months that I wanted to share. What follows are just a few personal revelations that I feel serve as good reminders to not only myself, but hopefully to anyone. 1. Your long term goals and dreams may change, and that’s ok. Don’t be too stubborn to realize when this happens and to embrace new or altering dreams. 2. Use people’s names whenever you can. People appreciate feeling valued and by using their first name you take that initial step in making them feel that they matter. Additionally, it helps you to remember too, so pro tip: use names a lot especially when you first meet and are getting to know new people. 3. Don’t just jump on big life decisions. Analyze them and make sure it’s what you truly want. Anticipate how you will feel - the emotions involved - months down the road after you’ve made the decision. Regrets suck, plain and simple. Try to avoid them if you can. Easier said than done, I know. 4. Don’t allow FOMO to rule your life. Learn to be content where you currently are. (I’m still working on this one… yup, definitely working on this one.) 5. Don’t give up something you truly love until you actually have to. Cling to it until the very last minute, whatever it may be - people, places, activities, a job, ect. There will be many things in life that you won’t like, so those things that bring you unfathomable joy… why give them up early if you don’t have to? 6. The extraordinary can be great, but don’t become too caught up with always chasing it. That ordinary thing that is right in front of you can be the most extraordinary thing in the world if you want it to be. 7. Don’t become too preoccupied with the future that you end up missing the present. The present is here; it’s now. It’s what you got directly in front of you. Keep planning, but be in the moment. As the wise turtle Master Oogway from the movie Kung Fu Panda said so well, “Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift. That is why it is called the present.” This is one of my all time favorite quotes that I try to live by. 8. In direct relationship to number 7, don’t dwell in the past. Not that you should forget about it, but the past has happened. It’s over. No use thinking about the should’ve, would’ve, could'ves. Move forward and bring what you learned from those past experiences to the next table. 9. The people make the place. This is one realization I had leading up to my freshman year of college, but it couldn’t be more true. I’ve been reminded of this fact time and time again during the course of the past four years. Whether you’re in the mountains of Switzerland, seeing the Pyramids of Egypt for the first time, working in our Nation’s Capital, or living it up in Fargo, North Dakota, it’s the people who you are with that make an experience memorable. You could be doing the most mundane thing in the world, but if you’re with wonderful people then that boring task could be transformed into one of the best experiences. The opposite can also be true; you could be experiencing the most amazing of things, let’s say climbing Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, but if you’re with people who complain and contribute negative energy then it just might be an awful experience. Point made. 10. This last one is a culmination of sorts:
Have a wonderful weekend folks. Keep adventuring. Xxx - Reyna
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I love choir. I have always loved singing in choir - simple as that. It has been my constant - a wonderful light in my every day so called “normal” life. It has provided me with joy, peace, community, and an incredible love for music making and the gift that it is to audiences as well as to the performers. And yet, as all chapters have their beginnings, they also must have their endings. For me, this specific chapter of music making - a chapter that has shaped, changed, & given me countless opportunities and friendships - has come to its end. Why is that when something is nearing its end, it finally hits just how much that something really meant to you? Two weeks ago I had my very last college choir concert. It was the last time I put on my choir robe and walked out on a stage to perform for an audience that was beyond excited to hear incredible choral music. And as that last concert came to a close, that specific fact hit me harder than I ever could have anticipated. As I walked out of Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis following our final concert I was shaking and had tears clouding my vision and streaming down my face (many Concordia seniors who were there, yes, I know you can relate). Usually I’m not an emotional person (really, I’m not), but I couldn’t help overthinking every little detail and wonder if I’d ever make music at that level ever again. However, I’ve realized that I must come to face reality and the most likely answer to that question which is: probably not. That fact is the toughest reality of all to swallow, because although all things must come to their end, this also includes the good and even best things in life. When these arguably best experiences in life must end, man, it’s tough. And it just downright sucks. There’s no way to sugarcoat the matter or to say it more plainly. It sucks, regardless of whatever amazing experience it has been. The fact is, no one enjoys the closing of a wonderful experience, when a blessing in life must come to an end. Those experiences and people that have filled, moved, and created you... cherish them while they’re in front of you, because they pass in a blink of an eye. In my past 22 years of life, I have been very lucky. I have grown up in a home where music was encouraged and thus became an integral part of the rhythm and pattern of my life. As I grew to love music, I became especially fond of singing in a choir. And since fourth grade, singing in Choir is something that has been a part of my everyday life. Class, eating, sleeping, studying, and ... choir. It has been my constant. And especially in college at Concordia, my love for choir and music has only grown. And it seems that at the peak of my love for it, that’s when I finally must say goodbye. But that’s life, isn’t it? Life guarantees change and transitions. And this is but a closing of another chapter, arguably my favorite chapter yet; however, that’s just it: it is ending. And despite feeling sadness over “losing” it, I am happy. I feel contentment and more fulfilled from this experience than I ever dreamed possible. This choral experience has given me the most incredible joy, life changing experiences, and community of friends and fellow music lovers - all of which has been more than I could have ever imagined. Choir has made made my ordinary days extraordinary. Singing with people who love making beautiful music just as much as I do... well, there’s nothing else really quite like it, is there?
So here’s to turning to the next page, to finishing a beautiful chapter, and to moving on to the next one. And I have hope that there will be much more music making in the pages to come :) Some days I feel plagued by the future.
At a loss for words. Not knowing what to think or feel. Overwhelmed by the unknowns and monumental and significant decisions that I know are coming. The sense of zero control for what is to come. But having this desire to plan, to maximize and figure out the "best" path and strategy for my life. Why? Why I am I like this? Why do I bother even worrying about tomorrow when I'm not even there yet? And yet, some days... some days I allow myself to remain in the present. To enjoy the beauty and simple significance of the moment that I am IN. To appreciate and notice the people who surround me, and to try and take in all the seemingly insignificant details that are occurring. And... I remember that there is a God who has it all woven ever so intricately and perfectly, and that whatever comes - whether that be good or bad - something will be gained from the experience. I remind myself what life is supposed to be about - the experiences and relationships we are called to be a part of. However, sometimes I forget this because I become too caught up in myself: my to-do's, my image, and my future. Yet, I know I'm not the only one who does this. We all become caught up in our plans and what is coming - how can we not? We want to "perfect" our lives, which most definitely requires planning. But, I also know that I am not perfect and therefore I can never live a perfect life. That I make mistakes, and that I'm human. And for that reason, I am never expected to be perfect - except for by perhaps myself. I find that I put these nearly unattainable expectations on myself, and when I don't reach them, I feel as if I'm a failure. Yet, when I pause and really think, I know this is not true, and that there is a God that sees me more than as just a failure, but as a beautifully crafted being that He created with ridiculously incredible plans in store. And for that reason, I am not scared of the future. But am running towards it with arms wide open, embracing it in the beautiful presence of this single moment. *Note: It's funny, I wrote this approximately one year ago, and today as I was sifting through the notes on my phone I stumbled upon it again, and was astounded because although they were words that a previous version of myself had written when I was at a very different point in my life, they were still words that rang true in my mind and that I found myself needing to hear. It's funny how one's own personal struggles and thoughts will often times repeat themselves, or, at least it is the case for me. Perhaps you can relate, and hopefully these words can offer some positivity to your day too. I'm unable to comprehend the concept of time. Nor will I likely ever understand it, but boy, I sure try. I am mystified by the subordinate complexities of this universe that we call our own. And of course I am, because I am but a tiny ant amidst an endless cycle of lives and routines. But here's what I've concluded from my short 22 years of living: Life is a blur. Time is supposedly unchangeable, and yet it somehow remains insanely complex and wickedly unfixed. Supposedly, a minute is always 60 seconds, an hour is always 60 minutes, a day is always 24 hours, and so forth. And yet, time is elastic. It stretches and pulls in various directions, and a minute can feel as if it is the literal and tangible 60 seconds that it actually is, or, it can linger and seem to stretch long and far into eternity. Again, I reiterate, I'm stumped by the idea of time; I don't understand it. I understand from a mathematical standpoint of how time works of course, but it's the "feeling" aspect of time that I remain unable to grasp. And perhaps that's just it; one literally cannot "grasp" time. It's slippery and passes at various speeds depending on the people and environment that we are experiencing. When we are happy and surrounded by individuals who either intrigue or relax us the time seems to flow effortlessly, while at other times we find ourselves in situations that the opposite is also true. We may participate in an activity that either bores, exhausts, or stumps us, with people with the potential to cause us to feel nothing short of restless, and thus for some reason we feel it necessary to constantly steel glances at a seemingly motionless clock. And what I wonder is, does time go so so very quickly because I fail to stop, breathe, reflect, and pay enough attention to the world around me? Do I not give my ever-changing environments the attention that they deserve? *Side note: I realize that I often write about the busyness of life and the need to be still which is "still" a lot easier concept than a reality (hah, catch that?). But I've also realized the reason I write so much about stillness is because it's a message than I constantly need to tell myself. I write about being still because it is a reminder that I need daily because I'm just that bad at actually doing it, the passive act of doing nothing. Anyway, back to what I was saying. Aside from trying to understand the speed of time, I find myself mystified by the current life period I am in and how I came to be where I'm at. Sometimes I feel as if I'm in a time warp and have become numb to the changing times, and instead feel as if I'm stuck at the age of approximately 19. On Friday I finished my third summer working at Flathead Lutheran Bible Camp in Montana (FYI one of my favorite places on earth). However, despite it being another incredible summer in the west, half way through June it hit me that I was one of the oldest counselors on staff. Upon realizing this I couldn't help but think, "Well what the heck, how did that happen? Reyna ya old fart! Two years ago you were just a baby on this staff!" (Which was obviously said word for word just like that in my mind. Obviously.) And yet that's life: it guarantees change. And change happens often too quickly and before we think we're ready. Change is the one constant in life, (aside from the pace of time and God perhaps), but then again, God arguably embraces change and the idea of time. And yet, when I look back at the summer it is a total blur. Did it happen? Well, duh, yes of course it did. But without the time to properly process from one week to the next and one transition to the next... yeah. It is only now that I think I'm finally starting to fully process. And yet, regardless of the pace and the illusion of where we feel we are at in this wicked landscape of time, if there is anything about time that I can actually make sense of, than this is it: We must make at least some of our minutes count. Perhaps not all (that is arguably impossible), but to have a goal of making a good chunk of them count. Now that would be quite the accomplishment. How do we "make them count"? We invest in people, in creativity, in hobbies and work worth pursuing. We participate in activities that stimulate us, rather than limit us. We take time to dream, and we dream BIG. And we act. We are creatures of doing rather than beings intended to sit on our butts for half of our lives. We are intentional with our actions, and they are actions that are kind. We surround ourselves with individuals who inspire us and who we want to become more like. We stop wasting time over what others think. We take moments to read worthwhile material and are always learning. We explore and intentionally wander in order to be exposed to new faces and ideas. We are curious about others and the world around us. We make it a habit to refocus our minds on others rather than ourselves. And while we choose to focus on others we also make the necessary time for ourselves, the time to be still and process our human experiences. Finally, we remain in the present moment; we don't waste our precious moments dwelling in the past or anticipating the future. I can promise you that the past has happened and the future is coming, and there is nothing that we can change about those facts. As the wise turtle Master Oogway from the Dreamworks film Kung Fu Panda puts it: "Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. But today is a gift, which is why it is called the present." Good stuff. I'm a quote hoarder and I especially love this one. Oogway sums it up fantastically in those few sentences. So... Engage in the present. Embrace it wholeheartedly. Time will continue to pass at unfixed rates and the future is most certainly coming and passing all too quickly. Changes and transitions are imminent, whether you're expecting them or not. Be thankful for the time and moments you have the opportunity to be in now, and continue to love on and actively live with those who surround you. Along with change, God, and time, the other imminent truth in this world is the need for love. As cliché as it may sound, give love. Breathe love. Walk love. And receive it in turn. Happy transitioning :) Reyna xxx Well, Junior year at Conco is a wrap! (HOW????!!) This past school year has been both a challenging & fulfilling one, but overall a super sweet (& sometimes salty) college year. I've been keeping a running list of things I have been learning since September (aside from straight academia), & thought it would be fun to share a few of the lessons I've been reminded of & have learned throughout this past academic year.
2. Coffee ain't bad. In fact, drinking it with almond milk & a bit of honey is actually delicious. (*bit = a heaping spoonful) 3. It is our relationships & connections that keep us going and fulfill us in life. Investing in people is what makes us feel whole & will always be worth our time. 4. No matter how badly you want to, you can't do everything and do it all well. (*However, if you're strategic and don't care about receiving adequate amounts of sleep, you can do everything pretty well; it all depends on the standards you set for yourself) 5. Not knowing what you're doing is ok. Nuff said. 6. It's not worth wracking your mind over "smaller" decisions. Just go with your gut & stick with it. Save your time & don't agonize over the little stuff; give up some control & trust that it will work out the way it's supposed to. 7. God can be pretty darn quiet. But despite His seeming silence, He is always present & remains ever so close. Let me tell ya, college is good for ya. Be good to yourself and others, keep on pursuing the Lord, and good things are bound to happen. What can I say; I've always been an optimist. Happy Monday & first week day of summer ✌🏻I'm off to Germany today for a choir tour & than another 9 day adventure (EEP!) & will be trying to remember these lessons in the "real" world!
xxx Reyna Over the last few days of choir tour I have been reminded and realized that American Patriotism remains alive and burning within the people of our nation today. During the course of the last few months, I am not going to lie, the tensions and conflict between the people of the United States has made me not only upset, but incredibly sad. This nation was founded on principles and beliefs of freedom, acceptance, and camaraderie; but in recent months I feel as if I have only observed increasing violence, bigotry, and tension between our leaders and communities - a fact which has consequently continued to spiral into various social spheres throughout our nation. However, do not allow me to misguide you; this is not supposed to be a political post, but instead one that may show the healing power of music, especially for a nation desperately in need of it. During rehearsals Dr. Clausen often shares with the choir of his belief that music is a healing agent for the world, and now, due to the current state of our country and its people, I sincerely believe in that statement more than ever before. A couple weeks ago, Dr. Clausen made the "last minute" decision to throw the piece America the Beautiful into our program. At the time many members of the choir - including myself - did not understand his insistence on inserting the piece into our already long enough and well rounded program. However, over the last few nights it has become blatantly obvious as to why he decided to do it. During our last five concerts, this "power" has become evident. After singing America the Beautiful I have witnessed the healing power the piece has held over individuals as I have looked out at our audience and seen faces streaming not only with tears, but with giant smiles and seeming appreciation and gratitude. The music seemed to have touched them in a way that just words cannot. I could be wrong, but our audiences appeared to have been reminded that - despite the current state of our country - we still live in a nation of opportunity, freedom, and is beautiful "from sea to shining sea", a fact that has historically bonded all Americans and made them incredibly proud to live in such a nation. As for myself, it has reminded me that as musicians we are called not only to share notes and rhythms with our audiences, but are entrusted with the privilege of filling spirits and reminding people of what is truly important in life. As musicians, we are not only performers, but are in a unique position to be healers and use one of the arguably greatest healing agents in the world: that being the power of music.
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Reyna Asheimcurrently lives in Fargo, North Dakota where she works remotely as a Policy and Communication Manager for the First Lady of North Dakota. Photography and writing are a passion that help her better appreciate the details of the world. Archives
February 2024
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