One time...at band camp...

About a week ago I had the chance to go to BYU Young Musicians' Summerfestival for my fourth time. Besides it being one of my favorite weeks of the summer, and the incredible experiences I had and the amazing people that I met, I just wanted to make a quick post about a certain...hike.

Wednesday night was the elective activity night. In past years I've gone bowling, I've done a ballroom dance class, and other fun things. But this year, since it was probably my last year going, I opted to hike the Y.

What is the Y, you ask? Well, it's a large letter Y on the mountain, overlooking the university's campus. If you want to know more about it, watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2vF3p1vNHs

It's a pretty tough little hike to get up to it. But the view was absolutely perfect. My little camera-phone with its whopping 2 mp can't do it justice at all.

That's Utah Lake in the distance.

Apparently BYU's football team hikes it, or rather, runs it, every year. And when they get there, the coach will tell them something along the lines of: The view is always better from the top. Always.

It's a pretty big letter, huh?

But I just like the thought of the whole idea. Yes, it was a tough hike, but it was worth it. And you can apply that idea to anything you set out to accomplish in your life.

Anyway, that's all. I really don't feel like telling all about my experience at band camp, especially since I've already told all my good stories to people I know. So I'll just that that it was the absolute best. I learned so much about music, about music history, about the gospel, about people, about myself, and about life, from the professors, the counselors, and my friends. Oh, did we ever forge strong friendships in that week.

Plus I discovered some great music jokes.

This is me making a weird face while wearing my nerdy composer shirt. Yes, I can name them all.

These were some of my piano friends. The camp was for a couple dozen types of instruments, but piano, violin, and voice were the most common, it seemed.

Building good memories like I did that week is a really good way to make your life happier.

And...that's all I feel like saying. I bid thee farewell!

Or perhaps now is an appropriate time to quote Beethoven's supposed last words. "Friends applaud, the comedy is finished."

Or Brahm's: Ah, that tastes nice. Thank you.

Or Chopin's: The earth is suffocating...swear to make them cut me open, so that I won't be buried alive. (Dying of tuberculosis).

How utterly depressing.