Howie Day - Collide

Definitely my song of the week! Such a great song, with such a simple guitar part! I guess a great song doesn't always have to be complex! Now I just have to find someone who can sing along with my guitar playing, because I SURE can't hit those notes!

~Alex S.

Rain, Rain, Go Away!

Well it's finally Spring Break (for my school at least)! I'm finally free from my classes for a week of fun and relaxation... But oh wait... There's a chance of rain every day this week! Oh well, I'm sure that break will still be fun, and at the very least, at least there's no school!

So I went to Youth Group tonight, and all the Core Team members, Mike, and Emma all told their stories about why they believe and how they got to be where they are today. I found it all very inspiring, and it really got me thinking; why do I believe in the things that I believe in? Is there a set reason to it? It's really a mind boggling question! Because on the one hand, there's the orthodox answer "because I like it", but then there's that nagging thought that there MUST be a deeper reason, right?

So I leave you with that thought. Why do you believe in the things you believe in? And if you come up with an answer like "I was raised that way", or "Because I like it", then I highly encourage you to look a little deeper into your heart and mind, and try to figure out specifically why you believe.

Peace be to you all!

~Alex S.

Why Are We Afraid In What We Believe?

I just got back from my weekly Youth Group meeting (where once again, Youth Band rocked the house), and I got to thinking, why are people so afraid to proclaim their religion? Shouldn't we be proud of what we believe? If we are proud, why do we constantly try to hide or diminish it?


I think that honestly, people are afraid of what other people think. You're probably thinking "well duh, THAT answer didn't require much thought", but bear with me here, I'll go into more detail on why I said this. People today, no matter where you live, or what religion you believe in, treasure other people's opinions of them more so then they care about what they believe. But in doing this, they are being hypocrites for the simple fact that if you don't believe in what you say you believe in, just because of what other people believe, then why DO you believe in the first place?


In order to believe something, you have to show that you believe. And again, I know what you're probably thinking "Well I don't want to be shoving my religion and beliefs down my friend's throats!", but that's not what I mean. What I mean is that you shouldn't hide it when people come looking for it. You should open up to them and say what you TRULY believe in.


As a Catholic, I TRULY, ABSOLUTELY believe that there IS a God, and that he loves us and wants us all to spend eternity with Him when we die. I believe that He sent His only son, Jesus Christ, to walk among us on Earth, and give us the skills we need to reach the eternal happiness of Heaven (not to mention he actually opened Heaven's gates in the first place). I believe in much more then that as well, but just because I believe it, doesn't mean YOU have to. The reason why I said what I believe the way I did was because I don't want to come across like I'm forcing anyone to believe anything, because it's not my place to do so.


So take some time, figure out what you believe. Maybe what you ACTUALLY believe isn't at all what you THOUGHT you believed. Maybe you don't really know what to believe, and if that's the case, don't feel discouraged, because I felt this same way for the longest time. Then I got to talking to other people about why they believed in the things they believed in, and I chose for myself what to believe.


If you take anything away from this blog entry, anything at all, remember this: you are the key to your own destiny. Only believe what YOU believe, and you will be infinitely happier and more willing to profess your beliefs, which hey, that's what believing is all about, right?


~Alex S.

School on a Saturday

Well today I took a driver's ed. course (courtesy of C.O.P.S. driving school)... It honestly was more like a common sense school. Everything about driving has and will always come naturally to me, so I kind of just sat back and enjoyed the ride. The awesome part is that I get three 2-hour sessions with a C.O.P.S. teacher, and I get to drive a Mini Cooper! How awesome is that! I get to use it for my driving test too, which is good, because the car is half the size of the space I'll need to parallel park in.

Not much else happened today... Was just a long day in a classroom! I'll just have to see if tomorrow can make up for it!

~Alex S.

One More Week!

I absolutly cannot wait for Spring Break! I don't know about any of the other schools around, but I know Cardinal Newman gets out for Spring Break, and I'm really pumped! This is a break that has been WELL overdue!

So anyways, I'm also pretty excited for next weekend, because I get to go and see my girlfriend perform in "Alice in Wonderland" at the Koger Center! She's been working really hard every day at dance along with the rest of the cast to get the acting and dancing down perfectly! I highly recommend everyone to go see it (tickets are available at the door). To say the least, I'm pretty jealous haha. Not because of the dancing, because ask anyone who knows me... I can't dance. But she gets to perform at a HUGE venue! The biggest venues I've performed at are Camp Gravatt and a beach-side restaurant in Destin, Florida. I couldn't possible be more proud of her though. :)

And in other news, I'm attempting to do a cover of Green Day's "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life). Needless to say, it's hard. I really want to take the song, and transform it into something that pulls at your heartstrings. Hopefully I'll be able to do it! Wish me luck!

~Alex S.

Pink - Perfect (Boyce Avenue acoustic cover) on iTunes (Donate to Victim...

Hey everyone, I just found this amazing cover by Boyce Avenue, and I decided to help promote it, especially since it's for a good cause. Every time someone buys this song off of iTunes, the profit will go to helping people in Japan. Give this song a listen, and if you feel like helping, please purchase this song and help the Japanese get back on their feet.

~Alex S.

Spring Forward!

It's hard to believe that it's already springtime! This year has just flown by at breakneck speeds! Before I know it I'll be on Spring Break, and then on Easter Break (my school split the two for some reason), and then onto Summer Break! I'm not going to lie though, I'm going to miss this school year once it's over. There, I said it, I'm going to miss school. This year has been full of new experiences for me, new classes, new teachers, new friends, a new girlfriend, new sports, new injuries (although that's pretty much an every year thing), and most importantly, a newfound faith in God.

Before this school year started, the last time I had gone to church was when I was 4. That's just about 11 years! But then this year started, and my friend persuaded me to join the Cross Country team (which I loved by the way), and I met this girl. I had known her name for ages because my family and hers traded our textbooks every year (she was the grade above me, then her sister was the grade below me, then my sister was the grade below her, etc.). Her and I started talking, and she eventually got me to come to the St. John Neumann Youth Group. This Youth Group has totally changed my outlook on life from one being all about having fun, to one being all about doing God's will. And yes, if you're wondering, that girl is currently my girlfriend.

It's crazy to just see how much I've put religion into my life since the beginning of this year. I've joined a Youth Group, and was nominated to represent us at the National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC) this coming November. I also helped in the formation of a Youth Band, which is steadily growing! I've also started consistently going to Church, and since I just got Confirmed, I decided to also become a Lector! At school, instead of taking the easy Sophomore Theology class, I signed up (and was accepted into) a Christian Leadership class, taught by my Youth Minister, the Director of Campus Ministry, and our school Priest, Fr. Kirby.

Wow, I wrote a lot more then I thought I would. Guess it all just had to come out at some point!

Peace,

~Alex S.

Something to Believe In

I have recently found a diamond in the rough, so to speak. Give this song a listen, because I am pretty sure you will enjoy it quite a bit! I heard it on a YouTube advertisement (kind of ironic), so I went searching for it. And now that I've found it, I can't stop listening to it!

In other news, my Youth Band blew away the crowd at Sunday's Open House! Apparently everyone loved us, and we even went so far as to emotionally move some people! And on top of that, we added two more people into the band, a drummer and a bassist, who I really think helped the band to put on that spectacular performance! Maybe it was God's way of helping us out, especially considering that one of our singers lost her voice...

Again, definitely check out Parachute's "Something to Believe In", because I guarantee that you will love it.

~Alex S.

I May Just Be Having a Freak Out

I don't think I've ever practiced so much for something in my entire life! What is this "thing" you may ask? Well, it's the Youth Group Open House this Sunday, where the Youth Band that I'm in is performing 4 songs. I'm really nervous, so I've been practicing during every spare second that I have! And it's only Tuesday! I'm sure we'll do great though, because it's a band full of extremely talented people.

Not much to write today, maybe more will come later or tomorrow!

~Alex S.

Camp Gravatt CIT!

I'm really excited for this summer! I'm finally moving up to be a CIT (Counselor In Training) at Camp Gravatt! It's really sad though that I have to leave life as a Camper behind, because those summers were the best of my life. But I'm pretty sure that being a CIT, a JC (Junior Counselor), and then hopefully a Counselor will be even better! I mean heck, once I'm a Counselor, I'll get PAID to go help at the Camp that I love so dearly all summer! I don't think that I could ask for a better job to be honest.


What I'm really excited about though, is learning all the Gravatt campfire songs on my guitar (yea, I had to relate this to the guitar SOMEHOW!), because out of the four years I've gone as a camper, I've only managed to learn one song! I've always loved campfire; it's one of my favorite times out of the entire day, and I think that actually playing the music all Gravatt campers hold so near and dear to their hearts will be amazing!


Being a CIT this summer is going to be so great. Just being on the property brings memories flooding back into my brain, and when you add in the fact that not only am I there, but I'll be seeing my friends and learning how to be a Counselor, it's just overwhelming. If you live anywhere in the South-East United States, I HIGHLY suggest taking a look at Camp Gravatt. It's a great place to go to just get away from everything, and to get a closer relationship with God.


~Alex S.

"If the human body is two-thirds water, how is it that we manage to spill water on only the one-third that's dry?"

^That is possibly one of the most insightful quotes I've ever heard off of America's Funniest Home Videos. It's so true though! I mean, if we're two-thirds water, how do we only spill water on the one-third that's dry? It's just a mystery of life I guess!


So anyways, I don't know about anyone else, but I had a really productive four-day weekend. I feel bad for all the non- Cardinal Newman students that I know though, since they had to go to school today to make up for that insane string of snow days. But over the course of this weekend I hung out with my girlfriend, diverted a stream, cleared out thousands and thousands of thorny vines, went to Youth Group (and performed with the Youth Band, but more on that later), and still managed to finish my Biology Project! Possibly the best four day weekend that I've had in a long time.


Sunday's Youth Group was a HUGE milestone for the Youth Band, since we finally were asked (by multiple people may I add) to perform not one, but TWO songs! Crazy right? One of the Youth Group members even said that they were "Dumbfounded with the performance; very, VERY moved and inspired by it"! Score one for Youth Band! And our Youth Minister, Mike even asked us to do a "mini-concert" on the night of the open house! Only hard part will be learning four new songs for that night, since we only have one Sunday left to practice. I think we can do it though, we're picking up the songs really quick as is. Eventually once we have learned enough songs, I'll put together a list of songs for everyone to see with lyrics and tabs if you want to try them out for yourself!


Question of the Day:
What liquid do YOU mostly spill on the one-third of yourself that's dry?

-Alex S.

Thank God it's Friday!

I love Fridays. Definitely one of my most favorite days of the week. Today was a special Friday though, because there was NO SCHOOL! It could not have been a more perfect day to not have to sit in a classroom all day; it was just around 70 degrees and sunny, with not a cloud in the sky! Tomorrow's going to be insane though, since I'm going to be completely alone all day (the family is going to my sister's volleyball tournament in Lexington). Oh well, gives me more time to play my guitar as loud as possible, and sing until the windows shatter!

-Alex S. 

Goo Goo Dolls - Iris (Boyce Avenue acoustic cover)

I really love this song, and I think these guys perform it great! Maybe even better than the original? Thoughts?

Raspberry + Dark Chocolate = Amazing

Wow, I can officially say that I've fallen in love... With chocolate. Not just any chocolate, oh no. My parents got me a Valentine's Day gift (kinda weird really, but whatever) that was a bag of these Raspberry and Dark Chocolate Truffles. Oh my gosh, it's like Heaven in my mouth.

Anyways, I finally achieved my goal for being on the golf team this year! I shot under 50 on 9 holes (I ended up with a 48)! Now I'm back to where I was earlier this summer, so I guess things can only go up from here! And I have the entire rest of the school year to practice and get better! It really stinks though, because the lady who runs the course where we practice (it's a terrible course, and I would highly recommend NOT going there) won't let us play the course for free or hit range balls at all, even during practice! So I really have no idea how we're supposed to get better, but oh well, hopefully Coach will pull through for us! 

I'm actually going to have one more blog post today, I'm going to put up another Boyce Avenue cover that I really like. I would tell you what song they will be performing, but I haven't even picked which one to put up yet haha. So you will all have to go check it out, because face it, you're curious aren't you?

-Alex S.

P.S. I decided to try a new font today, mix things up a little! Tell me what you think!

"Rock me mama like a wagon wheel, rock me mama any way you feel"

I have a new love for this song. If anyone doesn't know the title, it's called "Wagon Wheel", and it's actually a pretty good song! I first heard it at my beloved Camp Gravatt, and I kind of forgot about it until earlier today, when a friend brought it up again. So being the curious musician I am, I went home and looked up guitar tabs for the song. And they couldn't possibly be easier! And the best part is that I can sing the song without too much trouble! Which normally doesn't happen with me...

In other news, my Youth Band finally performed at a Youth Group session, and according to the people that were listening, we were really good! Everyone was in sync, and we even got the crowd singing! Which is difficult, especially considering how many people my Youth Group hate to sing out loud! The only flaw was that in the lyrics that we passed out, there was a typo made by the people who wrote the song, and there were some extra lines in the last chorus. That DEFINITELY got us some weird looks, but oh well, we did extremely well! Congratulations everyone in Youth Band!

And since we're on the topic of Youth Group, I'll close with one of my favorite Bible Verses:
"I can do everything through Him who gives me strength" Philippians 4:13.

~Alex S.

"Don't Stop Believing"!

I've always loved this song. Something about the lyrics just strikes me right in my very core. And I know I'm going to probably get slaughtered for saying this, but I actually like a cover of "Don't Stop Believing" by Boyce Avenue as much as (maybe even more than) the original song by Journey! I'll post both of the videos side by side so you can compare for yourself! Leave a comment and tell me which one you like better!

 By Journey          

 By Boyce Avenue

 Leave a comment and let me know which YOU think is better! Let the battle commence!

-Alex S. 

Back to Being Busy

I never really realized how much I loved the free time that I had until I lost it all this week. Not that I'm complaining, because I love golf (yea, just in case I hadn't mentioned this before hand, I'm on the golf team). I just have ABSOLUTELY no time to do my homework, let alone play guitar!

So therefore, I'm still trying to figure out how to play that Boyce Avenue cover of Drops of Jupiter. It's really hard for me, because I fail at muting strings. I'll get it eventually though! This is definitely the hardest I've ever worked on a song, and it's really paying off. Every day I get closer to nailing the entire song, and once it's done, it's going to feel great!

Here's what the song will (hopefully) eventually sound like when I play it:

Wish me luck; I'm going to need it!

-Alex S.

Half of My Heart - John Mayer & Taylor Swift (Boyce Avenue & Savannah Ou...

I love Boyce Avenue, so I thought I might as well share them with you!

"Tell me, did you sail across the sun?"

I'm sure pretty much everyone reading this has heard of the song "Drops of Jupiter" by Train. If you haven't, I HIGHLY suggest looking it up. The song has an amazing mood about it, and while it's a sad song (especially if you know the background and inspiration of the song), it has a lively beat to it. It's this sad, melodic tone that is very hard to capture when combined with the upbeat tempo.

If you haven't guessed already, I'm attempting to learn the song "Drops of Jupiter". But I'm actually not just using the chords that are for the original song. I'm actually using the music for the Boyce Avenue cover version! (Again, I highly suggest you look it up). The guys of Boyce Avenue sing this song so well that it's almost better than when Train does it! And it takes a lot for me to say this, especially considering that I'm a huge Train fan!
The song itself is very difficult to play, since it contains a lot of muted strings that I seem to constantly hit with my pick right when I'm having trouble actually MUTING them. I'll get it eventually! I have wanted to learn this song from the day I first heard it, so I'm not going to give up on this one too easily!

Moving off on a different note, I'm thanking God that it's Friday! Is it just me, or did this week just not seem to want to end? I mean DANG! It feels like it should be summer already (and by my watch, it SHOULD be summer right about now)! Hopefully the weeks ahead fly by extremely fast, because I am really tired of school right now. I mean, seeing friends is great and all, but when every class is so easy that even I can sleep through it? Something's wrong there.

Oh well. Oh, and on one last note, I will restate the fact that you SHOULD MOST DEFINITELY GO CHECK OUT BOYCE AVENUE'S COVER OF DROPS OF JUPITER!! There, I bolded and underlined it for you!

-Alex S.

A Post With No Name

Ok, it's late, and I really can't think of any clever titles for this post. Cut me some slack.

Anyways, I had my first golf practice for school today. It was great, and I did great... until we started playing an actual round... Oh well, there's plenty more days to come! I mean hey, if I'm going to be playing every day of the week until the end of the school year, I guess that I'm bound to get better!

It's been a really weird week though, all my assignments piling on top of each other, along with my Confirmation (which happened on Tuesday, and was AMAZING!). Then having golf practice after school has left me with practically no free time at all. But that's ok, that's why someone invented the idea of Study Hall! That portion of my day has definitely been my saving grace this past week; it's really helped me keep my head on straight!

Pretty short post today, but I'm really tired, and I have to finish writing a speech for school (fun stuff right?), so I'll write a longer one later, because I know EVERYONE reading this thoroughly enjoys my writing... Right?

-Alex S.