Amber Blair

#hilife

Aloha! I hope you’re having a good weekend! My weekend has been AWESOME, and I attribute it to the start of my new goal: go on an island adventure once a week. For this week’s adventure, I went with some friends yesterday to a hike called Dead Man’s Cat Walk. #hilife (Get the hashtag? HI is our postal code, but we’re also living the high life.)

After the hike, my good friend Alyssa invited me to run to the food trucks in Kahuku with her, so we ran to a legit MEXICAN food truck! We ordered our food in Spanish and felt like we were back on our missions. Then we went to a nearby frozen yogurt food truck. #divine #hilife

I set this goal because I LIVE IN HAWAII, and I don’t even go to the beach that much! You know Pres. Uchtdorf’s story about that man who went on a cruise, and spent the whole time in his room eating canned beans, because he didn’t realize everything had already been paid for with his ticket? I’m not a huge fan of that Mormon Message, because it’s so frustrating, but I think it teaches an important lesson on using the blessings made available to us. For me, that means taking advantage of this beautiful island and adventuring!

Are you utilizing all the resources our Heavenly Father has given you? I invite you to ponder that. Watch the Mormon Message if you like.

May Book: Mindset

You guys. READ THIS BOOK. Before I tell you a little bit about the book I just finished, I want you to know that I’m a changed girl. I just read Mindset: the New Psychology of Success by Carol S. Dweck, as recommended by my dad, and my life will never be the same, because I’ve learned about a serious problem of mine, and been taught how to fix it!

In her book, Carol S. Dweck talks about two mental attitudes: a fixed mindset, and a growth mindset. I won’t give away too much, but I’ll tell you that our society suffers deeply from the fixed mindset, and we would all do well to read this book.

This graphic describes the book, but I can’t invite you with enough enthusiasm to get over to the library the instant the doors open on Monday morning, so you can experience the same positive changes. Will you do it? I know that if you do, you will be happier and more satisfied.

Exciting Announcement!

Aloha, friends! Today I just wanted to share one really exciting piece of news from this week:

I PASSED THE TEST REQUIRED TO START MY STUDENT TEACHING!!!!! It was a beastly 4-hour, $150 exam called the Praxis 2, and the majority of students that took it last semester failed it the first time. So… you can imagine where my expectations were. I was positive I failed at least the Social Studies section (no, I have no idea what the topic of the 1960s novel Silent Spring was), but I didn’t! Yay!

So now I’m one step closer to becoming an actual teacher! #almostanadult

Dilligence

One of my favorite Christlike attributes to study is diligence. It’s something that I really value, and something that says a lot to me about a person’s character. I’m currently reading a fabulous book called Mindset, by Carol S. Dweck #spoileraltert #BookoftheMonth, and I wanted to share one awesome quote about diligence and hard work I recently came upon:

Bruce Jenner, 1976 Olympic gold medalist in the decathlon says, “If I wasn’t dyslexic, I probably wouldn’t have won the Games. If I had been a better reader, then that would have come easily, sports would have come easily… and I never would have realized the way you get ahead in life is hard work.”

HARD WORK is a key ingredient to success, and so many people these days just aren’t willing to pay the price. I’ll write more about this when I blog about Mindset, but people place a high value on natural talent, and little to no value on hard work. That ain’t right, son.

I know that hard work doesn’t always pay off immediately, but I know it pays dividends in the end. I’ll finish off with this quote:

Mother, I Love You

An alphabetic list of actions of my incredible, Christlike mom.

A- Attended every race, track meet, and concert.
B- Believed in her girls and supported us in everything.
C- Cooked healthy, delicious food and after school snacks.
D- Drove me everywhere when I couldn’t get my license.
E- Entertained my friends, even when I wasn’t there.
F- Focused on the Savior.
G- Gave her ENTIRE life to us kids.
H- Helped in my classes.
I- Invited EVERYONE into her home as a welcome guest.
J- Joyfully served.
K- Kindly corrected us.
L- Listened when I needed to talk.
M- Married my daddy when they were younger than I am now.
N- Never compromised her values.
O- Obediently followed Christ.
P- Practiced Piano with me for years.
Q- Quietly set an amazing example.
R- Read out loud to us, and read the scriptures every day.
S- Stayed with me at the hospital during my entire recovery.
T- Taught me to love the Lord.
U- Understood the true meaning of discipleship.
V- Valued the opinion of God more than man’s.
W- Wrote me every week of my mission.
X- eXamined her role as a woman in God’s plan.
Y- Yearned for our well-being.
Z- Zeroed in on the most important things.

I love my mama! She is one of the most loving, Christlike people I know, and I aspire to be like her someday. Maybe after the resurrection.

Josh’s Awesome Video

Aloha! It’s the first Saturday of the semester, and I have exactly nothing pressing to do right now. #thatawkwardfirstweek. A few highlights of the week include my sister Lauren getting her mission call (!!!!!), making nature journals in my Science Methods class, watching Interstellar twice, taking my roommate to the temple for her second time (which I think is the scariest), and seeing this incredible video my friend Josh Mason made about me.

Part of me feels awkward that there’s a video about me, but it highlights a lesson that I think I’m on earth to teach: our loving Heavenly Father gave us weaknesses BECAUSE He loves us, and He knows that weaknesses bring us closer to Him. I am so grateful for my experiences with epilepsy. I can honestly say that I am the person I am in part because of those experiences.

So for your viewing pleasure, here is the video. Go ahead and share it so your friends can feel God’s love for them, and remember who they are.

April Book: Diary of a Wimpy Kid

I kind of took off all of April…. I’m sorry. It was finals week, and then I went to the Mainland between semesters. So please forgive me.

This month I decided to read the book EVERY SINGLE ONE OF MY STUDENTS was reading: The Diary of a Wimpy Kid. It’s about a 7th grade boy, whose mom challenges him to keep a journal. He writes about his life and the goings-on at his middle school. International Bestseller. Pretty funny. Super quick read.

March Books

March turned out to be a fantastic month of reading for me! #MainlandTrip. I re-read Lois Lowry’s The Giver for my Literacy Methods class literature study unit. I also finally read Eve and the Choice Made in Eden by Beverly Campbell, Choice Words by Peter H. Johnston, and The Leader in Me by Stephen R. Covey. Loved them all. Here’s a short teaser for each one:

THE GIVER

You’ve probably already read this classic Young Adult novel, but if you haven’t, I urge you to do so asap. You will join 12 year-old Jonas in his world of complete peace, health, security, job satisfaction, obedience, and sameness. Agency is not part of his society, and the price they pay unfolds throughout the story. I first read it when I was about 10 years old, and I can tell you it was an entirely different experience reading it 13 years later. #release #stirrings

EVE AND THE CHOICE MADE IN EDEN

As I’ve told you, this book was recommended to me by my mission president’s wife, the amazing Sister Weidman. If you’ve ever had a question about Eve, or the Fall, or the role of women in God’s plan, or women and the Priesthood, or symbolism the Garden story, or anything along those lines, this book is for you. Beverly Campbell wrote the section on Eve in the Bible Dictionary, so we know she’s legit. This book is based on scripture and prophetic quotations, rather than casual speculation. I’m recommending it to everyone.

CHOICE WORDS

#sickcover. One of my professors let me borrow this book after I asked him a question about dialogue in the classroom. If you can’t tell, the subtitle of the book is “How our language affects children’s learning.” Johnston talks about how the way we word questions makes all the difference in the world. #SundaySchool #youknowwhatI’mtalkingabout. If you’re interested in learning about how the way you say things makes a difference, read this book.

THE LEADER IN ME

So awesome. We read this for Classroom Management, and I totally want to do it. I wrote about going to a Leader in Me school a few weeks ago, and this book talks about how it all came to be.

10 Reasons I Love Jon Schmidt

I’ve been part of the Classical Piano world for the majority of my life, and there are several aspects of that world that make me proud. For example, we are collectively cultured, refined, disciplined, and appreciative of quality. We also perpetuate and maintain excellence by continually studying works composed by our faithful predecessors, such as Bach, Mozart, and Beethoven.

However, there are a few aspects of our world that do not make me proud. One of them is our collective dislike for a certain Jon Schmidt, fellow pianist and exemplary individual.

He recently came with a few other youtube folks to judge a competition here at BYUH, and they all gave us a nice fireside while they were at it. Over the course of the fireside, I had the thought more than once, “Man! Jon Schmidt is so cool!” and I want to share my thoughts, because I’m sick and tired of hearing pianists talk smack about him. #pianosnobs #hatersgonnahate #youwishyouhadapersonalcellist

Here I bring you ten reasons I love Jon Schmidt:

1. He makes really awesome youtube videos. A few of my favorites are Me and My Cello, Beethoven’s Five Secrets, Let It Go, and Story of My Life
2. His music is accessible, and has opened the Classical Piano world to many who wouldn’t otherwise have found the door.
3. He is a man of incredible faith. Everyone at the fireside said good stuff, but man, whenever Jon spoke, I thought the building was going to explore because the Spirit was so powerful. He was testifying like crazy and just making me want to be a better person.
4. He has a cellist. Do you have a cellist? I didn’t think so.
5. He’s a family man. I’ve heard him talk about his family on several occasions, and you can tell that he does what he does for them.
6. He can play upside down. #legit

7. He knows how to give a fireside. Sometimes people have awesome skills, but they just don’t know how to talk about it. #MichaelPhelps. Not so with Jon Schmidt. He is a dynamic, engaging speaker, and just really fun.
8. He writes funny comments in his music. One of my favorite’s is a rhythmic cue for a particularly difficult rhythm: Strawberry, ice cold lemonade.
9. He’s made piano cool. The High School jock could be seen playing the piano in the school talent show because of Jon Schmidt. #takeabow

10. He’s humble. You know how you can kind of tell when a person is full of himself? I’ve never gotten that vibe from Jon. He just seems down to earth and ready to give all the glory to God. I really admire that. He also made everyone around him look good by complimenting them and adding to what they said. I love it when people do that!

Say what you will about his music or his playing style, I think he’s done for the music world what J.K. Rowling has done for the literate world.

A Few Things

Aloha! I hope you’re having a happy Sunday! I had a great, productive week, and I wanted to share just a few things from the week.

1. We celebrated PI DAY OF THE CENTURY at Ted’s. #ofcourse #chocolatehaupia #3.14159265359

2. My roommate Min gave me a life-changing gift last week: a RUNNING BELT. (not pictured. This is just to give you an idea.) #fivestars #wherehaveyoubeenallmylife

3. #projectbanana continues successful!!!

4. I went to our school’s production of “The Importance of Being Earnest” twice this week, and cried tears of laugter both times. #OscarWilde #Found???? #Itproducesvibrations

5. #FreedomWriters has now entered my top ten. Excellent movie. #mydream #whenIgrowup

6. I attended a #TheLeaderInMe conference at Lehua Elementary in Pearl City this week. The Leader In Me program is an adaptation of Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of highly effective people for Elementary schools. #soinspiring Kids rise to the expectations we set for them.