It's story time, ladies and gentlemen.

Here I am, yes, just 6 days after my most recent post. Better than a month, eh? S/O to Henry boy for tellin me to write tonight.

I would like to tell y'all a story. I vividly remember the day when my Mom, my little sister, Caroline, and I were at Kohler's grocery store. Yes, once upon a time, it was called Kohler's, not Ridleys. Anyway, I remember this one day we were going to do our shopping, and right as we walked in the doors on the right hand side of the store, my mom asked Caroline and I what we wanted to be when we grew up. My response?

A cowgirl.

The Strawberry Day's rodeo. Remember? Pleasant Grove City put on the Strawberry Day's rodeo every year and I remember going when I was, oh, probably about 7 years old, and looking at the trees and the sky behind the rodeo grounds and telling my Dad that they looked like a picture, not real life. They looked so still and I thought for sure the whole scene was one giant photograph. And I remember eating bowl after bowl of Strawberries and cream and wondering what could be better in the world. And then I remember the girls on the horses. Oh, the girls on the horses! They had their hats and their boots and their flags! They rode around and around the circle on their horses carrying their flags. And that was the moment I decided that I was destined to become a cowgirl.

11 years later, here I am at Vanderbilt University studying Violin Performance at the Blair School of Music. I spend a good 14 hours a day at Blair, practicing for, I dunno, 6 or 7 of those hours, taking classes for 3 of them, and studying/eating my meals/accidentally (or not accidentally) falling asleep on the actually quite comfortable benches on the second floor. Or just the floor of my practice room, whatever is closest.

So basically my whole 7 year old fantasy of becoming a cowgirl is gone, right? Disappeared. Vanished. Completely extinct.

FALSE.

May I present to you... (drum roll please)....

MY COWGIRL BOOTS.

I, Emily Richards, have OFFICIALLY fulfilled my life long, or at least since-I-was-like-7-years-old long, dream of becoming a cowgirl. 

(No, I don't ride horses. No, I don't carry flags around circles at rodeos. And, NO, I don't fiddle. But, I have my boots and that is most definitely enough to make it official.)

But for real, those are my boots on my feet. And they're genuine leather and they smell like it, too. And I'm wearing them home on the plane ride tomorrow, which is terribly exciting. 

Also, I have another story. Who's ready? Anyone remember story time in the second grade? And everyone racing for the front row of the story time carpet? Well, race, my little kiddies, cause it's story time. 

Mom pulls me into the living room at the beginning of the summer to ask me a question. She sits me down and says, "Do you really wanna do Salute to Youth or not? Cause it's gonna be a lot of work, especially with two auditions, but I know you can do really well if you decide to put the work in. It's up to you."

And I was like, yeah, I wanna do it. 

But, my insides were like, "WHAT are you getting yourself INTO?! This is your LAST SUMMER AS A CHILD. You need to enjoy it and be lazy like kids right out of high school are supposed to do. You need to get 8 snow cones every day and stay out late every night of the week and go to Peaks 4 days of the week and Lagoon at LEAST twice a week, and if you can fit it in, MAYBE practice. You need to have FUN!"

But instead I was like, yeah, I wanna do it. 

And, I really did. I was terrified, though, cause Salute to Youth is such a long shot, and so many kids audition for just 6 maybe 7 spots on the concert to perform with the Utah Symphony. And I would have to make 2 solid recordings, one by myself, and one with my trio and I absolutely HATE recordings. And then, if I made the first cut, I would have to go out onstage twice for 2 nerve racking auditions. Not to mention the double amount of hours I would have to put in for 2 auditions and driving to and from Salt Lake a million times a week and the never ending coachings and lessons and rehearsals and never, ever, ever stopping. 

But even with all these thoughts, I was like, yeah, I wanna do it. 

So, that day, I told my insides to ZIP IT because I was in for one HECK of a summer. And every day I decided to do my best and every day I prayed a million prayers and every day I did stupid, slow intonation work, which really isn't stupid, it's really quite effective. And every day I practiced as much as I could and every day I woke up as early as my little body would let me to get stuff done. And every day I would try to eat healthy so I could have as much energy as I could and every day I would try and try and try. And every day I reminded myself that even if I didn't win and even if I got cut after the first round, and even if I lost my last chance to perform in front of the UTAH SYMPHONY, that I was going to do it, cause it's what felt right and it's what I needed, for one reason or another, to do.

Don't worry, that's not the end of the story, but in reality, it kind of is, because that? That was the best part of all. The "HEAVENLY FATHER. I CAN'T PRACTICE TODAY. HELP MEEEEEE"'s. And the carrots. You know, carrots may give you energy and all, but they're so bland. And the the drone of my tuner yelling at me to PLAY THAT STUPID D IN TUNE. Cliche, I know, but I'm a different person after this summer. I still remember sitting on the couch next to my Dad the night before live auditions and tellin him, "Dad, it's okay if I don't win, cause this process has been the best thing. I've learned so much. Tomorrow is just the icing on the cake." And, it's true. 

It's about the little moments. The millions of little moments. It ain't about winning. It's about the process, the journey, the adventure. So, as Matthew would say, "Words of Wisdom from Emily!!" (in a completely sarcastic tone of voice, might I add. He secretly loves my deep thoughts, he's just too intimidated to admit it, that's all.) I would say to make the process count. Try as hard as your little heart will let you every day. Give it your all. You will feel the rewards in your heart and you'll see it all around you.

I promise it. 

P.S. To finish the end of the story, my trio and I won and y'all should come hear us perform the first movement of the Beethoven Triple Concerto with the Utah Symphony on Tuesday, October 1st, at Abravanel Hall in downtown SLC. Also, I couldn't be more excited. It's some seriously good tasting icing, let me tell ya.

Peace.

Welcome to Nashville, y'all::

I am absolutely the worst "blog updater" that ever was. I'm determined to be better.

Where do I begin?? I've been in Nashville for one month and 6 days. It feels like I've been here a year, but at the same time, I feel like I arrived yesterday. Nashville is the place for me, and I feel like God has prepared me for 18 years to claim my little spot in the Music City of the country. I love this place with all my heart. As in, the WHOLE thing.

I came here to Nashville to study Violin Performance with the one and only Connie Heard. Also known as the most loving, nurturing, yet the most "I expect you to have learned all of the violin repertoire you've ever heard of, including all etudes and caprices, by your next lesson. Which is tomorrow."-esque person in the world. She expects a lot, let me tell ya. But you'll never know how far you can go, unless you push the limits. She's pushin, but I'm pushin, too, and I'm getting better, and that the greatest news of all. Not only a better violinist, but a better musician. Not only a better musician, but a better student. Not only a better student, but a better friend, a better listener, a better worker, a better daughter, a better sister, a better disciple, a better everything. This whole music business is teachin me a lot. It's also teaching me that I love violin, and music, more than I ever knew. This is me. I love the violin. Guys, I LOVE the violin.

So, I came for violin, right? Right, but I'm one of 5 people in the class of 2017 that did. Let me tell you what the rest of 'em came for.

So, Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt is ranked #17 on "National University Rankings" and is also known as the Harvard of the South. The average ACT score of kids coming to Vanderbilt is a 34. As in, you miss like 5 questions on the ENTIRE TEST. Let me tell you a secret. I did NOT score a 34 on the ACT. Conversations between other students and me go a little something like this:

Me: So what are you studying?
The Average Joe of Vanderbilt: Oh, I'm double majoring in NeuroScience and BioChemical Engineering with an emphasis in Mathematics with a double minor in Education Studies of the Early 1800's in Great Britain and Cello Performance along with being on the Pre-Med track. I'm also on a football scholarship. What about you?
Me: Um. I play the violin.
My good friend Joe: .....................oh! Cool!

Okay, okay. Maybe that was a slight exaggeration. But I'm telling you, it's SLIGHT. These people are insane. We'll put it this way. I came for the violin program. They came for the Top 20 school. I came for my lovely violin teacher. They came for the Harvard of the South.

So basically, I'm a little..... well.... different. Not to mention I'm 5'2'', white, from Utah, and Mormon. (wait. so you, like, don't drink ANY coffee? welll... nope. nope, i don't.)

So, yeah, I may be the minority in more ways than 1. Or in more ways than 800. Either works. But honestly, it's kind of the best thing. People notice the minority. They ask questions. They ask why I'm here for music. They ask if I fiddle (UM. NO.). They ask if I'm going out to party this weekend on Frat Row. When they hear my response, they ask, "Why not?!?!" They ask where the "Mormon Community" is. They ask why I go to the temple with my YSA branch. They ask why I don't drink coffee, they ask why I don't cuss every time I miss a note in orchestra, or stub my toe on the sidewalk. They ask, and ask, and ask, and I tell, and tell, and tell. You know, I heard a little while ago, "The best way to share the gospel is to live it."And I, a little 5'2'', white, Mormon girl from Utah, can boldly attest to that. People notice the peculiarity of this whole Mormon thing, and the best part is? They respect, admire, and commend it.

....which leads me to my next point. Church. "I may be small but wherever I go, the grass grows greener still." Yes, that is the Church in Nashville. We're small, but we're strong. We're a little family. My testimony, and forgive this terribly cheesy analogy, was a tiny little sprout when I left for college, and now it's a flower blossoming into life!! Okay, that was way cheesier than necessary, but I'm bein serious. My testimony is flourishing here. Every time I read my scriptures, or say a prayer, or go to church, or go to institute, or tell someone about Jesus, or decide to follow the Spirit, I literally feel inside of me an anchor getting a little more grounded. I feel myself being devoted more fully to God and His work and I feel like I'm one tiny, little step, yet a step nonetheless, to the celestial kingdom. Like I said, the church is small here. When it's small, you're big. And when you're big, you're not only what YOU depend on, but you're what a lot of people depend on. People look to you to help 'em out, to be an example, to be a witness of Christ. And that's really what it's all about: helpin other people get to Christ. Whether they be the kid in your music theory class, or your visiting teachee, YOU are HERE to HELP CHRIST TELL EVERYONE ABOUT HIM. Kind of cool, right? Right.

Sadly, there are lots of people that don't know about Christ, or just plain don't like Him, but whoever they are, it doesn't really matter, cause in the end, they're a lot like you. They're just tryin to do this whole "life" thing, too. So you keep bein Christ's little helper, and they'll keep doin whatever they do and y'all just love each other for what each other is worth. Which is a lot. Once you decide to love everyone despite differences, man, you find a lot of great people.

Lots of those great people I like to call my friends here at Vanderbilt. I'm meeting some of the greatest people here, guys. People like Liz, and Haley, and Mary Grace, and Henry boy, and Matthew, and Ben, and Melissa, and Allie, and Han, and Imani. Every single one of 'em knows something I don't. And every single one of 'em can share with me something that can change me. Every single person you come in contact with can have an impact if you let them. I love my people here.

At college, this is what I do. I wake up. I try to get up early every day, but sometimes it's all I can do to grab the banana on my desk and chuck it at my alarm clock hoping it pushes snooze to give me a few extra minutes of sleep. And yes this really did happen, and yes it totally worked. Boo yeah!! Anyway, I wake up, I go through my morning routine, I got to the music school, I practice, I go to class, I practice, I study in one of my two favorite spots in the music library, I practice, I eat lunch, I got to chamber, I go to orchestra, I practice a little bit more, I eat dinner, I study a little bit more, I go through my nightly routine, I crawl (literally. crawl.) into bed and I'm asleep in approximately .7 seconds. This is college life as a violin performance major, and I couldn't be happier.

I couldn't be happier. (Unless, of course, I could live 100% on M&M's, but unfortunately, that's not the case, so I just try to deal.) The college life suits me well.

There ain't nowhere I'd rather be. Till next time, y'all.

(p.s. I just ordered cowgirl boots yesterday. also know as, I'm the happiest girl in the whole world.)