The less you speak, the more you hear.

Alright, first thing I feel like I need to do is preface that the title of my blog is not to say that people talk to much or anything like that, but to simply state something I've learned over the years of my existence. Got it? Good! Now then, onto writing my thoughts.

So, just the other day I was over at a friends apartment with a lot of other people from the RFC group. We had a fantastic dinner followed by playing games and just enjoying each others company. Then, one of the people there commented that I hadn't really said a lot that night and was wondering why that was. My friend who's apartment we where in, a person that I just happened to have a conversation on this subject before, was quick to say that I liked to listen because it's how I learn. And so that's what I want to explain in this blog, my love for listening.

My childhood is probably where this began, even if I really didn't know it back then. My sister was always one to talk and try to get attention when we were both kids, so I would usually spend most of my time listening to her, not by choice most of the time mind you. Also, most of my friends that lived in my neighborhood were kinda of the commanding type, ones who always just wanted to do what they wanted to do, so I would just listen to what they said and follow suit. As I grew up though, I began to see listening as something that was not something I just had to do, but what I wanted to do.

One memory that always sticks out in my mind when I think about my love of listening is back during my first year as a senior camper at my church camp, Burnt Cabin. I had always loved that place ever since I was a little boy, but that is a story for a different time. As for how it pertains to now, well we have to go to the last night of camp that year. You see, at camp they allow all of the senior campers, that is going into 9th grade and up, to stay up as long as they want on the last night. My best friend in the youth group was a few years older than me and liked to invite me to hang out with him and a lot of the older members in the youth group when they did stuff. So this night a few of the older campers were just sitting at a stone table, and me and him went to join them. I probably sat there for over 3 hours as I just listened to them talk about everything from school to memories to faith. People would get up and leave and others would come and sit, but I just sat there and enjoying learning so many different things from these people. I can't say for sure, but if I had to guess I would say that I couldn't have said more than 10 words during that whole time, but that didn't matter at all to me. From then on, I would see how much just listening could do for me in my life.

Over the next few years, I tried to do a lot less speaking and a lot more listening, and it sure did help me out like nothing else. It helped me to make great friendships that I would never want to lose, especially with people who I met in different states and such that I may not see but once a year. I also think it helped me to be able to care more about the people I already I had in my life. And one think I know it did for me is help to grow my faith in God and get a lot closer to him than I had been in the past, and that I know is the best thing of all.

In conclusion, listening is a skill that nearly everyone has, yet I believe few master. I've been told I am a great listener in the past, but I still believe I have a lot to learn before I can master it. Do I think I'm a good listener? Well, I'm not really sure what all that kind of title entails. There are a lot of times I wish I would speak up, and other I wish I wouldn't have said anything. I can be loud at times, just as I can be way to quite at others. But one thing I do know is that I truly do love to listen, even though sometimes I don't seem like (sorry mom and dad!). And I don't how this love will help me in the future, but I know that in the past it sure has done a lot. As for what it is doing for me in the present, well it is just something I am using to learn more about all of the wonderful friends I have met here in college. The more I listen, the more I know about them, and that is something that keeps me smiling.

True Music

So I was going to go to sleep about an hour ago, but then proceeded to get on to YouTube. That hour I spent not sleeping was used very well, as I watched videos of performances by a capella groups. They got me going and so happy, that I figured I had to blog about it. Because if there is a style of music that is better than the rest, it has to be a capella.

My parents were the first ones to introduce me to the sound of a capella. When I was a kid growing up, my dad would play tapes of the christian group Acapella. It was my absolute favorite to listen to. I would always sing along and soon had every word memorized from every song. As I grew I would still listen to them every now and then, but that was about the only a capella group I knew about. I think when I was in middle school we even went to one of their concerts. It was amazing and I think I got like 2 or 3 Cd's there to listen to. It wasn't until a few years back though that I really got into a capella music.

So I'm not sure what year it actually started, but a show called the "Sing-Off" began and it is easily one of my favorite shows ever. If you have never heard of it, it is a show like American Idol, but instead of single singers, it has about 12 a capella groups come on and compete for a record deal. Me and my whole family would always make sure to watch it anytime it was on. From there, I started to really start enjoy a capella music as much as I do now. For instance, last year I went to a concert for a group called Straight No Chaser. That concert was probably the best one I have ever been to, and I've been front row at a Styx concert so that shows how much I enjoyed it.

You see, the beautiful thing about a capella music is that it just lets you actually feel the music and not just listen. Even though a lot of a capella groups just sing songs that have already been released, I end up liking the a capella version of those songs more than the original. A capella groups also are some of the coolest people as well. They just know how to have fun while singing and are able to show their own personalities and add their own twists to each song, making it that much more enjoyable. I still have to say that Acapella is the best at doing this. Anytime I am struggling with things in my life, I can just put in my headphones and listen to them and it just helps me remember what is important in life and how I should be living.

In closing, a capella music is something that I hold very dear to me. I've always wanted to try to be in an a capella band, but that's kinda hard when you have no musical talent at all. Even so, I love it so much and anytime I hear it, I know that it will help me to keep smiling.

Here are a few of my favorite groups to listen to:

Committed (Currently have one album out that is fantastic!)

Straight No Chaser (Very fun group, especially live!)

Acapella (Just simply fantastic, plain and simple.)