A Head Full of Dreams Album Review

I love full albums. There are few things that I get more excited about. When a new album from an artist I like comes out, I make a concentrated effort to listen to the full thing as soon as possible. The release dates of the two most recent Coldplay albums have been among the most exciting days of my life so far. Today I'm going to be reviewing the Coldplay album that was released December 4th, A Head Full of Dreams.

First Impression: I'm going to be completely honest, I wasn't absolutely thrilled. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but it definitely wasn't what I got. However, I could definitely see some promise in the album, so I downloaded two of the songs onto iTunes (which was a mistake, you can get the full album for free on the Amazon Music app if you have prime) and went to work. 

Second Time Through: When I got home from work, I had some homework to do so I opened up my laptop and started streaming the album through Amazon the second time around. This time, I started to catch the vision of the album, and I found myself loving every single song. It's definitely a unique album, and although it took a little bit of time to get used to it, it's really quite great. In fact, it has become one of my very favorite albums of all time.

Highlights: The two things that stand out most are the bridge in Up&Up, which is spectacular, and how absolutely incredible Chris Martin and Tove Lo sound together in Fun.

Favorite Songs: Honestly, it's just too early to know what my favorite songs off the album are. I can tell you that so far I've probably listened to Everglow, Army of One, Fun, Birds, and Up&Up more than the other songs. 

Do I Recommend AHFOD? I love it. Obviously I can't guarantee that you will too, but I definitely suggest that you give it a try and listen with an open mind, since it's definitely going to surprise you.

Until next time,

Rachel 

(I feel like having a song of the day would be a bit redundant, and I couldn't decide if I wanted to use a song from the album or not. Hence, no song of the day.)

Mood Board

I'll admit that college has put me in a bit of a creative slump. I've had so much homework and I've been making so many new friends, and it has all been wonderful. However, I get a lot of joy out of creating beautiful things of my own free will and I keep thinking that I need to get myself out of my slump.

Cue my wonderful friend Emma Heath. She has a beautiful poetry blog that I always love reading, and today she decided to write something a little bit different and shared part of her creative process. (Read it here: http://emmaheath.blogspot.com/2015/12/my-creative-process-part-1.html). She talked about creating a mood board, something that I used to do but haven't done in the past year. I was so excited by the idea of making another mood board that I started working on one immediately. If you didn't take the time to read her post (although you seriously should) a mood board is a collage of pictures that you put together to illustrate how you're feeling. Sometimes mood boards are very organized and have a central theme and other times you just throw whatever you love together and enjoy the way that it turns out.

The board that I made is somewhere between organized and disorganized. There's definitely a theme of peace and cool colors but the subject matter is extremely varied. I used images from Pinterest and I've linked to the pins below.

 1. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/510947520203750055/ 

 2. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/510947520204066491/ 

3. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/510947520203755704/

4. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/510947520204033005/

5. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/510947520204054793/

6. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/510947520203477972/

7. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/510947520203859883/

There's nothing like creating something you love. It puts everything into perspective. What's your favorite kind of creativity?

Until next time,

Rachel

Song of the Day: Do it Now, Ingrid Michaelson

Also, can we just take a moment to appreciate the fact that Coldplay is releasing a new album TOMORROW? I'm absolutely beyond excited. 

Thanksgiving

It's a day late, but I thought I'd post about some of the things that I'm thankful for. I've really been blessed and writing down things you're grateful for is a sure way to be astounded by how blessed you really are.

Wednesday morning, breakfast at Kneaders with some of my favorite people

I'm grateful for families.

I'm grateful for the gospel.

I'm grateful for music.

I'm grateful for LDSBC. 

I'm grateful for siblings who are my best friends.

I'm grateful for parents who give the best advice.

I'm grateful for the actual best roommate ever.

I'm grateful for Mr. Martineau, who is still the best teacher I've ever had.

I'm grateful for Charles Dickens and Leo Tolstoy and P.G. Wodehouse.

I'm grateful for books in general.

I'm grateful for people who go out of their way to be kind.

I'm grateful for friendships that have stood the test of time.

I'm grateful for friends who text you just to tell you that they love and appreciate you.

I'm grateful for late night adventures.

I'm grateful for protein bars and peanut butter.

I'm grateful for joggers.

I'm grateful for my enormous extended family.

I'm grateful for those who made modern medicine possible.

I'm grateful for missionary emails.

I'm grateful for hugs.

I'm grateful for nature.

I'm grateful for a mom who taught me to appreciate great art.

I'm grateful for puns. 

I'm grateful for home teachers and visiting teachers.

I'm grateful for amazon prime.

I'm grateful for Jane Austen and Jane Austen movies.

I'm grateful for Star Wars.

This list could go on forever but I'm really just so grateful that I live in a world with so much goodness and that I have access to so much of it. What are you grateful for?

Until next time,

Rachel

Song of the Day: Laws of Gravity, by Rubik

Elevator Ettiquette

I go to the actual best school on earth, LDS Business College. One of the few downsides of this school is that since everything in the school is in one building the elevators are absolutely jam packed in the breaks between classes. Of course I usually take the stairs, but sometimes I am just 100% done and I take the elevators.

So what do you do when, in the words of my roommate, the elevators are "tight like unto a dish"? I am here to answer your questions.

1. Do not joke about the elevator falling! Elevators are actually one of my greatest fears and I seriously do not appreciate people making dumb jokes about US ALL DYING. How is that even funny?

2. Make sure that everyone gets off, before you get on. This should be obvious, but for some reason it isn't. It's not like you're going to be getting to your floor faster because you made it harder for people to get off the elevator. In particular, make sure that anyone who is in a wheelchair or on crutches is allowed to get off first.

3. If you are only going up 2 or 3 floors or going down less than 4 or 5 floors, please don't use the elevator. Unless you really can't, but "I just like taking the elevator" does not count.

4. Do not PDA. I have not had much experience with this one in particular but after polling some of my friends apparently this is a big deal. Let's be honest here, PDA is something to try to stay away from in general, but when literally everyone in the elevator is squished against each other, it's pretty much super disgusting.

5. If you're standing right by the buttons, ask people which floor they need to get to. When someone misses their floor it's super frustrating for them and keeps the elevator system from working efficiently.

Hopefully these helpful tips will serve as a good reminder of how to behave properly on any elevator, even if you don't attend LDSBC. Have a fun and safe time with my least favorite form of transportation!

Stay tuned for more thoughts on any and all subjects from yours truly!

Rachel

Song of the Day: Shot at the Night, by The Killers

Introducing Me

Hi, I'm Rachel. I'm a first-year College Student at LDS Business College (the best school in the world), and I'm a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints! (mormon.org)

 

I love smiling. I love Star Wars and Harry Potter and Owl City and Coldplay and The Killers and Taylor Swift. Music is pretty much my favorite thing. I love people and I'm so grateful for my family and friends. I love learning, especially about the history of medicine and public health. I'm majoring in Social Media Marketing and I'm loving it. I love the word love a lot- I'm one of those people who thinks that most things deserve 5 stars and most people are perfect 10s. My perfect day would include curry, laughter, and good books.

I'll use this blog to share my thoughts on all sorts of subjects. I'll post about clothes and scientific issues. I'll share funny stories and spiritual insights. Basically this blog will be a place to share everything that matters most to me. I hope you enjoy learning a little bit more about me!

Until next time,

Rachel

Song of the Day: (Every time I post I will share one of my favorite songs) Miracles, by Coldplay.