I am going home!!!!

I go home on Saturday!!! I seriously cannot wait!!!!! I'm so sick of packing and performing (I have four performances this week...3 of the Brahms Requiem, one of the most beautiful and difficult pieces of music ever, and a concert for commencement tomorrow...I'm exhausted!) I'm just so ready to go home!!! Well, now I have to go back to my apartment and finish packing and everything. One more performance tonight and one tomorrow morning and I am DONE!!! YAY!!! (I just got on the computer to check my flight info..now I have to go back to life...oh well!) I hope everyone has a wonderful day!!!
~Manda

For my aunt Leanne

I saw you were looking for a logo thing...well, with most of my finals being over and all, I thought I might try...this is my idea! It's way simple, but I thought I'd try anyway. Hope you like it! (Oh yeah...I just put the funky background on so you can see it better)
~Manda

My life history

Amanda McClellan’s life history…At least up till now

Amanda McClellan was born to David and Lynda McClellan August 6, 1989 in Provo Utah. She is the oldest and the only girl of four children. Her mom had this to say to her about her birth, “I was tired, and I'm sure you were too, but I remember when the doctor first handed you to me. You were crying, and I tried to comfort you. The doctor said ‘It's good for her to cry.’ I knew that, but it still hurt me to see you cry. That's the way I feel about you still. You face adversity so very well. Just face it head on. And, you still cry (not quite so often anymore) and I still want to console you, to comfort you, to make the pain go away, but then I hear the doctor's voice "It's good for her to cry," and I know it is.
“Later that day, while we were still in the hospital, we were in another room and family was coming to see us. The sun was shining through the window, and with your bright eyes, you sought out the light. You kept turning your head and eyes to see the light. I remember looking at the sun reflecting in your eyes, and although it was very bright, you kept turning your eyes toward the window. You still do that. You are constantly seeking the light--whether it be in those you associate with, in the activities you engage in, or in the projects you chose to work on--you are always seeking the light. That is why the light is so bright in your eyes!”
In a blog her dad posted about her he said, “Amanda was born several years ago in a land far from where we are now. She was extremely bright and found great delight in regaling us with clever anecdotes, humorous quips, and melodic poetry. She was a very articulate little girl - a natural leader among her peers, yet comfortable discussing current events with adults. I, of course, am a bit biased in my assessment of her prowess. She shares 50% of my genetic material after all.”
Amanda and her family (at the time it was just her parents, her, and her younger brother Davis) lived in Utah till summer of 1994, when Amanda was four. That summer Amanda, Davis, and their mom visited Amanda’s grandparents in Argentina, where her grandpa was currently serving as area president, while her dad finished his undergraduate. This was the summer that Amanda decided that she wanted to go on a mission. Later that year her family moved to Baton Rouge, Louisiana where Amanda started school. In Louisiana Amanda attended three different schools, Highland Elementary School, Baton Rouge Center for the Visual and Performing Arts, and Greenville Elementary School. In first grade she started wearing glasses and was admitted into the gifted and talented program, two rather significant events in her life.
In March of 1999 Amanda’s dad received a post doctoral fellowship with the Japanese government which took her family to Yokohama Japan. Amanda had almost finished fourth grade when her family moved, but due to the different school year and time of her birthday Amanda had to retake fourth grade in Japan at Fujigaoka Shogaku.
In December of 2000 Amanda’s family returned to Utah when her dad got a job as a BYU professor. Here Amanda made up for the extra year of fourth grade by attending half a year of sixth grade at Cascade Elementary. After sixth grade Amanda attended Canyon View Junior High School. Things got a little rocky for her here (as things generally do for Junior High aged kids) but through these years her passions for singing, theater, art, music, and writing grew.
After attending CVJH she went on to Orem High School. Because she had lived on the campus of Louisiana State University (whose mascot is Mike the tiger) she was extraordinarily excited to be a tiger again, plus the blue and gold colors of Orem High being similar to LSU’s purple and gold. Although this may seem trivial and inconsequential this actually could give quite a bit of insight into her personality. Who knows, she really was pretty psyched about it! But even with all this excitement during her sophomore year she heard about a new charter school on the campus of what was then Utah Valle State College, Utah County Academy of Sciences.
While attending UCAS Amanda was on the Science Olympiad team for the school as part of the Forensics team, which she and her partner received fourth place at the event, and the Disease Detective team, which she and her partner placed eighth. She was also in the choir club, which her mom directed, as well as many other clubs. At the end of the school year she was voted Most Likely to Win American Idol out of all the students in the school. She also decided to run for student government where she ended up becoming Senior Class President.
The 2006-2007 school year, Amanda’s senior year, was exciting with student government, a total of 35 college credits, seminary, and her first job (at KFC/A&W). Following this rather eventful year of school Amanda received her high school diploma, her associate’s degree, and held her first large recital. She had been planning on attending BYU in the fall to study art history, but after finding out her family was moving to Maine because her dad received a job at Bigelow Labs as a scientist, Amanda realized that attending UVSC, which would, within a year, become Utah Valley University, would be a better fit for her. This turned out to be a good decision because with the change in schools she changed her major to Music Performance with vocal emphasis.
When asked to give a few words on the awesomeness of Amanda her Aunt Marilyn Scott said, “One of my most favorite memories of Amanda is seeing her at the airport when I came home from Israel. (I'm pretty sure she had her red and white polka dot dress on.) I had to keep a close eye on her because she would approach anyone and try to have a conversation with them. While I was living in Israel I genuinely missed my little 2 or 3 year old neice and I kept her letters and drawings stuck on the wall above my bed. Looking at those drawings I couldn't be prouder. Even at a young age it was Amanda's nature to make everyone smile.
“There is just not enough good to say about Amanda. When she was living in Lousiana (not sure about the age 5,6,7) she memorized all of the articles of faith and she would also take notes during General Conference. “
Now that Amanda is grown up and out of the house she is still striving for all that is good. She is constantly thinking of ways to make others happy and her cheerful disposition is very contagious. She has been blessed with many talents, and has taken that stewardship very seriously. I believe that one of her greatest joys comes in blessing the lives of others through her talents.”
Her grandma, Jeanine Mickelsen, said, “You were the first granddaughter to us your grandparents. When you were but three days old you went to a restaurant with your Grandmother and Aunts. Your proud dad made sure we had you in a buckled car seat! Yes, she is a ‘Daddy's girl’, which makes me proud - but her best friend is her mother (what more could a mother want).
“She stayed with us in Idaho Falls for about a month, it wasn't long enough. Because of her helpful ways, she learned what was in every room and drawer (making grandma's home her very own) and could/would keep things organized for me. I took it as a compliment when you brought your friends to stay with us later and said, ‘I want you to see Grandma's rag drawer!’ and with pride she pulled it out.
“Your birthday party of Idaho friends who didn't even know you but they came to celebrate with you and experienced your sincere appreciation and squeal when you opened your [Converse] tennis shoes full of money. The shoes were the greatest.
“Amanda has a positive attitude; the cup is always 1/2 full. She gives thanks for things that would go unnoticed by others. Doesn't take much to make her happy, for she even finds happiness in her trials. Her talents have brought great joy to her grandparents - acting, singing, art, interest in children, rag quilt to mention a few. She has knowledge of the gospel as she converses in General Authority terms with her grandfather. He, at times, has asked for counsel and expression of gospel ways! Her keepsakes are a great treasure to her and she keeps everything. Thank You Amanda (Oh yes, a big highlight was our trip, just the three of us to New York, New York. Forgive me for going to sleep in the Broadway Show ‘Wicked’.)”
Her Aunt Janet Lightheart said, “I remember you as a baby. I loved having you around. You were always so happy and delightful. My roommate, Bonne also loved you. I remember the two of us going out and buying a dress for you and then dressing you up. We took lots of pictures. You were such a good sport. You even let us put lipstick and sunglasses on you. You are still a joy to have around - always smiling and aware of others.”
Her Aunt Sarah Mickelsen, who recently married into Amanda’s mom’s side of the family, said, “If I could say just a thing or two about you I would say that you are always happy and willing to reach out to other people. You are very expressive and willing to share your talents which you have been blessed with. I admire you and your ability to sing etc. If only I could.”
And when asked to say something about herself, this is what she had to say, “I personally believe I talk about myself too much. Well, myself or television, either way I talk too much. But life’s been pretty fun. My parents have been awesome, letting me pursue just about everything I’ve ever wanted to pursue, even if it’s a silly idea like being a dancer or an astronomer. They’ve completely supported me in my decisions to be a vocal performer and my goal of working in television (eventually). Yeah, my parents are the reason I am the way I am…well, the good stuff anyway.”

Pam's party pics!

Ok, so I just barely posted that blog about my book and I used pics from a way fun party..just wanted to share some more of those! It was way fun!! Plus I liked my hair that night.
~Manda

My book characters!!!

Ok, so the photo shoot for my book might never happen...school's gotten really hard all of the sudden....funny how that always seems to happen right around finals. But I REALLY love the people who agreed to be in the shoot, and I really like my book (and will like it even more when I finish). So I wanted to share pics of the friends of mine who agreed to be photographed as fictional characters I made up. Eve and Chuck (the two at the bottom) are the main characters...everyone else is a supporting character. I still haven't found people for Danny (Logan and Kevin's best friends and self-absorbed, well dressed, millionaire's son), the Indiana Jones-y atractive high school English class student teacher, or Kevin (Lily's rich, snotty, kind of mean, but mostly to Chuck, boyfriend). I have ideas, but I haven't quite figured it out yet...just wanted to share a bit of my story with someone (in case this photo shoot never happens). Just having faces to go with the characters really helps me with the writing...I can't wait till the busyness of school dies down so I can start writing again!!!


This is Nick. He's Charlotte's boyfriend. He's a college freshman at UC Irvine, all the other characters are high school seniors. He helps Charlotte with her video blog (the Crime Fighting Librarian...she anonymously posts info about crimes, cataloging everything library style...it's like Gossip Girl meets Nancy Drew.) After she graduates from high school she goes to UCLA rather than UC Irvine because she gets an internship with Mutant Enemy(Joss Whendon's production company). He transfers there so he can be closer to her...some pretty funny stuff develops from that in the second book. (K, so this real person is Nate. I met him in my Institute class. He is way funny, way nice, and way cute!! Yeah...he's Nate!)


This is Spencer, the twin brother of Charlotte. He's nearly magic with computers (his sister is good, but this kid's a genius). He's had a crush on Lily since he was six. When Eve moves in she and Charlotte become best friends and that makes it so Spencer and Lily finally get to know each other. She ends up liking him...yeah, cheesy, but oh well!! (This kid is the coolest! His name is John. I met him over spring break when my friend, Shantel, and I decided to go to BYU and look at a cool exhibit in the art museum. We ended up having lunch with him...he's so super cool and nice!!! I'm so glad I got to meet him.)


These two are Andrea and Logan. At the beginning of the book Logan likes Eve, Eve likes Chuck, and Andrea likes Logan and kind of hates Eve. Andrea and Lily have been best friends since birth, and she's kind of Lily's darker half. Logan is just Logan. He thinks he's cooler than he really is and shows it by acting superior to everyone, but no one really cares. Andrea eventually gets over Logan and falls for Danny. (These two are two of my best friends from high school, Corina and Seth. They are so funny, and even funnier together!!! I love these guys!!!!)


This is Charlotte. She's Spencer's twin sister and she's obsessed with Macs and all things Joss Whedon. She's been neighbors with Lily her whole life, but they've never really talked...mostly because Charlotte thinks she's too good for Lily. Her mom died shortly after having her and her brother. She's usually a sweety, but she's got kind of an edge which makes her kind of mean to people she thinks deserve it. She's really smart and has a photographic memory. She also loves all things polka dot, plaid, and striped. (This character is mostly based on me...or who I sometimes wish I could be...but this girl, Abby, is one of the coolest, sweetest, nicest people I've ever met. She's kind of afraid of technology...we were in the same Music Tech class. She's like a teeny tiny concentrated ball of sunshine with really big, naturally curly hair. I want to grow up to be like Abby!!!)


This is Lily, the most popular girl at Ocean View Prep. She's Eve's cousin and she tries really hard to be nice to people, but her friends (Andrea, Danny, and Logan) and her boyfriend (Kevin) make that a little hard for her. She's also sometimes kind of a ditz. She's kind of the epitome of a popular, Barbie like, high school prom (and everything else) queen. (She's really Katie. A super amazing girl I met in choir. She's so pretty and nice to just about EVERYONE!!! She was Miss Davis County and is going to try for Miss Utah...she's AMAZING!!!!)


This is Chuck. He's Charlotte's best friend. He continually tries to get Eve interested in him, but she's crazy and keeps having flashbacks to her abusive ex every time he tries to touch her. He knew her in kindergarten, right before his family left Vegas for Laguna Niguel. He helps Eve with her sanity and helps her try to find out what happened to her parents. He eventually helps Eve to not be so jumpy around people...but she's still crazy. He ends up liking even crazy Eve. (It's my friend Ryan. I met him the night this picture was taken. It was at Pam's (the girl who's Eve) birthday party at Fat Cats. He was so funny dancing between every time he bowled. He saw me in the hall the computer lab the otherday and stopped and said hi...I felt so bad cuz I had no idea who he was. I saw him later that day and finally remembered who he was...I felt so bad that I forgot who he was...I mean, he's way cute....how could I have forgotten?!)


This is Eve. She's kind of crazy. Her parents and only sister died in a car accident leaving her with a ginormous inheritance (that she had no idea existed). She grew up in Vegas and moves to Laguna Niguel and learns that the car accident was actually only made to LOOK like an accident...it was actually murder. She tries to find out who killed her parents and does by the end of the book. When she first moves she likes Chuck, but he beats up Logan, so she takes pity on Logan and dates him even though she likes Chuck. When Logan tries to kiss her (and Eve freaks out because she suddenly believes Logan is her ex, Johnny, trying to hit her again) she realizes that she likes Chuck, but when Chuck tells her that the she would only ever be able to feel safe and loved around him (he pretty much tells her that he's the only one for her...it's all romantic, but this is Eve so...) she becomes stubborn and refuses to date anyone. It's only after Chuck saves her life (the second time) that she admits that she likes him...drama, I know!!! (It's really my friend Pamela Filipelli...cool name....really cool girl!!! She's in my ward and LOVES pretending to be a movie star...she is so funny! She really wanted to play this character in the photo shoot cuz she thinks she's a little crazy...and she said that even if she's not, playing a crazy person has got to be fun, right?! And I really wanted her because she fit the description of Eve, and c'mon, look at her...she's way pretty!!!...Well in this picture she's an almost scary, crazy pretty...but she is WAY pretty!!!)


This is Eve and Chuck together. (This was at Pam's party....I just thought it was a fun picture...the two main characters together...YAY!!!)

If you read this all...I'm sorry...but thanks so much! I LOVE my book and can't wait to finish it!!!! (and it's sequel...in the second one Eve becomes kind of schizophrenic and keeps seeing her dead family and evidence planted by a psycho stalker making her believe her family is still alive. They're not, but she thinks they are. There's also a superhero aspect of all this...it's cool, but I'm still working it out!)

Oh good golly! I had part of my toenail removed at the WORST time to have that done!!! I just took a Spanish test that wasn't too hard (I'm hoping that's the case and it's not just me being REALLY bad at Spanish.) I have a theory project due tomorrow and I'm only half done. I have about a million songs to memorize and a million other things to do! This semester is getting a little stressful....but on the bright side I'm no longer full of infection (I hope). (I think I'm gonna go to the doctor sometime soon to make sure it's all gone) I'm going about a mile a minute again...it's nice to have bounced back. All my teachers are kind of surprised at how chipper and lively I am compared to the past few weeks...I guess that infection was bogging me down quite a bit. Another plus to having it gone is that my shoes aren't as tight as they were a while ago and I can run again...my exercise has been seriously lax lately...not very intense.

Oh, speaking of intense, I've been having these really vivid dreams lately. A few days ago I had a dream where I was running around my apartment complex with a backpack that just kept getting heavier and heavier. I was on some secret mission and while I was running around these people kept remodeling everything. They were making everything purple, blue, gold, really rich colors and the halls kept closing in making me feel like Alice in Wonderland. Well, I finished the mission and I looked at my watch and I only had a few more minutes to get back home so I started running really fast, but as I was running my backpack was getting so heavy that I was almost falling over. I pushed harder and harder only to be passed by construction workers walking and laughing. I was going so slow and pushing myself so hard and I started crying. But I finally got to my door, looked at my watch and had only a few seconds left. I took out my keys and dropped them, so I picked them back up (which was really hard considering the infinitely heavy backpack I was carrying). I put the key in the key hole and it didn't work. I tried again and again to make it work. When it finally did I turned the doorknob, the timer went off, and I woke up...I'll never know what happens next...if there was someone behind the door or if my newly remodeled apartment blew up cuz I didn't get home fast enough or anything...cool dream though.

Another dream I had was just as intense but not as cool. I was at home in Maine and everything was as it was supposed to be except my mom had just had another baby, it was a boy and he looked just like Danny only he smiled and had a LOT of expression. Well Danny and I were hobbit clubbing it outside (the Hobbit club is where you walk around the forest barefoot and pretend you are taking the ring to Mordor...it's pretty fun!) Well all of the sudden he was dead. I only knew he was dead because of the multiple flashbacks I had. He died a different way every time. One time he jumped off the house, another time he was run over by a semi, another time he fell into the ocean and drowned...I had a lot of flashbacks of how he died. Well time went on and I was really sad cuz Danny was just gone and all of the sudden the baby was about a year old, but I think he could talk and walk just like the seven year old Danny. I told my mom I missed Danny and all she did was hand me the baby and tell me that the baby was Danny. I held the baby and looked at him. Sure he looked like Danny, but the way he smiled all the time and his voice and the way he moved was so not Danny. I went to my mom and told her that the baby wasn't Danny. She just looked at me like I was crazy and told me that he was Danny. I did this same thing with my brothers and my dad and they all told me the baby was Danny. I just got sooo mad and soooo frustrated cuz they all talked about how Danny had died but they also said this baby was Danny. I got so angry at that baby and started yelling at him, but he told me that he knew he wasn't Danny. I got even more angry and I told him how I hated that he looked like my real brother and how he stole his body and didn't even try to act like him. He asked me if I really wanted that and I just got angrier and left the baby alone in the living room and spent the rest of my dream looking at pictures of Danny because I missed him so much. The weirdest part of this dream was that my house and the roads and bridges in it were EXACTLY like they are in real life...that never happens...but that was a really disturbing dream.

And then there's my dream from last night. So I was in this cute little house with this guy who was my best friend sometimes, my boyfriend others. (It's weird cuz this guy, Dan, is someone I don't know really well...he's way cute, but he dated one of my friends a while ago and it ended badly...he's an awesome guy though...things were just weird. I've seen him a few times since he dated my friend, Lisa. Once when he was working at Olive Garden and once when he came into Coneys...he doesn't think I every remember him...I do! hahaha...but before I fell asleep I out of the blue thought that I should see if I could contact him via facebook or my friend from Institute and just see how he's doing...then I had this dream about him....weird!!!) Well, my dream. He and I were running from either the government or anti-government people...I dunno which...we were just running because we had been working for this agency/company/government thing and the bad guys (I'm just guessing we were good guys) were chasing us for something we knew or had done. So we ended up in this cute little house near a cute little neighborhood...we had a HUGE yard, but we were fairly close to the neighborhood. We were supposed to be pretending to be a newly married couple (now that I think about it this dream feels a lot like an episode of Chuck). At the beginning of the dream Dan and I were best friends and partners for the agency thingy but by the end of the dream we were in love or something....it was way weird. I woke up and was kind of confused. I never even really liked Dan and he and I were never really friends...he's actually a little afraid of me I think. I don't exactly blame him, I wasn't really nice to him (not that I was mean)...I was always really sarcastic around him. And now I feel bad after having this weird dream...so now I really AM going to try to get in contact with him if only to say I'm sorry.

So those are my dreams....hahahaha...they're kinda weird, but I like my intense dreams (I'd just like to know why in all my surrealish dreams, where floors move and halls change size and I feel like they're all in this different world that I invented in my sleep, there is so much purple...I don't even like purple...totally strange!!!!) So...I think my dreams are fun...and they distract from real life without having to stare at a screen with moving pictures for hours or spend obsessive amounts of time reading books...not that I have anything against EITHER of those things...quite on the contrary, I LOVE them both...just not so much during the school year...those seem to be more summer suitable activities. So yay huh?!

I love my life....even if...wait no....especially because I'm kind of a nerd!!! hahahaha

~Manda