Beauty in Music: "Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything". -Plato

Yes, this video is long. But it is worth it. "Ocean", by John Butler is a miracle on a guitar. It will give you goose-bumps. This song is the definition of beauty in music. It's moving, inspiring and beautiful.

Here is more information on John Butler...

http://www.guitartoneoverload.com/2010/07/16/guitarists-the-tone-of-john-butler/

Beauty in Artwork

The Starry Night is a very popular painting by Vincent van Gough. The painting depicts the view outside his sanitarium room window at night, although it was actually painted from memory during the day. Since 1941 it has been in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
Every time I've seen this picture is restaurants, shops and in homes I have always that of it as beautiful. It's nothing crazy, or even really unique but I believe it holds beauty in the calming blue colors and the peaceful city.

http://www.googleartproject.com/museums/moma/the-starry-night

Something Beautiful That I Have Done, Taken Part of, And Lived

Choir has been a huge part of my life all throughout my high school years. I truly believe that we have one of the best choir programs in the country. We don't just sing. We focus on affecting, changing, and transforming people through the music, and through what we believe in the music.
Spirit Journey was one of the most powerful years. We had a blast and learned a ton. I can't describe the feeling that we all got while performing that concert. It was unbelievable. It was amazing.
Here is a video of something that I have done that I find beautiful. It changed me. It taught me beauty.
The song in the video was one of the songs we sings. It says, "In our world today, there are many things that we need. Love being the greatest. We all know where we need to be".
Love is the greatest beauty.

Something that is Not Beautiful

Poverty is the ugliest part of our world today. No one deserves to live a life in pain and suffering. Without poverty our world would be a much more beautiful place. We NEED to do something about this. We NEED to help these people.

Lets help these beautiful people with this ugly problem.

Video that Captures Beauty in a Remarkable Woman

Tererai Trent traveled more than 10,000 miles to make her greatest dream come true. She is now a living sign of hope for all woman and children in her country. Her strong will to fight, even though she was abused at a young age and forced to live a life she didn't want, is a beauty that can inspire millions.

Go to this link and watch her amazing story...

http://www.oprah.com/world/Tererai-Trent-Returns-to-Zimbabwe-to-Share-Her-Story-Video

As it says in the video, Tererai accomplished every one of the four goals that she hid in the tin can under the rock. In 1998, she moved to Oklahoma with her husband and their five children. Three years later, she earned her Bachelor's degree in agricultural education. In 2003 Tererai earned her Master's degree. That same year her husband was deported for abuse. She has since remarried to Mark Trent whom she met at Oklahoma State University. Finally, in 2009, she earned her Doctorate degree. After she earned all of her degrees, accomplishing everything that she had only dreamed of, she returned to Zimbabwe, unearthed her tin and checked off each goal she had accomplished, one by one. 

Spontaneous Beauty!

My example of spontaneous beauty is of something my mom recently purchased. I noticed it one evening for the first time because of it's bright orange glow. In the spirit of Halloween it was a perfect decoration. When I asked my mom what it was she told me it was a Himalayan Salt Lamp. I was attracted to it's beautiful glow and color. 

Later, I was curious to what a Himalayan Salt Lamp was so I decided to look it up. I found out that it actually had a purpose other than just looking pretty. Wether I believe if it's purpose really has worked is still undecided but if it is, than I want one of these lamps for myself! Here is a link explaining what a Himalayan Salt Lamp is used for. 

http://www.natural-salt-lamps.com/howdosaltlampswork.html

Manufactured Beauty

Ice Cream is beautiful despite what anyone says. It has a delicious, melt in your mouth beauty and is available at out Thief River Falls local Walmart:) My personal favorite is mint chocolate as you can see in the picture.

Makeup, according to every girl, is a must. This product is a beauty product designed to help us look our best. It's more than just a routine though, it is an art. It takes skill, time, and preciseness but if used correctly, is hands down beauty magic.

A Beauty That is Taken for Granted: Our Freedom as Americans

When I drive home I always pass the airport. One day last week I was driving past and it was very windy day. I was thinking about the list of things that we had to find that represented beauty just as I looked over to the American flag at the airport. It was flying around like crazy from the wind and it immediately caught my eye. I drive past this flag at least twice a day but rarely do I ever notice it or think about what it represents. For over 200 years, the American flag has been the symbol of our nation's strength and unity. It's been a source of pride and inspiration for millions of citizens. It represents that we are a free country and that we have soldiers fighting for that freedom everyday. This is a beauty that I defiantly take for granted.

Acts of Beauty: Selfless act performed by a person, a group of people, or a living thing wishing to assist or cheer someone, or simply doing something that they enjoy. It can even be an everyday act that some people take for granted, not realizing that not everyone has the ability to do so.

One act of beauty that always touches me is the innocence of children. Children can take anything ordinary and make it seem like it's the most entertaining thing in the world. They don't need parties, or malls or technology to have a good time. For example, when I babysat over the weekend the two girls in the picture, Ava and Ali, played is the leaf pile below them for at least an hour. They laughed and had smiles on their faces the entire time. They loved to rake them up and jump inside, ruining the pile. Then did the same thing over and over again. They also would play tag, chase their puppy until they would fall down from exhaustion, and climb the fence surrounding their backyard. It just brought a smile to my face that one little, simple backyard could be home to such an amusement park. And that only those children could have showed me that.

Another act of beauty that I have witnessed is the beauty of a team. Our Thief River Falls varsity volleyball team show that when a group of people working towards a similar dream they can create an unbelievable bond. This picture shows when they are extremely happy after winning the game on Tuesday against Roseau. Nothing but smiles was seen on their faces. And everyone couldn't stop hugging each other. They looked more like a family than a team. And that is an act of beauty in itself.

Artificial Beauty

Beauty can also be created, and that is where artificial beauty fits in. Design and creativity in architecture, construction, artwork, and technology are just a few areas in which beauty is created using human hands.

While walking through Thief River Falls I found artificial beauty over by the dam. Across the walkway were these beautiful windows that showed the reflection of what was behind me. It was simple, but the concept and the colors were beautiful.

Then, there was the bottom of the dam. Even though mad-made, the white rushing water was a powerful beauty. Intimidating as it is, the rushing sound was calming. Also, the red roofed buildings behind the water brought a bright color into the picture which added another artificial beauty.

Natural Beauty

Natural beauty is something that is simply enjoyable to gaze at. This type of beauty is untouched, and is beautiful without any other influence. Natural beauty is easy found in nature. 

I took a walk along the river behind my house and noticed that the leaves that were left were very few. But since they were some of the last, they looked brighter that anything else in the woods. All other colors were dark, cold, and dreary. These leaves held beauty because they were the last form of life that the summer left behind. 

Also, the river caught my eye. Water is always beautiful and when it flows calmly and quietly, it gives a feel of peace. 

Finally, on my way back to the house I noticed that the sun was low and peering through the leave less trees. It for some reason, when I took the picture, gave off a purplish color and I found that beautiful.