Stay Classy, 2013

Ya know what? I think I can say that I kicked 2013's butt. This year has been SO epic. I think it was the one of the most accomplished years of my life! I'm honestly not sure if 2014 can beat out this year. Well, that would be pretty wicked awesome if it did. 

January was full of college auditions and then my last year of AllState Orchestra. I sure did miss a lot of school from that! So worth it, though. 
February: I got to participate in a program called the Honors Performance Series that performs in Carnegie Hall. That was probably one of the coolest experiences of my life. I have never felt so much adrenaline during an orchestra performance. That hall is seriously the bomb diggity. 

Picture doesn't really do justice, but that hall is HUMUUUNGO. I felt like an ant on that stage. 

March was a fun month! I had officially decided on attending BYU-Idaho after receiving an amazing scholarship offer, and a few days later I vacationed in Kauai, Hawaii for ten days!

Beautiful Napoli Coast, Kauai. 

Shakalaka, brah. 

In April, I got to experience both Senior prom and LDS prom. Senior year is a PARTY. 

April was also full of friends coming and going. My dear friend Danielle Fox left for Her mission to Las Vegas. I felt so lonely after she left. She is doing AMAZING things, though. 

BUT THEN, I met Madi Bass and wasn't lonely anymore. I have come to realize she is basically my female soulmate. It feels like we've been best friends forever but I actually only met her this year, and now we literally talk every single day. We were both the only LDS kids in our high school so we had many things in common. I LOVE YOU BASSY. 

May? I GRADUATED FROM FLIPPIN HIGH SCHOOL!

I was glad to be done, but I do not regret one minute of my time at All Saints Episcopal School. I love every single one of my teachers. They really helped me go where I wanted and needed to go. 

Since BYUI didn't start until the middle of September, I had a looong summer. I did get to go visit the beautiful campus in June. Then, I vacationed in Florida for a week and experienced something called sunburn. A photo is not necessary here. 

I also attended Music in the Mountains in Durango, CO in July and enjoyed lovely summer mountain weather and the magnificent music.

I got super bored in August aside from my 19th birthday in Port Aransus, TX with my dad. At that point I was REALLY ready to get out of Texas and go to college already! Plus, Texas during August isn't exactly. . . dry. Blegh. 

September-December: COLLEGE. First semester. Success. I survived with a decent GPA, improved a lot as a musician and person, and made life-long friends. 

Dr. Hansen, my violin professor. One of the best teachers I have ever had! Yes, I'm in a cow suit, and he's in a knight suit here. 

This just about sums up my college weekends. 

Ok, now I gotta gush on all the famous people I met this year. I can't help myself. Did I mention this year was like the definition of STARSTRUCK?!

Joshua Bell-world class violinist. He came to Bass Hall in Fort Worth and I got his autograph after! He knows my violinmaker, Jan van Rooyen because he has actually made a few violins for him! The current chin rest on my violin actually used to belong to Joshua Bell. Fun fact. 

Rachel Barton-Pine, world class violinist. This inspring woman performed at Music in the Mountains. She was in a terrible subway accident several years ago and lost her legs. Luckily it did not affect her playing!

Mark O'Connor, world class fiddler. I got to meet Mark O'Connor after my college audition at Utah State. He was so awesome and chill. 

Josh Groban- singer. Ok, most of you know this one. It's a long, but amazing story. Read the experience here: http://cristaguthrie.blogspot.com/2013/10/adventure-groban-mission-possible.html

Jenny Oaks Baker- world class, LDS violinist. Jenny came to BYUI and did a concert. She played absolutely beautifully and I was so touched when she had a girl who had lost some fingers on her left hand and was able to still play violin with a special violin made BACKWARDS for her. It was incredible! Anything is possible!!!!

This year would have been a failure without my savior. I seriously can't thank The Lord enough for all the blessings in my life. I have a wonderf family, great friends, and I have been blessed gifts and talents and high quality education. Brownie points to JC for getting me through all the bumps this year! (I know I just listed off the awesome parts, but there were definitely stressful times as well.) 

Let's hope 2014 treats us all nicely. Happy New Year.