Hello friends! So, I know that I was going to post a blog about YouTube, but I think I should take a moment to reflect today. A year ago, yesterday I graduated high school. It has been a crazy year, and I have grown and changed a lot. I am going to walk you guys through parts of my senior year, the summer after my senior year, freshman year, and now.

Senior Year:

Let me start this out by saying I am in no way academically smart. My strongest subjects are Music, History, and English (somewhat). For the first two years of high school I took Honors English classes, and they were SO easy. My freshman year teacher didn’t do anything. All we did was watch movies on the books we were supposed to be reading. Sophomore year English got a little harder because we actually read some books and did stuff, but my class was full of clowns, so we didn’t get very far. Junior year KICKED MY BOOTY! My teacher took her job seriously, and actually taught us stuff. When senior year came around, I decided to take a regular English class which, by the way, was such a good idea! My teacher was so cool. He randomly spoke German, and none of us understood. It was quite hilarious.
I became section leaders for my precious Alto 2, AKA THE BEST PART DON’T @ ME, and I cherish every memory we made. I did not make All-State during my senior year, but I’m so happy that I didn’t make it. It allowed me to audition for Lee’s School of Music. I also became the unofficial/official student director for Select, which I loved. I also adopted pretty much all of the freshman, and became the choir mom. My last choir concert was so emotional for me. I directed a song for Ladies of Select, which was definitely low-key a train wreck but it’s ok! Select sang, probably the most important song ever, called ‘Leonardo Dreams of his Flying Machine’ by Eric Whitacre. It took us TWO YEARS to pull this song off, and we did it and it was fantastic! I went to Disney with Select to compete in Festival Disney, and WE WON! We got a 97/100 (I think??). It was such a fun trip, and I have so many memories.

I said goodbye to my friends, my favorite teachers, and the rooms where I found who I am. It was in the HHS choir room where I came to terms with my calling to be a choir director/music educator. It was in the choir room where I grew. It was in Mr. Gilbert’s room where I realized that I should accept my past for what it is, and grow from it not live in it. It was in Mr. Jones’ room where I laughed the hardest and heard some of the best stories about everything.
Graduation day was the best/worst day of my life. I cried my eyes out. I was so happy to get out of high school, but I was so unsure of what laid ahead of me. I realized that all I had to do was trust God, and he would take care of the rest. Easier said than done.

Summer After Senior Year:

The summer started off with a bang. I cut my hair off! I did the big chop. I have never regretted doing it because my hair is so much healthier now. After cutting my hair I decided that I was going to do something for myself, so I went to Songwriter’s Night at Rock Castle, which if you’re in the Nashville/Hendersonville Area (Hendersonville is 15-30 minutes away from Nashville by the way) then I HIGHLY recommend going. They always have local singer/songwriters who come out and perform, and I love going.

Another thing I did during the summer was attend my last year at summer camp. I go to camp at Camp Hickory Hills, and the age limit for senior camp is 18 so it was my last year. I was sad to see my time at camp come to an end, but I am grateful for the experiences I’ve had over the years. Then came the worst moment of my life. In June my grandfather, on my dad’s side, died. It was a very hard time for me. A week after he passed, I went to this thing Lee was hosting for us incoming freshman called Lee U Launch. It was at Top Golf, and I had SO MUCH FUN! It was nice to do something that was going to distract me and occupy my time.

Towards the end of summer my mom and I went on vacation, which we haven’t done since I was a little girl. We went to Gatlinburg and we had such a relaxing time. After we ended our vacation, mom and I went on one last adventure before moving me into college. Mom and I went to Oklahoma! We were leading worship and preaching at a women’s conference in Oklahoma, and while we were there, we went to visit my cousin Tyler. We had the best time, and I miss him!!!

Freshman Year:

All I can say about my academics this past year is oof, but I tried my best. I really struggled with myself this year. I was dealing with identity issues, singing voice issues, family issues, and mental health issues. It definitely challenged me, and now I know what not to do for my sophomore year. Let me give you guys a little list of the things I did this year, so I don’t drag out this post for forever.

• Sang in the Freshman Choir at UChurch
• Launched my own business/merch store!!
• Got into EVS (Evangelistic Singers)
• EVS sang with Travis Greene at UChurch
• I got closer with my family, which if you know me meant a lot to me
• WENT TO LONDON!
• Got a car
• Went to Florida, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Maryland for Spring Tour with EVS
• Recorded with William McDowell and Darlene Zschech in collaboration with Integrity Music

Summer After Freshman Year:

Since coming home early because of Corona, I have done a few things to occupy myself.

• I MADE BREAD! Probably my biggest accomplishment to date
• I re-launched my YouTube channel
• I am currently taking a summer class
• I have been writing letters to my friends
• I’ve been working on my craft a bit more, and studying things that I am passionate about
• I’ve been applying to places for a summer job

I will update you guys along the way of how my summer is going. That's all for now!

Bye guys!!

-Noelle-

REMINDERS: Don't forget to follow me on Insta, @noelle_janae, and Pinterest, @noelle_janae. Subscribe to my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzlTOhveDbFso6lcjBMvpFw I still have Merch for sale! ALSO use my code NoelleA15 to get some $$$ off your order at Elevated Faith OR use THIS LINK: https://bit.ly/348HJYb 

HELLO FRIENDS! Long time no talk. I am done with school, and I have one summer class starting tomorrow. I’m actually very excited for this class, but this post isn’t about classes. Here is the last of my list of my favorite YouTubers.

1. Rowena Tsai - I have definitely mentioned Rowena before and I still LOVE her content. She makes lifestyle videos that I binge watch on nearly a daily basis.

2. Linh Truong- Linh is a new edition to my list! She’s an Asian-American and she CRACKS me up! She makes whatever videos she wants, and I highly recommend watching her.

3. Coffee & Bible Time- Coffee & Bible Time has been a longtime favorite of mine. They make Christian videos and other lifestyle related things. I like to watch them in the mornings and they are full of so much encouragement and life.

​4. Kiara Madisen- Kiara is also a recent favorite of mine. She makes college videos, and I usually binge watch her videos when I’m bored. She goes to University of Oregon, and it’s really interesting to see how other college kids live their lives.

​5. Angelika Oles- So Angelika is a UK YouTuber who does drama videos. She just states facts and then gives her opinion on the facts. She also has a second channel where she does beauty and other types of videos.

That’s the end of my list! Sorry this is such a short post. I’m gonna be back with another YouTube related post next week, so look forward to that!

I’ll see y’all later!

-Noelle-

​REMINDERS: Don't forget to follow me on Instagram, @noelle_janae, and Pinterest, @noelle_janae. I still have Merch for sale! ALSO use my code NoelleA15 or this link: https://bit.ly/348HJYb to get some $$$ off your order at Elevated Faith!