(Source: iheart-photos)
(Source: kari-shma)
Every Monday, a group of military veterans meets on the stage where George Strait cut his teeth. Back from the front lines, the veterans are learning how to make music.
Local musician Dustin Welch leads the songwriting workshops at the Cheatham Street Warehouse, a San Marcos honky-tonk that showcases beginning songwriters. He hopes to help veterans find solace through songwriting here as Stevie Ray Vaughan and Strait did before them.
Photos by Ralph Barrera AMERICAN-STATESMAN
Didn’t They - Taylor sings to God in this heartfelt, emotional tribute to the victims of the Sept 11 terrorist attacks. An unforgettable masterpiece told from different perspectives on that day which will give you chills and leave you in tears the first few times that you listen to it. Perhaps the best lyrics she has ever written.
I don’t usually reblog unreleased things because I believe theyre unreleased for a reason… but this one, its special.
‘Leave you in tears the first few times’
Try every time
I still remember the first time I heard this so clearly.
You call yourself a free spirit, a “wild thing,” and you’re terrified somebody’s gonna stick you in a cage. Well baby, you’re already in that cage. You built it yourself. And it’s not bounded in the west by Tulip, Texas, or in the east by Somali-land. It’s wherever you go. Because no matter where you run, you just end up running into yourself.
(Source: iheart-photos)
Sometimes life it takes you by the hair,
It pulls you down before you know it
It’s gone and you’re dead again.
I’ve been in places and I won’t pretend
That I’d make it out just to fall on my head.
Wake up strange and take the walk downstairs
Hit the pawn up on the corner and pay for my rent.
You know that I could not believe my own truth
Just show them what I choose, got nothing to lose.
Yeah, yeah and it’s okay,
I tie my hands up to a chair so I don’t fall that way.
Yeah, yeah and I’m alright,
I took a sip of something poison but I’ll hold on tight.
- Helena Beat, Foster the People
My dad took some pics of Gracie doing what she does best while we were in Friendswood this past weekend. I absolutely love this action shot of her. Girl’s got some mad jumps, ya heard?
I was driving back to the Big D from Houston last night when I got a text from a boy from my past. This text and the previous texts before it (we’ve been talking quite a bit lately) got me thinking about me and my fear of the big C. Commitment.
This boy, let’s call him D, is a really great guy. He’s handsome, tall, smart, has a good job, similar taste in music, his sense of humor is decent and he gets my sarcasm most of the time; basically, he looks awesome on paper and I’d be stupid to blow him off. Knowing all of this and feeling pressured to date someone, I gave him the benefit of the doubt and went out on a few dates with him last fall. One Sunday when I was on the way back from my sister’s bachelorette party in New Orleans, D called and asked if he could cook dinner for me when I got back into Austin that night. I was in the process of getting over Baseball Boy, so naturally, I jumped at the invite. Dinner was amazing (the boy can cook!) and we had a great night talking and hanging out. I actually caught myself thinking that I might have feelings for this guy. And then he kissed me. The kiss wasn’t the problem. The problem was how the situation was handled afterward. He rushed into things too fast and started calling, texting and emailing me all the time. He always wanted know what I was doing. I was suffocating. I found myself coming up with reasons to be busy so we couldn’t hang out and would even leave my phone in the car so I would have an excuse when I didn’t answer his call or respond to his text right away. Please understand that he wasn’t creepy by any means. He was doing what he thought I - and essentially every girl - wants: he was being available.
Poor D. Somebody failed to mention to him that I was not like any other normal girl, especially when it comes to nice boys. You see, in my mind, nice boys cause more heartache and tears than bad boys. They have a way of completely blindsiding you and causing more pain than you ever thought was possible. It’s like they all belong to some secret Nice Boy Society and have memorized a manual of how to break hearts in the cruelest, most life-altering way imaginable. They are able to leave a lasting impression on your life by the deep scars they leave on your heart. That being said, after having my heart shoved in a blender much like the one in the infomercial that turns iPhones into powder by nice guys so many times, I run as fast as I can when I see that train a coming. Hence why I ran and continue to find myself running from D.
Nice guys are the reason I like bad boys. Everyone knows bad boys break hearts. That’s why no one is honestly that surprised or hurt when their bad boy relationship comes to a predictable end. It’s like ripping off a band-aid; you know it’s coming and it stings a little but before you know it, you’re back to normal again. You never picture the rest of your life with a bad boy. You don’t imagine him proposing. You don’t name your future kids. You probably never even make it Facebook official. You never fully let your guard down because you know it’s only temporary. Bad boys won’t promise you the world and then pull the rug right out from underneath you when you’re not looking because bad boys won’t promise you anything. You expect all the bad that the bad boy brings, but more importantly, you accept it. There is a consistency about my relationships with bad boys that I’ve come to appreciate: they always end before they even begin.
More often than not, especially lately, I find myself playing the bad boy role with these nice, great on paper guys. I’ve dated a few of these guys since I’ve moved to Dallas and find myself cringing the second they tell me they like me. Next thing you know, I’m avoiding phone calls and only talking to them when I’m drunk and want attention. Classy, I know. D and I were drunk texting Saturday night (of course) and he called me out for running away from him last year. I don’t blame him one bit because I would have done the same if I were in his situation, but as much as he wants me to, I can’t reassure him that I won’t run again. I don’t know why I run. I don’t know why I get so scared. Obviously it has a lot to do with my past relationships and all my broken hearts, but I also think it has a lot to do with a fear of settling. Commitment is a big deal and I’m scared that if I settle for something good right now, I’ll miss out on something great in the future. I know that makes me sound so naive and you’re probably thinking to yourself, “stupid girl, relationships aren’t always about the fireworks and butterflies… don’t be too picky or you’ll end up a crazy cat lady!” And while you have a valid point, I value my future happiness too much to chance it on someone I’m not head-over-heels crazy about. I want to find a nice guy that I can be crazy about from the get-go, not somebody that makes me feel claustrophobic within the first month. Is that honestly too much to ask for? Yeaaahhh, I didn’t think so. Sorry, D, but I guess it’s safe to say that our ship has officially sailed.
Wow. This is seriously one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. Speechless…
I absolutely love the original version by Christina Perri, but this is just stunning. Absolutely stunning. Kudos to you, Sam Tsui!
