Chapter 1: The Beginning

So, in order to be a more techno-savvy teacher, I am creating this blog for one of my classes, and I  will most likely continue this blog after the class is over.  It gives me something fun to do, and in a format that is to my liking.

I bet you are wondering who I am (if you don't know already). I am about to tell you a very brief summary of life, and who I am. After all, 30 years is quite a life to sum up. My full name is something that few people know, and I want to keep it that way. For that reason, you may call me LJ Bates. I am the youngest of six children, having four older sisters and an older brother. I was born in Arizona, but I physically could not live there, so when I was about 6 years old, my family moved up to Idaho. I grew up as a normal child with one exception: I don't like sports all that much.  Except for running. When I was in the 6th grade, I started playing the clarinet, and played it all through high school. I had so much fun in high school bands that I decided that is what I want to do with my life: teach music. Fast forward to after graduation: I got a job in order to pay for my mission. Side note: I went to high school in Nampa, and after graduation, try though I might I couldn't find a job. So we moved up to Idaho Falls and within three days of moving there, I was employed. After working for a year, I had saved enough money to pay for a large part of my mission. I was called to serve in the California Fresno Mission to teach in the language of Spanish. So, yes, I was pretty much fluent in Spanish when I came home.

After my mission, I worked for another year in order to save money for college. When college started, I kept my job and thus I am working my way through college. This has proven both blessing and curse, because my job cuts into my study/practice time. Even so, I still love music, and I still want to teach it. It just may take a bit longer to get there than other people might take. I first attended college at BYU-Idaho in Rexburg, the land of eternal winter. OK, it may not be eternally winter there, but it sure does feel like it (as I am sure my friends still there would agree). I enjoy playing the clarinet in band, and I also like learning the music theory.  My favorite music classes have been a class on Scoring and Arranging, and a class on Atonal harmony, 12-tone rows, and 20th century music. These classes helped me reaffirm that this really is what I want to do.

Anyways, that is me (or a part of me) in a large-ish nutshell. Please look forward to further chapters of the Book of Bates.

Also, here is a picture of my family, whom I love dearly.