Another First Day of School

It's weird to think today was my third first day of school in less than nine months. I should have taken a picture, but I didn't...sorry Mom. But it's been a great day...minus the fact that I still have to unpack most of my stuff.

I spent the weekend at Joey and Katie's apartment while I was without a home, went to my old ward on Sunday, and moved into my new apartment yesterday. Then went to dinner for a friend's birthday, then ward FHE, then to watch the Hannah Montana movie with my new roomies! It was awesome...even if we were the only ones in the theatre...

Then came home, went to bed, got up early, read, went to class, job 1, job 2 (read another email from my soldier...I'm telling you, everyone should adopt one!), temple, ate dinner...and now I'm posting. It's been a crazy few weeks, and now I get to drive to Texas with TyRee on Thursday and I'm soo excited!

Adopt a U.S. Soldier

I recently "adopted" a U.S. soldier. I just received my soldier's information yesterday and wrote him an e-mail right away. I was very excited to hear back from him already this morning! He sounds like he really appreciates having someone to talk to and just be friends with. I've already hand-written a letter and I'm going to start working on a care package soon as well.

The non-profit organization I found him through is called "Adopt a U.S. Soldier," and they need as many volunteers as they can get! Once you sign up, they assign you a deployed military service member, and then it's up to you to decide you want to communicate--snail mail, e-mail, care packages, etc. I think it's a great way to show support for our country and our troops, and to be a friend to someone who may or may not have anyone else back home to talk to. Plus, it's a great service you can do on your own time. So...if you're interested, visit http://www.adoptaussoldier.org/. Also, if you know anyone who is deployed and would like to be involved you can refer them to the same organization.

Hey Everybody

I’m trying to figure out the rest of my life and I need your help. Please vote on your top 3 choices for what you think I should do when I grow up:

--Run away and join the circus
--Write a book series that will gain Harry Potter fame
--Marry rich and just don’t worry about it
--Open a hot dog stand (this is actually quite popular in Provo as demonstrated by the success of J-Dawg’s)
--Be a mime
--Start a secret career as a singer and no one will ever know it’s me
--Be a career advisor (this is supposed to be ironic)
--Model for Victoria’s Secret
--Start a dating service…or better yet, be a dating consultant
--Be a beach bum
--Dive horses

…

Other suggestions welcome.

Way to Go Miss California

I'm so glad she gave the answer she did instead of simply giving a neutral answer because the judges would prefer it, or worse--saying something she didn't believe in.

To Kellie, Love Your BFF

The weather is finally warming up! Here are some new pictures I finally got from TyRee. We were having fun with photobooth on her computer the other day...

Lessons Learned

I've realized something life-changing this semester:

It can be extremely painful to align your will with God's will.

And I'm still in the process of learning that.

In addition, I have learned some other wonderful lessons. One of those lessons I think I've really had drilled into me is the importance of preparation and flexibility. In everything, really. Preparation in my day, and preparation in my life. For example, the past couple of months I have been working hard at researching and applying for different internships in Washington D.C. And then came along another opportunity to apply for an internship I hadn't expected, that would require me to change my summer plan, as well as my whole graduation plan, and maybe even my life plan.

At the same time, I've been preparing for grad school as much as possible. I'm not even sure if I'll decide to apply, but that doesn't matter. It's the preparation that counts. I've also thought about going on a mission, and some other possibilities for the future and I've tried to be ready for all of them. It's more work than just preparing for one thing, but I never regret it. I've learned God blesses us when we are prepared, even if we end up doing something totally different than what we originally prepared for. I think this is because it shows we're willing to work. It's important to be flexible and faithful.

Just this week I have been blessed to hear some true stories of amazing faith. I don't have room to share them here, but they were definitely inspiring. God knows every one of us and things get hard, but He always wants to bless us. I have no doubt we are His children and He loves us. The church is true :)

A Nurse for the Nursing Student

My roommate has been really sick today. I've been having fun playing mom for her, even though I've hardly been home. She's always been so good at taking care of me when I'm sad or sick that I was glad to return the favor (but not glad she was sick). Even though she has felt terrible, she aced her nursing test tonight! I love her.

Aren't we cute??



P.S. I'm almost done with my internship applications...it's been a long road and I can't wait to be finished!

Ok, so I know I'm a horrible liar even writing, but for those of you who were wondering, my last post was definitely a joke! Thanks for not believing I would be such a quitter. The truth is, school has been tough these last couple of weeks, but I love it anyway and I'm really looking forward to the Washington Seminar this fall! I would never quit, and I hope to never live at home again (no offense, Mom and Dad) and I would probably never go back to that job teaching swimming lessons. It was a good high school job.

My roommates and I took roommate pictures today, for the first time! Then TyRee and I started making a video we want to complete before summer starts--taking our future selves on a tour of Provo and our favorite/most memorable spots.

Anyway, this week should calm down a little (hopefully!), but it will pick up again next week. Tomorrow I get to have lunch with the other research assistants and our boss, and the district president in Afghanistan (over all the members of the LDS church there), so I'm super excited! Like really, I'm kind of nervous for some reason!

So what if I'm a college drop-out?

I was thinking about all I've been doing this semester and whether or not it is worth it. With all the work I get from my classes, I think school is just too hard. I know so many people who never finished college and are doing just fine.

So...I'm still taking my classes this spring but I dropped all my summer classes and withdrew from the Washington Seminar. I'll just go home and live with my parents for awhile. I'm sure the city will give me my swim instructor job back and then I can figure it out from there...and save some money in the meantime!

Thanks for reading.