My New Mission Blog

So long, farewell. Keep up with me on my mission blog.

18monthsofsunshine.blogspot.com

2 1/2 Weeks to Go!

I leave for Brazil in 17 days!!!! I'm so excited!!!!! While at home I've been slowly accumulating things for the mission and my suitcase is almost fully packed. The next 2 weeks are going to be bittersweet. I'm going to be saying a lot of goodbyes followed by a lot of hellos. (or Ola's I guess)

I'm on the downhill with my independent study luckily! If I'm done by Friday than my mom is taking me to ORLANDO, FL. We are going to go to the temple together and then hopefully DisneyWorld. She wants to go to Busch Gardens though....so we may end up going there since we've been to DisneyWorld and Epcot several times. Either way I'm super excited! Hopefully I work hard!

This past week I started my goodbyes by saying goodbye to my adorable sister Pec! I won't see her again for at least 19 months!!! AHHH...this is suddenly becoming real. Before she left we went to the Peach Palette (a place where you paint pottery) and had so much fun. Pec made a crazy bowl and I painted South America on a plate. It took forever but I'm happy with the result! This picture is only the pre-firing picture...the colors should be a lot brighter when it comes out of the oven.

Hmm school, sister time, packing for brazil,....what else? Can you say 2-3 hours on the phone every night with Jesse?! I get to see him again in 10 days, but then we'll be apart for 18 months! Saying goodbye to him will be extremely tough for me. We are absolutely crazy about each other....I guess we'll see if it works out after I get back. As of right now though, I am SOOOO HAPPY!!!!

Hasta Luego BYU

My days at BYU are over. It is definitely bittersweet. I'm going to miss the beautiful campus, the amazing teachers, and all my friends that I made while attending BYU. In many ways goodbyes are so sad, but necessary. If I never said goodbye to BYU I would miss out on so many of the other beautiful things in life.

Sitting in the Marriott Center listening to the commencement speakers was completely surreal. I couldn't believe I was never going to attend another class at BYU or take another test in that darn testing center. It still hasn't sunk in that I'm done...who knows if it ever will. Ha ha I'm pretty sure when I arrive in the Sao Paulo Airport in a month and can't understand the language I will realize that life has DEFINITELY changed.

I moved back to Georgia this past weekend and said a temporary goodbye to my friends. I'm flying back out to Utah Sept 15-19th and can't wait to see everyone. I'm thinking that I'm going to cry a lot that weekend when I have to say goodbye to everyone...especially certain wonderful people....but life must go on.

Home has been crazy. I've been working all day because even though I'm "graduated" I still have independent study classes. UGG. They are luckily coming along great though and will be done in time. After a long day of work it is so nice to relax on the couch and talk to Jesse on the phone. He is such a sweetheart and I just can't get enough of him. Who knew that the kid who I used to think was psycho freshman year would turn out to be such an awesome boyfriend! Life can be so funny at times!

The Good Life

These past couple weeks have been full of highs and lows. I've been SUPER stressed out with school and am "graduating" next week, but I still have to finish up independent study classes before I leave to Brazil. oh the joys of being an eternal student. I'll be OVERJOYED when I'm officially finished! The stress from school is really the only negative thing in my life right now. The rest of my life is nothing but peaches and cream.

I am blessed with absolutely wonderful friends. Whitney cooked Krystle and I dinner on Sunday and I realized how much I just love those girls. I also got to see my childhood best friend, Rebecca, this past weekend and had an AMAZING time reminiscing with her. I'm going to miss them dearly when I leave on the mission. I'm also going to miss talking to Addie, but am so excited that she is going to serve a mission as well!

Typically I don't like to talk about my love life on my blog or facebook, but today I'm making an exception. My boyfriend, Jesse, is simply amazing. Everyday I like him more and more. When I see him I can't help but break a smile....we just have so much fun together. The best thing about our relationship is that we are completely ourselves....by which I mean random and CRAZY! Since I don't have a ton of time to hang out with him he comes and visits me in the library. Last night he walked me home and even made me dinner. What a sweetheart! It is definitely going to be hard to say goodbye when I leave for Brazil.



Another source of joy in my life is of course the TEMPLE!! This past weekend Krytle and I went to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple open house and it was awesome. The temple is honestly my favorite place on earth. The joy, peace, and happiness I feel from going to the temple overshadows any other joy I've ever felt. It is such a beautiful place and I can't wait to go to the Manti temple this weekend with Jesse and his roommates!



I think the main reason my life is so amazing has to do with my family! Living with my three brothers this summer has been fun. I love going on weekly hikes with them and laughing with them until I cry. My brothers are great, but my sister is my best friend and understands me like no one else! I love talking to her on the phone and getting advice from her. I'm so excited to go home and spend time with her and my parents. What a great family I have!



Life has its ups and downs, its highs and lows. It is all part of the package deal we agreed to. I'm happy I have the gospel in my life because it gives me such stability and perspective. The worst day can be turned around by just remembering the good news of the gospel. Honestly can any day be truly horrible when you remember the great things God has in store for the faithful??

Super Speedy Update

K, I'm so busy so I'm making this fast!

Summary of my life for past 3-4 weeks:

- School dominates my life still
- Obsessed with the temple and have been going at least once a week since I received my endowment.
- Awesome boyfriend, but I'm still going to Brazil...sorry babe :(
- Visa papers sent and letter from mission president received
- Went to Amazing BBQ!
- Occasionally talking on the phone with my besties in SLC
- Going on weekly hikes with my brothers! LOVE IT!

TTYL

The Smile On My Face Says It All

A HUGE Milestone

This Saturday I'm going through the temple! This is going to be the best day of my life so far. I wish I could convey into words my excitement and the reverance I have felt this week...but I can't. Some things just can't be put into words. Anyway, this is just a thank you to all of those who have gotten me to this point! Wish me luck!

A Little Midnight Snack

I've been studying ALL DAY and need a break...so why not blog? People always tell me that they never have to worry about what I'm thinking...because I say what I think. This could be viewed as a good or bad thing. Last week in my physiology lab we were studying the respiratory system. The TA asked the class, "What is the condition called when a person has no more desire to breathe?" Well I thought this was a pretty easy question and quickly yelled out "DEATH!" My answer sent the entire class into fits and giggles...including myself. After the TA caught his breath he said..."actually, no you are incorrect. it is called apnea". So much for speaking up in class! :)

I honestly, 100% believe that the angels get a lot of their entertainment from my life! Earlier this week I was running late at night and was just so happy and full energy (runner's high is the best!) that I kept on jumping up to touch the leaves as I passed the trees along the sidewalk. Unfortunately one bunch of leaves that I jumped up to touch turned out to be a thick branch....yes I'm still a little sore from that one. Hopefully no one saw me...I mean 900 E. isn't that busy of a street right? ha ha...I think I'm just destined to be eternally awkward!


Now that it is June the EFY kids are coming out of the woodwork and making themselves at home. As I was walking on campus this week among the hordes of teenagers I picked up the campus newspaper, The Daily Universe, to read my favorite part--the police beat. I was expecting the usual stories about laptop thieves, illegal firework displays, and maybe even a report of a person who was acting suspicious. When I found the police report I burst out laughing...it read:

"An EFY counselor thought he could smell marijuana in Gates Hall around 11 p.m. He found three EFY participants smoking marijuana in the stairwell. Police said the juveniles will be charged."

Oh goodness...when will these kids ever learn?! If you think you can smoke marijuana in the BYU dorms and not get caught you should probably be institutionalized. Those places are patrolled more than a high-security prison full of terrorists. For the rest of the police beat go to:

http://newsnet.byu.edu/story.cfm/73012


K back to studying...

A Quick Update

Ok ok... life is SOOO BUSY for me right now, but I just wanted to give a little update!

Since I got my mission call I still haven't recovered from the shock. The word "Brazil" still sounds weird when I say it. I never thought I would be called there! GOOD NEWS THOUGH...I can finally pronounce the name of my mission. The reality of me serving a mission is slowly creeping up on me. I've already received my airplane ticket to the Brazilian MTC and have gotten WAY TOO MANY shots so I won't get any of those nasty tropical diseases. One GREAT thing about being at BYU...there are TONS and TONS of missionaries who have served in Brazil. I've talked to SO MANY people and with each new mission story they tell me I get more and more excited. September seems so far away, but I know I will be here before I know it!

This past weekend was a celebration of all things WHITNEY!! My AMAZING friend Whitney turned 23 yesterday so we (Krystle, Whitney, and I) just decided to celebrate it all weekend. Friday night we went to Pizzeria 712 (SOOOOO GOOD) and pretty much spent the entire night talking nonstop. One of the topics of conversation was the genius blog post written by Krystle documenting our California trip.

On Saturday I spent the morning studying for and taking a test. It went pretty well thank goodness! The rest of the day was spent in the company of Whitney and Krystle for the continuation of the birthday celebration. We laid out at the Avenues pool for a while and eavesdropped on people's funny/ridiculous conversations. After that we hit up Baskin Robbins and DI before meeting up with Johnson and going to the stake activity. The stake activity was pretty fun, but made me realize how I really need to get out of Provo. I've been here for almost five years (thank goodness I started a year early!) and in August I will be ready to say goodbye! After partying it up at the stake activity we headed back to Whitney and Aaron's apartment to watch The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. Plans are in the works for us three girls to do our own little traveling item to help keep us in touch over the next 80yrs of our lives!

Well what more can i say??? Life is great. Everyday I wake up and can't believe how blessed I am. Yesterday Sam and I took a Sunday stroll up Rock Canyon and I just couldn't get over how beautiful this place is. It is really going to be hard for me to leave the mountains behind when I leave in August.

K, well I could go on and on for hours. I'll blog about my AMAZING CALIFORNIA trip soon!

They've Called Me On a Mission

Family, friends, and lovers I have OFFICIALLY been called to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I have been called to the.....(drumroll)....

Joao Pessoa, Brazil Mission!!

The mail came at 12:30 today and as soon as Jacob slid it under my door I just burst into tears. I can't even remember a day when I've been as happy as I was today....not even Christmas beats it! Since I decided to open it at 7:00 with my family I had 6 1/2 hours of waiting to do...and it probably was the longest 6 1/2 hours of my life. The envelope was bent and the edges somewhat frayed by the end because I'd held it too much.

When 7:00 finally arrived Sam, Jon, Jacob, and I piled in the car and drove up to the Provo Temple. The temple grounds have always been a special place for me to go and collect my thoughts and feel the spirit. As soon as we arrived we got out of the car and sat under the nearest tree. I had Jake call Rebekah and Jon call Mom. I tried to call Dad, but he was in a conference in Oklahoma. Anyway....opening up that envelope was probably the most nerve racking experience of my life. I had NO IDEA what my letter was going to say. I definitely have to say that I thought I was going to go to a mission I could actually pronounce. When I saw where I was going all I could do was cry and laugh. The boys were just looking at me and kept asking "where are you going?". I told them Brazil, but I had no idea where in Brazil. Sam gave me a hug and Jon kept saying how jealous he was. Jacob isn't easily impressed so he shrugged his shoulders.

I spent the next few hours calling and emailing friends and family. I've never seen my phone battery die so quickly!!!

I leave for the Brazil MTC on September 23rd and can hardly wait. Jon and I have been looking up information on Joao Pessoa and everything about it just seems to fit me SO WELL! It is near the beach, has amazing food and people, and sunny year round! I'll never have to wear a coat and will hopefully keep my tan! YAY!! I just can't wait to start learning the language and meet the people. This is going to be the best year and a half of my life!

Small and Simple Souls

Working On My Dance Moves

Right now I'm supposed to be studying, but the guy next door is BANGING on his drums....and I do mean banging, not playing. Oh the joys of living in a duplex full of guys. I'm adjusting to living with the bros, but it has been interesting. I've had to get used to almost zero bathroom time, concealing my emotions (if I started crying I'd be voted off this island), and noise at all hours of the night. Then there are the occasional fights where we yell and shout...but they end with one of us cracking a smile. Seriously I suck at fighting and people look TOO FUNNY when they are mad. I would rather be laughing.

School is going well. I've been spending about 10 hours a day in the library....yep it's fun...and I'm not being sarcastic. I really love all my classes and when I'm studying I just open up pandora and listen to some upbeat music. I'm having to watch myself though because on Monday I completely started "brushing my shoulders" off just as a cute guy passed by. EMBARRASSING..but that's my middle name right? Yesterday I listened to classical music because I definitely can't dance to that.

In addition to the occasional dance move in the library, I've started dancing in my functional anatomy lab. I have a test on Thursday for that class and yesterday I studied with my two group members Jon and Chris for 3 hours. After an hour of looking at a cadaver you get bored. After two hours of looking at a cadaver you just start to go CRAZY....so yeah...3 hours was nuts. We ended up coming up with dance moves to help us remember all the actions of the muscles. It was classic when Dr. Feland came in and all three of us were dancing and shouting out muscle names. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time.

Anyway, my FATE could be getting decided AS I WRITE THIS. The stake clerk told me the missionary committee meets on Wednesday to issue mission calls. He also told me I could get it as EARLY AS NEXT WEEK! AHHHHHH I'M FREAKING OUT. Whenever he told me I just started jumping up and down. I just can't believe I'll be in the MTC in less than 4 months. SO EXCITING!

I'll post my call on here after I find out where I'm going. I'm not having an "opening" party or anything...just going to open it alone in my favorite place--THE MOUNTAINS!

Done and Done

So last night I met with my stake president for the final mission paper interview...and of course I passed it! I just thought he was going to ask me worthiness questions and my reasons for wanting to serve. Little did I know it was going to be a 45 minute quiz session. He asked me questions about gospel topics, what I would do in certain situations, how I would deal with a lazy or overzealous companion, and last of all he asked me about my testimony. After 45 minutes he seemed very satisfied with my answers and told me I must have wonderful parents because I turned out so well.

Anyway, he said I should know where I'm going in 3-4 weeks! I definitely feel like I'm going state side (8 out of 9 of my friends have gone stateside recently)...and if I had to guess specific places I would guess California, Idaho, or Texas.

My TOP Five:

Hawaii visitor's center
NYC
Temple Square
Spain
Argentina

I'm content with going anywhere, but if I got called to an Asian country where I had to learn Japanese or Mandarin Chinese....I would probably start hyperventilating and pass out.

Busy Bee

My life has been busy, busy, busy recently. I'm taking FIVE classes this spring term and spend almost every waking moment in the library. Now that I've quit my job, I've thrown all my energy into studying. So far I've made 100% on all my labs, quizzes, and assignments...except for a certain physiology lab I made a 98% on...boo :(.

When I'm not studying, I'm either working out or sleeping. I've been working out for 2 hours a day and therefore I'm exhausted by 9:00 every night and usually just go to bed. The working out is paying off though because I've lost 3 pounds in the last week and a half and have not been starving myself!

Since I'm going on a mission in 4 months, my love life is confined to only flirting with random guys on campus. For instance, there is the guy in physiology who I catch looking at me, but now I've started looking at him too...so I'm at fault as well. Then there are the guys that smile at me on campus and run to open doors for me. I don't think I've had to open a door at BYU in months....seriously the guys are so nice! Yesterday, a guy started flirting with me while I was getting dinner and I think I actually blushed for the first time in years. Seriously when did I start to get embarrassed about things??? I think I blushed because I'm usually the forward one, but he was wayyy more forward than I could ever be!

My "HOT" romantic life aside, I am turning in my papers in TWO WEEKS! I'm getting so excited and still feel so blessed that I have this opportunity to go! I've just had so many wonderful experiences recently and I feel as if my testimony is growing by leaps and bounds everyday. The Lord is definitely preparing me to serve! Yesterday as I was walking on campus I just was so happy...not the giddy kind where I jump up and down, but the kind where I can do nothing but sigh, look at the mountains, and realize I have been blessed in ways I couldn't have even imagined. I mean honestly to want something and pray for something so bad and finally get it is great, but to receive a blessing you didn't even know you needed....is just phenonmenal. It just makes you realize there is a God who is mindful of us and knows exactly what we need...even if we don't know it ourselves.

Anyway, Provo is beautiful, life is beautiful. I hope you are all doing beautifully as well!

Changes

I never used to like changes very much. I was the type of person who wanted a stable and predictable life. Somehow I love changes now. Stepping out into the unknown can be a little scary, but at the same time exhilerating! Thats how I felt this week. No, I haven't graduated yet, but my life still changed a lot. I said goodbye to good friends and roommates, I moved in with my brothers, and I am getting ready for the day (MAY 24th) that I can turn my mission papers in!

I can't wait to see what the future holds. Whatever it is, it is going to be amazing for all of us I'm sure. I saw "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" this week and really liked this quote from it. Keep in mind it affects you a lot more when you have watched the whole movie and have that beautiful music playing in the background while Brad Pitt is saying these words:

"For what it’s worth, it’s never too late, or in my case too early, to be whoever you want to be. There’s no time limit... start whenever you want... you can change or stay the same. There are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. I hope you see things that stop you. I hope you feel things that you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life that you’re proud of and if you find that you’re not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again."

Miss USA California Responds To Gay Marriage Question From Perez Hilton

Usually I think beauty pagents are full of fake, vain women who only care about themselves. Miss California proved me wrong. It took a lot of guts to give her opinion on gay marriage when the person who asked the question was gay and one of the judges who controlled her score. Yay for standing up for what you believe in even if it is unpopular!

Yoga and Slacking in the Park

Since my sis is in town we decided to have a little fun this morning. We went with Jake to the park and set up two slacklines. I slacklined a little, but was so tired from doing it yesterday that I ended up doing yoga. The yoga felt pretty good until Jacob started leap frogging over my downward dog. Honestly how can you expect a person to concentrate when you are doing that??!! Ha ha...anyway the morning was great. We ended up trying to climb trees...pec and I tried, Jake succeeded...and then broke off a huge branch. Life is 100x more beautiful now that Spring has arrived. Last night I ran around wild with Sam and Rebekah. We fed the ducks, chased the ducks,took turns playing the guitar (Sam has been teaching me some different strumming patterns), and just chatted the night away. Before hanging out with them I got to have a delightful Easter dinner with Staci, Whitney, and Aaron! It was SOOOOOO good. Whitney made a glazed ham, seasoned potatoes, spinach salad, and fruit salad...while Staci made the rice and I made the rolls! I'm so sad that we are soon going to all go our separate ways.

Emotions

Aren't emotions interesting? I used to think that happiness and joy were the only emotions I ever wanted to feel. Then I realized I was cheating myself out of everything that the other types of emotions can contribute. It is amazing the spectrum of emotions a person can feel in a day or week. It is only 2:30 and I've already had a ton of different emotions running through me. Here's just a list:

Relaxed: When I woke up this morning

Stressed: When I saw what time it was

Frustrated: As I passed by my mirror

In Awe: When I saw the mountains out my window

Grateful: When saying my morning prayers

Flustered: When that cute guy passed by

Content: When passing by the mirror again

Energetic: When dancing and singing in the shower.

Guilty: As I did my dishes from yesterday (I've been busy!)

Bored: When on facebook...seriously I feel like nothing ever happens on it.

Graceful: When I skipped out my door on my way to work

Irritated: When I was at the stop light begging it to turn green

Relieved: When I got to work and realized I only have 3 patients today.

Prideful: When I stare at my hair in the mirror

Reverent: When I think about my Savior

And Last BUT NOT LEAST:

Happy: life is beautiful...so how could i not be happy.

I love emotions and the way everything I interact with makes me feel...just makes feel so happy to be alive. Every day creates a masterpiece with the emotions and experiences it holds. Don't you ever feel like that? Like every day God is shaping you into something more and more beautiful. I just love life! Have I already said that??? Ha ha.

The real reason I wrote this post is because I have been thinking about something all day. Why don't people act how they feel...or why do people hide their emotions? Every day I see people try to cover their emotions. Some many people try and act how they think society wants them to act. They want to appear cool 24/7. More often if a person on campus is whistling they receive more looks of bewilderment than looks of admiration. I myself am guilty of this, but I'm trying to change. If a person is so happy and in love with life that they can't help but whistle, skip, or even shout for joy...who am I to rain on their parade? Like the song, "If you are happy and you know it" I think a person should clap their hands, stomp their feet, etc...and celebrate being alive however they want.

So go out there and laugh if you are happy, cry if your sad, and whistle if you just can't contain your joy! I may laugh at you, but only in a non-judgemental kind of way. ;) Most importantly, show love those you love...sounds weird I know, but so often I see people who don't express their love. I'm so happy that my brothers tell me they love me almost every time they see me. Its the best thing ever to love and be loved...just makes life that much more beautiful!

Oh P.S. If you are mad and want to hit someone, try and pick a different emotion.

Role Models and Life

Many of you know I'm taking a religion class this semester called "doctrines of the gospel". Well this past week the instructor was out of town and had his daughter teach. At first I was disappointed because he is such a great teacher and substitutes are usually below par. Looking back I can't believe I thought that because this woman seriously changed my life. She has just been so blessed in her life because she has followed the spirit..without question..every time. She lives the gospel in its truest since. If she knows something is wrong, she doesn't do it. Plain and simple. She is such a great role model and even though I don't really know her...I admire her so much. The things she spoke about were such DIRECT answers to the questions I've been pleading to know for months and months. It was all I could do to stay dry eyed until the end of class. I'm just so glad the Lord is aware of us all and sends people into our lives to lift us up!

In other news my life continues to go well. I'm happy and really at peace with life right now. These past few weeks have been rough spiritually and I even doubted my decision to go on a mission for a while....but no more. I'm so excited to go and can't wait until I can turn my papers in! When some of my nonLDS friends found out I was going on a mission this week they were shocked and responded, "but why? you're so normal". It turned into a great conversation because I was able to talk to them a little bit about the church. And the more I talked to them about it the more excited I got and the more the spirit bore witness to me of the truthfulness of the church. It was just a great experience and it made me realize how much I truly love the church.

I've been rock climbing a lot and am getting stronger and stronger everyday. I really do love the "climbing scene". Everyone is non judgemental, very chill, warm and extremely friendly. Last night I was doing yoga at the quarry and realized how much I just love everyone there..yoga definitely gives you time to reflect on life and the people in it. I keep on joking that I'm turning into a hippie, but i really feel like I'm starting to have that mindset....to not have stress, to love everyone, to feel at peace all the time....best feeling in the world.

Hope you all are doing great!

Grow up and Make a Choice

Soap box time.

Things have happened this week...hmm. This is hard because I can't really go into detail...well I've just learned a lot more about BYU/Provo guys than I wanted to hear. I've always wanted to think of BYU guys as great, morally-sound men with strong testimonies and good intentions...someone you can look up to and respect. Five years at BYU have taught me otherwise. Recently I've met so many messed up, perverted BYU students (male and female)..who say they know the church is true and yet continue to disobey the law of chastity...and it just sickens me. Seriously I know it is hard to "bridle your passions", but come on! Grow up and make a choice! You have only two options: live a life that brings you closer to God or one that takes you farther away. I'm the first to admit that I'm not the picture of perfection. I've done a lot of stupid things, but I'm trying. I have a strong testimony of the truthfulness of the gospel because I wake up everyday and try to live it to the best of my abilities.

Anyway...sorry this is such a serious, kill-joy blog post, but it really has been on my mind. Just make a choice (seriously people you are adults)..choose to be virtuous or choose not to be. It is as simple as that. Don't think that you are somehow safe on that middle ground.