Saturday, June 11, 2011

Wonderful week :)

Pretty much I am SO blessed! Here's a list of things I'm grateful for this week (obviously not in order of importance)...

1. Missionaries. In the last two weeks I have received 5 missionary letters!! I've gone like over a month without a single one and they all came at the same time :) I love missionaries so much!!

2. My roommates. They are seriously the best! I love all the random things we do together- like grow beans in a cup (which is actually working very well). They are such amazing girls and I love them all more than I could ever express.

3.Sunshine. In fact, my shoulders got a little burned at my track meet today! I'm so excited to have the sun come out! I love summer. I love all the beautiful flowers everywhere. Believe it or not, I actually had the urge to mow a lawn yesterday. SO weird. I think it was the sunshine and the smell of spring

4. My family! They are so supportive of me! I couldn't ask for a more wonderful family. :)

5.My Heavenly Father. For the last year or so I've been trying to plan out my life and it hasn't really been working. He kept telling me to just be patient and things would work out... Well this week I was guided to the right places at the right time and a whole life plan was thrown at my face. It was so perfect! It's definitely not an easy one, but I'm so grateful for the opportunities I'm going to have along the way :) I'm grateful for the opportunities my Heavenly Father gives me to learn and to grow- that he doesn't always give me what I ask but instead gives me what I need.

6. My body. Being a somewhat science-oriented person I've been taking lots of science classes and have had the opportunity to learn quite a bit about the human body. I will never cease to be amazed! I can't believe how wonderful our bodies are! They can see and feel and touch and taste and hear and move and so many wonderful amazing things!  I'm grateful for exercise and healthy food and how wonderful it makes me feel.

Sunday, June 5, 2011

We're not always right...

We can't ever judge other people. Obviously. We're taught all the time to never judge a book by its cover- that we need to really get to know a person first. But what if we thought we DID know this person? I learned recently that even though you think you know a person really well, you don't actually always know what they're going through or why they do the things they do. It's kind of a rude awakening when you hold a grudge against someone for a long time because of something they did and you realize later that they didn't really DO anything at all. You didn't completely understand the situation. Someone once told me that we never REALLY know the reason people do the things they do. I realized that they were right. It's not my place to judge or to condemn because there's no way I can understand the whole situation... but it IS my place to love. I can and should love people for who they are. I can be quick to forgive. I don't have to be their best friend ever, but I can look for the good and see the beauty of every person I meet. Everyone is amazing in their own way and we just need to see it... Look a little deeper and you'll find it.

Another thing I learned... Perspective. In my psychology class this week we  learned that how we view situations is everything. My teacher told us that if you don't like the way you're feeling, change the way you're judging the situation. Science proves it- attitude is a CHOICE. People don't make you feel a certain way, you choose to feel that way. It's SO true! You can choose to find joy in your journey EVERY DAY.

The only difference between a good day and a bad day is your attitude.  ~Dennis S. Brown


I love that I get to attend such a great university! I love learning SO much and I look forward to continuing. It's so great how everything you learn makes you just a little more capable of making a difference in the world and serving those around you :)

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Here it is! The moment you've all been waiting for... My first post

My life is... weird. Random/awkward encounters with strangers, tearful Sunday nights, and self-caused drama aren't out of the ordinary. :) I make every single day an adventure and it's the best. I can find a bit of joy in each day- hence the title of the blog. Here are a few of my recent experiences...

1. Grocery store adventure with Candice. We originally went to get one simple thing. Well... we ended up running into an old man with a microphone. He gave us a raffle ticket and told us that if we stuck around for less than three minutes we would get a fruit/veggie peeler priced at $5 for FREE. Every college student's favorite word. Naturally we hung around, ended up getting conned into some ridiculous demonstration and after like 20 minutes ended up getting some pretty crappy peelers that should probably be priced at 5 cents, not 5 dollars. After the demonstration we decided to get some strawberries and toppings to go with. Most people get chocolate to put on their strawberries, but not Candice and me. We get marshmallow cream. We picked out some generic brand and were going to buy it, but Candice didn't like that it had air bubbles in it. We proceeded to the ice cream toppings aisle and were looking at hot fudge when all of a sudden I found the perfect addition to our strawberries. I got so excited that I screamed and basically jumped onto our cart and reached awkwardly in front of Candice. What was it? Liquid marshmallow cream- NO air bubbles. Yes, it was worth it because liquid marshmallow cream + fresh strawberries= AMAZING.

2. 1/2, 3/4, and whole birthdays. Pretty much I have amazing roommates. We celebrate everybody's half, three-quarters, and whole birthdays. I have eaten so much cake these last few weeks it's insane. And there's still more to come in a couple weeks. I love it :)

3. On a more serious note... This last year has been so weird. Basically it's just been a little unstable. I've had my heart broken, got braces right before college (which by the way will be coming off sooner than planned), worked so much it's crazy, started college, survived general chemistry (although I will be retaking it because I got a C), made new friends, got separated from other friends as we moved on with life. It's been hard, but I've learned so much and I wouldn't change any of it. With all the trials come even more blessings. Because of the braces, my jaw isn't a total mess and once they come off I will have a beautiful smile. My wonderful jobs taught me valuable lessons I never could have learned without them and I am able to pay for my own school with minimal financial help from mommy and daddy :)  Although all my friends seem to go separate paths, I know they're still there for me. I am so blessed to have ten (and counting) of my very best friends serving LDS missions. I get to write them all and watch them grow. It makes it easier to let them go when I know that they're doing what they're supposed to and changing lives along the way. Having most of my friends gone has helped me to grow closer to my family- especially my wonderful mom. I'm so grateful for her.

4. Time management. This is something I have really had to learn this semester. Why? Because I'm taking 16 credits, working 9-12 hours a week, and running track. The greatest part is, it's all going really well. I'm not even stressed and I'm really succeeding. My grades are fantastic and I've never been happier. My secret? Put the Lord first. Seriously. Lots of praying, lots of scripture study, and going to the temple once a week. It's funny how when you put Him first everything else falls perfectly into place.