Come What May and Love It

So I just finished with my 3rd New Student Orientation. This whole week, I have been reliving the last two NSO's and realizing how much I have changed. Fall NSO 2011 I was a Freshman in college. If I am being quite honest, I was completely homesick. I remember the first night, I left the Housing party early and went back to cry. The first day of NSO, I came back from the activities for dinner with my parents and started crying the moment I got into the car. Reflecting back, I was a complete baby. The days that followed are a complete blur. I remember meeting so many people and doing so many things and being just completely and utterly exhausted. So that was my first NSO. It was hard. It was crazy. It really was not the best experience. Fall NSO 2012 So now I was a Sophomore in college. I had a year of experience under my belt. I was a Freshman Mentor and I was determined to make so that they would not have the kind of experience that I did. I wanted to make sure that I was ob...

In our world today, we are surrounded by super heroes. My personal favorite would  have to be Captain America. (Exibit A) Okay, so that has nothing to do with what I wanted to write about, but I just couldn't help it- he is adorable!   Anyway- so someone asked me the other day if I could have any super power in the world, what would it be. I thought about it and could not come up with an answer. Now I have an answer.   I would want the ability to read what people are thinking. Life would be so much easier. There would be no guessing game with anything. You would be able to tell if someone was having a bad day or if a guy liked you. You could really help people get things accomplished. I would be able to see if my students really are understanding something or if they are lying.   So that would be my super power. If you hear about a military experiment or see any radio active spiders anywhere, let me know.

This has been my summer. Four months ago, I moved into a new apartment with roommates that I did not know at all. I moved into a ward where I knew no one. I was starting off new. I did not expect to ever be in this position. The year before I had moved into an apartment with some of my best friends. I thought that I would never need to find new roommates. But I did... This summer has been the best thing that could have happened to me. Honestly. I have met beyond amazing people, created new friendships, and grown into a much better person. I am so incredibly grateful for the experiences that I have had. Now, everything is changing once again. My amazing roommates are moving out as I type this. My ward is shifting boundaries. Work is going to become more stressful. I am going to be taking more classes. Life is constantly changing. I can't tell what is ahead for me. But I know that I have to keep moving forward. At this point, I am shifting all of the control into Heavenly Fat...

Hello again! So here is my third crazy confession (for some reason all of my confessions have to do with music...weird). I am that person. I get into my car when I am driving all alone, turn up the radio as loud as my ears can stand, and I dance. I will be at stop lights and see people staring, but I don't care. This is weird, because if you know me I am not a dancer. I am the awkward person at parties who kind of sways back and forth. For some reason though, I am willing to make a fool out of myself when I am alone in my car. Here is the song that I was rocking out to tonight while in the drive thru at Sonic (Half-priced Shakes after 8!): This all being said, I typically do not dance when people are in the car with me or when I am in another person's car. So don't expect me to dance on demand. I won't do it. But also do not be surprised if I start dancing. Just saying... Maybe this isn't the craziest confession. I am hoping that people come forward sayi...

Four months ago, I was the new girl in the ward. I did not really know anyone. If you know me, you know how awkward I felt trying to get to know people. Anyone, one day a guy asked if I would like to go hospital singing with them. It sounded like fun, so I went. This actually was also the first time that I rode in the back of a truck, anyway that has nothing to do with the story. So every Sunday since (besides Fast Sundays), I have gone hospital singing. The two guys that were kind of leading it left for other endeavors, but I wanted to keep it going. So every Sunday, I would go door to door inviting everyone in my ward to come singing with us. Some weeks were better than others, but each time was amazing. I have been incredibly grateful for the opportunity that we have to go sing to brighten people's days. Yesterday was the last Sunday of the Summer. I have been begging people to come for weeks and we got a good sized group. Afterwards, I was kind of sad because a lot of these...

Let us go back to one year ago.... I was packing up my car getting ready to drive to Utah and move into a new apartment. I had felt sick to my stomach all the time. I honestly did not want to go back because of all the bad feelings that I got. I found out later why I did not want to go back, but that is a different story... Anyway, I would cry for days because of all the stress. I even cried at Disneyland...yes, Disneyland, because of all these feelings! That should tell you how bad I was in that moment. My first year at BYU, my parents drove me up and my dad thought it would be cute to put Post-It notes all over my dorm room. Yes, it was dorky, but I loved it. I would find them in odd places months later and it would make me smile because I knew how much my dad loved me. So as I was getting ready for my second year at BYU, I was kind of sad that my Dad would not be able to do the same thing again to my new apartment (though I never let on that I felt this way) because he had to...

STORY TIME!! There is a Taoist story of an old farmer who worked his crops for many years. One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit. "Such bad luck," they said sympathetically. The Farmer replied, "Maybe." The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses. "What wonderful luck!" the neighbors exclaimed. The Farmer replied "Maybe." The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy. "What bad luck!" The Farmer replied "Maybe." The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son's leg was broken, they passed him by. The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out. "What good luck!" The Farmer replied "Maybe." --------------------------------------...

I do believe that Heavenly Father has a sense of irony. Last week was rough for me. I was not in a good place. Then something funny happened on Monday. I was at work at the best job in the world. Part of what I am working on right now is some trainings. So, I look up this week's topic. It was about reframing your mindset. And guess what was one of the readings. I will give you a hint- it is the title of this blog and my favorite talk of all time. Come What May and Love It! I find it ironic that this was put into my path the week when I needed it most. I am so grateful that I got to read over it again. I would like to write down a part that I enjoyed this time reading it through... "Learning to endure times of disappointment, suffering, and sorry is part of our on-the-job training. These experiences, while often difficult to bear at the time, are precisely the kinds of experiences that stretch our understanding, build our character, and increase our compassion for ot...