Come What May and Love It

So guess what! It is that time of year again. The time where everyone makes resolutions and then keeps them for a month. I have actually never made real resolutions before. So I decided to start a list on Sunday and I kind of went out of control. I ended up with 22 goals, which I thought was perfect since I am turning 22 this year! Here is to a great year! Watch all of the Lord of the Rings movies (I haven't seen any of them!!) Re-Read the entire Book of Mormon Re-Read the whole Harry Potter series Give away 3 Book of Mormons Do baptisms in the temple at least once a month Visit all the temples in Utah Valley and Salt Lake Counties Re-Memorize the 12 Articles of Faith Write at least one blog post a month Save an extra $2000 to go on a big trip in 2015 Finish my last semester with all A's Attend every Tuesday Devotional during Winter semester (or watch them online during practicum) Go a whole month without eating chocolate Meet or have some contact with 100% of m...

I have never really had the opportunity to be myself. I have always felt the need to hide who I really am because of those around me. The first time I remember doing this was in third grade. My third grade teacher was strict. This is much more than just the normal "mean teacher"- she would threaten to hang us by our toenails in the corner if we did not behave. Before third grade, I was very outgoing, but I lost that because of fear. It just went deeper and deeper as the years went on. My freshman year of college, I told myself that I was going to start new. I tried to be myself, but it was really hard. Then with roommate issues, I turned back into my shell. I hid who I was. The next year, I moved in with the"friends" that I had made Freshman year. 4 girls who I thought I could trust through everything. Things happened and by the time winter semester came, my two best friends moved out to go on missions and the other two girls who I had known since Freshman year ...

First off, I need to apologize for not blogging recently. It has been a rough couple of weeks for me, but I am back and hopefully will share my thoughts a little more often. Second- I need to thank everyone that reads this blog. About a month ago, I posted on here about my experiences with depression. Since then, I have been blessed to receive a ton of support. More surprisingly thought, I have had many people come to me and talk about their experiences. I have really enjoyed the opportunity that I have had to discuss not only depression, but other trials with these people that I believed were absolutely perfect. They still are perfect in my eyes- actually, they may even be even more perfect because I can see that they are humans that are reaching for perfection. Now off to the real topic of this blog. I was watching one of my all time favorite movies this past week: Tangled. I become a little girl when I watch it because I love every little piece. I love the story, I love the anim...

I was talking to a friend today. He told me that depression was a choice. He was totally convinced that I could just turn off the depression and be fine. I told him it wasn’t. We agreed to disagree, but I feel like there are a lot of people out there that believe the same as my friend. I am here to say that depression, at least for me, is not a choice. Why would I choose to feel this way or have these thoughts? I wouldn’t. However, I do have a choice in something. I have a choice in how I react. For people who have not been depressed before, know that it is a dark place. Sometimes you cannot feel the light or see any hope. Even with the view of the Gospel, some days are really hard. Elder Holland said the following “But today I am speaking of something more serious, of an affliction so severe that it significantly restricts a person’s ability to function fully, a crater in the mind so deep that no one can responsibility suggest it would surely go away if the victims would just sq...

I have been teaching Kindergarten for the last month. I decided I needed to write down some of the things that I learned during this time. Enjoy! 1. Any job that involves handing out snacks twice a day is the job for me! 2. If you have a runny nose, you are not sick enough to miss school. It means that you will be blowing your nose twenty-bajillion times a day, but you will still stand up in front of the class and teach. 3. Wearing a name tag does not make you a teacher. You still need to establish your role as a teacher and not as a friend. 4. Something will always go wrong. You can plan for hours and hours and then suddenly a kid will be crying in the back of the class and all of your plans go out the window. 5. Even when you are tough with children they still love you and will hug you at the end of the day. 6. 5 year olds are more self-conscious then you would think. 7. You will become an expert at tying a double knot in less than 5 seconds. 8. When you line up the chil...

I am going to do the impossible right here, right now. I am going to quote a General Authority and Katy Perry in the same blog post. Please don't strike me down! So I am kind of obsessed with this song right now:   "You held me down, but I got up. Already brushing off the dust You hear my voice, you hear that sound Like thunder gonna shake the ground. You held me down, but I got up Get ready 'cause I've had enough I see it all, I see it now.   I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter, dancing through the fire Cause I am a champion and you're gonna hear me roar. Louder, louder than a lion Cause I am a champion, and you're gonna hear me roar."   I have opened up recently about my struggles with depression. If you haven't read my story, you can go to that post HERE . But anyway, it is a very real thing for me. Some days are better than others. Last week was incredibly bad. Every time I heard this song, I would turn my radio ...

In my 21 years of being a part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints I have learned a thing or two. I have gained a testimony of my own as I have grown through the years. Last year on my birthday, I wrote down 20 things that I had a testimony of. I thought it might be fun to do this again this year with 21 things. This year, I decided to find a quote or a scripture for each part. This is more for my own learning and growth, but please enjoy: 1. Heavenly Father knows us. He loves us more than we can comprehend. He is watching out for us even when we feel like there is no one there. "Just think of it: You are known and remembered by the most majestic, powerful, and glorious Being in the universe! You are loved by the King of infinite space and everlasting time! He who created and knows the stars knows you and your name."- Dieter F. Uchtorf 2. Heavenly Father answers prayers. Sometimes He does not answer them in the way that we want or the way that we expect, b...