The Final Countdown!!!

I had my farewell today; and I leave in 10 days. WHAT?!

How did this sneak up on me so fast?! I'm already down to 10 days?! I feel like there's so much to do still, and hardly any time now!! In 5 minutes, I'm going to be officially in the single digits. *_*

First off, I'm super stoked. Scared out of my mind, but excited to experience this. I've never been away from home in this kind of manner yet, so this is going to be quite the new adventure! My family has also always had the experiences of life through my older sister first, but she is married and so I'm the first (and last) missionary in our family! I don't like being the guinea pig (all the more reason why I'm glad my sister is the older one)!!!

I also had my farewell today (except, in one minute it'll be midnight, so technically yesterday). That was weird, in a good way. It just never seemed like the day I would be hosting a farewell would come. And yet here we are; it's come and gone. And I'm so glad it went the way it did. I think I gave a pretty good talk, but that's always up for judgment to the audience. Then we had lunch at our house and it was quite the success. So. Much. Food. And almost all of it was gone!! Apparently my dad counted how many people came and there were over 50! I feel so loved :')

I was really grateful for everyone that was there, and all the support and love they've given me all these years. I'm also really grateful for the friends that took the effort to come to my farewell, especially my friends who live in Provo. That's not a short drive, and so it was so good to see them, and it made me so happy. I've truly been blessed with such great friends who are strong in the Gospel and uplift me to be better. 

I'm grateful for the home ward and all the people who are in it. This ward is seriously so great. I'm going to miss the people here. It's funny, I've realized there are quite a bit of people in this ward who have known me since I was really little. Those people have been a wonderful blessing in my life as well. 

I'm so glad my talk is over though!! Won't have to worry about that for a while :) 

It's now the final wind down of life, as I now transition from normal person to a missionary of the Lord. 

I'll post back again soon (I hope)!! In the words of my sista, Party Rock. 

What I Love To Do

Well hey there, blogger. It's been quite a while, hasn't it? I feel like I've depraved you, and here I am to feed you with a little update on my life.

First the picture...

I had a really great experience just this past Friday. Being part of BYU's hip hop club, I was able to perform for a program called Project Youth. Let me first tell you what that is. 
Project Youth is a program that BYU holds every year. A few hundred 6th graders from different elementary schools come and spend their morning on campus, doing a variety of things and activities. They then have lunch and then move to the DeJong Hall for a performance by different clubs and organizations from BYU. The point of Project Youth is to encourage these kids to stick with school and be excited about it. And to study hard now so that they can make it to college because it's fun! The fun motivation partially comes from the performance that they get. 

So, with that being explained, not only did I get to perform for them, but I knew a couple people involved with Project Youth so I got to talk with some of the 6th graders and just have some fun with them during their lunch break. It was so much fun!! They're all so full of energy....

And we felt it when we danced! I wish all our performances were for elementary school kids. They really give you their energy and give you so much more power to do better for them. And they're the best audience! They cheer whenever anything happens, they sing with the song and they're so loud (in a good way)!  BYU Hip Hop gets to be a part of this performance every year and it's always the favorite performance. Even though we don't do much, we still are part of a wonderful program that encourages these kids to stay in school. We show them that life isn't full of stress and pessimism, but that it's fun and exciting as well. And to be able to do that through dance....it's a wonderful thing. 

I love what I do and I'm so happy I get to use it for good! Everyday I keep finding things I'm so blessed with and thanking my Heavenly Father for what he's given me.

22 Grateful Things

Who would've thought thinking of 22 things to be grateful for would be a hard thing? I tried to do that this morning for Facebook and came to a dud at about 19. Am I that ungrateful? Or was I tired and couldn't really think? 
I don't know what the reason for it is, but now I have another chance to redeem myself on what I'm grateful for! So for the previous 22 days of November, I will say 22 things I'm grateful for:

1. I'm grateful for being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am proud to be a Mormon and to have this gospel in my life. My Heavenly Father loves me and by choosing the right and following Christ's example, I can return to Him and gain eternal life.

2. My family is the best there could be. We are small in numbers, but we are strong in love! They've been there for me through the thick and thin of life events. 

3. My friends are the next biggest support that I could have. They're such great examples to me and can handle my quirkiness. Always putting a smile on my face and giving me a fun time, I'm so glad I spend time with the people I know. 

4. Though they are my friends, my roommates deserve their own little section of gratitude because they have to live with me! They see the tired cranky part of me and the hyped up crazy side as well. I'm so glad to have three people who can tolerate living with me.

5. So many people are unable to gain a college degree, and yet I'm privileged to attend one of the most prestigious universities! I'm thankful for BYU and the chance to get a degree here and expand my knowledge of a variety of things. 

6. In regards to BYU, I now have an income and a job on campus that works so well with my school schedule. They're willing to accommodate for everything and my manager is the best! After months, years, of job hunting I was able to get one of the best jobs for me.

7. I may not be in the best shape, but I'm grateful to have a working body that is healthy and keeps me alive. I have all five senses functioning; I can walk, I can breathe. Everyday is a blessing to be alive and well.

8. My life would be nothing and nowhere without the amazing power of music. I love it, it's one of my few real passions that I could not live without. No matter what I'm doing, it's always there to set the tone. 

9. Listening to music is always good, but playing it is just as grand. I'm grateful for my piano and violin, to be able to just play away no matter what mood I'm in.

10. We seriously need more of this right now, but I'm thankful for snow and the joy it brings to my life! Without it, there would be no white Christmas, no ski/snowboard season (although we're close to that right now, please pray for it!), and no water! 

11. I don't know why I didn't post this one before most of these, but I'm so so grateful for the men and women who have served, are serving, or are preparing to serve in our country's military forces. I know I could never do it, courage or strength-wise. They are my heroes and I wish them all to be safe and sound. 

12. Because of our troops and their hard dedication all these years, I have the freedom and ability to choose what I want in this country. America holds so much freedom that most countries don't have, and I'm thankful to be a part of it. 

13. I'm thankful for technology. It's advanced our world so much and it's such a tool when used in moderation. It's because of it that I can post this and have the rest of the world see it. I can facetime with my sister though she lives on the other end of the country. It's an ability to communicate and connect with people and share new thoughts and ideas.

14. Books are one of the best things ever. Novels, stories that can take you away and intrigue the mind as you go through the story. I love to read and I'm grateful that I know how to.

15. Movies are also a wonderful thing in life! Most of our entertainment comes from the big screen, and these too will take you away on a crazy adventure. I definitely have no creative mind to be in the movie industry and so I'm thankful for those who are!

16. I'm thankful for my car and if it were a person, I'd love it forever. Oh wait, I still do. Seriously, my car is such a trooper and is my means of transportation in anything I do. It may be a gas eater, but it's tough enough that I'm not scared of anything. 

17. I just drank some water and have to throw it in here. How refreshing is it when you're dehydrated and you drink a nice cool glass of water? Actually, how refreshing is it to drink water whenever? I may love sodas, but nothing comes even close to the wonderful H2O

18. I may be faster at typing than writing, but nothing compares to writing. It has a power that typing can't fulfill. To have a clean sheet of paper and a pencil or pen in hand, you have the power to create something that could go anywhere. You write as the thoughts flow. Through drawing in there, too. I'm grateful for paper and writing tools.

19. I'm thankful for toys. Any kind. They're all so fun and can keep you occupied for a time. I'm especially thankful for my camera and the ability to take pictures. And edit them. It's a great hobby of mine and I love doing it. It lets me view the world at different angles and show them to others. 

20. The number one thing I love to photograph is nature. I'm grateful to live in Utah where there is a variety of different scenes I can capture. No matter the season, Utah is always so beautiful and I'm grateful I can surround myself with it everyday. 

21. I'm thankful for the stars; for astronomy and the cosmos. It's always going to be a mystery and wonder to us humans, and it's a whole other dimension out there. I love seeing the stars, the constellations, and everything else out in the sky and being in such awe. The cosmos are a wonderful way to humble myself of my part in this world. 

22. Last, but definitely not least, I'm so so grateful for my life and all the events that have occurred in it. I've had some pretty tough times, and I still go through them. I've hit the bottom and I've felt the high. It's been a rocky road and it's probably only going to get worse. But I would never trade my life for anything else. It's made me become who I am today and I'm proud of how far I've come. It's because of everything I've experienced I am able to share my little wisdom with others and be able to help others avoid those troubled times. 

I'm glad we have Thanksgiving. I'm glad we can all take the time to realize what we're grateful for and give thanks for being alive. Thanksgiving is great because there's a break, football, lots of food, activities, etc. But we cannot forget that this is a holiday to appreciate what we're given. And we should be this grateful for everything we have everyday. 

New Year

It's that time of year again....school started!!

It's so crazy for me to think that I'm already a junior in college. Uh...hi time, where did you go?! I always thought I'd be sticking with my major from freshman year and well on track by this time of life buuuuut....ha. Nope. I've been indecisive about what to major in that I might be here in college forever. It's weird to think that my older sister was like the complete opposite of me and graduated early and such. But I guess this is just how I am; I love learning different things that I feel like if I bind myself to one thing I'll miss out on learning other stuff in other subjects. But we can't win them all, folks.

Anyway, life is good though. Since my last post (which was quite depressing; I apologize), I've gotten a job!! Words can't describe how grateful I am to have one, and to have the one I got. I work at BYU's Museum of Art store and it's awesome. My manager is way cool, the people I work with are nice, and when there aren't any customers I'm allowed to study. I feel so good whenever I'm on campus now and see a bunch of people looking at the job board and knowing I don't have to look there anymore. I'm really grateful for the life I have.

My semester is quite chill compared to most. Since I wasn't sure what I wanted to major in, I took some different classes and it's a good schedule. I'm currently thinking I want to major in English Language. I never thought I would consider journalism or writing in general as something I would want to do in the future. It was more of a "hobby" during high school. But looking back on those times, I really enjoyed it and I just love writing about anything and everything (I even have 3 blogs....don't judge me). So I think this is the place I'm supposed to be at. We shall see.

Anyway, to whomever that comes across my blog or reads it, I hope to do better on blogging my adventures and events of life as this school year continues. It should be quite an exciting one, I just can feel it. No one can change the way I want my story to be, except for me. This is the life of me.

PS I chose my title "Life of Me" because of the book "Life of Pi" and saw the trailer for the movie....oh my!! Look it up on IMDB people. That one looks like it's going to be good :)