I'll finally introduce you. :)

I've been blogging for long enough...maybe you should all have a sneak peak on who I am. :) I am 5'2", and I have finally come to accept it. My favorite colors are orange and turquoise, and I love wassail in the fall. I like hugs better than kisses, and I am obsessed with music. I love God, and I know that He is always there for me. I am the blessed sister of 6 beautiful siblings, and I miss them every day more than they could possibly imagine. I love building forts. Fall is my favorite season, and I can easily say that I am a hopeless romantic. I have the best roomates in the entire world, and I have no idea what I would do without our late night talks. I want 6 kids someday, and my husband will just have to accept that. :) I constantly overanalyze everything, and it proves to be a problem sometimes and a good thing other times. I have a love for leather jackets and warm scarves. I never get tired of running through the sprinklers, which is something that my roomates always make fun of me for. :) Sunsets are better when I've had a productive day. I love small things, and I love long walks and fall colors. 

A word my roomates tease me for. :)

I think that I use the word "classy" much too often, but I suppose it is because that is the way that I want to live my life and the way that I wish the world could be. According to Merriam-Webster's online dictionary, to be classy is "having or reflecting high standards of personal behavior."It depresses me to see the way that the teenage population of today's world lives and acts. To be entirely honest, I am very much sick of hearing about how so-and-so made-out with who. I'm sick of hearing dirty jokes and crude language, and it kills me to see 18-year-olds smoking all around campus. I know that I can't avoid it all, but sometimes I wish that teenagers could just see the light. I am still a teenager, and I know that I still have a lot of growing and maturing to do, but there are just certain things that I feel are common sense. Those who are classy in their behavior stand worlds above those who don't to me. I appreciate it when boys don't tell crude jokes, I appreciate it when they hold the doors open for me and watch their language because I am around. The whole "I don't care" attitude is driving me crazy! :) This has been built up inside of me for the past 5 weeks as I have lived up here in Logan, and I am finally just taking out my steam via blogger. It is so fascinating to watch the way teenagers live once they are free from parental direction. Some take the higher standard and better themselves even more, and some take full advantage of the fact that there are not many rules that they have to follow anymore. It's sad, really. Wake up, generation!! Get your head in the game! We have to be the next world leaders and business men and women of tomorrow. Sluffing off school, making dirty jokes, and taking on an irresponsible attitude are not going to help you. 

Simply fantastic. :)

Do you ever just have those amazing, totally normal days? I had one of those today. I played the most beautiful instrument, learned some jazz piano techniques, had dinner with a newly-found friend, and went on the most entertaining, long run. There was absolutely nothing spectacular about my day, it was just simply beautiful. Life has so many ups and downs. There have been some hard days up here. Days where I didn't think that I could live one more day without seeing my beautiful baby sister. These days are the ones that keep me going. I live from good day to good day. They re-energize me for the bad days that come after them. You don't have to have amazing things happen to you to have a good day. The simple things are most often what make for amazing days. I hope that you can all have a day as wonderful as mine was today. In fact, make it TOMORROW. :) 

My insignificant pile of rubble on 9/11

This post today is dedicated to a woman named Ganelle Guzman-McMillan. As I sat down this evening I realized that tomorrow is 9/11--a day that still vividly lives in my memory. I was 7 years old, and I did not have a clue what was going on. My dad answered a phone call, and his face blanched. He ran downstairs to our ancient tv, and I heard the high-pitched buzz as it came to life. He knelt to the ground and just stared at the screen where a big, gray tower went up in smoke and people were screaming. "Daddy....daddy what's going on?"I said as I tugged at his pant leg. He told me to be quiet and that he would explain later. My mom shortly joined us, and I watched tears fill both of their eyes as they watched those beautiful towers tumble to the ground in smoke and dust. I will never forget those tears that fell from my father's face to the ground as he watched a part of our country crumble. To help myself remember how fantastic my own life is, I went online today and began to read stories of people who had lived through the tragedy of 9/11. Ganelle made a deep impression on me. This woman is truly a survivor, and she came away from her awful experience with a better attitude. She worked on the 64th floor of the North Tower. After the plane hit she watched as the "..ground [was] falling out beneath me at the 13th floor as I was racing to get out of the building.." Can you imagine watching the floor crumble below your feet from 13 stories off of the ground? I cannot even imagine. This woman ended up trapped under a pile of debris for 27 hours before she was rescued. That 27 hours must have been the longest of her life. Earlier today I was complaining to myself about how much I had to do and how much stress I was under. Now, I sit here, and I am praising God for the wonderful, easy, blessed life that I have. This woman's pile of debris was truly terrifying and life-changing. My pile of "debris" and stress is so insignificant compared to those who suffered in the 9/11 attacks. After 6 weeks in the hospital, 4 surgeries, and hours and hours of physical therapy and rehabilitation, Ganelle is still alive today. She carries this memory with her, and she carries it with her head held high. She turned her pile of debris into a foundation on which she can stand with confidence. Maybe someday I can turn my small, insignificant pile of debris into something half as amazing as hers must be. Let us all pray and thank our Father tonight for the wonderful, blessed lives that we are living. Let's thank him for all of those who suffered for this country and for us, and for those who still do. 

Nutella can be motivating.

For the past 15 days, I have walked into my apartment around 10:00pm sweaty, red-faced, and racing to the sink for water with a smile on my face. Why? Well, my running habit has picked up again, this time with my fantastic roomate as my companion. At the beginning of this school year, we set a goal that we would run 30 days straight (excepting Sundays), and then we would get to go buy one new clothing item at the end of it. Well, a few days later while we were at the grocery store, we set an impromptu goal after we saw that jar of Nutella--15 days straight and it was ours. Well, today marks that 15 day streak. It has never been sweeter to achieve one of my goals. I think that it is important to take our goals in baby steps--one day at a time. If we set goals that are way above our capabilities, we will fizzle out quickly because the project is too much to handle. Cassie and I don't run marathons, we don't run for extremely long amounts of time, we just do what we can. Our distance is usually about 2-3 miles. However, we do it EVERY day.  I have also learned that providing yourself with a reward (even if it is as simple as a jar of Nutella) gives you motivation to keep going, no matter how small the reward is. Let's be honest. Is one new shirt worth 30 days of running? Probably not, but I have a goal. I have a goal and a simple reward set for myself when I achieve it. My life has been so much more fulfilled because I gain a sense of worth and accomplishment over completing and still working on my goals. So, next time YOU want to achieve something, bribe yourself with some Nutella. It works. :)

To the boy I high-fived today. :)

It's true. I get those little stomach butterflies every time your face pops into my head. You have beautiful eyes, and your kiddish smile is perfect. I have facebook stalked you...please don't be alarmed. My baby crush just gets a little bigger every day. Maybe someday I'll tell you. Maybe not. :)

In a journey to the past.

The weather up here in Logan was beyond perfect today. So, I obviously went outside and enjoyed it. As I was sitting on the half-dead lawn in front of my brown apartment complex, I closed my eyes and took a trip. I traveled back to the very first day I entered elementary school. It was my 3rd grade year, and I was scared out of my mind. I went back to the cold basement family-room of my old house where my brother and I would spend hours building extravagant hot-wheels racing tracks. We would put car after car after car on those tracks and watch them accelerate to their eventual, unavoidable crash. I continued my journey to my sophomore year of high school: first dates, new experiences, and lasting friendships. I skipped to this past summer. I have never traveled through so many changing scenes. First "official" job, first love lost, college preparation, packing, goodbyes, excitement. Then I traveled to today. Right here. I opened my eyes and the sun was just beginning to face behind the western mountains, enveloped in vibrant pinks, oranges, and blues. I thought about all of the reasons I have to smile, and I went back inside. I had a pretty good trip. :)

Trying to cling to an ever-receding tide.

Why is it that sometimes the good things seem to disappear the fastest? Dates, dances, an amazing meal, a fantastic talk with a close friend...they are gone as soon as they begin. I feel like I am constantly trying to cling to these memories. The ocean tide comes in and goes out every single day. My precious moments are when the tide comes in, but, just like the tide always recedes at the end of the day, so do my memories, without fail. I have learned that it is good to remember these sweet memories, but don't live in the past. Don't try to stop the tide from completing its natural cycle. Simply look to the next day with hope, determination, and excitement. I am so excited to welcome new opportunities as I go throughout the next 4 years of my college experience. I had some fantastic high-school experiences, but it is time to let go of some of them. My life is about to take an exciting new route. So, as far as I am concerned, there WILL be new, beautiful tides every single day that I will welcome and let go. My past will be a blessing that I won't live in (just maybe glance back on for guidance every once in a while), and my future will be something to look forward to. Meanwhile, I will just enjoy the tide while it is here. :)