A Year in the Life of ME!

2010 accomplishments:

New Job @ Henderson Public Defenders (BEST JOB EVR)

New Drivers Permit

Got Drivers License (on my favorite holiday, St Patricks day)

Missed 29/45 days in a quarter of school

Was a Summer camp counselor for possibly the last year

Got a new best friend (actually i've had a few of those)

Had a best friend move to Germany

Fell in love.... with Logan, UT

Graduated with high honors form high school

Moved to Logan UT

Got another new job

Finished my first semester of college

Stayed single :)

All in all, this has been a VERY good year,

I have loved, laughed, and lived to my fullest! :)

some more poems... :)

Tis The Season

Tis the season to be jolly

Tis the season to string holly

Tis the season to wrap presents

Tis the season to cook pheasants

One month a year say hi to a stranger

One month a year recognize what happened in a manger

One month a year be nicer than normal

One month a year don't act so formal

Remember the reason for this time of year

Remember the season means more than reindeer

Remember the baby who grew to a man

Remember the one who was a part of the plan

Christ is the reason we do what we do

Christ is the reason Im me and you're you

Christ is the reason for festivities and lights

Christ is the reason we celebrate christmas night

Tis the season to love and to care

Tis the season for to treat all kind and fair

Tis the season to remember his word

Tis the season to rejoice in our lord :)

THINK. CARE. ACT.

Share a smile with a passerby,

Share a smile with a special guy.

Give a hug to someone you know,

Give a hug to someone you don't.

Be a friend with a listening ear,

Be a friend full of cheer.

Caring is easy, it doesn't take much time,

Caring is easy, easier than making a rhyme.

Take 5 minutes to care a day,

Take 5 minutes to go out of your way.

Think about what you can do,

Think about the influence caring would have on you.

Act with dignity, honor and sweetness,

Act with love, joy, and completeness.

Three things can make someone feel really glad,

Three things that will make you feel more good and less bad.

Thinking, Caring, Acting, it isn't hard to do,

Thinking, Caring, Acting, what does it mean to you?

HOME.

This past week (over Thanksgiving) I went "home." Being there led me to many thoughts regarding what a home is. I know that my home in Las Vegas is home but I also have a home in Logan. I decided that home is where the heart is. My heart is in Logan, but those I love are in Las Vegas. Home in Vegas, to me means comfort. It means that there will always be a broken down bus on Charleston by Albertsons. It means my dogs will be there whenever I walk through the door. Home is the fact that I can always walk into In-N-Out and order my favorites and they will always taste amazing. That is a home that I know because my parents shared it with me and I enjoy every minute of being in that home. My current Home is Logan. This home to me means fun, excitement, adventure and growth. It means that there will be snow on the ground, it means that I can meet people I have never met before and instantly be friends. It means that no matter where the girls I live with come from we have a connection and a bond that is always there and will always be there. Sometimes our homes aren't what we expect them to be. Sometimes they are found in places we don't want to be, but come to love. We may only have a home for a semester, a week, a month, or we may have a home our whole lifetime but the fact is we can always have a home. Now, there is a distinct difference between a home and a house. You can have a house without having a home and you can have a home without having a house. Home is what we all strive to find. Home is what we want to have. Home is where we belong. So, as this wonderful season of giving begins, ask yourself do I have a home? Am I living where I am happy? Can I help someone else, whether it be a roommate, friend, mother, sister, brother, aunt, uncle or stranger find their home? Im grateful for the homes I have and have had and the people that have made them home :)

THANK YOU!

In honor of the lovely holiday of Thanksfiving, this blog is going to be all about things I am thankful for and people I want to thank :) I am thankful for leaves. I love the way they change colors, fall, and cruch when you walk through them. I am thankful for mountains. I would rather be in the mountains in a tent then in a house with a bed. I am thankful for the sky. I love the sky! At night it is gorgeous and full of stars and the wonderful moon. I love how during the day it can be the brightest blue or the dullest grey! I just love watching the sky change. I am thankful for crayons. I love to color. :) I am thankful for games. Video games, online games, board games, mind games, all games. I just love to have fun and play! I am thankful for snow and rain. I LOVE rain!!! I am still getting used to snow but rain is my most favorite thing. I can stand outside or dance around in the rain for hours!! I just LOVE it!! :) I am thankful for trees, grass, flowers, bugs, and broccoli. I am thankful for playgrounds and swings. Swinging is my FAVORITE thing and I really enjoy it! I am thankful for children! I love kids! I love playing with them, teaching them, joking with them, holding them, and just plain being around them. There is something wonderful about the joy of a child that I just love. I am thankful for my family. There are no words that can describe the joy I feel when I am around them and how badly I really miss them. I am thankful for teaching, teachers, and school. I love to teach. It is what I want to do with my life and I enjoy it. I love the teachers I have had that have influenced my life for the better. i am thankful for school and the opportunity to learn. I am thankful for my friends and roommates. I am so blessed to have such great friends!!! I love them all so much!! I miss the ones that live in Germany and Las Vegas and I am so grateful for the ones that live in Logan and keep me company. I am grateful for the school that I go to! I love and always have loved Utah State! There is just something about Logan, about USU that has always made me feel like I belong. I do belong here and I LOVE IT!!! I am thankful for blankets and barefeet :) I am thankful for pretty dresses and gym shorts. I am thankful for talking. I am thankful for music. Specifically country music. I LOVE country music! It makes me SO happy!!! There is just an amazing thing about it that I feel so great listening to it. I am thankful for the way I talk. I am thankful for me. I am thankful for the gospel in my life. I am thankful that I have people who love me. I am thankful that each day I wake up and take a breath. I am thankful to have a job. I am thankful that can be here on this earth at this time experiencing all that I am experiencing. I am thankful that I live the life I live. I am thankful for opportunities to serve those around me. I am thankful for people who serve me. I am thankful for all these things and so much more! This month is all about giving back and acknowledging what you are thankful for, so take some time and let someone know you appreciate them, trust me, it will make their day :)

just me. :)

Tomboy.

Dresses, flowers, makeup, jewels, dancing, crushes, curling irons and hair,

girls love them all, they love them and care.

trucks, country music, mud, fourwheelers and football,

I never have been a girl who wanted it all.

I didnt grow up liking cute things like pearls,

instead i grew up liking things of my world.

A tomboy they called me, and I was ok with that,

the boys knew i could beat them when i stepped up to bat.

but girls call me strange they laugh and they tried to make me a girly girl,

Someone i most definitely am not!

I love being me, I enjoy it, I do,

Ill never be someone girly or "cute"

I dont want to be someone I am not,

I like being me, I like it alot.

Normal.

How do you define normal?

Is it something you can see?

How do you define normal?

Are you Normaler than me?

From different worlds we've come and we've gone.

From different places ideas grow and become strong.

So ill ask you again and ill let you know now.

How do you define normal?

This is my how.

A peculiar person does not care what others think.

What society says does not make them blink.

They learn and they grow they are brave on their own.

The do not listen when the world says conform.

I may not be normal but why would i want

to be someone else's creation someone society has taught?

To be a bully to laugh and to scorn

those people who are different, who dont fit the norm.

I am my own person, I listen to one.

I know that im different, but I know how to have fun!

I dont want to be you,

I dont need dresses or eye goop.

I can be weird and I can burp as loudly as I can.

I may not be considered normal but I am the person that I am :)

humans vs. zombies AGGIE style :)

wow! i dont even know where to begin! This week has been one of the greatest, most fun, stressful, and extremely exciting weeks i have had at college. I explained about the zombies vs humans game last blog. well heres what happened. I started out as a human with my nerf gun loaded ready to win the battle. I did really well until dinner time the first night. Then i was killed. I got a little too into the competition and was way upset about being killed. (i put a 150% into all that i do and sometimes it gets the best of me) Because of my extremely competitive side, i wanted to not play so that i would not feel the stress of competition and the emotion that comes along with that. If it weren't for my roommates taking me out to "kill" on tuesday, i would not have enjoyed the week. Killing humans became my obsession. I reallly got into it! I killed twice within an hour (both boys who thought they were free of the zombie horde until they were killed) and I was really enjoying being a living dead :)You see, because i get so into things, i tend to dress up. I really enjoyed the experience. Zombies v Humans is a great game! I have to give credit to the man who brought the game to our school. I know him personally because he is my AG advisor. His name is Brice Colby and without him this week would have not happened, so thanks Brice :)

p.s. ARAGABADGAEIREF ERRRRRRRRRR. (translation= GO ZOMBIES!!!!)

change is a good thing :)

As i look back at where i was a year ago in life i am so grateful for changes that have been made. last year at this time i was so content and thought that my life was so great. it wasnt. sure it was good but if i had only known how much better it would get. my life right now is amazing. it is amazing because i know how to be happy and i know how to be happy because of the gospel. the past year has been a hard one. i went from having the one best friend i had wanted all my life to feeling alone, rejected, and unwanted. I didnt feel accepted until i let myself be. I became very involved in theater, got a new job, and tried to be so busy that i wouldnt remember the fact that i didnt have someone there like i normally do. I was very upset with where my life was. I just wanted to move to college and forget my life and how it wasnt what i wanted it to be but i couldnt. Through all of this one thing kept me happy. that was reading the book of mormon. I have been raised mormon my whole life, but everyone needs to know that what they are being taught is really what they believe. That year in seminary we were learning about the book of mormon. I had been off and on reading it but then i started to read every night 2 chapters. what happened next was amazing. i literally felt my life begin to change. i felt the power of god grow in my life. i felt loved. i felt cared for. at the time i didnt realize what was happening or how i was truly changing i just knew i was feeling happier. I know now that the book of mormon changed my life. It still changes my life today. I am now 19 years old and have read the entire thing. I can sa y without a doubt that it is a truly divine and inspired book. i know that the lord jesus christ loves me. I know that he wants me to be happy. I know that no matter what happens in my life i will be able to grow from it to learn and move on. I have a testimony that jesus christ suffered for all mankind. I know that through him all mankind may be saved. I look around and i am so amazed by the beauty of this earth. God knew that i would need the leaves falling off the trees to remind me of his love. I felt inclined to share this by my own freewill just so that everyone may understand where i am coming from a little more. I hope that you do not feel that this is some random mormom ranting because my purpose is not to preach just to share my experiences, write my feelings down, and feel better aboout life :)

The Zombies Are COMING!!

Hey everyone!
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
I haven't updated in awhile so i decided to today while i have time! October was a VERY eventful month for me. I turned 19, got a job, visited home, had fun with my friends, took on new responsibilities and got snowed on :) I already wrote about turning 19 so ill start with my job. I got a job on October 5th. At the end of September i was awarded work study and was getting frustrated because i was awarded it so late in the year and every job that i had applied to had already been filled. I saw one job and didn't feel like it fit me well and didn't really want to do it but i emailed the person anyways and she replied giving me an interview time. I was terrified for my interview because, well i have never really had to do an interview before, i just got the job because i knew the person, or my dad knew the person. I went into the interview and then was hired. It took me a little time to get used to working with a lot of people, but i love having a job again and working not just sitting around my house bored or studying. I find it nice to be able to work in an environment where its just you and not the people you live with all the time. The next thing that happened in October is I visited home. My older brother got married and I went home for fall break and ended up being just a week long trip. I have come to know airports very well (at least the Vegas and SLC ones anyways) I love flying. I flew on the way back to Logan just before sunrise and watched the sun come up from the sky which is GORGEOUS :) Las Vegas was so fun. I felt like i could really gage my progress by going back. I don't realize when I'm in Logan, but i really have grown up (a bit) and i have matured. I am an adult now and i am able to take care of myself. It was great to be with my family. I love my family so much. They are the greatest blessing in my life. I love Vegas, but the whole time i was there it felt as if i was being told and shown that i am in Logan for a reason and that Logan is where i need to be. I love Logan but sometimes i miss Vegas although i know Logan is where i need to be. I have such great roommates :) I am so glad that i live with the people i live with. Who else would i be able to dress up in a mu mu, pirate costume, princess dress and build blanket forts with! These girls are my favorite and i love how much fun we have together! There is always laughter to be heard! I am having a lot of great opportunities here at USU, one of which is to be in a CES choir to go down to the fireside in November that is broadcast worldwide and sing. I am SO excited for this! It really is a once in a lifetime chance and I'm glad i get to go :) Now for one of the highlights of my October, SNOW! I got snowed on this past week :) Most people were upset that the snow came so soon but I enjoyed it. I do agree that the cold can stay away longer but I really needed snow to make me happy this week and that's what it did :) I love the place I live! It is beautiful. I wish i could share with you all the wonderful life i am living in the most amazing place! It really is great! I hope you enjoyed a piece of my life and that you are doing what i am, "living the life i love and loving the life i live" :)

oh and p.s. this next week we are playing a giant game of humans vs zombies that includes Nerf guns...I'm kinda thinking i have the best school EVER :)

one year older and wiser too?

Its thursday night, I can barely move I feel so exhausted from the week before. I fall asleep and don't wake up until the next day. This time I wake up to a phone call. It is a roommate asking me if I can come let them in. I get out of bed, walk to go out of my room and find streamers hanging in the doorway. A smile begins to form. I walk down the hall and see balloons, more streamers and happy birthday written everywhere! My roommates had decorated the house! It wasnt quite my birthday but since they were leaving we celebrated a day early. At noon I went to lunch with a person from back home named Karol Frodsham. She gave me balloons and took me out to Costa Vida for my birthday :) after that we went to a "simply divine" and I had lovely food! It made me so happy! I love that there are people here in Logan from Las Vegas! That night was the GREATEST night of my college experience so far. You see, when I tell people I am going to school in Utah they automatically assume that it is just BYU. That has always kind of irked me and I have began to Hate BYU to an extent. Utah State had not beaten the cougs for quite some time and I was so excited that it was the day before my birhtday. I knew that that was what I wanted. The game was so nerve-wracking, so exciting, so just amazing and I was so just enthralled with football in a way I had never been before. Utah State beat BYU and my lie was complete. I had had the best birthday present given to me that I have ever recieved. I was so happy :) I went to bed peaceful that night. The next day I woke up and I was just so happy still! My parents were sending a package through jim crowley, whose son also attends USU and I was SO happy to get it. Inside were clothes I forgot (including my FAVORITE pair of jeans) a book, tons and tons of candles (to make up for last year) and candy! There was also a poster of Emma Smith who is my hero! I LOVED getting this birthday present suprise :) After I got that I was able to watch bits and pieces of conference before going to lunch with more former Las Vegans :) MY old neighbors, the Rogers live in logan and Shawna and Ashley took me to lunch, gave me more balloons, chocolate, homemade cookies, and flowers :) After lunch we went to the mall and it was so much fun! Its not as bad as everyone makes it out to be. Sure its not Las Vegas malls, but you only get those in Vegas :) We went to TJ maxx next and I bought my first coat! It is a REAL coat! I really really like it. It was less than half of what it is normally. And its Really good quality. After that we went to heaven on earth which is also known as Old Navy and I got the GREATEST sweater EVER!!! It made me SOO very happy! It was on sale too. I then came home and i chilled. I relish time I can have at home by myself because, well with 6 girls in an apartment it doesnt happen often. I enjoy being able to just be lazy. Its fun. That was how my 19th birthday was spent :)

life is GREAT.

Well, ive been at college for over a month now, and can i just say it is the greatest place! I know so much about myself as a person and who i am. It makes me happy to be here. I am meeting GREAT people who are such good friends to me! I have gotten involved in Area Government, (AG) and I love it! This past weekend I was able to go on a retreat for the AG all around campus and it seriously was the most amazing thing ever!. I have gone to so many different leadership trainings, retreats and other things, but there was something different about this one. it was just amazing. I have never felt like i learned more about myself in one weekend than i did this weekend. Life is such an interesting thing. It gives you people and friends that you can learn from and grow from. I became such great friends with people i JUST met. Its such a great thing to know that i can become a great leader, that i can be the leader that i want to be. I know that this year will be great! i know that no matter what i will be able to be great. I can now say that I LOVE THE LIFE I LIVE AND LIVE THE LIFE I LOVE :)

college :)

well i have now been at college for two weeks and it has been one of the most amazing and hardest two weeks of my life. I never knew that i would miss my family so much. I know that i am supposed to be here. Logan is amazing! It gets boring and there arent as many options for fun as there are in Las Vegas. I miss being able to just get in my car and drive. I miss having tons of friends and going places where I feel comfortable. I know that eventually I will have that relationship and have those friends I can always go to but I dont have that yet. I love my roommates. If I didnt have the roommates that I do have, then I would hate it here. I have five roommates. They are Julia, Kelsey (those two are cousins and hilarious when they get together, especially if its for an interpretive dance), then Aly, Sam (these two came from the same town and crack me up constantly even though they pretend to hate me) and Michaela (who is the one I actually share the room with) The six of us just click. We work together and are such good instant friends. I have great teachers too! I love my classes. They are so fun! Public Speaking is DEFINITELY my favorite so far! I love talking and thats all the assignments are for this class is just talking :) I can't wait to get into the semester, learn new things and make new friends :) REMEMBER, BE BOLD, BE BEAUTIFUL, BE EXCITING, BUT MOST IMPORTANTLY BE YOU!! :)

blogging/ life

i decided to start a blog and update it on what is happening in my life since I'm beginning to go out on my own! i am graduating in 2 days! As I look back on my high school years i am so glad that I met everyone i met and so glad that i grew so much as a person. The friends i had freshman year aren't the same. The people i hung out with are no where near the same and the person I have become is so different than the person I was. There are a few people i need to thank for getting me to this point in my life. My parents are the first. My dad kept me going and made sure that i kept doing what I was supposed to and knew what was expected of me. My mom! My mom is the greatest mom in the world. She is one of my best friends. I know that no matter what she will always be there to laugh with me. I love her so much and am so glad that she's my mom! She will definitely be the most miss person this fall. My friends are the last that i mention. I wont mention you all by name but i will say that through my high school years i have learned the true meaning of friendship. it does not mean fake, false, on the surface, or behind your back it means true honest caring and 100 percent what you give out. If you give a certain amount in a friendship you should receive that certain amount in return. you cannot survive in a friendship of less than you deserve. Unfortunately i didn't learn this lesson until senior year when i found the best friends anyone could ask for. My theater friends. They do not care who what or where you are just that you are. Two very special people i would mention by name. Umut Aslaner and Alvy Webb. I love you two so much the 3 of us have so much fun but help each other so much! Umut I wish you weren't leaving. you gave me hope ;) you taught me trust and you never, never let me be someone i am not. Alvy you are so amazing. i can tell you anything and i know that forever you'll be the only person who knows. Overall senior year was the best for me. i know its because i found theater. i love theater. I love acting and i hope to continue it. thanks to all who taught, laughed with, loved, guided, hated, hurt, and helped me :)