There are so many things to be grateful for in this life. It's hard to sit down and list them all. I've just felt that I have so much to be grateful for.
I have the opportunity to call people to see if they still want financial help in order to participate in programs. It's been a humbling experience to hear exastperated mothers tell me how grateful they are for me calling and offering a solution to one of their many problems. I wanted to cry the first day when I talked to several people who all mentioned to me how they would love the assistance due to losing jobs and such. I live in Provo...the 'happy bubble' as it is known. There is an economic crisis going on, but I, in my ignorance, had not seen it's consequences. As I sit in my office talking to people, joking around, there are others in this world struggling. In some areas of the world there are those struggling daily to live. Other areas is a fight for their homes. And still others fight for the will to make it through another disappointing day.
I've heard it said that 'the world owes you nothing. It was here first.' I laughed the first time I heard that. How true that statement is though. The world owes me nothing. Compared to it, I am nothing. And yet I sit here with my laptop, in a nice apartment, surrounded by good friends and family, all of whom I love dearly, and I still find myself complaining about the stupid little details that life throws at us.
None of us are perfect, especially me. And that's okay. But how much more perfect would our lives be if we were to be a little bit more grateful everyday. How different life would be if we made sure to say 'thank you' to the stranger holding the door open for us or to a friend who made us laugh. Or to a local leader who gets no recognition for any service they provide. Or to say 'thank you' to a parent or sibling who was there for you when you needed them to be, or was just there to make your life a little bit better. How different life would be if we woke up everyday and instead of grumbling about all the different things we have to get done during the day or about our lack of sleep or work later that morning, or complaining about the unfairness of life,but rather, we woke up and thanked God that we're alive. Thanking him for being able to sleep, for waking up, for everything good and bad in our little lives, because in the end, we ARE alive and living and doing things.
We don't deserve anything that has been given to us. Sure, we can work and earn our wages, but that doesn't mean we deserve it. That we've been granted some all powerful mighty privilege to be entitled to having everything we want or only some of the things we want and also have the right to complain about life. We are given life and the ability to choose to be happy. I thank my Creator for that.
How different would our lives be in this hectic time if we took one extra moment everyday to be a little more grateful. Just think about it. There are billions of people in the world. If we all took one extra second per day to be thankful....how long would it take for all of us to, one after the other, be grateful for one thing rather than complaining!? It's incomprehensible.
So, what are you going to be grateful for today?
Friday, April 17, 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009
...Who gets a little crazy sometimes
Sundays are supposed to be days of relaxation, meditation, and reflection. But among college students, it's anything but. Yesterday was one of those days for me.
With the time change, I lost an hour, and had to wake up earlier than I normally do for ward council. Follow that with a 3 hour block of church and anyone would be a bit exhausted. However, instead of resting my co-chair and I had a committee meeting. This is where the day got a little crazy. Our entire meeting was focused on getting more people to come to ward prayer (a little gathering every Sunday night). After lots of 'discussion' we ended up with our idea... The Ward Prayer 'bat' signal. If that idea doesn't get approved, we'll do the Ward Prayer Flag.
Mom's birthday was yesterday, so I invited her over for dinner. She and Dad came over. After the meeting, I spent the entire time making dinner. And it turned out really good! I hope Mom had a great birthday!
at 6 we had another Ward council meeting. It was training for everyone, cause apparently we needed it. It turned out to be good. Because of the people we have as committee co-chairs it ended up being two hours of spirituality presented by the bishopric followed by hilarity from my fellow committee chairs. Surprisingly though, our bat signal was approved! Woohoo! So no we have to find a way to make it work. After the meeting we had 1/2 an hour to find a really bright flashlight (we found a HUGE one) that a friend had and try to make the WP signal. It didn't quite work, but we ended up finding a use for it last night (Jared [my cochair] and I had a lot of fun with it).
But somehow in the 30 minutes between the meeting and Ward prayer i found time to be involved in a 5 person cuddle fest on my couch...interesting. It involved many jokes involving chins, hairy legs, people getting married and earlobes. Ya...those are my friends!
After ward prayer we had 'warm fuzzies'. Those are nice notes people write to each other and they get delivered. It's pretty awesome. And we also had post WP treats. Then, there's about 10-12 of us who get together and play card games afterwards. We played Scum last night. I kept getting dealt the had from _____. everyone left eventually and it was Johnny, Jason, and I being the last to leave. On the way walking home, the boys had the brilliant idea to have a three person piggyback ride...ya. I ended up being in the middle (cause I'm actually knew not to move) and then johnny (the base) walked a good 20 feet over asphalt...the entire time I was afraid he was going to fall over and i was going to end up with a huge bump on my head or something. But no one got hurt. And I believe that the only words that could describe it were, as Johnny says, 'Hot Sizzle!'
Things are fun here in the Colony...and they get pretty crazy. We have a lot of laughs. I'll probably be sharing more of them in the future...like the time two of us almost kissed Marcus on the cheek and he freaked out. Or about our roommate late night dance parties while we had broken blinds...
but until then,
Hot SIZZLE!
With the time change, I lost an hour, and had to wake up earlier than I normally do for ward council. Follow that with a 3 hour block of church and anyone would be a bit exhausted. However, instead of resting my co-chair and I had a committee meeting. This is where the day got a little crazy. Our entire meeting was focused on getting more people to come to ward prayer (a little gathering every Sunday night). After lots of 'discussion' we ended up with our idea... The Ward Prayer 'bat' signal. If that idea doesn't get approved, we'll do the Ward Prayer Flag.
Mom's birthday was yesterday, so I invited her over for dinner. She and Dad came over. After the meeting, I spent the entire time making dinner. And it turned out really good! I hope Mom had a great birthday!
at 6 we had another Ward council meeting. It was training for everyone, cause apparently we needed it. It turned out to be good. Because of the people we have as committee co-chairs it ended up being two hours of spirituality presented by the bishopric followed by hilarity from my fellow committee chairs. Surprisingly though, our bat signal was approved! Woohoo! So no we have to find a way to make it work. After the meeting we had 1/2 an hour to find a really bright flashlight (we found a HUGE one) that a friend had and try to make the WP signal. It didn't quite work, but we ended up finding a use for it last night (Jared [my cochair] and I had a lot of fun with it).
But somehow in the 30 minutes between the meeting and Ward prayer i found time to be involved in a 5 person cuddle fest on my couch...interesting. It involved many jokes involving chins, hairy legs, people getting married and earlobes. Ya...those are my friends!
After ward prayer we had 'warm fuzzies'. Those are nice notes people write to each other and they get delivered. It's pretty awesome. And we also had post WP treats. Then, there's about 10-12 of us who get together and play card games afterwards. We played Scum last night. I kept getting dealt the had from _____. everyone left eventually and it was Johnny, Jason, and I being the last to leave. On the way walking home, the boys had the brilliant idea to have a three person piggyback ride...ya. I ended up being in the middle (cause I'm actually knew not to move) and then johnny (the base) walked a good 20 feet over asphalt...the entire time I was afraid he was going to fall over and i was going to end up with a huge bump on my head or something. But no one got hurt. And I believe that the only words that could describe it were, as Johnny says, 'Hot Sizzle!'
Things are fun here in the Colony...and they get pretty crazy. We have a lot of laughs. I'll probably be sharing more of them in the future...like the time two of us almost kissed Marcus on the cheek and he freaked out. Or about our roommate late night dance parties while we had broken blinds...
but until then,
Hot SIZZLE!
Saturday, March 7, 2009
...who doesn't say please
Here are the people in my life right now.
Stephanie: She's my immediate roommate. She speaks 'bird' and her favorite word is voluptuous. She thinks it means no one can resist you but I think she's wrong. But she's actually really smart. She' the comic relief of the apartment.
Kayla: Kayla is another roommate. She's got the craziest hip action I've ever seen when it comes to the hula. Her favorite word is Aloha! (go figure! hehee).
Brittany: She's the 'mom' of the apartment. She has the best chocolate chip cookie recipe ever! And no matter how many times I try, I've never been able to make them the right way! She doesn't really have a favorite word, but her least favorite subject is math...specifically calculus. But she says the word 'seriously' a lot.
Kate: Kate is the photographer of the apartment. Her favorite word is 'Tiquismiqui' which is Spanish for picky (she lived in Spain for a while and is thus fluent). She's also successful (aka engaged). She's got the best grinch walk I've ever seen.
Katie: Lovingly known as kpax. She's the health nut in the apartment...she's also the nut. She's into everything under the sun. She's a river rat during the summer and a dance diva during the school year. She's not home so I don't know what her favorite word is, but I'm sure its something modern dance term.
Then there's Marcus: Marcus is our official 7th roommate. We called him marquita. or Marcus farckus. He's over everyday for several hours at least. You'd think that he liked one of us, but he actually just loves all of us equally so much that he's here all the time! His favorite word is 'Indubitably '. He's a smart guy. And has a lot of dry humor. Our quote wall is filled with quotes by him... one of my personal favorites is 'Kimmy, are you longing for me?." I don't use words with him. He knows what I'm thinking just by looking at my face...it's awesome.
Bryan has also become very integrated in our apartment: He's Marcus' roommate. I've taught him how to make milkshakes, chocolate covered strawberries, pina coladas, and country dancing, and lasagna from costco. His favorite word is 'quaint'. He's kinda a quieter guy, but he actually does talk once you get him started. He plays a ton of different instruments: Violin, mandolin, guitar...it crazy!
That's pretty much those that are in my life on a daily basis. I have pretty cool friends. I like them a lot.
The end
Stephanie: She's my immediate roommate. She speaks 'bird' and her favorite word is voluptuous. She thinks it means no one can resist you but I think she's wrong. But she's actually really smart. She' the comic relief of the apartment.
Kayla: Kayla is another roommate. She's got the craziest hip action I've ever seen when it comes to the hula. Her favorite word is Aloha! (go figure! hehee).
Brittany: She's the 'mom' of the apartment. She has the best chocolate chip cookie recipe ever! And no matter how many times I try, I've never been able to make them the right way! She doesn't really have a favorite word, but her least favorite subject is math...specifically calculus. But she says the word 'seriously' a lot.
Kate: Kate is the photographer of the apartment. Her favorite word is 'Tiquismiqui' which is Spanish for picky (she lived in Spain for a while and is thus fluent). She's also successful (aka engaged). She's got the best grinch walk I've ever seen.
Katie: Lovingly known as kpax. She's the health nut in the apartment...she's also the nut. She's into everything under the sun. She's a river rat during the summer and a dance diva during the school year. She's not home so I don't know what her favorite word is, but I'm sure its something modern dance term.
Then there's Marcus: Marcus is our official 7th roommate. We called him marquita. or Marcus farckus. He's over everyday for several hours at least. You'd think that he liked one of us, but he actually just loves all of us equally so much that he's here all the time! His favorite word is 'Indubitably '. He's a smart guy. And has a lot of dry humor. Our quote wall is filled with quotes by him... one of my personal favorites is 'Kimmy, are you longing for me?." I don't use words with him. He knows what I'm thinking just by looking at my face...it's awesome.
Bryan has also become very integrated in our apartment: He's Marcus' roommate. I've taught him how to make milkshakes, chocolate covered strawberries, pina coladas, and country dancing, and lasagna from costco. His favorite word is 'quaint'. He's kinda a quieter guy, but he actually does talk once you get him started. He plays a ton of different instruments: Violin, mandolin, guitar...it crazy!
That's pretty much those that are in my life on a daily basis. I have pretty cool friends. I like them a lot.
The end
Saturday, February 7, 2009
who goes on blind dates
So, I went on yet another blind date tonight. Let's just say there was a beginning, a middle and an end all within and hour and a half. It definitely wasn't the worst date ever (though probably ranked 4 or 5 on the list). I got home early though and went and visited with some people in the ward. We ended up having a girls night where I got to know two girls in another apartment better. I like them a lot. We're going to go salsa dancing on Tuesday and country dancing on Wednesday! I'm excited. I've realized that as great as it is to have you guy-friends, having your girl-friends is more important, so I'm trying to develop those friendships. We had some great conversations tonight. I felt 'inspired' to ask a certain question and it was a question that needed to be asked for one of the girls' sake. It's interesting how the Lord will lead you to people and situations that you wouldn't have otherwise been in. Overall though, a great night. So now I'm off to bed so I can actually get homework done tomorrow.
Peace out!
Peace out!
Friday, February 6, 2009
...Who never stops growing
I've recently become aware of the fact that I'm 19...not a big deal right? I've graduated to the highest level of teen-dom and it's only now hitting me. But probably in a different way than all of you have expected...I'm surprised that I'm so YOUNG! it's WEIRD!! I came to BYU a whole 2 years ago, barely 17, and now here I am 19, and spending time with people who are years older than myself and feeling like this is exactly where I belong. Whenever I meet new people they're shocked that I'm 19...most of them guess I'm around 21-22 ish. I feel that old, but I'm not. It's kinda weird, yet comforting at the same time.
The last couple of months have really been eye opening (along with every other month I've had since being here). Since the beginning of November, I've just been preparing myself to focus on school and not worry about the whole 'dating' thing and social life. It's been a wonderful experience of getting to know myself and what I really want out of life. But, Heavenly Father doesn't always point your feet in the direction you think you're going to go. (no, there is not some amazing announcement coming). I thought I had decided on a major...it turned out to be the wrong one. I'm going into Political Science now...it's interesting how I came to that decision. Mom was naming out all these different majors, and each one led to another and finally, I was choosing between PolySci and International Relations...I made a decision and I've decided to just do it! I felt excited and eager and peaceful all at the same time (who knew!) I recall a professor once saying that Satan loves the gray area...Now I understand why God tells us to 'study it out in your mind', make a decision, and then ask for confirmation. That way God can tell us Yes or No and we'll understand that! (Epiphany!)
My social life feels like it's turned upside down as well this last month. I've been preparing myself to try life without a lot of social distractions, but low and behold, Heavenly Father pulls another fast one on me!
My roommates and I have recently acquired several new additions to our nightly 'crew'. Normally we have just one of our FHE brother's come over (Marcus..the 7Th roommate), but after a trip to my roommate (Kate)'s boyfriend's condo in Park City, things have changed. Monday nights, we have FHE, followed by everyone staying over and playing games. Tuesday's is band night...we have two guitars, a mandolin, and a violin, occasionally a trumpet, and of course singing, going on for literally hours! (tuesday's is not the night to try and get things done). Wednesday's I go dancing, so I'm normally out of the apartment, but I'm still with friends ( i go so often, I know all the regulars). Thursdays, we do dinner with a bunch of people (which also happens other nights as well), and people tend to stay over, with more music going on, and Friday's & Saturdays are filled with dates, dancing, cleaning, tests, studying and whatever else is going on. Then Sunday rolls along and you'd think it was a day of rest, but NO! My calling keeps me busy with Ward Council meetings at 8:25 in the morning, Church, more meetings, Break-the-fast, Ward prayer, Post-ward prayer, and visiting friends in between! Who knew life could be so busy! And on top of all of this, I've recently gotten a job (woohoo!). Luckily it's flexible enough to work with my school schedule. I haven't started yet, but when I do, then I'll let you know what it is (it's probably the coolest job ever!).
Other than that, I'm trying to fit things into life. I'm trying to get back into swimming at least twice a week (since running won't ever happen).
And then there's dating...it's the exciting/dreaded topic of my life. It wasn't until the Family get-together at Mom & Dad's that made me realize how much pressure there is in our family to get married! My goodness! I have to admit, I'm all for the idea and the actual doing it, but the pressure is so intense, it's beginning to get scary! I'm excited though for all the cousins who are lucky enough to have that next adventure coming soon. It hit me hard though, when Grandma said, after asking me what happened with a guy that Jenna is now dating, 'Guess your way isn't working!' I felt very dejected by that comment because I never explained the whole situation and why things didn't work out between me and the guy...but I felt very hurt that I was a 'failure' because things didn't work and I'm not in a relationship that is on the road to eternal marriage. And I know Grandma didn't intend to cause a little hurt, but it stung. I guess, right now I'm looking for someone who actually wants to be in a relationship instead of half-committed parties, which is what all the guys that I'm being set up on dates with want. In the meantime, I'm going on dates and getting to know new people. Recently, I had two friends, independent of each other, set me up with the same guy...blind date. Things went well, and we spent a lot of time together (came to the condo with us) and we had a lot of fun. All my friends loved him, but we decided a week ago that it just wasn't going to work. He didn't have the time, neither of us felt really committed, and the things we really wanted in a relationship weren't there. So now we're the better friends and we're both happy. So I'm still running around having fun with my roomies (who are wonderful!) and my 'boys' (who bring joy to my life). All I do is say "bummer" and move onto the next thing in life. In the whole 'prep' part of the last couple months, I've decided to just go with life and make things happen. If they go great I say 'woohoo' and if not, then 'bummer' and we move on.
In the meantime..I'm just gonna have fun! (I got a [blind] date tonight!)
...until next time
Love!
The last couple of months have really been eye opening (along with every other month I've had since being here). Since the beginning of November, I've just been preparing myself to focus on school and not worry about the whole 'dating' thing and social life. It's been a wonderful experience of getting to know myself and what I really want out of life. But, Heavenly Father doesn't always point your feet in the direction you think you're going to go. (no, there is not some amazing announcement coming). I thought I had decided on a major...it turned out to be the wrong one. I'm going into Political Science now...it's interesting how I came to that decision. Mom was naming out all these different majors, and each one led to another and finally, I was choosing between PolySci and International Relations...I made a decision and I've decided to just do it! I felt excited and eager and peaceful all at the same time (who knew!) I recall a professor once saying that Satan loves the gray area...Now I understand why God tells us to 'study it out in your mind', make a decision, and then ask for confirmation. That way God can tell us Yes or No and we'll understand that! (Epiphany!)
My social life feels like it's turned upside down as well this last month. I've been preparing myself to try life without a lot of social distractions, but low and behold, Heavenly Father pulls another fast one on me!
My roommates and I have recently acquired several new additions to our nightly 'crew'. Normally we have just one of our FHE brother's come over (Marcus..the 7Th roommate), but after a trip to my roommate (Kate)'s boyfriend's condo in Park City, things have changed. Monday nights, we have FHE, followed by everyone staying over and playing games. Tuesday's is band night...we have two guitars, a mandolin, and a violin, occasionally a trumpet, and of course singing, going on for literally hours! (tuesday's is not the night to try and get things done). Wednesday's I go dancing, so I'm normally out of the apartment, but I'm still with friends ( i go so often, I know all the regulars). Thursdays, we do dinner with a bunch of people (which also happens other nights as well), and people tend to stay over, with more music going on, and Friday's & Saturdays are filled with dates, dancing, cleaning, tests, studying and whatever else is going on. Then Sunday rolls along and you'd think it was a day of rest, but NO! My calling keeps me busy with Ward Council meetings at 8:25 in the morning, Church, more meetings, Break-the-fast, Ward prayer, Post-ward prayer, and visiting friends in between! Who knew life could be so busy! And on top of all of this, I've recently gotten a job (woohoo!). Luckily it's flexible enough to work with my school schedule. I haven't started yet, but when I do, then I'll let you know what it is (it's probably the coolest job ever!).
Other than that, I'm trying to fit things into life. I'm trying to get back into swimming at least twice a week (since running won't ever happen).
And then there's dating...it's the exciting/dreaded topic of my life. It wasn't until the Family get-together at Mom & Dad's that made me realize how much pressure there is in our family to get married! My goodness! I have to admit, I'm all for the idea and the actual doing it, but the pressure is so intense, it's beginning to get scary! I'm excited though for all the cousins who are lucky enough to have that next adventure coming soon. It hit me hard though, when Grandma said, after asking me what happened with a guy that Jenna is now dating, 'Guess your way isn't working!' I felt very dejected by that comment because I never explained the whole situation and why things didn't work out between me and the guy...but I felt very hurt that I was a 'failure' because things didn't work and I'm not in a relationship that is on the road to eternal marriage. And I know Grandma didn't intend to cause a little hurt, but it stung. I guess, right now I'm looking for someone who actually wants to be in a relationship instead of half-committed parties, which is what all the guys that I'm being set up on dates with want. In the meantime, I'm going on dates and getting to know new people. Recently, I had two friends, independent of each other, set me up with the same guy...blind date. Things went well, and we spent a lot of time together (came to the condo with us) and we had a lot of fun. All my friends loved him, but we decided a week ago that it just wasn't going to work. He didn't have the time, neither of us felt really committed, and the things we really wanted in a relationship weren't there. So now we're the better friends and we're both happy. So I'm still running around having fun with my roomies (who are wonderful!) and my 'boys' (who bring joy to my life). All I do is say "bummer" and move onto the next thing in life. In the whole 'prep' part of the last couple months, I've decided to just go with life and make things happen. If they go great I say 'woohoo' and if not, then 'bummer' and we move on.
In the meantime..I'm just gonna have fun! (I got a [blind] date tonight!)
...until next time
Love!
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