2014 In Review

"God gave us memory so that we might have roses in December." 

-James M. Barrie

-Worked at Sundance! Worked with amazingly positive and outgoing people. 

-Met great people like my friend Joey there. He introduced me to Pho. He also got me turquoise earrings for my birthday and took me up to Park City (see later).

-Became a TA. It was both terrifying and enriching.

-Went to the Spanish Fork Buddhist temple for a lesson. Life is filled with many reasons to dance and celebrate!

-Had my first surgery--> Wisdom teeth. Could NOT have done it without my friend Brandt. Truly an angel.

-Olympics!! Charlotte Kalla wins gold in the Cross Country Ski. She went from 3rd to first in the final minute. She wanted it BAD. 

-Someone shot by best friend to be initiated into a gang. Inspiring story.

Click this to watch that video

-Went to Park City for my birthday!

 

-April 24th. I graduated! My mom and dad surprised me with a very generous graduation gift. It was enough to help me with that last little bit to buy my car. We went up to Sundance to eat afterwards. Also had great support from my family. ☺️

-April 25. Chantelle got engaged!

-April 25. Moved up to Salt Lake City. I prayed about it, and I felt like I should go up to SLC to live with Chantelle for the summer. Although I might've been more of a hassle to her than a service, she taught me a lot about friendship, relationships, and how to let loose and relax. So glad I got to spend the last couple months of her singlehood with her. That includes the late nights spent talking about nightmares, or the early mornings driving her to her dress fittings. Love her. 

-Found my ancestors gravestone. Still working on it...

-May 8. Jacquie my good friend sent me a cool article about an autistic son's love of Disney!

Link about Autistic son

-Ankur, Anna Killian, Niles, Eleise Hinton, Jacquie, Abbi Koch, Mr. Moyer, Steph Tardiff, Bojana, Leigh, Maggie, Alysia, Jason, Courtney...just listing a few people that reached out to me this year. And I really needed it. Seriously, thanks to them, I get to see how great life is when you have friends. 

-Took classes at the BYU Salt Lake Center. Psychology from a sweet old man. ☺️

-May 21. I got dreads!! Had em for about 3 months. So fun!!

-Bought my first car!

-May 24. Went to Goblin Valley and camped out! Had some fun ;) in the desert. Saw beautiful canyons there. 

-Donut Falls Hike & the Living Room hike

-Extra in a movie as a zombie

-Worked as a Janitor at the Salt Lake Courthouse

-Joined my ward's softball team! Learned how to play softball...

-June 14. Hiked Squaw Peak. 

-My tire blew out. Thanks to the support of family and friends, everything turned out fine. Even after I had one tire replaced twice more! 

-4th of July! Zions Nat'l Park!

-July 10-13. Went to Lake Powell!!! With Court and her family and mish friends

-Guiding on the Provo

 

(from Westwater a while back)

-July 18th. 4th time up Mt. Timp! With Abby and friends

-July 29th. Ziplining in Provo Canyon with Alex!

-Hiked up Big Cottonwood with Mo and Michaela!

-Aug 8. Chantelle got married!

-Aug 14. Moved to Denver!

-Aug 25. Started pharmacy school!

-Denver's nightlife! Dancing, eating, socializing, festivals, music. <3

-Sept 13-14. Grandby Cabin trip. 

-Sept 26. Big Gigantic Concert at Red Rocks!

-Oct 11-14. Ft. Morgan Immersion trip. Melissa, Melissa, me, Jacqueline. 

-Oct 17. Hiking in CO Nat'l park!

-Colorado Springs & Ft. Collins Kaitlin's Vball games. With cous Kate. :)

-Halloween parties with wardies & besties. 

-Nov 8. Ski season starts. Snowboarding in Colorado! Copper and Keystone!

-New temple! Denver :) love it

-Nov 30. First flu clinic. 

-Dec 5. Ice skating in Downtown Denver with besties!

-Dec 12. Finished my first semester in pharmacy school! Great team, great memories. 

-Dec 13. Eagles Hockey game!

-Dec 14. Got to see Eleise! 

-Dec 15. Taught Jason how to snowboard! 

-Dec 17. Went to the Ohio! 

-Dec 22. Had a high school get together party. 

And that's a wrap. Just today, I was feeling down because I couldn't remember much from this year. I'm glad I put this together. I can't say it enough, but this year really was filled with things that got me OUT OF MY COMFORT ZONE! And because of it, I have met some amazing people. I'd say it's a year making new friends and rekindling the old friendships. Thanks to the many people who touched my heart this year. 

Standing Up to Live

A good sign that you haven't written on blogger in a while is when you misspell it in the search bar as "bloog" and you get a e-cig website instead.

Hello again. 

I wouldn't say that I have an incredibly illustrious life that keeps me from writing. My dear friend Henry says it best:

"How vain it is to sit down to when you have not stood up to live."

Boy, did I have a lot of living to do (and still do). It was made very apparent to me that I might have fallen short of memories in life. It has been humbling. In this, I am very aware of my imperfection. Imperfection is not so bothersome because it's real, but because it requires patience for its acceptance. 

Anyways, I just wanted to write a short post. 

And let myself willingly accept that I miss Utah. 

I'll call them my Utahan utopian years--mostly because I'm thrilled with the alliteration.

D is for Denver. Daring, devout, distinguished Denver.

After meeting with my friend Zach, I have the strong desire to express my appreciation for the Denver area--the 9 days I've been here so far!

Just me and my Sub. All I had when I arrived in Denver.

What an amazing place this is! I think that any area can be great if you have the right attitude, but I think Denver is blessed with exceptionally great people. The first night, a local restaurant employee sincerely welcomed me to the area. A lady at the store turned around to me and showed me the clothing items she was buying that day. A couple days later, a man talks with me for 30 min in front of the soup stand at the grocery store. The people are genuinely friendly here. They don't have any other motives other than being a good neighbor. I love that.

Denver. No editing. 

How did I end up here? Well, I had the opportunity to go to a couple of different pharmacy schools, but I chose Regis because they're going to turn me into the pharmacist I want to be! Someone with integrity and compassion along with wisdom and expertise. I'll never forget how much peace and light I felt when asked, "Why Regis?" in my interview.

How did I get here? The help of a friendly bishopric member. I was concerned--or rather my mom was quite concerned--that I needed to find another LDS girl to live with. With that in mind, I contacted 10 different bishops in the Denver area. Within 24 hours, 3 got back to me. THREE! Three busy, working, focused people that already had plenty of people that needed their attention, but they took the time to get back to me. TO ME. Someone they had never met.

And one proved to be a fantastic roommate match! Enter Kjirstin. What are the chances that she and I already have something in common (other than our faith)? Well, we did. And that was a shared roommate. Again, what are the chances that she and I both had the same roommate at different universities? Enter Rachel.

Other events over the last 9 days have proved the Lord is acutely aware of us. Down to the minute details. For example, I met with my Branch President, President Watterson (the leader of my small congregation) last Sunday only to find out...that we also shared a common thread. Enter Shirley Lassen. President Watterson mentioned he only knew two people from Ohio. One of them happened to be Shirley Lassen. Out of the whole state of Ohio, what are the chances that I would know her? Well, I did. My dad went to her home once a month for years and home taught her. Do you see a pattern here? The Lord was acutely aware of Shirley Lassen. And it was another confirmation that this is where I am supposed to be.

I could go on and tell you how cool it has been to connect with my classmates about our faiths, or how I've met an amazing bunch of LDS young single adults, or how I felt inspired to share my testimony about the eternal nature of families (or how this sentence is a run-on), but that will have to be at another time (and maybe a different medium). For now, I'd like to end by saying: hold to the truths that you do know. And I do know that my Heavenly Father loves me.

A Heavy Dose of Summer

I can't sleep, which I feel is the frequent pattern for my writings.

There's something so reflective about the early hours of the morning I guess!

What happened the rest of this summer? Where has it gone?

Goblin Valley. This was a girls' trip, which I was so grateful for.  These girls weren't afraid to be themselves. It allowed for us to become a lot closer in just a couple of days. The highlights from this trip include almost running out of gas on the way down, Elise carrying a handgun on her, peeing in the wilderness (Chelsea's first time!), the night sky, stripping down to our underwear to wade through slot canyon puddles, getting hit on by carnival men, and trying to stay upside down the longest on a spinning roller coaster. These girls taught me to live in the moment, and appreciate beauty and laughter!

Being an Extra in a Movie. Having a flexible schedule this summer allowed me to say "yes" to a lot of things I typically wouldn't. That includes being an extra in my friend's film Days of Z. Plus, who could turn down an opportunity to be dressed as a zombie?

Squaw Peak Mountain. This one was so fun! Just a Saturday morning hike with a couple of stellar people. To a view of Provo that I had never seen before. It taught me to try to look at things with a different perspective. Plus, these people laughed at my jokes. Making me feel all funny n stuff. I love not only feeling appreciated...but appreciated for my humor! #FTW

Playing softball with my ward. I never thought I would ever, EVER be good at softball. Or really any sport with a ball involved. It was definitely out of my comfort zone! But, I watched a Bees game in Salt Lake. Then I watched my sister's fiance play with his friends. And I couldn't help but feel more enthusiastic about it. I had to try it. And thankfully my church group had a team going! I tried it...and practiced...and played catch for the first time in my life I think! I even struck somebody out by catching their pitch! I had the most supportive team too. I'm sad I work in the evenings now so I can't play, but it was such a memorable experience.

Up Next:
Zions Nat'l Park
Dinner with some fancy people
Lake Powell
Mt. Timp

His Glory

I've been reluctant to post...because this will be my 100th post! I wanted it to be spectacular. Ground-breaking n stuff.

But, I couldn't hold back my enthusiasm about the prophet Joseph Smith's words. Joseph Smith was visited by an angel and it was revealed to him where a set of gold plates were. On these gold plates contained a record of an ancient people that lived in the Americas. It told of their conversions unto Christ, and Christ coming to visit them after his resurrection. It told of their struggles, so that those reading would learn from their mistakes.

Joseph Smith was instructed to retrieve these plates and to translate them through the power of God. What a glorious opportunity! But, the angel Moroni warned Joseph Smith that Satan would tempt him. Joseph came from humble circumstances, and Satan would tempt him to use the plates for monetary value. Following this warning, Joseph writes:

"[The angel] forbade me, saying that I must have no other object in view in getting the plates but to glorify God, and must not be influenced by any other motive than that of building his kingdom."

For me, I was so touched by this passage. I thought of all the things I've done in my life, and asked myself: Did I do it with no other object in view but to glorify God?

When I received a calling in the church, did I think: "I must have no other object in view in getting this calling but to glorify God."

In all things, I want to be able to eventually say, I did it to glorify God. I serve people to glorify Him. I love to glorify Him. I keep His commandments to glorify Him. Not to get monetary value. Not to get praise or power. Not to feel loved in return by others. But, solely for His glory.

Scaling Mountains and Capsized Kayaks

Aubri and I didn't get to chat much at church, so we decided to organize another hike--to the Living Room. It's right by the University of Utah's Red Butte Garden. I got to know some awesome people including Nick, Tommy, Nathan, and Aubri. We ended up just scaling the mountain. 

This pose is a shout out for my friend Eleise (she's currently on a mission in Rhode Island; see below)

Taken last August on Mt Timp. Miss this girl! 

Then, with it being Memorial Day weekend, a ton of my friends had planned some sweet trips. First up was a trip down the Provo River. My friend Colton had some kayaks his parents let us borrow. We strapped them to his Suburban and then headed up the canyon. The top part was great. A couple fun rapids, especially since the water is much higher this early in the season. I'm going to be rafting again on it this summer, so it was awesome to get the feel of the current again. To my surprise, I could actually physically and mentally remember the river. Those boy scout trips last summer actually paid off! 

They only paid off to an extent though. Colton and I were overzealous and very confident in our novice kayaking abilities. As we headed down the bottom of the Provo River in the canyon, the river upped its intensity. Many people don't know this, but the Provo actually has some level 5 rapids which take a little bit more preparation and scouting to go through. Our zeal caught up with us as we both capsized within 200 yards. I still have the bruises to prove it. Next time, Provo, next time. 

So we had to hoist our kayaks out of the river, mine being full of water. With the help of some adrenaline, we got our kayaks out safely. 

We were still miles away from our cars. So, we did what any logical, stranded adventurer would do: 

Thankfully Colton was wearing a BYU Alumni shirt...Someone pulled over within 10 minutes. Nicest guy ever named Phil. Was he on his way to work? Yes. Was his wife in labor? Why yes, yes she was. HE IS THE ONLY ONE WITHOUT AN EXCUSE TO PICK US UP. Cool guy. 

Next Time: 

Goblin Valley