A snapshot of a week of my life at BYU-I!

     Last Friday night, my friend Bob took me to the Student Film Festival, and as we left my apartment, it started snowing.  It kept snowing throughout the night and pretty much all day Saturday.  My wonderful roommate Courtney, and I had a test to take in the testing center that Saturday.  Being the dedicated students we are, we fought our way through the snow and and winds to the testing center.  The only casualty was one of Courtney's flashcards that blew away.  Courtney and I both aced our tests. 

     I got pretty homesick on Saturday.  It was my youngest brother Brandon's baptism, and a lot of my extended family was in town, except me.  I was trapped in the burg.  I really miss having that kid in my life while I'm away at college.  He has been such a blessing in my life, and I really wish I could always be there to help him on his homework, or to be player 2 on his video games, or to just hang out with him. I miss all my family members while I'm away.  It's weird to go back every 3 and a half months and see all the things I've missed out on.  Brandon's baptism, Ashley's first dance, Scott's first date and his first joy ride. I miss having my mom there to take care of me when I'm sick, and always having my Dad priesthood presence.

    Then to make matters worse, my other brother decided to call me from a One Republic concert at Disneyland that they were filming for the New Year's Eve special.  I was pretty darn jealous that's for sure.  Disneyland+ One Republic+ Television crews? Yeah, we don't have that here in Idaho. Haha, but I'm glad he called, it sounded like a pretty awesome concert, even through the phone.

     Sunday, I went to church, indexed, and did lots of homework.  Bob came over for a bit, and then Jordan and I went visiting teaching. 

      Monday was stressful.  I had a huge project on Horace Mann due Tuesday for my History and Philosophy of Education class, and it was no where near completion despite the fact that I had done practically nothing all weekend except homework.  I had to skip FHE, which is a bummer because I really enjoy that bonding time I have with my roommates, and I have a pretty awesome "family".  I completed the project, and the in class presentation went well. I ended up getting a 96%.  Reasons being I was hesitant and used Um and Uhhh a lot.  I need to work on my presentation skills if I'm serious about this whole teaching thing.

      After the long weekend full of homework, my mental health was in pretty bad shape.  I decided that I really needed to focus on balancing my academic and social lives.  So, Tuesday I completed my homework for the next day and then I played psychiatrist with my super cool roommates for a couple hours.  It was really entertaining.  Also, this is the day that I found out that my good friend from high school, Lexi, got hired in at Disneyland! My friend Eli, who has been my friend for like... EVER was hired in like a month ago, and my other really close friend from high school, Lindsey just got her job at Build a Bear in Downtown Disney back! So basically, all my friends now work at Disney with me!  This is going to be AWESOME!

     Wednesday, after class I ran into my friend Chris, on campus and we had a nice long chat in the freezing cold.  He's going to be doing my job, but at Disney World, and I am quite jealous. Then later that night Jaasiel surprised me by stopping by.  We caught up on each others lives, and reminisced about old times. I am really going to miss that kid when he graduates.

     Thursday I woke up to text messages from two of my favorite people Lindsey, and my awesome coworker Emilee who is absolutely amazing.

     Friday I woke up late, and had to run to my first class.  I am so glad that I did not skip it.  I'm taking Child Development, and I have the most amazing teacher.  Any teacher that shows us random hilarious YouTube videos, makes us analyze clips from Disney movies, uses a light saber as a pointer, and plays the guitar and sings for us has got to be pretty awesome right?  And I learn a lot.  Friday we talked about 7- 11 year olds and the education they're receiving.  We tried to come up with ideas for change, and we discussed how often teaching as a profession is looked down upon and belittled, and how important and needed good teachers are.  This is something we have discussed in a few of my classes, and it makes me really sad that people don't respect teachers.  I know my life has been so significantly affected by good teachers and I want to be a teacher that makes a difference in children's lives.  My teacher showed us this video clip, and it made me realize that this whole teaching thing, is exactly what I should be doing. Please watch it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuBmSbiVXo0&feature=share

     After Child Development, I had Number Theory.  My professor let us go 5 minutes early so we could run up and down the halls of the Ricks building screaming at 11:11 on 11/11/11 because according to my professor, this was a mathematical phenomenon that needed to be celebrated.  After all my classes I ran home to get ready to go to the temple with Addison.  On my way to meet Addison, I ran into Jessica, who had just left the temple.  The two and a half hours I spent there were the most peaceful Ive had in weeks.  I didn't worry about all the things that I needed to get done.  It was quite a relief.  After, I went home to make my roommates some dinner.  Then, right after dinner Rebecka and her roommate Sarah came and picked me up to go grocery shopping.  I ran into Grant and Ali there.  So cute seeing them all married and stuff.  This is the first semester I haven't had Ali for a roommate, and I miss her lots.  After Broulim's we returned to Becka's and made muffins, and then KC came over and we watched Toy Story 3, which brought back memories of the day of my graduation.  After we graduated high school, my friends and I went to the midnight premiere to watch Toy Story 3.  Very appropriate.  KC left after the movie, and I stayed and played card games with Becka and her roommates. 

     Yesterday I woke up fairly early, well, for me anyways, and saw that it was snowing... like a lot. we got a few inches in less than an hour.  But this was good because it kept me inside, and I had all my homework due Monday done before noon.  Then last night I went over to Jessica, Ashley, and Kelsea's apartment for homemade pizza and it was really good.  After pizza, we watched The Little Mermaid and colored in coloring books.  It was pretty much exactly what I needed. 

     This morning I woke up to a text from my dad telling me my work schedule was up online.  I was way too excited to go back to sleep.  I got up and checked and I'm going back to work on Main Street! Yay frilly dresses! haha I'm really excited to see my friends.  Then I went to church.  Sacrament meeting was really good today, and then I went to mission prep with Anker and Jordan and it was awesome! After church, my hometeachers came over and then Anker and I went indexing. Then I went to a really nice fireside.  I'm glad my roommates are such good examples to me, and took me with them, because I really didn't want to walk all the way there in the freezing cold, but their good examples made me go and it was wonderful.  We even got a ride home from strangers.  I'm really thankful for kind people who stop to offer rides, especially when it is freezing outside and you can't see where the ice is. 

     Tonight I think I am going to Skype with Lauren, the coolest person I know, and I'll find out if we are working together.  Lauren is seriously my twin.  She's probably the only person I can sit down and Skype with for 3 and a half hours, and feel like we have only been talking for like ten minutes.  We have a plan to go to Disney World when we graduate college.

    Well this went from a quick blog post to a novel really fast, but I think I'm done for now. Til next time!

It might surprise you...

     Hey friends. So, I am now a sophomore in the middle of my third semester at BYU-Idaho, and I have decided to start using my blog! This first post is going to be a bit scatter brained as this weekend is super busy and stressful, and I'm just taking a break from my never ending to-do list to record a few thoughts. 

     Well, I am majoring in Elementary Education, and when I'm not in school, I move back home and work at Disneyland as a cashier at quick service restaurants and I LOVE it!  School is great. I have some pretty amazing supportive friends, my professors this semester are awesome, and I really am learning a lot! Work is amazing! I work with some of the coolest people! I grew up going to Disneyland with my family at least once a month, and it has always felt like home to me.  Now, I am on the other side of the counter, and  I see everything from a different perspective. Oh, and I get to wear all the... interesting outfits haha. 

     This semester has been especially challenging for me as my classes have gotten harder, and my work load has expanded quite a bit. I have not been able to see my friends nearly as much as I would like, but I really am learning and growing a lot.  I've decided that this blog can be a place for me to share thoughts and express myself.

Because I am so scattered brained today, I have decided to leave you a nice list of random things you may not know about me.
-I sing in the shower and when I drive... quite loudly and probably not very well.
-I dread the day I "grow up" and loose my imagination.
-Flowers make me happy.
-I have a rather large sweet tooth.
-I'm pro at procrastinating. Seriously. I do things at the last second, and not a moment sooner.
-People kinda scare me... so I'm pretty shy at first.  I am trying to grow out of this.
-When I was younger, I there were several things I wanted to be when I grew up. The list included a dolphin trainer, ballerina, teacher, and Sleeping Beauty at Disneyland.  Well, at least I'm following one of those dreams, well one and half I guess. My major is elementary education and I work at Disneyland... just not as Sleeping Beauty :)
-I like bright colors.
-I was born in Anaheim and never moved very far from there until I was 18 and left for college... all the way to a small town in Idaho. Culture. Shock.
-I've never been out of the country, but one day I hope to travel to Europe, and explore.
-I kinda know how to play the flute, and I really wish I knew how to play the guitar.  I even begged my parents for one enough that I got one for Christmas, a couple years back, but still don't know how to play it.
-I enjoy reading books, but struggle with my text books.  I guess I just really enjoy loosing myself in a great story. My imagination tends to transport me into the book. I have to be careful to not start a good book when I know I have a lot of school work going on, because I loose my focus and cannot put the book down.  I even tend to stay up way late to read the book.
-I love pictures and photography.
-I am Mormon.  I believe in that I have a loving Father in Heaven who sent His son Jesus Christ to be our Savior so that one day we can return to live with Him. I also believe that the Bible and the Book of Mormon to be the word of God. I am very open about my beliefs and if you have any questions, feel free to ask me :)
- I enjoy drawing.
-If you haven't already noticed, I kinda like/love all things Disney.
-If I had one wish, I would wish for more wishes.
-Never seen an R rated movie, done drugs,  or drank alcohol, tea, or coffee.
-There are four children in my family, of which I am the oldest.  I have 2 younger brothers and a younger sister.
-Back home I have 2 pets; a dog and a turtle, both with the most original names. Buddy and Speedy ;)

Well, I probably have rambled on enough and really should get back to my homework :)