A Mini Christmas Miracle

At BYU there's an Italian club, and every semester they put together a little Italian choir to do Christmas and Easter concerts. I thought it would be kind of fun to try it out, so for the last few months I've been participating in that and it's been a lot of fun :) However, our Christmas concert was on Monday, and these past couple weeks I've been a bit sick. It was just a cold, so nothing too crazy, but it was bad enough that I could barely talk most days, not to mention the constant coughing. It was  annoying.

So on Sunday night, I was worrying about how I was going to sing for this concert when my voice was barely there and I couldn't make it through two sentences without going into a coughing fit.I'd put a lot of time and practice into learning these Christmas songs in Italian, and I was super bummed that I might not be able to sing for this concert.

But then Monday morning I woke up and Tada! I felt completely fine. My throat didn't hurt, I could talk, my coughing fits were gone. That night I was able to sing perfectly normally and I enjoyed the concert a ton! :) I was really happy that I'd decided to take part in it.

And then Tuesday came and I was back to being as sick as I was on Sunday.

It was a mini Christmas miracle guys--or, as many people like to call it, a tender mercy. People don't just randomly stop being sick for a day. This was a little sign to me that I have a Heavenly Father who knows who I am and who loves me :) I know that he wants me (and every other person on the planet) to be happy and will help me achieve happiness throughout my life if I rely on him to help me through it. He cares about the little things that we each care about, like being able to sing for a little concert. This was just one example of how I've seen his hand in my life, and I know there have been so many more "coincidences" that happened because of him.

I know sometimes I tend to overlook the little blessings from God that happen daily in my life, but I'm working on noticing them and thanking my Heavenly Father for them :) These little instances prove to me that God loves me more than I can ever imagine, and he loves each of you, too :) So keep an eye out for those tender mercies, and you'll find that you notice them more and more :)

Looking Through the Wrong End of a Telescope

Tonight my ward decided to go see the lights on Temple Square in Salt Lake together. Even though I don't have a ton of friends in the ward, I was super duper excited to go since I hadn't been up to see the lights yet this year. So I grabbed my camera, an extra battery, a couple coats, and a candy cane, and headed out to the bus we'd all be taking.

All was fine and dandy until about 10 minutes in when traffic started to get really bad. It was stop and go, with brake lights for as far as you could see. Of course, I figured it was just rush hour traffic and it would clear up soon. But no. An hour or so later we were barely passing Lehi (which is all of like 17 miles away).

This one's my favorite :)

I don't know about you guys, but bad traffic is one of the things that annoys me the most in life. I just get so frustrated, even if I'm not in a hurry. It makes me want to rip my hair out or bang my head against the steering wheel.

I sat there, annoyed and frustrated, wishing the darn traffic would just go away already. And then I realized that I was looking at this the wrong way. I was on my way to see something I love--why should I let stupid things ruin my night?? This was so much better than what I'd probably be doing if I hadn't gone: sitting on my bed watching random YouTube videos. Plus I would get to take some fun photos :)

Once I realized that, my night got so much better! Even though traffic didn't clear up for another half hour, I was happy once again because I simply found a different way to look at the problem :)

So what's the point of this? The point is that your attitude and perspective on whatever situation you're in makes all the difference. If you're in a situation that maybe isn't the most fun for you, and you keep a bad attitude about it, it's like looking through the wrong end of a telescope. It distorts everything and it's harder to make sense of what you're seeing. But if you can change your perspective and have a good attitude, it's like flipping that telescope around. Boom! Suddenly everything is clearer!

It's amazing how a simple shift in your perspective can affect your situation and attitude so drastically. So next time you're having a rough time with anything, whether big or small, trying changing how you look at it :) Flip that telescope around. It's always worth a shot :)

The Grand Finale... Just Kidding

The semester is almost over, which means I won't be required to post on this here blog anymore. I'll definitely still post, but it may not be as often. Oh whale.

I only started doing this post because of my writing class. I'd always thought that blogs were kind of lame before. Like, do people even read those? The answer is yes, they do. As I've been writing on here throughout the semester, I've grown to love posting on here! :) It's a great place to share my thoughts and feelings and whatever weird stuff my brain comes up with. It's a place for me to be myself and make my opinions and views on the world known. It's been nice too because it's a heck of a lot easier than writing in an actual journal, so I do it more often.

With every post, I tried to keep with the theme of my blog: "always living life happy." The quote I chose to put at the top helps remind me that my happiness is up to me. It's a choice, a way of life, and trying to find things to post that relate to that have actually helped me see that there's so much more to be happy about in life than we sometimes realize.

This blog has really been a great blessing for me. Because of it, I've become more positive all around and I've noticed that I'm just happier throughout the day. So here's to blogging! It's been a great adventure that I'm excited to continue :)

Weirdoms

Weirdoms
/'wird∙ǝmz/
noun
1. The quirks or oddities about a person that don't seem to make sense
2. A made-up word created by Corynne

Here's what I mean: I hate running. I detest it. I loathe it. But if you put me on a soccer field or a football field, I will gladly run like my life depends on it, all for the sake of winning a stupid game. Why the heck is that? Here's another of my weirdoms: I don't like orange juice, but I like oranges, and especially clementines (which I know are different, but still.) Along the same lines, I don't like ketchup much, but I'll gladly eat tomatoes all day.

Told ya. Walnut.
(Hope you don't mind the picture babe)

Your brain is amazing. It's complicated. It's powerful. And it's weird. It does things you don't understand for pretty much no reason. Like back during the summer, my friend and I were calling each other names and I called her a walnut. For whatever reason, I liked it, and now that's her name in my phone. Why did my brain decide that was the best thing to call my best friend? I don't know! But there you go.

So why are our brains so weird? They do all sorts of crazy crap that really makes no sense. For example, if you make yourself a tuna sandwich and the mayo you use is bad and you get sick from it, your brain does this thing where even smelling a tuna sandwich can make you feel sick, even though that sandwich is most likely fine.

Isn't that weird?

Anyway... I don't remember where I was going with this, to be honest. But I just think it's interesting, all the weird little things your brain does. I find it amazing that something so complex regulates the tiniest details of our lives, whether consciously or subconsciously. To me, it's proof of what Heavenly Father can do, and has done for us :) He created us, he created this beautiful earth for us to live on... We have so much to be thankful for :) And yes, I know this post is pretty much the randomest thing ever, but that's what I get for writing at midnight when I'm sick and should be sleeping.

Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah, It's a Wonderful Day

I've lived in Utah my entire life, and one thing I've grown to love is the snow. I hate being cold, but snow makes the cold so much more fun, which is why I can handle winters here.

Here's the problem though: it's December and we have no snow. Like, where is it?? I want to know. I'm getting so antsy for it to finally snow good and hard here so I can go skiing and make snow angels and do all the fun stuff you can only do with snow.
For a while now I've been complaining about wanting snow. I was told Utah was supposed to have some amazing snow this year. I was super excited for this because the snow these last few years has really sucked. So where is this snow? It's just not here. It's on vacation in Florida or something, chillin' out as raindrops.

I mean, look at this gorgeous sky!! What's not to love?

Anyway, I've been pretty annoyed. But then today I realized something. Yes, there's no snow. But it's warm! It's warm and sunny and just absolutely gorgeous! I shouldn't be complaining when it's still amazing weather :) Pretty soon this weather will cease to exist and it'll be cold and dark and not fun. So I should be grateful for this extra bit of fall weather we're having, because I'm gonna miss it something awful as soon as it's gone.

I love feeling the sun on my face. It just makes me so happy :) And around February or March, when we've seen very little of my big bright friend in the sky, I start to miss it so much. There's this thing called "seasonal affective disorder" where basically you get depressed in the winter because of the lack of sunlight, and it makes me wonder if I have that to some degree... But anyway, I realized today that I should take advantage of this fantastic weather and all this sunlight while I can, and really just be grateful for the extra time I get with the warmth :)

The Magic of 26 Letters

Letters.

And words.

They're magic, did you know?

The same 26 letters make up every little word we know. But those words by themselves don't mean much. For example: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! (Any of you who knew that's a quote from Albus Dumbledore (first book, pg 123)*, you're my favorite ever. Have a cookie.) That random bunch of words has no real meaning. But it's what you do with those letters and words that matters. You can  combine them so that you create a piece of art.

I found a picture of this place.
Now I really want to go there.

Here's what I mean. I was looking through a National Geographic magazine about "The World's Best Hidden Adventures" and came across this: [talking about the Andaman Sea Reef in Thailand, wherever that is] "Dive Beacon Reef near the Similans to explore under the scrutiny of inquisitive batfish, or check out East of Eden, where soft corals resemble an underwater Japanese garden. Translucent waters, white beaches, caves, and coral walls await."*

I have absolutely no idea where this place is, but dang do I want to go there! Those particular words create a magical feeling. They make it so you can imagine this amazing place. Of course, that's their job at National Geographic, to make you want to go see these places, but still.

Honestly, it just blows my mind that you can do so much with 26 simple letters. You can make people feel happy, you can make people cry. You can make them go to a place they've never even heard of, just because you chose the right adjectives to describe it. It truly is amazing! :)

And then I thought about what I'm choosing to do with my words. I've never written something like what's in the National Geographic magazines, but that doesn't mean I'm not having an effect somewhere, somehow. We don't know who sees or hears what we choose to say or write. So try to have your words represent who you really are. Don't let your words be something you'd be ashamed of being associated with, because once you say them, you can't take them back. So just be aware, friends--you never know the effects your words may have :)


*And yes, I know I didn't cite those quotes how I really should have, but the credit is there (more or less) and I'm lazy.

The Nerve-Wracking Responsibility of Being Yourself

Everyone is unique, right? Some of us are very obviously unique, whether it be the way we dress, act, speak, etc. while others take some getting to know before you find out how they're really unique. I, for example, like to pronounce the word unique "you-nih-cue" because why not? And that uniqueness is what makes us, well, US.

Pretty fantastic, huh?

Anyway, there's all this pressure on everyone to "be yourself." But guess what? Being yourself can be scary sometimes. We, as people, tend to judge others based on stupid, superficial things like clothes or hairstyles or whatever. So if you want to "be yourself" by wearing some ugly sweater you really love that you found at D.I., you might get a bunch of weird looks. OR, perhaps, you'll find that people  actually like your ugly sweater. You never know. [Update: I was just at the mall wearing said sweater, and people complimented me on it. It was awesome.]

But how are we s'posed to truly be ourselves if we're constantly worried that someone is going to judge us or make us feel bad for being who we really are? It's a real struggle we all have to deal with. Personally, when I'm at school or out in some public place, I switch to my "normal" self. I'm quiet, dress nicely, say the right things, do what people expect. But when I'm with friends, or even just by myself, "normal Corynne" is nowhere to be found. Instead it's the real me that comes out. The me that's not afraid to wear a hideous Christmas sweater, the me that says whatever the heck she feels like saying, the me that is more random that a cat wearing a waffle hat. Seriously. (Also that rhymed unintentionally, soooo brownie points to me.)

There ya go... Google has everything.

Then there's blog me. Blog me is actually pretty close to real me, so lucky you guys--you know how I think.

Anyway, I've realized a thing, and I wanna 'splain it to you all. There have been times, like Halloween for example, where I decided that I was going to do what I wanted and not worry about what others had to say. On Halloween, I walked around as Cinderella all day. Even though I got some strange looks (the people at the bowling alley were quite interested to see how I was going to manage bowling in such a giant dress), I absolutely loved it! These instances when I've made up my mind to ignore whatever negative feedback I got, I am so much happier! I'm happier because I'm doing what I want to do, and I'm not worrying about what others think.

Honestly guys, people aren't even as judgmental as you think. We worry so much that everyone notices everything we do wrong, every imperfection. But they don't! And that's fantastic! Because it means that you can be yourself more :) like really, truly be yourself, which will make you happier.

So kiddos, I think all of you should really try focusing on not worrying so much what others think. Let yourself do the things you want without freaking out that someone will think you're weird. Heck, maybe you are weird, and if you are, embrace it! :) I'm quite weird, and I'm not afraid to show it. So lovelies, try being yourself, just for a day, and if you're not happier you can send me a letter of annoyance and I'll send you a picture of a cookie, okay? :)

Finally, It's a Monday!

Monday. The most dreaded day of the week. There's nothing worse than waking up in the morning and realizing it's a Monday. Especially if you've just come back from any sort of break, whether it was three days, a week, two weeks, three months, whatever. Mondays just stink.

Up until a few months ago, I hated Mondays as much as any other person out there. Monday meant I had to go back to school. I had to wake up early again. I had to actually use my brain (eww). But then things changed. Now I absolutely love Mondays! I'm sure you're thinking I must be insane (and I assure you, I most certainly am) for being able to do more than tolerate this horrid day of the week.

Well guess what? Mondays are my favorite because of one thing: missionaries! I have so many missionary friends out right now, and each of them have their P day on Monday, which means that's when I get emails from them! :) Whether they're from Peru, Praia, Texas, or Taiwan, these emails never fail to inspire me and put me in a good mood :)

I'm gonna be a missionary too soon enough :)

Having missionary friends, I've decided, is the greatest thing ever. These amazing boys (none of my girl friends are old enough to be out there yet) always know just what to say to me when I'm having a rough day. They seem to know exactly what I need to hear when I'm trying to make a decision on something, even if they know nothing about what I'm going through. But that's what happens when
they're out doing the Lord's work every day and are constantly inspired by his spirit.

So now, every day I wake up, and am actually disappointed that it's not Monday. Weird, huh? It's crazy how your view on some aspect of life can change so quickly and dramatically like that.

But hey. That's life for ya:
It makes no sense whatsoever.

And I'm totally okay with that. :)

Self Confidence is a Superpower

Palmyra, New York Temple

This semester I have a photography class, and oh my goodness I love it so much. Every Thursday is a critique day. This means that we go around the room (quite randomly), looking at everyones' photos, saying what works, what doesn't, what we like, what we don't like, how to make it better, etc. Somehow, I end up being near the end most of the time. And this really freaks me out, mainly because the more peoples' photos we talk about, the worse I start to feel about mine. I feel like, compared to all of theirs, mine aren't good at all.

The funky line's a shooting star 

But then we'll get to mine, and to my utter surprise, the other people in my class really like them. I go through this every week, worrying my photos aren't good enough, and then having everyone respond positively to them. Thinking about it now, I don't understand why I lose all confidence in my work.

One time I was at a beach in Thailand

From experience, I know that people think I'm a pretty good photographer, which is great because I LOVE taking photos. And having them like it makes me more confident, which makes me want to take even more photos, so it's great! But you know what I've realized? I don't need other people's approval of my photos to be a good photographer.

Isn't this flower pretty?

Self confidence is like a super power guys! If you believe in yourself, even if no one else does, you can do anything (within reason of course. Believing you can turn into a dragon won't make it so you can. Physics or whatever doesn't work like that, which is totally lame--I wanna be a dragon). Of course, having other people believe in you really helps too.

Harnessing the power of the sun!
(With a lightbulb)

So yeah guys. I believe in my photography skills, which honestly is why I'm happy with the photos I take, like all of these! (Some of my faves ever.) Although it took me a while to build up this confidence, having it now has made photography so much more fun for me! So if you've got something you love, build up your confidence in it, and guess what? You'll love it so much more! And that's awesome. :)

(And yes, this is me showing off just a tad, because I'm rather proud of these photos and no one ever sees them. So yeah.)

Giving Thanks for Turkey Day

Looking back on my life so far, I have SO much to be grateful for. And although I try to find things to be grateful for every day, Thanksgiving is a time devoted especially to recognizing what we're grateful for :) So here's what I'm most grateful for right now:

Exhibit A: Evidence of our dorkness from our last adventure

Friends! I don't have a lot of friends, but the ones I do have are some of the most amazing people I know. They've helped me through every tough time I've had to go through, and they've been so unbelievably supportive of everything I want to do. Not to mention they're not afraid to be utter dorks with me ;) So shout out to you guys, because I love you so freaking much!!

School! Being here at BYU has been a wonderful (yet tough) experience! I love learning, and being able to learn in such a good, wholesome place has been such a blessing :) My classes, teachers, and friends all help to make this a great time for me.

Utah! Okay, so let me 'splain this one a bit. Living here is fantastic, because I love how beautiful it is! Oh my goodness the sunsets, the mountains, the snow... All of it just reminds me that Heavenly Father created this amazing place for us to live in, and I'm so grateful for that!

Exhibit B: Look at them. They're such lovable weirdos.

Family! My family is all insane, but that's what makes them fun to be around :) This morning we went out and played football together, and it was just a whole lot of fun. These goofballs are always there for me when I need them and they're just so supportive. I love 'em!

And then there's a whole bunch of random things I'm grateful for, like Dr Pepper, letters from missionaries, fuzzy blankets, cute little baby cousins, yummy home-cooked meals, crepes, and so much more. The list could go on and on and on for pages and pages, but theses are some of the main ones :)

So take time to be thankful guys. There's so much in life we can be grateful for, and a lot of the time we overlook them (unless it's Thanksgiving). So yeah. Be grateful guys, and happy Thanksgiving! :)

It's the Little Things

Guys. Is it just me, or do the little things that happen sometimes mean more than some big gesture?

Here's what I mean: today, just out of the blue, a friend I hadn't talked to in a while shot me a text, just letting me know they were thinking about me and wishing me good luck on any remaining midterms before Thanksgiving. He didn't have to do that, but the simple fact that he did made me about 1000% happier. (Shout out to you, Ben Morgan.) It just showed me that someone was thinking about me, even just for minute. Also, earlier this week I got a letter from a friend in Germany. An actual hand-written letter. Who does that anymore?? But it made me feel pretty darn special and made the rest of the day seem so much better.

Yeah, one like that, except not that many.

I'm not going to lie. I LOVE when friends or family go out of their way to do some big thing for me. But it's those little things that prove, I guess, that people care. Because those little things don't take a lot of effort, they're not expected. People do little things for others purely because they care about them. And that is why the little things mean so much to me.

Maybe I'm just reading too much into these little things people do for me, but they make me happy :) When I take time to notice and appreciate said things I'm so much happier throughout the day. And who wouldn't want to be happier?

So friends, keep a lookout for people who do little things for you. And then hold on to them: don't let them fade out of your life. We all need people like that in our lives. And I think we should all work on being that kind of person for people we care about. It makes them feel better, and you'll feel better too :)

The Moral Dilemma of Wanting French Toast: A Personal Narrative by Me

       This, I was sure, was mutiny. I had always been a perfect student, the teacher’s pet. What they were asking me to do terrified me. I looked at the three of them, grinning as if everything was fine with the world. And yet I stood there, liquid guilt slowly dripping down my throat and puddling up in my stomach. I couldn’t just skip class! That wasn’t my thing. But there I was, caught between what my head knew was right and what my tummy wanted me to believe was right.

        “Come on, Corynne. You’ll be fine, I promise. Just come with us!” my best friend Ashley said, grabbing my arm and flashing her biggest smile, trying to persuade me to come.

        “I don’t know guys,” I replied hesitantly and felt the little butterflies in my stomach start to flutter. I couldn’t possibly leave on purpose. Sure, I’d missed school for football games or because I was sick or to go on a field trip. But those were all good reasons, weren’t they? What I did was still school-related, unless I was sick.

        “We’ll only miss second period,” Nate chimed in. His lopsided smile stretched from one ear to the other. How could they be so happy about this?

        “And it’s for Kneaders. You can’t turn that down!” said Robbie, giving me a wink and a playful shove. He did have a point though. Kneaders, as far as I was concerned, was the only place to have truly perfected French toast, and boy was that French toast sounding good to my poor, empty tummy. 

 But why did they want me to go with them anyway? Didn’t they know I had a superego the size of Saturn? I wouldn’t be able to make it out the door without at least a minor panic attack.

        “Hurry up, Rynne. Are you coming or not? We have to go soon.” Ashley looked at me impatiently, putting on the pressure. I had to decide, and I had to do it fast, dang it. Decisions weren’t really my deal. In fact, I hated making decisions under pressure. I looked at each of their faces, seeing their eagerness for me to come with them. Reluctantly I sighed.

        “Fine. I’ll come. But if I get in trouble for this I’m blaming you dorks.” The afore-named dorks smiled and agreed to take the blame and we set off down the hall, heading for the doors to the parking lot.

        The closer we got, the more anxious I felt. What if someone found out? Would I get in trouble? My heart started pounding, my palms sweating, and the butterflies morphed into an agitated swarm of bats zinging around inside me. They were going to kick me out of high school, I knew it. I could feel it; I was done for.

        And then my tummy rumbled, reminding me of its plight. I’d woken up just a little too late to grab breakfast before I was out the door. I pictured that heavenly French toast in my mind, with its golden, gooey syrup dripping off the sides of the toast. I could practically smell the sweetness of the strawberries on the side and I could almost taste the fluffy whipped cream that topped it all. And my tummy wanted some. Badly. I sighed again, this time in resignation—I had to have some of that deliciousness.

        Then I realized we were almost to the doors, and my anxiety shot sky-high. There were teachers right next to the doors. We were not making it out of this alive. I held my breath, ready to be reprimanded, as one of the teachers looked at us. But nothing happened, and we were out the door in a heartbeat. I was appalled! It was so easy! Why didn’t anyone care? Teachers and students alike watched us stroll right out the doors and speed off in Robbie’s little white Kia. I couldn’t make sense of it.

        I sat flabbergasted in the back seat until we arrived at Kneaders a few minutes later. Distractedly, I ordered myself some of this French toast, the French toast that persuaded me to risk so much. I sat down, took one bite, and instantly all of my worries disappeared, and I was perfectly happy once more.

        “You were right, guys,” I admitted. “Thanks for dragging me along.” They laughed, I laughed, and life was okay. So content and full, we drove back to school and my life went on like normal.

        A few weeks later I went to Kneaders with my mom for lunch and I was reminded of what I’d done with my friends before. Casually I steered the conversation that direction.

        “Some of my friends came here for breakfast a little while ago. They wanted me to come, but I would’ve had to skip class. Don’t worry though, I didn’t go with them.” I felt a pang of guilt in my stomach, but technically, this wasn’t a lie: I’d turned them down before.

        My mom kept on eating her turkey bacon avocado salad, then looked at me. “You know, you don’t have to go to class 100 percent of the time.” My jaw dropped. Did I hear her right? But then she continued, “Sometimes there are experiences you can have that require you to miss class that are far more useful to you in life than that hour of class would be. Sometimes it’s okay to just take a break with friends—have a good time and build up your relationship.”

        I thought about it… I guess that made sense. But it still went against everything I always thought was right. It required breaking rules—rules I’d been taught to follow since I was six. And honestly, it confused me. What teenager wouldn’t give anything for their parent’s permission to ditch class whenever they wanted? Yet the idea didn’t make me feel free: it scared me.

      A year passed and I was a senior in high school. The year just started, and classes were great—I didn’t have anything awful like calculus that year. One beautiful March morning, I sat in seminary, wishing the last 20 minutes would go by faster. Suddenly my phone buzzed loudly on my desk and I scrambled to shut it up. Looking down at it I saw, “Wanna go get Kneaders during second period? :)”  I smiled as I felt those familiar butterflies start to dance around my insides. As sneakily as I could, I immediately replied, “That shouldn’t even be a question. Of course I do! Who’s driving?” Spanish could wait: I wanted French toast.

The BYU Experience

BYU--a magical place in the middle of Provo, Utah, snuggled up next to the mountain. This is where I get to go to school :)

A great big arial view of campus

So far, this semester at BYU has been pretty great. I really love it here, and it's been an amazing opportunity for me to grow and learn and really find myself in a way. It didn't start out so great though. When I first got here back in September, I did not like it one bit. I didn't have any friends and I was miserable all the time. But then a few weeks later while I was walking to class, I realized something: it's my own fault I was having a bad time. I'd blamed my unhappiness on anything and everything other than myself (which was totally stupid). That day I finally figured out that I could have a good time here, even without any friends. If I kept a good attitude about life, everything was so much easier to deal with when it went wrong. Now, months later, I still don't have many friends, and things still go wrong. I still have bad days. But I'm okay with all of that. Yes, some days are just bad overall, but there is still some good that happens during the day. And those little good things are what help keep me going.

Throughout the rest of the semester I'm really going to try hard to keep a good attitude. It will be harder because I often struggle to see the bright side of things in the winter when I'm missing sunlight and I feel frozen. I know I can do it though. It'll just take a little extra effort to see the good things about each day. 

I also want to procrastinate less. Assignments are so much easier and much less stressful when I don't put them off until the last second, which I tend to do with almost everything. If I can get better at doing things earlier, I think that will help me keep a better attitude because I won't be so overly stressed all of the time.

So overall, BYU is an amazing place. There's nowhere else quite like it and I love it. I know I'll grow a lot here and I'll learn tons. And the experience will be so much better if I keep trying to live life happy :)

A Dream Come True

So a few days ago it was Halloween, and I decided to dress up as Cinderella :) ever since I was a little girl, Cinderella has always been my favorite princess, and I fell in love with the idea of getting to be a princess. It almost became a part of me, in a way. To this day I still consider myself a bit of a princess on the inside :) Anyway, that's beside the point. So I got a gigantic, poofy, beautiful Cinderella dress to wear, and it was absolutely gorgeous :)

Behold! I am "Crinderella"

Walking around campus, I felt a little weird at first because I was in this gigantic dress that took up the width of a hallway. But I quickly got over that because I was just so overjoyed that I could become my favorite princess for a day :) I got so many compliments on it and it was just absolutely fantastic :)

But the best part happened later that day. My best friend and I decided to go wander around the mall, and I am so glad we did. We saw so many adorable little kids there, and almost every time one saw me, their little face would light up and they'd gasp and say "Mom, it's Cinderella!" :) I had so many little girls run up and give me a hug or get a picture with me. And that, my friends, was magical :) Seeing how happy those kids were made me feel amazing inside and I couldn't stop grinning the rest of the day! :) In fact I had other people at the mall who saw my little encounters tell me how great it was that I was okay with stopping for pictures and hugs so much.

So the lesson is guys, dreams come true :) They really do. It's great to have your own dreams come true, but it is nothing compared to seeing how happy others are when you help their dreams come true :) I will never, ever forget those adorable kids, even though they'll probably forget that they saw Cinderella once at the mall. But that's okay :)

Anyway, I'm now seriously looking into getting hired as Cinderella at Disneyland for a summer so I can see that same magic happen with different little kids every day :) so wish me luck guys! I'm gonna need it.

Research Paper Reflections

Let me just say, it is so much better to write a paper (of any sort) over a period of time, and not the night before. With this research paper, I actually had time to really think through things instead of just throwing something together last minute.

One of the things that really helped me the most on this was getting feedback from others. Sometimes I don't realize something's off in my paper because it made sense in my head. But then someone else will read it and notice that things aren't making sense.

Another thing that helped was that I was actually interested in my topic. I know, that never happens with school papers. But since I got to choose this topic and it had to do with my own family history, it made it much more interesting and enjoyable to write.

I think if I were to do this again though, I would spend even more time coming up with a relevant topic. I felt a bit rushed picking this one, and although I really liked it, I probably would've chosen something different--not sure what though.

So yeah! This paper was much less stressful than others I've written in the past because I didn't let myself push it all off until the last minute. And I can definitely say that I'll be using this strategy again for future papers. Yay for not being stressed!!

I Love to See the Temple

Salt Lake City, UT Temple

Guys. I love the temple so much. It is truly an amazing place. I got to go to the Provo temple the other day with one of my friends who's about to leave on a mission, and it was a really great experience. :) I'd been having a pretty crumby day, but that short amount of time I was in the temple completely changed my mood and the rest of my day was fantastic!

Going to the temple is such a wonderful way to escape from the worries and stresses of everyday life. The beautiful, peaceful spirit there always helps me to calm down and focus on what's really important, and it gives me an opportunity to evaluate how I'm doing and to reprioritize everything going on in my crazy college life.

I truly LOVE the temple :) I know it is the house of the Lord here on earth. I know that I can come closer to my Heavenly Father while I'm there. I know that spending time there will help me know where to go with my life and what choices I need to make. Basically I know it's just fantastic :)

So, dear readers (if I have any), I am hereby challenging you to go to the temple within a week of reading this. You don't even have to go inside--just walk around the temple grounds. The spirit can be felt there too :) I just want you all to be able to feel this beautiful feeling too. So go! :)

Conference Analysis

So this last week we had General Conference, and let me just say: it was absolutely amazing. I learned a ton and it was just fantastic.

Okay. Well one of my favorite talks was Elder Jeffrey R. Holland's talk entitled "Are We Not All Beggars?" In this talk, Elder Holland used techniques to create very strong pathos to bring our attention to the poor and needy, and to open our eyes to how much we need to help them. One way he created this pathos was through repetition. He said "Don’t we all cry out for help and hope and answers to prayers? Don’t we all beg for forgiveness for mistakes we have made and troubles we have caused? Don’t we all implore that grace will compensate for our weaknesses, that mercy will triumph over justice at least in our case?" That repeated phrase "don't we all" is a very strong way to bring his audience in and get them to feel what he is feeling. It creates a sense of connection with those beggars he speaks of and makes the talk feel personal.

Guys.... SMILE! :)

That was in Thailand, but that's the dress.
So great, right?

So let me 'splain you all a thing: people don't smile that much on campus. Have you noticed? Why is that? Anyway, today as I was walking back from class with a ginormous grin on my face, I got a lot of weird looks... However that could be because I was wearing a dress that looks like the TARDIS (Doctor Who fans, you'll understand). But still, I've walked around smiling before and gotten the same looks from people I pass. Why is this, friends? If you see someone who's happy, great! Don't judge them for having something to be all sorts of smily about.

Personally, I think we should all smile more :) We all have so many things to be happy about. Like I just got a letter from a missionary friend. Isn't that worthy of a grin? Also, it's an absolutely beautiful day, so what reason is there not to be happy?

I don't know about all of you, but I'm going to work on smiling more. Smiles are contagious and I think this campus could use a couple infectious smiles going around. It would make BYU that much more enjoyable :) So whether you decide to smile more or not, can we all make an effort not to give people who do odd looks?

Anyway, there's my two cents for the day :)

Researching for a Research Paper

Okay. So I have to write this research paper about something that deals with my family history... Well, I don't really know what I want to do. I was talking to my dad though and he gave me a few ideas. One that I found kinda intriguing was on the topic of Thailand. We went there for family vacation this year (so this would be really recent family history). He told me that while we were there, the entire country was under curfew, which I didn't know at the time. That got me thinking...

• Why were they under curfew?
• Is Thailand really a safe place for people, like my family, to visit?
• How has their government affected the way things work in that country now?
• Has their government's actions affected other countries in any way?

There are more questions I have, but honestly I don't think I could write an eight-page research paper on them, so I suppose I'll stick to narrowing down those ones up there. So yeah... Wish me luck! (I'm gonna need it.)

Thesis: Despite safety concerns such as possible crime, the risk of contracting diseases, and political unrest between its neighboring nations, Thailand remains a safe place for tourists to visit when proper precautions are taken.

Reflecting on an Essay.... Eww

Soooo.... I just wrote this rhetorical analysis paper and may I just say, staying up all night to write it (procrastination is an easy trap to fall into) was not the greatest idea. Not only did I find it harder to focus (goodness I was tired), but I was more worried about just getting it done than actually making the essay really phenomenal, as I could've if I'd started earlier. Needless to say, this will not be part of my strategy for the next paper.

What I did do that was helpful was skim reading. I didn't read the speech this paper was on all the way through until after I'd finished writing the paper. That saved me a bit of time and I was still able to write my paper just fine. I didn't think skim reading would be so helpful, but thank goodness it is! I think that was by far the most useful thing I tried.

Another thing I want to do for next time is go to the writing center and get others' opinions on my paper. To me, the essay was just fine, but maybe having someone else read it would open my eyes to what's wrong with it. That would be really beneficial to me I think, especially since a lot of the time I don't see the errors I've made because I'm too ready to be done with the paper and don't always want to read and reread it.

So yeah. Next one will be better! :) I'm definitely not going to stay up all night--I don't want to fail it.

Strength in Stories

[Most of] My fantastic family in Thailand :)

So guys... I read this article that talked about how the best way to keep your family strong and together is to have a family narrative. First off, what is a family narrative? Well, it's your family's story. The story of your ancestors, your extended family, your good times, your bad times, everything. When I first heard this, I was curious as to why that is. I mean, how could just knowing stories from your family's history make that much of a difference? But here's the deal: knowing those stories helps you feel like you're a part of something bigger.

I don't know about you all, but knowing I'm part of something bigger and more important than myself makes me feel pretty cool. I feel more important, and also more responsible for adding to those stories, creating new ones to get passed down to my own kids and grandkids, and so on. I can't wait to see what kinds of stories will hold my future family together, but I know they'll be good ones :)

Let's Start Flooding the Earth

I love Elder Bednar. But then again, who doesn't? His recent talk, To Sweep the Earth as with a Flood, was absolutely incredible. He talked about flooding the earth with the gospel by using social media. Well that's what I'm starting to do here a bit. Anyway, in this talk he said something that really made me stop and think. He said that we need to be the masters of our technology and not become servants to it. It's so incredibly easy to become addicted to your phone or laptop or whatever. To spend hours upon hours checking Facebook, watching meaningless YouTube videos, tweeting. I know I'm guilty of this. I've had days where I don't get out of bed until noon because I'm on my phone texting and looking at Facebook.

So now this is me, challenging you, and myself, to become the master of your technology. Don't let it run your life. Let's all prove that we aren't slaves to our smartphones and tablets and whatnot. Let's all prove we're in charge and start flooding the earth.