Get Ready.Get Set. Go.

forgotten fire

2011-12-20T12:23:00.000-08:00

"This is how steel is made." This book is HEARTBREAKING. There was even a moment as I read it that I literally threw the book across my bedroom because I could not believe what this poor Armenian boy was expected to endure. Towards the end of the book he says "I walked away as a boy who had lost all his battles yet somehow won the war." And that is what this book is about: every single battle this poor boy faced it seemed he lost but somehow he won his war. It is amazing and inspirational and incredible to see what the human spirit can endure.

however hard and long the road

2011-12-08T11:52:00.000-08:00

why did that happen?

what did I do wrong?

why is it so hard for me?

I have great people in my life who have had great struggles. I myself have been given a struggle or too as well. When these struggles come we find ourselves at a cross roads. We have a choice to make. We can chose to give up and to disbelieve. We can chose anger and offense and hate. We can chose to stop. OR we can chose to fight. We can chose to believe and we can chose to hope, even if that hope is only a glimmer. We can chose to never, never give up.

But why? Whats the point?

Ask Elder Holland what the point is:

http://lds.org/new-era/1983/09/however-long-and-hard-the-road?lang=eng&query=however+hard+long+road

p.s. I made my choice. I am chosing to fight, to believe, and to never, never give up.

thankful

2011-11-30T16:03:00.001-08:00

pizza.

my adorable niece.

college football.

gorgeous mountains.

trials.

youtube videos like this one.

amazing parents.

hoodies.

fabulous sisters.

the gospel of Jesus Christ.

2011-11-15T16:28:00.000-08:00

boy #1 - 'hey do you want to go to cowboys and aliens, a movie you have absolutely zero desire to see, in stead of watching the LSU vs. Alabama football game?'

boy #2 - 'hey do you want to go salsa dancing? even though you have no rhythm and will most likely make yourself look like a fool?

boy #1 again - 'hey do you want to see the symphony and miss your flag football game?'

where are all the men that will appreciate my limited likes of football, basketball, and not salsa dancing? am i asking too much?

fight for your life

2011-11-09T17:54:00.000-08:00

i miss my mission. that life was so much easier. it was harder, but easier. you know what i mean?

i was reminded this week of a few things: a testimony has a short shelf-life. nourish it or lose it. i've never really had a broken heart before. it hurts. winter is coming and i have even less enthusiasm for it than i did last year. nuskin distributors want the want when they want it, i wonder if they know the wrinkles are coming no matter what. christmas music makes me happy, always. after years of resisting, i love to shop.

most of all, i learned that it could always be worse and that to love what I have, fight for what I want, accept the failures and losses, and never give up.

so ha 2011. take that.

padre

2011-10-19T18:45:00.000-07:00

optimistic. forgiving. fun. happy. generous. humble. strong. smart. determined. accomplished. creative. enthusiastic. warm. comfortable. loyal. kind. my dad.

my dad turned 55 this past sunday. he is my favorite dad. i have always had a special bond with him. i used to call him to see when he would be coming home and then walk around the corner and wait for him to drive by, he always let me steer the wheel. he has never let me down and he has never let me stay mad, he always is the first to forgive. he is unwaveringly optimistic. i have lost counts of the nights i have woken up to find him studying the scriptures. i can remember times when i have woken up with the tramp taken down because he had a bad feeling that someone might get hurt, always following the spirit. he used to play dress up and scare us, sometimes a little too much. no matter what he says, every year i get a christmas present. he wrote the best letters to me on my mission. his granddaughter loves him more than the rest of us. and i have never had a day when i didn't know that my dad loved me with all his heart

he is my hero and the most Christ-like man I know. He is a living testimony of what being a mormon really means: having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ by understanding his teaching, living his teachings, and going about doing good.

Happy Birthday Dad. I love you.

EXPERIENCE.

2011-09-17T09:24:00.000-07:00

Things I learned in Austin, Texas:

Texas pride is no myth.

BYU still has some work to do.

Blue Bell ice cream is the best of the best.

"Hook em' Horns" has nothing on the cougar cat call.

Friday night before the game I went a chapel in Austin and attended a fireside put on by the BYU football team. Players testified, sang, and told of their stories of what life is like when you put the Lord first, even in front of football. I was proud to go to a school where the night before a big game the players put on a shirt and tie and are examples of the believers.

The game was a slight disappointment but it was still really fun to be in the environment. Some of the comments made were quite interesting like "only mormons kick field goals" and some other comments that were quite ignorant as well as rude. And it got me to thinking - I love football, I love watching it. But I really have no idea how it feels to play it, I have no idea what is feels like to make a tackle or to throw a pass. I would have to experience it myself to really understand it.

If you want to know what it is like to play football - don't read about it, don't watch it, play it. If you want to know what it is like to go sky diving - GO SKYDIVING.

IF YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT THE BOOK OF MORMON - DONT READ ABOUT THE BOOK OF MORMON, DON'T WATCH A DOCUMENTARY ON IT, READ THE BOOK. I DARE YOU.

GO GOUGS.

projects

2011-08-05T08:04:00.000-07:00

let me introduce to you to the projects of my life.

project: S. i categorized all three of these together. they are sleep, study, and skinny. in my chronic disease class i have learned about how much sleep deprivation can affect you. i've been working on a regular sleeping schedule and its gone well so far aside from the occasional trip to the emergency room until two a.m. with friends. i determined to be a better student especially since my first semester back was an utter disaster. so far so good - and we can go ahead and overlook the fact that all three of my classes are final-free for this semester. i've never been skinny. lets just adress this outfront. its an issue and has been since i can remember. so i work at it. its hard, makes me feel things i don't like to feel, and ultimately makes me be the self-concious insecure girl i don't like. so i am trying.

project: pray. on my mission when i would pray sometimes i would be so tired that i couldn't finish unless i did it outloud. so i began a habit of praying out loud or at least mouthing the words. prayer at that moment became more real to me. but then i got home and spinned into the world of reality and lost it. so i am starting that again. praying outloud. try it. it'll change your life.

project: engage. do things. try things that i haven't before. be vulnerable. put myself out there. engage in activities that freak me out (like country dancing) and see what is out there.

project: woo. go ahead. ask me how this one is going. well, its not. but i can say proudly that i am trying. i am putting myself out there. i say hi to the guy i think is cute, even if it means walking till i see him again in walmart and having an awkward encounter and then leaving feeling foolish.

if you add these projects of my life up, they spell spew. which is sometimes how i feel when i think about them. but i try. i am ready, i am set, and i am going.

the byu experiment

2011-07-30T06:46:00.000-07:00

i've faded in and out of the blogging world. i've been back and forth deciding on how much anyone would really want to follow my doings. i have a lot of friends who are married and starting their families and it has been wonderful watching them begin that part of their lives that will continue to be their lives forever. this time that i have now, this single life of trying to figure who i am and find someone to be with and every little thing that is encompassed in that might be to some interesting, often humurous if you know me at all, and i hope at times encouraging.

and so get ready. get set. go.