My Sisters of Freshman Year

Today was the last Sunday I had with my Relief Society.  Each one of the girls in my hall had such a big impact on me over the past year.  All of them have so many amazing qualities that I have been able to learn from.  I wouldn't trade the memories I've made with them for anything in the world.  From the ridiculously late nights, to the birthday celebrations, to the wonderful experiences at church on sunday, this year was unforgettable.  

Audrey is so wonderful.  She is so beautiful and such light in our hall.  Her sister is serving in the Philippines too, and so I feel like we are bonded forever.  She is always around to do something fun and to listen when I need to talk.  

Kate is seriously the biggest sweetheart.  I couldn't imagine her ever getting angry or saying a bad word against anybody.  She is brilliant, and such a hard worker.

Karisa is our RA and she is a blast!  I always know that I can go to Karisa for anything. Even if it was 4 am, I know that she is always there to help me out.

Morgan totally adorable. I always see her come out to the hall and check out her cute outfits in the mirror before she leaves.  She is so kind and was always fun to see at the football and basketball games as a cheerleader!

Kennedy is one of my favorite people I've met this semester!  She is so comfortable in her own skin and her crazy attitude always makes everybody laugh and smile.

Emilie might be a little quiet, but she has the biggest heart.  I always see her smiling and being kind to those around her.

Lizzie! Liz always makes me so happy when I run into her (:  She is hilarious and someone I am so comfortable talking to about anything.

Oh my goodness, Destiny seriously makes my heart smile. All she has to do is walk into the room and my mood turns to instant joy.  She is always happy and has a genuine love for everyone around her. I don't know what I'm going to do without her hugs.

McKenna is probably one of the most beautiful people I know both inside and out.  Despite her absolutely stunning appearance, she does not put herself above anyone.  She is so much fun to talk to and is such an example of kindness and purity.

Joshlin is so so much fun to be around.  She is always being a total goof and making everybody around her happy.  My favorite memory of Joshlin was when she performed for the ward talent show.  She is an amazing and absolutely hilarious speaker.  Studio C-sign Joshlin up!

Awee, I can't even say Kealani's name without smiling! Anybody that meets Kealani instantly falls in love with her sweet spirit.  She makes me laugh so hard and is so generous with her free candy outside of her door for everyone.

Tiffany is the bomb.  She is a little soft spoken but seriously is the life of the party!  She loves her gangster music and is almost always smiling.  Some of my best memories from this year were spent with this girl!

CADY LADY! Cady has become one of my best friends this year.  Her light and integrity have strengthened so many girls in our hall this year.  I love her so much because she's always looking to have fun, but she won't lower her standards for anyone or anything.

Nat probably doesn't know how much of an effect she's had on me this year. She is such a strong person with an amazing testimony.

Caroline is the best.  My favorite memory with her was definitely her organizing the cup prank on the hall below us.  She is a blast to be around, but also a great listener.  Every time I talked with Caroline I felt that she genuinely cared about what was  happening with me.

Sara is the epitome of a best friend.  She is literally everybody's best friend in our hall.  She makes whoever she's talking to feel like a million bucks.  The world would be a better place if everybody were like Sara when it comes to genuinely loving those around her.  I love her SO MUCH!

Julie is the cutest and I was lucky enough to have her as my visiting teacher! If you need someone to feel something with you, she is the one to go to.  She was excited with me when I was, and sad with me when I was sad.  My favorite memory of her was when she came to visit teach me and said exactly what I needed to hear without even knowing it.  Her frequent kind and thoughtful texts made me love her so much.

Jennifer is one of those people where you continue to discover crazy and awesome things about her every time you talk to them.  She is an amazing artist and photographer!  She is honestly a great friend to everyone around her, but especially to Nat.  They are the cutest best friend and their genuine care for each other was such an example to me.

Ashley is awesome.  She is so smart in both school and church, and is such a great example of obedience.  I know that no matter what, Ashley is going to be doing the right thing. She has an amazing spirit and courage.

Lindsay is so much fun!  If you're ever looking for something fun to do, or someone to have fun with, she is your girl.  She's got an awesome testimony and a light that shines when she smiles.

Auburn is one of the first people I met this semester.  She is so adventurous and good at whatever she puts her mind to.  Just recently I was stranded at a mall in Provo and she dropped everything to come get me and my broken bike!

Erica!! Well, Erica is my roommate and I have shared so many laughs and memories with her this year. She is probably one of the most driven and hard working people I know.  She is so happy and bubbly almost all the time. I couldn't have picked a better roommie!

Gabby if first of all, so gorgeous.  She is amazingly talented, but would never hurt a fly.  She has a quiet, sweet spirit about her that brings so much to our hall. She was my visiting teaching companion this semester and I love her so much!

Nicole is the best.  She is always so much fun to be around! Everytime I would pass her in the halls she would check up on me to see how I was doing. 

Malia has been such an example to me this year.  Just last week, when Ashley was sick she dropped everything to take her to the urgent care.  She is so reliable.  I know that if I ever need anything she will be there in an instant.  She is totally adorable and is going to be the best mom!

Kit holds a special place in my heart this year.  She is a true radiant of happiness and the love of Christ. She is always energetic and full of excitement.  Her huge smile and loud laugh will be something I never forget.

Calli is a total riot and I love it.  My favorite memory of her is scaring her at night in the bathroom what seemed like time and time again.  She says things exactly how they are and is always so much fun.

Stephanie was who I got to visit teach!  She is so sensitive to everyone's feelings around her.  She is so thoughtful, kind, and hard working.  She is exactly obedient, and is truly such a Christ like person.

Kim is so funny.  Our love for hilarious tv shows like The Office and Friends bonded us from the start. I love sitting in her room talking with her.  If anyone is in need of a good laugh, Kim is the one to go to to bring a smile to your face.

Cassidy is so beautiful inside and out.  I loved watching her love life blossom over the year.  One night, she even gave me the how to on how to be a good kisser.  She is totally beautiful and fun and just a great person!

Katie is such a great girlfriend to have.  Not only does she give flawless fashion advice, but she's a great listener too.  She helped me modernize some of my missionary clothes this year and has always been a great person to talk to.  She is so beautiful and trendy, but so gentle and kind too.

I have truly felt Heavenly Father's love for each of the girls in my Relief Society.  I will take what each of them has taught me this year and carry it with me as they have changed me.  These girls really have become my sisters.  We have made a bond that is unbreakable, and learned so much from each other. I am so sad to say goodbye to them, but how lucky am I to have met people that make saying goodbye so hard?

Life is good with my wonderful Relief Society. 

Because of Him

Because of my Savior Jesus Christ, I have found everlasting joy in this life.  At times when I have felt alone, He has been there to comfort me.  I am sealed to my family for all eternity.  Because of Him, I have been able to overcome past mistakes and become better.  Because of Him, I can mess up again. And again. And again. But my sins can be washed away. Because of Him, I can love others with a pure love.  Because of Him, I can be a better me.  Because of my Savior Jesus Christ, I can one day live to stand before Him.

I know that my Redeemer lives.  I know that he suffered in Gethsemane and died on the cross so that all mankind may be saved and resurrected.  I am so blessed to have had the opportunity to grow close to my Savior.  He has become my friend when I feel alone, my rest when I feel overwhelmed, my peace when I am scared, and my encourager when I feel down.  At this wonderful Easter season, I hope to be able to love Him more fully. 

Life is good, #BecauseofHim

I am where I'm supposed to be.

It's the beginning of a new semester here in Provo! I was so sad to leave my family in Ohio.  I cried all the way to the airport and hated saying goodbye to everyone again for another 4 months.  But now that I'm back at BYU, life is good again! Classes just started yesterday, and so far things are going very smoothly. This semester I'm taking both a racquetball and a skiing class, so its pretty much a party all the time! I'm also taking Mission Prep with Brad Wilcox which will be so amazing. In other news, I got a job! I started working as a cashier in the Cannon Center.  My first day was yesterday and I think I'm really going to like it!  I love my managers and all the people I work with, and I get to see and talks to tons of people while I'm working.  It will also be super nice to actually get some money saved up this semester. 

So even though it was so hard to leave my favorite people behind again, I know that BYU is where I am supposed to be.  The opportunities I have here to learn and grow couldn't be matched anywhere else.  I feel so blessed and happy to be here and be a part of such an amazing university.

Life is good at BYU!

Kindness goes a long way

I'm home! After a crazy long day, I made it back to Wadsworth! I was running on a full 2 hours of sleep all day, and there was a huge storm in Salt Lake so my flight was delayed by like 4 hours, so I missed my connecting flight. It sounds like a really terrible day, but I found people I knew in the Salt Lake airport, I made super kind friends on the plane, and I was lucky enough to get a standby seat on my last flight back here to Cleveland! Its so fun meeting total strangers who become your friends by the end of the day. It helps me remember that there are so many amazing people in the world who are always trying to help each other out. The guy next to me on the plane was even playing games with me on his iPad by the time we landed.  So what could have been a terrible day turned into a kind of fun day actually! Its so important to always be a friend to the people around you, because you never know who needs it. 

So now I'm home sweet home! I got to see my mom on her birthday. Its so weird to me that my little brother has his license and is driving around... I love laying in my bed and being around people that love me! The next 2 weeks are gonna be great.

Life is good when you are kind to others.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from Amarillo! Its been a wonderful couple of days here so far, I have so much to be grateful for. I've been spending time with my adorable cousins and family and been eating yummy food.

I am so blessed with an amazing family, a knowledge of the gospel, the best best friend in the whole world, a chance to go to BYU, awesome friends, a beautiful home, a free and great country to live in, food in my tummy and a warm bed to sleep in every night. We went black Friday shopping tonight. It can be so easy to quickly forget all of your blessings you counted on Thanksgiving when you start the craziness of Christmas lists and Christmas shopping. I hope I can remember the real meaning of the season and instead of looking for what I don't have, focus on all that I do have.

Life is good when you are thankful!

Amarillo by Mornin!

I'm heading off to Amarillo for Thanksgiving! I'm so excited to see this little girl (: She's seriously probably one of my favorite people to hang out with. It's gonna be crazy because Skip and Pele and all of their 4 kids, my Aunt J plus her 5 kids, plus me and my Marmee and Grandpa will all be crammed into one house! But I don't even care because I am just so pumped to get to be with family this week.

This past weekend has been pretty fun! I spent the night in Taylore's dorm and we made a megabed and watched NewGirl on netflix. We also hung out with Brittany and ordered pasta, pizza, and wings. (Again the freshman 15 is a real thing...)

Life is good when you'll be in Amarillo by morning!

Looking for Blessings

On any given day, I think, people have a number of good things happen and a number of bad things.  They also just have a whole lot of pretty neutral happenings that aren't necessarily good or bad.  So on one of these merely average days, what do you say? Was it a good day? Or bad day? I think human nature tells the average man it was a bad day.  It's easy to remember the bad things that happened, but sometimes it is not as easy to remember the good.  

Today was a pretty average day for me I'd say.  But for some reason sitting here in my dorm tonight, I'm finding myself focusing on the bad things.  My mom always told me, "thoughts control emotions." So instead of remembering the bad and making myself sad, I'm going to choose to turn my mood around and look for the blessings in today! Here are 10 things today that made me happy:

1. I said a prayer on my knees as soon as I woke up this morning.  How lucky am I to have the knowledge that my Heavenly Father listens to me and I can start my day off with a conversation with Him?

2. I taught a dance in my dance aerobics class with my friend Cady! Woo!

3. Today my physical science teacher made a joke about unsaturated fats being kinky. Hahaha I laughed out loud in class and like nobody else did.  Then he said, "Awe that was funny! I know this is BYU but come on- lighten up people!" Hahaha it was great.

4. My dogs back at home stunk up my whole house like skunk today, and I just get to laugh about it because I'm 2,000 miles away!

5. I ate some M&M's (:

6. I talked to my friend Lauren who I miss so much )))):

7. I took a nap.

8. I drank a Dr. Pepper. (Disclaimer: I also had 2 servings of vegetables and 2 servings of fruit and worked out! Those just aren't on my list of things that made me happy for the day (; )

9. I talked to my brothers on the phone about their day! T.J. actually had a lot to say which made me SO happy. He has basketball tryouts this week!

10. I watched a video about a middle school football team that planned a play for a special needs boy to score a touchdown.

You're probably thinking this is so cheesy, but I honestly can feel a difference in my mood from when I started writing this post.  So, in honor of being thankful this month, look for the blessings at the end of everyday.  They really are everywhere and when you do see them, you'll find yourself so much happier than you did before! 

Life is good when you count your blessings.

A Time to be Thankful

Happy November!  This month is so exciting because I get to go to Amarillo for Thanksgiving and see Marmee and Grandpa and all my favorite cousins and its my birthday month!  But, I want to really try hard to look for things to be thankful for everyday since it is Thanksgiving. I really have been so blessed and I have SO much to be grateful for. So since the biggest blessing in my life is my family, I'll start of the month telling you about them (:

This is T.J.  He is the sweetest 12 year old you may ever meet.  He's a total rockstar basketball and baseball player and seriously just a great all around kid.  Even though he's 6 years younger than me, he's been such a great example.  He always does his homework right after school, and he's out shooting hoops almost everyday. Every night I would walk past his room and see him reading his scriptures before bed.  His desire to do what's right all the time is something I admire so much. Since coming to BYU I miss kissing him and loving on him all the time.  I also miss hearing him quote movies in random conversations all the time. I can't wait until Christmas when I can see him balling it on the basketball court! I am so thankful for T.J!

Nafennnn!  Nathan is one of my best friends.  Even though he kicks my butt on the tennis court, I still love him to death.  Any time I'm having a bad day, Nate knows how to make me smile.  I miss taking him to Taco Bell or to Bid's all the time, or coming home late at night and waking him up when's he's asleep on the couch (;  Hearing his laugh can turn anyone's day into a great one. Anybody that knows Nathan would tell you he's the kindest guy around and would never do anything to even hurt a fly.  Since he was just a little kid, he was always looking out for the people around him. He's a total lover, but he also loves adventure.  Nathan has always been down to do stuff like ride the front row of the top thrill dragster with me, or parasail over the ocean. I love Nathan SO much!

Meet my momma! She is absolutely wonderful.  She's my best friend and I don't know where or who I would be without her.  She's taught me so much and done so much for me.  I miss being able to come home and talk to her after a hard day, or just tagging along when she goes to Wal Mart, but she's still such a strength to me even when I live across the country. I call her everytime I'm leaving the testing center, because I know that if I did poorly on a test, she'll be the one to make me feel better, and if I've done well on a test, she'll be the most excited for me. I've always wanted to be just like my mom, and I  hope one day I'll be half as good of a Mom as she is.  I'm so thankful for my mom.

My dad kinda rocks.  I have so many great memories with him I wouldn't trade for the world.  He's the biggest kid at heart and he truly loves the people around him.  I miss going to the dances where he would DJ or going out and playing tennis with him.  One time he took me to go see Weird Al in concert and we dressed up like nerds. What dad is that cool? My relationship with my dad has helped me grow and learn so much. He has always tried so hard to show me how much he loves me.  Now that I'm at college I find myself doing things I know I totally inherited from him like signing up for a spinning class, or jamming out to 80's music while I clean my dorm room. He's an amazing Dad and person, I am so thankful for him.

Well now that I am totally bawling...that's my family! I miss them everyday but I love them to death and I am so thankful for them.  I CANNOT WAIT to see them in just a month and a half!!  Being apart from them has really showed me how much they mean to me. They are definitely the biggest blessing I have to be thankful for in this Thanksgiving month.

Life is good when I'm thankful for my family!