Graduating, Moving, and What the heck am I going to do with my life?!

I am graduating!!

 

That's right...with a Bachelor of Arts in History with minors in Music and Anthropology.

I have taken my nerdiness to the extreme by having two minors!  And it added a couple of extra semesters onto my education!  But it's fine!  The day is finally (almost) here!!

I find myself having the occasional mental freakout.  Am I ready for the adult world of real jobs and responsibilities?!  What do I truly want to do with my life?  What kind of person do I want to be?  And how am I, a quirky, country, small-town girl, going to make any kind of difference in this world?

My four years at Utah State have been incredible!  I've learned so much about myself, about the people around me, and about the world that I live in.  So much more than the education I've received though are the people I've met along the way.

Goodbyes are always hard for me.  And being here at Utah State has brought me a plethora of goodbyes - childhood friends and first loves, incredible professors, friends who graduate or get married and move, and even death has separated me from some incredible people.  How are there so many incredible people in this world?!  I've learned so much from so many people that I've met on this insane journey!

Soon there will be more goodbyes.  To Logan, to my fantastic friends who are staying here, to the person I've been as an undergraduate, to professors who have helped shape my education.

But with those goodbyes will come so many more hellos!!  What does the future hold?!  Nothing but more incredible people, more joy, and more to learn!  I can't wait to see what life has in store for me next!!  :)

Stay tuned for more adventures of me living in the big city!!  :/



*Good Song: Let Her Go by Passenger

I Get to Be a Real Historian!!!

This is probably one of the greatest days of my life!!

Well...even if it isn't, it sure feels like it!

Because I get to work with the Church History Department for 6 months as a full-time intern!!  What?!  Awesome!!

I will be working with the Historic Sites Division researching Church history sites.  We get to provide information for missionaries to use when they give tours.  So not only do I get to do historical research, but I will also be helping in the missionary effort!!  Awesome!!

And I get to live in Salt Lake City!  Which could be interesting...me in a big city...so many opportunities to get lost!!  Good thing I now have an iPhone that has a map on it!!

So here's to new beginnings and living the dream!!

*Good Song: Still Into You by Paramore

Ramblings on Dating

I am single.

Yes, it's true.  I am 24, single, and living in Utah.  I may be considered a social outcast to some, but single life is great! 

I decided that in honor of my singleness I am going to blog about dating today!  Because dating is so fun!  Er...something like that!

I started going on dates when I was 16.  My mind was filled with the idea of boyfriends, hand holding, and late night phone conversations!  Did that actually happen?!  Well no, I was a short, slightly chunky, history and music nerd!  So what did my dating life consist of?!

Blind dates.

Yep...blind dates!  I am the queen of blind dates!

Not only were boys not flocking to me, but I also lived in a small town where I was related to half of the dating pool!  So being the one without a date usually led to good friends trying to set me up on blind dates.  Some of them were fun and some of them...well, they just weren't!

I've been ditched by my date for another girl, spent a whole day with a boy that I discovered (within the first few minutes) completely annoyed me, ignored by dates, and been on dates with boys I had nothing in common with!

Post-high school wasn't much better!  I fell in love with my best friend even though we lived far away from each other and he wasn't interested in me like that.  I didn't go on a single date my freshman year!

Sophomore year of college was a little better.  I almost dated a guy that was a few years older than me, but he turned out to be quite the jerk!  Good thing I didn't go there...  :)

Took a break and served a mission!!

Post-mission:  I seem to attract unmotivated/overconfident men!  Most of the men I've gone on dates with since I've been home have been really nice.  But they're either 27 and living with their parents, or they think they're the greatest thing since sliced bread!

Then on the other hand, there are the men that I think are completely fantastic.  But things just don't work out!

So what can I learn from my small range of dating experiences?!

Dating is great and sometimes it sucks!  It's hard trying to find somebody that you want to spend time with...and then hoping that they want to spend time with you!  But it's all a beautiful learning experience!

Have I had my heart broken?  Yes

Have I cried over men I can't have?  Yes, but who hasn't?!

But in the end, it's better to try new things than to regret it later.  Might as well get to know as many people as you can and discover some things about yourself along the way!  The more painful the experiences, the more beautiful it will be when love finally comes my way!!  :)

Sure, most of my friends are married and having babies!  But I get to flirt with a plethora of attractive young men!  And I still have my history books and music!  :)

And it's country swing dancing night!!  Who knows what could happen?!  :)

*Good Song: Defying Gravity from Wicked Soundtrack

Thank You Logan Utah...

Thank you Logan Utah for making me look like the crazy nerd I really am!

Okay so this morning when I was going to class, it was snowing and there was ice everywhere!  So what did I do?!  I grabbed my umbrella, tucked my skinny jeans into my snow boots, and put on a jacket over my sweater!  By the time I got out of my first class, the clouds were leaving and the sun was coming out.

Now the sun is in full shine with most of the snow melting away!

And I am still on campus...wearing snow boots...and carrying around an umbrella!  Oh the strange looks I have been getting!!  But that's what I get for having to be on campus like all day!  The sun does come out after the storm, but hey, at least I was prepared for the storm this morning!!  :)

And now I am in one of my favorite places on campus - the southwest corner of the library surrounded by history books galore!  Also I have a 15 page paper to write that's due in a week...and I only have a 1/2 page written!  But it's fine!  I will survive!  Just like I always do!

*Good Song: Just Give Me A Reason by P!nk and Nate Ruess

Waiting waiting...

So here I am...

Waiting...

What am I waiting for?!

I am waiting to find out where I am going to be for the next little while.

I had an interview on Monday with the Church History Department for an internship researching Church historic sites.  What?!  How awesome would that be?!  I was told I would find out by Thursday...but now it's Friday.  Which is fine...I'm just freaking out a little bit!

If I get the internship:
                1. I will get to move to Salt Lake right after graduation.  Livin' in the big city!
                2. I would get to do historical research for a year!  With the Church History
                 Department!
                3.  I get to find an apartment and move all my stuff!! 

If I don't get the internship:
               1. I will stay in Logan and live with my best friend Brittany.
               2. I will continue to work at the rec center until I can find another job.
               3. I will get to enjoy Logan for one more summer.

But I know that whatever happens, it's for the best.  The Lord has a plan for me and there are good and bad things about both options.  So it's kind of a win-win situation either way.  But I really do hope I get it!  So here's to waiting in suspense for the rest of the day!  Keepin' my fingers crossed!!  :)

Trip to D.C., Gettysburg, and Philadelphia!

Warning:  This is a complete nerd post!  Proceed if you choose, but don't blame me if you get bored!

I got back from an American Heritage trip with my little brother last week.  Was it awesome?!  Yeah!

We flew in to Philadelphia, ate shoo fly pie in Amish country, went to the National Aquarium in Baltimore, and traveled to Washington D.C.  We took pictures at the Capitol Building, the Lincoln Memorial, and visited the Smithsonian museums.  Luckily for my mom and my little brother, I was so tired by the time we got to the museums that I didn't make them stay there all day!

But my most favorite part of all the trip...

GETTYSBURG!!!

So I do realize that I was not a normal child, but I must confess that I have wanted to go to Gettysburg since I was like 9 or 10 years old.  I know, what kind of 10 year old gets it into their head to visit a battlefield?!  Well, this kind of 10 year old!

I remember being a freshman in high school when my older sister Melinda went on their American Heritage trip.  It was the first time the school was trying a different program and this program included a trip to Gettysburg.  By the time I was a junior, I was ready!  I was ready to walk on that battlefield, take pictures, explore the town, and buy souvenirs!  But what happened?!  My class decided to do the Close Up program that only included Washington D.C.  What?!  To say I was devastated is an understatement!

Last Monday, our tour bus was driving across the beautiful, hilly countryside of Pennsylvania when to my left, I spotted a large monument.  I knew right then that my (almost) lifetime dream was coming true!  I was in Gettysburg Pennsylvania!  We ate lunch at a tavern that was built in 1776 and saw where previous owners had hidden runaway slaves on the Underground Railroad.  So awesome!

Next, we went on our tour.  I got to see Cemetery Ridge, Big and Little Round Top, Devil's Den, the Peach Orchard, and the field where the famous Pickett's Charge took place! 

Why was I so excited to be at Gettysburg?!  Because I love America!  And the Battle of Gettysburg was the turning point of the Civil War - the battle that turned the war in favor of the North, the United States of America.  Two more years and tens of thousands of lives later, the war ended.  And the United States was preserved!  And freedom was given to all!

But that freedom was not free!  It was fought for and many people died for it.  And that is something that needs to be remembered!