Some Musings...

Well this year of 2012 has been interesting...letting go of some things, realizing more about myself, and making big decisions! I realize that life can be very painful...but it's so worth it! As I'm closing a couple of doors on my past I realize that I would not change a single moment in my life! All the good moments are completely worth the pain that comes with goodbyes and moving on. Because certain people come into our lives and completely change us. I have been so blessed with incredible people in my life. And while sometimes we have to say goodbye to some amazing people, they were there when we needed them. Loving people is never a waste! It doesn't matter what they do with the love that you offer them. As we love and allow the Savior to heal us from the pain, our capacity to love increases! So the next time we offer love to someone else, it can be bigger and mean so much more!

This is all kind of jumbled, but I've been thinking about this the last couple of days. I was thinking about it in terms of my mission too. My mission was so hard! And sometimes I wondered why I was doing it, but the things I learned from those experiences and the happiness I felt far outweighed the negative things. That's how I feel about loving people. Loving people can be so hard! Especially if they do things to hurt you or if you have to say goodbye at some point, whether through death or choice. But it's so worth it! The memories are something that you will always have! Nobody can ever take those away! Or the knowledge you learned from it!

So as you love and are hurt, remember that next time you will love even more! Life is all about what we do with the things that we're given...including people, experiences, attitudes, etc. And I want to choose to be happy! And love everyone! And smile through all the hard times! And remember that Heavenly Father always has a better plan for me than I have for myself!

*Good Song: Fix You by Coldplay (or check out the cover by Boyce Avenue)

Contemplating...

Well, life has a way of throwing some ridiculous curve balls my way! I found out some news last week that brought back some painful memories that I would much rather forget. Nothing seemed to be working out and talk about frustration!!

But despite facing something that should have knocked me flat, I am still here! And what's more, I'm not even angry or bitter! I feel great! I spent some time these last few months feeling sorry for myself over a few things. But how stupid! Why waste any time?! Life probably won't go the way I want it to like 90% of the time. And that's okay! Because life is so EXCITING!! So leave the past in the past and move on right? Something not so easy for a passionate history major! :)

Good Song: "Never Be What You Want" by We Are the In Crowd
Good Movie: "Life is Beautiful"

I love friends!

So this last weekend I was able to go hang out with some of my friends from my mission. We had such a fantastic time - from dance parties to eating lots of food to nickelcading! Yep, we went to a nickelcade and it was pretty much the best! It was so much fun! And when we were done, we bought mustaches and removable tattoos with the tickets we won. I loved it! I love doing random things like that!

And now school has begun once again and I love all of my classes!! Not kidding...I really love all of them! And I think I have finally decided what I'm going to do with my schooling. I have decided that I really am going to change my major from History Teaching to History and then I'm going to add an anthropology minor. Then it would be super great if I could get into a graduate school. So I need to start preparing for the GRE! But it will be great! With all of this, I should be able to graduate by next spring if I take a couple of classes this summer. So for now, that is the plan!

I Love Christmas!

This holiday break has been so great!! I absolutely love spending time with my family! We had such a great time...but now it's back to school and work and real life. Which is probably good considering all the food I've been eating since I've been home... :/ But it is the holidays!!

I've just been reflecting on the birth of the Savior and what a complete miracle it is...that the Son of God would come to earth to atone for the sins of all mankind is just completely incomprehensible to me. But how grateful I am that He did!

And now it's the New Year! I always love New Years! A time for setting goals, for having new beginnings. This last year has been great - experiencing the floods in Brisbane, returning from my mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, adjusting back to American life :), going back to university, making new friends, and definitely learning more about myself. I think that 2012 is going to be a great year!! More university, more working, making new friends. Who knows what this year has in store for me?? I am definitely excited to find out!

Why Can't We All Just Be Friends?

So I was just thinking the other day about how sad it is that we can't even include Christ at Christmas. At school, everybody wants to include all the holidays...Hanukkah, Kwanzaa,etc. And I think that's great! Let's all learn from each other and celebrate together. But the thing that gets me is that if we even mention Christ in conjunction with Christmas, people get all upset. What?! In going to school, we are supposed to learn and be tolerant and accepting. Where does that apply when talking about Christ? Christmas as it is today originated through the Christians celebrating Christ's birth. Yes, we know Christ really wasn't born in December and that the Christians adopted the date in conjunction with a pagan festival. But Christmas as it is has been celebrated for thousands of years to remember Christ. Even if you want to look at Christmas as a historical, traditional celebration you have to include Christ. What is so wrong with saying, "Christians celebrate Christmas to remember the birth of Jesus Christ who they believe to be their Savior." If I can learn about Hanukkah and why the Jews celebrate it, why can't others learn about Christmas and why I celebrate it? Taking Christ out of it is in very essence intolerance and prejudice against Christians. When we become intolerant to others' beliefs, it makes it easier for hatred and misunderstanding to grow. In order for us to all live together in peace, we should learn about each others' beliefs and respect each other for those beliefs and not try to change their religious celebrations because it might offend someone! If people don't want to celebrate Christmas as a Christian holiday, don't! That's fine! But don't try to take Christ out of it for me. What's all this talk about us forcing our religion on them? They're forcing their beliefs on us by taking Christ out of one our most important celebrations. If people want to include all religions in the holidays, let's include ALL the religions, including Christianity! I wish that we could all just be tolerant of each other and not single out other religions because somebody might be offended. Well, I'm offended that people can't have some respect, especially when they're always talking about accepting everyone!

I know Christ to be my Savior, that He was born in a lowly stable to free the world from death and sin. It's only through Him that we can repent (overcome our mistakes) to return to live with God, our Eternal Father in Heaven. And it's only through Him that we can be resurrected, to live again with our families forever. This knowledge is the center of my life and Christmas is a wonderful time when I can feel connected with fellow Christians, whether they're of my faith or not, to celebrate the birth of the man we know to be the Son of God. Want to celebrate a different holiday at Christmas? That's great! Go ahead and celebrate! I'll let others celebrate their holidays if they just let me celebrate mine! And don't try to take Christ out of CHRISTmas!

Merry Christmas!

*Good Song: "Little Drummer Boy" - Josh Groban
*Good Movie: Star Trek

SNOW!!

So I feel like I'm inside a snow globe - you know the ones that you shake and the little snow swirls around whatever object may be inside. That's how I feel today because there is so much snow swirling around outside. It's kind of rejuvenating. I just want to twirl around in it. (Does that make me crazy? Maybe...I probably shouldn't ask that question haha!) Even though I'm not a huge fan of snow, for some reason today it's making me really happy. The snowflakes are just dancing as they fall to the ground - there's almost a feeling of hurried excitement. It makes me kind of excited to be alive and enjoying life! Life really is so great. So maybe there are unanswered questions about what the future holds and I'm still not sure what to do with my life, but today I just want to enjoy being here...in the snow. I'm even going to appreciate being cold...and maybe I'll even make a snowman once the snow sticks!

*Good Song: "A Thousand Years" by Christina Perri
*Good Book: "The Host" by Stephanie Meyer

It's Cold!!

We had a big snowstorm this morning!! I woke up and it was lightly raining outside. I thought to myself, "This looks like it's going to be a beautiful day!" But later in the morning, it started snowing! I was driving in it and I was a little nervous because it's been over 2 years since I've driven in snow. My tires slid a little as I made a right hand turn towards my house. But no fear!! My car and I made it back into my parking lot without incident. I then had to brave the walk to the stairs and up to the 3rd floor in my high heels with snow flurrying all around. Slightly terrifying! I don't know if I would recommend walking in high heels in the snow... The weather cleared up through the afternoon and it even got a little warm with the sun shining. Weather here is so crazy!! =)

This week has been exhausting!! I had a big project due in one of my history classes that I spent like 2 whole days working on, but that's what I get for procrastinating! I have a Spanish project due next week that I have also procrastinated on. I think I have discovered one of my many talents - procrastinating! I wonder if there is anybody better at it than I! So looks like I will be living at the library for a few days again next week. Finals are fast approaching as well as the due date for another big history project...I better get on that, but I'm sure my talent will show itself again and coming back from Thanksgiving Break will be a nightmare. Or I could just get a head start (it's probably too late to call any studying for these assignments a head start...) and start getting things done now. But what's the fun in that?? I would miss the headaches, the panic attacks, and the stress that come with knowing an assignment I haven't even started yet is due the next day!! Haha!! =)

Well I am off to a hockey game tonight because I can't get enough of being in the cold. So why not go spend a few hours in an arena with an ice floor?