Detours

This morning I drove to a trail head to go for a run.  The sun was shining and the views of the valley were breathtaking.  After a nice run, I got back to my car and decided I was going to drive a different way to get home.  I love driving that way so I was excited to see the familiar homes and scenery.  Driving, driving, when all of a sudden around the corner, orange signs!  "Road Closed" and "Detour" - arrow pointing left.

Okay so a detour.  I can handle that.  Well, the signs kept leading me away and there was even a sketchy part of the road that I was a little nervous about, a dip with heaps of loose rocks!  I navigated it quite nicely and continued on my way.  While the area was unfamiliar, I felt okay because I knew the detour signs would lead me back to the road that would lead me back to my apartment.

As I was driving, I realized that my life is like this!  I've had this idea in my mind of how I think my life should be.  When all of a sudden, the road ahead of me is closed and I'm on my way into unfamiliar circumstances.  But the Lord has placed detour signs for me along the way.  So even though I might be on a different road than what I had imagined, the fact is that as long as I follow those detour signs I will get back to where I'm ultimately heading - back to my Father in Heaven. 

The detour was even kind of nice - I spotted some adorable little houses and had more time to appreciate the new surroundings.  So it might have taken me a bit longer to get home and I didn't get to see all that I had expected, but nonetheless, it was a great adventure!

And in the end, I still ended up safe, back in my apartment!

*Good Song: Dancing Away With My Heart by Lady Antebellum
*Good Movie: The Avengers

Final Stretch for Spring 2012!

So happiness of all happiness! No more classes until the end of August!

Even more happiness - my World War II final is now optional!  Less happiness...my Chinese history final and anthropology final are going to give me a heart attack! So much studying to do...(but will I actually do it?!)

So here's the thing.  I really love finals week! I know that sounds crazy because most students hate it...late nights...studying...stress attacks...  But here's how I see it: If I've been going to class the whole semester, completing my assignments, and doing my readings I should be okay.  So while I will feel a little bit stressed and I will be doing a small bit of studying, I'm pretty sure I just won't know what to do with all the free time I'm going to have!  So bring on the finals and bring on the summer!

*Good Song: Be Strong With Me by Jenny Phillips

Almost Summer!

It's almost SUMMER!! Camping, fires, swimming for hours, HIKING (!!!), shooting guns, napping in the sunshine. I cannot even wait! One week left of classes and then one week of finals and I'm FREE! So excited!

Okay so now that I've gotten that out, I am planning on staying in Logan for the summer. I don't have a summer job yet, but I'm sure I will be finding one soon. I'm also thinking about taking a summer class helping a professor/archaeologist here at Utah State catalog Native American artifacts. So I think I'm in for a great summer!

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!