Je Suis Fini!!!

This song is an accurate description of the many emotions I am dealing with as I write this post: 

I am done with my freshman year of college! It is hard to believe this time last year I was stressing about AP and IB tests that were approaching, and now I am done being a freshman in college, done being a freshman for the rest of my life. I am done with school for two years. Hip-hip-hooray!

As everything comes to a close I am a little sad, because, well, some of the best friends a girl could ask for have been made during my time here at BYU. I think of all the colleges I could’ve gone to and I don’t think any of them would have offered the environment I needed. While sometimes I find myself wishing I had accepted that volleyball scholarship, I do not regret it because my life is so full here at BYU.

My room is all boxed up, my meal plan is almost depleted, and Friday I move out of the dorms forever. Change is hard, but necessary, otherwise we wouldn’t gain new experiences that we grow from as individuals.

Change is hard, but it is also good. So here I go, leaving behind BYU for two years and heading off to start a new life in order to bring happiness to the people of Australia who speak Chinese.

Let the countdown begin: 61 days until departure!

When One Thing Ends Another Begins

I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted something, but I have a perfectly valid excuse: SCHOOL IS ALMOST OVER!!!

Yay! I’m so excited to be done with my first year of college. I can’t believe how much has changed this past year of my life. To think one year ago, I was busy taking AP exams and trying to stay awake in class. I also had an 11:30pm curfew and volleyball was pretty much my life. Now I am getting ready to take college finals and I still struggle to stay awake in classes; but there is so much more…

I am headed to Australia in 70 days. Going on a mission was nowhere near my radar as I moved into my first dorm room over the summer. It was still not on my mind when I moved into my current dorm room for Fall and Winter semester. It was not until October that I realized my future would entail putting off college for two years to go on a mission.

While excitement to finish school is dominating the majority of my emotions right now, nostalgia is definitely present. I have made so many friends here at BYU that I have grown to love dearly. I know we will always be friends, but when you are separated for two years, things will doubtlessly change, and that makes me a little sad. However, I know that serving a mission is the right thing to do. I will not be punished for serving the Lord; of this I am sure.

In order to celebrate friendship, this past weekend my friends and I went down to Las Vegas for our last “hoorah” before finals began. It was amazing. Don’t believe me, just look at the pictures J

 

Seeing Seattle

Family. The people who create our center and shape who we become when we are adults. We can either soak up all the teachings and customs we learn as a child, we can rebel and create our own new path when we are adults, or we can do a little of both, soaking up some things and rebelling against others. Either way family determines who you become.

As a child I could not imagine getting old enough to move out of the house. I could not imagine living long enough to have my own life. Yet here I am living life and making my own decisions. Decisions my parents have no real say in because I made it. I am an adult!

Luckily, my parents don’t make me fend all for myself—not quite yet at least—and they had me tag along with them to see my brother and sister-in-law this weekend in Seattle. I haven’t seen my brother and his wife for over five years because my brother has been stationed in Germany with the army. I was very excited to see them, especially since my sister-in-law is pregnant with my first nephew! Who thought I’d ever be an aunt? I guess I should’ve expected it since my brothers are nine and ten years older than me, but the concept seemed to escape my view of the future.

Seattle. When you think of Washington I doubt it is 70-degree weather with clear blue skies. But that was Heavenly Father blessed the usually rainy city with this Easter weekend. We went to my brother and sister-in-law’s baby shower and it was beautiful. The house that was hosting had this backyard that I’ve only ever seen pictures of. The patio had a full kitchen with this ginormous grill—the guys were all in heaven—and a view of Lake Sawyer. Beautiful. Simply stunning, with the sun shining down on the green grass and warming your back as you stood talking to stranger after stranger.

 

After the baby shower my brother, his wife, and their friend joined my family for a little trip to Seattle. We went on this huge Ferris Wheel on the pier. I had never been on a Ferris Wheel before—that’s now been checked off of my bucket list—and when you got to the tippy top you can see for miles out over the ocean. I could see Mt. Rainer and the Olympic Mountains, which are usually hidden by clouds. Beauty surrounded me everywhere. Living in the desert of Utah, I hadn’t realized how much I had really missed the comfort so many trees bring to an area. Plus, all the cherry blossom trees and spring flowers were out. It was a majestic view.

After our little Seattle escapade, we all went to dinner and enjoyed each other’s company. It was nice; I had really missed my brother. He and his wife seem very happy together and I’m glad they’ve stuck together even though being an army wife is hard I’m sure.

Then today after a delicious Easter dinner, we all had to say goodbye. As I gave out hugs, I couldn’t imagine going so long without seeing them again. Then as I looked out the car window at my brother waving goodbye, my throat got a lump in it. I didn’t want to say goodbye for another two years. I don’t like not seeing my family. I can’t even remember the last time I had seen both of my brothers together, let alone had the whole family together.

Going to Australia is going to be hard. I won’t even be able to talk to my family over the phone, except for Mother’s day and Christmas. There will be no weekly Skype sessions, but a weekly email instead. But there is comfort in all of this. I have the knowledge that family is forever. When we die and go on to heaven, we will have to opportunity to be together for eternity and with that perspective it will make being away for 18 months so much easier.

If you want to know more about how families are forever click on this: Family Forever

Finally 19

“It’s my birthday and I’m going to party like it’s my birthday.”

That ladies and gentlemen is the song that rang through my head when I woke up this morning at an eerie hour of 6:00am. Yuck! But being 19 means you go to work on your birthday.

19. The new age that holds so much meaning for LDS girls all around the world. I use to think the only difference between 18 and 19 was that I was a teenager for one more year. Nothing special really happens when you’re 19…that is unless you are a Mormon girl who wishes to go on a mission. Lucky me! 19 now has meaning that has changed my life course quite a bit.

Now this change in mission age did not make me wake up with the song “Scripture Power, keeps me safe from sin” running through my head. No, I am still a normal girl who loves her music with a heavy beat when it comes to “breakin’ it down” on her birthday. While I am still the same, my birthday presents this year are a little different. No new spring shorts and sandals for presents, rather my parents got me a gift card to start buying sister missionary clothing. YAY!

But really, I am so excited to start shopping for clothes to wear on my mission. Just last night my roommate gave her parents (who were on Skype) and me a fashion show of all her new mission clothes. For those of you who are thinking “wow you’re weird,” might be right but I loved it. Missionary dresses are a lot longer than normal. The hem hits around mid-calf and all dresses must have full sleeves. Doesn’t sound very cute right? But you’d be surprised. It’s kind of an Audrey Hepburn look, what with the flowing A-line dresses—or at least that is what I am telling myself. So needless to say, my roommate and I have had to reconsider our style when looking at clothes. No longer am I looking for anything cute, but my vision has narrowed to look for things that are both cute and super duper modest. Talk about hard to find.

The other weird thing about a mission is that we are only given two big suitcases and a small carry-on bag to fit all our stuff in for 18 months. Shampoo, straightener, blow dryer, curling iron, shoes, feminine hygiene stuff, nail polish, scarfs, underwear, jewelry, mousse, hair spray, toothbrush/paste, razor, books, notebooks, planner, journal, paper and envelopes for letters, coats, umbrella, and whatever else you might need to survive for 18 months in Australia. I’ve been in college for 11 months and I had almost two cars filled with my stuff. How in the world am I going to fit 18 months worth of living into three suitcases? I’m convinced it will be the first miracle—among many—that I witness on my journey to Brisbane. 

Beauty Unveiled

Life. For me it is seems to be in Limbo. While many of my friends are signing contracts for their housing in the fall, I’m worrying about where to get my fingerprints taken. While everyone seems to be talking about what classes they should take next semester, I’m looking online at midi-length dresses. I’m stuck waiting. Waiting for June 26^th. The day my life for the next 18 months begins.

So what can I do to prevent idleness? I get overwhelmed at times when I think about the challenges that lay before me, but mostly I just go on. I go to class. I do my homework—though my motivation is highly lacking ever since I opened my mission call—and I hang out with friends. Yet, my life has changed ever since I received the news I would be going to Brisbane. My outlook on many things has evolved.

For example, last weekend I took a journey to Southern Utah for my sister’s softball tournament. My parents are always raving about how magnificently beautiful St. George is. My parents were raised in Utah, and so I think it natural for them to think the vast area of nothing but rocks and a lone tree here and there is beautiful. To me it isn’t impressive. Sure it is interesting, but my definition of beauty within nature is lush greens with flowering trees blooming throughout the forests year-round. My perspective derives from being raised in the South.

After a long day of softball and having gained a nice splotchy sunburn we drove to the hotel. By now the night had settled in and everything was submerged in darkness. It would have seemed rather dreary were it not for the pecks of light that dotted the never-ending black sky. Sitting in the back seat of my parent’s car, I just stared in awe at the beautiful sky. Then something glowed up ahead, much brighter than the stars my neck was craned back to see.

It was the St. George Temple. It stood a glowing beacon amongst the desert’s night. Many thoughts flooded my mind all at once. This temple was a symbol of Heavenly Father. In the darkest night the temple still stood bright, just as in our darkest moments Heavenly Father will show us the light.

My second realization was that my parents weren’t crazy to think St. George was beautiful. Had there been a forest of my beautiful trees, the temple would have been swallowed up. It would not have shined as brightly.

Yes, going on a mission helped me not feel guilty about missing class on Friday; but it has also helped me see beauty in all God’s creations, even things I’d previously thought ugly. I challenge you, my readers, to look for the unique beauties that surround us and remember, “God don’t make no junk.” It doesn’t have to take a mission call to realize there is beauty all around.

Because I Love...

Today I gave a talk in church about Loving God. One of the ways we love God is to love those around us. Throughout out my life I have been blessed to have many people surround me and shower me with their love.

When I was a little kid my family moved from North Salt Lake, Utah to Rock Hill South Carolina. I cried and cried. Then when I had to leave South Carolina I cried and cried. I learned to love the people in South Carolina and I didn’t want to leave. It was especially sad for me because my parents were moving back to Utah as well. The visits home from college would no longer be to South Carolina, rather “home” is now in Morgan, Utah.

One day I was complaining about the emotional pain of leaving behind loved ones to my mom when she said, “Isn’t a blessing to have loved and been loved so much it hurts?”

This really hit me as I reflected on all the people in my life that I love. My Carolina Stake Presidency, my Young Women’s leaders, my ward family, my friends and my coaches. All these people helped shape me into the person I am today. Without them I do not know who I would be or where I would be for that fact.

Loving others is natural, and the more we love the people around us the more we learn to love our Heavenly Father. I really like this quote from President Dieter F. Uchtdorf (one of the LDS church leaders):

“The more we allow the love of God to govern our minds and emotions—the more we allow our love for Heavenly Father to swell within our hearts—the easier it is to love others with the pure love of Christ.”

How wonderful life is. Because I am grateful for all the supporters in my life, I would like to share with the world my mission call opening. I would like to thank everyone in my life who has helped me become the person I am today. A special thanks goes to my family, who has always been there for me. Also, I want to thank my roommate Bethany, because she is such a great example to me of how to love everyone, even those I am less willing to give a chance.

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The Wild Kingdom

Freaked. That is the word of today as I write down my journey to Brisbane.

Many of my friends at BYU have exclaimed, “Your mission is so cool.” For the most part that has been the general response. Until I went to Kinkos to make some copies of some Visa stuff with my dad.

For those of you living outside the state of Utah, pretty much everyone here is Mormon, especially in Provo. So when my dad and I went to Kinkos and handed the guy some forms to copy he knew I was going on a mission. His words, “Man I do not envy you. Australia has some of the deadliest animals in the world just roaming around.”

WHAT??? Here I thought I was the luckiest person in the world, getting to go to a place where it is never below 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Naturally, when I got back to my dorm room the first thing I did was Google Australian animals.

There’s three I won’t really have to worry about since missionaries aren’t allowed to swim—The Box Jellyfish, The Great White Shark and then there is the Saltwater Crocodile. I should’ve known about the jellyfish and great whites, I mean how many times have I watched Finding Nemo while babysitting. Nemo’s dad and Dori encounter the Great White and Box Jelly Fish. Thank you Disney for preparing me!

Snakes. I hate them, but they are all over Australia and none of them seem to be harmless garden snakes. There’s the Taipan Snake, which has the most toxic venom in the world. Then the Brown Snakes—which are pretty bad anywhere—but in Australia the Brown Snakes have fast killing venom. Then the least scary of the snakes in Australia is the Tiger Snake. These snakes are smart and usually retreat when approached. Thank goodness!

 

Spiders. Gross and hairy. The Red Back Spider has neurotic venom, which causes extreme pain. And the Funnel Web Spider is highly populated on the East Coast of Australia. Lucky me. I am on the East Coast of Australia so my chances of coming across at least one of these hairy eight legged creatures is very possible.

 

In the end these creatures are very intimidating and I am a little freaked out about my chances of meeting one day. However, I know I will be protected and thankfully I will be serving near a hospital so if anything does happen I can receive the right medical attention.