HAPPY KORRA DAY!

I couldn't sleep AT ALL last night, I was just SO EXCITED...

because Korra is coming out in 10 hours!!!!

I have been waiting 20 long months for this day.

So, in the spirit of a midnight premiere, I got all dressed up 1920's today.  I walked around campus feeling like I had just stepped out of The Great Gatsby.  Emily took some lovely pictures of me...

 I decided that I am IN LOVE with red lipstick.  I may wear it every day for the rest of my life.

So, to continue the countdown, I CANNOT WAIT FOR 10:00 tonight!!!

May your day be filled with as much happiness and 70-degree sunshine as mine is!

Blessed

Living at BYU, it's sometimes easy to forget how blessed I am as a a member of the church.  I forget how fortunate I am to be surrounded by people who share my standards and beliefs.

Today I got to attend stake conference with two members of the Seventy, who conducted a question and answer session with us.  It was amazing to hear their inspiring counsel and to have questions I didn't ask, even questions I didn't know I had, answered.  I felt an outpouring of the Spirit and a resounding reassurance that Heavenly Father knows me and loves me. 

I also was reminded of how incredible fortunate I am to be surrounded by boys who are righteous and worthy priesthood holders, who are willing and eager to serve missions.  It is astounding to see boys who are often ridiculous and immature completely attune themselves to the voice of the Holy Ghost.  I have heard boys who didn't know particulars speak the exact phrase that means the most to a suffering soul.  It is amazing how much of a power the priesthood is in our lives.

I am so blessed to have the gospel and to have access to the priesthood and personal revelation!

Armed with a Pen and Paper

I love to write.


I love to stick myself into someone else's head and let them show me the world in a way I've never seen it before. 

I love to laugh at my characters when they force their way into the spotlight when I don't want them to be there, or the ones who try to slink out of the scene when it's all about them in the first place. 

I love to string words together in ways that may be unusual and unconventional but create a cacophonous harmony of meaning and sense.

I love to study the way each of us responds to each of our problems and watch each of my characters laugh, cry, scream, rant, brood, rage, and grin their way through their lives. 

I love to make simple things sound beautiful, and to make beautiful things sound simple.

I love to write what I know, which is feelings and friendships and convictions.  Because those are the things that, no matter how different my characters are, they all have in common. 

I love to sit back and observe everything, and then to compile all my observations into my own definition of reality.

I love to fall in love with my characters. Because inevitably, I will. With all of them.

But most of all I love to write because it shows me myself.  I see little bits of my personality and mannerisms in every character I come up with, and because of that I've learned to see slivers of myself in every person I meet.  I'm able to make friends with almost anyone I come across because I find that we are similar in one way or another.


And this is why, if you come across me when I have a few minutes to spare, I will more than likely be armed with a pen and paper, spilling my thoughts and ideas across the page like a maniac.

Can't Breathe with No Air

This weekend consisted of:

           A trip to the mall and out to eat with my girls.  My third time off campus this semester.  (A MUCH-NEEDED ESCAPE.  Try being a freshman without a car, and you will understand.)
           An everyone's-mattresses-in-the-kitchen sleepover and movie night. Complete with girl talk and manicures and pancakes for breakfast. (And sleeping in the next day.)
           An impromptu 3-hour dance party in our kitchen.
           A trip to the Creamery in the middle of said dance party for ice cream.
           A slightly less impromptu Sunday dinner with more pasta than I have ever seen in my life. 
                The boys who brought it: "We will eat it all!" The reality: 2 giant pots full left over.    
                During this meal, I was criticized for not being Irish, for looking Swedish, for never having eaten cold spaghetti noodles by dangling them into my mouth, for using generalizations and hyperboles in conversation, and for my everything about my taste in music.  It was ridiculously enjoyable.
           A CES devotional with Elder Quentin L. Cook.  Best way to end everything!

So...THANK GOODNESS FOR THE WEEKEND! After 2 midterms last week and 2 more coming up this week, I just needed to be crazy and do a lot of abnormal things.  All at once.  And so I did.

Today: Laundry, grocery shopping, more laundry, math homework, physics homework, FHE, nonstop Korra soundtrack.

Maybe next weekend will see me go swing dancing (with a live band and everything.)  I'll DEFINITELY go before semester ends.