The Girl Who Can

I'm back!
I've decided to stop neglecting this blog.
mostly because I got THE BEST url for it.  But also because it's pretty and nice and I like it.
So I will be keeping you all updated with my life and college and everything crazy.

And since I can't think of anything clever or interesting to talk about, let's talk about my current female celebrity crush.

Miss Jenna-Louise Coleman.

She's gorgeous, funny, clever, and her acting is phenomenal.  She's basically perfect and I love her.

On a completely unrelated note, I've rather been craving a souffle.

I'm so glad to be back at school, and I'm having a wonderful time with all my friends and working hard for all my classes.  Tomorrow is a ward social and then a stake pool party, so I'll be looking my best to find all the cute guys.  Because what else is really even the point of going to BYU besides that?

But I'll be around to keep this lovely blog updated.  Even if no one reads it.

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.

Beautiful

After a long conversation about this with Erica, I've been thinking a lot about what makes something beautiful.  And so I decided to write my own definition of beauty.
I find a lot of things beautiful that the world would scorn or brush off.  And a lot of things that I hear praised for their beauty aren't really beautiful to me.

To me, beauty is more than a combination of colors or arrangement of atoms or a progression of chords.

For something to be beautiful, it has to be true.  When I feel a certainty in my heart that something is real and true, it becomes beautiful to me.  Anything fake or hidden just isn't as beautiful to me as something that is honest and not afraid to be itself.  Beauty flees the darkness and embraces, thrives in the light. 
Beautiful things make me happy.  And not just the quick-laugh-and-grin happy--the kind of happy that settles in my heart and warms my toes with lasting peace and comfort and just a good feeling.  One beautiful thing can change my day from mediocre to wonderful in mere seconds.  Sad things can be beautiful too, because sometimes feeling sad makes me even more grateful for what I have and what I can learn from the sadness.  And learning things always makes me happy.

I don't necessarily recognize beautiful things on sight.  Anything beautiful needs to be recognized by the heart and mind, and that might take a little concentration and time.  Nothing is truly beautiful that doesn't make you think, and even change you a bit.

Something beautiful will always touch my divine nature.  I will hear words spoken that remind me of scriptures, hear music that fills my soul with the Spirit, and see images that make me grateful for all I have been given.  The gospel is the most beautiful thing I know, and whenever something reminds me of the gospel, it is beautiful to me as well.


So when the world has decided that beauty is a skin color, a style, a place, a person, I know what is beautiful to me.  And as long as I surround myself with what I find beautiful, I think I'm set to face the world with a smile on my face.

I think this song is one of the most beautiful I have ever heard.  When I listen to it, I feel like I am listening to exactly what peace sounds like.  Just because it is from a TV show does not mean you shouldn't listen to it or should think that it isn't good quality.  I listen to it whenever I'm feeling worried or unloved or stressed and it reminds me of all the beauty in the world and that my Heavenly Father loves me.

Valentine's Day

I had the most fantastic day today.  No, I did not find my Mr. Darcy (or any other boy, for that matter,) but I did get a flower from my best friend, and heard the most amazing devotional in the whole world, and wrote a beautiful love story, and had dinner with all my BYU sisters.  I found out that I did really well on my physics test, and I talked with my dear friends Nina and Olivia.  Nina even drew me a lovely picture and sent me valentines.  I took treats to some of my friends, and sent valentines to the ones who live far away.

Today I was reminded (in a way that left me sobbing in front of about 700 people) that Heavenly Father loves me so much.  Whenever I have a specific problem or question on my mind, He takes care to find just the right person to tell me just what I need to hear.  I spent almost the entire day grinning with happiness just because I knew it so strongly.  His love for me was constantly on my mind and in my heart, and I could feel myself radiating it. 

I hope that anyone who doubts Heavenly Father's love for them can have experiences like mine today and on many occasions in the past.  I know that He loves all of us with a perfect, immeasurable love. 

To everyone who has shown me love or support or patience in my life, THANK YOU!  I love you all and I am eternally grateful to you for helping point me in the right direction.

Happy Valentine's Day to all!