Finding Joy in the Journey

I was introducing myself to my new bishop this past Sunday and explaining some of the feelings that I had about being here at Weber. He told me something that really struck me. He said,

"Where you are today is a consequence of every decision you have made up to this point, good or bad."

I have never thought of life like that. I began thinking and realizing how true that is. If I never picked up a volleyball I wouldn't have met half of my very best friends, I wouldn't have had a chance to go to Wyoming, and I most certainly would not be where I am now. Just because of one simple decision to love playing volleyball, it has shaped my life.

I am struggling where I am right now, but I know there is a reason I am here. Until I find that reason, I will enjoy the journey. President Monson shared this advice,

"Let us relish life as we live it, find joy in the journey, and share our love with friends and family. One day each of us will run out of tomorrows." 

I know I spend a lot of time planning and dreaming of how my tomorrows will be. I am realizing how much I am missing by worrying so much about my tomorrows. I don't have time to enjoy today. This journey I am on right now is one I don't understand, but I do understand that it is my choice to enjoy it or not, to be grateful for the opportunities I have.

I am so blessed to have people that love me and care about my success. I have every reason in the world to be happy, so I will be. I can enjoy the journey.

The 19th Year

A lot has happened in the 19th year of my life. Thinking back to a year ago today I was in Wyoming with the group of girls who got me through a few of the hardest months of my life, but also the greatest months. They surprised me with some awesome presents and sang happy birthday. It was one of the last nights I saw my best friend Landon before he left on his mission. We went to the Toby Keith concert and ate at Iceberg after. It is pretty crazy to think that was an entire year ago.

Things  I learned...

   I love those girls in Wyoming more than they will ever know

How to work through making decisions     

How to deal with the consequences of procrastination...in a major way :)

     People are kind and communication is a huge problem solver in ANY situation

Things I did...

                    Graduated

                                             Made lots of new friends 

Met some people who have changed my life forever

Ran 5 miles without stopping                     Lost a million golf balls 

My first experience night swimming

            I had surgery...again! 

Remembered how much I love math

My life is not even close to where I thought it would be at this point. I don't exactly know what I had in mind, but this wasn't it. I'm starting this new chapter at Weber and I have already met some great people. I love these girls on my team and I am thankful for their kindness. Each year of life seems to pass by faster and faster. I have to enjoy every moment and love the little things :)

Days 2 & 3

Well days two and three of the two weeks of torture are complete! WAHOO!! Even though we had to be up much earlier Wednesday and lifted weights I actually thought it went a lot faster. The food was delicious as well and my headache was finally gone...thank heavens. Thursday was a little slower, but still pretty good.

I passed my conditioning test and didn't even throw up. I was pretty happy about that. I have a bunch of blisters on my feet, but they don't hurts so that is good. I am trying to be a lot more positive about this whole experience, because I'm still not really sure why I am here. Only 3 more practices and I get to come home for my birthday :) I feel like I have been here for a really long time so that is pretty exciting. I miss my family!

This whole no Facebook thing is really killing me. I don't know what to do with all this extra time on my hands. Maybe I should do something productive like read a book or put away my clothes. That would be a good place to start! Ryan and his sister Nicole stopped by to visit last night and it was so good to see them. It made me feel like I hadn't been gone too long.

I am starting to get the whole defense thing down, but still forget sometimes. I just have to keep working and doing everything I can to make this the best experience possible. I'm glad that I am where I am and I will take this as a learning experience...hopefully a positive one! :)

Really...

So I got all moved in to my room here at Weber and I HAVE NO FACEBOOK FOR 2 WHOLE FREAKING WEEKS!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH I am going to die...I feel like everything is going to happen and I will not even know. Pathetic right? Yeah...well I am having serious withdrawals. It's good though because I called all of my friends I haven't talked to in a while and that was fun. Music is my new best friend and I am going to probably have a billion slideshows made once I am done with these two weeks of torture!

We had the first day of practice today and it was a little rough. I have a bruise on my pinky finger and have absolutely no idea how it got there. We have weights at 6:45 tomorrow morning and I am not looking forward to it. I miss Wyoming like crazy! I never thought I would say that, but it was so nice to be able to walk to practice and take a nap between sessions. I miss my roommates terribly, but love my new ones. I just wish I could skip the next two weeks and I think life would be great.

I can't wait for school to start! I decided that I am going to be a really good student this semester, I might even open my textbook! That's a scary thought, but nerd to the max here I come. I am excited for my classes and a chance to learn new things.

I miss home pretty bad right now, especially my friends. I am SOO glad I only live 45 minutes away! My wonderful friend Ryan told me I have to find something to be happy about every day so today that is the fact that I am drinking a Dr. Pepper and that I have friends that will let me cry to them Haha. Until probably tomorrow since I don't know what the crap to do with my life...live, laugh, love! Peace! :)

Road Trippin!!

So my friends and I decided to head up to the Bodies Exhibit in Idaho Falls for a little road trip. I never knew Idaho could be so exciting! We had so much fun and the exhibit was amazing. I forgot how much I loved human anatomy, our bodies are incredible. We had some really interesting experiences and saw some questionable people, but it was a great trip full of laughs. We even got some really great shots for our boy band album cover! Haha.

My birthday is coming up and my friends wanted to see if we could get free dessert at Olive Garden so they told our waiter it was my birthday. He said they didn't do anything for free...BUT he gave us a million mints! I was totally ok with that because the mints are the best part of Olive Garden. He was also awesome enough to melt a candle on to one of the mints and let me blow it out after they sang happy birthday to me. I would say that was a pretty awesome early birthday present.

My sweet friend Rachael was nice enough to drive up so I could see her and meet her precious little girl Peyton. I cannot believe that I am old enough to have friends that are married and have babies, I must be getting old! Her daughter is adorable and I am so glad I got to spend some time catching up with her.

When we got back from our trip we had an awesome birthday party for my friend Ryan and watched an incredible lightning storm. We even got to call 911 because saw a fire start on the mountain...so exciting! haha :) It was an exciting night and I even got an awesome early birthday present of some lightning pictures! Thank you Ryan!

I head off to Weber tomorrow...still unsure about all of this, but trying to have a good attitude. I can't wait to meet my team and make some new friends. Thank you everyone who made this summer great!

August...ALREADY?!

WHERE HAS SUMMER GONE?! I only have one more week at home and I am heading off to Weber State. This summer has been a blast, but has gone by so quickly again. I swear the older I get the faster time goes. I have worked a lot and it seems like that ran my summer. I went to the pool once, I didn't even get to go to Bear Lake, but I saw a few movies, including Harry Potter (so sad it's over) and had fun with some friends. Here are a few pictures from my summer!

Night swimming at Porcupine Dam

Minute to Win It with my family 

Hiking the Wind Caves

Church History and Art Museum

At the Capitol Building...family
made this summer a great one!

Summer has had it's fair share of ups and downs, but for the most part it was great! I learned a lot about myself and what I want from life. Up next, Weber....we will see how that goes!

*My Best Friend*

So I have this friend, and she is amazing. We have been inseparable since we were 10 years old. There wasn't a weekend I didn't spend with her playing volleyball, watching Pearl Harbor, or staying up all night laughing. The biggest fight we ever had was in 5th grade and it was over a fruit roll up. She has stuck with me through the good, the bad, and the ugly and somehow she still likes me and we still have things to talk about! So many memories of loving the same boys, the awful night at Lagoon, reading my journal and laughing at how ridiculous I am, singing in the car, me waking up on the floor and not knowing how I got there, and the hours of talking.

Our lives took us in different directions and we spent a year apart. I hated not having my best friend around, but thankfully life has brought us back together again. This last week we went night swimming and I stopped at her house to pick her up. I walked in and we were wearing the exact same outfit! Apparently after 10 years of being friends, you start dressing the same way without even talking about it.

This girl is one of the greatest blessings I have been given. I wouldn't be the person I was without her. She never gave up on me even when I deserved it. She has always been there for me, knows me better than I know myself sometimes, and I will always love her!

"A best friend is the person who knows the song in your heart and can sing it back to you when you have forgotten the words."

Thank you Syd for always listening, letting me cry, and reminding me what is really important. Also, most importantly, for hating all the boys that are jerks and reminding me I deserve better! I love you!