Probably the most common line you will read in any given blog or journal usually goes like this: "Wow, I haven't written in forever!" I refuse to write that. But seriously.... Look at when my last post was. As such, this could be a pretty long post. Buckle up!
Here are some of my most recent happenings and thoughts:
Weddings and Engagements: The perpetual cycle of all my best friends getting married and engaged continues. I could write an entire post on each one of the weddings and all the special things that happened in them. But I'll keep it short.
Justin and Brittany: Married at the end of April. Married in the Bountiful Temple. Was a really special wedding for me since Justin and I were not only roommates, but grew to be really close friends and remain so. Brittany and I are also really close. These two care about me so much and I was really lucky to be a part of this wedding. Justin and Brittany both have an amazing talent of being able to relate to people and be there friend. Whenever you're with Justin or Brittany, you feel like they are your best friends. Brittany looked beautiful as per usual and Justin looked handsome and skinny. Pics on my facebook!
Kevin and Meridith: Soon after, I found myself on a plane to San Jose where I was picked up by the Baugh Brothers: Kevin and Brian. I had a great time staying at Kevin's house and enjoying the hospitality and food provided by Melinda (who also gave me the greatest gift of all the gifts that mankind can offer: Chipotle giftcards.) I was able to sleep in Kevin's room with him the night before, drive with him to the temple, and go to the reception. I can't say enough about Kevin and Meridith and how much they mean to me. Meridith especially makes a noticeable effort to always ask me how I'm doing which does not go unappreciated. As I drove with Kevin to the temple I will never forget the overwhelming feeling that I had: that this was all happening because Kevin worked his butt off on a hard mission. That's why he got to deserve a girl like Meridith. I'm so proud of Kevin and Meridith.
Mike and Karianna: How could watching one of my oldest friends get married not be a super emotional experience? Mike knew shortly after he met Karianna that he was going to marry her and he just went for it. Karianna quickly realized how awesome Mike was and fell in love. Watching Mike come out of the temple with Karianna was really special for me to see. Mike has always been a great friend to literally everyone and especially to me. He would do anything for me if I asked him. He also sets an amazing example to me. He's lucky to be with a girl like Karianna, as she is always super sweet and caring to everyone.
Brandon and Devynne (engaged): Well, what can I even say about this? Brandon and I used to give Mike SO MUCH CRAP for how fast he got engaged to Karianna! And now Brandon got engaged in half the time that it took Mike- 2 months! Brandon is awesome and the one time I have met Devynne, she was super sweet. They plan to get married in October. More on them once they tie the knot!
Brett and Leah Move to Texas: If it wasn't bad enough that all my friends got married, the one couple whose house I literally lived at for most of the time left and moved to Texas. Brett had job offers from all over the United States in places like.... Boise.... Boise... and Idaho. So who can blame them when they decided instead to try their luck in the Lonestar state? It wasn't long at all before Brett got a job out there and he has been working there ever since doing recruiting. Leah works for her dad part-time. Needless to say, I miss them like crazy. Assuming that everything goes according to plans (which it will), I will see them when BYU plays Texas in September.
BYU: This spring I officially made my long awaited return to the greatest university on the earth: BYU! I started taking classes in April, but it was soon apparent to me that the English major was not for me. I saw an advisor and decided to change my major to Latin American Studies. There are a couple benefits for doing this:
-I will enjoy it. A lot of the major is learning and refining Spanish. The rest of it is learning about the politics and geography of Latin America. I can really get into that stuff, so it's a good major for me.
-Law schools don't care what your major is. They just want a good GPA. Before my mission, my GPA was terrible. Post mission, I'm sporting a 3.7. We'll see if I can keep that up.
-I can graduate early. Since many of my Spanish classes got waived off, I'm able to graduate this April if I stay on track!
So basically, this was a good change for me. I'm taking 7 credits right now in the summer: Spanish Literature, Living Prophets, and Doctrine and Covenants. I love being back on campus. Oh, I also took my first midterm today and got a 92%. What's up?
Adversity: Many of you know me well enough to know that the last couple of weeks/months I made some important decisions about relationships and other things. Throughout all of this, the words from the hymn kept coming to mind: "Do what is right, let the consequence follow." So I've been doing that. Sometimes I've had to make decisions where I didn't really know what was going to happen. But luckily, it has all worked out... or I have been given the comfort to know that things will work out in the future.
Everyone goes through hard times and has to make important decisions. We can do things in this life in 2 ways: God's way, or some other way. I've tried both, and I can stand as a witness that the only way to really be happy is by doing it God's way. Think about: the most powerful, all knowing being the universe loves us. He has the big picture. He has out best interest in mind, every time. Why wouldn't we listen to Him?
Well, although that might sound like a rhetorical question, I have an answer: Because we're morons. And because we are all morons, we tend to start doing well and get complacent with where we're at. That's a hard lesson that I got to learn/ am still learning.
I heard an example at church once about this. The speaker said: "Life is like a river. To get to our destination, we have to get on a canoe and go against the current. If we don't keep paddling forward, we will inevitably be moved backward by the current." That's a hard thing. We have to be constantly diligent in moving forward and making progress. If we do stop paddling or turn our canoe the other way, it's ok, but let's get back going in the right direction as fast as we can so we don't lose any more ground.
In my living prophets class, my teacher told an interesting story. Elder Eyring was to go on an assignment by himself, without the companionship of his wife. Elder Ballard, his senior apostle at the time, called him and said "Elder Eyring, you are traveling without your wife and Satan is constantly trying to tempt all of God's servants. Be careful." It's so interesting to me that even apostles have to avoid complacency and be constantly watchful and diligent.
So basically, choose to do things God's way and don't get complacent. That's the only way to be happy. And because I have been doing that recently, I have been so happy and confident. It feels good to know that you're doing the right thing.
New Friends: I have to give a shout out to some of new really good friends, namely Alisa, Jalynn, and Davi. I met them this summer in my apartment complex and we have had so much fun together. I don't know how I get so lucky with the friends I'm able to find, but all three of them have really been a blessing in my life. Most recent example: My work screwed up my check and didn't pay me half of what I supposed to receive. Since I follow a tight budget, I didn't have anything to eat. But before I knew it, I heard a knock on the door and to my surprise there was Alisa and Davi with cinnamon toast and Jell-o pudding and fruit snacks! Oh, and don't think Jalynn (or J-Bones as I sometimes call her) hasn't been nice to me either. She gave me a bean burrito the other night and even microwaved it for me! I'm so lucky to have them.
Catch: I have decided that one pastime I will never get sick of is playing catch. I seriously could throw a football or baseball or frisbee all day long and never get sick of it. I also have a bad habit of dropping whatever I'm doing to go play catch. I just love it ok?
The Fever: Probably to the surprise of many, this summer I have caught the fever. Bieber fever. After my friend Brandon forced me to watch Never Say Never, I was hooked. The kid has amazing talent, unlike some of his colleagues who basically came through the Nickelodeon or Disney machine. He did it on his own through pure, straight talent. Don't believe me? Just watch this and you'll be convinced: http://www.youtube.com/user/kidrauhl?blend=1&ob=5#p/u/57/gSA1Gytz-Os
Yeah, he's amazing.
Softball: I know you were waiting for this....Softball update! We are in coed softball season and we are looking really good. The regular season ended tonight and playoffs start next week. I'm excited to see how we do- I'm pretty sure we have a championship team this year. Last year we got to the championship, but lost. Hopefully we can take it all the way this year.
Minnesota: I am making my return to Minnesota next month! The trip will include activities like visiting Grandma Dorothy, seeing old high school friends, and going to a Twins-Yankees game. I'm pumped to say the least. I just love Minnesota! See my old post as to why Minnesota is the greatest place on earth.
Well I'm sure this all you can handle reading right now so I'll leave it at that. I'm going to try to write in here more often! With such a huge following how couldn't I? Peace out! (for now)
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