21 Things Learned 2010

Tonight is New Years Eeeeeve!!! Whoooo!!! Also one of my favorite holidays and some day I'm going to do something AWESOME to celebrate it. Haha So weird that next year will be 2011. We're well into the early 2000s. Anyway, it's cool to me.

In honor of the holiday, I decided to wrap it up with a 21 (big year for my age!) lessons I've learned this year. Most of them are cliche statements, but they say it much better than I could. They aren't in any particular order or anything, just thoughts that have been flowing today...

1. Working on yourself takes work.
2. But! You always need to make time for a little fun.
3. It's much better just to laugh at yourself.
4. Taylor Swift's album, Speak Now, totally clicked for me. Speak now!
5. Your family contains the people blessed to be around always and forever.
6. I actually believe Henry Ford's saying "Whether you think that you can, or that you can't, you are usually right." [I read this on the board in the dance room before a class one day and it stuck with me the entire semester]
7. I take lots of pictures because I know that someday, I'm going to thank myself for it.
8. No one gets excited about failure. We're all in this together and we all get stuck.
9. Repentance is very underrated. I've understood it the most when I've gone through it.
10. The times I've felt the lowest are the times where things have become the clearest.
11. There is no rewind button for your life. (I know, I know. Cheesy, but true right?)
12. I'll never change, but I'll never stay the same either.
13. See people for who they are and what makes them, them. It makes all the difference.
14. You don't need to see someone every single day to know how much they mean to you.
15. "You find the strength of the wind by standing against it, not by laying down."
16. Watch out for the Spirit of Entitlement.
17. I definitely take the harder route sometimes. Don't forget about simplicity!
18. There's a reason we have two ears and one mouth.
19. EVERYONE deserves not just one chance, but a few.
20. Most of the time what you are looking for is right in front of you. (True for me literally & figuratively!)
And to top it all off...
21. Reading your scriptures and praying everyday DOES make aaaall the difference.

I can't believe all that's come my way this year!! I've made new friends, new memories, tried new things. To all the weddings, the trips, the talks, the tears (both from laughing and crying) the all-nighters, the people, and all that was in between...Here's to you!!!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Nothin On Us

Okay, can I just say how amazing BYU-Idaho is?! I think everyone underestimates it as a school. People always say how lame it is and you only go there if you "can't get into BYU-Provo" which is so dumb. We have some amazing people attending this school. I love it so so much. And this video makes me even happier and more proud that I go there!!! Watch it. It's one of the coolest things you've probably seen in a while and it shows the super talented people we have at our school. You definitely can't see me, but you better believe I looooved doing it!! I LOVE BYU-IDAHO!!

Boom Boom Clap

So today is my VERY best friend, Sibonet Elizabeth's, birthday!!!!! She is officially married so it's not longer up to Alex and I to make sure her birthday ROCKS (Good luck Cam!)!! So instead, it's tradition to give a birthday post. But. I am going to list 22 of my most favorite things about Sibonet-it'll be hard to cut them down from my list of thousands, but I'm going to try. Here we go!

1. Sibonet is freakin hilarious. Even through text message. I am never left dry-eyed with her.

2. Sib ALWAYS lends a listening ear, and not only that, but she works you through your problem and gives GREAT advice. She's definitely going into the right profession.

3. I LOVE that we have the exact same things in common: music, food (except she likes olives. Right?! Barf.), movies, pet peeves, colors, clothes-my favorite is our love for all things Disney.

4. Sib always laughs at my jokes, whether it's one of my good ones, or bad.

5. She has all these little catch phrases and you can't help but want to copy her.

6. Sib doesn't try to embarrass you. In fact, she's 99% of the time on my side (except when I am just being ridiculous. Which is okay)

7. I love that she is always up for an adventure! Bear Lake, Disneyland, the beach, food, almost getting arrested, duck feeding, exercising, anything.

8. Only through her was I able to go to my first AA meeting. Haha (Inside joke)

9. SUCH an amazing roommate. And even when she couldn't move into the same room as Alex and I, she still came over for sleepovers in there. SO great.

10. Speaking of, our sleepovers were always the best. :)

11. Sib is so great at keeping secrets.

12. She taught me how to make fish, I taught her how to make enchiladas. Great teamwork, right?

13. Sibster, Sibonnie, Sib-oh-net, Sib, Steven A-love that she lets us give her endless nicknames.

14. Facebook stalker.

15. Sib always keeps me up to date on all things celebrity, or social. I honestly would be lost without her.

16. The radio game.

17. She introduced me to the world of Applebees.

18. We literally could talk for hours and never get bored of each other. Never.

19. Sib is the BEST keep-in-toucher I know!!!! And everyone loves her for it. :)

20. The quote wall. The inside jokes are endless. "Scarves." Haha "You spin my head right round, right round!"

21. We talk on facebook or on messenger from the other room. Just one more reason I look up to Sib and she's the standard of cool.

22. I really can't say enough. Can't believe it's already number 22! Dang it! But. To sum it up, Sib is the best acquaintance, teacher, sister, wife, student, relative, daughter, comedian, fashionista, therapist, roommate, and BEST FRIEND I know.

I love you to pieces Sib! I don't think I have to remind you how much I creep on you because of it! :) I'll text you another happy birthday from the bathroom later, but thanks for always being there for me, by my side through thick and thin, laughing along with me!! You're my best friend! (And I win on blog today, so HA!) Haha Loves!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Random Thoughts

I. Love. Zumba.

I have been going every week (twice) with Heidi and Karlee and I have to say, I NEVER get bored. Ever ever ever. It is SO much fun and the music is so great and I really do sweat!! The girls showed me another class where there is a guy teacher and he is a serious Latin groover! It was SUCH a tiring workout, but those are the BEST kind!! Anyway, that was a random thought on my mind. If you haven't tried it, you should. Especially you BYUI kids.

The other random thought is that the semester has FLOWN by and is coming to a close SO fast!!! For some reason, I feel like things will be different when I come back, but in a good way. That's the prediction for now.

Aaand the last one is that, lately, I am OBSESSED with home decorating! It's a problem. Haha I spent probably 4 hours yesterday just looking things up? Yeah, sad. I know. But! Look how pretty they are!!

Want to see some other cool things?
Click for a painting
Click for me in Movember (yes, MOvember)
Click for projects that I WILL do someday
Click for BRAND NEW POSTER that I've NEVER seen!
Click here (Alex only) for a laugh
I've also had this weird obsession with recipes lately. I know, a little crazy. But I can't WAIT to have my own selection someday...Ah...

L is for the way you look at people

As I was thinking today about all the different things I've learned about, one keeps coming back into play: love. It's a pretty simple word, and really, it's simple to do.

I think one thing I've learned over this semester is to actually see people as people and learn to love them as the Savior would. I'm not saying it's been super easy, but just something I tried in the beginning and am continuing to work on. It's actually made my life so much greater and I've made so many more friends and great relationships than I thought I would! Every person deserves to be loved and respected, because every person is a divine design of my Heavenly Father and they are going through the same kinds of things that I am. It's so easy to be judgmental and critical of others. However, when I find myself attempting that, I just remember that I have no right, in my flawed self, to ever say anything negative about anyone! So I stop and actually get to know the person, and it's never failed me yet where I walk away having learned or gained nothing about that person. Everyone has something that they can teach me, and I hope that maybe there is something that I can teach them!

There is this book that I want SO badly for Christmas called "Love As a Way of Life" (who also wrote "The Five Love Languages"-also on my reading list, but later) and yes, it's mostly for people who have some sort of serious relationship going. BUT! It also is about developing and attaining qualities that make up a good person, basically. And I want to try to be the best person I can be! I just think life is too short and moves too fast for everyone to be so harsh and negative to each other! Why make enemies when you can make friends? It also came up in the Christmas Devotional from the First Presidency. That in love, you find the true meaning of Christmas. And in relief society today, Alex told us about an experiment that she got from Bobbi-every time she passed someone, she secretly thought of something she liked about them. Alex said that at first, it was little things like "Oh, I love her shoes!" but then, they started to turn into things like "Wow, she looks really confident! That is so cool!" and she started to notice that change in herself. That really struck me-how great is that?! She also said Bobbi became so overwhelmed after a while because she was finding all these amazing things about people she didn't even know! It was very cool. I hope to find those same things in myself. I love Christmas and the reflections and self-evaluations they bring. I can't wait to serve people and to go home and show my family how much I've missed them and love them! But. I will miss the people up here. I've learned so much and I hope they know that they've touched my life. Happy holidays!

Never do today what you can put off un..

Ok, so I'm getting a little scared that if I keep doing the blog challenge while my life is still interesting, I'll have nothing to write about later, when it's not. So I'm going to maybe do this last one (because I'm a little addicted) but then stop until like February when my blog will be boring and about nothing. Haha That way, I'll have SOMETHING to write about. :) Gosh, a little part of me misses my life before. When everyone was preparing for missions, because back then, that's what it was about so they'd spend more time at home and I was hanging out more! But now, everyone wants to get on with their lives. Don't get me wrong-I'm super excited to have my life continue, but at the same time, I'm all about living it up in the moment and taking life slow so that I can savor every minute of it! I don't know why everyone is in such a hurry. Oh well. Ok. Challenge.

Day 04 - A habit you wish you didn't have.

This picture was taken when we were supposed to
be studying for finals in AP Psychology

That would be procrastination.....Whoa! Speak of the devil, I'm writing this blog post putting off my research paper. Haha It has killed me so many times. In all aspects of life too, not just school. In high school, I'd wander all around my house doing ANYTHING that would keep me from doing chores because it was always so boring! So I'd always be late meeting up with my friends. It was terrible. I've tried to do this whole thing where I save little rewards for myself when I get something crossed off my list. I'm getting to write this because I did my first paragraph. Workin pretty good so far! I just hope I don't look like/do this when I'm actually into my career...

Silver Shadow Believer

Day 03- A picture of you and your craziest friend.

Oh freak, this is a tough one. But if I had to pick one right now, I would have to say this guy.I'm not kidding when I say there is NEVER a dull moment around Spencer Perkins. It's been a little sad because he's been on his mission (North Carolina, coming back soooo soon!) and I haven't really had the chance to talk to him recently. BUT. He is the craziest person I know, the most fun, and the most outgoing. He will literally walk up to a stranger, come back, and tell me that he loves that person. Haha He's not afraid to yell, and there have been many a time where I've said "Oh my gosh Spence, be quiet!! Someone is going to hear you!" but it never bothers him a bit. He's totally himself all day, everyday, anywhere. And he always just lets me be my crazy old self. I love our "fights." They are usually completely ridiculous and over before we even really agree that we're officially fighting. I've never gone away from hanging out with him being like "Oh....that was mellow and okay." Never. He's the craziest, funniest, coolest guy I know.

Hahaha You get it then, yes?
And yes Al, you were a close second. :)

Memory Lane

Alright. Day 02 of blogging challenge: A really good memory.

Easy. 19th Birthday. It was the best day ever. Alex (bestest friend in the whole wide universe), Spencer, Ryan, and I first started out the day with breakfast at Spencer's house-which I loooove. They made breakfast for me (including the traditional orange rolls that I get on my birthday every year!) with eggs and bacon and the whole enchilada! (Well, not enchiladas thank goodness) and then we all drove down to Hollywood and listened to all our favorite songs (thanks to the cd Al made), especially Manchester Orchestra since we were going down there for their concert! we walked around the whole day and just ate, hung out, and Ryan and Spencer actually snuck backstage to the concert because they said they were roadies for Manchester and the security people believed them!! So they got to meet Say Anything and hang out back there while Alex and I walked around and went shopping. The concert was amazing too. They played all my favorite songs, Andy was smokin hot, and after, I got a picture of Robert and Freeman from the back!!


We even left a little early (we didn't really care about Say Anything) and were walking back and saw their VAN parked like blocks over!!! So Spencer and Ryan left a note. We're always going to wonder what happened to it. Haha But yeah. Cheesecake Factory, train, music, dancing, lights...It replays in my mind all the time. It was a perfect day. Best friends in a great place. :)

If you don't know Manchester, here is the reason I love them.

Wanna know too much?

Yes, I cheated and switched this out for a later one. Oh well. I love it!

The other day, as I was blog-stalking, I found this challenge on a blog of a friend of my sister's. It's a month-long thing and I'm trying to entertain myself, while making sure it's not a bore-fest for others. So. Why not start the very first day of December? Why not!? You can follow along if you want! I found the same blog post here.

So the first one is: Day 01 - A recent photo of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself.

15. Yellow is my favorite color. It's the happiest one.

14. I absolutely LOVE Crystal Light's raspberry lemonade. LOVE.....love...it.

13. I take serious pleasure in school. I love always having something to do, deadlines, writing papers, researching, forming lists, projects (♥), being forced to expand my little cranium...so great.

12. Me in one word: Indecisive. It's the key to flexibility though!

11. I think super high heels are a biiit pretentious. I mean really. Why do you need to walk with your feet vertical?

10. I actually am pretty passionate. Once I feel strongly about something, you'll change my mind when I'm dead. My mom calls it being "stubborn," but I felt a little negative connotation.

9. I will watch a scary movie ANY time, any place, anywhere. I love them. They are my favorite.

8. When I exercise, like running on a treadmill, I do it picturing I'm running on the beach or in a park somewhere. Every time. It's less boring that way.

7. I have this weird obsession that I HAVE to remember everything that happens in my life. So I'm constantly saving things, writing little notes around my notes, taking pictures, etc. Haha

6. I have a tiiiny bit of OCD. Especially about public bathrooms. I'd almost rather pee in my pants than use one. I bet my pants would be cleaner.

5. I'm exactly like my mom. I've tried to avoid it, but now I embrace it. She's awesome. And I get my sense of humor from my dad. He's hilarious. I've always tried to keep things light and funny in any situation.

4. This is my lucky number. I was number 4 on my soccer team for 4 years.

3. My tongue is split in a weird shape, STILL, from having to wear an expander for my braces. They said it would go away. Ha.

2. My greatest desire in 7th grade (but I would've never done it) was to get my belly button pierced like my best friend. I was sooo jealous for some reason. Now I think the only people who do it are those trying to hold onto youth. Puh-lease people. Who are you trying to fool?

1. My best friends know this, but I am TERRIFIED of mascots. Holy smokes. A little embarrassing, but true. Seriously, giant costumes walking around trying to give me hugs or whatever? I'll pass thanks. I've had nightmares about them-true story.