from the life...and freezer...of a true college student

this week i've really been feeling what it's like to be so stressed as the semester comes to a close. i have loved being able to be back in school- there was nothing else i wanted this semester or even since moving to provo, then being a full-time student. i was honestly jealous of all the people who were in school and stressing about different papers, projects, tests, and the dreaded "finals week". i longed for that. i would get upset at hearing people complain about school. and this week i am feeling it.
 it is my first experience of real finals for a full thirteen credit class load. i admit, i've complained about having to take these tests, but to be quite honest i am so excited to say that i've done it and survived!
it will definitely be a feeling of accomplishment once wednesday at 3:00 hits and i am done for the summer and on my way back to boise to see my wonderful family knowing that all those tests are behind me and that i will be done with chemistry for a very long time.
 it has been such a good experience for me, getting to know the people in my classes so well and i think that the hardest parts about this semester being over are the memories that have been made that won't happen again,  like the moments where we laughed and joked and talked all through chemistry because our teacher didn't really know what she was talking about that day, or getting the courage to talk to the cutest boy in my biology class, or having a teacher dislike me for maybe the second time in my life, or staying up all night to watch a movie and write a paper for film that i had forgotten about.
just all of these new happenings in my life and then i think to myself--
my college days have really only just begun. (whenever i say this phrase, i think about at home when i would say it and mom would start singing some song...probably from the 70's that had this line in it.. she knows what i'm talking about, love you mom)
i will get to add to this list for so much longer. the list of people i meet and friends i make will just continue to grow and because of that i have so much to look forward to.

the sad part about this week is when i went to the grocery store this past week and was in "quick mode" i got to the check out and realized everything i had in my basket was either:
1) frozen, (frozen pizza, chicken nuggets... you know the drill)
2) packages saying "just add hamburger" or
3) sugar.
 honestly i think this is the first time i have eaten chicken nuggets with bbq sauce everyday for lunch and felt alright about it. but it was pretty funny to feel like the true college student getting ready for finals with everything i can make and eat in 20 minutes or less, so i can get back to loads of wonderful studying until midnight..

 i have signed up for my classes for fall. it's going to be tough, i already know. but i know that it will be so awesome and i am going to learn so much. classes like arts through the renaissance, or survey of physical sciences, or philosophy, or anthropology..
but i think the class i'm most excited for is the spanish class i've signed up for!
 yep, spanish.
me.
speaking another language?
i will try.
and hopefully Love it.
i plan on doing just that.

Hope for Today

whenever my day isn't going very well i seem to get down on myself, trying to figure out what i'm doing wrong to make my day go so badly. sometimes it is just life. most of the time, things are out of my control and i need to be more conscious in recognizing the amazing things that i do have in my life. i have so much to be thankful for. i am so blessed, and when i have down days i just need to remember that i have the hope of the gospel in my life. 

forever i figured the word "hope" mean i "wish for something to happen" but having researched it more, and after having a lesson on hope recently in relief society, hope has a whole new meaning. Hope is the confident expectation of and longing for the promised blessings of righteousness. hope is being Confident that something will happen as long as we righteously desire it. many of my bad days are followed with a "hope" for a better tomorrow, which is completely true. i can have a "confident expectation" that each day can be that much better than the last. 

but today i need to work on making it better now. not just hoping that tomorrow will be a better day. i need to remember all of the things my life has been blessed with, today. 

i have a loving heavenly father who hears and answers my prayers. i have a family who is always concerned with my happiness, doing everything possible to help me. with that i have parents who are so good to me and have always provided a means for me to accomplish anything i've set my mind on. i have siblings who are there to give me counsel when counsel is sought, and who put a smile on my face whenever i am feeling down.  i have the blessing of the knowledge of the gospel, and a knowledge that i will be able to be with my family throughout eternity. i have a Savior, who suffered through everything i have and ever will so i will never have to be alone in any trial. i am blessed to be able to get an education. i have been blessed with so many different areas of knowledge, through college and hair school. i am able to use my talents. cutting hair, playing the piano, making friends, laughing. i am blessed with such good friends who are always there to give me a helping hand and lift me up when i am in need. i am blessed with an apartment to live in and a bed to sleep in every night. i am blessed to have clothes and shoes in my closet. i am blessed to have food in the cupboard. i am blessed to have running water. hot water to shower in, and cold water to drink. i am blessed to have a car to get around town. i am blessed to have a job, especially for how long it took me to find one. i am blessed to be able to walk and talk and run and laugh. i am blessed to have had experiences in my life that have made me the stronger, better person that i am today. 

it's so nice to remind myself of these things. 

my day just got 100 times better.

Motto of the moment:

it seems to me that i am writing one blog a month... i know you are all thinking, wow michelle, you should probably update us so much more than that because we are all So interested in your life. okay okay, i'm doing my best. the hard part is that i feel like nothing is really changing in my life. i updated the events going on in my life. 

but now that i get to thinking about it, i realize- life is always changing. you are never just sitting. you have the opportunity and choice to make the events in your life meaningful and put you in the direction you want to be-for me that direction is being happy. so many things happen each day that help me to be happy, so i know i'm not just sitting still, my life is always progressing and i need to stand back and savor every moment.

 i had a conversation with my sister last night that was about all sorts of things, but the one thing that really stood out to me that she advised was this: 

live in the moment.

 i feel like i take a lot of good times for granted and i don't step back to see the effect they have on my life. i'm always concerned about "what's going to happen next?" or "what should i be doing in order to make this situation turn out the way i'd like it to?". i need to just appreciate things as they come, then i won't be disappointed. my sister is so inspired. she is always so good to go to for advice and i'm so blessed to have her to talk to anytime.

something else that has been happening more in my life lately.....dating. i feel like i've been going on dates so much and i can't say that i don't enjoy it. it is so fun going out with new people and learning new things about them and new things about myself and what i feel like i want in my life. this is where my brother in law's advice came in so helpful last night.. 

motto of dating:  make him go more than 50 percent.

 it's an interesting concept for me to consider. i have a hard time stepping back and letting other people do things that involve me.. it's a curse really. i like forward guys though. i like guys that take the initiative and i feel like this is a good way to show if a guy is that way, making him go more than fifty percent. 

Seriously, between my sister and brother in law i am set on any kind of advice i could imagine! 

busy, lucky girl.

i've been so busy lately that it has been hard to get one of these guys written! so busy and SO amazing! 

 i feel like my life has been going up, up, UP lately and i am Loving it.. it seems like for every 10 great, amazing, fantastic things that happen in my life there is maybe one bad thing that happens. i'll take that ratio.

 everything has been working out and i can't help but smile when i think about it. 

i got a Job, which was a miracle in itself. i walked into the mall, going to apply for a different place, and just worked up the courage to walk into a salon that i had Always Loved but was too intimidated to walk in and talk to anyone. but this day, i did it. i walked in and the boss was there and asked if i would like to interview. right then. so she interviewed me and it went really well. i told her i would bring by my resume later. i went back later that day and interviewed with the manager. she called me only a short time after i got home and said i had the job. it just took a little courage. my feet pretty much just carried me in there. but now i have a job and i feel SO blessed.

 i am Loving school. it is hard, but so wonderful. i love learning and meeting So many new people.

  

so like i said, with every 10 good things that happen, one bad thing has to happen... i totaled my car a couple of weeks ago. bad thing. i was so upset. i'm okay, don't worry. but she was my baby. on the up-side i got to learn how to use the bus system...kind of... and learned even more how great my friends are. i am so lucky to have

  callie, 

and steph,

and hailey,

and taylor,

and maxwell,

and everyone who offered to and drove me to places that i needed to be. and who didn't want me to take the bus home from work because they were afraid for my safety. and who would find reasons to go to school on days they didn't have to so i didn't have to risk taking the bus and being late. these guys are all so great and i just love all of them. 

then i was car shopping online. on the phone with dad.. off the phone.. on the phone.. this went on for a few days. then my dad said he found one in logan, grandpa was going to test drive it the next day and he would let me know how it went. i got a phone call during school saying i had the car! i called my auntie when i got home from school and she offered to drive me to logan to pick it up that night!

  seriously how great is my family?? they are amazing and i don't think anyone even realizes, my family is the greatest there is. 

period. 

no argument. 

hands down. 

the best.

i am so lucky. 

blessed beyond measure really. 

and you know what? i love them. 

one more thing.

if you love the post underneath, you will love this video. just an insight to who my parents are working with while in the philippines. this is a man of whom i have such a deep respect and admiration for because of the charity he shows towards all people upon this earth, especially those less fortunate than himself.

Meet Dr. Geoff Williams.

i hope he inspires you, as he has me, to do anything you can to help those around you.

L.O.V.E.

today i was pondering the things i love the most in this world.

it was only because i was making some of the most delicious rice you would ever even try and i mentioned to my roommate about six times how much i LOVE Jasmine Rice. she knows the feeling. if you have never tried it, you must. i will even make some for you if you insist.
but then i thought about all of the things i really love and things i could not live without.

first and foremost are these two.

are they not just so lovely? i think they are. they are in the philippines right now and i am missing them, they are doing such good things there (for more info and another thing that i absolutely love click Here), but it leads me to the next thing i love:

today i was sitting on my computer, when it (the computer) started ringing, saying "call from kelsi" so i answered with a video (of course) and mom's smiling face was right there. she is so lovely. and i know she loves me. (i forgot they had kelsi's computer there.) she almost started crying when she saw My smiling face. so we had a short conversation, about how things were going there, how i was shocked she did not even feel like vomiting when she was in the o.r. watching a surgery being done, talking about how much i LOVE school so far and how well it is going, seeing each other laugh and make funny faces. so we started planning our next skype date, of which dad would be a part. talk about LOVE.

another reason why i am loving skype as well is because i get to see this:

baby e Loves to skype. and i love to skype. so it is a match made in heaven. so i pretty much get to see her cute little face whenever i want, even though she lives farther away from me now.

this a very short list of only a few of the things that i love most in this world.

but i think you are getting the picture.

family far away+skype= love.

love= family.

New Year. New Experiences.

Last year seems so far away already and I am feeling grateful for that. I had so many experiences last year. Highest of highs. Lowest of lows. and plenty in between.

I had so many blessings, a few including having so many sweet roommates, of whom have come some of my best friends which I will cherish the rest of my life; spending so much quality time with my family- traveling, just being at home, playing games, cooking, watching movies= love; my very best friend in the whole world Tamari got home from her mission on December 14 and I feel So blessed to have her as part of my life. She has always been such an example to me and I am forever in debt to her for her love and care.

I am so excited to begin this new year, new decade, new chapter of life. There are so many things starting to happen and all of it has come so fast. I rang in the new year with good friends and the loves of my life- my Family. It was so wonderful. With the new year always comes new resolutions, of which I was ready to jump right in. Mom started asking us what our goals were academically, physically, monetarily(she didn't ask this one, but I decided for myself that it is a good one to have in the mix), and spiritually.

So here is my list. 

Academically: work hard and study A Lot to get good grades in school :)

Physically: Get into better shape so I can feel better about what I look like, doing this by working out and eating healtier (I know, it's cliche but I know I can do it, so I just need to be better)

Monetarily: Get out of the debt that I'm in and have $1000 more in savings by the end of the year

Spiritually: Continue my study of the Book of Mormon but also start over and read it all by July (this is something my siblings are doing as well so I think it will be good to have them keep me on track)

2010.

It's going to be a great year, I can tell you that now.

School starts in the morning and I couldn't be more thrilled to go sit in a classroom for four hours.