On yesterdays note, I read this talk today and absolutely loved it!! I especially loved this part... "Hope alone, however, does not cause us to succeed. Many honorable hopes have gone unfulfilled, shipwrecked on the reefs of good intentions and laziness". Here is the link to it: https://lds.org/general-conference/2011/04/hope?lang=eng.
Today was my first day of BYU! It was so fantastic! I am taking American Literary History and American Humanities colonial to some date I don't know. I can't believe I am going here, but I am so excited and I only got lost once ;) It's going to be a great semester!
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Announcement!
I have an announcement... today was officially my last day I will ever step foot in UVU as a student ever again!! I start BYU tomorrow!! I am so excited I could cry (and I don't cry so that's a big deal ;)
Now, I have to explain why this is so exciting for me... I have always been a very goal oriented and driven person, however, some devastating things happened in my life which I allowed to put me into a momentary funk. I started to feel safer doing what people have often advised... have low expectations and be pleasantly surprised. I did this for a little bit and then I was very blessed to meet a new friend who reminded me of the old me. I decided I missed that me and through a lot of prayer and hard work was able to find hope again and dream big. BYU was one of my dream big goals and I was so scared that I would not get in, but I did!! So, the reason it almost brings me to tears every time I think of attending BYU is because a) it is a phenomenal school and b) it was the first milestone of hitting my big goals, every time I think of it, it makes me so excited! I will never ever have low expectations again, because we get what we expect and work for (if it is right).
I have so many other big goals I have completed, am in the process of completing, or am waiting for the right time to be completed. Long story short... I am grateful for the ability to hope again and work towards goals. I can't wait for tomorrow and love my life!
Friday, March 11, 2011
Real Beauty
Well, the last little while has been pretty crazy but truly amazing! I found out a few weeks ago drum roll....I got into BYU!!! I feel so blessed and am so grateful to have gotten in! I cannot wait to start my education there in the Spring!
I went to an incredible fireside last week. A well-known blogger named Stephanie Neilson came and spoke at a fireside for my church. Stephanie Nielson was involved in a plane crash and was severely burned along with her husband. The night I went to this fireside, I had been having a bit of a rough day and was feeling sorry for myself, but meeting and listening to Stephanie made me realize how foolish I had been. She said something that really stuck with me... In describing her life before the plane crash, she explained that she had a fairytale life. She then went on to say she feels she has a fairytale life now-it's different, but she has one. What an incredible outlook! I think of the things in my life that I think are too difficult or that I am a little upset about going through and then I listen to her eternal and positive perspective and am blown away. If she can find the fairytale blessings in her life, I can find them in mine.
She talked about savoring every moment. She said living life to the fullest is a state of mind, rather than doing things. Here are a few more of the things she said (paraphrasing): "Hope is like the Sun, which as we journey towards it, it casts the shadow behind us...", "For me, to live in despair is not to live at all", "Hope is one of the personality traits of a Godlike woman or man", "Love your trials and own them. Get to the point where you can say I went through that trial and I did it with grace.", "Beauty is being a woman of God."
Stephanie went on to explain how this trial has increased her knowledge of the Atonement and hope of our Resurrection. She explained that in the resurrection, our scars on the inside will be healed along with our scars on the outside. As I listened to her, my feeling of the Atonement and Resurrection deepened. What a loving Father in Heaven to send His Son to suffer and die for us that we can live with Him again. What a wonderful brother and Savior to be willing to suffer every pain, joy, and any other raw emotion we have ever felt. The God and loving Father in Heaven I believe in would never ask us to go through trials and not intend to be there every step of the way with us, He would not ask people as lovely and wonderful as Stephanie to suffer a plane crash and the feelings and physical and emotional pain following if He had not prepared something to make it worth it. I know that our Heavenly Father loves us and although most of us are not asked to suffer a plane crash and severe burns or many of the other physical hardships others bear, any trial we receive is for our benefit and if we stay strong in those, we will be rewarded in the end more than we could have ever comprehended. Stephanie Nielson has true beauty, and I hope we can all acquire that level of beauty in our lifetimes.
http://nieniedialogues.blogspot.com/ is Stephanie's blog which tells more of her story and is very inspiring.
I went to an incredible fireside last week. A well-known blogger named Stephanie Neilson came and spoke at a fireside for my church. Stephanie Nielson was involved in a plane crash and was severely burned along with her husband. The night I went to this fireside, I had been having a bit of a rough day and was feeling sorry for myself, but meeting and listening to Stephanie made me realize how foolish I had been. She said something that really stuck with me... In describing her life before the plane crash, she explained that she had a fairytale life. She then went on to say she feels she has a fairytale life now-it's different, but she has one. What an incredible outlook! I think of the things in my life that I think are too difficult or that I am a little upset about going through and then I listen to her eternal and positive perspective and am blown away. If she can find the fairytale blessings in her life, I can find them in mine.
She talked about savoring every moment. She said living life to the fullest is a state of mind, rather than doing things. Here are a few more of the things she said (paraphrasing): "Hope is like the Sun, which as we journey towards it, it casts the shadow behind us...", "For me, to live in despair is not to live at all", "Hope is one of the personality traits of a Godlike woman or man", "Love your trials and own them. Get to the point where you can say I went through that trial and I did it with grace.", "Beauty is being a woman of God."
Stephanie went on to explain how this trial has increased her knowledge of the Atonement and hope of our Resurrection. She explained that in the resurrection, our scars on the inside will be healed along with our scars on the outside. As I listened to her, my feeling of the Atonement and Resurrection deepened. What a loving Father in Heaven to send His Son to suffer and die for us that we can live with Him again. What a wonderful brother and Savior to be willing to suffer every pain, joy, and any other raw emotion we have ever felt. The God and loving Father in Heaven I believe in would never ask us to go through trials and not intend to be there every step of the way with us, He would not ask people as lovely and wonderful as Stephanie to suffer a plane crash and the feelings and physical and emotional pain following if He had not prepared something to make it worth it. I know that our Heavenly Father loves us and although most of us are not asked to suffer a plane crash and severe burns or many of the other physical hardships others bear, any trial we receive is for our benefit and if we stay strong in those, we will be rewarded in the end more than we could have ever comprehended. Stephanie Nielson has true beauty, and I hope we can all acquire that level of beauty in our lifetimes.
http://nieniedialogues.blogspot.com/ is Stephanie's blog which tells more of her story and is very inspiring.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
"A Wonderful Life"
So, here we go with my first blog post! I'm not exactly sure how to do this, so bear with me ;) I love reading blogs, so I figured why not have my own? As you can see from the title of my blog, I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of summer!! While I love winter, I love summer even more and can't wait! There is nothing better than the perfect temperature, pools, basketball and tennis, no shoes, tan skin, and star gazing on a warm summers night! It's only about 2 months away, so I guess winter will be ok until then :)
As of recent events, I recently went to the Carl Bloch art exhibit at BYU with my family, I loved it so much that I asked my Humanities teacher if I could write my paper on it. For those of you who live in Provo, I would highly recommend taking a peek, it's free, beautiful, and inspiring!
As I look around I can hardly believe how blessed I am! I live right next to the beautiful, breathtaking mountains and in an apartment with lots of windows and beautiful views, not to mention I live with some of my best friends. I love school and will hopefully be admitted to BYU in the next few weeks. It is starting to get warmer and I don't feel the need to wear underarmour under all my clothes (yippee!!) No matter where we are or what is going on in our lives, we always have so much to be grateful for. It truly is "a wonderful life"!
As of recent events, I recently went to the Carl Bloch art exhibit at BYU with my family, I loved it so much that I asked my Humanities teacher if I could write my paper on it. For those of you who live in Provo, I would highly recommend taking a peek, it's free, beautiful, and inspiring!
As I look around I can hardly believe how blessed I am! I live right next to the beautiful, breathtaking mountains and in an apartment with lots of windows and beautiful views, not to mention I live with some of my best friends. I love school and will hopefully be admitted to BYU in the next few weeks. It is starting to get warmer and I don't feel the need to wear underarmour under all my clothes (yippee!!) No matter where we are or what is going on in our lives, we always have so much to be grateful for. It truly is "a wonderful life"!
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