Life is Fragile

In 2010, a student from Murray left this earth. The statistics say that every graduating class will have a death of some sort. My class just happened to come across that death early into our high school career. This past week, we lost another member. Now I don't feel qualified to write an amazing story about Artem Milne, for I didn't know him especially well. But what I can say is that I worked with Artem for over a year and at least I have happy memories to remember him by. I have a few memories that I would like to share. 

Any one who knows me, knows that I can feel uncomfortable driving at times. I just don't trust other drivers and so I don't tend to "experiment" or do things that I don't trust. One of these things would be backing up into a parking stall. I am fine with backing out of one but for some reason, I have never fancied the art of backing in. Artem made fun of me one day for never backing in. I explained how I had never done so before. He told me that he would talk me through it. It took a solid five minutes for me to fill satisfied with my parking job. But now, every time I back up, I think of Artem and that very first time. 

The second memory I have of him is every time my boss needed his car washed he would asked two cadets to go. One day he picked Artem and I. As we were driving the two blocks to the car wash, we almost get in an accident for a person ran a red light (slightly ironic, for we were in a undercover cop car). After the scare of almost wrecking my boss' car, Artem said "if we get in an accident, we will tell him that I was driving." At that moment, I knew that Artem was one of the better guys in this world.

Even though I wasn't extremely close to Artem, I still felt comfortable enough to say hello to him every time I saw him Whether this was in the hall way at high school, or on the street down at college. Even if we weren't besties, he still acknowledged my presence. (Which is more than most human beings do these days.)

I think we forget how temporary our lives are here on earth. We get so caught up in our day to day activities that we forget that there is an end to this earthly madness. The news is filled these days with accidents and deaths. It is tragic that so many have to leave this earth so young, and unexpected. Really, after writing all of this, I have one request: live your life. Don't let it pass you by. It is cliche, but it is entirely true. You shouldn't be living in slow motion. Seize every moment. Tell the ones you care about how you feel. Don't assume that they know. Even if they do know, it will always brighten someone's day just to hear it said out loud.

Life is a gift, that is why it is call the present.

Confidence and Courage

As of late, my life hasn't changed. I wake up each morning, do something around the house, go to work, and then come home. Because of the lack of excitement, it means lack of blog posts. But this past week I have managed to break that routine. I have seen friends from high school that I haven't seen in months or even over a year. I have seen a movie in the theaters, eaten out most nights, and tried to make a memorable summer. 

On September 25, 2014 I wrote a post called Vulnerability (click link for a refresher course). This was a post about how I see myself as an individual. Because of the feelings expressed in that post, I have never felt comfortable approaching a man and asking them on a date. It gives me anxiety because I am the Queen of Over Thinking -that is a whole other blog post. Fast forward to April of 2015. My company announced a Company Party to be held at a Salt Lake Bees Game. They also mentioned you would being a plus one. Well, I decided it was about time that I have some stones (Reba reference, any one? any one? okay, no). I RSVP'd for Heidi Anderson plus one. Quickly after doing that I freaked out. I calmed myself by saying that if all the boys I know say no then I can just talk one of my siblings or cousins. Or I could just skip the asking a boy part and go right to playing it safe. I started to ask my siblings what they were doing the night of June 13th. To my surprise, they all had plans. Rude. Now I had to fulfill my original plan. I will say right now it worked to my benefit. I pondered who I could take as my plus one. I picked a boy, and stuck with it. My co-workers thought I was going to chicken out before asking him because there were some obstacles. This "Plus One" business became more than just a date. It is a mile stone in my life because I did something I didn't think I could do, and every one else knew I could do it but whether I actually did it was another story.  I ended up asking Preston, everyone say 'hi Preston.' I can honestly say I had a fun time on this date. I may have over thought the entire night the week before. I was so nervous that all my friends probably got sick of hearing my nervous rants, but that is okay. The actual date went like this: We ate dinner, watch the baseball game, and thoroughly enjoyed some fireworks. I won't go into details about the night because that isn't what this post is about. This post is about growing self confidence. This post is to show women (even though I still feel like a little girl) that it is okay to ask a boy on a date. So what if he says no, move onto the next boy. Instead of waiting for him to notice you -lets be real, boys need a push in the right direction- take the future into your own hands and ask him.

Grow some stones. Big brass ones. (Reba again, anyone?)

Fireworks, Preston, Heidi, and SL Bees

*The inspiration for this post actually came from my sister. She came into my room saying that she was going to ask the boy she is crushing on on a date because I inspired her. I am the one that gave her confidence. That was a pretty great feeling.

Nights Worth Remembering

Life is meant to be lived eating food that is freshly baked, giggling at silly things, and singing till your throat hurts. All you need to do is find people to do those things with. I like to think I have found my people. Life brought us together, and we bonded in unimaginative ways, yet here we are, simply enjoying what life has to offer.

Every time we hang out we try to get the best photo of all three of us. Obviously, we are still working out the kinks.

Heaven

There is a special place in heaven for the professors that curve grades. I just received an email from a professor that curved my grade because I was so close to a higher grade and because I never had a late assignment. Now that is special. It just proves that hard work pays off in one way or another. 

It Is Over

This past semester was a little rough. Five online classes was a little much. Most the time I was able to keep my head above the water and there were other days I had to spend my entire Saturday catching up. It has been an adventure getting through all the classes. I am a little saddened that this semester is over just because I finally got a routine down. Now it is all going to change. This next fall semester is going to be challenging in a new set of ways. For those wondering I will be doing three online classes and two classes on UVU campus. On the bright side, according to my graduation track, I am 70% done after fall semester. That is my main motivation right now. Knowing that I am more than half way to getting my degree. It is all downhill from here.
Here is a quote from One Tree Hill that I feel is important to remember. I have to remind myself that happiness isn't going to come once I graduate, Happiness is something I can find now.

A Disney Princess

Gosh I love Disney.

It is a genius idea really. If you truly think about it, this random guy named Walt created this empire for many generations to enjoy for years and years to come. And when Walt created this empire, he created a place for imagination to become "reality." I realize that for a large portion of movies Disney took stories that already existed and Disneyfied them. Any by doing so, Disney created stories and people that I hold dearly to my heart. Let's just name a few shall we...

Tangled- Rapunzel had a dream so she chased it. Even though it wasn't exactly what her "mother" wanted. She is innocent enough to love every piece of the world. Rapunzel taught me that you should live your dream. But only if your dream doesn't stink. 

Beauty and the Beast- Belle is a strong independent woman. She loves her father enough to take his place at the palace. And THEN she is willing to forgive the Beast for treating her like property. That just shows what kind of woman she is. Honestly, if a person ever did that to me, ha, cold shoulder for life.

The Little Mermaid- Ariel saved this man's life before she even knew who he was. Of course she thought she was in love and yes she is only sixteen, but that is slightly beyond the point. After she saves his life she is willing to give up her most prized feature just to be closer to this boy. To me, that shows how important love is. I think we forget that love is worth it. We need to keep believing in love.

Cinderella- Obviously she taught me that a dream is a wish your heart makes. Keep on dreaming even if all odds are against you. Really, this girl had three enemies (step mother and sisters) plus a cat. Poor girl. Anyways, Cinderella kept dreaming even though that stinkin' step mother tried to get in the way. 

Sleeping Beauty- Aurora taught me that sleep is the real MVP. 

Hercules- Meg taught me that being a strong independent woman is perfect but it can get lonely. Letting people into your life isn't a bad thing. As long as he is Greek God of course.

So just remember to dream big. If your dreams don't scare you, they aren't big enough. Love like today is your last day to love. And just be yourself. The right people will appreciate all the little things you do.

Happiest Place On Earth

I had the chance to go to the Happiest Place On Earth, a.k.a. Disneyland!

Instead of making six videos to show the trip (haha to last time I went to Disneyland) I made a small flipgram. A flipgram is similar to instagram. You make a small slide show and put the pictures to music (well there was music but I can't figure it out... so). Please enjoy the highlights from the trip. 

I freaking love Disneyland. All I know is that even with the crowds it doesn't get old.

The music was: Pumpin' Blood by NONONO

Motivation

For one of my classes I have to write a paper about motivation. It seems ironic because I have no motivation to write this paper. 

Whenever I tell someone I am talking a full semester of online classes, they ask me how I keep up my motivation. Honestly, there is not secret. Every day I wake up and I tackle that day.Once I start thinking of my "To Do" list I lose all motivation. As long as I take it one day at at a time, I know I can do it. College is difficult in the beginning, now add the burden of teaching yourself completely with little help from professors. It gets tiring week after week.