Let's hope this statement holds true this week. I have two mid-terms this week. One for Econ 378, the other for Econ 381. I'm not too worried about 381 (Macroeconomic Theory), but I'm scared senseless for my 378 (Statistics for Economists) test. Schedule for tomorrow:
8 am - Get to the library to study Statistics
12 - lunch break with Macy
1 pm - back to studying
2-5:15 pm - class
5:15 pm - back to the library to study, study, study
7 pm - review session with my tutor :)
8 pm - just keep studying, just keep studying...
12 am - the library closes and kicks me out . . . guess I should go home!
yup, that pretty much sums up what my life will be like this week. I guess its times like these I'm grateful I don't have tons of friends to distract me from studying. And since I have no male-interest in my life I won't feel any pressure for not being outgoing or social. Let's just hope I survive to tell the tale. And lets all start to pray that my GPA survives the week too!
I'm super sleepy. I should definitely be in bed right now. But I'm not. And I don't want to go to sleep for at least a little bit. I love the nighttime. I love how peaceful it gets and how it's the one time during the entire day that I can be alone with my thoughts. This is both good and bad. I can finally get my head in order . . . but it also gives me time to think about mistakes I've made, regrets I have, and just changes in my life that I don't necessarily like. Life is funny because it's this ever changing thing. When you're little you live for the changes; your next birthday, next school year, high school, college. You're whole growing up years you know exactly where you're headed and you can't wait to get there. And all of a sudden one day you wake up and realize, oh crap, I'm there. And the worst part is you don't exactly know where 'there' is. Like look at me. I'm going to BYU, studying a subject that I love, but all of a sudden my future is unsure. I'm not necessarily working towards a specific goal. Obviously I still have goals (i.e. marriage and family), but these goals are no longer within my control. I can no longer look at my life and say well, in two year I'll be married, and then two years after that I'll have a baby. My life doesn't work like that anymore. I don't know what is going to happen or when it will happen. I simply know what I would like to happen. And this scares me because I'm a control freak. I love making lists, I love having things planned out. Spontaneous stresses me out, I hate surprises, and I don't like change. This has been a struggle for me the past couple of months. And the solution came in the form of a C.S. Lewis book I had to read for a class. I don't know the exact quote, but Lewis said something along the lines that to obey God is to trust Him, and to trust God is to not worry about life. And I realized that this is what I have to do. I trust the Lord, and because of this I have to trust in His plan and timing and not worry about how my life is currently working out. He knows what is best for me, and if I live the Gospel completely than He will make sure I receive eternal happiness. As I drift off to sleep tonight this is what I will hold on to.
Wow, the General Relief Society Meeting was amazing. I love President Uchtdorf so flippin' much! He is an amazing man and his talks are always so inspirational. I loved his list of 5 things that we needed to never forget. Whenever I hear him talk I am overcome with peace and love. This was an especially fun session for me, because it was the first Relief Society Broadcast that I have gone to in person. My friend Maggie (from study abroad) surprised me this morning when she called and told me she had two tickets to the session, and wanted to know if I'd like to go with her. We drove up to Salt Lake. went to the session, and then walked around temple square. I love that place, and I love Maggie. She is a good listener and it's nice to talk to her because she understands everything that happened in Germany and how I feel about things . . . life in general. She's fun too. So much energy and she makes me laugh. We got pictures of us together, but they are all on her computer, so this simple picture of the temple will have to suffice. Needless to say, it was gorgeous.
So, other news in my life. School has been rough. My Statistics for Economists class is way above my head, but I'm working on catching up. I've had a rough go this past month . . . but things are starting to look up. I feel strong . . . independent . . . and I'm ready to be happy. I've got a lot ahead of me this coming semester. I'm going to have to work my butt off, but I'm hoping I'm up to the challenge. I've got some awesome friends here to help me out . . . and I'm more grateful than ever for this church and the Gospel in my life. I don't know where I'd be without it.
So, I'm just going to admit straight up how much I suck at posting on blogs. I have this philosophy on life that I'd like to share with you all:
If I'm too busy living life to record it, then so be it. At least I lived while it lasted.
There are three areas in life that I see this constantly. 1) Blogging - you should all realize this, since I only posted once in the entire two months I was in Europe. 2) Taking pictures - I forced myself to take pics in Europe, although the last month I kind of slacked off on it. Luckily I had friends who took lots of pictures, so no worries! and 3) writing in my journal - I only write when I'm super happy, or super depressed - pretty much I look bipolar in my journal, but so be it.
So I'd like to sit here and tell you all that I'm going to be better at posting on here (if anyone actually ever reads this). But honestly I can't. We had a devotional all about being honest, and I can't tell you in good conscience that I'm suddenly going to become a great blogger . . . sorry to ruin all your hopes and dreams.
But, I do want you all to know I had an amazing time in Germany. It was hard, I cried, I laughed, I made some amazing friends, I went swimming, I ate gallons upon gallons of ice cream . . . and I don't regret a single scoop of it. Truth is I'd rather be in Germany right now, than here at BYU, but so is life. Someday I plan to go back their and live. Hopefully with a husband and kids, but I still have yet to see how my life will turn out.
Well, until I write again I'd like to leave you all with this awesome video I first saw in Germany. It's kinda long (15 minutes), and might seem weird at the beginning, but it's worth watching. I pretty much love it. And TJ Thyne from Bones is in it. So, enjoy!! Bis Später!
Alright, so I know I don't have a day one, but if you've ever been on an eight hour flight than you can understand why I didn't have the energy to even think about blogging yesterday. So fortunately I made it to London safe and sound. The flight was long, but not as bad as I expected. My body wanted to go to bed so badly but it was hard to get comfortable and there was a baby that screamed about every 20 minutes, which nearly drove me insane!
Mishaps of my first two days:
1. blow dryer got fried ( yes i used a convertor, no it didn't work )
2. camera battery died half way through the day ( no worries, it's charging as I type )
So the first day here was mostly wandering around like zombies. We walked by Westminster, Big Ben, and Buckingham Palace. The park in front of Buckingham Palace is gorgeous. You can even buy season tickets for lawn chairs there. It's awesome!
Church right across from our hostel
I won't put on a lot of pictures from that first day because we'll be going to those places again and actually going inside later this week. Today is when my computer died so I don't have a ton of pictures from today either. Here are a few of my favorites.
The Tower Bridge
Awesome dragon thing inside the London Tower!
So the worst part about not being here with family is that I'm alone in most of the pictures. I've been getting in pictures with the group but not a ton. I'll try posting pretty often, but I'm not sure how reliable my internet will be. Until then, have fun!
These would be my most recent purchases for my trip to Europe!! I'm so excited and these things are sooo cute! Both were bought from amazon, although they will be coming from secondary distributors.
This super cute bag is what I'll be carrying all of my valuables in. It's actually a lot bigger than it looks, 11x12. And it has a strap which is nice and long so it will go over my shoulders. I'm excited for this bags arrival.
And then I also got this rain jacket. As I learned last time I went to Europe it rains a lot in London, so this time I'm actually going to be prepared!! It will also be nice in Germany because there are bound to be a couple of rainy days during those two months I'm there!
2 weeks and 4 days until I leave for Europe. First stop, London, UK for 6 days 5 nights. I am super excited!! As part of the cost of the trip we will all be receiving London Passes which gives us the ability to see over 55 attractions at no extra charge. Unfortunately I only have 6 days and 55 different places I want to go!! I've started making a list though, to make sure I get to all the must-see places.
Since this isn't my first trip to London the places I want to go aren't necessarily the traditional "touristy" places that people know about before going. But I'm doing lots of research and working on an itinerary so I can fit as much in as possible. Suggestions are welcome!
After 6 days in London I'll be on to Germany for two months, but I'll have to post more about that later! Until then enjoy the look of my new-updated blog and I'll keep you posted on Europe plans!
I've been missing my BYU family today. Don't get me wrong, I love being at home with Mom, Dad, and Mariah but obviously life has slowed down a lot for me in the past week. My biggest decision today was whether or not I should actually get dressed (I did . . . eventually. It was like 3 or 4 in the afternoon though.) I had a nice lazy day of unpacking and watching television. Not quite the same as classes, homework, and social gatherings that I've been used to for the past eighth months.
So here are two pictures of what eventually became my surrogate family for my freshman year of college. Like any normal family I loved and hated them. I got along with some members better than others, but when it all comes down to it they molded my first year of college experience. I was definitely closest to my own roommates and the apartment of guys. The other girls I was friendly with, but there was always a feeling of competition between us. (A ratio of 2 girls:1 guy will do that!)
Most of the guys from my FHE group are headed on missions. Mexico, Russia, Colorado, Argentina . . . they all have amazing adventures ahead of them! They are going to all be great missionaries, and I'm so proud of them! All of the girls though, who knows if or when I will be seeing them again. I'm positive that Melissa, Macy, and I will be lifelong friends . . . but as for the others, only time will tell. No matter what happens, I'm extremely grateful for the experiences I've had with these people. It made for and exciting and interesting first year!
I've been packing all day, so I thought I'd take a break to update my blog. On Sunday Melissa, Macy and I died Easter eggs. We had bought this kit for 98 cents (best purchase of our lives) to make the eggs into monsters. It was so much fun, and a nice escape from studying for finals and the stress of packing and cleaning to leave. I've had so much fun with these two all school year, so it's bittersweet to be packing up and leaving for the summer. I'm just grateful to know that we've become close enough that we'll still hang out next semester. And I'm super grateful to be living with Melissa again in the fall. We basically like all of the same things and she is great at giving me advice whenever I need it! It has been an amazing year.
The best part of living in Utah is having Anna and Krystal live close(ish) by. I've been able to hang out with them and get to know their kids a lot more since moving out here. Anna's been amazing and taken me out to lunch once every month for the whole school year. I got to spend Thanksgiving and part of Christmas break with Krystal. Whenever they are in the Provo area they come to visit. It has been so much fun!!
So this weekend I got to go up and meet my brand new nephew, Robert William. He was born on Saturday afternoon, and he is absolutely perfect!! He weighed the same amount I did (10 lbs. 3 oz.) and he is a chub! I got to see him less than 24 hours after he was born, which is the first time I've ever seen such a small baby! It was so much fun! I spent Friday and Saturday night at Anna's house. It was her three girls, AJ, and me so it was a crazy full house. But so much fun! Saturday we went to the pet store (where a devil cat scratched me) and to Arctic Circle for ice cream. So fun!! I'm so grateful to have family so close by, and it has been such a blessing and so much fun!
Someday I'll get the hang of this whole blog thing. Hopefully soon too, that way I can upload pictures while I'm in Germany this summer. So here the most recent pictures I have from this semester. Macy and I went to General Conference in Salt Lake for the Saturday morning session. I made a lovely sign and we stood on the corner and asked everyone passing by for extra tickets. Amazingly we got two tickets that were next to each other. It was lots of fun!! Afterwards we stopped in Midvale and went to Culver's. It was so good, and I was really glad that Macy liked it too. It was lots of fun!!
