Rest, Relaxation, and Other Random Thoughts

Phew. I made it, people! I survived finals! I survived another semester! And I passed all my classes! Let's celebrate. :)

To celebrate I got sick over the weekend, which is always fun. But I spent the time reading and having Monk and SNSD Hello Baby marathons. I love reading so so much! It makes me happy. Then Monk is just a given to make you feel better if you're down, as is Hello Baby. And yes, Hello Baby IS a Korean show. And I love it. Its uber cute. :) Please to view these pictures.



This is SNSD Hello Baby.



And this is SHINee Hello Baby. These shows make me so happy, I can't even tell you. If you need a pick me up, I suggest you watch them. It's so nice to be out of school for a while! Rest and Relaxation, baby! :)

I've been thinking a lot about the future lately and what I want to do with the rest of my life and I've realized something. A lot of my life is controled or decided by fear. Fear of failure, fear of ridicule, fear of being unhappy. Fear, fear, fear. But as I was thinking the other night about what to major in, what career to pursue, mission or no mission, etc. I remembered an experience I had at the end of April. My iPod was on shuffle and I was lying in bed thinking (I think a lot. haha). At the time I wasn't really happy with my life. I felt helpless and directionless. I felt like I didn't have a place. But then on came Carrie Underwoods "Ever Ever After." One phrase inparticular stood out to me:

"Unafraid, unashamed, there is joy to be claimed in this world. You even might wind up being glad to be you."

And I got to thinking. Why can't I live like that? Be unafraid and unashamed? Why should I care what others think of me? Why should I wait to start living my life. I always say things like "When I'm published" or "When I lose weight". But why should I wait?

That's what started it all. The most amazing summer of my life where I learned and grew so much. I've made the above phrase my motto that I try to live my life by. I want to claim my joy. The song also talks about how dreams and fairytales still come true and that everybody wants to believe they do. And I really believe that. People don't want to care what others think about them. They want to fulfill their goals and live life to the fullest. They want to have joy. Everyone wishes their life was a fairytale.

But most people are too paralyzed by doubt or disbelief to chase their dreams. Have you ever noticed how the greatest fairytales usually involve the main character taking action? Taking the first step. Breaking out of the ordinary. Belle goes looking for her father. Cinderella goes to the ball.

The point is that if you want things to happen, you have to make them happen. And don't let the doubters or people who can't see the fairies get you down. (P.S. That's a Fablehaven reference. Gotta love Fablehaven.)

Sometimes I just need to remind myself of things the Lord has already taught me. Like don't be afraid. You can do hard things. Pursue your dreams and goals and be happy in the process.

So, in honor of this thought, here is Carrie Underwoods "Ever Ever After" Music Video. :) Have a great week!



P.S. Elder Uchtdorf gave a great talk that goes along well with the theme today. Here's the link. :)

Your Happily Ever After

And the World Keeps Spinning

So . . . it's been a while, hasn't it? I know I promised I'd blog more often and that I'd tell you all about The Box.

I lied.

Well, I didn't really lie. More like I changed my mind. And while my intentions were good, I don't think I'll be talking about The Box today. Maybe next post. :)

So what have I been up to the past two months? School. Lots and lots of school. Can I just say that school is hard? And stressful? And fun, and wonderful, and exciting? And hard? Yeah, that's what school is. That's what life is.

Things get busy. At the moment I've just plunged into one of the busiest weekends of my life. This was the last week of classes for Weber State, which means that I, being a procrastinator, had many assignments due. Then I'm also in the Ogden Institute Christmas Show. I love it. I'm so happy and grateful that I get to be a part of it. We had one show tonight and two shows tomorrow. Then on Sunday the Chorale (the choir I sing in) is singing in my YSA Stake Conference. And next week is finals. Then I'm free.

That's what I keep telling myself. In one week I'll be able to lounge around the house sipping hot chocolate and making my way through my To-Read list. No worries, no responsibilities, no deadlines, no commitments. Just me and some good books and good people.

A lot of things have happened to me over the past few months. I feel changed. I feel blessed. I feel grateful. I feel like I've learned a lot and have become a better person through the trials I've faced. Life gets hard. It does. Life gets crazy. Sometimes things that make our lives hard are in our power to change. Sometimes they aren't. Life is about learning to not only survive the hard times, but to find happiness in them. We do the things that are in our power and if necessary make changes. And the things that aren't in our power to change we leave up to the Lord and know that He will provide.

That's two things I'm very grateful for: the power to change and my Savior. The Savior is the one who gives me the power to change. To become better than I am. To rise above my own personal limitations with His help and guidance. I'm human. I fall. I fail. I make mistakes. But I know that I can change. I don't have to make the same mistakes today that I made yesterday and those mistakes don't have to haunt me or damn me.

I'm just living my life as best I can. When I sang in the Elder Bednar fireside in October something he said really stuck out to me. He was answering the question of "How do I know when it's the Holy Ghost telling me something or if it's just me telling myself what I want to hear?" And Elder Bednar said it doesn't matter. Just be a good girl. Walk knowing you will be led. So, I'm trying to be a good girl. And I know I'll be led down the path the Lord wants me on. That I'm on it.

So, yeah. I love life. I really, really love life, even if it is kind of hard sometimes. :)

"In three words I can sum up everything I've learned about life. It goes on." Robert Frost