right now

Whoa... being old is hard. Kind of really hard actually. I mean, I'm sure that life gets harder as I get older, but for right now, my plate is plenty full! "Thank you very much, that's enough!"

As of right now, life is going and going fast. Finals, friends, assignments, etcetera, etcetera. What worries me most, though, is not necessarily my school work. (Maybe that's a bad thing...) But right now, I worry that I am not doing all that I can to be the best leader of my Relief Society. Right now, I worry about the girls who are moving out next semester. Right now, I worry that girls are just doing Visiting Teaching to just pass it off. Right now, I worry that the unity of our hall is standing on shaking legs. Right now, I worry that He will say to me, "You could have done something more."

So, right now is kind of rough. But right now is just that; right now. I'll work harder, do better, be kinder, and reach further. Right now will soon pass... hopefully.

See that?! That's unity and love!

becca

Roommates are good people... especially Becca. This girl is amazing in so many ways. First of all, she's got the coolest earrings and watches and clothes - meaning, of course, I have all those cool things. I love sharing with roomies {smiley face}. Secondly, Becca is so patient with me. She and I will start making dinner, I get distracted, she ends up making the whole meal, and I partake of it. That's just one of the many examples of how she demonstrates great amounts of patience with me. Another thing, she is the best person for me right now. With my calling, I have a lot of meetings to go to, and calls to make, and people to know. Becca keeps all of that organized for me. I call her my personal secretary. SHE'S AWESOME! I love Becca, and that seems weird because I've only known her for this short time since school started, but she is the greatest and it is most definitely no coincidence that I am with her this year.

long time, no see

Whoa... it's been a while since, yeah? Well, I'm going to break rules and make an excuse; I've been really busy. With school, friends, midterms, Relief Society, and being cool I've been sort of preoccupied. Even though I feel so overwhelmed at times, though, there is one thing that I have to remember: There is no GPA requirement to get into Heaven!

With that said, allow me to explain. My midterms did not go as well as I would have hoped. It's frustrating getting really poor scores when, in high school, you were always at, if not near, the top. So, with 3 tests below average and one slightly above it, my confidence was shot. {That testing center really is as bad as people say it is}. Anyways, I'd take the all-too-long walk home after a failure of a test and think to myself, "Heavenly Father doesn't care about my grade in American Heritage. There's no rule that says I have to excel in that class, among others, to be a good person." It's comforting to know that Heavenly Father loves me no matter what.

sister

This is Sister. Paige.

Sister is really talkative, annoying, messy, loud, and talkative. But she is my Sister and I love her. Paige is so outgoing, nice to her peers, talented, and has a pretty smile. Unfortunately, she tore her other (yes, that means she has already torn one) ACL in soccer a couple of weeks ago. She's had surgery now and she's doing well. When I was talking to her about it, she was obviously upset, but I can't help but think that something so good is going to come out of this for her. I love Paige, she is my best friend, she is always there for me, even if I can't be for her.

Hang in there Sister! Be brave.

called to serve

College. A word that terrified me towards the end of my senior year. Now, as I'm here in college I realize that "college" is a very broad term. The school aspect of college is so so right now. Yeah, I like most of my classes, but I'm still apprehensive about tests and such. The living-away-from-home part of college is great! Ha, I LOVE Heritage Halls and it's still so nice to be able to go home home when I need to. The social aspect of college is also great. I'm meeting tons of new people - a lot of them I'll probably never see again, but nonetheless {smiley face}.

Then there comes the YSA Ward. I love my ward. Lots of really awesome girls and lots of really cute boys {smiley face}. The other great/terrifying thing about this ward - I was called to be one of the Relief Society Presidents. Yeah, that calling... When the Bishop calls you in for a second interview in the same week, you kind of expect it though. But, I truly am thankful for this calling. Don't get me wrong, I cried when I got home after the interview, but I now realize that the Lord would have me do this. He called me. He will prepare me. Soooo, here's how I look at it: I get to leave with (hopefully [cross your fingers]) 57 new friends! 57 girls that I get to serve all the time and 57 people that I know will bless my life. I look forward to the work ahead and am grateful that I was called to serve.

katie

Katie Wagner. We met in 8th grade. We were never friends. We became good friends Junior year. She is now one of my best friends. Yes, my little firey redhead, Wags. This girl has a heart so full of love and compassion for those around her, it's insane. She is always there to hear my hurt and bear my burdens. She's helped me in so many ways and was always there when I needed a friend - especially during Senior year of high school. Now that we're "growed up" and separated, going to different schools, I miss her, but I know that she'll be around when I need her and probably when I don't {smiley face}. I love me some redheaded WAGS!

roommates

Ah... The life of a college woman! Yes, that's me. All grown up, moved out, and intelligent (now that I'm in college of course.) One of the best things about my experience so far? Roommates! Boy did I luck out. When I signed up to live at Heritage Halls I knew that I wasn't going to know any of my roommates. When I figured out their names and we became friends on Facebook I became even more apprehensive than I was before. But was I in for a treat!

Wednesday, August 24, 2011. This was a day of much change for me. The day that I spread my wings, took a leap of faith, and left the nest... I flew 15 minutes down the street. Yeah, big change. Anyways, I went into our little apartment with my things and there I met Becca. Becca is from Washington and she and I share a room. I LOVE HER! You'll probably here more about her and all of my other roomies later. Over the next few hours I met Maddie, Tracie, and Brandi. Us 5 girls had dinner at my house the next day and that is where we really got to know each other well. Ray joined us a couple of days later and now our family is complete!

I absolutely love my roommates. I know that I was supposed to room with these girls and I know they are all going to have different significant impacts on my life... they already have {smiley face}. I know that each girl is in the room that she's supposed to be in. I know that I am so happy to be around these people. And I know that I am excited for the year ahead!