Change

Change is becoming a more and more constant thing in my life. It's crazy how you feel like you're just getting settled into a normal routine and then, out of of nowhere, another curve ball gets thrown at you. As a person who looks at change as a necessary evil, this year has not been the most fantastic year of my life, but when I think about it some more, it has probably been the most rewarding.

Let me explain. I started out my college life at BYU with five absolutely amazing roommates. Melissa, Shauntelle, Sandee, Kory, Caitlin, and I got along so well. Sure, we had our differences but those differences allowed us to try and rid ourselves of our annoying sides and try to develop our good ones.
I remember praying before I went to college that I would get roommates who would help me come out of my shell. I had always been rather shy and I tend to rely on other people to make friends. My first room-roommate was Sandee. She, like me, is from California (all the other girls are from Idaho) and she was outgoing and fun. Within the first few days of the school year, she, along with my other roommates, helped me make friends within our ward. Little by little, I began to open up and I've found that ever since then, I've been able to make friends more easily. Our sophomore year, Sandee went off to the Jerusalem Center and we got a new roommate, Julie. She fit in with our little group perfectly and we had a lot of fun together. Shauntelle, however, decided it was time to trade us in for a better roommate. She got married in December of our sophomore year (a year ago next Sunday).

Us at Shauntelle's bridal shower
Us at Shauntelle's wedding in Salt Lake.

After that, they started dropping like flies. Sandee started dating a guy that she met at the Jerusalem Center during Winter semester of sophomore year and got married in August of 2009.

Melissa went off to study abroad in London and by September, Julie, Caitlin, and Kory were all engaged.

Here we are at Julie's, Caitlin's, and Kory's bridal shower.

So now, Melissa and I are the only ones left single. Melissa will be living at a different apartment complex next semester, however, so I will be getting all new roommates. I'm going to miss these girls so much! They have become some of my best friends. We know what annoys each other; we know what we can do to make each other happy.

But change, is necessary and though I can't see it now, it's probably good too.

The South Has Risen Again!

Thanksgiving break was awesome this year! My sister Lisa and I flew to Tennessee to visit our grandparents and my aunt and uncle.

We had a fabulous Thanksgiving dinner! We had some good 'southern food.' I definitely never had corn pudding before this trip. It all tasted so good!

Being history majors, Lisa and I couldn't visit the south without seeing a few Civil War sites. On one of our outings, we went to the battlefield where the Battle of Murfreesboro took place. It was so cool!


The soldiers had a hard time moving their cannon through the rocky terrain. Oftentimes, the cannons would break and they would have to leave them behind.


As the Confederate soldiers came running after them, the Union soldiers fled into this group of trees and hid between the rocks. They were discovered, however, and this little patch of ground has come to be known as The Slaughter Pen.


This is a cemetery for the Union soldiers who died during the Battle of Murfreesboro.


The next day, we went out and visited some plantations. The first one we went to was the Rippavilla Plantation. General Hood met with his fellow Confederate military officers here during the Battle of Franklin.


This is the view from the porch of the Rippavilla Plantation. It's beautiful there!


This is the Carter house that served as the Union headquarters during the Battle of Franklin. Thousands of soldiers died in and around this house.

This is the plantation that served as the Confederate headquarters during the Battle of Franklin. There was a reenactment of the battle the day we were there.

It was an awesome trip! I'd recommend it to anyone!

I realized today that I haven't taken a single picture this semester. And since we just recently had cleaning checks, I thought I'd start taking pictures of our spotless apartment. So here's a little tour of the place I come home to everyday. (The kitchen and bathrooms will be excluded for good reason.)

This is my side of the room. I got that shelf that frames my bed at Bed, Bath, and Beyond and it's awesome! As you can tell, I've got about a million books this year and since our apartment doesn't really have any storage space, it's been a great addition to my room.


This is what I like to call my "fun" book collection. These are the books I read for fun during those rare moments of spare time. Unfortunately, I haven't had too many of those this semester. (I haven't been able to read Harry Potter in so long...) But even if they don't get read very often, they make great decorations ;)


My roommates haven't had much time for decorating the apartment this year. I guess being engaged takes up a lot of time. And since three of my roommates are engaged, I'm the only person in our apartment who really made the time to make our apartment look cute, which is fine. I've come to realize that I like to decorate.

Who would have thought that storage boxes covered in table cloths make great tables?


My roommates and I made these "corkboard scrapbook things" last year. They work great for our Roommate pictures and remind us of the good ol' days when all of us were...uh...single, haha!

I also made this collage this year. I found a website that had a bunch of famous pictures from American history. I think it's cute. (And you can totally see my reflection in the glass.)


And this is the view from my apartment complex. Not bad, eh? I wish I had my camera out so that I could have taken a picture of the sunset yesterday. It was amazing!


I hope you enjoyed your tour!

Why I'm An English Minor and Not An English Major

There are two reasons why I could never be an English major:

Reason #1: The other day, as I sat listening to other people's comments in my Native American Literature class, I realized something about English majors themselves that bugs me like nothing else: they LOVE to hear themselves talk. They sit there bloviating for minutes on end about a simple question that probably only required a one sentence answer. In order to speak for as long as possible, they say the same thing over and over again just in different ways. Someone in class will start to speak and and then come up with a list of adjectives that are all synonymous just so they can hear themselves talk for two more minutes. For example, (a poor one but you'll get the gist of what I mean): "This quote from the book shows that these people were sad and unhappy and gloomy and sorrowful and dejected and depressed and miserable and disconsolate..." I could go on forever.


Reason #2: I think we sometimes dig too deep into books in English classes. It always happens at some point during the semester where I lay down a book after a deep class discussion and think, Did the author really want to comment on the status of women in 19th century society? Did she really write this big elaborate romance novel just to provide a social commentary? With certain books I can understand why we need to read between the lines a little bit to understand what the author is getting at, but other books I just want to walk up to a teacher and ask, "Has it ever occurred to you that the author was just trying to tell a simple story?"
Did I completely miss the mark or do these things bug anybody else?

My Home Away From Home

I have discovered something this year that has brought tremendous happiness to my career as a college student: the Harold B. Lee Library is not a torture chamber.
My experiences in the BYU library before I had this revelation were somewhat less than enjoyable. The first time I entered the building my freshman year, I was so overwhelmed with it's size that I took a few steps into the Periodicals section and then quickly turned and left. There was no way I was going to find anything in there! The next time I got the nerve to cross the threshold into the library was when I was given an assignment that forced me to spend a few hours pouring over microfilms of early church history. By the time I left the library, I felt dizzy and had an earsplitting headache. Looking at pages and pages of words moving a mile a minute over a very bright screen never made anyone feel healthy. Needless to say, my attitude toward that building was never a very pleasant one.
But all that changed for me a couple of weeks ago. I am currently enrolled in the beginning course for the History major, Historian's Craft (History 200). Now if you don't know what a historian's craft is supposed to be, let me clue you in: research papers. As I sat there in class, listening to my teacher go over the syllabus, I suddenly realized that I would have to get over my fear of the library very soon. I picked my topic for my research paper (the influence of the "God-is-on-our-side" mentality on the Revolutionary War) and I decided to face my fear and head to the library. Trembling, I managed to find my way over to the Social Sciences section. I sat down at the nearest computer and found the location of a book that might have something to do with my topic. I searched the rows and rows of books and finally matched the hard copy to it's call number. Then it hit me. I was in an aisle containing hundreds and hundreds of books about the Revolutionary War. They weren't just any books either; many of them were primary sources (exactly what I need for my paper)! The Papers of George Washington, the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, collections of letters and journals of Continental and British soldiers, the Journals of Congress, etc. I was in a gold mine! Suddenly, the library had become an amazing source of knowledge in my eyes. I couldn't believe how much information about my favorite subject was stacked on those shelves that, only a few minutes before, had seemed so daunting.
My ignorant beliefs and fears now pushed aside, the library has now become the ideal place for me to study. The intimidating shelves are now some of my closest associates and the frightening books and I are now thick as thieves. So, watch out Disneyland! You've got some competition for the title of "Happiest Place on Earth!"

Books That Have Had an Impact On Me

My roommate recently wrote a note on Facebook about the books that have impacted her life so I decided to do the same thing.

1776 by David McCullough

Yes, I love American history but the main reason I love this book is because it's a true story of a man and his army who try again and again to overcome such overwhelming odds. After suffering defeat after defeat against the British, the Continental Army was able to pick up the pieces and move on and, in the end, succeed.




Harry Potter by JK Rowling

This is going to sound cheesy but these books illustrate a great story of good vs. evil. It's the story of a young boy who wasn't really extraordinary in any way except one: he was the only one who could defeat the evil wizard, Lord Voldemort. He wasn't blessed with any amazing abilities. He wasn't even spectacularly clever. He just had the courage to do what was necessary and what had to be done in order to overcome evil and save those he loved. (Judging by the number of times I've read these books, they are probably my favorite books of all time.)


Persuasion by Jane Austen

This is the story of a woman who experienced serious disappointment in her life. While much of the disappointment was brought on by her own decisions, she had been dealt a rather difficult hand. But the heroine of the story learns that while things may not happen to us according to our own timetable, the things we want to happen will come in time if we simply follow what we believe to be right and hope for the best.




The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas

This is a fascinating story about revenge. The main character in the novel was falsely accused and spent many years in prison for a crime he did not commit. After he escaped from prison, he made up his mind to take revenge on all those responsible for making his life miserable. Through study and careful plotting, he achieved his goal. But when all was said and done, the satisfaction he expected to feel after ruining all these lives was nonexistent and he found that bringing others low did not bring him any higher.



We Were Not Alone by Patricia Reece Roper and Karola Hilbert Reece

This is the amazing true story about an LDS family living in Berlin during WWII. There were many struggles and trials that the family had to face, but there were also many miracles that occurred because of the individual members' faith and their diligence in keeping the commandments of God.




Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

This is the best version of the Cinderella story ever written, but it is also a wonderful story about sacrifice and courage. By sacrificing the thing she wanted most to save the lives of others, Ella later gained everything and more. (That's not much of a review, but it's a great and complex storyline that I could never do justice to here.)





The Kaleidoscope Season by Sharon Downing Jarvis

This is a coming-of-age story about a young girl named Emily Jean who was brought up by her grandmother because of the untimely deaths of her parents and her twin sister when she was just a baby. Her grandmother was a devout Protestant Christian and sent the LDS missionaries away whenever they came to call. Emily Jean yearned to know her mother and father, but her grandmother rarely spoke of them because Emily's father had been a Catholic. But after several events that turned Emily's rather controlled life upside down, Emily realized that the message she needed to hear was taught by the LDS missionaries and from them, she learned the wonderful truth that she would be able to see her family again someday.

There are many more books out there that have affected me, but this blog post would have to be about a hundred feet long for me to do every one of them justice. All I can say is, keep reading! There is some great stuff out there!

Bags Unpacked, I'm Ready To Go

I'm back at BYU for my Junior year of college. I'm not going to lie; I wasn't too excited about coming back this year, but now that I'm here and all settled into my apartment, I'm starting to get used to the idea. But there will always be things that I will miss about home.
I'm going to miss:

• reading books for pleasure
• seeing the green hills of the Bay Area during the wintertime
• good internet service
• snow-less winters
• having my own room
• close proximity to family
• our amazing shower and good water pressure
• my parents' huge movie selection
• going to my home ward
• friends from home
• having a large gum supply
• storage space
• no homework

I'm back in good ol' Provo and dealing with everything else that comes with it.
I'm not looking forward to:

• ice-covered sidewalks
• a jam-packed fridge
• homework
• my custodial job
• a tiny kitchen
• horrible internet service (which is miraculously working right now)
• only seeing family on holidays
  
• having almost no TIME!

As more of my roommates start coming in, I'm getting more and more happy to be back. I just want the year to start so that I can get into a routine that works for me. And while a lot of the things that come packaged with returning to school seem a little daunting, I am excited to be back at BYU and to see what this next year has in store for me. Wish me luck!