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!