sledding.

Last night I went sledding. Sarah, Me and the FHE bros, Buzz, Jeff and Justin...it was waaaayyyy fun. My toes nearly froze off but all in all I had a blast. So last night I got home and started to realize that my butt and tail bone hurt a bit...then as I went to bed it hurt more and more until now. Today I'm a lot sore. But I guess i'm just curious, is it still worth it? I think so. So the question is...why do we do these things and injure ourselves but consider it still completely worth it? Is that normal or ridiculous? Pretty sure I'd do it again if I had the chance.

allergies.

So you'd never think allergies could be a bonding experience...but tonight they were.

My roommate Katie and I went to ice cream with 2 of her friends tonight and we were joking around about allergies when I found out that her friend next to me shared a common lifestyle...

I am allergic to chicken and turkey (a.k.a. poultry) and my whole life it has been a pain. I've had to avoid everything from chicken top ramen to spanish rice to chicken alfredo to Thanksgiving dinner, not to mention the awkward "how do I bring this up?" moments when I go over to someone's house for dinner...so yeah, it is a difficult allergy. BUT TONIGHT...I met someone else who shared my awkward allergy and understood the sometimes impossibility of it.

So I guess I'm excited, excited that I'm not the only person in the world! Since I was little, people AND doctors have been telling me they've never heard of such an allergy, or suggested maybe it is just in my head. Well dear doctors and others, It is NOT just in my head!

So we shared some funny allergy stories, and now and my roommate's friend and I have a little something in common.

The End.

religious education.

The past few days and occurrences have led me to a strong appreciation for BYU-Idaho and what it stands for. I am thankful for the blessing to have Gospel principles evident everywhere in my schooling, housing, and life situations and feel so fortunate I'm one of the members that is able to live in Rexburg and attend such a great university.

As that was said...today in my English class we were asked these 2 questions:

1. How is your school work a form of worship?

2. How can your education glorify God?

I guess there are many ways to answer these questions and I'll leave them unanswered. Pondering them gave me some great insight into how I can/should be progressing and keeping an eternal perspective on education and learning.

....One of the biggest things that I learned from this group discussion was that we're glorifying God in our everyday activities. As we keep an eternal perspective and prove faithful in our studies we're becoming like Heavenly Father and progressing along our journey to become gods and goddesses of our own. Also as we use our talents and abilities He glorifies in us. He needs our help to help bring forth His gospel today so we need to do what we can and serve where He needs us. Together we're able to make up the Church and serve where is needed. It is amazing that although we as members are not perfect, the Church's organization is. How great is that?

So just something to think about: How can we better our school work and showing it is a form of worship? How are our educations being used to glorify God?

I personally gained a lot from this experience and personal study but I think that there is a lot to be learned from this topic. I am thankful that this school is able to implement Gospel teachings into subjects that are normally considered secular to the rest of the world.

growing up.

When you’re young it seems so cool. I was full of the “I can’t wait til I’m 18” and “when I have my own house…” Well now that I am there, it’s kinda difficult. No one really tells you that, they just laugh and tell you it’ll come soon enough. This bothers me. Should you tell kids, or just let them figure it out on their own?

I know it shouldn’t bother me though. I guess I just like the innocence of youth, the fun that comes with figuring new things out and learning for yourself. I guess it continues whether you want it to or not. I’m still figuring things out for myself and learning the hard way, but I guess I’m learning. It’s funny, some days I think I’d like to go back to do things over, try a little harder or just change a situation a little bit; but then again, I’m pretty sure I’m happy where I am at, happy with it all. Life, friends, school…life is just good. I learn new things about myself and the world around me constantly and I have grown so much because of it. So really, would I trade it all to go back to youth? To go back and redo something? Although it sounds tempting at times, no way. The paths and decisions I’ve made so far are what keep me growing and learning. Life is just one big test we’re told, so I guess the best I can do is continue to live it and do my best to progress.

All in all…I think I like not knowing. Taking things as they come and being able to learn to make the best out of situations has really blessed my life. So really, kids should keep dreaming. It’s ok to dream about when you're older, but I guess take time to enjoy your youth…and I’m definitely going to keep enjoying mine.

Good ol' John Wayne said this:

Tomorrow is the most important thing in life. Comes into us at midnight very clean. It's perfect when it arrives and it puts itself in our hands. It hopes we've learned something from yesterday.

Isn't that all we can do? Learn from the past and look forward to the new days? Enjoy the time we have now? The moments we're living in? I agree, tomorrow is important to look forward to but the past is something that we need to remember too. It will keep us on the right track if we are truly learning. Thanks Mr. Wayne.

new year, new resolutions.

Well I guess it is new years. I haven’t thought about it much but it is kinda the time of year for goal setting and the “new year’s resolutions” …that I can never seem to keep. Well this year I feel different; I seem to have a lot more goals for myself. I guess I’ve learned a lot more about myself this last year than I thought was possible; friends, family, school…all led to some unexpected life lessons and some inspired realizations. I guess there’s a lot to improve on, just like there always is, but I’m becoming more aware of it now. …so for my new year’s resolutions I'm a little more hopeful this year. I won't go into detail but I’d like to try a little harder, be more diligent at setting goals, and work harder towards reaching and completing them. Goals about goals haha :)