Blogging!

This is my last blog post for writing 150!! I have actually really enjoyed doing these blog posts for class. I know that I have forgotten a couple of times, but I have always managed to keep up with these blog posts. I used to blog on Tumblr, but nobody followed me or ever went onto my Tumblr to ever read it. It felt like it was more of a diary for me because I would literally type out my current feelings and just let it all out. It was great... But I stopped doing Tumblr once I got to college because I never had time to do any of that. But all in all, I loved blogging because I was able to write about any topic I wanted to and I was able to practice my writing. I think I am more informal in my writing on blogs because I type like how I would speak. I want to continue to blog, but I think I will make a whole new blog. I am not quite sure how I would format it or make it look good. I have enjoyed reading the blog posts of all the students in the class because we all put our own little flair to it and they are super random and entertaining as well. I wish I had funny stories to tell, but I am more of a complainer than anything. These blogs were fun and I hope everyone got something out of it!

Photos.

I honestly love to take photos! I am the kind of person who forgets to write in her journal, so taking pictures is a good way for me to remember about the good times. Back in middle school I was a lot better about taking so many pictures, but once I hit high school, I didn't take pictures as much and I think it was just because I was so busy and would always forget to. Now that I'm in college, I have been trying to take tons and tons of pictures with all of my friends in everything we do. I love taking fun photos, random photos, group photos, and photos around campus. It's the greatest. It is very convenient that I have an iPhone because they take fantastic photos and videos. I can just pull it out and take a picture whenever I want. It's so awesome and then I can upload it onto facebook, twitter, instagram, etc. It is very useful. This past week, I took a lot of photos with my friends and trying to make as many memories since most of the friends I have made this semester are either leaving soon for their mission or plan to go on a mission before next semester. I will miss them so much, but I know that they are sacrificing their time to serve the Lord. I love love love my friends so much and have enjoyed all the good times I've made. I have taken many photos for my first year of college. I have 240 photos under my first year of college album on Facebook plus all the photos I have put on instagram. Photos are the greatest and they bring back so many memories that you love to remember.

my last 24 hours.

I stayed up late with my friends in the dorms making memories before I left to go to Hawaii. I had a lot of fun with them and already miss them lots. I didn't get much sleep this week because I hung out with friends a lot and had to accomplish a lot of homework and tests before I left. I am so tired and exhausted from that. Well, I said my goodbyes for now since I won't be back for a week. I left Provo at 3 in the morning to get to the airport at 4 to be there 2 hours early to check in and get settled. I got their right in time before the huge crowd came in at the same time. I sat in the airport watching one tree hill until I could get on the plane. Then I was on the plane for a couple of hours and landed in San Francisco airport for an hour until I boarded the plane to Hawaii. I have never been on a plane for more than 3 hours. So when I had to get onto two different planes... It felt like forever and I'm not about that life. On the flight to Hawaii, I watched the movie they showed on the plane and then ate the snacks I brought with me. I also got a free coke. It was great. Plus, I sat next to this guy who slept the whole time, which was good. When I got here, it was so humid and inside the airport felt like death. My aunt picked me up and we had a little snack before we went back to the airport to pick up my sister. Then we went to my aunt's friends house in Hawaii and had a great "welcome to hawaii" bbq dinner. Then I took a nap for a long time since I haven't slept at all the past week. Now I'm wide awake. That's it. I'm excited to see how the rest of my vacation goes before I have to go back and do my finals.

Road trips!

I don't like driving long distance, but it can be bearable and fun when you are with friends and family. The longest road trip I have ever been on is to Las Vegas, Nevada from Portland, Oregon. We actually stopped in Salt Lake first to visit family, so it was only a 12 hour drive there, and then another 5 to get to Vegas. Sometimes the drive got annoying because everyone would get frustrated with each other at some point and we didn't want to be in the car anymore... But there were times where we would sit in the car and  sing songs for a couple of hours or play some car games. We went on this road trip as a family when I was going into 4th grade. That was forever ago, but I remember because we finally decided to take a trip as a family. We never really go on vacation, so this was probably our first family one. We visited my aunt and her new baby in Salt Lake City and then we decided to go to Vegas for a vacation. It was fun because we stayed at the circus circus and went on all the rides and attractions in that hotel. Vegas is not exactly a family friendly place, but there are fun things to do there with the family.

What bored college students do

I don't know if you have noticed or not, but I have seen many students make music videos to songs for fun and entertainment. I have watched so many videos made by people and it is so hilarious!! Our friend made his dad a video for his birthday and thought it was priceless. So, last night we decided to make a video for our guy friends and will be waiting for a response from them. We did our video to the song Kiss Kiss By Chris Brown feat. T-Pain. We broke down each part of the song for each of us to sing to and my friend did a little choreography for the chorus. We also made interesting outfits for each of us and had different character names. It was so funny, and we had a lot of fun. It took about an hour and a half to prepare for the video. We video taped it at least four different times before we did it perfectly, well maybe not perfectly but good. As I write this blog post, I am actually posting the video on Facebook for everyone to see! We hope to get a good amount of likes and views.

Extra Credit: Packing

I absolutely dislike packing. Whenever I have to pack, I usually procrastinate until the last day. It's pretty bad. I decided to write about this because I am thinking about all that I have to pack before we go home from school. It's so depressing and also stressful. Last summer, my family and I decided to move out of our house into an apartment because we didn't need a big house for my dad, sister and I. It was a good idea, especially since we didn't have 6 people living in that house anymore. As we had to pack for that, it was probably the worse thing ever. I absolutely hated packing and cleaning the house. It was waaaaay too much work, and I did not like it. I obviously started packing like the day we were moving, but it's whatever. Another story is when I had to pack for college. I didn't pack for college until the day before I was leaving. It was so bad. I didn't leave anything behind, but I was just a mess the day that I moved. I don't even know what I was doing with myself. Also, every time I leave for the weekend, or go out of town on vacation, I always leave my packing until the night before. It's really not a good idea to procrastinate. Do not leave packing to last minute. It is a bad idea.

Extra Credit: Friday and Saturday

My roommates family came to visit for the weekend. It just happens to be General Conference weekend too! I was so excited to see them because I have become close with them and they are so loving and caring. They arrived here Friday afternoon. She is actually an only child, so it was her parents and grandparents that came. Her grandparents are from Mexico, so they didn't speak English. They were super cute and nice though! When they got here, we went out to dinner at Olive Garden. I got my favorite meal, which is Fettuccine Alfredo and had unlimited salad and bread sticks for sure. Then Danielle, her mom, and I went to go see the new G.I. Joe movie, which was alright. It was kind of annoying that the original cast wasn't on this new one, but overall, it was an alright movie. We came back and went to bed because we had to get up for conference the next day. We woke up and got ready for the day, and went to Danielle's parents hotel to watch conference on their TV for the first session. After that, we went to lunch at the Roll Up Cafe, which is a wonderful crepe place on State Street. Then we all got into the mini van and drove up to SLC for the second session. We arrived about 20 minutes after it started and then went to the tabernacle to watch it since we didn't have tickets to see it at the conference center. After the afternoon session, we went shopping at the City Creek Mall for a couple of hours and then had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. It was super delicious and they give out huge portions. We came back to Provo to see our friend Mary open her mission call and she was called to the Baltic mission in Latvia. I have never heard of that mission before, but that is super exciting for her! I am so glad she decided to serve the Lord. All weekend I have had this bad toothache, and so I asked my friend to call some guys from our ward to walk over and give me a blessing, at about this time it was pretty late. Two guys came over and gave me a blessing. I would just like to say that I am grateful for the priesthood. They were so great! After that a group of us talked outside of our dorm for like an hour and a half. Then we came back and went to bed because it was late and we had to get up for conference again. Anyways, I just thought I would rant on about my productive last couple of days.

Extra Credit: My other half

I am half Filipino and half white. I have been born and raised in America my entire life. I am probably what people would call, "white washed." I love anything that is American - the food, clothes, social life, technology, etc. I bring this up because I don't really know much about my other half and have not lived a life as a filipino really. My mother is the one who is from the Philippines. Growing up she never taught my sibilings and I how to speak Tagalog, and she never made Filipino food. I don't like fish and I'm not a big person on foreign foods because I think they taste weird. So I think it would be awesome for me to take a trip to the Philippines to really know what that side of my ethnicity is about and just learn about how the society is for them. I know that there are many Catholics there and my mom was actually from the poor part of the Philippines. I would like to visit there one day to officially meet some of my Filipino family and just understand how they live. I think it would be a reality shock for me and will make me appreciate what I have more. I just would love to learn more about my Filipino side because I obviously look more like I'm from there and would like to be able to say that I know more about it. I just want to learn more about the culture and what it is all about. I like to learn about these things and would just love to get out of the country and experience something new.

Extra Credit: I wish I was musically talented

I have always wanted to learn how to play the piano or guitar. I have also wanted to be able to be good at singing. I know that these things can be possible with practice and getting lessons, but my parents never got me lessons. I was told to learn it on my own. I am not very good at teaching myself how to do things and whenever I have to do something myself, it seems to never get done until later. I wanted to learn how to play the piano when I was in elementary school because I thought that the singer Vanessa Carlton was the best, and I wanted to be just like her. Also, my best friend in elementary school was getting lessons to learn how to play, and you know at that age you want to be just like your friends. I really just wanted to be Vanessa Carlton especially because of the music video for A Thousand Miles where she is playing the piano, which inspired me to be like her. Well, I asked my parents for lessons, but they said that we didn't own a piano and wouldn't buy one, so I wouldn't be able to practice. That plan kind of failed. When I got older, I was obsessed with Avril Lavigne, and Green Day. I really wanted to learn how to play the guitar because of them. I thought I could be a rockstar and be just as cool as they were. I asked for a guitar for Christmas, and I got an acoustic guitar, but I really wanted an electric guitar. Well that didn't happen. My parents told me to learn how to play the acoustic by myself and if I could teach myself to play that that they would buy me an electric guitar. Well, I sat down for like a week or two trying to figure it out, but I kind of gave up because it was too much work and I would just get frustrated. I forgot about the whole guitar thing because I was too busy hanging out with friends. I wanted to learn how to sing because I was in choir in 6th grade and thought that I could be really good. I stopped doing choir after that and my parents didn't want to pay for singing lessons. So I was musically deprived of trying to become talented in those areas. It's okay though, because I just gained a greater appreciation for those who actually play an instrument or can sing.

Extra Credit: What a baker!

My roommate, Danielle, loves to bake. She is super good at it too. Every week, she bakes at least one thing. She has a passion for it. She is also majoring in Business, and hoping to open up a Bakery one day. I think that she can do it and will be very successful with it too. One thing that she makes that is my favorite is called Cake Pops. I'm sure you have heard of it and have also heard of a cake pop maker. She makes it all by scratch. It's fantastic! The first thing that she ever made for me was something called S'mores bars. They are so good. It's like a cookie base with a S'more on top. It's super good. Another thing she makes is called a double brownie. She makes two things of brownies with a symphony bar in the middle. It is so delicious and you must have it with milk. She has also made rainbow chip cookies. It is basically the cake mix, but instead cookies! It is one of the greatest things ever. Today, she actually made pumpkin bars, and those are my weakness. My friends mom from home used to make those and give them to me because she knew I loved them so much, so when Danielle made those today I was in heaven. They are so good! I was never a big fan of pumpkin anything growing up, but when I found out what a pumpkin bar, I fell in love. Danielle is a wonderful baker and has taught me how to make some things. I cannot wait to go home and make stuff for my family and friends.

Extra Credit: Beyonce Knowles

I think that Beyonce is the most talented woman in the world. She is so good at singing and there has not been a time where I thought that she was horrible. I have loved every single album she has come out with, and I have even loved her back  when she was in Destiny's Child. I have seen Destiny's Child in concert, their  last concert before they went their separate ways in 2005. It was my first music concert ever and I loved it so much! I get my love for Beyonce from my Aunt because my aunt idolizes her and loves her so much. I think that she is so beautiful. She can wear anything and make it work. No joke. I have never seen her wear something weird (like Lady GaGa). She is definitely a diva and knows she's good, but she is also humble about it. She has helped out with charities and really does care about her fans. She isn't a jerk and all about the money. She is married to Jay-Z and they just recently had a child named Blue Ivy. I personally don't like the name, but Beyonce can do whatever she wants and name her child whatever she wants. I wish I was Beyonces child. As you can tell, I wish I was like Beyonce because she is such an inspiration to everyone and is very talented at what she does.

Extra Credit: I am addicted.

I spend way too much time on my cell phone. I went without a phone for a month at the beginning of fall semester because I cracked the screen and two weeks later it stopped charging. I didn't have money for a new phone and my parents didn't have money at the time to get me a new phone... I know I won't die without a phone, but it is so hard to communicate with people when you are limited to communicating through a laptop. It was so hard, but then after a month, it was my birthday and my parents bought me the new iPhone 5. I was so excited to get a new smartphone, especially since it was an iPhone. When I first got it, I was kind of iPhone dumb and didn't know how to work it, but good thing I have friends that have iPhones and know how to work it. Anyways, now that I have an iPhone, I am constantly on it and spend way too much time on it because of the darn apps that I can download and use. I am constantly connected to Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram, etc. I remember back in the day when smartphones such as the Blackberry just came out, I thought it was ridiculous that people were always connected, but now it's a social norm. I love the iPhone, especially when most of my friends have one and we can contact each other so easily through iMessage or FaceTime. I think it's one of the greatest things ever made. I love that I am able to connect to anything and everything with one touch. I am able to talk to my family every day and see what everyone is up to. I know it's kind of an addiction, but I think it's a good one. Well, if you use it for the right reasons.

Extra Credit: Celebrity Crush.

I am in love with Zac Efron. Well, maybe more infatuated with him. I was in love with him back in the day when he was on the show with Jesse McCartney, Summerland. He is more famously known for High School Musical though. That's when my crush for him increased. I think he is just really attractive and seems super laid back. At the time, he was with Vanessa Hudgens and I thought they were super cute. When I was young, I thought that since he was dating a half filipino girl that I would have a chance with him. Haha. Silly me. I feel like a little fan girl as I write about my celebrity crush, but let's be honest, we all have one. Since I started to crush on him, I've watched every movie that he has been in. Well, maybe not every movie, but I've seen many movies with him in them. He is just delightful to look at. He is a very attractive man. I think that he looks good in anything that he wears and he is so good at whatever role that he plays. He is not the GREATEST actor, but he is a good one.

Extra Credit: HSM 1, 2, 3 :)

HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL WAS MY LIFE. Well... Not really my life, but I seriously love those movies. I know that they are kind of cheesy and super 'Disney' like, but I thought they were so good. I personally love the third one the most. I think it's because it was the perfect ending to complete high school musical. The second movie was my least favorite, and it's probably because it was 'summer' and not really a high school musical. I'm so technical, but it wasn't the best. It was kind of weird. When I look back to watch the first and second, I can see how cheesy it can be, but it's still the best! I know the lyrics to every single song in each movie. I have the songs on my iPod because I own all of the cd's and used to play them on repeat so that I can memorize them. I was seriously obsessed with those movies, and when I found out the third one was going in theaters, I instantly bought a ticket so that I can go see it. I seriously cried at the end. It was so good. Whoever is reading this, you probably think that I'm crazy weird and have horrible taste in movies, but I really don't. This is just my Disney channel weakness movie series.

Extra Credit: Disney Channel

I had a conversation with friends the other day about Disney channel back in the day. We talked about Lizzie McGuire, That's So Raven, Phil of the Future, Even Stevens, etc. Those were the days. I loved to watch those shows all the time. I remember back in the 4th grade when I was obsessed with Lizzie McGuire that I made my parents buy me everything, from books to clothes to pencils, just because I was obsessed with that show and loved it so much. As time went on, I started to love Hilary Duff even more and started to watch all of her movies and listened to her music. She was my idol, but then she kind of fell off the face of the earth by getting married but stopped singing and acting (well to my knowledge). I absolutely loved Disney channel. The shows Hannah Montana, Wizards of Waverly Place, Suite Life of Zack and Cody, etc. were also my favorites, but any show that was made after that... I don't even know about them and barely keep up with them now. I feel like all the kids that were my age when I first started watching Disney channel love the shows that are shown  now and will probably be saying the same thing that I am saying when they get older. The original shows are the best, and will forever in my opinion be the best.

April Fools Day

On Sunday night, my friends and I were sitting in Budge lobby and the topic of April Fools Day came up. We were talking about people that we should prank and what kind of fun pranks to do. It was about 10:30 PM when we were discussing this and we weren't sure what to do. Well, our friend Adrienne texted us asking when we would be back from hanging out with the guys. I told them that we should pull a prank on her. So I told her that we weren't coming back because we decided to take a last minute trip to go to Las Vegas. She was super confused and didn't believe us at all. She ended up calling me 2 minutes later, and I had my friend Randy answer the phone because he would make it sound very believable. It was so good. So all of us that were "in the car" had the chance to talk to her on the phone and she asked me to send her a snapchat of the road to prove it. Once I got off the phone with her, we found a picture on my friends phone of a road, and took a really good snapchat of it.. She sent one back saying be safe and have fun. It was so funny because she really believed us. We were going to try to keep it going until tomorrow, but I run into her everywhere the next day at school. So we decided to go tell her a little bit after midnight and say April fools. Well, when we were about to leave, she actually came to our friends room to ask if we really went, but then she knocked on our door and my friend chuckled a little, and that's when she found out that it wasn't true. She walked away like a Diva, and we were laughing so hard. We then followed her to her dorm room and made a video of her reaction and it was the funniest thing. She thought we were going to die (not really sure why) and she was just freaking out the whole time. She didn't realize it was April Fools, and plus she told us that was her first time she ever being pranked. It was pretty successful I'd have to say because she believed us. That was my fun for that day.

Last home game

My rooommate and I attended the last home game for men's volleyball. Throughout the season, each week before a home game we would enter into a contest where we would get randomly selected to be "honorary coach" for the volleyball game. When you get honorary coach, you get to pick a friend to hang out and sit with the players during warm up, take a picture with the whole team, get a picture with your favorite player, serve the first ball of the game, and two free tickets to the game. The great thing that happened this week was that my roommate finally won honorary coach and it was for the last home game. We were screaming with joy when we found out that she won. It was the best thing ever. I have been to every single home game this season, except for the first two because it was the weekend when we were all coming back from winter break. I'm so glad that I was able to come out and support the team with my friends. It was a lot of fun, and we have actually become friends with some of the players. It's been a great season for men's volleyball and they currently stand at the #1 team in the nation. I am excited for the tournament to come out, and hopefully they will be held here in Provo! I will be here to support when I can. I'm sad that the season is almost over. I am already excited for next season to start!

JT

I think that Justin Timberlake is one of the most talented music artists out there. There is a reason that N'Sync isn't together anymore because he was obviously the star to begin with. Although I did love N'Sync a lot back in the day and thought they were so good. Looking back, I kind of laugh at myself because it's funny to see all the artists that we thought were super good, but kind of ridiculous when you think about it. Anyways, Justin Timberlake gets better and better every time he releases a new album. His last album, future sex/ love sounds, was fantastic and his tour was amazing. I was able to attend his tour in 8th grade, which was the last tour he had. It was so fantastic and he knows how to entertain a crowd. That was also the most expensive concert I've ever been to. He is really good live and is very talented. He just released a new album called the 20/20 Experience. I haven't had a chance to listen to the whole thing, but I am impressed by the single put out from it called, "Suit and Tie." It's so good. I enjoy music a lot, and he's one of the few artists that I will continue to listen to without getting annoyed.

BYU Men's Soccer

Last semester, I had the opportunity to attend all of the men's soccer game because my roommates best friend plays on the team. I also got to attend the first home game of this season on Saturday. It was a good game, except for it was freezing cold! I don't actually find soccer fun to watch unless I know someone on the team. I honestly love sporting events and I enjoy attending them to support Brigham Young University. Although it was freezing cold, I was still able to cheer and have fun watching all the intense stuff that happened Saturday. There were many yellow cards called during the game and also a red card. It was crazy intense. I got to cheer on Kip from our class and I was also able to cheer on my friend Tanner. It was super cool. It was so cold outside that I had to buy my roommate and I some hot chocolate.  The games are 90 minutes long. I didn't know that men's soccer is considered a club instead of a sport, but people should still come out and support. They workout and have practices just as hard as any sport at BYU. I think that everyone should consider to come to at least one game, especially since Kip who is in our class is on the team and we can come out and support him!

Taste the rainbow

Did you hear that Skittles changed the flavor of the green skittle? The flavor used to be lime and I honestly wasn't a big fan. My favorites in order go from red, purple, orange, green and yellow, but now the new flavor of the green flavor is moved up before the orange. The new flavor is green apple. It's so good. I didn't even notice the new flavor or even that it was advertised on the bag when I had it. I was actually confused when I was eating skittles and tasting this new flavor and then I realized that it was a new flavor when someone asked me if I knew about it. I'm usually not a big fan of the flavor green apple, but for the skittles it's actually pretty good. I probably think this because I don't actually like the flavor lime. I am so glad that they changed it! I think that more people would enjoy eating Skittles now that there are more better flavors. I  have always enjoyed eating Skittles, but now I'm more excited to have them now that there is a new flavor. There is a game I used to play all the time at little group activities called the "Skittles Game." Basically, what you do is get a deck of cards. You take turns picking cards and whatever the number is, you put that amount of skittles in your mouth. You are not allowed to chew until you get a wild. It's a fun game, but be careful because it could be a choking hazard. Just thought I'd educate you guys about the new Skittles flavor and a game you can play with them!

Tinder, what?

Have you heard of the app, Tinder?! I didn't even know about it until a couple weeks ago. I have a friend that found out about the app because she said it was interesting, addicting, and she is obsessed. She told me that I should download it and try it out. You connect your Facebook with this app, but it doesn't post anything on your wall or even put any of your information from Facebook on it. You choose your five best photos of yourself from your Facebook for people to look at. It has your age and a little thing that you can put your information on it, and it only shows your first name. Basically, you can pick within a 50 mile radius of people who have the app on their phone and they will give you a stack of people to go through and you "like" or "dislike" their thing. You won't get a notification if someone likes or dislikes you... Only if you both like each other, which is indicated as a "match." Then you can message them through the app and talk to them. I downloaded the app the other day to check it out and it's kind of weird and awkward... I don't know how I really feel about it, but I think it's kind of dumb because you are honestly just judging a person by their age and how they look because it does show some of your interests of things you like on Facebook and mutual friends, but that doesn't really tell much about a person and I honestly haven't really noticed that part of the people... It's kind of weird too because I've run into guys from my ward on it and even people that I've seen around campus. It's kind of too much... Anyways, go ahead and try it if you want to... But that's a popular app that is out right now.

Party Central?

I have never heard of so many parties in my life until I got to Utah! There are dance parties every weekend in  Provo. Some are free, others you have to pay. I know we had dance parties where I'm from, but they aren't as frequent or popular as they are here in Provo. I get invites to all of these events on Facebook all the time! You honestly wouldn't think that there would be parties in Utah of all places, but there are tons! If you are looking for a good time, there are plenty of dance parties to go to on the weekends, but I do warn you that they can be kind of ratchet (term known to describe 'dirty'). You have to selectively choose the right ones and go with the right people. I am known to sing out loud and dance around whenever I'm around music, and that's why I've gone to a couple of these parties because they play some good music! I think that they have dance parties almost every weekend because they want people to have something to do especially since everything closes really early here in Utah. Blah. Anyways, I just thought I'd vent about this. If you guys ever want to know about the parties, I can always invite you on Facebook when I get an event invite.

I wish...

The other day... I was thinking about how cool it would be to be a student athlete. I know not everyone would think that it's cool, but I think it is! It's probably because I love attending sporting events and wish I could actually get into the action with them. I'm just a huge fan of all those players that work so hard to balance their sports and school. I think that it is super cool that they are able to do that, especially at a top school for education where it is pretty hard. Even I have a problem with keeping up with all the work I have, and I'm not even an athlete. I'm pretty jealous of those that get to be a part of a team and make friends, even best friends with the people on the team. I feel like such a fan girl sometimes, but honestly, they have talent and that is the reason they are there today. I just love school sports and enjoy attending the games to support BYU. I think that it's pretty cool that athletes get all the free gear and wear their stuff with school pride and have no shame for going to BYU. I think it's also so great that the nonmember sports members are attending here for the right reasons and respect our atmosphere and how we live. I am very happy being at this school and those of you that are athletes, I wish I was you! :)

Happy Birthday, Barbie!

Today marks Barbies 54th Birthday! She's getting pretty old. This fashion doll manufactured by the American toy-company Mattel, Inc. launched on March 9, 1959. I only knew about this because I was reading on Yahoo news about how this man in Florida has collected over 2,000 Barbie dolls, which is estimated to cost about $80,000 worth. He doesn't only have Barbie dolls, he also has her dream houses, convertibles, etc. In the video he said, "Anything that I find at a garage sale that has the B-A-R-B-I-E on it, I'm buying it!" It is so weird! This guy has a room and drawers dedicated to Barbie and I find it kind of creepy, especially when he said, "Barbie isn't just for little girls, it's for everybody who enjoys quality." He has been collected for 16 years now, and he is able to afford all of this due to his own cleaning company. I also found out that his partner is also a doll collector, except for it's not Barbie, it is Ken dolls. How perfect s that? I can't believe people will spend tons and tons of money just for collectible items. I find it kind of ridiculous. Barbie is getting old, and I haven't even heard about her much lately, and that's probably because I'm not a child anymore, and my siblings are all grown up to where we don't play with dolls anymore. Is she really still that popular? Even after all these new toys and dolls have been coming out? Who knows... But, congratulations Barbie for lasting this long and continuing to "live the dream."

Half way done.

I can't believe that I have been through a semester and a half of college! I am so proud of myself that I have survived this far into college. It's been very hard and difficult for me, but I am pulling through. I remember my first day here and how nervous I was to be here. I wasn't sure what to expect and didn't know very many people at all, especially since this school has a TON of students. I have come so far and I have made so many friends. Today I am going to sign a contract for my housing next year! I can't believe this is all happening so fast and that I am going to be living in an apartment with the coolest people I've met here! It's just crazy how fast this semester has gone by... I feel like it's going slow, but also fast at the same time! I am kind of bummed though, because I am going to miss all of my friends, especially those that are going on missions and I won't see them for a while. I have had a blast here in Utah and I wasn't really sure what to expect. I have not lived away from home for this long, and I wasn't sure if I was even going to survive. I actually really enjoy the college life and that I am able to experience this. My sister is going to be a senior next year and she is going to apply here. I hope she gets in so that we can experience this together. I feel like I am just ranting now... But I just wanted to say that we are almost done and then we get to look forward to an awesome future ahead of us. Thank you BYU for giving me the experience that I wanted and for challenging me to be a better person.

Donate Blood!

I signed up a couple weeks ago to donate blood last Monday. That was my 4th time giving blood. The last 3 times I've done it was through a blood drive at my school. I was a part of Red Cross Club in high school, which is how I got involved and was able to build up the courage to donate. The first time I ever gave blood I was so nervous and didn't know what to expect. Since so many people like to give blood at my school, I had to wait at least two hours before I even actually gave blood. I was so nervous and didn't know how the process went. It's always so awkward when you have to go into the little booth to talk to them one on one about your information and then you have to take a little questionnaire about your health. When you actually give blood, it takes about 10 minutes and then you're done. I was amazed! I didn't actually know how long it would take, but I felt like it would take forever. I'm so glad I was able to give blood Monday because I love knowing that I am able to help save lives and that I am doing it for a good cause! I love to do service, and being able to participate in this was so awesome. If you are able to give blood, I recommend you should because it's such a good experience.

Friends

Since I've been in college for a little while now, I have found out that friendships are the most important thing to have, especially since you are miles away from family that you have to find some friends to help keep you sane. I have been fortunate enough to find great friends here at BYU. I am so glad that I have opened up to meet new people and get out of my comfort zone. I feel that it is very important for everyone to do that, especially in college because finding good solid friends will help you deal with the homesickness and the stress of school. I love that BYU makes a huge effort in putting group activities together and always making sure that everyone feels included. It's such a great feeling to know that you aren't left out because I know how that feels and it isn't the best. I've just had this on my mind lately. I have found that many of the close friends I have made this past semester will be my close friends for a long time. It's such a good feeling to know that you have people there for you and willing to do anything for you.

I workout

My friends and I talked about working out all of last semester. We talked about getting a group together to go every day, but never followed through with the plan. Well, this semester, I brought it up again at the beginning of the year, but we still never did it. I finally took the initiative to start last month, and then slowly got people to come work out with me. Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, I get up and go to the gym with a friend before class. Every Tuesday and Thursday, I go to the gym with my roommate after class. Although I have been feeling sore in every part of my body, I still feel so good after pushing myself as I workout. All of us have been feeling so good about this and glad that we started it. We have also tried to eat healthier - not as much portions of food, and not too many sweets because you know how it gets as a freshman in college... The freshman 15... Anyways, it's been a struggle waking up the morning even after I would have to stay up late due to homework, but I am still able to push myself out of bed to not be lazy and just go work out. I have been finding myself feeling a lot better and feeling productive about using an hour of my time to go workout instead of just using that hour to waste. Plus, it's really nice that the gym isn't that far away from Helaman halls and that we have access to it for free! I think that we should all take at least 30 minutes a day to workout. We shouldn't make excuses about working out because it is good for everyone!

Peer Review

I always dreaded doing peer reviews in middle school and high school. First off, I never liked when other people read my work and critiqued it because I always felt that they were judging me and checking out how bad I was at writing. Also, I wasn't a big fan of having to edit other peoples writing and I felt like I was never any help when I did that. I just thought that peer reviews were such a waste of time and so boring. Plus, I didn't really actually like to write papers because they were about topics I didn't care about. Now that I have done a couple of peer reviews in college, I feel that it is more effective in a college setting because people are actually taking the time to read your paper and critique it. All the feed back I've gotten has been extremely  helpful and has made helped me improve my paper.As much as I didn't like to take the time to read the papers, I felt that I was actually helpful and was able to give feedback to the papers. I wasn't sure what to expect in this class because I never liked writing papers, but it truly isn't as bad as I thought it would be. I  loved being able to do it in our writing 150 class because as our groups change each time, I have been able to get to know people better. I would like to thank everyone who has ever taken the time to read my paper and give me feedback.

Opportunities...

Lately, my friends and I have had several conversations about things we should have done, could have done or didn't do. I've been thinking a lot lately that we have had so many opportunities in front of us, but haven't taken the chance to grab onto those opportunities. I had a conversation with my RA about this one time, and she said that when the opportunity comes around, we should take it and go for it! I have had that on my  mind since then, but I still don't take the opportunities given to me. I will tell myself all the time that I will do something when I'm given an opportunity, but then when the time comes, I don't actually go for it. I have a huge problem with that because I am lacking confidence and don't think that I can actually do things. The whole point of this... is that today in relief society I learned something that applies to this. We watched a Mormon Message video that talked about how we always use the phrase "Someday I will...." and that we should start saying that "someday is today." We shouldn't keep saying that we will eventually do those things, and we should start doing them now. If we don't take the opportunities that are right in front of us, we could be missing out on something really good. I thought that the video has inspired me a little bit to try to take those opportunities right in front of me and to not hold back. I feel that it is important to learn that because we all have our comfort zones and that we all have fears, but if we try to push out of our comfort zones and actually pull through our fears, we will build that confidence to take opportunities that are good for us.

My best friend.

My best friend is my little sister Careese. She seriously means the world to me. We haven't always been so close growing up, but as we get older, our relationship grows stronger. I am so thankful to have her in my life, and that we are super close. Growing up, I've always tried to be that great example of an older sibling since my brother has never been on the good path. Since my mom hasn't been in the picture for the past 3 years, I have always tried to be a good role model in her life. It's been hard living in a single parent household, but we have been able to get through it together. We are super close, and we even share the same friends. During my senior year of high school, we hung out all the time and we did almost everything together. I tried to be in her life as much as I could because I knew that I would be leaving for college and she would be left as an only child in the house with my dad. It was so difficult when my family left Utah because I am such a family girl, and I have never been away from home, but I'm so grateful for the advanced technology we have today. My sister and I text each other almost every day and we will have conversations on the phone at least a couple times a week, and we will FaceTime too. I'm so grateful to call my sister my best friend because even being this far apart, we are still able to tell each other about everything and support each other in whatever we do. I love her so much! She's seriously the best and I'm glad that she is my sister and best friend.

Utah Weather.

I don't know about you, but I think that the weather here is extremely bipolar. I am from Washington state, and our weather can be a little crazy, but expected... But here, honestly, you never know what is going to happen. I will check the weather every morning before I get ready to see what I should wear. There have been times where it said it was going to snow, but the sun ended up coming out and there have been times where it said the sun will be out, but then it snows. I haven't decided if I liked the snow or rain better. I am from the Pacific Northwest where it rains almost all year except for summer, but even then, sometimes it rains in the summer. But I do think that living really close to the mountains and seeing snow everywhere is so beautiful here in Provo. It doesn't get as cold in Washington as it does here in Utah during the winter. The summer, it's hotter here, but it gets humid in Washington.. Utah has every season, whereas Washington doesn't really go through each season. It's kind a tough decision on what weather I like the best... I still haven't decided.

Quote of the day.

As I was scrolling down my news feed on Facebook, I found this quote that a friend of mine posted: "Act in accordance with your true beliefs by spending your time on those things that will build and develop your character and help you become more Christlike. I hope none of you see life as primarily fun and games, but rather as a time 'to prepare to meet God." - Quentin L. Cook. I felt inspired to share this quote because it was something that I really needed to hear, and maybe someone else will read it and need to hear it too. We must try to be Christlike in all the actions and decisions that we make in this life. I know that in the time that we live in right now it may be hard, but choosing your friends wisely and being surrounded by positive people, you will be able to get through it. I really like the last sentence of the quote because I feel that many people see life as fun and games (aka the whole YOLO, you only live once), but really we should look at life as a time to prepare to meet God. I know I that I joke about YOLO and stuff like that all the time, but I am really trying to actually be more serious about my life now that I'm leaving my teen years and becoming an adult. I want to be able to be a good example to others and be able to make an impact on those that come into my life. I think that as we choose to live a righteous life, we will be preparing to meet God.

My roommate

When I first found out who my roommate was last year, I wasn't sure what to think, but through emails, she seemed really nice and I also did a little bit of Facebook stalking. Once I got to BYU, I was freaking out because I didn't know if my roommate and I would get along.. I was always afraid that I would get matched up with someone that I wouldn't connect with and that we would just be two people living together with separate lives. Well, the first day I met her, she was really nice and gave me hug! Her family seemed super nice as well.. When both our families left, we were finally forced to talk to each other... Well, we connected instantly! We just asked each other questions and found how similar we are, then exchanged numbers so that we could meet up after the Y group stuff. She is really awesome. As the semester went on, our relationship has grown more and more. I would consider her as a sister to me because she has been there for me through thick and thin, and we literally do everything together! We have become so close and will do anything for each other. I have been blessed to have a great roommate and that we were able to connect the way that we have. We plan on living together next year and I'm really excited to see how our friendship grows.

Not enough time...

Personally, I feel like we don't have enough time in a day to get everything done. I have felt really overwhelmed this semester because I feel like that all I have time for is my homework and nothing else. We should all be setting some time aside for ourselves and also to have fun, but when I do that, on the back of my mind I'm still feeling overwhelmed by all the homework that I still need to do. I am seriously trying to work on my time management this semester compared to last. Last semester, I was doing good at first, but once I started making friends, I went out all the time and was distracted so much... But as the semester went on, I realized that I needed to focus on school more. I started to go to the library to study and do homework, because when I go back to my dorm, I don't get anything done and tend to be distracted by the littlest things. I have done much better this semester with my studying and homework habits... I'm trying really hard not to be a procrastinator. I have worked really hard with making a schedule to get homework done, but also be able to have some fun. It also helps that my roommate keeps me in check by asking me if I got all my homework done and motivates me to get stuff done. I wish that I could have more time in a day to get my work done and be able to have more time to have fun..

Current feelings!

It's kind of crazy that we already have to think about next semester (aka fall). I am kind of freaking out that I am almost half way done with my second semester and almost finished with my first year of college. I actually am surviving through all of it, as hard as it is, but I'm actually able to get through this on my own. I do miss being at home and with my family, but I am having the time of my life in college. I am trying to learn to have more discipline in myself and to become more motivated to get all my things done instead of procrastinating like I did in high school. I have learned a lot being on my own, but I wouldn't have been able to do it without all of the support that I have from my friends and family. I am really trying to turn a new leaf. I haven't found what I wanted to do with my life yet and not really sure what to major in yet. I have been thinking a lot about my life lately and I am going to really try to get my priorities straight because I've noticed that I am focusing more on what people think of me, the friends I make, and in general, the social scene of college. I now know that those are the least important things and that I should focus on my education before I go out and have fun. I am really trying to balance my time out so that I can get everything done and also have fun. I'm really going to strive to make goals and complete them over time.

Strikes, Spares, Gutters...

In high school, my friends and I decided our junior year to join the bowling team. We didn't know how to bowl properly or anything; we just wanted to be able to have a good time together and feel like a part of a team. I think that joining the bowling team was one of the best decisions I've ever made in high school. I was actually never good enough to play varsity because I think I averaged around 90-100. I played on C team my whole junior year, and I was on and off JV my senior year because the teams were never "set" teams due to how well you were during practices. I made some good friends that I still talk to today and I was able to influence my sister to join the team as well. I am now currently taking a bowling class here at BYU and I absolutely love it! I have made a couple of new friends and doing it with one of the girls in my hall. We are learning how to bowl properly and how to actually improve our bowling. I haven't quite improved on my average or anything, but I'm still working on it. By the end of the semester, I better be a pro bowler... Just kidding. I just hope to actually get the steps down and to learn how to get strikes, and spares.

Mr. Heritage Pageant

I have a confession... I live in Helaman Halls. I feel that it is weird living in Helaman and going to events for Heritage... but I do it anyways. I attended the Mr. Heritage Pageant only because I had a friend, and then later found out another friend, that I was supporting in the pageant and his name is Paul. I wasn't sure what to expect but when my friends and I arrived to the JSB auditorium, they were playing some good music and getting you pumped up for what we were about to watch. I thought that the entrances for each contestant was pretty cool and they had some good descriptions for each. The dance at the beginning that they did together was hilarious! I seriously loved it and thought it was so good. The host for the evening (I don't remember his name), but he was super good and knew how to keep a crowd entertained. I really liked how they did the jokes in between each "talent," by inviting people from the crowd to participate. As the talents went through, I actually found that they were pretty entertaining and a lot better than I expected. My friend Paul did a break dance routine and unfortunately, his music messed up toward the end... but regardless, we know how well he dances and that he was still able to pull through. The part that I didn't like was the voting process, I feel that there could have been an easier and more efficient way to do it where we don't have to waste all of that time that we did voting. We all had to individually get out of our seats to vote for them, which took forever. After that, they were playing minute to win it games while waiting for the results. I volunteered to go play one of the games, which was the first game. We had to try to keep three balloons in the air without one of them falling to the ground or you were out. Well, it was me and two other guys doing the competition and I ended up winning! I was super excited and had a good crowd of people cheering me on! Then they had two more people come up to try to beat me, I lost that time, but I won 5 ice cream coupons to the creamery! It was all fun and good entertainment for everyone. After that, the results came in there was a top 6 and the judges were the ones who got to pick out of the 6 who was 1st, 2nd, and 3rd.  My friend Paul actually didn't make it to the top 6, but my friend Kimball that was in the running got 3rd place. It was some good entertainment for all of us and glad I was able to participate in it. I'm glad that both Heritage and Helaman put on some great events for all of us to attend to have fun our freshman year.

Tweet tweet.

I've had a twitter for about two years now. When I first got it, it was well known but people that I actually knew or interacted with didn't have one. My dad was one of my only followers at the time. I didn't tweet much but when I did it was like funny inside jokes between friends or just random quotes. After having it for a year, people started to jump on the bandwagon and got a twitter. I used to only have about 11 followers, but now I currently have 108 followers! Yay, I moved up in the world... Anyways, I love twitter because you can follow your friends, celebrities, television shows, news, etc. It's a good way to know what's going on and communicate with others using only 140 characters. You can post things from Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest etc. to Twitter to show others what you are looking at. I honestly love reading subtweets, which is where people will tweet about someone else without actually saying who they are because it's hilarious! Twitter is SO entertaining and I enjoy it so much! I swear it is also a self esteem booster because I get all excited when people favorite or retweet my stuff. Anyways, I'm all about the Twitter. Follow me; @allisontee 

WINNING.

BYUSA had social media week last week. They were giving away sundance tickets, JDawgs vouchers, iPods, and Jazz tickets. There were different contests that you had to enter in order to win anything. There was a time where they posted questions onto their BYUSA page on facebook where people had to come up with the best answers. There was another contest that lasted all week where you had to post a picture on instagram to represent what your BYU is. There was another contest on instagram where they took random pictures of students from BYU and people had to come up with the best caption. Another thing they did was see who was the fastest texter. Also they had a competition on twitter to see who has the most creative answers. Well, the whole point of me talking about this was that I actually won something!! I really wanted to win some Jazz tickets because I thought it would be fun to attend a Jazz game as a part of my Utah experience. I added BYUSA on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. So I started to do all of the contests to try and win something. Well I found out today that I won 2 Jazz Tickets because of a caption I made on one of the pictures on Instagram. They haven't told me yet what picture but I was SO excited to hear that I actually won because I don't win things often in contests. I get to pick them up tomorrow in the Wilke at the BYUSA office. I am sort of hoping that it will be the game against Portland Trail Blazers, but if not, it's okay I will still have fun with my best friend!

I don't like it.

I really don't like it when I'm right about things that I call out. I'm very honest with my friends because I would rather them know the truth than a lie. You know? Well, recently my friend (I shall not name names) was going out with this girl from home, who isn't a member. They started dating each other toward the end of senior year and decided to try out the whole long distance thing since he attends BYU while she attends University of Washington. Well, I told him that it wasn't healthy for him to date her because he was always so sad that she was never here and that she hung out with guys all the time. He also would always complain about how he puts more into the relationship than she does. It just made me sad to see him suffer because I know he deserves more. He has been considering not going on a mission because of his future with her and all this stuff. Well, just recently, she broke up with him. I was SO sad for him and I didn't know what to do. I felt really bad because he was like, 'well you called it.' I didn't know how to respond and I felt super bad. I just hate being right about these situations and it makes me so sad. I don't like it when guys cry or when they are super upset because it affects them so much through a heartbreak. Anyways, those are just my thoughts for the evening... I hope I didn't bore you.

The mission announcement

In the October 2012 General Conference, the prophet announced the new mission ages, 19 years old for girls and 18 years old for boys. When I heard about that announcement, I was with some of my real close friends here at BYU and I had such an amazing feeling come upon me. We were all freaking out and super excited for the new age! Everyone was talking about it - it was all over Facebook, twitter, etc. It was such a big deal and it was super awesome. At first, it got me thinking about actually serving a mission and it never crossed my mind since we weren't able to go on one until we were 21. Then, I prayed about it hard each day and became spiritually in tune to figure out if it's the right thing to do. Well, I haven't felt anything strong enough to where I need to serve a mission right now. It's not in my plan right now but you never know what will happen, it's still an open option. 

It's been about 3 months now since they've announced it. I find it so amazing how many people have turned in their papers to go on a mission and how many girls have the desire to go on a mission now. It's so exciting because I love to hear about my friends or other people tell me that they have turned in their papers. Lately, many people from my singles ward have opened their calls and it has makes me so happy to find out where people are going and how they will be serving the Lord. I'm so grateful for those who put their lives on hold to go serve the Lord for 2 years. It's dear to  my heart because my grandparents were converted into the church and I wouldn't be here today if it weren't for the missionaries that taught them. 

Kanye and Kim?!

When I found out that Kanye West and Kim Kardashian were dating, I thought it was such a joke. First of all, Kanye West is super full of himself. I mean, I understand that he is very talented and has made lots of money but that has given him so much pride which is disgusting. Kim thinks a lot of herself in the context of her beauty. She is seriously famous for nothing and isn't even all that. I guess it totally makes sense that they are together but I though it was hilarious. Then I found out a month ago that she is pregnant with his child and her divorce isn't even finalized! Oh man, I don't think that two people like that should bring a child into the world... The baby is going to be one hot mess. Kim can barely hold onto a marriage and Kanye is very narcissistic, which doesn't make for a good combination to raise a child. I know that the baby will be very well taken care of since both the biological parents are wealthy but in my opinion they are still immature at heart. I probably shouldn't judge but I think that if you are going to bring a child into this world, you should be committed in the relationship, as in being married, and then decide that you are ready to have a child. Anyways, that has just been a thought on my mind lately because the society today, especially in the entertainment business, is so messed up that it makes me sad to watch all of this happen.

Snapchat.

Seriously though... Snapchat was one of the best apps ever created. Yes, I am guilty for taking a bunch of selfies of myself and that's probably why I love it so much. Well, if you haven't heard of it... It's an app where you can take pictures of whatever you want and you can type in a caption or draw all over it. Then you can set it between a time of 1 to 10 seconds and send them to any of your friends in which they can only access them for that amount of time you set it to and then it's gone FOREVER (unless your a pro and screenshot it).  Plus, they just added a new feature where you can take videos now! It's a pretty fun and entertaining app to connect with friends. It's basically texting except for with pictures. This app gives you a whole lot of reasons to take random photos of yourself and of other people and things. I get super entertained. OH and you can also save the photos that you take!!! All in all, I think anyone who owns a smartphone or ipod touch, should download it and get their friends hooked to it! I'm not a big person on apps for my phone but I have found this one to be entertaining and enjoyable for everyone.

80's Night!

YOU WANT TO KNOW SOMETHING COOL? There is a club named Area 51 in Salt Lake City, Utah that has an 80's night. It is every Thursday at 9 pm. Girls get in free before 10, otherwise it is $10 a person. Trust me that sounds like a lot of money for a college student just to go out to dance, but I promise you, if you enjoy the 80's as much as I do, you'll enjoy it very much! If you get a group of friends to go, it's so much fun. They (obviously) play 80's music all night and you just get to have a good time with your friends. The cool thing is that you can dress up like they did in the 80's to make it an even better experience. I'm sorry if you're reading this and don't find this fun at all but I'm just so crazy about it! My parents grew up in the 80's and growing up they have always played 80's music. When my friend told me about this, we got a group together and we had the 'time of our life' (quoting 80's song by Whitney Houston). I personally love attending dance parties with friends and just having a good time. I have only attended 80's night two times now because we don't want to go each week because then we wouldn't enjoy it as much. It's just fun to go every once in a while and you don't have to be all ratchet when you dance. You can just be yourself and have a crazy good time, even if you can't dance (which is in my case). Anyways, if you are an 80's lover, I recommend you go and experience it at least once, but if not, you can completely ignore anything I just said.

Homesick.

          "There's no place like home." That statement is so true! I miss being at home so much. I have lived in the Pacific Northwest my entire life and being here for college is such a change. Utah weather is completely different from Washington. Snow versus rain - actually having all seasons here whereas it almost rains about 300 out of the 365 days a year in the Pacific Northwest. Snow is a lot to get used to, especially the temperature that goes below 20 degrees... So much to handle.. Anyways, I have been quite homesick these past couple of weeks especially since those three weeks of break made me want to stay home. I'm very close with my family and friends which made me so afraid to leave them behind to start this new life. I've never actually been away from home for such a long period of time and I don't have any relatives that live around here to visit. My life is back in Washington. It's so hard for me because majority of my friends stayed in state for college while I was one of the few that actually went out of state to this wonderful university. I'm so grateful to be able to attend such a great school and able to get a spiritual experience through my education. I'm the first one in my family to go to college and this was a big deal to me. I just miss being at home because I am unable to experience this time with any of my friends from home or with my family, but I know that coming here was the best decision I've made so far in my life. It's just been one of those days where I wish I could be at home to get away from the stress and drama. I have found that if I distract myself with my close friends here and that I focus on my school work, I don't think about home too much in the sense of me wishing I was there. Whenever I write these blog posts, I tend to rant on and on about random things... Well anyways, I would like to end with a quote that one of my counselors from high school said to me: "This isn't a goodbye, it's a see you later." That has stuck with me ever since he said it, and I know this statement to be true because I know that I will be home sooner than I think. I know that everything I'm doing here is for a good reason and that I will be back home in no time. As hard as it is to be away from home, I know that we are all experiencing the same emotions of missing each other.

BYU Men's Volleyball

          In high school, we never had a boy's volleyball team, just girls. So when I found out we had a men's volleyball team, I thought that was really cool and exciting! Plus last semester I met a couple of guys that play on the team and now I'm friends with them. 

         Last Friday night, my friends and I decided to go to the volleyball game to support BYU. The team that they played was the Lewis Flyers, which they are from Illinois. I was super excited because I love attending sports events and showing school spirit! We arrived just as the first game started, so our seats were up at the top but that's okay, we were still able to see and have fun. In volleyball, you must win 3 out of 5 games. As we watched, it was super intense! We learned cheers to go with the volleyball game and just yelled like crazy! The first two games BYU won, and after two games there is a half time. During half time, they play music and give out tshirts and such. My friends and I were dancing to the music, and found out later that we were on BYUtv for it!! Looking back it's kind of embarrassing but it was all good. As half time was over, the third game started. All of a sudden, the other team was dominating and started to fight back. Lewis ended up winning the next two games, which meant that they both had to fight to the end to win the 5th game. It was SUPER intense, but BYU just didn't have their head in the game, and we lost. It was a sad moment, but it's okay because that was our first game to lose.

          I found out that we are the 2nd in the nation for men's volleyball and the team that we played, Lewis, was the 13th in the nation. We played them again the next day, Saturday, and defeated them with just three games in a row. So all in all, both teams got to win a match. I encourage those who have an all sports pass or even those who don't, should at least attend one game. Also, I encourage those to attend other BYU sports games as well.

Dear Students: Don't let college unplug your future.

You know... I'm not a huge fan of any kind of reading that I have to do for classes but this was actually very interesting and it could possibly be because it relates to me and my future. I found it really interesting that a professor wrote this to students/people of this generation about how college is slow to date and that you shouldn't attend college because more people are concerned about your online reputation rather than your resume itself. I was very confused on why a professor would even write this in the first place, especially since he mentioned that this could be alarming to tuition offices at universities or colleges. Anyways... I thought he did really well with his style of writing because it caught my attention and didn't make me bored while reading it -- and by that I mean that he was writing to a specific audience (my generation) which made me interested in reading it. I also thought that his tone of voice for this article made it more appealing because he was serious but also fun about it which made me connect with what he had to say. Here's the thing though... Although he did keep me interested, the article wasn't all that great. He was just very vague about this topic. He certainly knew his stuff about how people should be connected into the realm of the internet and if they are not, it will make them less appealing to jobs but that just wasn't enough because he didn't really back up with what universities and graduate students are doing wrong opposed to those who have an 'online status.' I'm not really sure if that makes sense but I'm trying to word it out... Well, he didn't do enough research because he didn't even give examples of how people will be more connected through their online reputation compared to those who have degrees. Although it was a very interesting article and I enjoyed reading it, it wasn't as professional or great when it came to what his actual point was. He just wanted to show everyone how important technology is to this generation and how much we rely on using the internet as a source and tool than to his actual point in getting a job. That's all.

About Me

          My name is Allison Thompson. I was born in Portland, Oregon on October 23, 1993, which would make me 19 years old today. I lived there for the first 10 years of my life and then moved to Vancouver, Washington (which is right across the border) and have lived there ever since. I am, in fact, the middle child of three. I have an older brother named Joshua, who is 22, and a younger sister named Careese, who is 16. My parents aren't together anymore, as of my sophomore year of high school. Thus, my sister and I are currently living with my father. My family is the most important thing to me. I am so grateful to have them in my life and would do anything for them. Especially through all the hard times we've had in the past 3 almost 4 years. I must say that I've lived pretty much an easy life, but there has always been setbacks due to the trials I've gone through.

          My grandparents, on my fathers side, joined the church when my dad was two years old. It's been such a blessing in my life to be a member of this church and I'm so grateful for whoever converted my grandparents. When I was young, my grandparents were always the ones taking my siblings and I to church because my parents were always working, which made them inactive, plus my grandparents lived next door. When my family moved to Vancouver, we never went to church because that's just how it was with my parents and that never motivated us younger children to go. Once I hit middle school, girls from church would invite me to mutual and just other church activities but I still wouldn't let myself attend church on Sundays. Once I hit high school, one of my friends from church invited me to attend seminary. I started to go to early morning seminary every day and decided that I should start attending church on Sundays. I started to get a ride from my friend and her family every day and then encouraged my sister to come with. Since that day, I've been active in the church and have learned to love the gospel so much. Although, my father and brother are still pretty inactive in the church, I still love them and hope to be that great example in their lives to eventually get them to come back.

          It's been a rough few years because I have lived in a single parent household and it's been a struggle to go through. There were times where we were barely making it through the week because of my dad's paycheck. My mother left our family my sophomore year and doesn't help out that often. My sister and I see here once in a while, but it's only for a short time. We live with our dad, who has taken very good care of us since we were born. He is very important to me and has been such a hero in my life. It was very hard for me to go to college because I didn't want to leave my sister and dad. We have grown so close together and it was such a struggle for me to move on with my life but I know it's in the plan God has set for me.

           I know I started off with some very heartfelt and deep stuff, but now I shall tell you more about me. I have been told by people that I have a contagious smile, a very good listener, very honest and trustworthy, a good friend, a sense of humor, etc. I am quiet when you first meet me but once you get to know me, I am crazy fun! My whole life I have always put others before myself because that's just how I am. I love to serve others and make people happy, even when I'm not. I know that I should be putting myself first, but I just have such a big heart for others and love to see people smile. I would, in all honesty, do anything for anybody that needs help, comfort, and love. I just want people to know that someone cares and loves them.

          I don't have a 'special talent.' Well, at least I haven't found that one special talent yet. I am not artistic, athletic, musically talented, etc. I once tried to be good in those categories, but they never worked out. I am still looking for that one thing I'm good at, in which I haven't found what major I want to do yet. I wanted to be a psychologist or a journalist at one point, but I don't think I'm all that interested in either. I am undecided and hope to find that one thing that I am passionate about. I must say though, I love music because of the talent that is put into it, which is why I love to go see people perform live at concerts because it just makes me happy. I am very open to music and not just stuck on one category. I love listening to new bands or finding out about new songs. Music is just one of those things that brings joy to me.

          I'm very good at wasting time -- watching movies, playing games, sitting around, taking naps, avoiding homework, social media, etc. I must say, I just love media, which is why I'm so glad that our emphasis in this class is media. I'm sure we can all agree that we love to waste time... It's just more fun than doing school work. I have tons and tons of movies but I left them at home because I knew it would be such a bad distraction for me. I have an iPhone 5, which is already a big distraction to my life, but it's such a useful tool and I love how advanced technology is these days. I love Facebook and Twitter -- the amount of entertainment, and always knowing what's going on is so awesome. I think social media is just super fun and very useful especially when you're off to college and want to know what's going on back at home.

          Anyways, I feel like I'm just ranting on because I know I can talk for days about myself because I like when people get to know me. Well, this is my life in a nutshell, (or maybe more?). I just love life and that we were given the opportunity to come to this Earth. I know it's a hard time to live in now, especially with our morals and standards, but it's our trust in the Lord which will help is get through. I would like to end with one of my favorite quotes: "Life is about laughing and living in good and bad times, getting through whatever comes our way, and looking back with a smile." - Anonymous. I strongly believe in every word of that quote because we must live our lives to the best of our abilities and nothing is hard for us in this life, because God wouldn't give us trials or let us go through anything if it was too hard. If we are optimistic and do what is right, we should live happy and successful lives.