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.