Satisfaction

It seems right as one becomes satisfied with life, you get knocked right back down because God has even higher heights in mind for you, and as long as you are satisfied you won't be making any efforts to get higher.

So alas, we are knocked down.

                                                      down.
                                                                        down.

And when we are at the bottom we want to get back up the ladder because we miss that comfortable little rung we were at before because it was just the right height to pick cherries. So then we struggle for a while on our gradual ascent and then once we reach that rung again - the one we used to pick cherries at, we look up and realize that there is still more ladder for us to climb. So we continue to climb and find ourselves at an even higher place, with an even better view. Above that cherry tree.

Views of the ocean front variety.

Ya get what I'm sayin'?

And thus is life.

Seventeen

Sometimes I wish I was 17 again.

Ok ok. I realized I'm only 18 and 10/12, but still.

17 is a magical age. The prime of teenage life, as my best friend often puts it. The time where you can fall in love for the first time and believe that there's nothing else in the world. The time where you get in your car and you drive to wherever the heck you feel like, just because you can. And you feel invincible. Like nothing could ever get in your way because you're older now and you have your whole entire life ahead of you. And you really do believe nothing can stand in your way, because hey, you're 17 and you can go down to Del Taco well past midnight just because you can.

And then that magical year beneath the sun and the trees fades and then you turn 18, and then you turn 19 and suddenly your realize you're teenager-hood is over. And although you still have your whole life ahead of you, you are no longer invincible because you have real life worries and now you have your future to think about.

But at 17. You're still invincible, and the only real worries you have are typically regarding what adventure you're going to go on this weekend.

It really is a magical age.

I'm too nostalgic for my own good.

Now don't you dare go tellin' me you haven't heard this song before. And don't go tellin' me you don't like it. Because I know ya do. At least just a little for sentimental reasons.

A heart don't forget somethin like that.

Midnight

It's not that I intentionally stay up this late. It just happens.

I come home from school, and like the majority of normal people in the world I am in no way filled with a burning desire to do my homework. In fact it's quite the opposite.

And so I sit and stare at my computer screen, log into facebook, get up and get myself a cold one (calm down you, I'm just talking about a Dr. Pepper!) and then go sit back down, log out of facebook, jam to some tunes, get up again, dance around in the hallway, make fun of Ashley... you know the usual. And suddenly before I even know it, it's like 11 o' clock! Then I crack down and start getting serious about all the homework business and right as I open up my assignment I look out the window and what do I see?

Not popcorn popping on the apricot tree.

But a handsome man. Then said man must of course be discussed with my fellow females.

Then it's like 11:34 and I have no idea what happened with my life.

So once again I find myself at the kitchen table, 12:10pm, and the blinds have been shut for good measure. I can't have any more handsome men or other crazy events outside distracting me. Honestly I am so focused right now that the building could start on fire and I would persist with my homework! After using the convenient fire extinguisher one foot behind me.

Really. Procrastination is a serious problem you guys. Someone should really do something about it.

Your Smile

Your smile
Will always be one of my favorite things
Like backyard barbeques and front porch swings
And evening breeze through a window screen.

Autumn Leaves

Fall is here, people.

Pumpkin carving.

Dried out corn stocks.

Leaves of red and gold.

Pretty scarves and tall suede boots.

Warm potato soup.

Maybe even a hayride wrapped up in blanket with your sweetie if you're lucky.

And that crisp morning air. The kind that nips at your nose just a bit.

It's an alright season I guess.

I'll Walk, Thanks

Who knew grocery shopping could become a three hour event?

And the actual shopping part of it takes only 20 minutes.

You do the math.

I Have a Confession

The first week of college was really hard for me. I was incredibly homesick. I missed my mountains, my friends, my mom, my dad, my grandparents, my siblings - yes, even my shirtless 17 year old brother. It was a rude awakening to be uprooted from everything I have ever known and thrown into a place where I must live in a box with three other people, having no car to go places, no friends, no family, no job, no maverick frozen yogurt runs at midnight... no nothin'.

More or less I felt as though my freedoms had been taken away. I lived the good life back home, I was able to come and go as I pleased, had an awesome job playing bingo with old folks 3 days a week, hung out with my best friends every night, and slept in my own room with my own bathroom and food somehow managed to show up magically in the fridge for me to eat. It was good livin' I tell ya!

Then I was uprooted.

To Idaho.

Rexburg, Idaho.

I quickly found out that the girl to boy ratio is 3:1. Four hours of homework a night suddenly became the norm. I worried about whether or not I was going to make friends, or if ANY cute boys even existed in this place.

And they do. There's one in my American Foundations class. Teehee.

But gosh dang it I was tearin' up every five seconds just thinking about how much I missed everything. Also I was questioning my decision to move up here. I just had a terrible attitude about everything, which is so out of character for me. I'm a pretty darn happy person! I like life!

However, the story takes a turn when my english teacher assigns us to read Ether 12 for homework the first day of class. So I read it, and I come across this scripture...

Ether 12:27

"And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."

A sweet pillar of light lit up in my head just then, I tell ya. And holy moly I know for sure that God definitely knows each one of us and what we're goin through because that is exactly what I needed to hear. Crazy how that works.

But I got to thinkin. In life we gotta have our challenges. We've got to have those hard moments that will test our character, and help us to grow. Because God puts us into situations that we're uncomfortable with sometimes so that we'll humble ourselves and get down on our knees and ask him for help, and then after we've humbled ourselves and have faith in him then he'll lift us right back up higher than we ever were before. That is how we grow. That's how we become better. We're tested and tried and if we endure it well, then we become a little closer to being the person Heavenly Father wants us to be.

And thus is life. You go up, you go down, and then afterwards you go a little higher than you were before.

You become a little better.

p.s. I'm liking college a lot better now! My mom sent me a package of false mustaches and some circus peanuts in the mail so I am a happy woman. Also I made a friend and he is from El Salvador, he is awesome and has a sweet accent.