TGFAB.

wow. it's been too long. i forgot how much i enjoy having free time.

over the past few days, i've been consciously trying not to worry about things in that city of cedar and enjoy being home, relaxing with the fam. it's been joyous.

so far over the break, i've:

• gone downtown to the MoTab concert.
• braved the city creek food court at 6:00 pm on a saturday (not recommended).
• seen my entire family for the annual PJ party.
• played with my nieces.
• visited the park city outlets with brynn.
• face timed with a friend i haven't seen for 1.5 years.
• slept in.
• made cookies.
• helped bryttin make loaves upon loaves of applesauce bread.
• laughed with ang and marce.
• played kindle word games.
• listened to some new podcasts (dyls got me hooked).

oh yeah, did i mention i haven't thought about SUUSA (that much)? i LOVE being in SUUSA. i've sure i've mentioned that 1000 times by now. it's true.

but, THANK GOODNESS FOR A BREAK. for my sanity, it was needed.

be brave & be kind.

this past week (i should probably say month...) has been extremely busy. full of life lessons that will have to be spelled out at another time.

but, tonight, i found this saying on brynn's pinterest and i feel it perfectly sums up what the past few weeks have taught me:

it's just that simple, folks. be brave and be kind. even when it's hard.

thanksgiving couldn't come soon enough! i am grateful for family, friends, and the opportunities/experiences i've had at SUU. i have learned so much.

hello.

yikes. it's been a while. i've been failing miserably at keeping this blog updated. luckily, i'm pretty sure the people who actually follow this blog are my family members, so they know i'm still alive.

so many things going on, so little time. my senior year of college has (so far) been a blast, and at the same time, a huge learning experience. my position in SUUSA has taught me a lot, not to mention my classes.

in an attempt to share a bit of my life over the past few months (and seeing as, like i mentioned earlier, my twitter-less family are the people who read my blog), i will share some of my tweets. enjoy.

Club fairs, movies, comedians, paint dances, concerts...constitutional amendments. #samelevel #superfun #tbirdnation
— Bailey Bowthorpe (@baileybowthorpe) August 30, 2013

Four hours later, Constitutional Amendment Committee concludes! #letfreedomring #diehards pic.twitter.com/OsFSLw991a
— Eric M. Kirby (@ericmkirby) August 31, 2013

This is a James Taylor listening, West Wing watching type of day.
— Bailey Bowthorpe (@baileybowthorpe) September 11, 2013

No coincidence-providence is at work. SUUSA constitution just passed presidents council on National Constitutional Day. #letfreedomring
— Bailey Bowthorpe (@baileybowthorpe) September 17, 2013

Did you know the SUUSA budget is over $300,000 of YOUR STUDENT FEES? @SUUTbird #tbirdnation pic.twitter.com/8yxT3ffZus
— Bailey Bowthorpe (@baileybowthorpe) September 18, 2013

The real winners in life are people who look at every situation with an expectation that they can make it work or make it better. #wisewords
— Bailey Bowthorpe (@baileybowthorpe) September 27, 2013

FOREVER. RED. FRIDAY. #tbirdnation #bestdayoftheyear
— Bailey Bowthorpe (@baileybowthorpe) October 11, 2013

In other news...SUU Board of Trustees unanimously passes SUUSA Constitution! #tbirdnation #bestday
— Bailey Bowthorpe (@baileybowthorpe) October 11, 2013

So far, very successful night in the ELC. @WestonPrisbrey has agreed to be my future chief of staff. #honored #ELCnights #patriotism
— Bailey Bowthorpe (@baileybowthorpe) October 25, 2013

Got an email from @CourtneyDumont1. #daymade #misshertimes100
— Bailey Bowthorpe (@baileybowthorpe) October 29, 2013

Apple Pie is an acceptable breakfast food, right? #grandmasown
— Bailey Bowthorpe (@baileybowthorpe) November 6, 2013

Nothing like a little West Wing after a LONG week! #lazyfridaynights
— Bailey Bowthorpe (@baileybowthorpe) November 9, 2013

so there you have it, 2 1/2 months of my life summed up in a few tweets. now, i'm recommitting myself to updating my blog more! If you have any ideas for what i should write about, i will gladly accept them.

make this week memorable.

blb

"it is the quality of our relationships that most determines our legacy."

I think y'all might get a little sick of me posting these pictures. But once again can I just say how AWESOME the senators are?

These people are rockstars and I'm grateful for them. It's going to be a fantastic year.

My Favorite SUU Tradition

Yesterday I had the opportunity to lead this years freshman class to the Carter Carillon Bell Tower where they officially started their journey at SUU.

This is my all time favorite SUU tradition. As I walked behind the bagpipe band, I was overwhelmed with gratitude that I have the opportunity to be in the position I'm in to serve SUU students. If you told me four years ago I would be doing this, I probably would have laughed.

"This is so cool!" Was basically the only thing Jeff and I could say to each other as we led the walk to the bell tower. It will definitely be an SUU memory I won't ever forget.

Here's to a new school year and many new adventures!

Best Friends Think Alike.

I'm missing Courtney quite a lot tonight. 

Then I opened up my mailbox and found this:

I'm fairly certain we still read each others minds from two states away. Why? Because I sent her a "Greetings from Montana" postcard on the same day she sent this one to me.

Just in time, Sister Dumont. Miss you like crazy!

oh what a beautiful morning!

It's been 4 days since getting home from the cabin and I'm still not totally recovered. We had a lot of fun times!

One of the most memorable parts of this particular trip was what I'll call the "early morning escapades" of my Dad, Brynn and myself. One of the biggest items on my "unofficial official Hebgen Lake bucket list" was to watch the sunrise. For the past couple of years, I've told myself I would get up early and watch the sun rise over the lake, but it never happens. So this year, I recruited my Dad and Brynn for a bit more motivation.

The night before,  I looked up the exact time the sun was to rise in West Yellowstone--6:09 AM. That's not too bad, huh? Well...we had to wake up at 5:00 AM to drive (remember I have a broken ankle?) to the perfect spot to watch the sun rise. THAT was a little rough. But we made it through. On the way to Horse Butte Lookout, we saw probably about 10 deer, lots of cool birds and a fox. The fog was really thick down on the lake bottom, but the higher up we got, the less fog there was.

Then the sun came up.

It was BEAUTIFUL! We turned up the Carole King music, ate granola bars and took a million pictures.

Lots of fog!

Broken ankle...and that rock was the U.S. Department of Earthquake Research or something crazy like that.

Cue the Beatles Music...

Here comes the sun!

That's a Bald Eagle, folks!

On our way back we decided to drive down the road a little bit more and explore. We were right next to the lake now and it was so pretty! Fortunately and somewhat unfortunately, the road never ended and never really looped around the lake. After an hour or so of exploring, we decided to turn around and head back to the cabin. 

This was definitely one of my all time favorite things I've ever done at the cabin! It was a blast--worth waking up at 5 AM for. I'd definitely do it again. Maybe we could even recruit a few more of my family members to do it with us next time? (hint hint)

not my best moment...

Mine and Jenna's interpretive dancing at the GHA dance went a little too far tonight...

it ended with me spraining my ankle.

%#$@!

WHY?! Right before Hebgen.

Just my luck. 

be kind to one another.

do you remember four summers ago when i attended the governor's honors academy?  

i was a junior going on senior in high school...now i'm a junior going on senior at SUU. time really does fly!

one of the most pivotal moments at GHA is "transcendence day" or "the life experience" as it was called in 2009. for one day everyone at GHA is broken up into different "classes" of people: royalty, people, and beggars.

i'll spare you from all the nitty gritty details, but just know that it gets pretty bad. i was a "beggar" my first experience at GHA, and then a "people" for my second experience as a counselor at GHA last summer. after it's over, and you debrief and share your thoughts and experiences, it is a very telling and self-reflective time for participants and counselors to really think about the way we treat other people.

sitting in cedar hall tonight talking with two of my best friends about their experience with this "transcendence day" yesterday brought a lot of those emotions back to me.

driving home, i chatted with my roommate kori who went through this experience as well. she posed a very valid question: "would i act the same way or treat others the way i do today if i hadn't gone through that in such a literal way at GHA?"

i hope i would have, but i don't know. even a few years later, just thinking about those experiences makes me reflect about the type of person i am now and where i want to be. and for some reason, at 1:07 AM i'm still trying to figure it out.

my conclusion: some days we feel like a beggar, other days a royal, the next day just a "person"...and that's okay. normal, even.  it's about how we treat others on ALL of those days. 

there's so much uncertainty in the world we live in. change is a constant thing. i don't want to have one regret--ever--about the way i treated someone for the small amount of time our paths cross.

so my renewed quest is to look outside of myself and smile a little more, complain a little less, express gratitude freely and listen sincerely.

friends, it's simple. be kind to one another. the world really will be a better place. 

a welcome weekend

the past few weekends i've been home for farewells, family time, fourth of july celebrations etc. both trips were very fun and VERY much needed. i love weekends like that.

but, 

i also love weekends like this one. my roommates have both gone home for the weekend, so i've got the place to myself. rainy friday night seemed perfect for a chick flick, the last batch of freezer lasagna roll-ups, a couple episodes of the west wing and a new spotify playlist. 

today i deep cleaned my kitchen (ahhhh it feels so good!) and have been listening to the Harry Potter audio-books. seriously, what could be better?! it can't be a legitimate summer without listening to Harry Potter. 

this weekend has been very much a welcome one (most all are). i had a small panic attack earlier this week when i realized that there are 4 weeks left to get everything done before summer fades away. thats frightening! yet, there are still many tiki shack runs, hikes, green show picnics, trips to the reservoir, and of course THE CABIN (just 2 weeks away) to come. 

thank goodness. but for now, happy saturday! i hope it's as relaxing and productive as mine has been. 

SPEAK FOR ME

// song of the day // speak for me // john mayer

show me something i can be, 

play a song that i can sing, 

make me feel as i am free, 

someone come speak for me. 

dreams fulfilled

It's summertime which means it's time for me to read my political autobiography. 2 summers ago--Laura, last summer--Hillary, this summer--Condi.

What links them all together? A classy black business dress.

I own one now too, thanks to my mom. That's right. My mom bought me a Laura/Hillary/Condi looking classy black business dress.

Dreams fulfilled. I really couldn't be more thrilled about it.


Speaking of political women and their style (or lack thereof in many instances) this image makes me laugh:

Welcome, summer!

UPDATE: The dress didn't end up working out so well...unless it's classy to have a slit starting from the belly button all the way down the middle...but, it's fine! That means I'm still in the market for one and it will be spectacular, just you wait. 

Dear Jenna,

Change. Ugh. It's a word I dread and there's been a lot of it recently with more on the way. I'm learning to accept it, but that doesn't mean it gets any easier.

Jenna graduates this week which has led me to reminisce about the past three years. As I've been reflecting on our friendship, I've realized something: I'm a true believer in the idea that people are placed in our lives for a reason. (cue the Wicked music). But, really. Jenna has been a friend, adopted sister and confidant for 3 years and it's no coincidence. How, as an incoming freshman, would I ever guess my resident assistant would become a dear friend?!

                              

Jenna has always been 100% supportive of everything I do. listening to me complain about PA woes? Sharing ambitious dreams? Rants about math classes? Pep talks before tests (or anything else hard)? Sincere advice or compliments? Sitting next to me while I sit on the kitchen floor and cry? You bet. All of the above. Support always comes from Jenna. Having a true friend behind me during these extremely challenging few years has been a blessing I can't even begin to put into words. I really don't feel I could've survived this far without her.

Some of my best memories involve summertime trips to tiki shack, front porch chats, white collar marathons, drives up the hill, and blasting Karmin in your car. You've always helped me get of my shell, get out of my comfort zone and convinced me that sitting at home reading politicians autobiographies should only be done in moderation.

But really. Who else will stay up into the wee hours of the morning with me talking about campaign strategies, aspirations for future non-profit projects, and a love and passion for everything Southern Utah University? That's a person who'll be hard to come by.

One of the things that makes me happier than just about anything else is sharing in the successes of my friends (Yes, I always feel like a proud mother). I am constantly in awe of the incredible people I am surrounded by. Jenna, I would gladly help you memorize all of the trustee's names before your interview, help edit your application for EWB, tear up when you accept a t-bird award, make posters for your Dancing With the Stars competition, buy you ice cream when you find out you're going to NACA etc. etc. etc. all over again. You have achieved many great things and it makes me SO incredibly happy. And you've done the exact same thing for me, and I thank you.

I could go on and on but the tears are starting to flow and I'm sitting at the front desk of the Welcome Center (embarrassing). I know you're not going away forever...thank goodness for modern technology including skype, text, calling etc. To put it simple, there's going to be a void here come Sunday morning. A void I'm not sure I know how (or if I want) to replace. It will be different at SUU without you here. I'm not looking forward to it, but whether I like it or not, its happening. Yet, I know that friendship is more than these college memories we've shared, the ups and downs, the happiest of successes and the darkest of days. It will continue to be strong--that much I know. And I couldn't be more excited about that! You'll just be a little bit further away...that's all.

One of my favorite narratives from my favorite TV show (I'll let you fill in the blank on that one) says: 

"This guy's walking down the street when he falls in a hole. The walls are so steep he can't get out. "A doctor passes by and the guy shouts up, 'Hey you. Can you help me out?' The doctor writes a prescription, throws it down in the hole and moves on. Then a priest comes along and the guy shouts up, 'Father, I'm down in this hole can you help me out?' The priest writes out a prayer, throws it down in the hole and moves on. Then a friend walks by, 'Hey, Joe, it's me can you help me out?' And the friend jumps in the hole. Our guy says, 'Are you stupid?! Now we're both down here!' The friend says, 'Yeah, but I've been down here before...and I know the way out.'"

Happy Graduation, Jenna. You've got big opportunities coming your way, I just know it. Thanks for always being willing to jump in the hole and show me the way out.

Abandoned.

I never meant to leave this blog so sparse on posts, but for the next few weeks I'll be focusing my attention on my Popcorn Thursday blog.

Check it out here:

popcornthursday.wordpress.com 

You won't regret it!

And I promise I'll be back to BAILEY soon. 

a path to follow

"Getting through transition is not easy, but unlike the change-wall, transition represents a path to follow. To change your attention away from the change-barrier and toward the transition-path, you need to start where the transition itself starts: with letting go of the inner connections you had to the way things were. The question that always helps you to shift your focus from the change to the transition is, 'What is it time for me to let go of?'"

—William Bridges

happy tuesday. 

i miss

these people:

this place:

these days:

why not?

i haven't journaled or blogged in a LONG time and so much has happened. In an effort to put some of my thoughts and feelings about these past months into words, i wrote this post. most sentences are not complete and it's basically a brain dump for myself, but i felt like i needed to document a bit.

i started writing this at 12:54 AM on January 18th 2013. 

last week, i approached one of my best friends weston about running for student body president. it was a tuesday afternoon and the idea/question of him running had been gnawing at me for the weekend. i had an offer to run as a VP with another party, but i felt like i should look at other options. if he was going to run, i knew that was the ticket i wanted to be on. so i asked him. he said he had actually thought about it before (only briefly) but was uncertain because of other leadership roles that he has on campus. i told him to think it over and let me know. of course, i thought it would be another few days before i heard anything from him on the topic. to my surprise, that same tuesday night, he got back to me. his exact words were:

 "so...i've been thinking. and i've decided, why not?" 

i was excited and extremely nervous. why not?! i'm still not 100% how i'm feeling about the idea of running and you've just said, within hours of me asking you about it, WHY NOT? But then I thought about it. yeah. why not? the moment reminded me of one of my all time favorite movies 'we bought a zoo'. it only takes 20 seconds of insane courage.

the next few weeks became a whirlwind. the toughest part was finding people who were interested in running. it was a constant mixture of happy and disappointment--something i now realize was only the beginning of a roller coaster of emotions. we would move forward with something or someone and then hit a roadblock and move back a few steps.

but somehow, it worked out. and our party became IMPACT.  we have a stellar team. a dream team, really. our vision is to help students make their mark at SUU and understand how they can impact their college experience and education.

meetings, meetings and more meetings. planning, planning and more planning. day after day. pretty sure i have every one of my party members on speed dial. more roadblocks. late night discussions. "productive" party meetings. seeking advice. ordering stickers, pens, chapstick and shirts.

president's day weekend seemed like the perfect weekend to whip out all of our wood signs we wanted to paint. oh how wrong we were. we probably put in a good 30+ painting hours on these 30 signs. it took another 2 weekends to finally finish all of them. alex has the pizza orders down to a science. we also learned the art of "stippling". basically, that is when you take a sponge brush with a little paint on it and dab the stencil with quick up and down motions. believe me, we are pro stipplers.

pictures to prove it:

the closer the campaign got, the more nervous i became. i also became doubtful. "what am i doing?!" "this is crazy!" were the constant phrases running through my brain. but, there were also the "i feel passionate about this." "i want to serve SUU students, i want to do this!" thoughts as well. this is where i relied heavily on my incredible support system of family, close friends and party members.

campaigning began, and WOW. that is where the whirlwind really began. 6 am to 11 pm almost every day. talking to more people than i can count. FREE FOOD! approaching students who could care less about voting and telling them about my vision and platform. exhausting. that's the word that comes to mind. not a day went by on the campaign when i didn't think about how completely outside of my comfort zone i felt. for someone who likes to stay behind the scenes, i felt like i was the lead in the play. hard, exciting, tiring, and emotional. but i had to keep reminding myself why i was doing this.

"why not? why not now? why not me?" 

debate = ROUGH. low point in the campaign for sure. a word for future campaigners, make sure to eat at least something before you go up on stage to spend 2 hours being grilled with questions. if you don't eat, your brain might stop working an you'll feel like you want to faint.

people always asked me if i was nervous, and i was, but i knew that whatever was supposed to happen would happen.

the day of results quickly became one of the longest days of my life. i had become best friends with my IMPACT party people but the hard truth was that there was a big chance i wasn't going to be elected with all of them. and that's exactly how it worked out. winning and losing is always bittersweet. but it was especially for me that night. i took a leap of faith with people i respect and trust and grew to love and i wanted to be in office with all of them. what i realized that night is that attitude is everything. i was amazed and inspired by every candidate's class and grace. win or lose, we are all student leaders who want the best for this university.

never could have done it without the DREAM TEAM!

this whole process has shaped my character and my confidence immensely.

i made some best  and close friendships i wouldn't trade for anything.

and i learned that getting outside of my comfort zone is not always a bad thing.  i learned the hard way that being kind is a lot better than speaking ill of others. i learned that god really does have a plan for me.

moral of the story: do things that scare you. terrify you, even. perhaps that is the best way to truly grow. 

so, why not? why not try something that you've always wanted to do but you're too scared to do it. that's what these 2 months have taught me. and that's what i am continuing to learn on this new adventure as the incoming SUUSA VP of Academics.