Uganda

So, this may sound super random and crazy, but I'm going to Uganda this summer for 18 weeks!

I'm going with HELP-International, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization which gets volunteers every summer and go to certain countries to fight poverty and empower people.  I chose to go to Uganda and for 3 1/2 months I will be doing hard core service projects and teaching the people about public health, education and entrepreneurship/business!

 I am SOOO excited!! :)

Here's my story of what made me decide to go in the end and why I chose Uganda:

For the past couple of months or so I had been praying if I should go do some service trip or study abroad. I  contacted my brother's friend, Melissa, who works with HELP.  She told me more about it but I still wasn't sure.  A couple weeks later my mom sent me a link about HELP having a wassail party that night..so I went to it and talked with Melissa ALL night about what HELP is, what they do, and also what she did while she was in Uganda two summers ago and India this past summer.

While talking to her, I just had the best feeling in the world!!  The feeling of "this is what I need to do."  I was sooo happy and soo excited while talking to her, I just felt that I needed to go.

Same thing happened with Uganda.  For the past couple months I've just felt that I need to go to Africa.  Like before all I wished for was to travel to Europe and stuff but now it is just...Africa!  And it's not just a "I want to go because that'd be awesome" type feeling.  It is a "I NEED to go because I will make a difference in the peoples lives if I go".  And I chose Uganda because it gave me more of an urgent feeling than did Tanzania.  And again, I felt like Uganda is where I should go.

So that night, I decided I was going to Uganda and I was going to go the full 18 weeks. :)

The more I think about it the better I feel about this is the right choice!

I applied the next day and then had an interview later that week.  I was officially accepted into the program about a week and a half ago!  And now I'm just trying to figure out all that I have to do before I leave in May!

go to help-international.org for more info about HELP! :) It's an amazing program! :)

Quote of the Day! :)

"People are unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered.  Love them anyway.

If you do good, people may accuse you of selfish motives.  Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you may win false friends and true enemies.  Succeed anyway.

The good you do may be forgotten tomorrow.  Do good anyway.

Honesty and openness make you vulnerable.  Be honest and open anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.  Build anyway.

People who really want help may attack you if you help them.  Help them anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you may get hurt.  Give the world your best anyway."

- Mother Teresa

Fall Semester..COMPLETE! :)

I completed my first semester at BYU!!  It was rough.  It was tough.  But still, it was a blast and I loved every moment of the experience!  I lost my 4.0 GPA..(and yes I cried over it.)  But then a good friend of mine told me it wasn't the end of the world.  I still did great, and I did my best.  That's all that matters! :)

I'm excited but also nervous for next semester.  I will have 15 credits instead of 13.5 and I will have no "easy" classes.  I have a lot of science classes.  The classes I am taking: Molecular Biology 240, Chemistry 106&107, Book of Mormon 2, Survey of World Religions, American Heritage Hnrs, and possibly Self Defense (only because my mom wants me to take it before I go to Uganda this summer.)

Hopefully I will survive between school, homework, work, and dancing. :)

I'm looking forward to it though!  Except I'm not looking forward to no breaks.  We get two 3-day weekends, but other than that we have NO breaks until April.  I seriously hope I don't die!!

 This is so true... haha

Wish me luck!! ;)

Quote of the Day! :)

"Luck is when preparation meets opportunity." - Oprah Winfrey

A Surprising Gift!

For my best friend's birthday, I drove down to St. George to surprise her!  I was planning on surprising her on Sunday up in Cedar, but it so happens that she ended up being down in St. George on Saturday, so I just decided to surprise her then and there and took her to Kneaders!! :)
Her surprised face was priceless.  I loved it!
It was a short trip, but quite fun!  And I made it back up through Fillmore before the snow storm hit which was good!!  I hope I don't have to ever really drive in snow.  It scares me.

Happy Birthday Shayna! :)

Thanksgiving

Sorry I have been slacking on blogging.

I think we were watching Seven Pounds...if you haven't seen that movie, I HIGHLY suggest it!  It's good!

Let's go back to Thanksgiving break... :) It was a rough and fun time for me, but overall a grand time. :)  I love Thanksgiving.  It's the time when EVERYONE is Thankful for things!  Even though we should be thankful year round, everyone recognizes that at least this day we should all be thankful.

Hiking with Shayna, Ryan, and Mitch!

May your stuffing be tasty

May your turkey plump,

May your potatoes and gravy

Have nary a lump.

May your yams be delicious

... And your pies take the prize,

And may your Thanksgiving dinner

Stay off your thighs!

I'm thankful for the gospel, temples, my Savior, my wonderful family, amazing friends, my kitty Sassy, the chance to further my education at a wonderful university, the joy that comes from smiling and laughing, the sun, the piano, and cookies! All the things that make me happy in life. :)

I hiked ALL the way to the TOP!  Beautiful, eh? :)

I love Thanksgiving!  It was a good break from school and a fun week! :)

♫Snowflakes That Stay on my Nose and Eyelashes♪

Last night...IT SNOWED!!!!!!!!

Of course, I went and played in it. :)

Then I decided to make snowflakes of my own!

This dude randomly picked my car to draw a face on it...now my car has personality! Check it out :)

What fun it is when the snow first comes.  I'm sure I'll be sick of it when there's feet of snow everywhere...but for now, I'm excited for it. :)

My Pro-Runner Sista! :)

Okay, so she's not Pro....yet. :) She is awesome tho and I've been able to go to a couple of her meets that were up here in Provo!! :)

Rachel finishing and beating Kaylee! - American Fork race

The first one I went to, she got 2nd place OVERALL!!!

Kaylee, Mia, Frida, Rachel, & JP - after Bulldog Invite

Then the last one, I don't what her place was (I think 3 or 4 or 5?), but she beat Kaylee, who is the fastest PV Girls Varsity Runner!  It was quite exciting! :)

Rachel soon passes Kaylee after this - last lap in American Fork Race

Rachel, you are awesome.  LOVE YOU!!! :) Good luck in Pheonix today and tomorrow! :)

God Sends No Stress That Chocolate and Prayer Can't Handle :)

To handle my stress, I go crazy with my roommates.  It lets me just stop worrying about school and just have fun.  It is the greatest!  Our most recent adventure...

we made a fort!!! :)

We watched a movie, ate ice cream and pie, and then slept in it!  It was grand :)

Held up by our broom and mop.  Hoorah. :)

I also go to devotionals to cope with my stress from school and homework.  They are great, and I'm so glad that we have them every Tuesday!

Devotional with Pres. Monson! :)

Also, the temple is a great place to just lose my stress and just think about this gospel and how thankful I am for it.  There is no greater thing in my life.  I love this gospel, and I love the temple. :)

Sometimes Life is Just Great :)

Sometimes our friends from downstairs invite us over for crazy dancing parties... :)Sometimes me and my roommates have wars...with flowers... :)Sometimes me and my roommates dress up like crazies...oh wait. We are crazy :)Sometimes we draw targets on the mirror and shoot them... :)Sometimes life is just great... :)

HAPPPPPPPPEE HALLOWEEEEEEEEEEEEN!

This may be a tad late, but.... Catharine - R.O.U.S., Marissa - Flower Girl!, Me - Super crazy person witha nerf gun! ;)

F.U.N.

This past weekend I made a trip down to good ole St. Geezy! It was FUN!!!
"Fun is when you...fun is...it's l ike...it's kinda...sorta like a...What is fun?? HERE...Let me spell it for you!
F is for Friends who do stuff together.
U is for yoU and me.
N is for aNywhere and aNytime at all."
Quote from who?? Guess guess guess!!

HINT* He lives down in the deep blue sea!

SPONGEBOB! haha :)

Totally describes my weekend! :)

I was able to skip my Friday class and I went home Thursday night with my brother and sister-in-law!

Thursday night Mitch asked me to the Dixie State College Homecoming dance!! It surprised me so much! He asked me the same way he asked me to Senior Ball! Twas a great surprise!Then Jillian came over and at midnight, we went by the airport and watched the meteor shower! There weren't a ton of meteor's, but was still a good show :)
Friday I went to the temple with some of my girlfriends! It ended up being super busy so we just talked for a while, and decided to go Saturday morning instead.Afterwards, Shayna helped me go pick a dress for the dance Saturday. We went to DI and got an awesome dress. :) Good price too (which is always a plus)!
Friday night, I had a triple date. Me and Mitch, Rachel and Sam (Mitch's younger brother), and Loren and Samantha!We had a barbecue and then we went to the corn maze!!! It was so fun! We got lost, went in circles, and eventually found our way back out. :) Then we walked around Staheli Farm and found a bouncing thing...I forget what it was called. BUT it was a blast! It was like the top of a jump house, put on the ground and acted as a trampoline in a way. Super duper fun :)After the corn maze, we went back to my house and had cake! YUMMM! :) And then watched Private Eyes. This movie is amazing. If you haven't seen it, you should see it. It is a classic. :)
Saturday, Tianna and I went to lunch at Kneaders! My first time ever going...it was DELICIOUS! Twas grand! And it was fun being able to do something with her!

LOVE this girlie! :)

Before the dance, Shayna came over and curled my hair. We jammed out to music. :)At 6:30 Mitch came and picked me up. Mom and dad took pictures (surprise surprise!) and then Mitch and I left. Mitch took me to Olive Garden, and then afterwards the dance! It was super duper absolutely and completely FUN!! Twas a great night :)I wish the weekend didn't have to end. It was such a spectacular weekend. A lot of my wishes came true! Twas such a grand weekend. :)
Quote of the Day! :)
"My future is so bright I gotta wear shades."

Living the College Life :)

College is AWE to the SOME! :) Even though there is a bit of homework, we still make time for fun :)
Me and my roommates love going to the football games and soccer games (although me has no pictures of the soccer games yet...)

BYU vs UTAH - our first game! We got FRONT ROW seats!October 1st, I was able to go to the Saturday's morning session of General Conference. First time ever for me going to watch conference in the conference center! Lemme just say, it was AMAZING!! I loved it! :) My roommate, Marissa, joined me on the adventure. :) I love it up here in Provo going to BYU! Having crazy roommates help the fun happen too ;) Me and my roommates get kind of wild. Don't believe me? Just ask our downstairs neighbors... :)
We shoot each other with my nerf gun... :)and we somersault and shoot the mirror...We do lay on our couch upside down...We take crazy flipping hair pictures...And we just have so much fun! :) I LOVE LIFE!!