Jan 6

Drat. I forgot to post for yesterday. I must've thrown myself off since I technically did post yesterday, just not for yesterday. Anyways, yesterday was pretty busy. I stayed at the library for 4 hours before work just doing homework, and I'll probably be doing the same thing today.... It'll be a busy semester with some pressure looming over it a bit. Work is cool though. I like work. :)

My internet died.

My internet broke yesterday, so I couldn't upload it. But here's my video of the day from yesterday. I'll upload today's on another post.

Happy Birthday! To me!

Huzzah! It is my birthday today - also National Spaghetti Day, apparently! I am now a... dashing? lovely? stupendous?... 22-year old! Haha.
To be honest though, I feel like every birthday doesn't feel much different. It'll probably hit me in like, half a year or so. Haha But I am grateful to have been born on this day to experience life! (Even though I may have a weak respiratory system for having been born in January.)

I feel like I've met a lot of amazing people in my 22 years of life. Many things have happened to me, both great and not so great. So far, despite the not so great stuff, I'm pretty happy with how I've turned out! I can only hope to keep this up til next year. ;)

So my video isn't much, despite it being my birthday because it was also the first day of the new semester! I did go out to Red Robin and Starbucks for free food with my sister earlier this evening though. :) I did my best to try to compile what my day was like though! And probably what most of my days typically look like, actually. Haha Enjoy!

UPDATE: My awesome coworker, Beth, got me Taran Wanderer by Lloyd Alexander for my birthday! I was seriously so touched! Thank you, Beth! Hopefully I can record myself reading it sometime within the year. :)

The First Sunday

You know, I feel like on Sundays I think about a lot of stuff. (It may not seem like it in my video, but it's true.) I think about my upcoming week, how I will improve, the events that happened in the past week, and I reflect on myself. How am I doing? Do I still like myself? What's something I want to do to be happier with myself? Sometimes I don't really think of anything to change, and that's okay. I think it's okay to be content with myself. The year consists of a solid 365 days, and if I'm feeling a little stubborn about not wanting to change myself or improve, I'd say that I'll just try again next week. Usually by the end of the week, I find some new motivation anyways.

There's pros and cons to "time passing." It's great because you know that time will always pass. It's a concept that's unchanging. Time won't freeze no matter what. When I'm stressed and it feels like I'm being overwhelmed by a pile of things to consider, I know that time will keep moving, and eventually, I will be okay. It's kind of like when I get sick. Once I'm sick, I never feel totally healthy again until I've already stopped thinking about it and I'm about to get sick again. When things get hard, all I can think about is how hard it is, but next thing I know, time has kept moving and I have stopped thinking about it.

Time passing can also be a bad thing, though. Sometime s you just really need time to stop, to be able to do all the things that you want to do - and accomplish all the things you want to accomplish - without needing to put in less effort than you intend. I guess that's why I think it's sometimes important to just live in the moment. Without trying to make this into a "boo technology" post, I do think that sometimes we make a bigger deal out of things that don't really matter because "connecting" with hundreds of people is so easy to do now, and that becomes our life instead of actually connecting with people. 

Bahaha! This post is probably really incoherent, but I have a lot of incoherent thoughts right now. Hahaha that's okay!

Here's my video for the day. :)

Driving, driving, driving.

Today, I drove the typically 11-12 hour drive to Utah in 10 hours. Most people I talk to don't really like the sound of that drive. 11 hours??? Good luck! But you know, I find that I actually don't mind the drive at all. There is some beautiful scenery along the way, and it's a time where I can sing to my heart's content! Even though sometimes I tend to space out and even get a liiiiittle bit sleepy, I really do love driving. And it's not very often that I can drive between states.

Anyways, here's my video of the day! Just a peek at what my drive looked like before I hit Utah where there was snow on the ground!

A new year, a new me.

2015 was nuts. It started off really crappy, and then really went upward with a couple of down moments.

I had ended up homeless in Utah, so I moved back home for the semester. I was upset about a lot of things, but I'm really grateful to my parents who still took me in and supported me through everything.
No matter how adult I may be becoming, it's comforting to know that they're supporting me from behind.

So I stayed in Arizona which turned out to be a super great thing! My best friend and my sister got back from their missions, and I got to be with them for their return. I auditioned for The Voice, started living healthier by going to the gym, began working at a preschool, and figured out some priorities in my life. I went back to school after Heather's wonderful wedding during the summer, reunited with the Utah bestie, Hunter, and simply enjoyed my time wherever I was.
This past semester I got to teach first grade, giving me more reassurance regarding my major/future.

This year, my main goal is to just be a better person. I want to be a person who has goals and fulfills them. I want to be a person who can take care of herself. I want to be a person who's comfortable and confident in her lifestyle. I want to be a person who understands herself, and tries to improve as an individual. I want to be a person who's even more open-minded than she already is, yet grounded in her own desires and beliefs. And I want to be a person who enjoys every day, no matter how hard or horrible it may be.

I don't know how well it'll work out, but I would like to try to succeed in taking a video for every day this year. No matter how long or how short the video is, I'd like to record just a little bit of my day. The content may seem pointless and boring, but hopefully it reminds me of something and encourages me to meet my goals.

Wish me luck!
Here's my video for the day...

January 1.

REVIVAL

My poor blog. I've been neglecting it. D:
A lot has happened, but I'll just talk more recent/current.

My beautiful friends, Angela and Andrew, got married and I had the honor of being one of Angela's bridesmaids! They were sealed in the Sacramento temple, and the whole reception was wonderful!

After their wedding, since we were already in the area, Evelyn joined me on an adventure to San Francisco for my birthday. <3

I also got my first speeding ticket ever on the way back to Utah...... But moving on!
Due to some complications, I ended up homeless after making it back to Utah, so I decided to move back home to Arizona. As sad as I was to part from my dearest friends, we're still in touch and I'll see them again soon!
I was a little bit frustrated about moving back home though, because I felt like there wasn't really anything meant for me here (aside from my family). I was glad to find that I was wrong. While my first month was rough, I've been able to be here for many of my high school friends' mission homecomings, and reconnect with them. Especially with one of my best friends, Heather!

And now that I'm here, I've been able to get a job working with kids, reconfirming that studying Elementary Education, really is something I want to pursue for myself. I've also been able to have more time to work out. If you know me, then you would also know that I hate working out. However, I really want to be more fit, and healthier. Healthy enough to be able to eat whatever I want without feeling like I'm unhealthy.. If that makes sense. So, because I've committed to getting fit, I have to commit to working out. Which actually hasn't been so bad! I feel really good when I work out!

So I have been great! There are also some other spiritual reasons for why I'm feeling so great, but all in all, moving back here has been good for me, and I feel renewed.