So Long Summer

Well, the moment has finally come. The time when I have to bid summer a fond farewell and brace myself for 8 long cold months of academic torture. Ok so maybe that's a little dramatic, but after spending a week in Lake Powell with some of my favorite people, the prospect of school isn't very alluring. Not to mention I still haven't finished my English Ed application. Any volunteers to be in my video? I'll make sure you get a witty comment in about an Austen or Bronte novel? No...well alright then.

Let's just go back to Lake Powell for a second. Best vacation ever. Seriously. Of course getting there was a bit of a trial. Like going on a 2-hour detour and then almost running out of gas in the middle of a scorching desert. I think Jordan learned his lesson though: sometimes the girl has a point. :-) Once we got there though, it was an all out party. Between swimming, hiking, tubing, eating, boating, tanning, wakeboarding, stargazing, and just laughing...there was never a dull moment. Props to the Hale family for making the trip a total success.

In other news...I went to my new singles ward today. Pretty standard stuff. Filling out information sheets, posing for awkward ward directory pictures, introducing yourself 500 times, scoping out dating potentials, scoping out dating competition, smiling until your cheeks hurt, listening to the bishop teach about chastity, listening to the bishop tell us we should marry eachother and yeah, that basically covers it. Let's face it, the mormon culture is just a little weird.

Well class starts tomorrow and I've got to get up bright and early for a TA interview. Wish me luck!

We're All On Drugs

Ok so this is probably a little juvenile of me to make this comparison, but whilst discussing the never-ending topic of boys with my sister the other night, I came to a very important realization: Liking a guy is like being on drugs. Now before you go shooting me down, let me just paint the picture for you...

You get all happy and crazy when they're around, and when they're not, you just want them back. You frequently get nervous and jumpy when they're around, but miss the feeling when it's gone. It's exhilarating and scary all at once, but you know it's going to hurt eventually. Then you finally stay away from the drug and the addiction starts to fade. But then just when you think you've kicked the habit, you accidently bump into him at the store, or you see him on campus, or his stupid picture pops up on facebook (it's ok, we've all been there). Anyways, you have this unexpected encounter and BAM! it's like a shot of heroin straight into your blood stream and suddenly you've relapsed. Back to square one all over again. Can't live with it and can't live without.

So what's the moral of the story? Boys are like drugs, so "just say no". Because let's be honest, square one kind of sucks.

Sulking? I think not!

I had one of those moments recently. The one where you're sitting there, assessing your life, and all of the sudden the sad truth hits you like a ton of bricks right in the gut. Knocks the wind out of you and almost makes you cry, but then you suck it up and put on a brave face so no one else will realize what an idiot you are. Yeah. But instead of sitting around and sulking in my own stupidity, I've decided to overcome it.  

Firstly, making comparisons between people, including yourself, is 100% counterproductive and everybody loses. So we're done with that.

Secondly, it is possible to care too much about what people think and then let that get in the way of the person you really are. Not anymore.

Thirdly, everybody needs a listening ear sometimes, NOT someone to tell them what they need to do...just listen. This is me shutting my mouth.

Fourthly, everyone is at a different place in their life and we all evolve at different paces, which means a little patience goes a long way. Flipping that leaf over.

Finally, I am the one in control of my life and my happiness, not anyone else. Which means I get to choose and I'm the only one to blame if somethings wrong.

Now Hiring: Life Planner

It's high time for an update! So, my mental health has drastically improved since we last left off. Days of rest and then another AMAZING (albeit last minute) week of EFY fixed me right up. Now I'm finishing my last week of work before I'm off to Lake Powell with my favorite group of people...the J-ru Crew! Earlier this week at work I got to sit in on interviews and be a part of the "hiring committee." I'm not gonna lie, it was pretty fun grilling people and asking them questions that obviously made them feel vastly unprepared. I like seeing what people do when the unexpected gets thrown at them. Anywho, that was fun and I'm glad I've worked my way up the hierarchy of Special Collections to enjoy such a task. Among other things, I'm currently homeless and bouncing back and forth between Salt Lake and Provo. Starting to hate that little 45 minute drive too. It's all good though. Now for the real juice....

Current life decisions I am having trouble making: (if you have an opinion, feel free to comment)
Should I finish my application to the English education program?
Should I finish my degree in English and work on a minor in editing?
Should I defer a semester and go teach English in China?
Should I apply to a study abroad program in England next summer?
Should I put in mission papers for next summer?
Should I let a certain person know I like them?
Should I quit my job at the library and get a real one?
Should I quit my life and become a vagabond who lives in box?
Should I return that purple shirt I bought last week?

Ok so the last two weren't really legit, but the rest were! Sometimes I think it would just be nice to have someone make all your life decisions for you. Shouldn't you be able to hire people for that kind of thing? Perfect. I am now accepting applications for anyone who would like to be my life planner. The pay isn't great, in fact maybe we can work something out where I bake cupcakes. Ha!

Mental Health Day

Alright so it obviously hasn't been the brightest past few weeks, thus a mental health day is in order. Despite the fact that I had to wake up at 9am on a saturday morning for cleaning checks and then go to work for an hour, the rest of the day will now be dedicated to my mental health. Why would one need a mental health day you ask? That's a good question. There are a myriad of answers which I will now take the time to enlighten you with....
a) because said person has the most dull job in the world that does not stimulate brain activity in the slightest
b) because said person has roommates who, bless them, cannot clean up after themselves hardly ever
c) because said person does not know what they're doing with their life and is on the brink of breakdown
d) because said person is crazy
e) because said person is all the above
So, I'm going to go outside and tan, find a new book to read, watch some sappy movie, go out to eat, and probably buy something online just for the heck of it. My outlook is improving by the second!