36 -- Update

It's been a while.
Sorry about that.

I really don't have any excuse, because I am the least busy that I've been in my life. I'm pretty sure that even when I was a child I was more busy than I am now haha. The only bad thing about me getting used to not being busy is that I leave all of my homework for the last minute, so I'll have like a week of doing nothing and then a full two days of doing nothing but homework.

It's fall break on Friday. Unlike many other universities, however, we do not get a full week. Only Friday. But I'm not complaining. It's still nice to have a Friday off. :)

During this weekend, I will probably spend a lot of my time researching for big paper I have to write.

This post is more of an update than anything.

So, to updating:

It's autumn and it's gorgeous up here. I should use my spare time to take pictures with that fancy camera of mine.
Classes are going really well. They're all pretty easy. Biology, Creative Arts (which is like art appreciation... it's a general ed class), Folklore, Yoga, and English 2010. English 2010 is probably the only class that is relatively challenging. Biology I have to study for, but it's not hard at all. For both of the exams that we've had, I've felt very confident.
I'm heading up a poetry and essay contest for a festival that's going on up here in March. It was on a list of volunteer opportunities, so I emailed the guy they said to email and apparently I'm like one of the first people to volunteer because he put me in charge of something. It's for this:

Pretty cool, huh? If you want, I'll show you the flier that I made. It's about the only thing that I've done so far...
For those of you who didn't see on Facebook, I currently have a very painful cold sore. The crappy thing is that I had one on the other side of my mouth during Labor Day. I guess my immune system is making up for the fact that I hadn't had one in two years before that.
And...
that's all the I can come up with for now. Haha.
Tomorrow, for folklore, we're having class in the Logan cemetery. So that's kind of cool.
Also, I've decided to revive the phrase "Pip pip." My friends tried to a few years back. Rachel, Adri, I'm talking to you. I already have the world "blast" in my vocabulary, so I figured another proper British term wouldn't hurt. Next it'll be "Cheerio".

You think I'm kidding. ;)

Pip pip! Also, Cheerio!

35 - Breathtaking

You know when you have those moments?
The ones after those days that you just kind of feel like... bleh.
Not crappy, necessarily, but average. Normal. Like nothing new or exciting happened that day, or your routine is getting monotonous, or even though you have a really great life things just aren't working for you.
The moments that happen right when you think you couldn't be more... mediocre.
The moments when you see something that makes you realize the beauty in the world again. The blessings of your life. The moments when you realize that things are looking up.

I had one of those today.

I had an average day. It's Tuesday, so I only have one class. English 2010. It was good, I guess, just normal. Then I studied for my biology test next week, watched some TV, and got some dinner before Institute. That was also good, we had a good discussion on parables and being judgmental. Cole couldn't come because he took his friend to the ER that day and got really behind on homework because of it. As I was walking out of the Institute building, I looked around me. Grey clouds almost everywhere.

Except where the sun was setting.

It literally took my breath away. The pinks and oranges and purples all blended together to form a perfect corner of serenity and beauty in the middle of all the average grey skies.

I'm not usually one to stop and stare at a scene in nature, I'm ashamed to say. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate the beauty and all, but it never really caught my interest. There are only three times where I've really stopped to look at nature: the last time we went to Moab and climbed Delicate Arch, when I went to Hawaii and went on a sunrise walk with Sara, Jonathon, and my Dad and watched the ocean horizon, and when I went to Yellowstone and saw the Grand Tetons.

Those have all been in places acclaimed for their natural beauty. So it's no surprise that I noticed those. But right in the middle of campus, in Logan?

I think I found it so beautiful because it didn't fill the whole sky. If you looked even a little bit over, the sky was grey again. But if you looked in the right spot, it took your breath away.

I lied. There is one more piece of nature that I've stopped to stare at.

This summer I went to visit the Sacred Grove in Palmyra, NY. The spot where Joseph Smith saw the Savior and our Heavenly Father. We went at night, and the whole area was flooded with fireflies. It was like I was surrounded by stars.

You can always find something wrong with your life. You can always find something that makes it just.. bleh. But I'll bet you anything that you can find more things right with your life. Beautiful. Spectacular.

Breathtaking.

You just have to look in the right place. And sometimes, you might even need to ask for help to see.

I had to.

30 - A Bit Chilly..

For the first time that I've been in Logan, it's a bit chilly today. I'm sitting a bench outside of my next class and kind of getting excited to wear my warmer clothes!

Autumn is my favorite season, FYI.

Speaking of Autumn, the first day of fall is a week from today. I love looking at all of the colors of leaves and walking in crisp weather with a light jacket on... it just makes me so happy to have this beautiful earth to live on :) I'm excited for fall to start. Right now I can see a couple leaves changing, but there are so many trees around campus and I just know that it's going to be so pretty in a month.

I'm especially excited now that I'm in college. I don't know why, but it's just what I picture when I think of a college student. I'd be wearing my glasses, a cardigan with a cute t-shirt and jeans, with my converse. And then the orange and brown and gold colors are surrounding me and the wind blows the leaves around my feet...

I have to admit, college is exactly what I thought it was gonna be. Studying and working hard for classes, but still having time to relax. I love having time between my classes. Like right now, for instance. My last class ended at 12:30 and my next one doesn't start until 2:30. So I usually get lunch at the student center and then hang out in the honors lounge or outside of Old Main (which is right next to the building my 2:30 class is in.)

Here I am sitting on the bench.

It's a good time. Haha.
Also, I may or may not have taken several different shots with different faces so I could get one that I really liked. Heard a few snickers from people watching me.
Notice the redness in my face? That's the chilly part :) However, the redness between my eyes is a birthmark. So don't count that.

Oh -- starting to rain. Gotta go!