ode to the fresh meat.

dear lost, confused and scared freshman,

You lost your key. And after you finished freaking out about it, I got you a new one. But you left me Mommy and Daddy’s number to call instead of yours. And when I called to tell you your new key was here, Mommy answered the phone and got scared because she thought something had happened to her precious child. So, let’s do everyone a favor here. Maybe start being a teensy bit responsible. Start giving out YOUR number sometimes, okay? You DO go to college, after all.

muchas muchas muchas gracias,

older, yet still sometimes lost,
confused and scared college student

On my honor?

Do you remember the days when giving your word of honor actually meant something? When your word of honor was a BIG DEAL. When contracts were sealed with a handshakes and a promise was all it took? With no contracts, no lawyers, no signatures anywhere in sight. What happened to those days? Will we ever get them back? I wish.

Now that I am a "grown-up", apparently the hardest distinction to make in the professional world is the one that separates these two things. 1 - What we have the right to do. and 2 - What is the right thing to do? They are not always the same.

What happened to morals and a code of ethics? Maybe if we all had honor we wouldn't need a Board of Ethics to help us determine what is right. Apparently now we get to choose between 3 ethic 'approaches'.

1 - Focusing on the end result --- "what's going to happen if I do this?" or aiming to maximize good consequences instead of bad ones.
2 - "science of duty" --- doing what we feel we ought to do.
3 - Acting on the kind of person you want to be --- developing into a 'virtuous' person because of the actions you've already taken.

I'd like to thank Karl G. Maeser for having a word of honor, and keeping it. And saying this quote that makes everyone else want to keep their word of honor:

"I have been asked what I mean by my word of honor. I will tell you. Place me behind prison walls-- ever so high, ever so thick, reaching ever so far into the ground - there is a possibility that in some way or another I will escape; but stand me on a floor and draw a chalk line around me and have me give my word of honor never to cross it. Can I get out of the Circle? No. Never! I would die first."

'Adjectives Illuminate A Gloomy Page....'

I am not a wordsmith. I have no gift of tongue, no twisting or arranging of words to create a profound and prolific thought that in turn leads others to think. (And I'm not writing this to get anyone to say otherwise, I'm just simply stating it - not fishing for compliments.) That is not my gift - if anything, that's Lisette's. And although I can twist other people's words to make them sound pretty, it's not quite the same thing.

I've always admired authors and poets and public speakers and songwriters because they have the gift I don't. Being able to string words and sentences together that just sound so pretty. And how sometimes they have incredible meanings, but other times, they do it just because they like how it sounds. Robert Frost said, "All the fun's in how you say a thing." And it's true. Some of my favorite words come from songs I've heard or poems I read when I was younger. And now, I find new ones every day. For example, The Avett Brothers have some incredible lyrics. I'm slightly, minorly obsessed with them because of this. Sometimes I wonder how they do it. And then I simply listen in awe.

"When nothing is old deserved or respected/ And your life doesn't change by the man that's elected/ If you're loved by someone you're never rejected/ Decide what to be and go be it."

This twisting of words and connecting with someone's soul leads to the creation of thoughts. I was reading about words today. By a woman who simply puts them down for others to enjoy, because she, indeed, is a wordsmith. She wrote the seemingly unimportant line, "Adjectives illuminate a gloomy page" in the midst of a paragraph on how to create a sentence that has energy. And the very next thought that came into my head was how friends are like those adjectives - when your days are feeling gloomy, there are rays of sunshine breaking through.

I would be remiss if I did not appreciate the sunshine in my life. So, no more focusing on the clouds and gray skies. I'm going to focus on the light breaking through.

(Kinsey, I had to find a picture that had you in it from forever ago, just so you could be in this post too. And I would have a picture with the boys except I can't seem to find any. I guess girls just take more pictures than guys.)

If google falls, so does the rest of the world.

Gmail was down this morning. (And all other sites that Google runs - i.e Youtube). And we were just talking about how if google fails, then the world does too.

Google wave is of google's newest designs/tools that they are in the process of developing. It is pretty amazing what they have been able to develop and make even faster - as if search wasn't fast enough already. 694,000,000 results in 0.15 seconds. Yeah Google, please go faster.

Anyways, if you have an hour and a half to kill, or you are a nerd like me. Go watch.

Google Wave

Dirt is good.

In yet another attempt to avoid studying and give my brain some down-time, I recently discovered a commercial about kids. And dirt. And the fact that children have a right to a childhood.

WATCH here.

And I completely agree.

The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day

I am a terrible student.
I like learning, hate exams.
Like classes, hate grades.
Love college, hate the stress right now.
Love education, hate school.
And I have 3 exams in the next 5 days.
And it would be nice to have 4 more hours in my day.
But hey, at least it's Wednesday!
And fall is here, so things can't be that bad, right?

Anyways… back to the old grind of studying.

peachie-O!

Sometimes school gets overwhelming. Especially when I have to run like wildfire up 4328954 stairs to get to one class..... and then do it all over again an hour later after another class. Not so much fun.

Especially with one of these puppies on your foot hanging on for dear life like the anchor in the sand:

BUT these make any day better:

Good thing I have a pound of them sitting on the desk in front of me.
Soon to be NONE.

I don't want to close my eyes..... 'Cause I don't want to miss a THING.

I love college.

For lots of reasons.

But right now, I love it for this one:

Sometimes it is a good idea to take a break from studying.... and go stalk someone. And it is still as fun as playing cops and robbers or hide and seek back when we were in the third grade.

EVIDENCE of our success?Boom. Roasted.
Good thing Sadie is a cool cat and is totally fine with the fact that we just stalked her and Bryce. Even though she doesn't know us. AT ALL.

Also, the fact that there is a guy sitting behind me in linear algebra doing his homework in the back of the class with his ipod in. TURNED UP SO LOUD EVERYONE CAN TELL WHAT SONG IT IS. First up on the shuffle-di-duffle list, "I don't want to miss a thing" -- definitely got everyone's attention. A little Hilary/Haylie Duff combination came up next. Then some Enya. Now a little Micheal Buble.

I'm just waiting for him to start singing out loud!

But this is definitely making math go by faster than normal. Hallelujah.

I ♥ college.

I hate to brag, but this is like a 100% on a math test that gets put on the refrigerator...

So you know how in high school there were times when you didn't really have to try and you were still smart? (I'd like to thank my mother and father for passing on the smart genes!) And you just had a blast because classes were full of your friends and you played sports after school to stay entertained? Weekends were about fun and not finishing leftover homework? And the only really stressful part of the year came from finals and AP exams? Yeah, those were the glory days.

Then you get a bucket of ice cold water in your face which locals around here call COLLEGE. Imagine the one smart kid in all your high school classes who knew ALL the answers. Then think about 30,000 other kids who were the brains of their high schools. Put them all together and you get BYU.

Classes here are HARD. All of a sudden I feel really really stupid. You still have the same old smart kids who still know all the answers. And you look around and wonder if you are really where you should be. How did they get the email with the answers and you didn't?

EXCEPT, today I got to be one of them. I got to taste the elixir of fame and knowledge for about 8 seconds. And it was glorious. I got to be the smart kid who gets the gold star next to their name. 8 seconds of the "YEAH, that was me. The teacher listened to my answer and said, 'exactly.' Yes, that is the taste of grandeur right there." And then, only a simple fleeting 8 seconds later, it's gone.

And you are left with a big gaping hole of wondering if that moment will ever come again.
If I have anything to do with it, then it will.

I'm grateful for the ruckus this man caused. It got people to think.

We were discussing this in my ethics class the other day. This was the prayer given by Pastor Joe Wright at the opening of the Kansas state legislature in 1996.

Heavenly Father, we come before You today to ask Your forgiveness and seek Your direction and guidance. Lord, we know Your Word says, "Woe to those who call evil good," but that's exactly what we've done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and inverted our values.

We confess that we have ridiculed the absolute truth of Your Word and called it moral pluralism.
We have worshipped other gods and called it multi-culturalism.
We have endorsed perversion and called it an alternative lifestyle.
We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.
We have neglected the needy and called it self-preservation.
We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.
We have killed our unborn and called it choice.
We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.
We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building esteem.
We have abused power and called it political savvy.
We have coveted our neighbors' possessions and called it ambition.
We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom of expression.
We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our fore-fathers and called it enlightenment.

Search us oh God and know our hearts today; try us and see if there be some wicked way in us; cleanse us from every sin and set us free.

Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent here by the people of Kansas, and who have been ordained by You, to govern this great state. Grant them Your wisdom to rule and may their decisions direct us to the center of Your will. I ask it in the name of Your Son, the Living Savior, Jesus Christ.
Amen.

A lot of Democrats were offended and walked out of it. He later said, "I did not mean to be offensive, but I don't apologize for the truth. I thought I might get a call from an angry congressman or two, but I was talking to God, not them. The whole point was to say that we all have sins we need to repent - all of us... The problem, I guess is that you're not supposed to get too specific when you're talking about sin."

Type: Reptile - - - Diet: Carnivore

Did you know that the horned toad is not actually a toad? It is actually a "short horned lizard", but is often mistaken for a toad because of it's squat, flattened shape and a short, blunt snout.

To avoid being eaten, short-horned lizards can inflate their bodies up to twice their size, resembling a spiny balloon. And if this doesn't work, some species can even shoot blood from their eyes!

"The ominous squirting blood emanates from ducts in the corners of their eyes and can travel a distance of up to three feet. It's meant to confuse would-be predators, but also contains a chemical that is noxious to dogs, wolves and coyotes."(*courtesy of national geographic. i ♥ NG)

Destruction of their native habitat, efforts to eradicate ants - their staple food - and the pet trade have all contributed to a decline in their population.

.
.
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Yeah, I know. I totally just made your day by giving you random information that you will never need to know. :)

A picture is worth a thousand words....

Today, at staff meeting, we discussed some business items and after we finished those, we were shown a powerpoint containing the following:

We were all challenged to make the most of the precious moments we have here on earth. We were also asked to take pictures of these moments - because you never realize the value of what you had until it's gone, whether it is a moment that becomes a memory or somebody that becomes your someone. So I guess I will be taking more pictures from here on out.... I am excited for what life can bring. Even though things are not exactly 'exciting' in my life - just the same old school, work and social stuff - I do want to remember them. And appreciate what I've got.

shout out.

dear little brother,
happy birthday! you are no longer a teenager. you are now the big 2-0. you are pretty awesome. but you are very far away. so maybe can you work on coming home soon? like maybe in a year or so? because i miss you.
love, your big sister

Sometimes my brain works like this:

Estoy agradecido por los ascensores
I am grateful for 我最好的朋友.
I am grato para pais amorosos.
我不喜欢 casts.
je serait aime voir ma maison encore
Je ne peux pas bend my foot right now.
Je serait aime to go running and not tienen un problema con él.
我感谢 sunshine today.
I really do not want to take my anatomy exam.
Knyom sraw-line ne-uh nah

Why can't a skeleton lift weights? --- He's all bone and no muscle.

Question: how many bones are in the human body?
(my hand SHOOTS in the air! pick me pick me oh please pick me!)
Answer: TWO HUNDRED AND SIX. (if it's an adult. children, please add 100 to that number.)

And I've spent the past two weeks learning every nook and cranny of every single one of them.
How's that for AWESOME homework?

This is Cesaer. He and I have grown very close lately. In fact, I devoted two hours of my day yesterday to simply just staring at him. Not adoringly. More like loathingly. Although I love and appreciate how incredibly interesting he is, I would much rather NOT have an exam on him in two days. With every indistinguishable marking as a possible test question. I'd rather love and cherish him from afar - with no exam and no cramming and no tibial tuberosity or sustentaculum tali to worry about. (I will give you a dollar if you can tell me where the sustentaculum tali is without looking it up or asking anyone. *science majors not included.) But as soon as this is over, the peripheral nervous/upper extremity muscles begin.... woe is me.

Dear Cesaer,
As much as I absolutely ADORE you, I am pleased to announce that starting Thursday at 10:00 a.m. MST, we will no longer be together. I'd like to have my life back instead of slowly becoming a skeleton like you.
xoxox, Nat

"Do you like hip-hop? I got an album --- and I never shot nobody."

So sometimes I miss Hawaii. I miss the lazy, dream-filled nights. I miss the random connections we made with the people at the hostels. The people with whom our paths crossed for that miniscule moment in time. I miss hiking around mountains and being inches away from the edge of the cliff - hiking for hours until suddenly the waterfall appears and makes the 2 hours in the rain worth it. Conversations on hotel rooftops. Being in flip-flops and a bathing suit, no matter where or when it is. I miss not having to be somewhere at a specific time. Stretching out on the beach with a book that I don't actually have to think about reading. Hammocks made out of parachutes. Riding on the bus and not caring how long it takes to get there. I miss the friendly alohas and the breathtaking flowers. I miss the sound of the waves.

But then, I come back to Provo and realize how much I've missed the deadlines, and the pressure, and the stress. (I know, I'm crazy. But I secretly love having a semi-fast-paced life.) And the sense of pride. And my bed. And hot showers. And not having sand in every single crevice of my skin and on every article of clothing I own. I missed Grover and being able to drive (not that I'm able to drive now anyways......) I missed face-to-face conversations - somehow texting and phone calls don't make the cut after awhile.

However. I did not and do not and will not miss from both Hawaii AND Provo: grades, offices, big casts on my leg that make me walk 103293483920 times slower than normal, singles wards, creepy old men offering me a shack to stay in, creepy old men telling me about the 14 times he saw Jesus on Larry King, creepy old men telling me how he hates Christians, creepy old men telling me that I could be wife #5, drunk spaniards, $2 value menus, and linear algebra.

On a completely different note, I love BYU football.

Where'd all the Good people go?

I found one. One good person. I don't know his name. But he made an impression on me. Not because of his awesome hair, or his smartly pressed uniform, or spiffy shoes or the accent he didn't have. But because he did a good deed. And he did it for nothing.

Imagine being passed up by a full bus after waiting and waiting and watching and hoping. It's kind of saddening. And then all of a sudden, a bus that we weren't waiting for pulls up, asks us where we are going, tells us we won't be able to make it there because the bus we need to get on will be too full and that we should get on his bus and he will take us to where we can get on the bus that we need.

We were pretty stoked about that. But, it gets even better! We got on the bus and he wouldn't let us pay the fee! AND he gave us a free transfer! He didn't do it for personal gain or to get something from us. He was just a nice guy giving six girls a way to get to where they wanted to go.

He made my day. And now I'm going to pass it on and make someone else's day. Not because I want something or anything like that - We just need more good people in this world. And I want to be one. And I'm grateful for each one that touches my life.