S.M.I.L.E.

I found a note in my scriptures from Freshman year (I forget the scripture reference) that says Spiritually Minded Is Life Eternal. Hence S.M.I.L.E. And that's been popping into my head lately!

I ran for student government a week or so ago, and I had prayed that either I would win or have the perspective to know that God has another plan for me. I did lose, but I was blessed with the comfort that God does have a plan for me, and obviously it was not Senior Class President. I think the worst part about losing (unless you are devastated) is all the pitiful glances people give you. Sheesh!
Anyways, I knew I would have just as many opportunities without being president next year, so I made a plan to get more involved. Apparently it's working, because I was voted as the Honor Society and Drama club president! Woohoo! I'm super stoked and that just goes to show that the Lord knows what will happen, and we don't.

I think my point is that we'll find greater blessings when we trust in the Lord instead of giving up after one setback. I'm not saying that this kind of thing will always happen, because sometimes we will just have trials. This reminds me of a scripture! D&C 122:7 "...these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good".

2 Nephi 9:39 "...Remember, to be carnally-minded is death, and to be Spiritually-Minded Is Life Eternal".

The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ

This year in seminary we've been studying the Doctrine & Covenants, so I unintentionally put my B.O.M. study on the back burner. I've always been advised to continuously study The Book of Mormon, even though that's not what we're focusing on this year, but I wasn't really prioritizing it. And besides, I was "too busy" to add another thing to my schedule.


I figured since I still studied the scriptures daily that I was covered. Last Sunday, however, we discussed the importance of studying the Book of Mormon always. I can't remember the exact quote by Pres. Benson, but it went along the lines of, "There is a certain power that will flow into our lives if we make an effort to study the Book of Mormon daily". I've read it a few times already, but not exactly in a way that would show I'm yearning to know the truth of it.
Even though I don't think my leader intended to guilt trip us all, I knew I needed to make studying The Book of Mormon a much, much higher priority in my life.


This is the first time that I've read The Book of Mormon with true intention, seeking to know if it's true or not. I think the Lord knows that too, because even though I'm not even past the first book of Nephi, I can testify that it is the word of God. Of course, I knew it was true before, but now I am absolutely, without-a-doubt, certain that all the prophets, prophecies, and doctrines in that book are true.


10 And now, my beloved brethren, and also Jew , and all ye ends of the earth, hearken unto these words and believe in Christ; and if ye believe not in these words believe in Christ. And if ye shall believe in Christ ye will believe in these words , for they are the words of Christ, and he hath... 
11 And if they are not the words of Christ, judge ye—for Christ will show unto you, with power and great glory , that they are his words, at the last day; and you and I shall stand face to face before his bar; and ye shall know that I have been commanded of him to write these things,... (2 Nephi 33:10-11) 

Spring Break #2k15

Spring Break is a curse, and a blessing. In one way, it is a glorious relaxation period that I'm sure if I didn't have I would not make it to the end of the school year. On the other hand, it's like a taste of summer, and now I have to go back to school for two more months. I'm so excited for this school year to be over! (Even though it has been pretty great).

I didn't travel anywhere, but I was happy about that because I've been traveling too much for my taste! Not to mention all my friends stayed in town, so I got extra time hanging out with them. We attempted swimming at Ken's Puddle Lake a few times... That idea was not the best, but we got a good laugh watching each other squeal (maybe that was mostly me squealing, haha).

I hiked right up to Delicate Arch for the first time (or the first time I can remember-- my mom tells me otherwise)! My friends and I decided to do it as a sunrise hike, but apparently my body did not appreciate that decision because I was hindered by my pathetic health halfway through. One friend stayed behind with me and somehow got me to hike the rest of the way. I was very grateful, but I've also decided to never hike with my flippin' fit friends ever again!

My lady friends and I finally had a girls' night for the first time in months, which I admit is my fault. But we had fun, me laying on the couch while they gave each other jedi braids. It's funny that we were completely content that way, just talking about pointless stuff! I am regretting not getting a jedi braid though..

I also learned that I'm not very good at comforting people. My friend had a really rough end to their weekend, and as they were crying I just sat there awkwardly... I thought I would know what to say when this moment came, but obviously not!! I patted their arm timidly, but on the inside I was frantically trying to think of something to say. Luckily our other friend joined us and she's much better at comforting than I am. And we got ice cream from another friend, so hopefully that made up for what I was lacking. ;)

PROM!

This last Saturday, I had the opportunity to go to Prom! Not just any Prom, though-- Junior Prom. My class did Promenade, and that may have been my favorite part of the entire day (no offense to anyone).

I'll be honest though- and for anyone who has yet to go on a Prom date- do NOT go with someone who is a) your complete opposite, or b) someone you know spending an entire day with them will get old.  I'm familiar with the term "Opposites attract", but really you're going to want to have something in common! My date and I, though we are close friends, have absolutely nothing in common. I didn't even notice until we were on the date and I had absolutely nothing to say. We don't listen to the same music (I don't even think he listens to music), our senses of humor are different, he likes to climb stuff, I'm fine staying on the ground, and I'm so independent that he didn't even try to keep up with me on our hike! I love the guy, but really by the end of the day I was ready to be done.

Not to mention that the guy I had really, really wanted to ask me but hadn't was having a grand time with his date. I was happy for him (and her), but I couldn't help but wonder what my day would've been like had he asked me. I'm horrible, I know and I should be grateful I had a date! Don't worry- I am. I really am, but I think I'd spent a lot of energy dreaming up the perfect date with my choice of guy and it just didn't go how I planned.

Despite all the imperfections, I'm satisfied with very fond memories and of course I enjoyed feeling like a princess for a night!

There's Always Good

Sometimes I just randomly get overwhelmed with the "evil" in the world. It's hard to stand up for your beliefs, especially when you're in the minority. But then I remember that's just it: we're the minority, not alone. Yesterday I had a wonderful opportunity to spend time with my friends, and I am so blessed with the friends I have!! We gathered together to watch God's Not Dead. I get spiritual thought texts from multiple friends all the time, and we support each other in matters of the gospel. If one friend wasn't notified about a get-together, we load up a car and go get them! There are good people in the world, and I think it's on of the Lord's tender mercies that I am friends with so many of them. I know I'm never alone, because my friends are so stinkin' awesome and love the gospel! More importantly, the Lord is always with me. So I just want to testify that being in the minority is not being alone. There will always be good, we just have to be the good and group together!

On another tangent of being overwhelmed, sometimes I just feel like we'll always be facing evil and we will always be mocked for living the way we do. But we won't! That is one of the biggest thing that brings hope to me. Someday, there will be peace, and happiness, and NO evil! All of our trials will be worth it. I love the gospel!

Time flies!

Haha.... So I didn't think keeping a blog updated would be so hard. I am such a fickle person, to the point that basically if I have to set aside everything to do a certain task, that task will be on the back burner for a looooong time. Anyways, I figured I should give a quick catch up, even though I'm leaving out the bulk of things so this blog post doesn't turn into a novel.

I'm leaving for the annual Utah Theatre Association, AKA Theatre Conference, tomorrow. I've been able to go every year in high school (so far) and I love it so much! I owe it most of the credit for shoving me out of my awkward bubble. This year is special though. My wonderful drama instructor approached me and said she wants me to perform my "Gimme Gimme" piece from the fall musical. AH! That's a good two thousand people. I'm really excited, yet really, really, reeeeeaaaalllly nervous. But what an amazing opportunity! Not only that, but it's being hosted at BYU!!

Something else that is coming up is Junior Prom! This is MY year, and so that comes with the additional promenade that we've already started practicing. It took a few times to get the steps, but now I think I have it down for the most part (just the beginning steps) and I love it so much! My poor partner stepped on my too-long pants and totally ripped the hem with his foot, he felt so bad, but I laughed so hard at his mortified face and the fact that the pants were already ripped.
You may be wondering, "Don't you need a date for Prom?" You are correct! A good friend of mine filled the front half of my car with newspapers (so much that decluttering it in time for school was an impossible task) and taped "PROM?" to the windshield. Yay yay yay! I'm so excited. I stuck little notes that read "Yes!" all over his locker to answer.
Of course with Prom comes a Prom dress. I have had success with that department too! It's a gorgeous gown, with ruffles and sparkles (every girl's dream, right?).. It is strapless, but it was also too long so we're hemming the bottom and taking that fabric to make sleeves, thanks to my amazing aunt.

I'll add as I think of more, but really those are the two things most on my mind right now. Happy times! Good things are coming my way!

Communication is Key

This past week has been a load of drama, mostly revolving around me and my insecurities.  And stupidities. I was sure that a certain friend "hated" me, mainly meaning that something was seriously amiss. None of my other friends believed me, and told me otherwise. Usually I can let this sort of thing go, but I value that friendship very much and I could not move on until I knew what was wrong. Of course, the normal and smartest thing to do would be confront them and demand an explanation. I'm sure you can guess I did just the opposite. I didn't even try to bring it up. I slowly sunk into a self-pity depression, letting this person ignore me for what seemed like forever.

This silent war was getting to a point where even my friends sounded doubtful when they tried to fight my accusations. I really can't recall another time when I was sure that someone was angry with me, and I had no idea why! I had just about reached the point where I felt I would explode if they continued to ignore me. I missed talking to them. I missed them even acknowledging my existence. I missed them. I got home from school, and sat there, thinking of what to do. I finally settled on a prayer, with a pleading request that they would at least text me. I went downstairs, flopped on my bed, and lay there, pondering. *cue dramatic music*

I typed up a text message, but it didn't feel right. I shut my phone and set it aside. Not a minute later, my phone buzzed. Could it be? YES! It was a glorious text message from this person who'd been ignoring me! The message immediately sent my heart hammering. They wanted me to call them. I was seriously expecting a scolding for telling everyone that I thought they hated me and blah blah blah. Hesitantly, I dialed their number and literally held my breath. They picked up and started explaining... Turns out, they WERE ignoring me! It had all been a miscommunication problem, and I admit some of it was my fault.. But we made up and I haven't felt more at ease in what feels like a long time (turns out it was only like, three days).

The morale of this story is, if we had just talked about our rift we could've solved this problem a long time ago, but instead this dragged on way longer than it should've. Communication is key!

This also relates to Heavenly Father. How in the world are we supposed to get through this life, happily, if we don't tell Him what's going on? Christ suffered for our sins! Give your burdens to Him, and enjoy the most wonderful feeling in the world- peace.