Happiness

During my first quarter of college (September 2006), I took an Intro to Psychology class. Although I found the subject terribly boring, I went to class every single day. One day, the professor came in and instead of turning on the computer for a power point presentation (like usual), she wrote on the board "When will you be happy?"

She turned to our class and asked for some answers. Students began to shout out answers like: "When I graduate college", "When I get married", "When I start my career", and "When I have my children." The list began to grow longer and longer until finally the professor turned to us and said, "Why the heck, aren't you happy now?"

I was quite stunned by her response, but she continued. "Why are you waiting to be happy? Don't wait until you get married or graduate. You have to find happiness and satisfaction in what you have at this present moment."

Wow, what an important life concept. Being satisfied with what you have in the present and not waiting to be happy.



I read a "coffee table" book from Hallmark recently called, Dance While You Can, and there is a passage from this book I'd like to share with you.

First, I was dying to finish high school and start college.
And then, I was dying to finish college and start working.
And then, I was dying to marry and have children.
And then, I was dying for my children to grow old enough so I could get back to my career.
And then, I was dying to retire.
And now, I am dying… and suddenly realize that I forgot to live.

-Author Unknown-

Last Day as a T-T-Teenager

It's true; tomorrow I leave the land of "Teenager" and enter into the world of "The Twenties." I've always felt older than my true age, so I think being 20 is really going to fit me (finally). I remember the turning 13 and how excited I was to finally be considered a teenager. Now, I can't wait to turn 20 and no longer be a teenager haha.
I will say this, 19 has been the most awkward age I've ever been. Allow me to explain. A few months after I turned 19 I felt like I should be older than that, and that my age didn't fit where I was at maturity wise. I'm basically "over" being a teenager and soooo ready to move into a new phase of life.


So, here's to you, Awkward Age 19... I won't miss you :-)

Beauty in the Breakdown

So, let go, so let go
Jump in
Oh well, what are you waiting for?
It's alright
'Cause there's beauty in the breakdown
Let Go by Frou Frou

How true this song is in my life. I've been through a pretty rough time (see post: Over My Head) the past few months and I finally have finally decided to let go. I've decided to release my anger, hurt, judgments, and fear. And guess what, I've never been happier! God's grace has been pouring into my life and He is showing me such great things. I'm so excited for what the future holds and the changes God has for me.

The lyrics to Let Go by Frou Frou say it all "Let Go... What are you waiting for?"

I'm a Coug!

It's official! I just got accepted into WSU Tri-cities for the Fall 2008 semester :-) I'm so very excited. I'm currently filling out my application for the WSU College of Education, so I'll let you all know when I found out if I got in or not (so much paperwork!)

I'm extremely excited about this transition in my life. I'm so thankful that God told me to be a teacher, because if He hadn't, I'd currently be applying for the Dentistry program at UW (YIKES). Don't get me wrong, I'm sure I would have made a fine Pediatric Dentist, but it's so good knowing with all my heart that I am supposed to be a teacher. Plenty of people have tried to talk me out of it, but God spoke so clearly to me my senior year of high school, that no one's been able to shake me on it.

Blessings to you all!

Over My Head

It's been quite some time since I've blogged. I apologize to my faithful readers (i.e. my dad) for not posting anything sooner. I don't have anything interesting to write about, so this is a life update.

Where to start? All I have to say is I have never been in such a hard place in my entire life. The past 3 months have been an absolute nightmare. I've spent the last couple of months hiding all my frustration and anger, but I can't do it anymore. My best analogy for it is that I feel like I'm drowning. That the circumstances I have found myself in for the past 3 months, have truly begun to suffocate me. I'm not trying to have a pity-party and make people feel bad for me, that's not my heart at all. I would just like to ask (if you don't mind) if you would keep me in your prayers; it would be so appreciated.






Take me beyond this door
Lead me to something more
Over My Head by Starfield

Peace-Out 2007

Wow, it's hard to believe another year has come and gone. I must say though, 2007 was definitely one of the toughest years of my life... so it's not hard to say goodbye to it :-) This was definitely a year of character building. As most of us know, that comes with a painful price. I wouldn't change anything about 2007 and I'm thankful for those hard times because in those times all I could do was cling to my Savior. He's done such a change inside of me, and for that, I am truly thankful.

I did have some good times though. Here are a few high-lights of 2007
1. My amazing nephew was born in April
2. I led my very first worship song in June
3. I started going to the Desert Rock college group in June and made some amazing friends
4. Learned how to snowboard
5. Learned a lot about myself and God (Yay for character building years lol)

Things I'm looking forward to in 2008 :-)
1. Turning 20 in February (wooo getting OLD)
2. Moving into our new house!!!
3. Graduating from CBC with my AA
4. Starting the Elementary Education program at WSU Tri-Cities
5. Quitting my job at the dentist office August 1st!!!! YESSS :-)

I also look forward to seeing what God does in my heart and life, the unexpected things. That's what makes life so exciting, it's so unpredictable. I hope each of you has a blessed new year!

I leave you with pictures from 2007:

Musings of a First-Time Snowboarder

Yesterday, I hit the slopes for the first time in my life. I've never skied or snowboarded in my 19 (almost 20!) years of being on this earth. I've had plenty of friends try to get me to go snowboarding with them, and I finally took a chance yesterday.

Dad, Tabitha, Amanda, Uncle Rick, and I headed off to Bluewood yesterday morning around 7. I had no idea what to expect or if I'd even been able to stand up on a snowboard. I'm not exactly the "athletic type" so believe me, I had my doubts on being able to accomplish anything my first day. So Amanda, Tabitha, and I took a snowboarding lesson. After spending most of the time falling on the bunny hill, I traded my "platter-pull" pass in for a lift pass in hopes that the steeper hill would be easier to learn on.

My first time down Triple Nickle was literally hell. I had no idea how to carve and control my board so I just would go really fast and fall every 4 seconds. I think it took me 45 minutes to get down on my first run and believe me, it was not a pretty sight. I did a face plant into a pile of snow as this 8 year old kid goes by and asks if I was ok. But I refused to give up, I knew I'd regret it later. On my third run, Uncle Rick gave me a couple pointers and went on his way. I took those pointers and applied them to my snowboarding... Guess What?!? I GOT IT! I was starting to carve and turn, I truly amazed myself! I went on a total of 7 runs and on my last one, I only fell a few times :-)

I couldn't believe that I actually learned how. I am so thankful that I didn't give up and kept persevering... hmm something I can apply to my day-to-day life.

Today, I'm completely sore. I could barely roll out of bed this morning. Every muscle in my body is screaming with pain, but I don't care. I had an absolute blast and am planning to go again in 2 weeks.