Anything overly epic this week? Not really. But life is always fun nonetheless. This week had a lot of great activities for our ward. On Monday for FHE, we learning how to do the cha cha. I remembered all the steps from my class freshman year, so I was the one sought after to dance with so that I could teach others. It was a blast, and it makes it a ton more fun when you are not doing it for a grade. I definitely do not recommend dancing to Dynamite to Taio Cruz though, the beat is to hard to get for cha cha. Michael Jackson songs were much easier. Also, we had a Bishop's Bash this week on Friday down at a barn in Mapleton. It was a blast. We played blind kickball. Everyone was partnered up with someone of the opposite gender. Then one of the people in the team had to be blindfolded. The other "seeing" person than had to guide them through the bases, picking up the ball, and tagging others to get them out. It was a riot. Sadly, someone ran into my teammate Audrey and almost gave her a minor concussion. I am hoping to make brownies or cookies today for her to make up for it. They then fed us dinner of barbecue hamburgers, sides, and drinks. They had a cotton candy machine and an ice cream machine for dessert. We had a marshmallow gun war after that and it was a blast. I wasn't overly good at it (the guns that they gave us were cut up pool tubes, not PVC pipe, makes it much more of a challenge) but it was a blast anyway. The night finished up with watching Kung Fu Panda. I made some new friends - Ashley, Courtney, Sarina, and Christina. They were hilarious and we joked the whole time about how much kung fu you had to know in order to live in or visit their apartment. I am going to take the time to get to know them better. I need to plan a game night or something. Especially because tomorrow is not a school day so there is no rushing to finish homework for most people. Not until tomorrow night. In other news, I picked a major!!! :) Wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles I know! I went to chemistry this week and just couldn't pay attention and didn't like it. But I loved my Arabic class and the other Middle Eastern classes that I was enrolled for. They are amazing! I dropped chemistry and ended up switching my major to MESA and it is going to be great! I love Arabic, Into to Islamic Humanities, Middle Eastern History to 1800, Intro to Middle Eastern Studies, and Doctrine and Covenants(the first half). My Doctrine and Covenants teacher is the best religion teacher that I have ever had. He is a crackup and super spiritual. He also talks about a million miles an hour so keeping up with him is a challenge. But a fun one. Everything he says is worth writing down and remembering. He has such great points and it rocks. Arabic is taught by Ustaaz Doug. He is awesome too. The class is difficult because he speaks Arabic as much as possible and expects all of us to do the same. As little or no English as possible. Learning by immersion, which is a sink or swim philosophy. Right now, we are all terrific drowners. I wonder how long it will take for some of us to become swimmers. Intro to Middle Eastern studies will be fun. Lots of discussion and great books to read for it. The teacher is not quite the best though. She means well but she is softspoken and doesn't allow us to fully discuss the readings. She only wants to discuss what she has decided is worthy of discussion. Narrow minded. The history teacher isn't the greatest either. He stutters over words and takes most of the class off on random tangents. The books for his class look fascinating though. Lots of writing expected for both classes, so I need to start working on that. The Islamic Humanities professor is brilliant. He loves class discussion and conducts it in an open manner that is inviting and engaging. Lots of fun readings for that class as well and lots of fun assignments. I think the best professors realize that if they have fun teaching the class, we have fun taking the class. Regardless of the workload. If they are excited, we get excited. I just don't understand why some people chose to do teaching when their heart is not in it. And they aren't excited and it seems like we are the bane of their existence. Maybe they like their research? I guess. I am going to be going to the temple every Friday after Arabic gets out. There is no wait for it. There is such a great spirit in the temple and it helps me to focus throughout the rest of the week. I do better at reading, writing, testing, speaking, socializing, you name it on the weeks that I go to the temple. I am working out every morning (or almost every morning this week). I am going to wake up at 5:50 this week so I can get down there at 6 and go till 7. I am doing great at using the weight machines, the elliptical, and the bike machine. I am hoping to convince Lora and Nathan to do a one hour swim workout once a week as well. That way my exercise will be well rounded and fulfilling. And everything will get worked, stretched, and strengthened. I am reading the scriptures every morning after doing that and I am liking the schedule that I have. I need to find another job or lots of volunteer hours to keep me busy and active. I am not allowed to be a couch potato. I think that is all that really happened this week. Oh, Utah drivers are crazy as always. Walking to and from school everyday is putting my life at risk. I almost get hit by careless and reckless drivers every time. They never watch around them. Especially the ones turning left, they just barrel on down regardless of what is in the cross walk and then they get mad at the person who is in their way. I saw Avengers this week again as well with Will, Samuel, and Aaron. Aaron is dating someone new and is extremely happy and excited. Samuel and Will are good old Samuel and Will. Always fun to be around to talk through movies with. Well, that is all for this week! :)

Flash Back to Reality and Progression in Life

I know it has been awhile. A very long while. But I wanted to start blogging again. It give me peace of mind and helps me to set up some semblance of a schedule. Plus it helps my writing skills to stay at what they should be and to improve. The more a person writes, the easier it gets. Also, I have been reading a whole lot more lately and that makes a huge difference in writing too. I start to think in the style and diction of the author that I am studying, so it crops up in my writing and speaking. To me, it is a fascinating phenomenon. Anyway, life has been all over the place as of late. I spent the past summer working at Kidz Kamp. It was the best job that I have ever had. It almost convinced me to become a grade school teacher because of how rewarding it is to work with children. I loved every second of it and can't wait to do it again in the winter and next summer. Then I got to go to Kansas City to visit Grandad and all the other relatives on the Hughes side of the family. Grandad was much more talkative than I remember, but isn't eating nearly as much as he used to. He is very gaunt and skinny. I am worried about him and where his health will continue to go from here. After that, Grandma Hughes got us a staycation at the Arizona Grand Resort. It came with passes to the huge water park. There were two huge slides, a wave pool, and pool volleyball. Lots of fun with all the cousins and close family. It was a summer of pure freedom. I read more books than I have in years, saw a ton of movies, spent uber amounts of time with family and friends, and just loved life. Sadly, reality had to set in eventually and send me careening back down to earth and normal life. That reality in this instance was school. Don't get me wrong, I love school and I love learning. I just hate having to decide where that learning has its final destination. I hate picking where my ultimate field of study and understanding is going to reside. I want to learn a foreign language, spend further time basking in music, appreciate great art across all mediums, and understand why all the grand and miniscule components of the earth work they way they do through the application of science. All that is not possible through picking a major and one course of study in a college environment. I know I can spend a lifetime learning, but I love the learning environment of classes and discussion. Research and paper writing. And oddly enough textbook reading. But I can't have everything at this point in life. I need to have a social life, a reading life, a music life, a spiritual life, and a course of study. And to fit that all in, I need to pick a major and be satisfied with it. I can do that. If nothing so that I can get enough and sleep and not lose my sanity this school year. The major I have decided to focus on at this point in time is Middle Eastern Studies and Arabic. Kind of strange, huh? I agree. But I love politics and government, those are what made the most sense to me in high school and were the easiest to study as well. I am not putting all my chips in that basket though because I am also starting out prerequisites that would lead to dental and orthodontic school. Being an orthodontist might be the greatest family job that I can think of and work with. The pay is substantial and there is a lot of left over time to spend doing family activities and outings. The perfect career. Plus it fulfills parts of my patriarchal blessing that I have not been able to make sense of until I considered that for a career. In order to fit both in and everything else that I have going on, I need to come up with some sort of daily schedule and regiment. I hate having to do such things, being spontaneous is much more fun. But now is the time for responsibility and growth, not stagnation and indecision. I am going to write my draft of a schedule up here to help me stay accountable to it and we will see how it goes form there. 6:00 A.M. - wake up and eat a light breakfast, get dressed to work out, run to gym 6:30 A.M. - Start working out at gym, spend half hour on cardio (bike and elliptical machines) and half hour on conditioning (weight machines) 7:30 A.M. - jog back to apartment 8:00 A.M. - shower and get dressed and prepared for rest of day, read scriptures for 30 minutes 8:30 A.M. - walk to school and then begin class at 9 or finish homework/projects 9:00 - 5:00 - Classes, lunch, and homework. Try to get everything done that I can so I have the evenings free to work and play 11:00 P.M. - be in bed and starting the process that it takes to fall asleep I need to also budget for another 10 hours a week of work. I need to visit the temple twice a week - once for initiatories and once for an endowment session. I need to find a group of people that will go with me for both. I need to find time to practice the cello for an hour or so a day (and rent out a practice room to do it in). I need to leave enough time for a weekly shopping trip. I need to plan some sort of project to do with freshman friends that will take up semester. I need to plan a game/movie night weekly. Leave time open for Psych night. Anyway, lots of plans that I need to stay on top of and succeed in. Also, I need to stick to some sort of budget so I don't go broke. I can allow money to carry over if need be, but must stay as close to budget as possible so I can afford living, eating, and entertainment expenses. I think I can budget about $20 a week for food, $10 a week to eat out, and $10 a week for entertainment purposes. I need to create an excel spreadsheet so that I can keep track of expenses and make sure that I do not go over. Or I will be in serious trouble. I can do this though and succeed at it. I know if I pray and fast for help, anything is possible. I am fasting for financial stability today including getting the right job to help me afford the next year of school. Oh, adventure of the week: seeing a rattlesnake. We hiked Squaw Peak yesterday and on the way back down, there he was. Courtenay was walking with me, then Lora following. There was a strange sound (not nearly as loud as I had always thought it would be) and it reared its head. We all stopped and the snake backed off a little bit farther into the undergrowth allowing us to finish walking. It then came back to the trail to finish sunning I would assume. I have always wondered what the rattle would sound like and now I know. Life experience fulfilled. And now I know that snakes love to be on the path to sun themselves and that puts them into direct association with us. I have a couple of other goals for this school year as well. I want to document it with photos as I did before. I want to have a photo of the week and lots of photos to pick it out from. That way, I can always have a documentation of everything that went down during my life spent at BYU. I have a terrible memory for long term events and so that would help me quite a great deal. I love the photos that I took freshman year and looking at them to jog my memory of friends and experiences that were amazing and wonderful. I need to start dragging my camera everywhere again and taking pictures. I need to be more social this year as well. I need to make tons and tons of friends in this new ward that I live in as well as through the friends that I currently have. Will has a lot of great friends in his ward and work and they remind me a lot of the circles I use to hang out in during high school. People who are a total blast. Samuel also has friends I should meet and associate with as well as Aaron, Regan, and Jared. Kelly Ann. Lora and her friends. Nathan and his friends. Maureen Davis is back again too and I need to hang out with her as well as Kevin before he goes off and gets married at the end of this semester. I need to go on dates (multitudes of dates) to find the right person for me. And hopefully to convince her to like me back. That is pretty much all the time I have for right now, I need to finish getting ready for church this morning and meeting with bishopbric afterward. Then having family dinner with Lora, Nathan, and Angela with a movie or a game or something. Then there is ice cream night at Samuel's tonight at 9. Then I have to be in bed by 11 so I can start my schedule off right on the first day. I am praying that all this will succeed. And that everything will work out for the best! Ryan

Too many forks in the road available, it would be much easier with just one

I finally get to write again. Yay! Writing is so sporatic this time around because I never seem to have the time. Weekends always fill up and before you know Sunday is over and I haven't written yet. It is kind of a problem. Maybe it will get better, maybe not.

This past week was quite busy, especially for only being four regular school days. I took four midterms, wrote a paper, did many homework assignments, and still managed to find time to play around and enjoy life. It was great. I think I am back to almost being the way I was at the beginning of high school - I study a ton now. A lot more hours than I ever did freshman year or senior year of high school. I enjoy it and it keeps me going. But there has to be a balance somewhere. Haven't found it yet. I swing from social to student with no buffer or break. Not the easiest switch for me. I have finally started to volunteer at a Rehabilitation Center and that has helped so far. Next semester I definitely will be working as well and volunteering and having a social life and taking many, many classes. I just do much better with life being busy. I am able to study better, focus better, sleep better, eat better, enjoy life better, you name it better. I will have to be able to correctly schedule everything out in order to have that all work out.

This past week we had 80s day on Friday. It was a blast. I got a lot of cool questions and a lot of interesting stares. A lot of people even told me that they would like to join in on the fun. I guess it could be hesistantly be termed a success pending reviews of the next few Fridays. Lora had some good games to play from the New Games book, some were kind of dorky or very special, but they were all fun. Kickback to EFY days and that social recreation leadership class (or party planning class). Also, went to a game night, watched some Psych in preparation for Psych Day this upcoming Wednesday and such.

Well, doing well on tests is definitely a blessing. Good grades are required for all the different programs or career ideas that I have been looking at. The problem is that instead of narrowing my choices, it seems to only make them wider and wider. I was able to do really, really well on a biology midterm this week. I thought everyone else did very well too, but when I got to class I learned that was not the case. Daniel Farnsworth was kind of disappointed because he had did the same as he did on the first test and he was not happy with the results. He dreams of being a pediatrician and has dedicated his whole life to working towards that occupation. I, on the other hand, don't really care one way or the other. I feel like God gave me these smarts as a talent and I am responsible to use and fully develop them for the greater good. I thought the test was relatively easy and can understand the material much better than I was giving myself credit for about a month ago. I am able to make sense of it and explain it in simpler terms. Shouldn't I use that to become a doctor or something in the scientific fields? But then the same goes for liberal arts classes, I can do very well with little effort or stress. I work hard, true, but I can understand and comprehend it at a different level than a lot of other people seem to be able to. I just don't know what to do. I guess the obvious solution is that I need to use the brain that God gave me in getting as much education as I can so that in the end I can serve as many people as I can. But there are too many pathways to to take that would fill such a desire. Lawyer, doctor, counselor, psychiatrist, and the list could go on and on. I guess I could even now add engineer to the list because all my friends seem to enjoy it and love it so much that it has opened my mind up to it. On second thought, not really. I know I don't really want to do business. Not engineering. Not English. Not a fine art like music or graphic design or whatever. Not math. Not economics. That crosses many things off of my list, but doesn't seem to narrow it nearly as much as I would wish. I will keep praying about it and hoping to stumble across the path that I am mean to take soon. In the meantime, I'll keep doing the best I can with what I have been given. You never know what might happen.

We will miss you Anna...

Well, life will never, ever get boring. Things fly at you at a million miles an hour whether you are ready or not. There is not time to slow down, take a breath, re-evaluate, and change tactics on something. It all has to be done midcourse. It keeps life moving fast pace and exciting.

The main thing to be on my mind this past week is the passing away of a dear friend. Anna Flowers. Or in reality what I call her is Great Grandma Anna. She pretty much adopted our whole family anyway. Anna is honestly one of the best people I will ever have the privilege of knowing. She contracted polio at a young age many years ago and although it didn't kill her, she lost the use of her legs. She was restrained to a wheelchair for the rest of her life. Did she ever let that get her down though? NO! When I met her, we had moved into her ward. We would always run by her house and drop off food or treats or provide company for her. She was a constant guest at family events such as Christmas, Easter, birthdays, and even normal Sunday family dinners. She always fit right in. We even constructed a ramp for her so she could get up Grandma's step to the front door and into the house. She was never without a smile. Not once, no matter the pain, exhaustion, misery, or disappointment she faced. She truly accepted each day as a gift from God. You were instantly her best friend if you would take the time to talk to her and she never forgot it. She would always send birthday cards, money, treats, give you ice cream, hugs whatever. While on a mission, she wrote me faithfully every week. She was the only one who did. In fact, if she was stuck deathly ill in a hospital, she would write me three letters the next week. One to make up for the one she had missed, one for that week, and one to say how sorry she was and how much she would always love and appreciate me. They were always beautiful cards as well. Home made on her computer. They were always given the "From Anna's Card Studio" clipart image on the back. I don't know how long she spent making each one, but they were exquisite. Each picture and word was well thought out and placed with precision and care. She could find a valid reason to compliment you and express her gratitude for just about everything - holidays, simple service, the fact that it was Tuesday, a simple concert or sacrament meeting talk. It didn't matter such small acts meant the world to her and she would write faithfully to you about them zealously describing all the beauty and joy she had received at those moment in time. To receive such a card or to talk to her in person was always an uplift. She was the perfect example of facing adversity with grace. If there is anyone that I know in the world who deserves to be frustrated at life, it would have been Anna. She was stuck in the wheelchair, constantly sick with ravaging diseases, suffered from immense amounts of pain, and slowly day-by-day lost her independence. She never once complained though, not that I ever heard or that was even suggested or implied. She put on a smile, thanked the Lord for such a great day, and went about whatever activities she could manage. Every time that I was around her or thought of her, she made me want to be a better person. To not complain about the trivial and mundane aspects of life, but live with gratitude and perseverance and understanding. To always remember how much God truly loves and cares for each one of us and have perfect faith and trust in that relationship. To show that same love back to God in every action, work, word, and thought. To love others with true charity and no judgment. She was and will continue to always be in my mind - an angel in human form. She is surely an angel now and doing wonderful work for our Father in Heaven. I can only imagine the joys she has at being free from her crippled and troubled body and able to be the lady and person she always wanted to be. I will continue to strive to follow her example each and every day of my life. To become more like her. She is Christlike in every facet and meaning of the word. She is one of the role models that I will try to follow in life, in attitude, in demeanor, and in charity. I love you Great Grandma Anna and look forward to seeing you whole in the future.

I don't think I can really write anything else after that. Lora and I will be going home this next weekend in order to attend her funeral. God gave us the blessing of having it fall on President's Day weekend so we could go. Suffice it to say, everything else this week has been pretty normal college life. A lot of fun, a lot of work, a lot of happiness and smiles, and also a lot of stress. No movie this week in order to remember Anna with a minute of silence. Hope you all have a great week and I will write next time from sunny Arizona (so far it has been snowing all day here...)
A few quotes I find appropriate:
"To the well organized mind, death is but the next great adventure." Albus Dumbledore

“PIPPIN: I didn't think it would end this way.

GANDALF: End? No, the journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path, one that we all must take. The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all turns to silver glass, and then you see it.

PIPPIN: What? Gandalf? See what?

GANDALF: White shores, and beyond, a far green country under a swift sunrise.

PIPPIN: Well, that isn't so bad.

GANDALF: No. No, it isn't.”

The Savior's Words Comfort Us in Death
President Thomas S. Monson

"From [the] majestic world of spirits we enter the grand stage of life to prove ourselves obedient to all things commanded of God. During mortality we grow from helpless infancy to inquiring childhood and then to reflective maturity. We experience joy and sorrow, fulfillment and disappointment, success and failure. We taste the sweet, yet sample the bitter. This is mortality.

"Then to each life comes the experience known as death. None is exempt. All must pass its portals.

"To most, there is something sinister and mysterious about this unwelcome visitor called death. Perhaps it is a fear of the unknown which causes many to dread its coming. . . .

". . . [The Savior's] words to the grieving Martha and to His disciples today bring comfort to us:

" 'I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

Validation

The Butterfly Circus

I don't think you ever just quite "get the hang of it"

Good Sabbath! So this week has been fantastic as always. Life is a continuous forward motion and each day continues to build more and more momentum. It all seems to be rushing towards something, but I don't know quite what. I guess the obvious answer would be eventual death, but that sounds rather morbid wouldn't you agree. And hopefully a long time off at that. Each week (each day basically) is full of interesting and often entertaining developments. I don't think I really see that many dull moments.

One interesting development that has occurred is how often I hear the word "dating" everyday. The more I don't want to date or get involved in that direction, the more and more and more I seem to hear about it. From the bishop to all my friends and from my family to answers to prayer - literally everything is pushing in that direction. The problem is that I am the fun date guy. I like to have fun and don't like to get serious very fast at all. I don't just "automatically" like girls like every other guy seems to. I mean I can tell if a girl is "cute" or not, but it has no effect on whether or not I am attracted to her. I have to get to know a girl really well, to be best friends with her and then I start to like her. This process usually takes about a month. I hang out with her a ton and then the attracting and the "like" factor builds, but it never exists from the first moment and doesn't come out on dates until I already know her extremely well to begin with. I don't know quite how I am going to figure out dating now. I guess I do need to start going on date, Heavenly Father has been sending enough hints that I picked up on it. They might turn out to be more fun dates though then serious commital dates. Hopefully, that doesn't make girls too angry at least until I get my viewpoints to change on the whole dating shenanigans scenario.

In other news, Divine Comedy rocks! Completely. I don't think I have laughed that hard in a very, very long time. There was way too many good skits to just pick one good one. But I will always remember the jean wraiths, Sherlock Holmes assessing possible dates, Severus and mother (who knew it is so entertaining to sound like Alan Rickman?), She-kitty-o'neal, one word dating/proposals,and the relationship based all on insults. Also, the clear play guy on the Twilight skit was genius. Sooooo good. Also, gospel doctrine today kind of felt like Divine Comedy, it was hilarious. I don't know if it was quite appropriate, but it was entertaining. And for what it was worth, I did feel the Spirit. In between bouts of laughter. Watching the Rocketeer on Saturday was fun as well. Thanks goes to Jane for that one, I was just going to sit at home studying all night but she texted me saying she was bored so I threw something together. A lot more people actually showed up then I had been planning on. It was fun, and the projector screen makes movies look really good!!! Much better than on the wall or sheet like has been done before. Also, much better than the Relief Society room one we had found in freshman year. It even has its own stand! How cool is that!?! Potluck dinner on Tuesday was a blast as well. Lots and lots of pasta plus "he said, she said" and animal signs. I will have it known that when we ended the elephant signs game, I was in the top position! :) That was all the fun stuff this week. Oh, plus eating breakfast yesterday with Emily's and Stephanie's apartment. That was a blast and very entertaining! Sometime soon, going to have to have a Phantom of the Opera sing along.

This week has also been full of inspirational moments. I think I might add an inspirational movie from YouTube each week to my posts. They at least help me to get through the week, I don't know if they would help anyone else. I watched The Butterfly Circus this week as well as Validation. So awesome! Both make you smile and think how great life really is. The true meaning and purpose of it. So here is the inspirational movie of the week. Or movies for this week. I'll post both of those aforementioned. They will be below this post.

Another pressing issue this week: housing and future potential roommates. There are so many choices and options. I know that I want to room with Will and so far that means staying in the Colony. But all that is subject to change if I get a prompting to go any different direction. I keep praying about it and will take it to the temple this week. I know I probably won't be rooming with Samuel, Spyglass Court is not overly appealing to me. And he already signed the contract to stay there. Kevin Forrest is coming up in the fall though and he is a viable candidate. As well as Aaron or Jared or David or there are some others. Whoever is up for living in the Colony I guess and wouldn't mind rooming with me. It is kind of depressing though to figure out the costs of all next year paying for rent, food, school costs, etc. So much money and not getting any of it back...well I guess getting a real career and then working will pay it back, but I am still not a fan. I have to get used to it. But I guess everything is set up to make next semester the best semester ever - pick the roommates, pick the location, pick the price range (depending on bedrooms and amount of people in apartment). I will keep praying and working on it. God has a plan and I trust Him.

Another thing that I am so excited about, I have a valid temple recommend now!!! I can go to the temple all that I want. I have set a goal of once a week and am going to do my best to stick to it! I absolutely love the temple and everything about it!!!

Anyway, that is what I have time to report on this week. New and upcoming things to look forward to next week: housing updates, temple trips, getting a job, service needed somewhere, and potentially start going on dates. Who knows?!?

The Routine Sets In...

Good afternoon! So my life is decidedly less exciting than freshman year or during my mission when I was writing. For one thing, I am perpetually injured and that severely limits the activities that I can do. Cuts out all the crazy adventures that my freshman year was so well known for. I guess you could say I am growing up. Which is both good and bad. Everyone has to grow up at some point and it might as well be now for me. I can still have fun, just not to the reckless abandon that I was capable of before. I don't even have nearly that much energy like I did, I don't know how I had all that energy back then to begin with. Oh well, I need to quite rambling and write something of substance. I guess I don't know how to take this things anymore. I don't think anyone reads it so it might become more of a journal than a blog. We shall see.

Anyway, this week was still awesome! Lots of fun, lots of studying and hard work. I have so far managed to do really well on all tests and quizzes based on prayer and feverish constant study. I hope I can keep up the pace (although with another anatomy quiz tomorrow who knows?) The first anatomy lecture quiz was great! It only took me about 10 minutes to finish it and I got a 100%, it was so good to know the mission did not ruin my test taking skills. The first lab quiz I got a 95% which isn't bad but wasn't great either (stupid thoracic vertebrae question using two different models!!!). I haven't had any other tests yet, just some papers or in class quizzes, but nothing too bad. My first bio midterm is this week and should be all on chemistry, so no good. I can't remember anything Mellyn taught me and my PD bio teacher is obviously not a chemist and doesn't know how to teach that. Only biology, so I am struggling to remember from sophomore year of high school. Other than that, school hasn't been too much of a struggle yet, just getting back into the groove as much as I can.

As for fun things, there is always a plethora at BYU. This week I went with a bunch of people to the War on Winter at the Wilk. There was dancing, kareoke, laser tag, and other things. Then we all came back to my apartment and watched the Princess Bride on the projector and the new screen. It was very nice!!! Then Saturday I went on an adventure with Lora and Courtaney. We went movie hunting, Zupa's, watched a movie and talked. I have to admit I rather enjoyed the movie. It was Emma, based on the book by Jane Austen. Who knew after avoiding the movies and books all this time that I would actually enjoy it? But I thought it was hilarious. Some of the hardest I have laughed ever. Best comedy ever and it feels so much like actual real life instead of modern romantic comedies.

I also went to the temple this week!!! Best use of time ever. The temple is so peaceful and comforting and revelation flows so freely there. I now know that I need to go at least once a week, if not twice a week if I could just find the time. Church was really fun this week and I have found some good friends in the ward to always sit by or do something with. Life is going to be great.

The only downfall has been the knee. I don't know what to do with it. It doesn't know what to do with me either. I can't sleep, can't bend, can't walk without a limp. I can't sit easy, can't get back up easy. Stairs are a nightmare. Ice is retarded. I did find out that crutches are a great work out. Also, walking on crutches brings out the best in people. I have never had so many doors opened for me or people go out of there way to help me with everything. Restores my faith in humanity everyday and what they are capable of.

Life all around is awesome and it continues to move on. Much too fast for my taste, but I doubt it will ever slow back down. Ever. So I will get used to it and adjust the best that I can. And maybe I will even someday no longer be a cripple!!!

Adjusted back already?!? You decide...

Good afternoon! And Happy Sunday!!!
This has been an absolutely fantastic week so far. Getting back into the swing of school has been a great experience. I have a lot of study time built into my schedule in between classes during the day. I spend 2 or 3 hours a day in the library going through all my anatomy for the most part. I find it to be one of the most fascinating subjects ever! I could spend all day going through all the different parts of the body and what they do and I would be ecstatic. The other classes I spend a small amount of time studying for are PD bio and statistics. Neither of those seem hard though. Statistics is all common sense and Mr. Higbee covered way above and beyond the depth of the honors biology class that I am registered in currently. Having Lora in the same class as me is also a ton of fun. I am going to try my hardest to make sure that I can get the higher grade on every possible quiz, test, or assignment. It is on! I have found people in almost every class now that I know which makes life so much better. Also, getting to know the ward members better here at Liberty Square, lots of really fun and amazing people. Everything is just fantastic.

Lots of random adventures this week as well. The highlight would have to be the dance/paint fight I went to last night. Courtenay, Lauren, and Will went with me. We met up with Will's old roommate and friend there as well. Also, one of the ticket sellers was Sister Maudsley from the first area of my mission. Talk about crazy coincidence. That was fun. It was a clubbing kind of experience for the three hours of dance time at the beginning. All bass and electronic mixes of popular songs. Some turned out pretty good, others not so much. It was fun to dance in our own little circle though. Then we got squirt guns filled with neon paint and got to squirt it at each other. We all ended up covered! Courtenay got me really good in the ear. I have gone through about 7 Q-tips so far trying to get all the paint cleaned out. It was the most epic adventure I have had in a long time. This week we also started to use our Pass of all Passes. Right now, only Kelly Ann, Jared, Will, and I have them. We went up to the Tralfaga up in Lehi and played some blacklight minigolf and road one of those bouncy up-and-down drop rides. We will have to play lasertag/rock climb and other things another day. Not a bad deal for $30 and good for the whole year plus soon can go iceskating, skiing, and so much more. And guess what happened in minigolf? I got a hole-in-one on my first hole. All the way up the wall and around the corner and made it in!!! After that, my game might have been not that good. But I started out on fire :) Oh, confession of the week. I loved watching the movie version of Sense and Sensibility (I would have that italicized but my computer was freaking out and wouldn't agree to it). It was, without a doubt, the funniest movie I have seen since I came back home from my mission. Courtenay is going to make sure I now get to see all the rest of the movie versions of the classic Jane Austen books. She says that they are all that great. Who knew what I was missing out on this whole time? Also, we have the projector all set up now with nice speakers and everything. We had a movie night to honor the newly returned missionaries in my apartment. We watched Megamind and it was a riot. Much more funny watching with a lot of people and being in a really humorous mood (not having just tore ligaments in my ankle like last time).

So all-in-all a very busy and productive week. I get a lot of study hours and a lot of fun hours. Most the time, staying off my knee which is superb. I can't wait to be able to start playing sports eventually though or at least hiking or something. I am studying hard though. No worries about that, I am not reliving freshman year or anything and I am sleeping a lot more. Or at least lying in bed for more hours relaxing. I did manage to already catch a cold. My voice is much deeper than normal and I have a cough/runny nose. It hasn't slowed me down much yet though. I hope it goes away soon. My knee is doing ok, as long as I stay off it as much as possible. I also need to always sit somewhere in class where I can stretch my leg out because if I bend it that long, it doesn't support me after class is over. I am learning my limits and trying to stretch as much as I can each and everyday. My knee continues to get better and better. It just isn't fully there yet. My ankle has not given me anymore problems. Thank goodness, God has blessed me to only have one injury at a time. Which is all I can take I think. I can't think of much else to report on right now. I am loving life and everything about it. I really do miss my family is the only downside. They are amazing, the best anyone could ever dream of. Also, Mesa friends are missed, but these next few months will fly by and I will be home before you know it. Things will be and are great!!! I hope everyone else is happy and doing well!

Picture of the week:

The Return

Dang. So I just had something pretty amazing written and now it all disappeared. Even after hitting the save button and everything. Now I get to start over, yay! NOT. Oh well. Here goes...

I know I haven't written on this blog for a very long time, too long. I guess in my mind it will always only be the blog that I use when I am a student up at BYU. It is my chance to release each and every week and to keep a good record of everything that has been going on. I definitely fail at keeping a journal so this is the one chance that I got to record things or to help myself remember them. I don't know if anyone will ever look at these again or not, but at least it is worth it for my own personal sanity.

That being said I should start posting something worthwhile. I absolutely loved every minute of my mission. As you can hopefully tell by the other blog that was created by my family while I was out in the field. I would never have given those two years for anything else. Ever. The amazing people that I met and worked with both member and nonmember, active and not so much are now such great friends. The most important friend that I truly made though was my Savior, Jesus Christ. I got home from my mission in October and since then my life has been a whirlwind. Time decided to switch into mega warp speed (not just even warp speed, but mega) and I can't seem to catch up with any of it. I was truly blessed at my homecoming to have such great friends that came down from BYU to see me and hear me give it. Unfortunately, I proved to be the same old me. I tore ligaments in my ankle while playing ultimate frisbee and ended up having to wear a big black boot for about a month and a half. I never would have went in to have it checked out though if my mother had not insisted. I would have kept living life like normal with just more pain and problems. Three days after getting that boot off, I managed to do my knee in while playing Just Dance. How dumb is that? Another very me thing to do each and every time. Anyway, life is good. I had a great Christmas with my family and an amazing job to boot. I hung out with lots of friends and had a lot of fun and got a lot of things done. Then Lora and I drove up here. Oh, I almost forgot. Of course I hit up all the amazing Mesa restaurants that are nowhere else like Tia Rosa's, Crackers and Co., Oregano's, and Floridino's. So good! But not as good as Mom's cooking, I missed that so much for two years and I am already missing it again!!!


So far I have loved being back at BYU. Overwhelming? Yes! Stressed? Yes! Exhausted? Yes! But loving it. I miss my family though, I really love them so much. They are the most important thing to me in this world and I will forever more cherish the time I get to spend with them during breaks or vacations or whatever else happens. I will never take that for granted again. I have been blessed to have some pretty amazing roommates. My room roommate is probably the best ever! He is the son of a mission president who is serving in Texas and just got back from his own mission about three weeks ago from Georgia. He is the most outgoing person I have ever met. He talks to everyone and never stops serving other people. I am going to be learning a lot from him about the kind of person that I want to become and that I really need to be. He is one of the most Christlike people that I have ever met. Collin is another roommate, he is the only one that is still living here from last semester. He is way into music and is very intelligent. He likes snowboarding and graduated early from high school. He seems way chill and he likes to have fun. Clay finishes out the apartment. He is a major Lakers fan (but he can be forgiven for that) and likes to have fun as well. It is turning out to be a much better combination that I was hoping for having completely random roommates. Interesting fact: I am the only non-Californian in the room. They all actually know all the same suburbs and stuff, so that's cool. Collin and I got the projector and speakers set up already so that will be super fun. We will have to find excuses to use them and to invite lots of people over to have fun with them. We also have a very large assortment of board and card games to play. Also, a very huge fake Christmas tree with colored lights and pinecones. The tree belongs to someone who actually moved out of here but doesn't have anywhere to put it yet, but we will definitely keep it for the time being. It adds a certain cool element to our apartment. We finally cleaned out the nasty fridge as well and everything feels so clean and good now. Much better. Lora and her roommates are way fun. So are all the friends that I still have from Mesa that are up here or those from freshman year. We have already had a plethora of game nights (from Quelf to He said, she said), birthday parties, decorating someone's car, a DI trip, studying, classes, grocery trips, a snow fight and so much more. Life is good that way. And fun. Tonight was my first dessert night, it wasn't bad. But I felt out of my element, too many people going too crazy. I can do good with small groups, not humongous ones. Oh well, I will keep working on it and see what happens. I am so tired so I think I will turn in for today and leave this as my first post. Hopefully next week, I can start taking pictures, getting quotes and all those other good stuff!