random tandems.

Do you have a movie or a book, that transports you and it gives you a little extra lift to believe in yourself and life again? 

Yeah me too. I have one movie that I know without a doubt will help me believe in myself again and revitalize my love for everything. Pride & Prejudice. Now I'm talking the 2005 version with Keira Knightley, in her all perfect glory. This movie has it all. Beautiful music, stunning scenery, full plot and developing characters you learn to love. I can watch this movie every day and not get sick of it. I mean what's not to love, and I don't just love it because of the amazing love story (yes yes, i'm a romantic. sue me). But something about it just makes me so happy! I'll admit it, it was a rough day today and I knew that I needed Pride & Prejudice was just want the doctor ordered. It's funny how certain things can just change the pace of you day and make you feel completely lighter. 

It has also occurred to me that this time last year I was getting ready for what was going to be the best semester of my life. I was about to start a new chapter of my life in Rome with my best friend. It's crazy to think that was a year ago. Man, how things change. The other day I went back and re-read all my posts about everything and I just wanted to cry! I miss my study abroad but I'm so happy for what it taught me and how I was able to become better. Also.... there were some typos in there and it was a little embarrassing to find them now.... I swear I read the posts out load before clicking publish. 

Today was a relaxing Sunday, filled with reading, movies and naps. May Monday bring you good vibes and happy times.  

Here's a pretty picture of a flower wall.

Until next time,

-O

P.S. If anyone has any fun ways of organizing iPhone apps on their home screen, I need a new way to do it. So let me know, yeah?? Thanks! 

tired feet, tired mind.

Today was a weird day. I was awoken (is that even a word?) from a perfect slumber, by my loving aunt, telling me I look like Aunt Jemima.... I mean as wonderful as that is to hear in the morning, I wasn't about it. She proceeded to sit on my bed and tell me about the announcement the LDS church made yesterday. I'm sure you've all heard about it by now?? --That underage children of same-sex couples are not eligible for memberships into the LDS faith until legal age--First I must make a disclaimer for everyone. I love this gospel, and I LOVE MY FAMILY. I am not posting this to anger anyone, it's just on my mind and I work through things best when I write about them.

After I absorbed the information and read the article for myself, I was shocked, angered and heart-broken because this hit close to home. I didn't fully understand what I was supposed to be taking away from this announcement. I'm hoping that more information is to come, because I know this will not only effected me, but members all over the world.

For all the people who are posting their opinions and saying harsh words about members of the church or people in same-sex relationships. Please stop. Not all people are bad. You can have an opinion all you want, but what about the people its effecting. Me. Possibly your neighbor. A brother. A friend. I am a member of this gospel and I have members of my family in same-sex relationships. They are my family, and I love them with all my might and soul. My brave mom is an wonderful person. She raised me to have an open mind about everything. She helped me convert to the church when I was 13.When I had questions, she was there to answer them. She adopted me when I was 4 days old. She's my hero, my best friend, my best example, and my comforter.

I love you, mom. Simple and plain. Love forever and ever.

I don't fully understand what the reasoning behind this new "rule", but my head has been spinning all day. People asking me if I'm okay, telling me they love me, telling me that our leaders know what's best. And I believe them, I really do. But right now I'm not going to lie, my faith is a little bit shaken. I'm hoping that there will be more clarity on this subject, because I love this gospel and I love my family.

Until next time,
-O

wishing.

Do you ever just want to revamp your life and add some new things??? Maybe flit off to a new place, change your hair, buy an adorable dog, and achieve your dream job....Yeah me too. Sometimes I spend hours on Pinterest and Tumblr, looking at all the cute things I want to do. Today I'm sharing my secret life with the vast internet. 

Wishing this was my view ever morning.

Wishing this was my daily walk to work. 

I really want this outfit.... Also I want like like 10,000 dollars to revamp my whole wardrobe. 

Flawless... that is all. 

Waiting on the day when I have enough money to buy this perfect French Bulldog. 

Have you guys watched Viola Davis's Emmy Acceptance Speech??? If not you need to go watch it. She will forever be my role model. She is an amazing woman and actress. Thank you for making history for colored women today Viola. 

Here's a little reminder to be yourself through and through.

Until next time,
-O

greatness.

Today was...special. As all Sundays are. I was sitting in bed trying to decide whether or not to go to church today. The normal excuses started to fill my mind. "I'm still super tired. My bed is unbelievably comfy" Very sad, silly reasons to not to go church. But then I found myself crawling out of bed, and putting on make up. I told myself I was going to go and enjoy myself, and I did. I think my heart knew that there was something I really needed to hear today, and I am so very happy I didn't stay home. I choose to listen to my heart and follow the spirit.

Today was testimony meeting, and many people were getting up to share what they knew and believed. As I was sitting there reflecting silently to myself, a girl stood up and started reading my favorite hymn. "How Great Thou Art". I am sure everyone knows the lyrics but I feel promoted to share them now. 

O Lord, my God, when I in awesome wonder
Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made;
I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder,
Thy power throughout the universe displayed

Then sings my soul, My Savior God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, how great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Savior God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

And when I think of God, His Son not sparing;
Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in;
That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing,
He bled and died to take away my sin.

Then sings my soul, My Savior God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, how great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Savior God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, how great Thou art!

When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation
And lead me home, what joy shall fill my heart!
Then I shall bow with humble adoration,
And then proclaim, "My God, how great Thou art!"

Then sings my soul, My Savior God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, how great Thou art.
Then sings my soul, My Savior God, to Thee,
How great Thou art, how great Thou art! 

My heart is beaming as I am reading over that again. After reading the hymn this girl proceeded to say something that has stuck with me all day. She said "I am truly humbled that someone so great, sees greatness in me." That was so powerful to me. Our Savior does see greatness in all of us and he knows our full potential. Whenever we are filled with doubt, sadness, fear, sorrow, grief, joy, or anything we can turn to our Savior and He will be there to comfort us or be happy with us. He will wipe away my tears and lift me when I am low. He knows what I can accomplish and he sees the best in all of us. 

We need to keep our eyes focused on Christ, and we will never waiver. Life can get scary and we can get caught up in the worldly things. In Sunday School we learned about fear in a conference talk this past April. Fear can over come us and we can get blind sighted. We named some common fears that we as young adults have like: the future, dating, school, student loans, job market, and other things. We then listed ways we could over come those fears. We decided that we would need faith and trust in our Lord. Fear and Faith cannot exist together, because when we are fearing we are not trusting in God's plan. This great and all powerful being knows what is in store for us, yet we continue to second guess Him. I do it too, because I am nowhere near being perfect. But I aspire to be more like Him every day. Some days are hard and I just take it one step at a time. 

Today helped me to check in and think where I am at. I fear a lot of things in this world. The world has gotten very hard for our generation but I know that we are all here to make a difference. We are strong and capable of change. We just have to take it one step at a time. Through the Savior I can do hard things. We just need to keep our eyes focused on Him. I was so grateful for this lesson because it really hit home. I know I can be doing more to stay focused on the Savior. He will silence my fears, lift me up, make me smile, and He will continue to make me brave. 

Until next time,

-O

c a l i .

This past week I was able to go to California with my wonderful friends! ROAD TRIP!!! Who doesn't love a good long drive in the car listening to the best summer jams and laughing with some close girl friends?? I made a playlist for the drive (it was 14 hours worth of music... you could say I was pretty excited). Not to brag but I am pretty proud of this playlist, it was very versatile. From Disney, Throwbacks, Indie, Pop, Country, Rock, all the works. We sang, slept and chatted. 12 hours never had gone by so fast! This was a pretty spontaneous trip and all came together in a matter of weeks. Meg and Sierra bought their 1D tickets earlier in the year, but Whit and I wanted to tag along! After my study abroad, Whit and I were talking about how we really wanted to go! So badly. So a couple weeks before we left, Whit and I bought our tickets and planned this kick butt trip!

Our trip, with the help of some amazing people, was a great success! We went to Disneyland, the beach, and the main event... ONE DIRECTION CONCERT!!! It was a good mix of relaxation, excitement and foooooood.

Stuck in traffic, naturally you stick your head out the window

I felt like fate, or something, was definitely on our side. It was the 60th Anniversary at Disneyland, so there were a lot of amazing decorations and celebrations during the day! Once you walk into the park you instantly drop about 10 years of your age. It's all the magic that Disneyland possess.

It all started with a mouse

Her day was made!

Peter Pan. Earlier in the day we were talking about how you never ever see Peter Pan out and about because he is always running around. As we were turning the corner into Fantasyland, Whit shouts "There he is!" and what do you know? Peter Pan was standing and taking pictures with some other people. So of course we have to take advantage of the amazing opportunity that has presented itself, we start quickly walking toward him. But that Pan is a sneaky kid... He just took off running! I mean like full speed! He was hoping stairs and dodging people and tables and he was off! So of course we took off after him! There is no way we were letting him go now, we were so close! Sadly we missed him, but after riding some rides we found him again! He wasn't getting away this time. We finally caught up to him!

After meeting Pan, we had to venture around Disney some more! Meeting more characters and eating a churros and screaming our lungs out!

My ENTIRE world was made

WE MET THE DEVINE'S!

But first....

Hey it's 10.. let's ride Bear River Rapids!

"Say boys"

pc: Meggy (xoxo)

Disney was a complete success! It was seriously the best Disney trip by far. I need to go there more often. I mean the drive isn't too right?? So it's fine!

ONEEEEEE DIRECTIONNNNNNN

 

They are seriously the best  performers! I was crying the whole time. What a great hour and a half of my life. After the concert, since Meg and Sierra were sitting somewhere else, we had a dance party by the car. It was unbelievable! People would get out of their cars to dance with us and talk to us! One Directions really does bring people together. It was.... better than words. *winky face*

Chi-O til you die-O

This trip was spectacular. Full of good eats, laughs. music, tears, and fangirling. Thank you girls for the laughs and for loving those beautiful British Boys as much as I do! Let's do it again sometime, okay??

Until next time,
-O

for the cosmos.

Well folks. It looks like exactly a month ago today,  I was stepping of the airplane and returning home to Utah again. I was greeted by friends and family. 

                                 

After being home for a month I wanted to reflect on what I felt after coming home from a study abroad. Recently I had stumbled upon a blog and I was exactly what I felt like. I found it hard after being home for a couple weeks and feeling like this changed person, but not just in the sense of physical change, but all the change that happened in my mind and inner self.  But I'm not saying that my study abroad made me transform into totally different person, no not at all! I just wish there was a way to communicate how I feel different. The way my dreams changed, the way I feel I perceive people differently, and how I found new things that are important to me. It's hard because you want to talk about it with people, but there is no way of describing that your spirit left familiarity behind and was forced to learn new things. The best way to compare it..... like learning a foreign language that no one around me speaks so there is no way to communicate how I feel. 

"This is why once you’ve traveled for the first time all you want to do is leave again. They call it the travel bug, but really it’s the effort to return to a place where you are surrounded by people who speak the same language as you. Not English or Spanish or Mandarin or Portuguese, but that language where others know what it’s like to leave, change, grow, experience, learn, then go home again and feel more lost in your hometown then you did in the most foreign place you visited. This is the hardest part about traveling, and it’s the very reason why we all run away again."  By Kellie Donnelly

Boy do I miss traveling. I miss the adventure and the adrenaline of traveling to a new city. I felt like I needed to write what I was feeling. Just put it out there in the universe and hope for a remedy!

Cheers to being home, family, friends, Netflix, and normalcy.

                     

Until next time,
-O