this is the song of the moment.

i have always loved maria mena. but mostly when i was down. this song makes me smile.
i'm a big fan of music sharing. so i share this song and its message with you. this is your push. you have it in you. now get to it!

this is for you, lady.

we all know why byu is so adamant about keeping their grounds particularly beautiful.
at least i thought we did. my mom found it quite entertaining when i told her the theory, and was sure i should post it on here. so lady, here ya go.

byu is a beautiful campus. well kept in every way. some may ask why. the answer?
it's a scheme my friends. a scam if you will. byu is a meat market. byu knows it is a meat market.
thusly in order to produce a most romantic atmosphere, and for the use of many an engagement picture, byu keeps their grounds spit-span pretty.

that's the theory. take it or leave it.

disclaimer: i have nothing against byu and i quite enjoy the time i spend on campus. i'm just sayin, when you believe in what we believe in...well marriage is a must right? and where else to find the love of your life than in a sea of like-minded people? it's just physics. (or summot.)

this is for you guys.

some people inspire and up lift you every time you see them. i know soo many amazing people. truly. just cause you aren't mentioned in this post means nothing, trust me. there is something about you that i absolutely admire. guarantee it. there will be more shout outs.

but lets here it for the boys.
TRENT HOWARD. i have known the kid since i was 2. we played doctor. he hated it. but i was a bully. we are kinda like family. i've been there watching as he's grown up, and he has never been anything short of stellar. this kid has more love and understanding in one hair then i have in my whole body. he's the kind of person who is just himself and everyone loves him for it. my mom calls him glue. he holds together groups of people that you don't think you would ever see together. his farewell was today (as well as his birthday) and there was such a large variety of people there for him. only trent howard could bring them all together. he is a pillar. strong in the gospel and a light to all.

TAYLOR Dalrymple... obviously i don't know how to spell his last name...but he is a wonderful guy. i've only known him since this summer but i feel like a close friend. taylor has a talent that few completely possess. he is capable of making every single person he talks to feel like the most important, amazing person in the world. he seriously does nothing but uplift. i love it. today was also his farewell. it was beautiful. his testimony radiates so completely. he's had stuff in his life that had to be hard for him. but you'd never know it. he loves absolutely. and he is always, always happy.

DARREN WALKER. what a STUD. i can't even comprehend where to begin with darren. we were never tight, but that never stopped him from being my friend. he is hilarious, sometimes his jokes are super cheesy, but even then it's just funny coming from him. darren recently left to the mtc. but then he had to come back. honorably, for medical reasons. i hung out with him 2 days after, and you can just tell it kills him that he had to come home. i have never met someone who so badly yearned to be on his mission. the kid is amazing. absolutely. he is so kind and honest. and after 3 weeks in the mtc he is so unworldly! it was refreshing to be around. the light he carries with him is truly beautiful.

they are examples of the truly good men you can find in this world.

this is a party.

you know what can make a person infinitely happy?

listen to this song whilst dancing and singing like a crazy.

i've been doing it all day.

(credit where due: i'm pretty much positive i got this song from hilary. hil-thanks for the infinite happiness. love.)

this is the herbarium.

in the herbarium things are said that when taken out of context sound utterly hilarious.
for example Dr. Johnson said this the other day when reffering to Dr. Welsh's medling in his plants:
"I don't mess with your Astragalus, stay out of my Deliahs!"

oh herbarium. my love for you constantly increases.

this is how it goes.

every woman that has ever been has said to themselves at one point in time or another that they must change in order to be beautiful. it's a fact. it's what keeps the earth on its axis.
i bring this up why you may ask?
because, i am the most insecure person i know.
i like to give off that "hey whatever, like i care what you think" vibe. but vibes are easy to fake.
and so is confidence.

my beautiful, amazing sister recommended a book to me called simply If You Eat at the Refrigerator, Pull up a Chair.
this book is meant to be about how dieting doesn't work. apparently that's a fourth law of physics. every diet has an equal and opposite binge. (which i believe. but if a diet works for you and you are fabulous at it then heck! more power to ya!)
what this book taught me that i never thought before was i am a jerk. a complete and utter jerk. oh no, i'm nice to people i meet on the street, and i always try my best to be there for the people who need me, but i am the biggest jerk ever to myself.

girls i want you to do this for me. please recall the last things you said to yourself whilst looking in the mirror. was it something like "hey there gorgeous, you must be lost. you are way too good to even grace this earth with your presence. fly right up to heaven you angel." i'm gonna bet it wasn't. and i'm also gonna bet it went more like this; "oh my! get thee hence satan! you ugly, gross swamp witch what have you done with the body and face i wanted!?"

now pause. rewind what you said to yourself. and think. would you EVER even consider saying that to ANYONE ELSE? and would you take it if someone else said that to you? i wouldn't. i'd bust a cap on up in here. so why do we take it from ourselves? because if we think it must be true? lying to yourself is one of the easist things to do. and if you don't think you are GORGEOUS then you are a liar.

the mere fact that we are woman, and a creation of our Heavenly Father means that we are beautiful. completely. can you judge which of Monet's paintings was the most beautiful? the most accomplished? and if you say one, will everyone else agree on that same one? beauty, art, these things have always been in the eye of the beholder. you are a master piece that God made. and just because you, or someone else does not see the beauty in that piece of work, does not mean it isn't there. compare a piece of modern art to a classic piece. both are beautiful, and it isn't fair to compare them because they don't seem anything alike. same concept for comparing yourselves with others. when you compare yourselves with others you only see their strengths, matched up against your weaknesses. how fair is that? that is not an accurate comparison.

these things have been floating around in my mind. and as i've pondered them i've made myself some promises. first i printed this out. and promised to abide. then i decided that every morning, as i looked in the mirror and was about to tell myself how ugly, fat, and worthless i am i would instead say to that little voice, "shut it. i am NOT listening to you. i am a beautiful daughter of God whose worth is above the price of rubies. (proverbs 31:10) and i will shine today."

now i've been on my soap box for a good hour, it's time to get off and do some homework. but please remeber, you are beautiful. no matter what. as you come to this realization (not that it's something you realize and the next day you are like, "oh hey i have no insecurities or issues". not at all. it will take time.) but as you come to the realization of who you truely are you will begin to shine. you will radiate that truth and beauty. so go forth you beautiful people, and let your light so shine.

www.operationbeautiful.com

this is an ode.

it's here.
I felt it today as I stepped out of my apartment door. The first wiff of it came to my nostrils as I jay walked across Canyon Rd.
And then.....I stepped on a crunchy leaf.

Fall. The word should be said revrently. With much awe and love.

Winter, don't get me wrong, I love you too. But there is something about fall...

Everything changes. The smells, the weather, the styles, the foods. And it keeps you on your toes because not a one of us can be sure what is around the corner.

Fall is a mystery. A combination of change and beauty. In a world where we don't associate change with anything good, let alone beautiful, Fall is lovely contridiction.

this is a medical emergency.

Attention. Attention please. in a startling epidemic a new disease has began to spread to vast quantites of young adults. (usually in the 18-25 year range.) some have even likened it to a new form of black plague.

This disease is called college. C-O-L-L-E-G-E.

The symptoms of College are:

• brain numbness
• oozing brain traces coming out of ears and nose
• extreme pain in the brainal region
• inability to get normal amounts of sleep. or food.
• complete lack of focus on anything

If you or anyone you know have the symptoms of college i advise you get to a care facitlity immediately. (and by care facility i of course mean any place where you are not asked to think.)

RIP Moby Chubs.

Saturday I had an adventure.

for my bio 100 class we have to do 8 hours of service learning. 8.

there was an opportunity to get all 8 hours in one big field project.

so Saturday morning i got up at 5 freaking a.m. and with a group of 9 other students that i do not know (correction: didn't know) drove for 2 and a half hours to Yellow Creek in Wyoming.

while there we shocked fish, caught them, knocked them out, measured them, marked them, and sent them back to their homey creek. we did this until 6 at night.

the biggest fish was somewhere around 10 cm. big boy eh? sadly this fish died in the process of marking. we kept him. and named him Moby Chubs. he was big, he was a chub (type of fish which he technically wasn't) hence the name.

The importance of this experience and the wisdom i gleaned?

fish can actually be cute. and i can now tell the difference by just looking at them between a red-side shinner, a leather side shinner, a speckled dace, and a mountain sucker. life changing knowledge.

i look SEXY in chest waders. i shall wear them on every first date. chastity suit right there.

in a class where i knew no one, i now have five or more friends who i spent a whole day laughing and joking with.

wyoming can cause sunburns.