Typical College Students

There are a lot of students at BYU. Like 30,000 students, actually. We're from all over the country (even places that are NOT Utah, Arizona, California, Texas, and Idaho), and typically were the "best" at whatever we're good at from wherever we are from. Put us all in a big school by ourselves, and you notice some interesting trend in the kinds of students we have.

There's that BYU student that is used to attending school where generally everyone else is not as smart, and to fit in, one had to pretend to be just as dumb as everyone else. Since they grew up like that, it's a habit that is hard for them to break out of, so they continue to pretend to be dumb. Even in the easy classes.

You can always tell who is pretending to be dumb after you take the first test. Pretenders ace the test, and then "have no idea how they did it"... Mhmm.

Another thing we like to do is "humbly" brag about our endurance... and top everyone else's stories of similar endurance.

This is probably an effect of being the best from wherever we're from, because we were so used to being the greatest at something. Now that we're not the best anymore, we have to have something to  "beat" others at, even if it something silly.

We also have kids who are paranoid. About everything. Accidentally cheating, making sure the assignments are up on the internet now, spelling, adding, taking a quiz online that won't open up in their browser...  You can always count on them to email a teacher when there's a mistake in the syllabus about the date of a homework assignment... Don't worry about it, the teacher will email everyone else in the class about it in a few hours. That makes less work for the rest of us to do usually... Thanks, Paranoid Kid!

There are also those who enjoy participating in class. Thoroughly. Every class period. You know, the kids that the professors know the names of on the third day of the class of 400 students because they've already called on them a million times. Again, the rest of us have those Participating Students to thank... the professor won't ever know our names to call us out on the spot.

Of course, not everyone is like this. These are just the typical BYU students, and there's nothing wrong with them. I just notice them most.

Fleeting Moments Of Stupidity

There are some people who are street smart. There are others who are book smart. And there are others who are both. In my experience, the people with both kinds of smart can't be good at everything, that's not God's way or fair to anybody else, so they get these Fleeting Moments of Stupidity.

For example... You know those times when you think you know what you're doing, what you're talking about, what you're planning... And even though you think you're mostly on top of things... sometimes you're not?

They happen to me quite a lot... sometimes they're just like blonde moments...

And other times they're worse...

What's awful about these Fleeting Moments is that once you have one, it takes ages for the people around you to take you seriously again.

Yet again, this is another reason why I like cats better than people...

The Adventures of Packing a Rice Maker

Well, today is the day! I'm flying back to college! That means that last night was the night to PACK. Not checking bags, so everything has to fit or it's staying behind...

Not to worry, I have some of those vacuum space bags! They're supposed to suck all the air out of your clothes, and thus creating more space for you. What they don't tell you is that the heavier you are, the more air you're going to squeeze out of your clothes. Same with your suitcase - the heavier you are, the more things you can squeeze in at the end. If you catch my drift. For me on the other hand... squeezing out a lot of air proved to be a little bit difficult.

Well, once I had everything in their little airspace bag and sucked out all the air of everything... it didn't fit in my suitcase. When it came down to the most cramming I could possible do, I was going to have to choose between my laptop, or my rice maker. Obviously, I NEED both of those items to be successful in college... So I had to find another solution.
I pulled out that handy tool called Google, and searched how big a carry-on item is allowed to be! And guess what? I could use a bigger suitcase! Thus began the un-cramming all of my things, and re-cramming it all into a different suitcase.

Well, half of the problem here is solved. While I as able to fit everything else into my suitcase, my rice maker and laptop still remained un-packed. This could've not been that big of a deal, because I still have my entire backpack to work with. However, in case you didn't know, rice makers are awkwardly shaped.

So, due to the awkwardness of the shaping of this little kitchen helper that is my lifeline to eating food in college... it was very difficult to fit into anything. It was too round to fit into my suitcase in any angle, and too wide at the top to fit sideways into my backpack. Finally, I came up with a solution that I hope the airline will be okay with...

In theory.... they'll never know that I can't actually close my bag... because I have to take my laptop out and my rice maker out anyway and put them in those plastic buckets to be scanned. So all three of these things will be scanned separately, and they're not going to watch me put all my things back into my backpack once I'm through... hopefully.
However, this does mean I'm going to be That Person That Takes Forever In Line Because She Has So Many Buckets.

The Joy of Packing to Ride On A Plane

So, I go to college 1,678 miles (exactly) away from where my family lives. It's 27 hours away if you drive, and still basically a whole day away if you fly because the airlines make you stop in crazy places and wait for connections and whatnot. Except for the very first time I went out there for school, I always fly home whenever I go back. I never check any bags, so I have to bring everything I need back in a carry-on and leave the rest of my stuff back at college somewhere. This means that I have very limited space to bring back anything that I might want for two weeks or months for Christmas or summer break. Naturally, I've become pretty good at packing my suitcase.

Naturally, a lot of those clothes are dirty (FREE LAUNDRY AT HOME!) And sometimes I bring stuff back just because I don't want to pack them in boxes and store them while I'm back for the summer.

In the end, I usually manage to pack everything that I need, and then, I make sure I'm going to make it through darn security with all the stuff that I have.

And now that I'm almost to the end here, I pack my quart-sized plastic baggy to put any liquids that I MUST take with me!

After that, finally, after hours of preparation, I am officially packed and ready for the airport!
Usually, going home isn't that big of a deal. But during the time that I've spent at home, my stuff has had time to multiply and replenish my suitcase, and people give me things to take back to college that I personally appreciate, but security does not...

In short, packing is a joy in and of itself, and then packing to get through security is yet an additional pleasure...

I Love Summer Because...

I love summer for all the typical reasons... no school, sun, friends, sleeping in... etc. But those are all boring, "everybody says that," reasons.
Basically, I love summer because I can be lazy in every aspect of my life.
Looks
When it comes to deciding on whether or not to fix my hair and do my makeup each morning, I take in a lot of factors...

So, as proven by my flow chart, during the summer, I should not need to do my hair or makeup. Which is fantastic! Makeup just lowers your self esteem anyway, because the more you put on, and the more often you put it on, the more you're subliminally telling yourself that you need it. I have a love/hate relationship with makeup. Hair... I actually like doing hair, but doing your own hair is more difficult than doing somebody else's, and doing your own hair takes more time. So it really just comes down to how lazy I am.

When it comes to getting dressed...

Intellect
This one's pretty easy... Can it be googled? If yes, do so. If no, let it go, it's not something you really needed to figure out right now anyways.
Sleep habits

They vary. Some nights I'm tired, some nights I'm not. Either way, it doesn't matter, because I'll always have time to sleep/stay away later.
Health
Summer is great because you have lots of time... time to be bored and go to the kitchen, and time to work off all that boredom-food you've been eating.

Yeah, basically, a carefree summer is the best thing ever.

Hello, I Am 6 Years Old.

This summer, I took care of four little kids. We had a blast together. I know this is kind of odd, because most people like to hang out and "blast" together with people their own age, but me? Nah, I'm cool with hanging out with my ten, six, and five year old friends.
The difference between "most people" and me is that I'm still 6 years old in my spare time, and sometimes in my unspared time too.

It's this kind of attitude that causes me to have the most fun when I'm doing the most ridiculous things.

For example, one of my funnest days this summer is the day we were jumping on the trampoline and pretending to be a jumping zoo.

Here we are, all five of us, jumping like crazy on the trampoline in the backyard, making animal noises at the tops of our lungs, and trying to jump like that certain animal; but because there were so many of us, we mostly just flew around the trampoline. By "at the tops of our lungs," I really do mean at the top of our lungs: as loud as it gets, enough to bother any of the neighbors around us. 

Jumping on the trampoline when you're nineteen with four little kids isn't that weird, but once you add in the jumping zoo part... it's weird. 

One of my other greatest days with these kids is when we drove to the lake and got to swim in the waves. We played this mentally-superior game, called "do a handstand on the shore before another wave comes." Just because it sounds ridiculous, does not mean it is not fun. 

What can I say, I'm easily entertained.

I'm also quite a sucker for disney movies. I think I like them more than the kids do.

I have barely any use for "big kid" movies... What do I care about Indiana Jones and stuff like that when I have Aladdin and the Lion King and Tangled and Anastasia and Brother Bear...? Indiana Jones isn't real, and neither are Disney movies, so really, what's the difference?

As shown, I am still 6 years old. You can judge me if you want, but just remember... while you're off doing your boring grown-up-adult things, I still get to have fun.

Taylor Swift Sings the Songs of My Life

I love Taylor Swift. I've loved her ever since "Tim McGraw" and I know all the words to every song she has, even the two that I don't particularly care for. I know that this is not an oddity in today's society... everyone loves Taylor Swift. I just really want to talk about how excited I am for her new album and how every song she has somehow defines my life. I'd love to sit around and tell you about how every single song pertains to me, but that would, first, be boring for you to read after a while and, second, be boring for me to write after a while. So I'm just going to list my favorites, in no particular order.
1) Teardrops on My Guitar

I know I'm not alone in this kind of situation. It happens to everyone, they say. But you don't understand until it happens to you, and then you're just like:

2) I'm Only Me When I'm With You

We all have a friend like this... There are just some people, for whatever reason, that I just act the "me-est" around. I don't know why. But I love them.

3) The Way I Loved You
This is kind of the perfect "boys are so frustrating" song ever. There's the guy that you liked, the same guy that you still miss and kind of hate. Then there's the guy that you know is good to you and is perfectly perfect and you're happy with him, but there just isn't that same kind of spark as when you were with the first guy.

4) Fifteen
I play this song for everyone I know that's turning 15, and again on their first day of high school. The reason I do this is because it's good advice for them, and then mostly because it's really fun to sing it ridiculously loud in the car.

5) Long Live
We all have that friend that we've fought a gazillion dragons with, that one friend that's never left our side, that one friend that's always there, and we all wish them the best when life's journey tears us apart.

6) Mean
I use this song for anybody who's ever slighted me... it just makes me feel better.

7) Thug Story
First, I just think this song is hilarious. Second, being from the hood myself, I appreciate Taylor Swift doing a rap! Third, it kind of defines my life.

8) You Belong With Me
Kind of the same message as Teardrops on My Guitar, except more upbeat and optimistic.

9) Mary's Song
I mostly just like this song because it's a cute story... Ryan is the name of the boy that I liked when I was seven, but I do not think he was nine, and I haven't seen him ever since we moved away when I was ten, so we did not end up married. But think about how adorable that is!!!

10) Picture to Burn
Remember how I said that I sing "Mean" to people the people who've ever slighted me? Well, I sing this one to all the people that have ever  REALLY slighted me and made me mad and all that negative feeling stuff.

So, those are my favorites... Really, I just like all of them. But these are the ones that stick to me even if I'm not in that same particular mood. And I am so excited for the new album!!!

All My Friends Are On Missions

Hey guess what, Internet? I'm a Mormon. And there's this thing called a Mission that all the guys go on when they're nineteen. They go off to preach the gospel all over the world, which is a huge sacrifice on their part, huge miracle to the converts, and huge loss for us friends left behind. 

**disclaimer: I love that my friends go on missions. I wouldn't have it any other way. It's just really, really sad and frustrating to be left behind all the time, and that is what I am emotionally venting about in this post.**

Well, now that that's out of the way...

Boys are stupid. All they do is make you fall in love with them and be their stupid friend (or more), and then you're attached, and then, all they do is leave you, and go on their stupid mission, so other stupid people can be with their stupid families for stupid forever, while you're left at stupid home like "hey, well, I like cats..."

The guys like to combat expressions of these feelings of loss with things like "Oh, you'll make new friends" and "Well, I'll be back in two years, that's not a long time!" or "It's okay, you'll find someone new and be married when I get back" and "I'll write you every day all the time forever!" But what they don't understand is that they each have a special place in my heart in which some "new boy" cannot replace or fill or fix or whatever they're trying to say there to make me feel better. 

See? It just doesn't work that way.

I guess what I'm basically trying to say is that it's really hard being left behind. It's like being pierced through the heart every time you think about how your friends are gone.

or when you don't hear from them as often as you would like.

It's hard for the guys, in a way, because yes, they are leaving you behind, and that's sad and everything, but now they're busy with their new life on their mission. And what are we girls doing? We're just still here, living our old lives, going on, with out them, alone and uphill both ways in the snow and rain and beating sun, trying to make the pain of their absence more bearable by telling ourselves that what they're doing is the right thing and that by missing them we are being selfish.

Of course, like anybody trying to avoid pain, we try to adapt to their absence.

Some people say to look forward to seeing them again. However, I am quite skeptical about that still...

Yep, well, I just miss my friends on missions. That's all.