Wow. I can't believe it.

I've been attending college for THREE years. That is a really long time.

Today is the last day of classes. I have a few finals to do and then I'm finished. Gone. Done for the summer. Until the end of August rolls around.

But woah! I have been attending BYU for a whole year!

I can't believe it's been that long since Snow College. That's crazy.

I can't believe I've made it through so many changes.

You know, my favorite part of school ending is the realization that I love school.

I do.

I really do LOVE going to school.

Crazy, right? Especially since I hated high school. Loathed it, actually. (minus Junior year)

But college is SO much better. You get to pick your own classes and your own times for going to said classes. You are doing what you want when you want and no one can tell you to do otherwise. Living the dream. Oh yeah.

But seriously. Life has so much more to offer than just high school and getting stuck in ruts.

I am SO GRATEFUL that I have attended college. I am SO GRATEFUL for the knowledge that I have gained. I am SO GRATEFUL for the friends I have made. I am SO GRATEFUL for the life that I have experienced.

Basically... I am grateful.

Yeah. College is the best. Do it. ...but take healthy breaks over the summer. ;)

Signing out.
Me.

Last night, my Best Friend and I went to a Passover Seder.

It was AWESOME.

Talk about a little bit of food-shock, though. Oh man! It was rough. But incredible.

There is an instructor at BYU who does dozens of Passover Seders all over the place. He said he was recently in Arizona and is headed to Texas later. Super cool, right? It was legit. I know, because there was a man sitting at our table (Elliot, by name) who grew up Jewish and told us all about his grandma and the dishes she would make and how excited he was. He said it was legit (though not exactly in that phrasing) and so it must have been. Woot!

The night started at 6:30. We arrived, had a little intro from the guy in charge, and then got down to business.

We said prayers and sang a song, drank fruit of the vine (grape juice, obviously), ate bitter herbs (NASTY - very very very strong horse radish) aka Maror, Haroset (apples, nuts, cinnamon, and wine), had the greens (parsley), the meal (chicken & latkes), the unleavened bread aka Matzah, Shepherd's bread (delicious), the Afikomen, etc. etc. etc.

It was incredible. And took four hours.

Yup. What a date night.

Here was our program for the Seder Service:

1. The Kiddush - prayer and drink first cup of wine
2. The Hands Washed
3. The Greens Eaten - parsley dipped in salt water
4. The Afikomen (broken and hidden by the children)
5. The Passover Story Recited
    The Story of the Oppression
    Dayenu - a thanksgiving song: "Dayenu" means "it would have satisfied us"
    The Passover Symbols (Shankbone, Matzah, Bitter Herb)
    More Prayers and drink second cup of wine
6. The Hands Washed
7. The Blessings over the Matzah (then eaten)
8. The Bitter Herb (eaten alone, then with haroset)
9. The Hillel Sandwich (bitter herb, haroset, matzah)
10. The Passover Meal (we had chicken, latkes, and veggies - but it is different everywhere)
11. The Afikomen (super fun - whoever has the broken piece of Afikomen gets to negotiate with the leader aka patriarch for a gift. Usually something awesome. Ie: one girl wanted her grandpa to take her to McDonalds - just the two of them - in Honolulu. So of course he did. Woah!)
12. Grace after the meal and third cup of wine
The Cup of Elijah
13. Psalms of Praise and fourth cup of wine
14. Closing Prayer - "Next year in Jerusalem!"

*phew* What a night, right? It was amazing. Really spiritual in an awesome sort of way.

Conclusion: If you ever get a chance to go to one of these you should DEFINITELY go. Just don't try to be brave like Best Friend did and eat a lot of the bitter herbs. It comes back to haunt you. *shudder* Plus it's gross. And makes your eyes water and clears your sinuses. Yum.

Signing out.
Me.

Today... I am frustrated.

And it's frustrating cuz I'm trying really really hard not to be.

I've been sick since Sunday. I'm not sure what it is, but my head hurts and my throat hurts. I've got a gunky cough and a stuffed up nose. It's simply disgusting.
I slept for 11.5 hours last night ... and it did absolutely nothing. Ugh.

Also. I still haven't found a job. I have applied for 20+ and not only have I not received an interview (well, only one, which didn't work out) but I also haven't received emails saying they aren't interested at all. Lame! I'm frustrated. I could work in Vernal for the summer... but... So much stress would result... Ugh.

SO! You may have noticed this post is titled anti-frustration. Well. That's because I'm determined to not let my bad mood, illness, and dour-looking circumstances get the best of me. (I'm not sure why, giving in is what I'd normally do. Maybe I'm just sick of giving in. Yup.) So I'm going to make a list of ten things that make me happy.

This weekend was General Conference for members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

It was absolutely fantastic.

It was definitely an inspired conference and I am so so grateful that I got to watch.

But not only did I get to watch - I got to be with my Best Friend the entire weekend. WOAH! Loved it. :)

We started Saturday morning with breakfast at his apartment. We watched the first session there. We then drove to my Brown grandparents' house, at lunch, then watched the second session. After that, we drove up to Salt Lake to his Grandma Jackson's house where we got together with all his aunts and uncles and cousins on that side and had a lovely dinner and girl-chat while the boys all went to the Priesthood session. When all the boys came back and we finished talking, we went to his aunt's house in West Valley to spend the night.

The next morning we had a delicious breakfast of aebleskivers (delicious...somethings...) and watched the morning session of Conference with them. Then we drove to Draper to see my Pearson grandparents and my uncle from Denver. It was great to see him and his kids. It's been a couple of years. We had a delicious lunch with them and then we went to my aunt's house in Sandy to wish her a happy birthday. It was great. Unfortunately, I had an allergic reaction to her dogs (I hate it hate it hate it that I'm allergic), so we went back to the house in Draper to watch the afternoon session. We had ice cream, then left to go to Lehi.

We got together w/ my Brown grandparents and aunt, uncle, and cousins for dinner in Lehi. I didn't eat cuz I wasn't feeling well, but Best Friend says it was delicious. Haha. (So much good food - my favorite part of conference!) Then we talked to them for awhile before driving back to Provo.

*phew*

It was a fantastic weekend. Lots of family. Lots of good food. Lots of fun. Lots of together-ness. Yay!

Signing out.
Me.

MARCH:

 1. First day of volunteering at BYU Preschool. LOVE it! Dinner & dancing with my Best Friend. 

5. Read a book. Watched my sister dance at a competition. 

10. Six Months! ;)

11. Best Friend competed in DanceSport.

13. Dinner with Pearson grandparents & O'Bryants.

15. AWESOME devotional by producer of Narnia movies. 

17. St. Patrick's day! 

18. Met my Best Friend's parents for the first time. Wow. They are awesome! It was super great.

19. Drove to Vernal with my Best Friend. Watched Sister #1 perform in 'The Scarlet Pimpernell'.

20. Drove home from Vernal with my Best Friend. Had a great talk on the way.

23. Got super super sick due to emotional stressing. Best Friend saved my life and baked 2 dozen cupcakes. Wow. What a great guy.

24. My Best Friend proposed to me and I said yes! :) If you want to check out our story, it is titled 'My Fairy Tale'. Also. Drove to Vernal to see Sister #1 be 'Grumpy' in the 'Snow White' ballet.

25. Men's Chorus Concert. Went for ice cream with Best Friend, his parents, and two good friends.

26. Saw 'A Tale of Two Cities' in West Valley with mom and Sister #1. Hung out in Springville with our good friends - playing games and talking.

29. Announced to the world (aka Facebook and this blog) my engagement to my Best Friend. YAY! Also moved into hotel for the duration of the week - my grandparents are remodeling their kitchen so we've been ousted due to no power at the house. Quite an adventure.

31. A beautiful and sunshine-y day. :) Met L.J. at the temple. What a beautiful and incredible young woman and a great experience for Best Friend and me.

Today is April 1st. This happened yesterday March 31st. I would have written and posted last night, but it was too late and I didn't have my computer. So this is for yesterday:


My Best Friend and I went to the temple last night (the 31st). It was...an incredible experience.

We had been talking about some pretty big stuff before we went over and we were both laughing, but stressed deep down. You know how that goes? Life is great, you just need to relax for a bit. Well, that was part of what our temple trip was for. Also because the temple is awesome. And...for a third reason we didn't know.

We were sitting in the chapel and I was showing Best Friend how my ring glittered. Oh my goodness it was SO incredible. Just the absolute bestest and mostest beautifulest thing. :) The girl sitting next to me asked if she could see it. I was kind of embarrassed - I hadn't wanted anyone else to notice, but apparently she had. I showed it to her and she told me she loved how beautiful and how simple it was. It was great. She said she likes simple things, too, and that her older sister told her that her fiance would love her because of it. Best Friend shared that his mom liked it, too.

We talked (reverently, of course) the rest of the time we were sitting together. She told us her sister had just gotten her mission call and was so excited to go through the temple - just like me. We told her our story about getting engaged - she asked. She was so sweet. She asked us all the right questions and we just opened up. It was great. It was so natural to just tell her everything. She told us the reason she likes simple things is because of 2 Nephi when Nephi talks about how things were plain and simple and precious. She then compared Best Friend to Nephi. I laughed. ;)

I was simply amazed by this girl's spirit and knowledge and attitude. I was blown away. It was incredible.

We were walking out of the temple right behind her and I felt very strongly that we needed to ask her what her name is. So we did. Her name is Larisa Jones. Same name as Sister #1 (minus a couple spelling changes). We asked if she attends BYU... She is a sophomore in high school. ...WHAT?!?!... I was stunned. This young woman with such a strong spirit and personable attitude and.... wow... It was incredible. We talked for a bit, took a picture with her, and said our farewells promising to see each other again. Hopefully soon.

While we were walking away I started to sob. I had the overwhelming feeling that SHE was the reason we went to the temple last night. It was so strong and I just... I was so impressed with her. I was so grateful she was brave enough to talk to us. In fact, she said that her favorite thing about the temple is that everyone is the same once you're inside. You're not divided by what you wear or your status or your age. You're all the same in the Lord's house. I was touched. Deeply.

I have such a strong feeling that I know this incredible young daughter of God and I am so grateful for that. I can't wait to see her again and get to know her better because I'm sure we'll have that chance.

It was overwhelming to have such a strong manifestation of the Spirit. Especially because I wasn't expecting it at all. It just happened. It was the most incredible experience and I am so so so grateful for it.

You never know who is watching you or who may need you. Don't be afraid to speak up.

Thank you, Larisa, for being at the temple last night. We will never be the same.

Signing out.
Me.