2012 treated me oh so well. Best year of my life so far and I'm so grateful for that.
As much as I loved this last year, it's time to move on to a new year. There is something so refreshing about being able to wipe your slate clean and start over.
I take new years resolutions seriously, because it's a time to really reflect your priorities, your weaknesses, strengths and think about what you really want out of life. It's an opportunity to progress, move forward, become more like Christ... To change, grow, be better.
I'm SO looking forward to 2013 and can't wait to implement my resolves to be better!
* "Thank you for rejecting my demands and giving me the better part." -The Forgotten Carols
* "Even though I don't have much, I always have enough to give."
* "It doesn't matter what you have done, it matters what you are doing." -Salah McLean
* "The Gospel is the means to comfort the troubled and trouble the comfortable."
* "Allow others to make mistakes." -Sister Terry
* "What we say is a reflection of what is in our hearts"
* "Everything in our life will fall into place if we love those around us." -President Ucthdorf
* "God loves us just the way we are, but He loves us too much to leave us that way; He wants to make us like Jesus."
* "Improvement, refinement and change is repentance. A righteous person is a repentant person."
* "Satan attracts the unsuspecting..."
* "We cannot cross the line even once due to extenuating circumstances, because we will find that the rest of our lives will be a long string of extenuating circumstances." -Brother Eggett
* I've learned how blessed I am to have people in my life that love me no matter what. Not just normal people, but choice, select, inspiring and loyal people who are patient with me. I'll admit that I was not the easiest person this last semester.... My schedule was impossible to work with, I didn't even have time for myself let alone time for anyone else, I was tired, I was scared, I was lonely, I was overwhelmed and just.... blah. I was not the best daughter/sister/aunt/ friend and yet, regardless of how guilty I feel for that, my people were beyond patient with me and loved me through it all. THANK YOU for not giving up on me and for supporting me through everything!
* I've learned that people matter the most. Work, school, and other things fail in comparison to the happiness of family and friends. When you get so busy that people suddenly get put on the back-burner, it's seriously time to re-evaluate your priorities. Work and school are SO very temporal. Important, but temporal. People are eternal and that's what matters most.
* I've learned the consequences of stress and sleep deprivation. It's never a good sign when the little sleep you do get is kind of pointless because you wake up even more exhausted because your dreams consist of your "to-do list," or stressing about an assignment or work. It's never a good sign when you're lucky to eat twice a day and you're lucky if the little food you do eat doesn't make you sick. It's also NEVER a good sign when you consistently lose chunks of hair out of nowhere because of stress...... I've learned, again, that taking care of our bodies has to be a major priority.
* I've learned that sock buns are possibly the best thing that's ever happened to me! During finals week, I wore my hair in a sock bun for 4 days in a row....4 days!! I went a few days past what is socially acceptable without washing my hair thanks to corn starch (miracle worker) and the sock bun.... TMI? Just bein real here peeps.. #realtalk
* I've learned that the more specific we are in our prayers, the more specific our answers will be. The Lord is so willing to bless us with our righteous desires as long as we ask humbly ask Him.
* And I've learned, again, that even the most impossible things are possible with the Lord. He loves us deeply and only wants to see us succeed. He doesn't want our circumstances to stay impossible. He only wants us to stay in the impossible for a short time so that He can teach us and help us grow. I know it's so hard to believe this in the midst of trials, but the trials in our lives are only for our benefit. As I look back at the most difficult times of my life, I am the most grateful for them, because they have taught me lessons I couldn't have learned any other way. They truly have shaped me into a better person and for that I am eternally grateful.
"Isn’t it true that we often get so busy? And, sad to say,
we even wear our busyness as a badge of honor, as though being busy, by itself,
was an accomplishment or sign of a superior life.
Is it?" - President
Uchtdorf
When our beloved President
Uchtdorf said this in our most recent General Conference, I literally felt my
heart drop to my stomach, and I knew that this talk was meant just for
me.
Lets be real here for a few
minutes. If I'm being 100% honest, I am completely overwhelmed with my life
right now. Just like it says in the Doctrine & Covenants section 10
verse 4, "Do not run faster or labor more than you have strength and
means..."
I have taken on more than i
can handle. I'm not saying this to brag, boast, or to make myself sound like my
life is incredibly productive and thriving and happy. While my life has been
blessed beyond words, I can definitely say that I'm in somewhat of a
"rutt," (we all know what these feel like all too well) because for
the first time in my life I can honestly say that I've taken on more than I can
handle. When I first started feeling overwhelmed, I was getting frustrated with
myself, because I've always been such a busy person that I'm used to the
feeling. Before this semester began, I knew that I was being very ambitious by
taking 15 credits of the hardest classes I've ever taken, plus working full
time, plus student teaching seminary. But I kept telling myself, "tough it
out. You can do this, you've done this before," so I kept pushing myself
just assuming that I would be able to handle every aspect of my life. And
that's exactly what was making me so unhappy!
I felt my passion for school
almost completely diminish. I didn't go to class to truly learn, I went to
class because I had to. And while I was in class, I was doing assignments for
other classes because that's the only time I had to do it. Then it finally
started clicking with me..."If
I'm not even passionate about school anymore and I am struggling to even scrape
by in my classes, doesn't that defeat the whole purpose? What's so 'glorious'
about being busy if I don't even feel joy in the things that I'm
doing?"
I am significantly happier
when I am living a productive life. There is a reason that I've had a job since
I was 13 (I'm not kidding... I started nannying when I was 13 and have always
had a job since then. I think I blame my work ethic on my daddy, something that
all of my siblings have acquired). However, I think I am just now discovering the
difference between busy and productive; I feel like busy is just finding things
to fill your time where as productivity is filling your time with things that
are helping you achieve your goals and working towards becoming your best
self.
After this semester, I've
promised myself to not get caught up in the glorification of busyness, but
rather get caught up in the things that matter most.
I'm promising myself to slow down the pace of my life so I can ponder on the things I learn and savor the moments of this incredible life that I've been given.
Hey ya lil' cuties! (and by that I mean my mom and sisters... probably the only peeps who read this anymore. hahaha.) Promise I'm still alive! I'll catch you up in RaNdOmS!
* School has been back in full swing, and this semester is kickin' my booty. Lets just say I'm in a Community Health Stats class.... and I haven't taken math in about 5 years... Yeah.... it's gonna be brutal!
Present from Honduras from Julia. Favorite/ creepiest headband ever!
* On top of the 15 credits I'm taking, I'm also working full time at Vivint! I work in the scheduling department and I'm loving it! I go to school from 8:00-2:00 and then go straight to work from 3:00-9:00. It's pretty tough doing school and working full time, but it's manageable at the moment.
Always workin
* On top of school and work, I also start student teaching SEMINARY tomorrow!!!!! I never even thought once about teaching seminary until my last week of EFY. I LOVE being with teenagers and teaching them about the Gospel, so I thought, "Hey, why not give it a shot?!" The S&I (Seminary & Institute teacher training program) is EXTREMELY competitive. I'll just be teaching for 2 weeks this semester and then if they like me and if I like it still, I could hired as a part-time student teacher next semester. After that, I could either get asked to student teach for a second semester, get hired to be a full time teacher right then, or I wouldn't get hired at all. In my class alone, there are 25 people and there are 2 other classes at the institute with the same number of people. And that's just at the UVU institute! So I'm for sure not planning on even getting asked to student teach, so if I don't get hired, I will still be so happy! But I'm still so excited and super nervous to start teaching tomorrow!!
* On top of school, work, and student teaching, I also helped start a brand new choir!!! Remember LDC?? (How could you not? It was my life for 3 years. Haha.) Well, Brother Eggett and I have been talking for almost a year now about starting an LDC Alumni choir. Well, he got asked by the church to get a choir to sing for some big event at Christmas time, so we decided that now would be the perfect time to form the choir! It is AMAZING. It's all of the alumni from Brother Eggett's directing years, so 6 years of singers! Direct quote from Brother Eggett during our first rehearsal... "You guys realize this is the best sounding choir in Utah aside from the Mo-tab right?" It's incredible!
* I love my family a lot. And my nieces and nephews are so stinkin' cute I can't even handle them!!!
* Oh, I guess I had a birthday in there somewhere too? The big 23! Grown up birthdays are super lame. It was just a regular day.... School and work. But it was still such a good day and I got so much birthday love, so THANK YOU for all the birthday loves!! Special shout-out to Sierra, Lindsey, Heather, Claire and Julia! They are my sisters. NEVER in my life have I had more fun and laughed harder with a group of people then I have with them!
love
these
girls!
* Oh, Heather got married, yay!! She is now offically Mrs. Heather Wallace! Well... actually... A few weeks before they got married, they printed 800 invitations that had a slight printing error. Her husbands name is Neil Aaron Wallace and his name on the invites was Neil Aarab Wakkace!!! So we like to call her Aarab Wakkace.... hahaha.
it's official!
sisters
* I also moved back to Provo. I miss living in Orem at Ventana with my whole heart and soul, but I'm still loving living in University Avenue Condos!
roomies & bffs!
this chick is LITERALLY my sister. Love you so much
Well, the Church is true peeps and life is wonderful!
xoxo,
Alliecat
PS, is anyone else LOVING this fall weather??!?!!? OBSESSED.
The last 9 weeks were some of the hardest and absolute most fun of my life! Being an EFY couselor for 9 weeks at BYU was an absolute dream come true, and I'll tell you a little bit about what I learned and why it was such a blast!
week 1!
* I got to be "mother," to about 300 "children," ages 14-18! There is something truly invigorating about being around the youth of the church, and I think that is one reason why it's possible for us counselors to be able to function all summer long! They taught me more than I was ever expecting to learn from them. SO much. And their strength is truly inspiring, and I fully understand why they are referred to the "Royal Generation," or the "Chosen Generation." They are some of the best people that will ever walk this earth.
Aaron! (It's hard for me to choose favorites.... but he is definitely one of them!)
My babies from week 2! (tied for my favorite week! no words to describe how amazing this week was and it was all because of THEM!)
Daisy and Brittany! (these girls weren't just my babies... they were serious some of my great friends at EFY! Love you babies!)
Kassin and Michael! (same with these two clowns!!)
* My Co-Counselors were phenomenal! Like, some of the best counselors in EFY history! I can't even tell you how much I learned from each one of them and how inspired I was by them, becasue you sure learn a lot about somebody by watching them interact with teenagers. Working in a partnership is humbling and inspiring.
Kenneth! (weird.. the ONLY "Co" picture from all summer...?)
* On that note, I met some of the best people I'll ever know in my life at EFY! There is a reason why 1 in 20 people get hired for EFY and that was proven to me in so many of the counselors I've met. I know that some of these friendships I had before earth and we re-connected here!
Aimee and Christine! Worked with them on our BC team! Indescribable how much i love these girls. (Special shout out to Aimee! XOXOXOXOXOOXOXOXO)
Julia! This girl is an angel. So blessed to be friends with her!
* I had the very humbling, rare, incredible opportunity of being a BC for a couple of weeks! BC stands for Buliding Counselor which means that you're a counselor to the counselors and that you're more involved the "legistics," of EFY. I have zero idea as to why I was given this wonderful opportunity, but it was such a huge blessing and highlight of my whole EFY experience! My team, "The Averngers," are some of the abolute best people I've ever known in my life. Inspiring, life changing, hilarious, down to earth, and so much fun! So incredibly blessed.
My incredible BC team!! Christine, Michael (his voice melted my heart into 1,000 pieces! WOW!), Amber, Aimee, Shawn, Cameron, Maria and Levi! Love my Avengers!!
* Exhausting is a HUGE understatement! I never thought it was possible to fall asleep standing up. And then I did EFY and was proven wrong! Lol. Averaging 6 hours of sleep a night isn't terrible, but the fact that you have to exert 115% of your energy all day everyday is what makes it exhausting. The counselors have some HILARIOUS stories of falling asleep in meetings, morningsides, musical program, free-time duty, dozing off for a few seconds while standing up WHILE teaching a lesson!!! (all of these have happened to me!)
I was supposed to be on free time duty making sure the "hooligans," weren't being too crazy. I sat down for about 1 minute, and the next thing I know, I woke up almost 2 hours later with about 15 children staring at me!! Thank you to my boys for being creepy and taking pictures of me. lol.
* EFY dances are another level of epic. Best workout EVER! And the most fun workout ever! Couple of facts about EFY dances..
1. They are quite possibly the absolute worst smell in the world. 300-1,000 sweaty, hot teenagers.... SICK! 2. During slow songs, the kids aren't allowed to get drinks, go to the bathroom or hang out by the walls!! There are counselors guarding all of those places and we turn them away and help them find someone to dance with! HILARIOUS!!! The kids always look so confused and terrified when we force them away and force them into the hands of another confused and terrified teen to dance with. lol. 3. My favorite thing is to watch the tiny little 14 year old boys muster up the courage to dance with a girl for probably the first time ever in their life! And after the little boys ask the girls, my favorite is when they are both to nervous to even make eye contact so they are both looking in opposite directions at the floor, and not even saying a word to eachother! 4. They are the FUNNEST things in the whole world!
* If I eat another BYU catered meal again, I might throw up. (burittos, chicken cordon bleu, the wraps.... BARF.)
* I learned so much about patience. Trying to teach teenagers about the Gospel is a pretty big test of patience, and I'm so glad that they taught me so much about what it means to be truly patient.
Hahahahaah. Perfect picture!
* I learned a lot about loving people. And especially loving the kids who are loud, obnoxious, hyper, inappropriate, have the attention span of a goldfish and only care about meeting hot girls. 9 times out of 10, those are the kids that are walking miracles. They come from broken homes and broken families, they are the only member in their group of friends or sometimes even in their whole high school and it truly is a miracle that they choose to have a testimony regardless of their circumstances.
* Prayer. Prayer is real, and it works every single time. Always. No matter what. Prayer will literally change your life, because it has changed mine completely for the better. I've never relied so heavily on prayer as I did this summer, and because of that I saw miracles happen in my life everyday.
Andy! One of the coolest kids I've ever met. He's 6'7"!!!
My week 1 babies! I'll never forget them :)
This week was a miracle.
* Being able to teach the Gospel was too amazing for words. I love, love, LOVE teaching so much and that's why I'm so confident in my career choice, to be a teacher!
* I could go on and on about what I learned, but truly the best part of EFY was getting to meet the incredilbe youth of the church. I grew to love them more than I could ever say in words and I miss them so. much. My last night of EFY, I cried so hard because I already missed my "babies," so much. I will never understand why I was so blessed to meet these incredible people who have changed me for the better in so many ways.
Lantzen and Cameron! (some of my other very favorites!)
Hardest, most exhausting, demanding, hilarious, funnest, and most life changing 9 weeks of my life!
