"you change your mind like a girl changes clothes."

yeah, katy, i know.

in the past two weeks, i've changed my mind more than my ten roommates do in a day. BUT i'm pretty sure i've got the next year figured out. yes, i know i thought i had it figured out a week ago, but, looking at things more logically has caused me to change my mind.

i really wanted to go to provo for spring/summer. it sounded like a great idea. but i made a pros/cons list of both options... and being home has waayy more pros... i'm guaranteed two jobs, i'd live at home for free, eat for free, AND get to start on my mission papers in april. i'd also have the opportunity to be an efy counselor. if i went to provo for spring/summer, i'd get a couple more psychology classes in, and have a blast living up there, but i'm not guaranteed a job and i'd be paying for half of my tuition, books, my rent, and my food. and i wouldn't start my mission papers til mid-august and i want to leave in october so that's not going to work. also, my mom is going on a trip to chicago for her 60th birthday at the beginning of may. if i was in school, i wouldn't be able to go with her so that will be another good thing about being home!

i just found out today that i got accepted to the mediterranean business study abroad with byu!!!!! we'll be going to italy, greece, turkey, and egypt for about a month this summer!
i'm SO excited!

so, new plan...
home mid-april, work, go to chicago, mission papers, maybe efy, study abroad, then mission in october.

thanks everyone for the advice and for listening to my insanity! :)

decisions, decisions.

there are currently far too many options for what i'm going to do with the next year of my life.
here they are.

for spring:
-stay in hawaii
-go to chicago with my mom
-go to provo

for summer:
-go on a study abroad (i've applied, just haven't heard back yet)
-work at home
-be in provo working
-be an efy counselor

for fall:
-go back to hawaii
-go back to provo
-go on my mission

here's the conclusions i've come to thus far (plans ARE subject to change):

for spring:
go to provo and take classes. i'll be able to go home for 2 weeks between winter semester here in hawaii and spring in provo, seeing as i'll be done in hawaii april 8th and spring session in provo doesn't start til april 26th.

for summer: stay in provo, working.
or, if i get into my study abroad, i'd have to be back in provo by july 8th-ish and i could go home for a week or two to visit after spring session and before my study abroad. which i will probably do seeing as i'll need to bring my car back home (and i'll miss my family)!

for fall: go on my mission!
i've wanted to serve a mission for 2 years now, and i could actually leave next september!! i'd have 2 months to be home between getting back from my study abroad and the time i want to leave for my mission, in october.


so, this is the plan for now. the only problem is my parents don't entirely support my decision to be in provo all spring and summer... which is tough financially, as well as emotionally for me.
regardless, i'm at the point in my life where i need to start making decisions for myself.

so this is what i think i'll be doing with my next year. what do you think, any advice or ideas??

i know there's a God, and i know He loves me.

here's one reason how i know this.

i have a quiz tomorrow in my east asian buddhism class, on the countries and cities and provinces and rivers in asia. primarily china, korea, and japan. i've known about this quiz for two weeks, but of course i haven't studied in detail until two days ago. today, i didn't go to school cause i'm sick, and so i had all day to sleep and study for this map quiz and my psychology test that i'm taking tomorrow. the problem is, i lost my asia map! it's not on blackboard, and i wouldn't be able to get another copy from my teacher until class tomorrow... and that's when i'm taking the quiz so that wouldn't be very helpful in studying. i facebooked my friend from that class and she didn't get back to me... i was freaking out.

so i'm talking to my roommate and i go to sit on my bed, and my shorts were in the way of where i wanted to sit. so i toss them a couple feet so they're not in my way, and somehow they fall between my bed and the wall. i seriously have no idea how they fell because there's only like 2 inches of space and nothing's ever fallen back there before. so i crawl under my bed to get them, and lo and behold, my map is sitting on the floor under my bed!!! this is a TOTAL miracle! i am so grateful that the Lord helped me out on that one, cause i reeally needed that map. thanks Heavenly Father :)

island in the sun

so, as many of you know, i transferred to byu-hawaii this fall.

and, as you can probably guess, i absolutely love it.

this place is just my vibe. i get to see and hear the ocean from my house, i get to be at a small school where i can get to know lots of people, i live in a house with ten girls so it's always a party, there's sunshine by day and rain by night... it's awesome.

umm.. i don't have much else to say except that i'm really happy here and it's been a great first few weeks. how about we let the pictures do the talking, since i hear they're worth a thousand words?

the gorgeous view from my balcony

waimea with the girls

a lovely day at lanikai

foodland. longest green onions ever!

til next time! aloha :)

keep on keepin' on.

lately i've been feeling like i keep messing up. i don't live up to my divine potential, and sometimes i straight up fail at doing what i should. i know we all make mistakes, but that doesn't stop me from being hard on myself when i do.

today i had the opportunity to bear my testimony in sacrament meeting. i randomly thought of matthew 5:48-
"be ye therefore perfect,

even as your father in heaven is perfect."

being perfect is a tall order, one i fall short of constantly.
but i know the savior wouldn't give us a commandment we couldn't live up to.
no, we will not attain perfection in this life. but if our ultimate goal wasn't perfection, what would we strive for? i am grateful that i will always have something to work on. i am grateful that no matter how good i become in one aspect of my life, there are a hundred other things i can work on next. yeah, it's kinda exhausting sometimes. intimidating, too. but i'm grateful that so much is expected of me, because when someone expects a lot of me, it gives me a reason to keep trying!

i love the gospel of jesus christ. i know that jesus christ died for the sins of the world. i know that through the cleansing power of the atonement, we can all return to live with him someday. the book of mormon teaches that "we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do" (2 nephi 25:23). we could never make it to heaven on our own. contrary to popular belief, the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints does not teach that as doctrine. we know that "all have sinned, and come short of the glory of god" (romans 3:23). THANKFULLY, heavenly father loves us very much and he provided the atonement so we can live with him again. we need to do the best we can: keep the commandments and endure to the end, and the atonement will take care of the rest. :)

all this is a result of me feeling down on myself for making mistakes. look how the spirit and the scriptures can turn a negative outlook into a positive one! i love the church. i am so grateful to be a member of the lord's kingdom on earth, what a blessing it is in my life! :)

piece by piece and bit by bit, i will break this down for you real slow.

ahh. how i love something corporate! i got to see them in concert friday night! they've been my favorite band since 8th grade and the last time i saw them live was t10th grade... they sound as good as ever, and i got to go with the lovely elaine. :)
i don't have any pictures from the show, but i just wanted to express my love for this awesome band. if you haven't heard any of their stuff, i suggest you look them up!

so right about now, i really miss provo. everyone's back up there, starting school and having fun. of COURSE i'm soo excited to go to hawaii. but i had such a great semester there and i can't help feeling a little sad that i won't be going back. i miss my roommates! and i miss living by annie!! -sigh- oh well. i probably won't miss it once i'm settled in laie. :)

on a random side note, i really really love it when my friends burn me cds. i've gotten so much new music this summer and it makes me super happy!

annddd i think this is the end of my really random post! bye!

summer ending.

so! as promised, i went to yosemite and to my dad's house. i was in jen's wedding too, but my camera was dead so i don't have any pictures of that. :(

HALF DOME:

without a doubt the hardest physical test i have put my body through. 17 miles, 4,800 ft elevation increase... insanity. so hard, but definitely glad i did it. :)
the three of us on top of the dome! love them!!

on the way home from the lovely yosemite, we spent the night at my dad's house and woke up early to take the boat out on lake isabella. the water was PERFECT. so glassy, and warm. got some great wakeboarding in!

(2008)

(2010)

i love this girl. erica, thanks for being my best friend. :)

let's see. besides that trip, mostly i've just been working and hanging out. having a great time meeting new people and hanging out with old friends. it's been a really great summer and now i'm almost off to hawaii! two and a half weeks and i'm outta hereeee.