i yell, "pick me up!!" in my head.

and i think it works.

i've had to walk everywhere since i've lived in hawaii.
and it's taken some getting used to.
i don't mind walking. really.
just, when it's 90 degrees or pouring rain, or if i've just had a long day,
i'd rather not.
so i get rides from people a lot.
and, when i can't get a ride, i walk.
and i yell in my head "pick me up pick me up!"
hoping the person driving by will "hear" me,
and take pity on me and give me a ride.
say what you will, but i really think it works!
not having a car has given me much more compassion
for those of my friends who don't have cars back home.
typically, i'd be annoyed when people asked me for a ride...
like, come on, how old are we? you don't drive??
but now i can totally sympathize.

in other news,
harry potter comes out this weekend!
call me a little kid (really, it's okay if you want to).
but i LOVE harry potter. like sooo much.
and i'm not ashamed to admit it!


31 days til i go home for christmas!!!
i love and miss my family.
:)

all i want for christmas is regina spektor.

i'm seriously obsessed with her music right now! ahhhh sooo good. i only knew a couple of her songs until this week when i started searching for some more. she is one talented artist. one of my new favorites for sure. so, if anyone wants to make my christmas, you can make me a cd with her music on it :) just sayin.

i go home in 43 days! how exciting. i miss my family, they are so good to me. my dad's planning on coming to visit me in hawaii next semester, which will be tons of fun. i love hawaii. i'm going to chicago with my mom for a week in may. and then of course my study abroad to the mediterranean which i still can't believe is actually happening... and then next fall, i'm planning on serving a mission for the church of jesus christ of latter-day saints, and who knows where that will take me. :) lots of good things coming up.

also, these pictures make me happy.









here's a little song for you. one of my new faves by miss spektor :)

roomies.

i just wanted to say that i really love my roommates. somehow, we got everyone together at one time to go down to waikiki friday night for dinner. everyone meaning my ten roommates and three other girls that are honorary roommates... not an easy feat, getting us all together at one time, but it was great fun!

caitie, my roomie.

becca and kristal.

sierra.

the ten roommates :)

all thirteen of us! <3

it's always a party with these girls. love them!

"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 :)