It's a Miracle!

Before I came out to BYU, I downloaded the BYU Devotionals podcast, and enjoyed listening to them on Sunday morning or anytime I needed a spiritual boost, and I've come back to one, entitled "Live Right Now," multiple times in the last year for strength and direction. The devotional itself talks about agency and the different types of choices we make and how we make them. The speaker is Gerrit Gong, and he delivered the talk on 3/20/07, and I highly recommend looking it up. The best guidance I've received from this address, however, is a quick quote from President Hinckley that Brother Gong mentions. To BYU students, our beloved former prophet advises that "if you get to bed by 10:00 and get up 6:00, things will work out for you." I was pretty impressed by this, because it is so rare that General Authorities give such specific instructions, and it has stayed with me ever since.

Facing this new semester, I was feeling overwhelmed by the task of figuring out how to do everything this semester, and I realized that "things working out" is exactly what I need to happen, and if President Hinckley says that that will happen, then I'll do whatever he says. Thus began the 10-6 experiment.

I have yet to be asleep by 10:00 p.m. on the dot, but I'm coming close, and I officially LOVE waking up early. Those of you who know me are probably thinking, "This surely can't be Emily, the girl who barely had 80% attendance for seminary, which started at 6:00, five days a week for 4 years? She's chosing now, when she doesn't have classes until 9:00 every morning, to become a morning person?" Well, it's time to re-think how you see my early-rising potential, for I am officially a morning person. I've discovered that my key to 6 a.m. success is not letting myself hit snooze or fall back on my pillow, because then I fall into a vicious cycle of alarms and funny dreams, last minute getting up, hurried getting ready, stressful trekking to campus, and tardy entering of class or work. Ironically, sleeping to the last minute and rushing to get ready results in my being way more tired during the day than when I get up at 6:00, get ready, and spend time studying scriptures and starting my homework for the day.

These instructions from President Hinckley have blessed me so much in these last two weeks. My experiences have testified to me that Heavenly Father knows exactly what we need not only spiritually but physically. He created us to thrive under certain circumstances, and the 10-6 lifestyle is one that works beautifully for me.

I'm Pretending to Work, but Rambling about My Freakisms Instead

Sometimes I really wonder if I'm a socially dysfunctional weirdo. Sometimes I catch myself being really blunt and awkward, and I wonder if it's my panicking or if I actually have problems. In Bio last week, I introduced myself to someone, and Kristen (who was sitting next to me) told me that my "Hi, I'm Emily" sounded angry. I felt perfectly cheerful while saying it, but what if I come off like that a lot?! I promptly leaned over and clarified with a smile that I was in no way angry, and just got a funny look. Oh, dear. What is happening to me?!

My favorite quote from last semester is from when I passed by a girl I knew and in awkward greeting waved my hand in a sort of stiff, quick, up-and-down, hand wave. Who does that?! Most people say "Hey," perhaps accompanied by a casual, natural gesture of greeting or recognition. I never got that chromosome, apparently. I wave like a Nazi. My roommate gave me a hard time about my awkward wave, and I responded with "Sometimes I'm just awkward in public."

Also, I think I talk quieter than I realize. Sometimes I'll be talking to someone and I'll say something offhand (perhaps a clever commentary on something that happened, or a quick "Office" quote) but the person to whom I'm speaking often doesn't understand, but when asked to repeat said quip, it doesn't make sense, and just makes for awkward.

I realize that a lot of people do stupid things, but sometimes I feel like a do/say an unusual amount of awkward. For future reference, please tell me if I'm being a weirdo so that I can immediately start work on fixing my freakisms.

Disturbing Avocado

So, I was sitting in Bio 100 yesterday, and I looked over and was caught off guard to see a girl peeling off the top skin of an avocado, then proceed to eat it with a spoon. Raw. I realize that most people, like my Mom, would find this completely acceptable, and perhaps even envy her snack. I, however, was disturbed. She just went to town with that avocado, carving out bite after bite with her spoon, digging around the pit, and scraping the last bits from the inside of the skin after she was finished. I don't know why I was so perturbed by this act of morning snackery, but I sat there a couple rows behind the Guacamole Girl, watching in horror. Maybe it's because I've tried avocadoes and I think they're gross, or because it was so random, but I had issues. Or maybe it was because she was so into her avocado, that the whole act seemed way too personal for the middle of a Bio 100 lecture. More likely, I'm just bizzare, seeing as I didn't notice any other students staring in shock at the girl eating the strangely green and mushy fruit. (Is is even a fruit?) Weird.

Have you ever been caught off guard and disturbed by a stranger's behavior in public?

Premiere of the Jedi Boots

My Jedi boots are making their official BYU campus debut today. It finally stopped snowing, so I don't have to worry about damaging them before I can buy weather-proofer for them. Mom and Susan, you did a wonderful job selecting the most non-Jedi pair of Jedi boots I could have hoped for. (I got such a kick out of Susan's comment about Mom asking the salesperson for his opinion.) I don't feel at all like I should be wielding a light-saber. I just feel happy looking down at my feet, or feeling them on my legs. (I really wish I could post pictures of the new outfits I've compiled and worn this week so far, but my camera screen is broken beyond repair, and it has no view-finder, so I can take pictures, I just have no idea what they will look like. I'm in the process of pricing a new one.)

Happy Wednesday to all! In a couple minutes I'm off to my Music Civ class for 2 1/2 hours. Gross. I'm planning on making a stop at the vending machines for provisions. I will survive!

Worst Day Ever. . .But Not Really

(This post is about Tueday, though I haven't finished it until now, at 12:47 a.m. on Wednesday morning.)

I really don't know if I have had a worse day than today. Ever. In my life. I guess the night I had to say goodbye to Mom and Dad when they dropped me and Charlotte off at school was pretty horrible, but today was just a long, sad day full of cold, miserable event after cold, miserable event. So, I decided to wear my new flats today, but they look stupid with socks, so I didn't wear any. I figured I could endure the cold feet for a day. That plan would have worked, had I not come out of Econ this afternoon to a white sky full of thick, freezing snow. The rest of the day on campus was spent trying not to slip on the mushy, frozen, slushy snow, which wasn't a success, as I fell once, and did a couple ridiculous arm-twirling moves to keep myself from falling a couple other times. After work, it was still snowing, and I walked all the way home with no umbrella or hat, seeing as I was oblivious to the impending blizzard when I left my building this morning. I went straight to my car, which was buried by several inches of snow and ice, not to mention surrounded by said snow, which I had to step through, completely covering my uncovered feet. By the time I got back in my car to drive to the credit union to cash my scholarship check so I can buy books tonight, my feet and fingers were numb and throbbing, and I was crying. The roads were completely horrible, and I couldn't change lanes to turn into the credit union because a chunk of ice on my back window obscured my sight on the right side, which happens to be the side missing a side view mirror. I didn't want to risk turning into another vehicle, so I made a huge, painstakingly slow loop around back to Canyon, so I could turn into the right lane sure of no other car. I got back to my room, freezing, missing home, and glad to have the box of Puffs Grandma sent home with me.

PHEW! Now that's off my chest, I'm going to cancel out the horrible that was the last hour or so since I left work by listing all the goods for the day. My day wasn't really horrible, just the couple hours previous to my writing the first paragraph of this post. Here's what was good:

-I had my first classes of Stats, Econ, and Bio, and I'm excited for this semester. These classes will require a different way of thinking than my classes last semester, which were more memorization than analysis and opinion. I'll have to work hard, but I'm excited to take on this challenge. I'm also excited because Stats and Econ are pre-requisites for the accounting program, so I'll be able to get a feel for how I like the subject matter, and if it's something at which I could have a chance of success.
-My scholarship check came in the mail, so I was able to cash it, and buy books. I also scored a used copy of my Econ book, so I only had to pay $150, rather than $200. Sad, that that's a good deal.
-Charlotte came with me to buy my books, and then we went to Smith's, and I stocked up on Honeycrisp apples and baby carrots. Dad has this for breakfast everyday, and I thought I'd give it a try. I get a lot of gas a school from the food (sorry if this is too much information) and Dad said that said breakfast helps limit the "output." Haha
-Charlotte's phone fell out of her coat pocket and into the snow when she and a nice guy who happened to be walking by pushed our car out of a snow bank. She realized it a couple minutes later, so we went back, and it was still lying in the snow, un-crushed and intact. It was a true miracle.
-Charlotte just makes everything better. I can cry and be homesick, watch dumb movies, vent, and be goofy with her. I never have to worry if she'll think I'm a freak or lame. Her love and support makes all the difference when I'm away from home, so no matter how cold and wet I got today, it's all okay because she's here. =)