Rantings and Reflections

I was going to blog about my room, but my ribbon and necklace hooks fell off of my bulletin board today. It crashed to the floor, which was depressing because it was a happy sight on my wall, not only because I love ribbon and jewelry, but because it was a happy reminder of home. The loss of my hooks made it so that I have to leave my hooks on my bed, so I can't take a picture of how cute all my bedding looks. Soon, I will transfer said hooks to my desk, so the desk photo op will also be ruined. Bah. I will more thoroughly secure my hooks tomorrow, and document every aspect of my new dorm room.

After saying goodbye to my parents last night, I'm feeling a little emotionally unstable. I was

mostly okay today, and even had a lot of fun with my roommate, girls from church, and Charlotte, but when things slow down I fall into a blue state. After dreaming of going to BYU my whole life, I now find myself wishing I was back home, where I know what I'm doing. I realize that now is the time to challenge myself, become and individual, and become an adult. Right now, though, I just want to be back home. 

This probably isn't helping me feel better. I'm just trusting that things will get better, which I know they will. I've only been here for one night and almost a full day, so I guess I'm doing pretty well. 

On the positive side, I made good progress extending myself socially. Already, my roommate and I have bonded over similar homebody tendencies, but also through several attempts at breaking from those. Sitting by myself in the dorms definitely makes homebody-ness pathetic. I did spend the time after church and before the floor meeting in my room, feeling a little blue, but recovering after scripture study, more unpacking, and y favorite lunch of Pink Lady apples, cheese, Goldfish crackers, and Pepsi. Oh, and a little Gilmore Girls goes a long way in improving potentially lonely lunches. 

In continuance of my recap, I've been SO BUSY! I was feeling super overwhelmed on Friday after spending the day visiting my new job, buying $500 of text books, walking around the giant, endless campus, and setting up my room. Mom made me pose in front of the I.D. Office with my new student card. It was fun to embrace the dorky new Freshman image. I forgot my camera for the football game. !*%@!% It was so hot, and my seats were on the very top bleacher. It was fun wearing my new BYU t-shirt and cheering on the Cougars. I was in a weak section, though, with a bunch of freshman who weren't big cheerers. They'll catch on. 

There's so much more to talk about, but I'll have to write more later. Blogging therapy improved my spirits, and I might be feeling just stable enough to call Mom. Tomorrow, I'll organize my closet, find my classes on campus, run a couple errands, and try to stay busy. I'm ready for classes and work to start so that I won't have time to be sad. I do feel a little lame for being in before 10, while my suitemates are going to game nights and everybody is doing other social activities. I have talked to many people today, and even struck up some conversations with strangers. I feel like I have extended myself socially, resulting in my meeting Skip from Colorado. Yes, his name is Skip. He was pretty cute, though. For now, goodnight!

Last Wild-Fry Wednesday

Starting last year, my best friends and I harnessed the power of alliteration in maximizing lunch breaks. Our favorite and most often honored alliteration day is the Wild-Fry Wednesday. Though all this day entails is stopping at Good Times (a fantastic fast food chain that I found out today is only found in Colorado :/) and getting a serving of their deliciously seasoned Wild Fries, something about the alliteration makes the average food stop seem like a special occasion. We love posing for self portraits by the ordering window and reveling in the dorkiness of it all. And when accompanied by 20 oz. Pepsi fountain drinks from the Circle K gas station, (located right next to the Good Times) Wild Fry Wednesdays are AWESOME! 

Naturally, as today is my last day in Denver, and it is a Wednesday, Hannah, Quanta, and I had our last alliterated lunch date for a while. Our friend Kate already left to school in Oklahoma, I leave tomorrow, then Quanta leaves for Africa in November. Saying goodbye was hard, I am so glad to know that we will always stay close. These girls made up my group of best friends in high school, and we all feel so blessed to have found each other because we share the same strong values. I mean, we get together on the weekends to bake cupcakes and watch "The Office." I LOVE these girls! Even though we'll soon be far apart, I know that we will always have the strength of our friendship to fall back on. I'll miss them so much, but I know that they will all go on to do great things and continue to bless the lives of others, as they have blessed mine. 

Oh, and we love giant sunglasses. May we be forever united by the power of our slightly ridiculous eyewear.

Lasts: Piano Lesson

This is the first post in a series of posts documenting my goodbyes and hellos as I move from Lakewood, CO to Provo. In the moments when I am parting with friends and loved ones, the loss does not hit me because it's not quite real to me yet, but I hope that this will allow me to pay tribute to and express appreciation for the people and places I will miss most. 

I had my last piano lesson last Tuesday, and had difficulty saying goodbye to the woman who has taught me weekly for the last six years. "Amazing" is about the only fitting description for Vicki Duckworth. She is an amazing musician and woman, and only recently have I realized what an important and steady role she has played in my life. No matter what is going on in my life, she is waiting for me Thursday mornings at 7:45 or Tuesdays at 11:30 or Thursdays at 3:00 or at whatever time my lessons have been scheduled each school year and summer since seventh grade. I consider my time spent with Vicki as a form of inexpensive therapy. She listens to my venting about school, we talk about choir, (she is the accompanist for my high school's choir department) and she teaches me about the beauty in music and how to find it. In those 45 minute sessions, I could take a break from my world and focus on music, which has amazing stress-relieving and strengthening properties. Having her as a mentor has been such a blessing in my life, and I look forward to returning to her each summer for lessons. We have developed a close friendship, and I know that my weeks at school will miss those constant and strengthening times. 

 

We had one last lesson together after my senior recital. We went over music that was set aside in lieu of recital pieces, discussed my recital, talked about BYU and how hard it will be for me to leave my Mom and family, and mostly enjoyed one more time together in her front room with me on the bench and her on the stool next to the piano. It was wonderful. 

I will miss her so much, but will always remember what she taught me about sharing and serving through music.

(I went thrifting for vinyl records to hang on my dorm wall, and bought "Chopin's Greatest Hits" with her in mind. The cover is cool, and it will be a happy reminder of the piano teacher I love.)

I'm Sold!

Has anyone else been captivated by this infomercial? I want one! I want to suck cola out of my carpet, dry my sweaters, and clean my car with a ShamWow! I'm not normally drawn to informericals, but the ShamWow is different. It is like no other informerical product I've seen, and I need to have one of my own. 

My Summer in Review

So, my blog took a backseat to my summer of crazy work schedules and college preparations, but my summer was pretty awesome. To review, I now present:

Emily's Spectacular Summer: The Out-of-Order Version because I have yet to master the upload tool

This is me and my best friend Quanta in California. We went with our other friend Hannah's family to San Clemente (see pic at bottom) and camped for a week right above the beach. We enjoyed a lot of reading at camp and on the beach.

Best birthday cake ever. I turned 18 this summer, and this chocolate cake with White Mountain frosting was a delicious masterpiece.

After searching for jobs at the beginning of the summer, I found a nannying job. My english teacher recommended it to me, and I made great money and learned a lot about myself. Watching three boys was a challenge, but it was a great experience, and pretty awesome when I got to take the boys to the movies, out to lunch, or to the pool, all on their parents' dime. The major downside was that it was a 30 minute drive from my house. Result: I drove over 1,000 miles in July. 
I brought Sarah to work with me a couple times, and she got along really well with the boys. This picture was taken on our way to the aquarium!

Charlotte and I had some fun adventures. This particular one involved ice-blocking with our friend Michael, followed by soft serve sundaes with Ronald.

This was the morning after our one night stay at The Oasis Resort and Casino in Mesquite, Nevada on our way to California. We woke up to many abandoned beer bottles, no doubt leftover from the party at the 21-and-up pool.
We spent almost every day in California at the beach. The weather was great, and I we had a thoroughly relaxing week.
We spent one day in town, which included a trip to H&M! My Aunt Susan told me about this store, and it was fantastic. They don't have any out where I live, and this shopping experience was affordable and a satisfaction of one of my retail fantasies. 
This was the pier. We watched surfers and obese pigeons, and enjoyed a lunch of fish and chips and Pepsi. Mmm.
This is Quanta. She's from South Africa, and will move back there in November, which is sad. She's so cute, and such a great friend. We bond over ribbons and polka dots.