Trials

(This is a picture I took years ago at Payson Lakes-- I'd say about 5 years ago)

Recently, I have heard stories from many friends that make my heart ache. From one, a story of problems at the health center; from another, a story about being heart broken; and from another, a story of wanting to take their own life. Each of these stories, and more, leave me contemplating the variety of trials we all face in our lives. Life was not meant to be easy. However, God did not send us here to fail. We all experience hardships on different levels, and it is comforting to know that we will never be handed a trial or burden that we cannot carry; and even when our trials seem to heavy to carry, it is wonderful to know that God is there right along side us, helping.
While some trials can seem overwhelming, it is also important to remember to turn our hearts and minds to Christ. As we do this, we can feel of his love, but also learn from his example which will help us through difficult times. Christ experienced so many horrific things during his life here on earth, yet his character stayed strong. His integrity, and loyalty to God the Father was immovable. He is perfect. We can all learn from his example when we are facing trials. Will we leave them with negative attitudes and a sour outlook on life, or will we keep our integrity in place, and do our best to act as Christ would?
To whoever may be reading this, ALWAYS remember that God loves you. At times, life may seem to hard to stand. In fact, times are going to continue getting worse in this world until the Second Coming. While we look around and think about how even the worst were sent to this world, we must remember that the best were also sent here as well. Stay strong. Remember, God did not send us here to fail. (I love that quote, "God did not send us here to fail".)
Much love, and best wishes to all of you. :)

Happy Hershey

In my room, I currently have three bags of Hershey Kisses. Of course, I am using these yummy chocolates to encourage the girls that live in my building to be involved in our weekly discussions. However, I find myself sneaking some of these treats for myself throughout the week. I love Hershey Kisses. They are like a little piece of happiness. Of course the fact that they are chocolate is an impactful factor, but also the shape and size of the chocolates is delightful.

I am starting a new habit. Every time I eat a Hershey Kiss, I like to think of one moment that day that has brought me joy, or a time that day that I was able to bring joy to another person, and then give thanks to Heavenly Father for that experience. When I do this, I am able to more fully see how many blessings I really do have in life. Of course, I don't eat Hershey Kisses all throughout the day, but it does make me think of happy things when I do eat one.

So the next time you are eating a Hershey Kiss, think of at least one happy moment that you have had that day personally, or a moment that you were able to make another person happy. Then you will enjoy that delightful piece of chocolate so much more!

The Happy Stuff :)

After ranting about the swearing that was displayed at the concert on Saturday, I thought it would be nice to share some pictures of the awesomeness of the concert :) Here are some pictures of 30 Seconds to Mars and Neon Trees (and one picture of me and my date, Kevin, holding our tickets:)
Enjoy!

Swearing is NOT cool

(This is a little clip from the concert)

New Politics, Neon Trees, and 30 Seconds to Mars. They are all pretty talented :) On Saturday night, I went to a concert that featured all three of these groups. The main band was 30 Seconds to Mars. The lighting was awesome, the energy was intense, and the performance was phenomenal. I'm actually not all that into rock-- it's not my favorite genere of music. However, I was pleased, this being my first legit big concert.

While the overall concert was great, I was disappointed with one thing. Swearing. The cuss words. The bands didn't use many swear words in their songs, but in between numbers, they would throw out a bucket of foul language. It irked me! (Sam, I used the word 'irked' for you ;)

What makes them think that swearing is cool? I know that there are many people that could rant about this just like I am; I just wanted to take a moment and rant about it myself.

#1. Swearing bothers me because it is clearly a commandment not to swear. Plain and simple. As we strive to become more like Christ, we learn that patience truely is a virtue, and that obedience is basically the most important lesson we can learn here on earth. By swearing and using foul language, we are sending the Spirit of the Lord away from ourselves and allowing the influence of the adversary to join us.

#2. It's just not cool. I get the feeling that some people think swearing is cool because it makes them sound hardcore. It doesn't. There are so many other vocabulary words that can be used instead of foul ones. By choosing to use those other appropriate words, you are showing more intelligence, and control of your own emotions. You sound smarter :)

Anways, aside from all of that, the performance was cool. LOUD, but definately a cool experience.

Peace, and much love

As they tip-toed through the pages of my life, everything turned into a dance party

Two people...

Emily

Samuel

My life is so funny. Serious. Last night, I went to a dance party, and there I got to party with a group of friends, including Emily and Sam. It had been a while since I had danced with these two angelic people, but I'll tell you what-- it had been far too long!

(Dance History: Emily taught me how to dance. Sam is my soulmate in dancing. The end.)

Years ago, I would not have been able to tell you that these two beings would be stars in the plot of my life. I would have never considered them 'extras', but who knew that they would be such bold characters? Needless to say, I love them to pieces.

After spending a healthy amount of time at the dance party (actually, I don't know if it was that healthy-- there were people smoking close by and it make my throat burn...), we made our way to a friends apartment where we took pictures of everyone holding hands and jumping on mattress's so conveniently placed in the living room. Epic. Simply epic. And of course, we spent some time playing with silly string and boogying to music.

So this is a shout out to Emily and Sam. Thanks for being such awesome dance buddies and hand holding friends.

(Hand-holding history-- Emily taught me how to hold hands. Sam is my soulmate with hand-holding on the beach and at other select locations. The end.)

Dancing, hand-holding, Emily, and Sam. What else do I need in life? ;)

Much love ())-%--

We got a new bathtub!!!!

So.... we got a new bathtub! Our old one had a 3 inch crack--- who knows how much growth was under it! So earlier this week, the maintenance people came and installed a NEW BATHTUB! It's so cool :) We were very happy to have it. I mean, how often do you get to use a new tub?

The Lion King on Broadway - He Lives in You (Reprise)

This song has been my theme song all week. It is sooo beautiful! A couple weeks ago, I went to the Broadway show of The Lion King in SLC. It was so wonderful... I cried, it was so beautiful. I just wanted to share this song with you because it's so powerful, and it just has a neat message that you can relate to the gospel and the influence Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have in our lives. Amazing.

Madly In Love With You- Sean McConnell

Love, love, love this song. I like to think that the message in this song is somewhat in line with how Heavely Father feels about each one of us. Here we are on earth, fighting this war against the adversary, and Heavenly Father is there, never giving up on us, and always offering us his love in our lives. Beautiful.

It's a new dawn. It's a new day. It's a new life. For me. And I'm feeling...... good :)

I've been trying all day to upload a video from my dance class, but it just won't work! Perhaps tomorrow I will be able to share that :)
Instead, I guess I will be posting about my high school dance company my senior year :) Here is just a pictures of all of us at the beginning of the year. It was such a joy dancing with all of these girls! They are all so talented, and it was wonderful learning from all of them through the school year. Each girl brought something unique to the group which made it so exciting. Go SFHS Dance Co.!!!

99 Red Balloons.... ?

I ...... love ....... balloons. They are so fun :) On my birthday a week ago, my mom came over early in the morning to bring me muffins and balloons. The balloons are still floating around in my room, and they just make me so super happy :) There's just something about balloons that just immediately lifts my spirits when I see them. A girl in my student ward talked about how when she was having a bad day, one of her roommates went out and bought her a balloon of her favorite color and then gave it to her. How happy!!! If only everyone had that experience whenever they were feeling sad. So the next time one of your friends or a family member is feeling bad, consider going out and buying them a balloon of their favorite color ;)
Much love!

World of Dance

Tonight I attended BYU's World of Dance concert. It was wonderful! I did not go with anyone; just me, myself, and I. It was great to sit there, and embrace all the different styles of dance! From Ballet, to Folk, and from Tap to Contemporary. It was beautiful. I have always been deeply inspired by girls on Pointe, and I hope that one day I can master it.

Dandelion in the Grass

I recently started another year in my life, having successfully survived 20 of them. While I have another blog (The Little Blessings of Life), I felt that it was about time to try and become better at blogging by taking what I have learned through my other blog and applying it to this one. Perhaps I will run both blogs at the same time... we'll see :)
I have many passions. My top ones are dancing, singing, and traveling. I love my family and friends, and I find joy in sunflowers, birds, rain, and photography. No, I am no photographer, but I like to pretend I am! One day I hope to own an SLR Cannon Rebel. That'll be the day!
Now about the title of this post: Dandelion in the Grass. My best friend introduced me to a book over the summer: The Hunger Games. This book was followed by Catching Fire and Mocking Jay. In the story, the main character suffers through many horrific trials (I would try to go into detail about this, but I would probably end up writing a summery about the whole series!) After surviving one of these trials with the help of a boy that was practically a stranger, she found there was still hope in life, and that things would eventually get better. On the day of recognizing this, she came across a dandelion outside her school. While this dandelion may have merely been a sign of the end of winter, it came to symbolize the hope that she had found.
I am hoping that when I have those days when life seems to be crumbling apart, I will be able to use this blog as one of my resources to dive into my untainted passions-- that it will be a dandelion in the grass. Whether it is a bad day or a wonderful day, I hope this blog will bring joy to myself as well as others!
Enjoy :)