Oh, darlin' don't you ever grow up.

Are you ready for an emotion-driven, sappy post? Well, you might be in for one. And I'm sorry! I've had a lot on my mind this week and writing about it is therapeutic for me. This week I've been thinking a lot about growing up. My brother Tyler just moved down to Provo and he is living with some of my great friends. All of them are done with school, and in my eyes all of them are, essentially, "grown-ups." They're doing the whole life thing on their own. They're picking out furniture for their new, amazing apartment (I affectionately refer to it as the "palace"), and they work full-time. They even have SALARIES. Um...I want one!

And then my dear friend Jenni said good-bye to me tonight. I met Jenni two years ago in London, and she has been a big part of my life ever since then. She took her last final at BYU today and leaves for southern California tomorrow to be a grown-up.

So all this growing up business has me excited to graduate from BYU. Don't get me wrong, I have LOVED my time here. It has been full of fun, growth, challenges, and of course, learning. I wouldn't give my education up for anything. But I'm ready for whatever is coming next for me. Who knows what it is, but I'm excited!

Until then, I'm off to finish packing, move out of my apartment, and head to California to see my family and my friend Cailey's wedding!!

Also, I hate packing. My poor little room looks so different.

Love Notes

Tonight was one of those nights. The one where nothing is really going on, you're home alone, and your mood starts to sink a little bit. I hope I'm not the only one who occasionally has those! The stress of moving in the next few weeks, of paying rent when I have about $5 in my bank account, and other things just kind of got to me. So I decided to read some notes.

I have a drawer in my room where I keep notes and letters from friends, family, neighbors, etc. I haven't read them in a while, and browsing through them was just what I needed. Notes like those remind me to put a smile back on my face, and to keep moving forward. They remind me that there are people out there who care about me, who want the best for me. So to those of you who have written me a "love note" in the last 4 years, thanks. Thank you for reminding me that I'm beyond blessed for having so many wonderful, amazing, and inspirational people in my life. And thanks for the memories those notes remind me of.

Rainy Days

I love rainy days.

I love sitting on my couch next to my window with a book and watching the rain and listening to thunder.

School starts in 34 days. Only 34 more glorious days left of the best summer of my life. I'm going home in 18 days. I can't tell you how excited that makes me!

Brother Tyler graduated from BYU-I this weekend. I'm so proud of him! I cried the whole time. That Processional March sure gets to me, apparently. Or maybe it was knowing that that's going to be me in December. Boo-yah. He's moving to Provo in 14 days. Another Justesen in Provo...that can only mean one thing. There will be two Justesens in Provo.

Anyway, I'm going to get back to my book. In the meantime, here are some pictures from the Harry Potter premiere. I was a non-ginger Ginny Weasely. I cried during the end of the movie, too. I sound like I've been an emotional wreck this week!

Also, Instagram is the neatest thing on the iPhone app block.

In the Words of J. Biebs, "I Need Somebody to Love"

Happy Valentine's Day! Let me give you my count.

Approximate number of giggling girls I saw on campus with flowers:

23 (I was on campus today for ONE hour)

Approximate number of guys I saw carrying flowers for said girls:

17

Approximate number of people I saw at Smith's buying some sort of V-Day treat:

Lost count

Number of love songs my Pilates instructor played at the gym today:

One whole hour's worth

But I'm not complaining. Maybe next year I'll be a recipient of those flowers. But I won't be all giggly. That's not my style.

BUT...I had an epic weekend with great people in Las Vegas. I'll spare the details for now, but I'll just give a sneak peek. Our theme was James Bond. And we looked HOT.

Reflection

With Christmas and New Year's coming and being home over the break, I don't know how much blogging I'm going to be doing in the next couple weeks. So until 2011 gets here and I get back to Provo and back into the swing of a new semester, I'm going to reflect now on some things I learned during2010. If I had to find one word that defined 2010 for me, I think it would be "Growth." I've definitely done a lot of that this year, in lots of ways. So without further ado, here's a list to round out my 2010. Merry Christmas, and I hope you all have a happy holiday season! See you in 2011.

1. Maria von Trapp said it once, and I'll say it again. "When God closes a door, He opens a window." And sometimes, He even breaks a whole wall down just in case you're being stubborn and aren't able to feel the breeze coming in from said window.

2. It's okay to be silly. Did I play innertube waterpolo this year? Yes. Did we look like idiots? Yes. Was it so fun anyway? YES. Ward Halloween party. Did I fall at Classic Skating? Yes. Did we take silly pictures? Yes. I've done silly things this year, but I've learned it's fun to let go and act like a little kid sometimes, no matter how old you are.

3. Write things down. I've been an avid journal since I was 8, because writing is therapeutic for me. But I learned this year that writing is a great way for me to vent about how I'm feeling instead of getting angry over little things that in the long run won't even matter.

4. Taylor Swift has a song to go with every minute of my life. And after listening, I always feel better.

5. Family will always be there for you. During a rough summer and challenging semester, my family was always there whenever I needed them. I love that, even though we're all getting older, we can still be silly together. Hence the picture below.

6. Make everyone's day better. I saw so many people do this for me this year, and maybe they didn't even know it. My goal is to make sure that, after someone talks to me, they feel better about themselves. I want to be a light in people's lives.

7. Take time to take a break. One of my favorite parts about this year was going to visit my favorite family in Texas. I took two days off from school, and I played with 4 little kids. And it was just what I needed.

8. Make friends with everyone. This year I've been blessed to live in a wonderful ward, and I've made lots of friends. I've also rekindled friendships with old friends, too. Having a variety of people to go to makes life so much better!

9. Appreciate the things you have in your life, because before you know it they can disappear.

10. Don't change who you are for anyone or anything. I've learned this semester that if someone doesn't appreciate you for what you are or what you bring to the table, it's possible to surround yourself with people who do.

11. Most importantly, remember that things will always work out for you. One of my favorite talks this year was the one by President Uchtdorf, called, "Continue in Patience." It constantly reminds me that, as long as I'm doing the things I should be doing and waiting patiently with faith, Heavenly Father will take care of me.

November November November!

I'm so excited that it's finally November because that means Christmas can actually start! Don't roll your eyes and start a debate with me about how it shouldn't begin until after Thanksgiving. No. It starts November 1. I am already listening to Christmas songs on Pandora at work. I never get sick of Christmas music or decorations. I only get sick of snow. Which luckily it has only done once here in Provo, and I'm hoping maybe it'll stay that way? This Christmas will be my first one back in California in a long time, and I'm excited to have a green one!

But anyway, Halloween has come and gone, and it was fun! The beauty of having Halloween on a Sunday means that us Mormons can party Thursday, Friday, and Saturday! Which I did. With a different costume each night. I'm not very creative, which means my costumes consisted of what I had in my closet and a few borrowed things from friends, but it was perfect. Ward parties, parties with friends, and a couple of scary movies completed my weekend. Now it's time to bring on the holidays! 21 days, 9 hours, and 30 minutes until I go home for Thanksgiving. Not that I'm counting or anything.

Costume #1: Thank you, Tim, for helping me be a weaponless soldier. Fierce.

Costume #3 (no pictures of my cowgirlishness) Freshman besties reunited as a soccer player (Brazilian, no less), girl hit by a car, and little Miss 60's. We're cute.

Texas is the Bestest

This past weekend I was able to fly to Dallas to spend the weekend with my favorite family, the Trythalls. My family has known them for about 10 years. I spent junior high baby-sitting two of their kids, Kennedy and Alec, before both our families moved, and Sister Trythall was also my Beehive's advisor, so we all go way back. :) It was a great trip. Basically, I got to spend 3 days playing with 4 kids, eating delicious Tex Mex, and being disappointed as BYU lost to TCU. I thought maybe me being in Texas with the team would help them, but I guess not. Good thing I don't care much about football! It was a great trip, and I think the pictures below will explain how much fun I had more than I can!And like always, I never take enough pictures. I wish I had more!

Ryan the cowboy

Me and my buddy Matthew


Alec being silly!

Ryan covered in guacamole from Uncle Julio's


Showing off our muscles!


Kennedy and I in our matching watches.

Sweet little Matthew. Can you beat that smile?

My flight made a pit-stop in Oklahoma. Whatever they say about Oklahoma, it's probably true. Thank you, Trythalls!!

Weeks Fly By...

School is taking over my life right now. I've spent this weekend writing a paper about the relationship between the theory of hyperreality and mimetic criticism when taken with a pluralistic viewpoint. Sound boring to you? Maybe. But I love it! My classes are tough, but I really enjoy them. I'm going to miss this BYU experience when it ends. But...I have some fun-filled weekends to look forward to!

This weekend: General Conference. I'm making cinnamon rolls for the Sunday morning session. Come if you want to. Conference weekend is always my favorite. I love sitting in my PJs with family or friends and listening. I love the feeling of being motivated to do better.

Next weekend: My dad comes to town! Hopefully to help tell me what's broken on my car. Because sometimes it seems like a new thing each week. And also BYU football! Hopefully we don't get thrashed again.

And then...drumroll please...the weekend after that I'm going here!

I can't tell you how excited I am! 3 and a half days out of Provo and out of Utah will be fantastic. And I get to play with my four favorite kiddies in the whole world. Our family friends the Trythalls are letting me come invade on their family time, and I'm so excited! So right now that's kind of the next biggest thing I'm looking forward to. I'm sure when I get back there will be a long post with lots of pictures.

Until then here's a quote that I came across that I love. "I testify to you that our promised blessings are beyond measure. Though the storm clouds may gather, though the rains may pour down upon us, our knowledge of the gospel and our love of our Heavenly Father and of our Savior will comfort and sustain us and bring joy to our hearts as we walk uprightly and keep the commandments. There will be nothing in this world that can defeat us." Thomas S. Monson

Royal Freak Out

So this morning I had a royal freak out over this stupid little insignificant thing that doesn't even matter in the grand scheme of the whole universe (or at least in the grand scheme of my life, not trying to sound like a drama queen here), and do you know what made it better? Peanut butter M&Ms brought to me by a good friend and the promise made by the same friend of 5 Guys for dinner. Is it pathetic that my freak out ended because candy and the motivation of the best burger ever, fries, and a cherry Coke were put in front of me? I sure don't think so. Food will do that to me. Freak out is now a distant memory.

Life as I Know It

100th post!! To celebrate, I am giving you the next 20 seconds to dance around the room. Ready...Go! 20...19...18...17...16...15...14...13...12...11...10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1... Satisfied? I am. Nothing beats a sporadic dance party. And pardon my hyperness. A Coke at 10:30am will do that to me.

But anyway, let's discuss Senior year. I am, and will be for the next 8 months, a college Senior. Crazy? Yes. Do I feel ready for it? No. Do I have a choice? No. Well, I guess I do, but...I made it this far, and I'm making it to the end! Here's a kickback of my life since school started a week and a half ago. First, roommates are wonderful. Ashley and Kelsey, who knows if you read this, but you two are great. I'm looking forward to getting to know you both better! My own room? The best. Washer and dryer in the apartment? Trust me folks, once you get one, you never want to go back. Ward? HUGE! Yes, the ratio of girls to guys isn't exactly in my favor, but it's still great nonetheless. I've met lots of friendly people.

The week has been filled with delicious BBQs, movies, bonfires that ended up not being bonfires, football games, fun dates, old friends, new friends, in-between friends, and ice cream pie. Oh yeah, and school. How could I forget? I can tell that it's going to be a high-stress semester. Hours of my days are filled reading about Plato's theory of mimetic criticism, recognizing the difference between primal auxiliary verbs and modal auxiliary verbs, and giggling over Shakespeare's comedies. But I'm not going to stress. Well, that's a lie, but I'm not going to let myself do it right now. That'll come later when I sink back into the habit of having class every day and not just work.

Which brings me to the best part of the end of summer: this little guy. To my sadness, GoPhone and ancient iPod Nano broke in the same week and neither could be fixed. Coincidence? Who knows. Maybe. But because I needed music and a phone and a planner and a camera, I caved. And I love it. I've been made fun of from time to time because I love my paper planners, which I still do and always will, but I have to admit using iCal on this guy is kind of the best thing ever. I like having my life organized when I have a zillion things going on, and this sure does it for me. Steve Jobs and the guys at Apple are geniuses. But because of this little guy, no more shopping for a while.

So that's life as I know it right now. Kind of fun, kind of hard, but generally good. Isn't it great how, even when you think nothing is ever going to work out in your favor, eventually it starts to?

A Weekend Full of Growing Up

So, last night while taking a break from my solo dance party, I promised to discuss my life. Get ready for an avalanche. What a wonderful weekend! It was one of those weekends where I learned tons about myself, people, and the gospel. On Friday night I stayed with my fantastic friend Jenni. We kidnapped our friend Lisa Ann and went to Outback, where we shared a steak, mango pomegranate lemonade, and TILAPIA! Yes Mom, after years of turning my nose up at it, I ate Tilapia. My new resolution is to be brave. And it wasn't too bad! No fishy taste at all. After dinner, we got ourselves a Coke (essential), some candy, and a movie. Sometimes nights like that are just what I need.

On Saturday morning I drove Jenni to the airport. We talked the entire way up about life, choices, the gospel, etc. Is it funny that I thrive off of discussions like that? Because I do. Being around good people who understand makes a huge difference. We talked about wanting to be an influence in the lives of others. In my morning prayers, I've started asking Heavenly Father to put me where He needs me. I ask Him to let me help someone each day. Some days I see where that happens, other days I don't, and I just hope I was able to make someone's day without knowing it.

Afterward, I went to my friend Cailey's, which was followed by a day at the mall to celebrate our friend Miriam's 21st birthday (after years of searching I found the perfect pair of Aviators. For $3). We saw "Eat, Pray, Love," which I've been dying to see because I really enjoyed the book. It was well done, but proves once again that the book is always better than the movie. If you've read the book or seen the movie, you understand the significance of my new blog title. I like the symbolism behind it. And someday I am going to Bali.

Sunday was what I would call a "girl's day." We went to church, followed by a delicious dinner full of pasta, laughter, and some boy stories that had happened the previous night for some of the girls. Oh, and who knew that whipped cream tastes fantastic on watermelon? After this, I was invited to my friend's apartment, and he and his wife made me a delicious second dinner! When I came back to Cailey's we listened to some Michael Buble. You just can't beat those lyrics and that voice. :)

Yesterday I became an adult and did some hard things. Moving into my new place by myself, getting the water/gas/electricity set up, and doing some other things made me feel like I can handle anything. I was little Miss Independent yesterday. I had some very heavy boxes in my car that I couldn't lift, and after searching for some help and not finding it, I decided to try it myself. Well, I failed at that part because I almost killed my back trying to lift them. So those will have to wait. But at least I tried, right? No giving up here!

Tonight through Thursday I'm going to be taking some Education Week classes, all by myself. And I'm so excited! The classes I'm attending are going to teach me so much. Just tonight I'm going to learn how to be a confident woman, how to draw closer to the Lord through service, and how to prepare for personal revelation. And I still have tomorrow and Thursday classes to look forward to! I'm sure there will be a post soon about what I've learned. But that's been my weekend. There's a lot more I could share about things I've learned and discovered, but that'll remain with me. If you want to know, just ask. ;)