5 Lessons Learned from Forget-Me-Nots

I just got out of Relief Society General Conference. It was an amazing experience. The last talk was given by Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, Second Counselor in the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He used the metaphor of the Forget-Me-Not to teach five things we sisters should never forget.

The first was to be patient with yourself. The Lord is fully aware that we are not perfect, and doesn't expect us to be right away. We shouldn't compare our weaknesses to others' strengths. It gives us impossible expectations of ourselves. Eventually, the Lord will help us to turn all our weaknesses into strengths. If we stay on the path of discipleship and keep working towards perfection, one day we will reach that point. He told us to stop punishing ourselves. He commended us for being incredibly patient and compassionate towards others, but he reminded us to be patient and compassionate with ourselves. Our progress, no matter how slight, does not go unnoticed by He who created even the smallest flowers.

He reminded us to remember the difference between a foolish and a good sacrifice. He compared the sacrifice of losing sleep to comfort a small child who was wakened by a nightmare to the sacrifice of staying up all night to create intricate little handouts to distribute in Sunday's lesson. He told us to ask ourselves, "Am I committing my time and energy to the things that matter most?" We must keep an eternal perspective, and our priorities will fall into place.

We must not forget to be happy now. Recall the children's story of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, when only five candy bars around the world had a golden ticket. People forgot about the simple joy of eating a sweet bar of chocolate and only focused on finding a golden ticket. If a candy bar didn't have one, it was a waste and a disappointment. The problem is when we put happiness on hold while we wait for something that we believe will bring us happiness. When you pin your hopes and happiness on one thing and forget to be grateful for the blessings you have, your unmet desires turn into bitterness and anger. If we spend our days waiting, we could miss the tender wonder of the small things in life. The message is not to abandon hope or worthy goals. But we must not close our eyes to each day's wonderful ordinary moments.

We need to remember the Why of the Gospel. Often we make a long list of tasks and turn gospel oriented activities into obligations. We know the what and how, but we forget the why. The gospel of Jesus Christ is a pathway, a pattern for living. When we embrace the eternal fire and majesty of why we should live a gospel-patterned life, it ceases to become a burden and becomes a joy. The what and how marks the way, but the why sanctifies our actions.

The last thing he reminded us was that the Lord loves each and every one of us. I can't really put into words how powerful and true his testimony of this fact was. He emphasized that You are never forgotten. We may feel small and insignificant, but we are precious daughters of the most powerful being in existence. It was a beautiful, sweet reminder that I desperately needed.

The Trouble With Nice People & One of My Greatest Fears

The trouble with nice people is they are nice to everyone and you can't really tell when they are being sincere or if you are special to them. I've been on both sides of this. I try to be a nice person, and I try to treat everyone I meet with kindness and respect. Some people, when I am kind to them and listen to them and take the time to get to know them, mistake my friendship and reaching out for flirting. Then they feel hurt when they realize that I was only trying to befriend them and I had no intention of attracting them romantically. On the flip side, I have also been hurt in this way. It hurts to know that the little niceties and affections you receive do not make you special to someone, but are merely a result of the other person's good nature and desire to be liked. I know how good it feels to make someone feel loved and included, but I also know how much it hurts to know that you're nothing special. That is why one of my goals is to be more sincere with others. I still want to reach out to other people, but I want my actions and motives to be clear so I don't hurt anyone.

One of my greatest fears is disappointing people by not meeting their expectations of me. Today I let my ballroom partner down. I honestly thought he said we were practicing at 9, but he actually said that we were practicing at 8 and we could practice at 9 if we needed to. He waited 40 minutes for me to show up, but I was taking a nap and didn't hear him calling until 8:45. I feel awful, especially because we only practiced for half an hour (due to lack of space, sleep, and patience), and we were going to go through all our routines today. To make up for it, I'm going to get there half an hour early, practice spinning, and go over our routines by myself until he arrives. He deserves better. I also talked to another ballroom friend, who did basically the same thing I did. I think it's because we're all trying to adjust to our new schedules, and we're finding we need more sleep than we could get by on a few weeks ago. We're tired, frustrated, and napping through our commitments. Solution: earlier bedtime and making time to practice more and warm up.

My Book List

For Fun

 A River Runs Through It - Norman Maclean
Hunger Games (series) - Suzanne Collins
Fablehaven (series) - Brandon Mull
Wheel of Time (series) - Robert Jordan
Elantris - Brandon Sanderson
Undaunted Courage - Stephen E. Ambrose
Scott Pilgrim - Bryan Lee O’Malley
Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis de Bernieres
Dresden Files - Jim Butcher
I Am Number Four, The Power of Six) - Pittacus LoreThe Life of Sir William Ramsay - Morris Travers

Self Help

How to Win Friends and Influence People - Dale Carnegie
How to Stop Worrying and Start Living - Dale Carnegie
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens - Sean Covey 

Religious

Believing Christ - Stephen E. Robinson
Broken Things to Mend - Jeffrey R. Holland
Miracle of Forgiveness - Spencer W. Kimball
The Infinite Atonement - Tad R. Callister
To the Rescue - Thomas S. Monson

The Power of Six, Jekyll & Hyde

The long weekend was a nice breather after a hectic week of back-to-school insanity. On Monday night, I got to go to the Payson Community Theater's production of "Jekyll and Hyde: The Musical". It was incredible!! There was so much talent. Jekyll/Hyde was a one-man marvel. His voice was flexible and perfectly controlled, whether in the pure tones of Jekyll or the rough growls of Mr. Hyde. And his ability to warm the heart with the character's courage and virtue in one moment and make you feel sick with horror and fear the next was admirable. I had never even heard of this musical before, and I loved it. Even though it was a smaller community production, the talented cast members made it spectacular. The music was beautiful as well. But what made it most powerful was how it really made you think about human nature and the forces of good and evil. I'd love to read the book sometime.

I just finished The Power of Six, the second book in the Lorien Legacies Series by Pittacus Lore. I read it in two days (about 400 pages, mind you, with classes and hw). The series is about the last surviving individuals of a race of good aliens, whose planet was destroyed by a race of bad aliens. The good aliens are trying to survive until they can defend themselves and Earth and return to their planet Lorien to bring it back to life, but the bad aliens are trying to destroy them and Earth. That's a pretty watered down summary, but you get the picture. I read the first book, I Am Number Four during the roadtrip to and from the California ballroom competition this summer. Just for the record, it's a TON better than the movie. The movie makes it look like the kid had no idea what's going on, and his guardian comes across as a jerk. The book is a lot more comprehensive and dramatic, and there are powers and creatures and situations (that are kindof really important) that you never see in the movie. It's a pretty fun series. It makes it better that Number Seven's name is Marina. :)

Sunday Thoughts

(private post on my Tumblr)

Squaw, Cougars, and Settlers

This morning I hiked Squaw with my friends Jace, Rudy and Alex. I knew them all from my Freshman Academy, and they got home a few weeks ago from their missions for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The last time I hiked Squaw was spring of '09, when there was still 3 feet of snow. I wore my boots, but we had to head back about 5/7ths of the way up to the top, because the boys (in their sneakers) were afraid they were going to get frostbite. So, it was my first time getting to the peak, and what a view! Unfortunately, my camera's display is broken and couldn't tell me that there was no memory card inside. *cries a little* I "took" some pretty sweet shots too...

After a shower and a nice nap, I caught the last 15 mins of the BYU-Ole Miss game. Super intense. 14-13 win against Ole Miss, which means it's our first win on the road as an independent team. Go Cougs!

Then I was invited to a barbecue (chicken cooked by the grille of death and delicious wild rice with butter, chives and golden raisins). We played Settlers of Cataan as teams, and got our butts whooped by the newbies. And the only thing better than fresh squeezed, chilled watermelon juice is sparkling lemonade with watermelon ice cubes. *happy place* 

Let the Weekend Begin

School is still going swimmingly. It's nice to have my schedule set. It feel so good to have a plan for the day and to be able to fit little things in between so cleanly. It makes my life so much less stressful. And when I don't stress and get things done as they need to be, inspiration comes to me quicker than I can write it down.

I love making friends and keeping them. It's a wonderful feeling to be walking between classes and see a friend from two years ago and still be interested in each others' lives. Many of my guy friends got back from their missions a few weeks ago, and it's so wonderful to know that they are the same people I knew, but stronger and wiser. I'm so grateful to have friends that exemplify the values they believe in. It's such an affirmation of my own faith, and it gives me hope that I too can be strong and incredible.

Team is going to be awesome. Betsy, our 2 O'Clock Team coach, is going to be choreographing the new Lindy-Hop for the Homecoming Parade in October. The routine hasn't been changed since 2005, so this will be fun. I'm so flippin excited for this year! And my ballroom partner and I got a new Cha Cha routine from Brent. It's crazy, but fantastic. Like our samba routine.

I finally saw Kung Fu Panda 2 and drooled a little bit at the gorgeousness of it all. The character design...and the colors...and the action sequences...and the animation... *speechless*

Watermelon Juice

My goodness I love microbiology. We prepared agar plates today - it's like nerdy cooking class, except it's food for bacteria. And I learned that my professor used to live in Zimbabwe. He's white, older, and has that awesome South African accent. He asked me where in Scotland my family is from and I was blown away! No one I've met knows that the spelling of my last name is Scottish. Apparently he had some friends in Zimbabwe that moved there from Scotland who had my same last name. Genealogy time!

Among other awesome things we discussed, he brought up Schrodiger's Riddle: What is Life? and the interesting fact that just as Adam was commanded to name all the creatures he could find, we are still naming living organisms today (just in a highly organized, latin-based way).

Tonight were the ballroom auditions for the BYU Ballroom Dance Company. I went to help out and dance with the guys auditioning. Thankfully, both the guys I danced with got called back, so at least my shaky memory of social dance steps didn't hurt their chances! I'm really excited to see who got put on our team tomorrow :) Several of my friends from Summer Team got on. I think this will be a fantastic year.

I should mention that fresh-squeezed, chilled watermelon juice is an excellent beverage.

Goals

+ to find a part-time job
+ to attack school with a tenacious fervor
+ to be sincere and reach out to those around me
+ to start a website for my art
+ to create 3 portfolio-quality works of art by the end of this year
+ to write a personal missions statement
+ to keep a journal-blog regularly starting August 29th
+ to learn and memorize names for ballroom steps
+ to no longer be a people-pleaser (be honest, keep promises, be realistic, keep priorities)

Today I had my first car accident. I was on University Parkway on the hill towards I-15, and the girl in front of me slammed on her brakes. It was all I could do to slam on my breaks, but I have an older car and the hill didn't help. She called the police and filed a police report. The only damage was an imprint next to her license plate of a screw from my license plate mount. My Shelly was unscathed (the tremendous dents in the front left are from my dear blind grandmother). I felt incredibly idiotic, fumbling around and apologizing. I just hope her husband doesn't ask $600 for the scratch.

But random visits from people I adore at eleven at night make everything better. :3

Also, Emmy Cicierega answered a question I asked her on Tumblr. My life is complete.