to the recent graduate,

Congratulations. You've made it through what's seemed to be the hardest part of your life thus far. I commend you. The countless hours of walking through those high school hallways are now over and you never have to look back. It's kind of a good feeling, right?! But in the words of Trace Adkins, "you're gonna miss this".

But I'm not here to reminisce back on my own high school days. Rather, I'm here to give you some of the advice I've learned over my first few years of being an "adult" in the "real world". And to be honest: it's really rough. Really, really rough. There have been a plethora of days where the thought of going all the way back to diapers, smooshed carrots, and nap time sounded more than spectacular. Days where the money was tight, but the jeans were tighter. Days where smiling seemed more like a chore. And days that dragged on well past what they were allotted.

It's going to be different. Adult life is a whole new game. I remember moving out and feeling completely and totally alone for the first time in my life. And quite frankly, it was terrifying. No longer was the fridge and pantry stalked - I actually had to buy my own food?! I found it totally bizarre not to have a mother constantly wondering where I was going and who I was with (I'll admit I don't miss this. But I sure do love my mother!). No more was my schedule handed to me on a nice silver platter, already thought out and organized. Gone were the days of yummy home - cooked meals and already made sack lunches. I was now in charge of scheduling dentist appointments and making sure I showed up everywhere on time. I had to learn how to feed myself (I now consider myself to be a professional when it comes to making scrambled eggs). I had to remember to say my prayers and make my bed and put my shoes away. But despite these frightening thoughts, be excited. You've been waiting, wanting, and working over the past eighteen years for this. The decisions you make over the next few years will determine the outcome of the rest of your life. So, make it a good one! Be excited for what the future holds and face it head on.

Find something you love, and do it. This one is extremely important. It can become really easy to drown in the constant flow of work and homework. My day-to-day life is so incredibly busy that I actually have to pencil in time to do things that I love in order to take a break - and if I don't, I go crazy. But make sure that you work hard. Work hard at work. Work hard at school. Work hard in your relationships with others. Work hard in anything that you do, even if you don't want to do it. I can promise that if you will do this, you will be proud of yourself. And when you seem to fail at something, which you will, never give up. "Don't you give up. Don't you quit. You keep walking. You keep trying. There is help and happiness ahead... It will be alright in the end. Trust God and believe in good thigns to come." -Jeffrey R. Holland. You'll soon realize that life won't happen the way you think it will. Or that it will be harder than you ever could have imagined. Your grades will start to suffer. You'll break up with your boyfriend. You'll get in a fight with your roommate. You'll run out of money and time and energy. And you'll want to give up. For moments such as these I urge you to follow the wise counsel given in the scriptures: "Press forward with a steadfastness in Christ" -2 Nephi 31:20, and always remember that the bad days will come to an end. "On particularly rough days when I'm sure I can't possibly endure, I like to remind myself that my track record for getting through bad days so far is 100% and that's pretty good." -Unknown

It's all up to you. The cool (and equally just as scary) part about being an adult is that everything is up to you now! You finally get to decide what to do and who to be. You want to be a Doctor? Go for it. Want to solve world hunger? Awesome! You want to prove everyone wrong? By golly, do it!! "Someone's opinion of you does not have to become your reality..." -Les Brown. I believe that we're capable of more greatness than we think we are. With the aid of our loving Heavenly Father, we can do and become literally anything. The Lord has faith in each and every single one of us. With Him, we can become who He needs us to be, as well as who we truly want to be.

Trust in the Lord. This is probably my greatest piece of advice. I still struggle with it, but as I put my faith in the Lord and His timing, it gets easier and easier to press on because I have a surety that it's all going to turn out okay. "Everything will be okay in the end. If it's not okay, it's not the end." -John Lennon. Always believe in yourself. It can be really easy to feel inadequate. Especially if you compare yourself to the success and progress of those around you. With that being said, Be happy for those around you. We're all living in this crazy, messed up world; whenever someone accomplishes a goal or is living their dream, congratulate them. Be excited for them. It was probably really hard for them and probably took a really long time to get there. But just because good things aren't happening to you right now, doesn't mean they won't ever happen to you. "Faith in the Lord includes faith in His timing." -Neal A. Maxwell. Great things are in store for those who keep trying and pushing on through the hard stuff. You will fail, and it's okay. I couldn't tell you the amount of times I've failed because there have been many. My stubbornness has resulted in a lot of bad decisions which have caused more trouble for me than I even care to think about. However, I've learned from those failures. And so will you. "Failure is only the opportunity to begin again, only this time more intelligently." -Henry Ford. I urge you to find the lesson behind every failure. Learn from your mistakes so that they never happen again. If you fall, pick yourself up, dust off your knees, and keep trucking along - we weren't meant to get through this life without a mark or a scratch.

And always, always remember that you are loved. To whoever you may be, whatever you may be doing, and wherever you may be going, remember that you have a Heavenly Father and Brother, Jesus Christ, who love you dearly. Their love extends far beyond yours and mine understanding - and what a marvelous thought that is. I can't promise an easy life. But I can promise that if you work hard, smile through the bad days, and keep pressing forward, it will all be worth it. So, keep your chins up. Keep moving along. And always keep what your mother told you in your heart: remember who you are and what you stand for. And be proud of it. Stand up for what you know is right and stand up with courage and conviction. Never lose sight of what you want most in life. Chase your dreams and accomplish things nobody ever thought that you could. "Your future is as bright as your faith." -Thomas S. Monson

the time i almost went to jail

We all remember my dirty, white creeper van, right? The one that I have the marvelous privilege of driving around in during my “prime years”? Yeah, that one. Oh, the boys I’ve gotten attention from driving around in this thing!!

Before I go into detail of this rather embarrassing event, I’d like to preface by saying that I am a great driver. I’m also extremely sarcastic and terribly bad at lying.

As mentioned in my “vanbuddies” post, I have a great many driving sins and transgressions. The number of parking citations, speeding tickets, and accidents will not be disclosed at this time. However, you are safe in assuming that I’ve had so many of them that it’s caused the amount of points on my license to sky rocket. It was only a matter of time before I would get my license revoked.

The letter came before I was ready. I opened the sealed envelope and read what was staring back at me: “Due to the amount of points on your Utah Driver’s License, you will need to meet with a member of the court to discuss further action regarding your driving privileges.”

I nervously walked into the DMV on my day of reckoning, silently praying that my license wouldn’t be revoked.

The outcome of the visit: I would be on probation for an entire year. Any citations or tickets would result in suspension for a time period of 30 days.

I walked out of the building, determined to never speed again in my entire life.

That determination was very short lived. I hadn’t even made it ¼ of the way through my probation before I was rolling down my window to face the less than pleasant cop.

By now it was practically routine: Get the registration paper out of the glove box. Hand him your license. Apologize for being stupid. And wait.

Part of me nervously anticipated what he would find when he punched my name into his little computer. The possibility of having to forfeit my license and vehicle right there on the freeway became utterly terrifying. Fortunately I was able to continue my drive back home without the police officer possessing the knowledge of my probation.

I began wishfully thinking that somehow the DMV wasn’t notified of my most recent offense. However, those hopes were dashed when I received the letter in the mail; this time calling me to actual court.

The day of my appearance came far too quickly. I walked into the court house and sat down in the back. Never having been in this situation before, I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. The people ahead of me were being charged with fines of upwards of thousands of dollars along with receiving jail sentences.

I felt the color drain from my face as my heart began to pound. I nervously rubbed my sweaty palms on my pants as I anticipated the moment they would call out my name.

While trying my hardest to appear confident, my mind was racing: What if I go to jail? I can’t go to jail! I have school… and a job! How will I get a job after going to jail!? Would I even survive in jail? Would they put me with criminals?? Will I have to wear an orange jumpsuit every day?! What about my apartment? Someone will have to move all of my stuff out!

Then, I began to try and see the bright side of going to jail at the young age of twenty: I guess this will help you finally learn your lesson.

You won’t have to buy food or pay for rent for three months!

 By the time you’re out, your missionary friends will be 90 days closer to being home!

The negatives greatly outweighed the positives.

My thoughts were disturbed when I heard them call out, “Cambri Hill”. Here goes nothin.

I walked up to the podium. Smile. Maybe he’ll think you’re a really sweet girl and that you shouldn’t go to jail. I smiled weakly as I squeaked out a shaky, “Hello”.

The judge read what was on my ticket and glanced up at me as he asked, “How do you plead?”

Oh my gosh. I have to plead?! This is the type of stuff you watch in movies!!.

“Guilty.”

Here it comes. Jail. 90 days. I’m ready.

I left with a fine and suspended license. Hopping into my car, I let out an exasperated sigh as I looked up at the nasty grey roof of my van. Thank you!!!!!

Side note: as a result of my stubbornness, my parents were unaware that any of this was happening. And because of that fact, I was forced to drive around in my minivan illegally.

It didn’t take long before the flashing blue and red lights appeared in my rear view window. My fist pounded the steering wheel before I began the search to find my license. I wasn’t even speeding!

One would say I have terrible luck. And I would agree.

I rolled down the window and plastered on the nicest smile I could. “Hi, officer. Was I speeding?”

“No. Your registration is expired. Were you aware of that?”

No. No I wasn’t.

Miracle of miracles, I was set free, without him even looking at my license – er, revoked license.

I immediately began the process to getting it registered. I could not get pulled over again.

Just as luck would have it, the process to getting my lovely van registered took far too long, and this time, the cop discovered my secret. I informed my dad of the ticket I had received, assuming I would just take care of the fines myself. However, he was determined to pay. I immediately regretted telling him I had ever received the ticket – I knew that if he dug enough, he would come to find that I was driving with a revoked license.

So I did what any smart, sophisticated individual would do: hide. Everything.

Each time I went home, I knew I would be asked if I had called on my ticket; “Oh. I forgot. I’ll do that tomorrow.” He would periodically ask, “Where’s your ticket?” And I would respond, “I left it at my apartment.”

Finally, my dad’s patience had run out and he resorted to calling on the ticket himself. And it just so happened, the day of my now second court appearance, was when he decided to call.

I left my class at UVU and shamefully drove to the American Fork Judicial Court building. I parked my car and slumped my shoulders as I walked inside, took off everything metal, and stepped through the security system – if only I was at the airport instead, getting on a one-way flight to Hawaii.

I walked into the court room, and again, sat as close as I could to the back, watching as numerous people bustled in. My mind began to wander; what if this is the time I actually go to jail? So I pulled out my phone and went to the one place where all of life’s questions are addressed: Google.

I clicked on the first link that popped up: Yahoo! Answers. The girl explained her situation (much similar to mine) and asked if she would be going to jail.

Every. Single. Answer confirmed her worst fear (and mine).

Upon realizing that Google would provide no relief, I looked up to see a tall, skinny brunette frantically run inside. She had on dirty sneakers, yoga pants, and an oversized sweatshirt. Her hair was pulled back from her make-up free face. Ha. I thought. That looks like my…

Mom?!!

My eyes widened. What is she doing here?! I was caught. I cocked my head to the side, attempting to hide my presence as I slowly sunk as deep as I could into the bench. Maybe she won’t notice?

My phone lit up with a text that read: Where are you? Dad called on your ticket. You have an appearance in court right now!

Both realizing and accepting that I would not be able to somehow magically melt away, I responded: Look to your left.

Our eyes met. “What are you doing here?!” She mouthed.

Moments after confessing to my mother, my name was called. I squared my shoulders and straightened my shirt as I struggled to confidently walk up to the podium. The two note-takers looked up at the judge and said, “Oh. Miss Hill will be late. Her father called in and said she was at school.”

The judge looked at me through her glasses and said, “Does your Father know you aren’t in school?”

After receiving the appropriate consequence of my actions, I left the court room, my mother in tow. I expected a good scolding and a “you need to be more careful” talk on the way out of the court room. I prepared my eyes to start rolling and my breath to start sighing.

She laughed. “Thanks for a tour of the Judicial Court House! I should have taken a picture of you up there!”

What!?

***

There are three conclusions that have risen from this oh-so-embarrassing story of mine:

Number one: Be good to your Mom. One day she may be running into a court room after being at the gym to explain why you’re missing (even if you really aren’t).

Number two: This would make for a great story, someday.

I didn’t realize that “someday” would be so soon after. The wound of embarrassment is still fresh as ever. But upon realizing that my mother’s newest goal was to share this humorous adventure with any and every soul that she could, I found it best to expose it now.

It’ll be good for posterity. Right?

And number three: Have I learned my lesson?

I guess we’ll find out.

1,836

Disclaimer: I'm about to embarrass myself and I kind of can't believe I'm actually putting this in a post.

After deciding that I no longer wanted to further my education at BYU-Idaho, I took a break. And it was nice. I just had to work and do marching band and I didn't have any homework or weird professors to worry about. I didn't have to hike up a hill to get to my math class nor did I have to stress about making that midnight deadline before the science homework timed out and I got an F.

Being away from the college scene was nice. So nice that I even toyed with the idea of not getting a college degree. I have a nice job - I get paid very well and work with some great people (my mother included). I could make it through life forever working at OneExchange and be just fine.

However, after 7 or 8 months, I actually began to miss school - kind of. Once I decided that Music Education was NOT a good fit for me I didn't know what to do. So I put school off another semester, vowing to re-apply to UVU for the Fall semester.

And I did! I re-submitted my application and was accepted. Then I had to jump through a TON of hoops; go to an orientation, submit my transcripts, meet with a counselor, etc. It was annoying. So annoying I contemplated not doing school for another semester.

But I pushed through the annoying holds and slowly but surely I got rid of them all and was able to sign up for classes. I only signed up for two: math and health.

The first day of math class came too quickly. I wasn't prepared to be in math again. Especially at 8:00. On a Saturday morning.

My professor looked up from his computer and pushed up his glasses as he smiled tiredly. "Good morning." Each of us grumbled out our own "good mornings" which actually meant, "I want my bed."

He walked around to the front of his podium and folded his arms. "What in the world are you all doing here on a Saturday morning?"

I'm wondering the same thing.

"And in a class that's almost four hours?"

Don't remind me.

"You're all crazy."

I know.

After going through the syllabus and Chapter 1, I determined that, with work, I could pass this class.

Now, before you continue to read, you must understand two things: 1) I've always struggled with math. Whether or not that's because I actually worked hard in order to try and understand it or not is irrelevant. 2) I took a math class in Idaho but gave up trying relatively quickly. So, if we don't include the BYU-Idaho math class, I haven't been in a math class since 2012 - that's a LONG time.

The second class was much harder than the first. 8:00 seemed to come far too early and already I didn't care what others thought about my appearance; so up went the hair and on came the band T-shirt, which allowed me to sleep another thirty minutes before I had to leave at the absolute last possible second.

I walked into class and slumped into my chair, still trying to wake up my tired eyes.

"Quiz time!"

Oh yeah. I forgot we do that.

I pulled out my paper and began answering the questions he had prepared. The quiz was only four questions. It was easy peasy.

I got to number 3. The question was: 6^3.

Cool. This is easy.

So I wrote out my work: 6*6*6.

Okay. So 6*6 equals 36.

I wrote it down on the paper. Then I stared. I had to do 36*6 but didn't know if off the top of my head and unfortunately I couldn't use a calculator.

Oh! I'll just do the cool multiply thingy!

So I wrote down 36*6. I knew I had to do 6*6 again, which was 36. So I wrote down 36 (without carrying the 3 up to the top). Then I multiplied 6*3 and got 18.

Sweet! 1,836!

I boxed my answer and moved on to number four. Which was seemingly just as easy as the previous three questions. I confidently turned my paper into the professor and waited for him to tell us the answers.

Everything was going perfectly until he said the answer to number three: 216.

What?!

My eyes widened. It took everything I had not to raise my hand and blurt: "Um. Excuse me? But you're wrong." I looked around at the other students and noticed nobody else was squirming in their seats.

I pulled out my calculator and did the math. The number 216 stared back at me.

How?! I even double - checked my work!!

I re - typed it into the calculator and clicked enter. Nothing changed. I scratched my forehead, trying to figure out what I had done wrong.

Oh. You're supposed to carry the 3....

I don't want to know what my professor thought when he looked at my work to number three.

At first, I was frustrated with my stupidity. How can you forget how to do multiplication after doing it so many times for so many years?! They ingrain it into your soul!! Needless to say I've kicked myself a few times for that mistake. But on the bright side, I'll never forget that 216 is the answer to 6^3.

After the 'incident', I vowed that I wouldn't tell a single soul about my lack of remembering how to do simple multiplication. However, once my dad asked how math was going I couldn't stifle the laugh. I trifled with the thought of telling him, knowing that he'd get a good laugh out of it.

I stood up, went to the office and grabbed a pen and a paper and then walked back into the kitchen and began to explain to him what I had done on my quiz the previous day.

He laughed.

I laughed.

We laughed.

Then I realized that this was actually really funny. So I told everybody. They all laughed. And I laughed with them.

One of my absolute favorite quotes comes from Sister Marjorie Pay Hinckley: "The only way to get through life is to laugh your way through it. You either have to laugh or cry. I prefer to laugh. Crying gives me a headache."

Now, obviously I didn't cry at my lack of intelligence in the math department, but I could have chosen to be more discouraged and frustrated about it. After all, that one little answer (or big if you refer to 1,836 rather than 216) ended up giving me a 75% on my quiz.

Life is about choices. We can't often choose exactly what will happen to us but we can choose how we will react.. "Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of his human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way." -Viktor E. Frankl (Man's Search for Meaning)

In the end this little quiz won't have much of an impact on my life... or my final math grade for that matter. However, I'm always going to get a good laugh out of this embarrassing moment if I choose to. And just like Sister Hinckley said, laughing about it is much better than crying.

Life is full of choices. We can choose to be miserable or happy. What you choose is up to you.

two decades is a long time

Apparently you have to live for a while to learn a lot of things... and then you still have to learn a whole lot more - even if you don't really want to.

Yesterday was my twentieth birthday - it feels really weird saying and writing it... but I couldn't be more excited for this next year and all that will come my way. I've truly been blessed with many amazing friends and family - all that have helped make my life simply wonderful.

The past two decades have been rough and frustrating, but they've also been really great. I decided to blog about twenty things I've learned in the past twenty years....

1. You have time. AKA: Patience. Just because I've learned that this is important... doesn't mean I'm any good at it. This will probably be a life - long struggle for me. Seriously, though. Ask anybody that knows me - I'm probably the most impatient person you'll ever meet. However, I've come to find that there are things in life I'm just going to have to wait for - and if I decide to have a negative/bad attitude while doing so... I'm going to hate life. Also - if you pray for patience... the Lord is going to give you trials that require you to exercise patience. This could be bad of me to say - but because of that, I don't pray for patience....

2. Ask for and accept help. I'm stubborn. I want to do what I want to do and when I want to do it. I've never been good at accepting or even asking for help. But I've realized that I can't do everything on my own - the Lord has given me parents, friends and leaders to help me through some of life's toughest moments. Besides... life is so much easier when you accept help - your parents let you eat from their fridge when you're sick of ramen and scrambled eggs and you never have to pay for toilet paper (I'm not sure if they know I steal that....)

3. The Lord's plan is not your plan. ---This is the theme of my LIFE! "If you want to make the Lord laugh, tell Him what your plans are." I'm sure the Lord has gotten a few good laughs from me. I've learned that I'm not my happiest when I'm doing what I think I want to or should do - but when I follow a good prompting and do what I know the Lord wants me to do... I'm my happiest.

4. Eat what you want! I was on a date with a boy a few months ago and was looking at the menu, trying to decide what to order. I thought, "I could order a salad and look all healthy," but then my eyes wandered over to the steak and I thought, "or I could buy this freaking delicious steak and enjoy it!!" While I was eating my small piece of heaven on earth (yes, I got the steak. DUH!), the boy looked at me and said, "Life is too short, eat what you waaaant!" I smiled, nodded and continued eating. Now. I would like to say... that eating healthy and exercising is important... and I should DEFINITELY be better in that area. But life is too short. If you have a piece of Zupa's seven layer chocolate cake in front of you... eat the dang cake and run an extra lap at the gym tomorrow.

5. Give your little brother lots of hugs & kisses. I have one brother. And I love his guts. I've always been jealous of the girls that have older brothers. They're teased mercilessly, but they've also got a best friend that will stick up for them and beat the boys up when they're being stupid (which is a lot of the time;)). Clearly, I don't have an older brother here to tease me... so I've graciously accepted the role as 'teaser'. While I will admit the teasing has caused a lot of unhappy faces from my brother, it's brought a lot of laughs and good memories to our brother/sister relationship. Someday he'll know I do it because I love him - and maybe one day he'll even give me hugs and kisses on the cheek without squealing!

6. Don't give away your kisses like candy. I remember making a HUUUUGE deal out of my first kiss. I wanted it to be special and magical! I imagined meeting a cute boy and falling deeply in love with him before he pulled me in close for a good, foot poppin' smooch (just like Princess Diaries)! It did NOT happen like that.... at all. And once it was over I realized that all the fuss about a first kiss was really nothing to fuss about at all. After that I gave my kisses away too freely and easily. Growing up I had told myself that holding a boys hand and kissing was something special because it meant that I really liked him. Society today tells us otherwise. We cuddle because it's fun. We hold hands because we can. We kiss because, heck, why not?! My advice? Save em'. Save those kisses!! Make the boys earn them... make them wait. Make them mean more. Make them special.

7. Friends (and fries) are way better than guys. I dated a boy a while back and spent ALL my free time with him. Literally. All of it. After the one month of dating bliss and happiness ended, I realized I hadn't spent enough time with my girls - the friends that have been there WAY longer than any boy. Luckily for me, I was blessed with some pretty fantastic (and loyal) friends. They put up with me while I was crazy over a boy and then stuck by my side and even offered to help me bury him after we broke up. This.... this is what true friendship looks like ;). Advice? Boys are great. I love boys. I enjoy dating and spending time with them. But please... you have some pretty great best GIRLfriends that would do anything for you. Don't ditch them once you have a boy in your life. Make time for your friends; have a girls night, paint your nails, watch that chick flick that makes you cry while you eat your tub of Boom Chocolatta Ben and Jerry's ice cream. Boys come and go... but your girls have been here for a while. Trust me, you want to keep them around.

8. You do not need a boy to make you happy when you have bdubs (Buffalo Wild Wings). Amen. I told my parents I wanted to go to bdubs for my birthday dinner and my mom said, "You go there enough already! It isn't even special!!" Needless to say, we didn't go... but you'll probably find me there one night this week. I realize this one is similar to #7, but I wanted to dedicate this specifically to the true love of my life - Buffalo Wild Wings. No, this is not a boy, but it gives me Parmesan Garlic wings and seriously... what else could I ever want?! While I was in high school (and even once I graduated) I was always jealous of the girls that dated and had boyfriends. They walk around, laughing and smiling, hand in hand with their "other half". For some strange, absurd reason I thought that I had to have a boyfriend to be "truly happy". Obviously I hadn't met bdubs yet ;). No, but seriously... you do NOT need a boy to make you happy - this is such a lie. Like I said in #7; boys come and go. If you base your happiness solely on a guy... well... best of luck to you. Advice? Find things you love and go do them. Or... go eat there ;). The guy can come later.

Which brings me to number...

9. Make time for what you love. One of my greatest joys and blessings is music. I picked up the flute in seventh grade and fell in love. In ninth grade I joined the American Fork marching band and eventually fell in love with that, too. It has become my life. I now have the opportunity to staff at Westlake high school in Saratoga Springs and work with twelve amazing young women. Ever since ninth grade I've been super busy because all of my time was taken up with band - but I've always been okay with it because I loved it. Now I'm trying to juggle working a full time job, school, AND teaching... and somewhere in there I'm supposed to sleep and be social and date? Ha. My schedule has always brought me a lot of stress and because of that people have often suggested I give something up in order to relieve myself. But what do I give up? I work because I have to. I go to school because I should (and because I have to). And I do music because I LOVE it. The past seven years of my life have been filled with marching band and quite frankly, I can't imagine life without it. If I HAD to go to school and work, I would make time for music. So I've let myself live the stressful life so that I can have time for what I love. Because of music, I've gained friendships I'll have for forever. I've learned lessons that I wouldn't have otherwise. And it's a big part of who I am today. Advice? Make time for what you love. Even if that means sacrificing sleep and some dates with a cute boy.

10. Actually work hard in school. Ha. Ha. Boy do I regret this, big time. I didn't do terrible in high school... but I definitely didn't do amazing, either. Once I got to college I found myself regretting some of the decisions I had made in high school. I wished that I had worked a little harder and done a little better. Now, I'll be honest, I FAILED at my first two semesters of college and I'm greatly looking to redeeming myself this upcoming semester at UVU. How I did in school is probably the one thing that I would go back and change. If I could, I'd work harder and care more about my education.

11. Dress up. I love to look nice. Sometimes I sit and stare at my closet and put together outfits in my head that I can wear later on. I've had some people ask me why I take so much time to get ready or why I spend money on clothes (and by spending money I most often mean going to TJ Maxx or Ross). Answer? Because I like how I feel. I love to dress up and look nice - even if I don't have to. Now of course there are days when pajamas, pizza, and Pretty Little Liars is TOTALLY acceptable. But on the days where I'm out and about? I like to look my best. Ever since I heard this I was always afraid to go out in public looking terrible: "Always look your best. You never know if you'll meet the man of your dreams today."

12. Don't be afraid of what people think. Any of you that follow me on Facebook or Instagram know that I like to post a lot of quotes. I haven't really been afraid to share my testimony or my thoughts on the Gospel. If I find something I want to share... I share it! I'm very blunt and honest about my feelings pertaining to the Church and love to share what makes me happy. I'll admit, there have been a few times where I've been afraid to open my mouth and share something (or type something into my Facebook feed). I wonder if I annoy or if I'm too forward. But honestly - I've learned to just not care. The one day I decided not to post anything, I received a private message from a friend that said, "Thank you for posting what you post. I needed that today." So I kicked myself, got on Facebook, and posted something anyway. Advice time? Do what you want. Be who you want to be. And don't be afraid of that. "Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind." - Dr. Suess

13. It's okay to take a day off. Pizza and Netflix. Need I say more? But really. My life is incredibly busy. I'm constantly on the go and barely have time for my head to hit my pillow at the end of the day before I'm already hitting snooze on my phone the next morning. I joke about taking the day off to order pizza and watch Netflix ALL the time. And one time I actually did it (okay, I didn't order pizza... but I should have!). I took a day just for myself and caught up (probably a little too much) on my Netflix show. Best. Decision. Ever. After that day I was able to do more. I didn't feel like I was constantly on the go or like I was going to die from lack of sleep. Obviously you'll have to suffer the consequences of taking a day off... but sometimes I think it's worth it. Just don't do it too often ;).

14. Just read your scriptures. (That meme made me laugh way too hard) Just do it. I know, it's hard. It takes time. But oh is it important. My scriptures have collected dust while they sat on the dresser way too many times and I've read 1 Nephi more times than I want to even admit (due to starting over and over and over again). But I've seen just how important scripture study can be and is (I wrote a blog post on it - you should check it out by clicking this link!). I've received numerous blessings that have counseled me to seriously study the Book of Mormon. The times when I'm really good at it, I've been able to see how dramatically my life improves. How much happier I become and how much easier it is to stay strong. My life has been enormously blessed because of the Book of Mormon. I promise it's worth it to take the time to read them - your life will change once you begin a serious study.

15. Make time for the temple. This is something I wish I would have taken more advantage of while I was growing up. I remember going into the temple for the first time after turning 12 and thinking how amazing it was! I promised I would go ALL the time. Unfortunately, I'm no longer that good little beehive and I've struggled to go to the temple as often as I should, when I can go. However, I've recently put the temple into my weekly schedule. And even though I'm still not perfect at going that often, I've seen how much more blessed I am because I have a desire to go and try to as often as my life permits. I love the temple and believe that it is SO important (I wrote a post about this, too). Advice? Go as often as you can. And if you can't go right now? Get to a place so that you can. One of my favorite days to attend the temple is Monday, because it's closed - I sit and park my car in the parking lot and just simply enjoy having the temple in front of me. I promise you will be blessed for attending the temple.

16. Live in the moment. Look forward with caution but definitely DON'T live in the past. Because the past is not who you are anymore (here's another post I wrote about this). Much of who I am today is because of what's happened in my past and I wouldn't go back to change a single thing. However, there have been many times where I've looked back regrettingly (I'm aware this isn't a word) - wishing I could go back and change it all. Obviously that is literally impossible. I've come to find that I can be an amazing individual TODAY despite my past mistakes and decisions. I've also made the mistake of looking forward too longingly (refer back to #1). I'm very impatient and want things now. I wish I didn't have to wait... but I do. Looking forward too far has done me no good, though. I've found that I need to have complete and total trust in the Lord - His plan is far better than what I have in mind.

17. A day without a phone is a good day. When I turned 18 I got my first smart phone. I felt super cool. Along with the phone, we purchased a plan that would allow us to replace the phone at any time within two years for a small fee. I cherished and loved my phone and promised to be careful with it so that I wouldn't ever have to buy a replacement. Two years later and I'm on my sixth phone. The first one cracked. The second fell in the toilet. Third and fourth had similar stories. The fifth phone I decided to try and replace the screen myself (not recommended). I was phone-less for a few days as I awaited my sixth phone in the mail. Initially, my chest tightened and I thought, "Holy cow. I don't have a phone for like, three days!! What am I gonna do?!" Okay. I'm not that glued to my phone. But I did have a mini five second freak out before I realized that going without my phone was actually going to okay. I would not die. And actually... it was fantastic! I didn't feel the constant need to scroll through my Facebook news feed or check for an incoming text message. It was actually quite refreshing and relaxing. I'm not sure why we always feel the constant need to have our phones glued to the palms of our hands - it's actually quite sad. By spending so much time on our phones we lose precious time that could be spent doing other things of MUCH greater value. We miss out on memories and moments that are experienced when our eyes are not attached to our small screens. My advice? Turn it down. Put it away. Heck - turn it off! #17: LIVE IN THE MOMENT!

18. Write. I love to write. My blog is proof of this. I have a personal and scripture journal that I write in quite frequently. I find that I pay attention and remember things more when I'm writing them down. Putting my thoughts on paper helps me to think more clearly and understand things better. A few years ago, I began an electronic journal for my future children. It's filled with life experiences and advice that I would give to them if they were to ever go through the same things (i.e. how I would act differently, what I wished I would have done, etc.). I find that as I've written things down, I'm able to see my progress individually and make goals to better myself. My advice? Write. Write everything down. Write the good and the bad. The happy and sad. Just write.

19. Everybody's got something. Sometimes I look at people and think, "Man. They have it all. And they've never struggled with a thing in their life. Lucky them." I've been slapped in the face for this quite a few times... because everybody's got something. Whether that "something" is you got a bad grade on your math final or you're struggling with an addiction... everybody's got something. Something that is hard for them. Something that is unfair for them. Just because it may seem like a "piece of cake" to me doesn't mean it is for somebody else. God has created a beautiful life uniquely for each and every single one of us. The struggles and trials we go through individually are for our own personal growth and development. I go through what I go through so I can be who I need to be. And that's the same for everyone around me.

20. "Keep your chin up". When I was in junior high, my parents told me that if I joined the track team they'd buy me an mp3 player. OBVIOUSLY I joined the team! I mean, who doesn't want an mp3 player...??! Anyways. I'm the not the best runner ever - running is definitely not my thing. One day I was feeling discouraged about my performance on the team - I was always the last person and always had the slowest time. After sharing this with my dad, he told me that whenever I was having a difficult time while running, I needed to take a deep breath, put my chin up, and say "I got this". Since then, there have been numerous times when he's told me to "keep your chin up", and every time I have a difficult decision to make or am having a rough day, I remember those four words. We're all going to have a rough day - it's inevitable. We'll all be faced with decisions of what is "good, better and best" and it will be hard to choose which direction to travel in. I find hope and peace in knowing that I have someone by my side that knows what it's all like. I have a Savior that has been through any and everything. Just remember to keep your chin up... we're in God's hands and He won't let us down. With Him, we cannot fail.

And a little something extra....

21. The Church is cool. I'll admit, when I was younger I sort of wished I didn't know about the Church so that I could do whatever the heck I wanted. I'd often think, "If I weren't a Mormon I could [insert something not so great]". I sometimes wished I could go get a hamburger on Sunday or watch a movie I probably shouldn't. I'm happy to say I never did anything ridiculously stupid! But it did take a really long time for me to actually want to follow the standards of the Church. It took me a long time to want to read my scriptures and to want to go to Church. It took me a long time to want to pay my tithing or to want to pray. I did everything I was supposed to do because... well, I was supposed to. I believed that the Church was true based off of my parents and other's testimonies. I had a basic knowledge of the Church and could get up and bear a regurgitated testimony. Eventually I decided I needed to figure this Church thing out for myself - so I started doing everything I knew to do. I began reading my scriptures more. I met with my bishop. I began listening to conference talks and praying. I attended Church meetings and functions. Slowly but surely, I noticed a desire was beginning to grow inside of me (I wrote about this in a post, too). I found that I was smiling a whole lot more. Eventually I came to find my own testimony - not the testimony of those around me... but my own, personal testimony. And it meant so much more. Rather than doing things because other people expected them of me, I was doing them because I actually wanted to. I had found a desire to choose the right and serve God. The Church is cool. It really is. It keeps us safe, healthy, and happy. It wasn't designed to constrict us or make us "weirdos" (although, we are pretty weird). There is a reason why it's called "the great plan of happiness". I know that we will be truly happy if we're following the Lord's standards... especially because we want to.

The past twenty years have been good ones. I've learned and grown and couldn't be more thankful for the experiences I've had. I'm thankful for all of the amazing friends and family that the Lord has blessed me with. Thank you for your love and support.

Related posts:
to the recent graduate, 

Once upon a time... a lot has happened.

So many great things have happened recently!! I feel incredibly blessed to have been given the life I have. I know that the Lord loves each and every one of us and that He wants to bless us.

1. I moved to Provo.

Sure did! I moved into Carriage Cove apartments about three weeks ago. I'm loving it. The drive to work isn't very fun... but I like to think it's quite worth it! I was blessed with three incredible roommates; Jessica, Lauren and Brittany. Each of them are so sweet and kind. I seriously couldn't have asked for better roommates.

Dallin and Hollie came and spent the night with me last Saturday night.

2. I went to the Manti Pageant.
For the first time! Our ward went on Friday and then spent the night in some cabins that someone in our ward owns. It was a lot of fun! Surely something I'll always remember. I think it's really cool how the Church does things like this!! And how amazing it was to see all of those people come together to view the Mormon miracle together.

3. We got a dog.

We got a dog? What?! His name is Koda and he is the CUTEST little pup you'll ever see.

4. Parades have started.

Oh parades... how I... love... you...... ;). We've done two parades so far - the kids are looking fantastic and sounding great. I'm looking forward to show season already.

5. My flutes were the first passed off on their parade tune.

Yes. Yes they were :). And I'm SO PROUD!! The girls set a date for them to pass off the tune and even set a consequence if they failed to meet their goal. The drum majors promised that the first section would get cake for being passed off. So, one blistering hot Thursday, the last flute passed off her parade tune and the drum majors announced to the band that the flutes were the first to be done. WHOO!! Saturday night we had a party and the majors brought them they're well deserved cakes :). Now let's be the first section passed off on show music........

6. Work, work, work.
Work has been good... as good as work can be. We had someone from our team that works from New Mexico come in for the week. For some reason his nickname is "sugar lips", so Cindy made sugar cookies in the shape of lips. I definitely am grateful for the opportunity I have to work at such a great place with such amazing people.

7. All my friends are leaving me.

Literally. EmmaLee is going on a mission. Callie is going on a mission. Brianna is going on a mission. Marissa is going back to Idaho. Syvanna is going to Florida. And me? I am in Provo :). 

BUT! I feel incredibly blessed to have been given all of these amazing friends. They've been such tremendous examples to me and have struck with me through the thick and thin and the ups and downs. We've been through a lot together and personally - I'm so thankful for the things I've learned from these beautiful ladies.

Since Syvanna and Marissa are leaving... we decided to take pictures before the three of us are in three different states. We've done this three times now! We've changed SO much.

2012

2014

AND NOW! 

2015.......

I want a man with a motorcycle.

This is for you, Jana ;)

I'm going to miss these three lovely ladies very much. They've both been inspiring to me. They've each had their own individual struggles and trials and I've watched as we've been able to help each other through them. I've seen how much they've grown and what they've learned. It's been an incredible journey thus far and I can't wait to continue making memories. Love you both :)

Exciting Happenings!

Boy, oh boy! SO much has happened! And I've completely neglected to write anything.... so, fair warning: long blog post and picture overload ahead.....

Our family went to St. George during Spring break. It was nice to get away from work for  a few days! We had a good time hiking, going out to dinner, swimming and being together.

We went to Brick Oven for dinner one night and were playing a game called "Heads Up" on my phone. A family full of boys started playing with us - this little one climbed up on my lap. I made a new friend! He told me he'd even draw me a map to his house so I could come find him. What a cutie.

We went and got ice cream one night and asked for all mini's - we ended up getting all large's! Way too much ice cream......

I was so incredibly blessed with so many amazing friends. Every single one of them has helped bless my life in more ways than they can even imagine. 

We had just got home from Morgan's wedding and were having fun with Callie's selfie stick.

This beautiful lady in the middle is such a great example to me!! She has been through a great deal and now manages to live every day with a smile on her face and joy in her heart. She is so strong and courageous and I couldn't be more thankful to get to be a part of her life! She was my first friend upon moving to Utah and still remains to be a good friend of mine. My other friend, Marissa, has been there through the thick and thin with us both! The three of us have been together for years now and I've loved every moment with them both.

Jamie, Mary, Megan and I went on a little road trip after Stake Conference a few weeks ago. We went all around the lake and stopped at a really cool abandoned factory. I feel so honored and blessed to get to not only work with, but be friends with these amazing women!!

Kayla got married!! This young woman has been a fantastic example to me throughout our time knowing each other. I can't believe she's already married! But I'm so excited for her to start this new journey in her life. She made an amazingly beautiful bride and will be an outstanding wife and someday, mother. Thank you for your example to me, Kayla!

Sydnee went to Prom!! She looked absolutely stunning in her dress. So thankful for three fun sisters.

EmmaLee got her mission call!! I love this picture of her. I was so happy to be a part of her call opening!!

All the high school girls that were there supporting Emm.

EmmaLee has been a dear friend of mine for a few years now. We didn't really get to know each other until we were Sophomore's, but we've been playing flute together since seventh grade. I remember being so jealous of her while we were in band together! Now look at us... :). She has been an amazing example to me and still is every single day. She inspires me and helps me to see my potential - I couldn't be more thankful for her! I'm so excited for her to have the chance to serve a mission for the LDS church. I know she'll do many amazing things while serving in Indianapolis, Indiana.... I'm happy I get her for a few more months!!!

This right here... is the Westlake marching thunder for the 2015 marching band season!! We have more color guard that weren't in this picture, but look how big we're getting?! Yesterday we had our first basics camp. It was a long day, but already they're sounding so good!! I'm excited to see where this season takes us as we work hard and progress! I have twelve cute flute players that I'm looking forward to getting to know and work with. Here's to a great season!! SO excited!! :D