Goals for the summatime

I'm finally home! It was really sad to leave all my friends and life in Utah, but it is good to be back in the Nasti Nati. Besides, I'll see all those people again, so it's not like saying goodbye forever right? (Because, as you all know, I couldn't get housing for next year so I'll be bumming off other people's apartments. hahaha).

So I have this summer to look forward to, and I don't plan on wasting any minute of it. Well, maybe a few minutes of it. But only just a few, and then it gets real.

Here are my goals for the next four months. I'll let you know how I'm doing on them periodically.

1. Save enough money to pay for rent for the whole next year. This of course, means I'll have to find a job, but that should be no big deal, right. Right?

2. Exercise an hour every day and get in better shape. This one will be a toughie, but it's necessary.

3. Finish (and start) my American Heritage independent study course. Ugh.

4. Apply for scholarships. Then get scholarships.

5. Work on the Communcations application. So I can fulfill my dreamz.

and last but not least,

6. Have some fun. I need to learn to balance all my hard work with some adventure. Hopefully my friends (if I have those) will help me out with this one.

oh yeah, one more

7. Get tan. See #2.

Hopefully I can accomplish all these. Keep me motivated!

Lessons Learned

Sorry it's been so long, once again. With finals and the end of the school year coming up, I haven't had much time for anything. Thankfully it's all winding down a bit now so I can get some quality blogging time in.

Lately, as my freshman years draws more and more to a close, I keep hearing the same question repeated by several different sources. What have you learned from this year? This has really gotten me thinking. What have I taken away from my freshman experience here at BYU? Here's a list of the 5 most important things I've come up with:

1. Being independent is awesome, but sometimes hard.

Coming into this school year only knowing one person really forced me to learn how to do everything for myself. Budgeting, cooking, cleaning, shopping - all had to be done with no help. Being a naturally independent person helps a little, but it's still a good feeling knowing the difference between 1-ply and 2-ply toilet paper and knowing how to balance work, school, studying, and a social life all at once. Makes you really feel like an adult.




I can now cook and organize! I'm so domestic!


2. How to deal with disappointments and unexpected changes.

Because they inevitably come. I came into BYU thinking I was going to major in Journalism. Then I discovered that's not what I'm supposed to do. I wanted to be an RA. Didn't happen. I expected something akin to an adventure would occur this year. Not so much. But that's ok. It's how you take those disappointments and changes and deal with them. You can let it get you down, or you can realize that it's not how your life's supposed to go and eagerly await what's going to happen next. And you can also...

3. Learn how to revel in life's little successes.

Cherishing even the littlest good things that happen to you will make you feel so much better about yourself. It helps balance out your dissapointments. Some good things that happened this year:

• made a ton of new friends
• made lots of monay
• got a 3.94 GPA
• got a turkey in bowling! (best of them all, imo)

4. Be tolerant and get along with others different than you.

I'm not from Utah. Half my roommates are. Those are some pretty different backgrounds, yet we managed to get along just fine. In fact, it made for some pretty funny and deep discussions throughout the year. I think the reason we all got along so well is because we were able to embrace each other's differences and learn from each other. And it wasn't just roommates either - you can make friends with just about anyone as long as you're friendly and tolerant and a good listener.

I really am gonna miss these girls

and finally,

5. It is SO important to set goals for yourself constantly.

There were times throughout the year when I just felt like doing nothing and sitting around watching TV all day. However, when you set goals for yourself, it gives you a sense of purpose. And then, when you accomplish those goals, you feel like such a worthwhile person. It's also scientifically proven to give you natural endorphins when you complete a goal. I have some pretty big goals for this summer (#1, GET A JOB), but I'll post them at a later date.

Wow, that was pretty deep. Sorry about that. I've learned alot of other great things this year, but these are the ones that stuck out in my mind the most.