Education Week

Last week I had the opportunity of attending Education Week for the first time. I have been wanting to go for a few years and seeing as this may be my last opportunity to go while we live close to campus I decided to do it.

Let me just say that Education Week was so much fun! I'm so glad I went. I didn't do classes all day because Buttercup needed to go out every few hours, but I did do 2-3 classes per day which I think was plenty for me because I was exhausted by the end of the week.

For those who don't know or haven't been to Education Week before, let me give you a brief description. It's like school, except it's all the really cool and fun classes that aren't usually taught at school and there is no homework. There were classes on anything you can think of: religion, media, political-ish, gardening, organization, family, stress relief, cooking, you name it! For all you Upward Bound-ers out there, it's like UB but only a week long instead of all summer.

The classes I took were on time management, home organization, media, a cooking demonstration with Chef Brad, family history, personal finance, safeguarding homes from pornography, and square foot gardening.

I hope to implement the things I learned from these classes to help me become a better version of me. I also hope to come back again sometime and learn even more about neat things.

A Chef Brad creation!

Devotional with Elder Holland

Look at how full it is!

Second time for him and first for me!

A Wild Idea

Sometimes when I am up late at night and am disappointed at the way our country is headed, I get this wild idea that I should maybe run for president when I'm old enough. I don't know if I ever will actually run, but I think the things I believe in could save America. I would help bring America back to the way the founding fathers had intended it. I think I could be a good president. If I were to run for office I wouldn't want to do it the common way, i.e. being a senator/house representative. I think many Americans are getting sick of those types of people being president because they don't really care about the state in which they represent they only care about their own personal ideas. Because I would want to go the non-traditional route I know it would be a lot harder because I am neither rich or famous. I would find a way to get myself known though.

I then had the not as crazy but still crazy idea that I would go to graduate school and then law school. I probably won't actually go to law school because I don't have the intention to become a lawyer or judge, but it would be useful for the background on all the laws that exist in our nation. However, if I do go to grad school I would want to continue in my field of family and see if there are any emphases on law and religion. Religion and family really need help because they are under serious attack.

With these two ideas I think I could have a unique perspective that most don't have when they run for office, which just might be able to help me. Maybe in another post I could share the stance I have on certain topics, but for now this is all just a wild idea.

P.S. If any of you have ideas of how I can make a difference in our nation without becoming president, please comment below. I really want to help our nation rise.

Life as a College Graduate

It has been a little over a month since I graduated. I got my diploma a week and a day ago, so it's official that I'm done. Just have commencement and convocation in April then it will all be complete. On the whole it is great being done with school. I love not having any homework and tests. I miss the daily learning.

Since graduating school I am left with tons of free time. For me it has been a struggle to figure out what to do with it all this extra time now that school isn't "deciding" for me. I realized I spend way too much time on social media (*cough Facebook cough*) and too much time watching the Amazing Race (which apparently BYUtv is coming out with a show that is a combination of the Amazing Race and genealogy--2 of my favorite things) and not as much time with my dog as I would like.

To help me be a better steward of my time I base it off of a few things. First, the scripture John 6:28. I ponderized this a few weeks ago and I really like it. It's a good scripture to remember. I try to let what I do each day be a work of God.

"Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?" -John 6:28 (KJV)

This scripture also reminds me of Elder Lawrence's talk "What Lack I Yet," which is the second thing. I really liked this talk. I know there are lots of things I can improve of myself and when I do I think it will help me in all aspects of life.

The third thing I try and do to be a better steward of my time is live by a schedule. For the most part it works fine. I just have to really try harder at getting ready for bed and waking up when I have planned. I like having a schedule because I purposely don't schedule time for social media to help me not go on it.

Since I know that not scheduling time for social media hasn't worked on its own I decided on Saturday or Sunday that I would only go on social media every other day. If I go on it during an off day then I go 2 days without. Sunday is an exception to the every other day rule. I don't go on social media at all on Sundays.

I really do appreciate all of this free time. It is a much needed break. I also enjoy being able to help out at the local animal shelter (among other hobbies that school didn't leave time for me to do) more now that I'm out of school. All this time has provided me with an opportunity to really think about what I want to do in life, e.g. for work, which is really great.

Beginnings and Ends

Haven't written on this blog since before school started. It has been just that crazy. Plus, some of my time has been more focused on another blog. Now that the semester is winding down (can't believe tomorrow is my LAST day of class as for-like-ever--at least as an undergrad) I feel like I can devote some time to giving an update on the last almost 4 months (even though I have 10 pages to read, a quiz to take, and two 2 page papers to write all for tomorrow).

First, let me start by talking about the classes I took. They all were family related except for one class. This semester I was in Eternal Families, World Lit part 1, Family Life in World Religions, Advanced Family Processes, and a capstone research class.

Eternal Families is a new course. It is part of the new cornerstone thing that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints came out with for its Church schools and institutes. For anyone that took Eternal Marriages and Strengthening Marriages and Family at BYU it is like a combination of these classes. I took it because I like learning about families and marriage (hence my major) and because I needed 2 credits in order to graduate this semester. I didn't need it for fulfilling my religion requirement I filled that out last semester or the semester previous.

World Lit was a pretty good class. Definitely a lot of reading (thank you Sparknotes!), but I tried to do as much of the reading without the use of Sparknotes (although it was used quite a bit to allow me to have time for other homework and responsibilities). Not too difficult. Three exams (that includes the final) and two papers (one 1-page and one 4-5-page) and about 10 in-class essays (open book but doing the reading or as much of it is helpful). At first I was not too sure of how well I was going to like it, but I ended up getting the hang of it and liked it just fine.

Family Life in World Religions was awesome. I really enjoyed learning about Judaism, Catholicism, Orthodox Christianity, and Islam. I loved learning how we are similar and how they live their lives and just learn about the religions because most of them I did not know much about them. I really am grateful for taking it. I have my husband and hopeful job to thank for inspiring me to take the class (I used to think it pointless to learn about other religions when I have one that I am perfectly happy with and love, but now I know it is important for us as a people to come together and focus on our similarities). There's only a midterm and final and a few other assignments. I'll post a picture of something I made for one of the assignments (it was really fun and not too difficult, especially when I have a husband who is really good at math).

What I like to call the Proclamation Principles Temples Clock

Advanced Family Processes was a class that I was terrified to take. I was not looking forward to taking it AT ALL. However, when I switched sections it was not so bad. It was actually great. One of my favorite classes. There was no midterm just a final (which I am a little bit nervous for). There is quite a bit of reading, but it is manageable. The professor I took it from is great. He is a really nice guy and sincerely cares about the students. So, if you are a Family Life major, especially Family Studies take it from Dr. Loren Marks if you can.

The research class was also pretty good. It only met once a week for 50 minutes and we didn't even meet each Monday. There is no test or final. Just a five page paper if you take it as a capstone. Otherwise, it is just 200-300 articles to code. I know that number seems daunting (I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to do that many), but the more you do the easier it gets, especially if you get studies that are multiple samples or international.

I will certainly miss being at BYU. It has been a great 4 years. Definitely made some really great friends and best friends (who I'm pretty sure we're like sisters just because of how similar we all are!), which I hope we will all stay in touch (and get together occasionally) as we move on from BYU and into the "real" world with grown up jobs wherever it may be. Learned so many things. Became a better version of me. Loved being surrounded by so many people who share the same values and beliefs as me.

The girls I like to call sisters. Us back when we were young lasses just barely starting college. My how we have grown up over the years! :)

Although I'll still be in the BYU area for another almost year and a half at least, I'll miss going to class and learning things everyday (not the homework and tests though!). I look forward to hopefully coming back for a Master's degree in 20 or so years (who knows maybe I'll come back to school when my future kids go off to school--how neat would that be!).

It has been real. It has been fun. It most certainly has been real fun. Here's to a beginning of a new chapter of life!

(Just a few pictures to summarize this semester)

LAST FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL

WOMEN'S SESSION OF GENERAL CONFERENCE

HOMECOMING/BYU SPECTACULAR

David Archuleta!

 HALLOWEEN

Twinning! She was getting tired of all pictures I was taking.

Don't worry she didn't eat any of it. There was nothing left for her to eat!

RELIEF SOCIETY SUPER SATURDAY

LIFE

Her favorite hobby: fetch!

Doggy Selfie!

Overcoming Discouragement

I love my husband so much. He knows how to help cheer me up. This past week I have been feeling mega-overwhelmed. I have so many assignments/projects/papers to write/do before the end of the semester that I have no idea how it's all going to get done (it'll get done somehow...). Last night he gave a FHE lesson about overcoming discouragement. He used this article from the Ensign as the basis for his lesson. It was so great. Afterward, we played Just Dance to help relieve the stress (it's both physical activity and a change of pace--we hardly ever use our Wii for playing games during the semester). Surprisingly, it worked! I felt a lot less stressed after playing on the Wii with my husband. I'm still not feeling too stressed today (setting priorities also helps, although this wasn't one of them for today...).

Another thing I decided to do is get rid of all social media and games from my phone. I waste so much time scrolling through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest. Some time (not as much as previous semesters) is wasted through playing games (mainly Sims Freeplay). I still allow myself to go on Facebook a few (no more than three) times a day (mainly because one of my other classes uses Facebook, otherwise I would be refraining from it too). I plan to put Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram back on my phone once the semester is completely over. I don't know about Twitter, since I mainly use it to look at news and not for the original purpose of me getting Twitter--to share uplifting/inspirational/gospel related quotes/scriptures.

I really feel like these things are helping me to be less stressed during this mega-stressful time of the semester.

Easter/General Conference Weekend

I had a really great Easter/General Conference Weekend. It's always one of my favorite times of the year. This weekend my mom came out to visit, so my husband and I took her to all the neat places (the temple, IKEA, Provo City Center temple site, campus, etc.). I loved all the talks, especially the ones that talked about marriage and family. It's been great having her around for a few days. I didn't get much homework done, though. Oh well. Hopefully it'll work out in the end (I'm mostly nervous for a test I have to take tomorrow that closes tomorrow and I haven't had a chance to study for it yet...) :/ Anyway, I love conference. I love Easter. I love my family.

Final Christmas Break Post

This will be my last post ever during Christmas break. Mainly because this is my last Christmas break. This time next year I will be done with college. Yahoo! I couldn't end my break by not giving an update on how the rest of it went, especially since it was most of it.

Dallen and I went to ND to visit my family. It was pretty fun. Thankfully ND wasn't giving us its worst while we were out there. Although, Monday and early Tuesday morning were pretty cold. Without windchill it was -14 to -8 degrees. Brr... The 15 degrees coming back to Utah was warm (for a couple minutes) compared to just a few hours earlier that same morning. The 15 degrees stopped feeling so nice when we needed to wait over a half hour for the train.

While we were in ND we went Christmas caroling on Christmas Eve to the elderly with my family's branch. I hadn't been caroling for a really long time, so I was a bit nervous, but it turned out to be a lot of fun seeing the smiles on their faces as we sang "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" and gave them a plate of cookies. Obviously, we opened presents on Christmas. That same day the power went out for about an hour town-wide.

Friday Dallen and I went to a museum in Bismarck. It was pretty cool. We also walked around the malls, but that is not as cool as the museum. BTW, the museum was free.

Saturday Dallen, Mom, and I went to the temple. That was also really cool. We went to the very last session of the day, which also happened to be a history making one. It was history making because it was mostly a group of refugees from Myanmar/Burma and Thailand who don't understand English very well, if at all, so the temple needed to get permission from Church headquarters (presumably somebody in the first presidency?) to translate it into Karen (pronounced Kuh-rin). That is unique because nothing in the Church has ever been translated into Karen; not even the Book of Mormon or any other temple sessions. Supposedly, it is supposed to be in the Deseret News, so keep in eye out for it (probably the Church News section). Also, I learned that my parents' stake president's daughter was in one of my classes last semester. That is pretty neat too.

Sunday we went to church and had a potluck afterwards. It was a pretty chill day. I taught Mom how to do indexing and use Family Search, so we spent most of the day afterward doing that.

Monday Dallen and Dad went hunting, but didn't catch/shoot anything. That's okay. Since we had to be to the airport by 3 AM Tuesday we decided not to sleep. Bad idea. We were super exhausted all day.

That basically was our trip in a not so small nutshell. Most of the rest of our break was spent relaxing at home. Tomorrow school starts (unfortunately), but it is my last winter semester (fortunately). I'm looking forward to being free from exams, finals, homework, and (most) assigned readings.

I hope everyone has a great semester/year (depending on when I post again)!

Christmas is Here!

Well, not yet...5 more days, but this will probably be my only post during break, so 5 is close enough to 0.

So glad finals and the semester is over. Crazy how fast it all went. This time next year I will be D-O-N-E, DONE! Still don't know what I'm going to do once I'm done. I have a year to decide still.

This semester overall wasn't so bad. I was kept busy but mostly not overwhelmingly so. When things did seem to be a bit much Heavenly Father helped me out. Since the third or fourth week of school I had at least one exam a week. Crazy, but I survived.

My favorite class this semester would probably be my special topics class. I learned so much from that class! I also am a TA for it now. I don't get to deal with the students at all. I actually get to help develop the course, which is pretty neat. That isn't something that happens all the time.

Floral Design was also a fun class. I learned a lot about how to make pretty floral arrangements and all the different names of flowers. If any of you BYU peeps are looking for an elective, it's an easy, fun class (PWS 112).

Food Preparation for the Home was also good. I learned a decent amount in that class. I haven't decided if I like cooking more or not...I think I got better at it though. This is a good class to take if you need a 2 credit class. Just make sure to not miss any lectures (take copious notes), take all the quizzes & write the questions & answers down (or take a picture if that's easier), read the textbook (maybe even take notes over the important stuff), and do the lab readings. Those things will help you greatly on the midterm & final (there's no study guide).

Persuasive Writing & Research Methods were alright classes. Not much to say about those classes, besides the fact that I was worried about these classes the most. They ended up not being so bad.

I think this has been my best semester yet or among one of the best. I'm so very thankful for that. It was such a blessing to get into BYU twice, it's even more of a blessing to be doing as well as I am. So very thankful. I give the credit to Heavenly Father and to me doing all that I can do. Hopefully my final two semesters will go at least just as well. Marriage really has been good to me. Ever since getting married my GPA has gone up each semester, so thank you Dallen. :)

Well, I suppose that's it for now. I'll do my best to write about my Christmas adventures when Dallen & I get back from visiting my family. Merry (almost) Christmas!