Funny Story

Okay, this post is going to sound sort of dramatic. Sorry about that. But I'm sitting here, lost in deep thoughts that I feel the need to share.

Here's the funny story... Life is ridiculous. Reality almost never meets expectation, and life never turns out how you want it to. Problems arise. Disappointment comes. Basically, excuse my language, crap happens. You get hurt and you get broken, and sometimes you don't get the answers to prayers that you wanted.

But good old Darius Rucker taught me a thing or two about that.

His whole song "This" is great. But I especially like one line.

"Maybe it didn't turn out like I planned, but maybe that's why I'm such a lucky man."

He isn't exactly where I usually get my wisdom from, but I find comfort in his lyrics anyways. Now... More importantly, it's important to remember that it doesn't matter that things don't happen how you want them to. Because the truth is they happen how they're supposed to. Our Heavenly Father knows what is best for us - ALWAYS. Even when we don't. ESPECIALLY when we don't.

Even though I know that, sometimes it's still hard to accept it. Sometimes accepting life's unexpected turns is easier said than done. But it's still possible. :)

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Freedom!

Classes finished. Check. (old news!)
Final Research Paper finished and submitted. Check. (again, oldy-moldy news)
Finals finished. Check.

.......

Wait, wait. Check on finals finished? WOOO!!

I'm free from school for 18 wonderful, wonderful days!

There may be tears of joy rolling down my cheeks this very minute. If not literally, definitely figuratively.

Almost . . .

Almost is a funny word.

It can be used in a good way. Like I am almost done with finals! The thought makes me want to weep tears of joy. This semester has been crazy and I'm so excited to almost be done with it. The word has this feeling of excitement and celebration because a victory is near.

But . . . it can also be a horrible word. I almost won. I almost passed the class. I almost got the job. Instead of talking about how something great is going to happen sometime very soon, it talks about how something really great didn't quite happen.

Really, the word sort of scares me. Because when it comes down to it, almost never cuts it.

Merci! - #37

I'm thankful for . . .

#37 WILLIAM

I love this kid so darn much. It's really not even funny. He is the sweetest, funniest, most adorable little thing ever. Like Janson (I'm SO BLESSED to have them both), he always makes me happy. Always. Hanging out with him is honestly like therapeutic. Nothing seems so bad after spending time with my little man. He has always been such a sweetheart. I still remember one day when I was feeling a little sad for some reason and Will just randomly was all "I like your shirt" or something. And it was so sweet and everything that it melted my heart and I was happy. He said stuff like that all the time, about my clothes or me or my hair. He is incredibly smart and clever. He is adorably (and sometimes not so adorably) stubborn, and this paired with his cleverness makes him quite a force to be reckoned with. He loves to make deals and he usually wins because he is just so reasonable. You can't fight reason. It's just my favorite when he works us all to his will using reason and downright sweetness. Even without the reason I couldn't say no to that child. I truly would not be the same person without him in my life. I am so grateful every day that I was blessed with such absolutely perfect nephews. I couldn't have asked for two better ones. I love them both so much.

Merci! - #36

I'm thankful for . . .

#36 ROOMIES

*Sorry, no collage

I really love my current roommates. For the first time I actually have roommateS that I like spending time with. I've had at least one at a time before, but I actually love BOTH of them at the same time! We actually hang out, and we talk all the time. I tell them more about my life than I am sure they want to know, but it's fun haha. They like knowing what is going on with me and I like knowing what is going on with them. They are both nice, sweet, and totally funny. I'm really so grateful for them. I wish Sharisse (left above) wasn't graduating this semester and abandoning us! Who knows if we will like the next one at all! But for now, I'm grateful for my roomies.

Merci! - #35

I'm thankful for . . .

#35 REBECCA


Rebecca is my BF4E. For those of you who might not understand my genius code (?), BF4E = Best Friend 4 Eva. Sooo much better than BFF. Seriously. Well Becca really is mine. But since she suddenly doesn't like that title, I will also tell you that she is my best friend. She is so great and I don’t know what I’d do without her. (Running theme in these posts… Huh.) After all our friends left on missions, we were all each other had. And she has come to mean even more to me in the past few years than before. We became friends in 8^th grade (busy year for best friend making for me) and we have honestly been the best of friends since. She makes me hilarious and I love that. She is also hilarious and I love that too. Most of the time I’m pretty sure we are practically the same person, and it’s great. We do fantastic things like buying and dressing up in disguises, synchronized stargazing, Eunice creating, basketball player stalking, Disneyland tripping, and Jungle Cruising. She makes me laugh harder than just about anyone I have ever met. We laugh a lot, but we are also friends on a deeper, more serious level. I really heart her.

Merci! - #34

I'm thankful for . . .

#34 (my) MOM/JUDITH

*I'm feeling the Paris pictures today.

Ah, JuJu. What would I do without my mother? It’s the typical, cliché thing to say, but a girl really needs her mom. And mine is pretty much the best. We are very similar. This sometimes created issues when I was growing up, but now we just get along so well. She understands me when I go through my nutso moments and she listens and gives great advice when I babble on and on about my life. Like my Dad, I know she loves me and cares about me. She always shows it and it isn’t something I’ve ever doubted. She even gets teary when I'm happy. AND sometimes she buys me little presents and they are just so great. (Thanks Judith!) Once her and Emily even brought me this adorable little treat bag when I was going through a really stressful time this semester. I know I told her thanks, but I don’t know if she realized how much the little things like that really mean to me. I’m so grateful to have such a great Mom. And I really love her muttley laugh. Just sayin'.

Merci! - #33

I'm thankful for . . .

#33 JONNY

*Again - no recent...sad

Jonny and I were on Student Council together our Junior year at THS. Part of me loved Student Council, but part of me sort of hated it. But no matter what Jonny always made me at least happy that I was on it. And I'm grateful to him for that. I'm so glad that we became friends that year. We are still friends and I love that. He got home from his mission in June, and I've loved having him back. He cracks me up constantly and he is always there for me. He has been a great friend all these years and I know it's not going to change anytime soon.

Merci! - #32

I'm thankful for . . .

#32 JENNY

Jenny is my oldest friend. I still remember when I was this nervous little almost-5th-grader who moved into a new house and didn't know anyone, and there was this girl who lived two houses down who befriended her. I will forever be grateful that she did. We didn't become really good friends until Jr. High, but when it happened, it seriously happened. She is one of the best friends I will ever have. She cracks me up and she makes me smile. I enjoy spending time with her, even if it's just talking. She's married now, but I still get to see her and I love that. It's crazy - I won't see her in ages, but when we do see each other it's like no time has passed. She has been a great example to me and I just love her.

Merci! - #31

I'm thankful for . . .

#31 JANSON

I love this little guy! He is so absolutely hilarious and so cute that it's actually ridiculous. I love how happy he always is. He just loves everyone and everything. At the same time, I adore those rare times when he isn't happy because it's too funny and he is so adorable. He is quite the little drama king and I love it. Every single time I see him he makes me happy. It doesn't matter how horrible of a day or week I'm having. He is (almost) always so genuinely happy/excited to see me and I am instantly completely happy. He's a sweet little spud and I really can't say no when he so sweetly asks me to play with him. Not that I mind. :) I love him so much and wish I got to spend more time with him than I usually am able to. I'm so grateful for the blessing he is in my life.

Merci! - #30

I'm thankful for . . .

#30 EMILY

Remember those three sisters I mentioned? Enter Emily, the youngest. She is such a cutie. Sometimes I’m a little annoying and tease her too much, but that’s just cuz it’s my job! And most of the time she tolerates it. It’s been so fun seeing her grow up all these years. I just get all teary when I think about how my baby sister is growing up and is a young woman now. It’s precious. She really is adorable and I really enjoy spending time with her. Sometimes I pretend to complain about the fact that I’m not the spoiled baby of the family, but really I’m so grateful that I’m not. My life wouldn’t have been the same without Emily, and I’m grateful we had that extra surprise.

Merci! - #29

Sorry it took me so long to get some more up. I just got busy! So, impatient ones (you know who you are haha), here we go. Now you know I am grateful for you too. Though you should already have known that.

I'm thankful for . . .

#29 (my) DAD

*He is quite the model.

My Dad is pretty much the coolest Dad. He is downright hilarious. In fact, my Pops and I are just about the funniest people ever together sometimes. Often the other people in the family don’t understand our sophisticated humor, but it’s definitely legit. :) In addition to being funny, he is also just very caring and I know he loves me. It’s wonderful having a Dad that I know loves me and cares about what is going on in my life. He makes me feel better about myself, especially since I know how much he trusts me and how much faith he has in me and my abilities. I love our sushi daddy-daughter date nights and when we go get Thai food with Emily (since my Mom hates it). He does sweet little things for me like that, and it’s so nice. He’s such a wonderful support and I’m so grateful for him.

Merci! - #28

I'm thankful for . . .

#28 BROTHERS

*Sorry . . . I worked with what I had, which was pretty much nothing

I'm not lumping them together because I love or like them any less than my sisters - I just don't have so much mushy gushy, warm fuzzies stuff to say about them. But I really am grateful for them. I barely consider Jason and Jeff brothers-in-law. As far as I'm concerned, they are basically just my brothers. I love having brothers. They are funny and nice and I know they care about me and my life too, just like my sisters. It's been really fun having more males in the family in recent(ish) years. And I've always loved having Brycen for a brother. We had our rough patches growing up (he just loved picking on me ALL THE TIME haha) but over the years we've gotten closer and we actually get along. They're all great!

Merci! - #27

I'm thankful for . . .

#27 BRITTANY

Brittany is the second oldest of those wonderful sisters I mentioned yesterday. I don't know what I'd do without her either. She is also really so great. I enjoy spending time with her and I really like how sometimes we randomly just talk on the phone for awhile. It's always good catching up with her, and I love that I seem to see her more often than I used to. No matter how boring my life is, she always seems to be interested in what is going on. She likes to hang out with me when possible and that always makes me feel good. :) She's fun and does random things with me like audition for Deal or No Deal. She is a really strong person and she's a wonderful example for me.

Merci! - #26

I'm thankful for . . .

#26 AMBER

Sisters are the best, and I happen to have three wonderful ones. Amber's the oldest, and I don't know what I'd do without her. She is always there to listen to me babble on and on about my life and she genuinely cares about what is going on with me. She thinks (or at least pretends to think) that I am funny and that is great for my self-esteem. :) She gives great advice, and I really love spending time with her and just talking to her. She is an incredibly nice person and I happen to find her funny also. She is an amazing example to me and I want to be just like her when I "grow up" (aka graduated, married, and with a child/children).

Merci! - #25

*I put off posting about people because I didn't want people to get offended by the order. Silly, but true.

But it's time. I'm going alphabetically! I tried to go by age but it got all complicated when I tried to
figure it out haha.

I'm thankful for . . .

#25 ALLEN

*I'm totally copying my BF4E with this picture collage idea. I hope she forgives me...
** I can't believe how few pictures I had of only us - I don't even have any recent ones

Allen has been my best friend since the end of 8th grade. Around 7 years. And I truly don't know what I would have done without him all this time. He is honestly one of the most amazing people I have ever met in my entire life. He got home a couple weeks ago from his mission, and I couldn't be happier. I was so proud of him for being on a mission, but I missed him so so much. I kept thinking it would get easier, but I really just missed him more every day. Having him back home is like having a part of me back that I thought I'd lost. We are both different people and our friendship isn't the same that it was before his mission, but he is still my best friend and it's practically like he never left. He is the best example to me. He is always nice, incredibly thoughtful, hilarious, and just downright wonderful. He makes me happy and he makes me want to be better. I trust him more than I ever thought I could trust someone (and that's saying a lot), and I couldn't ask for a better friend. I'm so grateful we became friends all those years ago.

Merci! - #24

I'm thankful for . . .

#24 PEP TALKS

*No relation other than that these two silly boys always
make me feel better - much like a pep talk

At the end of class yesterday my professor gave us a pep talk of sorts. She said she usually gives it Winter Semester but she realized she won't have us all next semester. Which is sad because she is a fantastic teacher. Fingers crossed that I get her again.

Basically she said that she has noticed that people have started to lose faith in themselves. The second midterm was rough on a lot of people (including me) and as she has talked about it with students who come in for help, she is noticing a trend of "giving up." I was one of those people she was directing her words to. I have been feeling extra failure-like lately and I feel like no matter what I do I'm going to fail - so why try? Bad, I know.

But listening to her pep talk made me realize just how not alone I am in the feeling. And her words of encouragement and all that jazz were just what I needed to hear. I'm feeling better about life again. Especially about the program and her class (my personal Everest). I'm really grateful for pep talks like this. They are often needed and I'm grateful there are people who care enough to give them.

Afterwards I felt like I should read one of the talks from last General Conference ("You Matter to Him" - President Uchtdorf). I'm so glad I did. There was a part of it that is my new favorite quote. It was a good reminder to remember what's important and that my best is good enough and that everything will always work out how it is supposed to.

"What mattered to Him was that I was doing the best I could, that my heart was
inclined toward Him, and that I was willing to help those around me. I knew if I did the best I could, all would be well."