Summerlife.

I officially declared the Linguistics major today!

I am really excited to finally have some semblance of direction with what I want to do with my life career-wise. I will probably minor in TESOL, which is Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages. So I'll continue with my Spanish, maybe pick up another language or two along the way, and go from there! I am so happy to have finally found something that fascinates me AND that I'm pretty good at. Also, it helps that it isn't a competitive program (that's what turned me away from the music major. . . . It was not for me). Anyway, long story short, I may still be jobless, but I no longer have the "I don't even know what I'm going to do with my life" complaint on the list. I am so happy, and excited to see where this takes me.

Also, Jazlyn and I have been running.
I am no runner.
But now, I run.
And it's growing on me.
Mostly because I've seen improvement in myself, just in the few days that we've gone.

So step aside, skinny people!
Make some room; I'll be joining you soon.

For Mama

Mama,

Thank you.

Thank you for, well, everything. For life itself. For everything you've taught me-- how to sing, how to play piano, and especially how to love.

Thank you for all the joys I've been blessed to experience. For the opportunities I've had to go to school. For my talents that you've helped me develop. For driving on all the band trips (GO!!! . . . KATE!!!). For making my prom dress and for sewing sleeves on my drum major uniforms. For teaching me about modesty. For teaching me about the Gospel, that I am a daughter of a loving Heavenly Father. And also that I am the daughter of two loving parents here on earth who cared about me enough to pass on every bit of their social awkwardness so that I would not be married too young and I could stay with them a little longer. But really, thank you. Thank you for making our home the place where I have always wanted to be, because I know that it's the best. Thanks to you, of course.

Thank you for all the hugs, kisses, and "I love you"s. For all the laughing. For all the times I've cried to you (which never happens, you know). For the times you've cried to me and let me comfort you. And for all the times we've laughed so hard we cried, like the time we spoke in horse latin for hours on end, and realized the hilarity of laughing in horse latin. . . . halafa halafa halafa! And for becoming my best friend, especially when I had no others.

Thank you for falling asleep on the phone with me. Multiple times. Especially that time when we both fell asleep and didn't realize it until the next morning. That will always make for a good story :)

Thank you for always being patient. For the chuckles and good-natured eye-rolling whenever "Tratelyn" came over to play. A lot of people would never have been able to cope with such obnoxiosity.

(PS, I spell-checked that, and it's actually a word!!! Nice!)

Thank you for still letting me sit on your lap while you're at the computer, even though we've both been too old for that for a long time. And for the kisses on the cheek before bed, though I suppose no one is ever too old for that.

Thank you for being disappointed with me when I did stupid things; that let me know that you trusted me to do the right thing. Thank you for having faith in me and knocking some good sense into me when I needed it. Thank you for loving me no matter what silly things I've done.

Thank you most of all for teaching me through example about motherhood. I have always wanted to be a mother. Seriously, I do not remember a time that I have not had that desire. I know that this is because of you, because of the patience and faith and grace with which you have nurtured and supported our family. I remember being a kid and watching you eat a bowl of cereal, usually standing up with one leg crossed over the other, and I used to always try to imitate the way you would chop your spoon into your cereal to cover it with milk. I could never get it right! But I wanted so badly to do it just like you did. All I could ever do was stir it around, though. Maybe when I come home later this summer you can teach me?

Thank you for showing me, in a world that often diminishes the importance of families and of mothers, that it is a divine role, and that it is not only a responsibility, but an enormous blessing. Thank you, Mama! I love you so much.

Happy Mothers' Day!

Ain't much hollerin' for a one-legged ninjer.

So I am DONE with school until the end of August! I finally took my last test today and wrapped up the semester. And pretty successfully, I might add.

Hallelujah.

Also, Mama told me about the funniest YouTube video today.
West Virginia Ninja.
Warning: You might not find it very funny. I showed it to some of my friends and they just kind of shook their heads and chuckled, saying, "This is ridiculous. Ha."

I, on the other hand, laughed until I cried. . . . Multiple times. Hopefully some of you can get that same enjoyment out of it.

I still need a job, and I have tons of things I want to do (including making a trip up to Seattle to see Greg and Jayne). The only thing stopping me from all of it is money! Or the lack thereof. With luck (AKA "donations"), I'll be able to make that trip at some point this summer, though sooner would be better than later. We'll just have to see what happens.

Change is happening.
So quickly.
But I'm not scared of it like I sometimes have been in the past; I am actually really excited to see what this summer, my first summer away from home, has in store for me.

A few things have already been set into motion that I know will be working in my favor and blessing my life for quite a while. I am sincerely grateful for opportunities I have to learn about myself and to progress--to realize that others, especially my Father in Heaven and my Savior, Jesus Christ, see me in a better light than I often see myself. It's like I'm always looking at myself in fluorescent lighting, highlighting all my imperfections, while They see me in the perfect, glorious sunlight.
It's much more flattering.
Plus also, it's good for my attitude!
The sunshine (both literal and figurative) has been bringing so much joy to me as of late.

Long story short, I have a lot of goals for this summer and I am excited to meet my challenges! . . . Okay maybe I'm more excited about overcoming them, but here we go.

'Twill be fantastic, I'm sure!

Oh, one more thing. . .

Probably the highlight of my day was when I walked out of the testing center and smelled the honeysuckle bush blooming right outside of it! Makes me a little bit homesick, but still very happy.

How do you keep your feet on the ground When you know that you were born to fly?

Another incredible weekend!

Friday night I went to Salt Lake for my cousin Terry's wedding reception. It was so great! Plus my family is amazing and I am so glad I got to be there for such a happy time. It was like something you see in movies, where you just sit back and just watch everyone around you, and you take it all in, and the sound is very distant; you don't hear specific conversations or anything like that, but just the constant hum of conversation with the occasional laugh sticking out here and there as they throw back their heads in laughter. Beautiful.

Also, I caught his wife's bouquet. Well, sort of. You see, what actually happened is that she threw it really high and it hit the ceiling and showered rose petals everywhere, so at first I just got a handful of rose petals in my left hand. But then I turned to my right to see if anyone had caught it, and there it lay on the ground right beside of me. So, naturally, I picked it up and raised it, or the only two roses that were left of it, triumphantly in the air.

Fun stuff!

Saturday was great too, because I got to sleep late. Then my friend Jesse came over and we practiced the song we're singing for my ward talent show tomorrow. Then I did nothing for a while, and eventually I went over to Uncle John and Aunt Cynthia's house. We had dinner and birthday cake for Russell, and then we played Foosball and watched High School Musical 3. It was a blast!

Even though I slept in on Sunday a little bit, I still made it to church on time . . . well, during the opening prayer, but it was close. And we had really great meetings. I truly have a testimony of the reason we celebrate Easter, for the Atonement of Christ and His resurrection from the dead. I am really grateful for that knowledge and the joy it brings to my life.
After church, we went to the Bishop's house and he fed us some AMAZING food and we had a really great time socializing and easter-egg hunting. :)

I got home and then left about five minutes later to go to Aunt Janeen's. I always love going there! Matthew and Jared make my life worth living. They are such fun kids! Plus Jacob liked me a lot yesterday and he's so cute. So life is fantastic!

We played Curses, and for several minutes afterward I was having trouble not speaking like Scooby Doo, as this was the first Curse put on me. Rit ruz run, roe.

All in all, it was really a fantastic weekend! And I had a great day today too, and I only have one class to go to tomorrow. . . then finals, and SUMMER!!! Again, Life is good.