Smile at your face in the mirror. Play the dorky instrument. Wear the tacky scarf, date the boy with the funny hair and the great personality.
Let people see you with all your true colors, and let them make their judgements. Because judgements don't matter until we start to pay attention to them.
"We went to breakfast. Gosh, breakfast was gross there."
"He is an odd duck, though. I was hanging up a watch and he leaned his cheek down to my face and pushed my lips on his cheek- and I rolled my eyes at him, and I swatted him away. He started skipping around the store, singing, 'I got a kiss! I got a kiss from the prettiest girl in schoooooool!"
First things first, los amigos: this is going to be a real post. True blue, scouts honor--a real post.
I'm really kicking around as far as posting goes. I've gone and started this and then, in four days, run out of things to write about. I have a journal; it's made of paper and I write in it with the ink of ballpoint pens. I like it that way. And so I can't turn my blog into my journal; that's just a bunch of double journaling. And I'll be bored, and you'll be able to tell. A funny thing did happen tonight, though, that prompted some different ideas. I found a note on my floor that had fallen out of my journal (the real live one), picked it up and read it and did a little bit of reminiscing. A little bit. Then, I opened up my journal with the intent of finding the page it belonged to and replacing it- but the thing about journals, when they're kept well enough, is that it's hard to open to a random page and suppress the want to read it. And so I read it. And I liked what I read so much that I thought...maybe I wanted to share it. So, I did. And I thought, maybe, if I started every post this way- maybe I'd have some things to write. I can place the watch; I can place the store; I can place his tone of voice; I can imagine how far he had to stoop to get his cheek anywhere near mine, and I remember the all-around silliness that ensued on that evening of our graduation day. I can see the rain, and hear its heaviness and I remember how upset I was that the car paint done by my brother and sister was lost in fifteen minutes. I remember the Shirley Temple that was placed in front of me at Chili's and the smiles all around at the way Daisy Kennedy always ordered Shirley Temples; I remember the urgency of the man who rushed us out because there was a kitchen fire and I remember the way I stood in the ice cream parlor in my graduation dress, shielding it as best I could under my wet blue hoodie. And then I remember how happy I was, and how sure I was that I'd never trade those things for anything in the whole world. Because, I had people I loved with me and they loved me back. And when it boils right down to it, the people in our lives are the most important things we have. Were we to lose them, somehow, forever...a lot of other things wouldn't matter anymore.
Sometimes all it takes is the knowledge that we are loved; Sometimes it takes a smile or a moment of laughter. Sometimes, it takes a raincloud, and a thunderstorm To remind us how precious the Sunshine is.
I voluntarily decided to live in a freezing, freezing hole of freeze for the next six months. That is half a year.
By the time my freeze hole becomes bearable again, I will be:
-Nineteen
-Done with my first semester (and almost my second) of college
-A well-seasoned comercial flyer
-BROKE
-Unable to walk anymore because of the permanent breakage that will be my tailbone
-Thoroughly devoid of sunshine and happiness
Okay, maybe not thorougly devoid. But nonetheless, I do not appreciate this. The high for today is 54 degrees, and I've already been a slippin and a slidin once or twice outside...no, I have not FALLEN, so don't laugh at me yet.
This is going to be one looooong winter, my friends.
I just had a thought today, while I listened to President Monson speak in the Conference Center-
Last time I was in the same room as the prophet, I was standing in the Atlanta temple, exhausted because it was early and I'd been in the cultural celebration the night before. I sat next to my friend Abbie and held my white handkerchief in my lap.
We heard a rip of laughter come from the back of the room, and turned around to see the prophet, who walked to the end of our row and extended a hand to Abbie- she shook it and he proceeded up the rows, till he left the room.
I was able to witness the dedication of a temple that, after many, many rehearsals for the production, a sacrificed senior prom, and three weeks worth of trips back and forth, bringing friends to see the inside, meant a great deal to me.
President Monson came back into the temple lobby following the dedication and this time, he shook my hand.
I feel like maybe it's appropriate to mention that when I wrote that post on Friday, about the cultural celebration, I had no idea that I'd hear him mention it yesterday in conference, or that I'd see him again today.
Last night, I was at the grocery store picking up various ingredients for ice cream sundaes. Or, if I get technical, I was at the grocery store walking next to someone else who was picking up various ingredients for ice cream sundaes. In other words, last night, I was in the grocery store picking up various ingredients for ice cream sundays with my hands totally free to take my phone out of my pocket and check the time.
Or something like that.
12:29
Oct 1, 2011
(That's what my phone said.)
In other words...
Oooooooooooh yeeeeeahhhhhhhh.
Top ten reasons why I love October I'm not going to tell you why I love October:
1. You probably love October too, and so
2. You probably already know what I'm going to say, and so
3. You probably don't want to read a list that
4. You probably have read before.
5. I have a lot of homework to do and...
Ijustwanttotalkaboutsomethingelseanyway.
Once again, you have come to ME, and thus...
My point was summed up by 0:15, but if you'd like to finish the song, be my guest.
All I mean to say is that I have the power to talk about whatever I want to talk about.
Anyway,
I'm grateful for the Priesthood, and for good men who do what it takes to hold it.
I watched the second session of General Conference today with my Grandma at her home in Orem, and I was on my way home around 5:40, when, as I grew nearer to campus, I started to see the usual wave of pedestrians who, usually, I really, really hate because they walk in front of my car without looking and....
Okay. But THESE PEDESTRIANS were all wearing white button-ups and ties.
That's one thing I never grew up with- one thing that's new to me here. Just the knowing that of the hundreds of people I see everyday, it's likely that thirty err so percent of 'em are Priesthood holders.
I love being able to see it.
And, right as they crossed the street, a great big gust of wind blew some orange leaves up and over my car--
Did I mention that I love October?
-BF
Message of the day: Be good.
"So act that your principle of action might safely be made law for the whole world." -Immanuel Kant
