So I apologize in advance, there will be no pictures in this post as my computer generally can't handle uploads of any sort. I have been thinking a lot lately about topics ranging from my new college life, insane amounts of Geology reading/studying, and mission coming up. I have so much happening but even in the midst of this madness, I have found time to write this post. Just an hour ago, I took a break and completely stalked almost all of the archives of my sister Emily's blog. I found it really interesting to compare her freshman year of college with my own right now. I was inspired by her posts to write this one, right now.
I always enjoy keeping people informed on the small details of my life. It is so fun relating to others and keeping others up to date. Although I live far away from many of my loved ones and friends, it's a great way to connect and share on a more personal level. So far here is how things have been.
-I have been studying for two tests before I leave for the Grand Canyon, yes the Grand Canyon. I leave on Thursday with my geology 111 class and I'm actually fairly excited to see the complexities of our nation's geography for myself. However, I have never been so busy in three singular days of my life. I am absolutely exhausted.
-I have a very limited diet. I have been trying to find more options at the cafeteria but I have been falling on about 3 or 4 favorites. I have been eating them far too frequently it feels like. I tend to get comfortable with certain things in my life. This is a prime example where change is a little hard for me. Sometimes branching out is really uncomfortable for me but I'm making it a goal to be more outgoing and do things that put me out of my comfort zone (within reason of course. I'm not going to drive to Pocatello and try meth even though it would put me out of my comfort zone).
-my roommate Quinten is awesome. He's a great guy and frequent The Office marathons are always welcome. We are currently planning a 6 movie Star Wars marathon as well. Yes, that is 13 hours of Star Wars. It will be awesome.
-although I haven't had time for anything else lately, usually a game or two of Dominion are seen at apartment 4 over the weekend.
-my cousin (second cousin, but no one is counting), Josh and I have found time to bond over Evangellion (an awesome anime), more dominion, video games, and jazz. We have a copious amount of hobbies in common. It surprises me that we haven't been friends for longer than just a couple months when I found out we were related.
-in the past couple weeks I've been struggling with my roommate who has very poor hygiene (sometimes to the point to where I can't sleep). It's a really personal subject and not easy to approach. Thankfully my friend Quinten is in a better position to talk to my roommate about this and he wants to help me out. It's such a relief that I have Quinten to help me out here. Also, did I mention my roommate is 10 years older than myself? Yeah, one of a couple reasons why Quinten is much better suited to talk to my roommate. I have really appreciated proper hygiene and cleanliness in the past couple months.
-I have been keeping up my grades. Maybe it helps that I want to transfer to BYU in Utah after my mission but I have been working my butt off to keep all A's. It is exhausting and tiring but hopefully it will pay off. Some of my classes are on the edge of A's but hopefully I can keep them high enough by the end of the semester. This is crazy for me because I barely did anything in high school. I kind of wish I would have tried just a little harder back then because I probably would have gotten more out of it, but I can't look at the past and think about whay a could have done, I have to think about the present. I've decided to just make the best of the situation I have right now. It is really hard keeping up grades with a social life, sleep and other responsibilities to keep up with.
-so I don't want this one to come off as arrogant, because I don't mean it that way. In fact, if you know me well enough, you know that I do not enjoy arrogance, it is a very unattractive quality in any person. But I have noticed that my peers often associate me as well dressed or in some cases, "classy." I do in fact enjoy this generalization of myself. I enjoy looking on top of things, confident, and well dressed. It is something in the past couple years I have really sought out and found satisfaction in, from this element of my life. Feeling more confident has really helped me in my day to day life lately. I stand out in a good way.
-some of my previous points might have alluded to this but I have been making a large amount of changes in my life lately. It isn't necessarily easy but it is important. I'm serving a full 2 year mission in a couple months, and that's scary but it's super exciting at the same time. The changes I'm making are good ones but it's still foreign to me to get good grades and be a more productive individual overall.
I thank you all for your support as I head into new stages if my life. It means so much to me to have people who love me and care for me. I look forward to the future.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
College So Far
So college is going really well. I am overall having a great time. Here's why:
-My roommates are great. I do things with them and they are accepting of me. It's weird being with other people my age (generally around so), constantly.
-I have made some other assorted friends in other miscellaneous classes.
-Quinten used to do MMA and has taught me some moves. Don't try pushing my left shoulder because I will put you in a chock-hold faster than you would know. Soon I'll have to register my hands as weapons. No big deal.
-I enjoy (usually), being on my own. There is a fun aspect to being solely in charge of my well-being and everything. It has however shown me that I definitely can't take anything for granted such as there being an unlimited supply of food around the house. That is something I still need to get used to.
-Overall I enjoy my classes and having a specialized schedule, not just taking a bunch of classes I don't want or need. However I can't say that I enjoy my science foundations class. Literally the second day of class there were about 5 different people arguing that Mormons are creationists the whole hour of class! Might I mention that they had this argument after the teacher specified that Mormons aren't creationists. It was annoying to say the least.
-There have been many many games of Dominion (a really fun card game), many debates about random topics ranging from technology to black holes or music theory, and rounds of Super Mario Bro. Wii. My roommates and cousin Josh are awesome. I'm glad they also embrace awesome table-top games and video games as I do.
-Living in Idaho has given me time to get to know my cousin (well second cousin), Josh Jensen. We actually didn't know we were related until last May when I visited BYU Idaho before deciding to go for this semester. I can't believe we had never met because we have much in common. He, as do I, loves Jazz, Starcraft and the frequent game of Dominion. Thankfully he knows more about jazz than me and has even started teaching me some jazz theory. It has been super helpful to my guitar playing already. Josh is great.
Things about college that bum me out sometimes:
-I miss my friends Austin and Karlee. They are super important to me and I haven't seen them from what seems like forever. I hung out with them and Tyler and Cody for the whole summer and it has been the best summer of my life. It's really hard for me to not be with them because they are who I can always be myself around. I wait anxiously for Thanksgiving for when we can all get together.
-Not only all of my other friends but I really really miss my friend Jeremy. He is honestly one of the most important people to me. We have been really good friends for a long time and it is not fun being hundreds of miles from him. Jeremy is awesome. I laugh the hardest when I'm with him and he laughs in return. We have so many inside jokes and quirks that I don't think most people would really enjoy being around us and might even call us weird but I don't care because he is great.
-I miss my family, my home, and Moosey. It's fun being alone and its super weird at the same time. I really miss coming home, having Moosey getting excited to see me, being able to sit down, relax, etc. My current schedule involves not coming home until later due to doing homework in the library or coming home and locking myself away in my room...doing homework.
-I also really miss some of my old church leaders. Brother Boswell and Brother Stamps are amazing and such great people. They are also really important to me because of all that they have done so much for me and helped me get through much more. Being in a ward of people all my age is really strange for me. I have grown up in youth programs that contain about 6 youth for each group at any given time. Everyone is around my age and it's weird and fun at the same time. I do find myself missing talking to some of my old leaders or being able to be familiar around old friends. I'm not anti-social but for some reason I have always been better at talking to those older than me, than my own peers.
-I'm still not used to having such a large work load. I worked a job over the summer at an oil company called Newfield working in their record keeping department. It was a great opportunity for me and worked out really well. It was never easy work and quite exhausting generally but I would come home and be done with work responsibilities until the next morning. Sometimes I would trade that for all the reading I have about geologic systems, proper grammar, global positioning systems, immunizations, and many other copious topics covered throughout my curriculum. I'm determined to transfer to BYU Provo after my mission and in order to do so, I need all A's. I know I can do it but it hasn't been easy thus far.
-I miss my mother's cooking. Denise Peterson Wood is a fantastic cook. Her pies, roast beef and bread rival even my love for my fox shirt (in case you don't know, I have a shirt with a fox on it. It is amazing). I haven't been starving but I definitely have been starving for real food sometimes.
So that's how college is basically going so far. I just realized that the list of cons right now is larger and I don't mean to sound pessimistic because college is actually going really well. I think I just have more detail to add to the things that are making me miss the things I'm familiar with. I've been finding that I have been learning more than just academic pursuits. I've been learning to live by myself, adapt to a totally new environment, and be with totally different people. I'm excited for the future and hope to keep everyone updated on my life at BYU Idaho.
-My roommates are great. I do things with them and they are accepting of me. It's weird being with other people my age (generally around so), constantly.
-I have made some other assorted friends in other miscellaneous classes.
-Quinten used to do MMA and has taught me some moves. Don't try pushing my left shoulder because I will put you in a chock-hold faster than you would know. Soon I'll have to register my hands as weapons. No big deal.
-I enjoy (usually), being on my own. There is a fun aspect to being solely in charge of my well-being and everything. It has however shown me that I definitely can't take anything for granted such as there being an unlimited supply of food around the house. That is something I still need to get used to.
-Overall I enjoy my classes and having a specialized schedule, not just taking a bunch of classes I don't want or need. However I can't say that I enjoy my science foundations class. Literally the second day of class there were about 5 different people arguing that Mormons are creationists the whole hour of class! Might I mention that they had this argument after the teacher specified that Mormons aren't creationists. It was annoying to say the least.
-There have been many many games of Dominion (a really fun card game), many debates about random topics ranging from technology to black holes or music theory, and rounds of Super Mario Bro. Wii. My roommates and cousin Josh are awesome. I'm glad they also embrace awesome table-top games and video games as I do.
-Living in Idaho has given me time to get to know my cousin (well second cousin), Josh Jensen. We actually didn't know we were related until last May when I visited BYU Idaho before deciding to go for this semester. I can't believe we had never met because we have much in common. He, as do I, loves Jazz, Starcraft and the frequent game of Dominion. Thankfully he knows more about jazz than me and has even started teaching me some jazz theory. It has been super helpful to my guitar playing already. Josh is great.
Things about college that bum me out sometimes:
-I miss my friends Austin and Karlee. They are super important to me and I haven't seen them from what seems like forever. I hung out with them and Tyler and Cody for the whole summer and it has been the best summer of my life. It's really hard for me to not be with them because they are who I can always be myself around. I wait anxiously for Thanksgiving for when we can all get together.
-Not only all of my other friends but I really really miss my friend Jeremy. He is honestly one of the most important people to me. We have been really good friends for a long time and it is not fun being hundreds of miles from him. Jeremy is awesome. I laugh the hardest when I'm with him and he laughs in return. We have so many inside jokes and quirks that I don't think most people would really enjoy being around us and might even call us weird but I don't care because he is great.
-I miss my family, my home, and Moosey. It's fun being alone and its super weird at the same time. I really miss coming home, having Moosey getting excited to see me, being able to sit down, relax, etc. My current schedule involves not coming home until later due to doing homework in the library or coming home and locking myself away in my room...doing homework.
-I also really miss some of my old church leaders. Brother Boswell and Brother Stamps are amazing and such great people. They are also really important to me because of all that they have done so much for me and helped me get through much more. Being in a ward of people all my age is really strange for me. I have grown up in youth programs that contain about 6 youth for each group at any given time. Everyone is around my age and it's weird and fun at the same time. I do find myself missing talking to some of my old leaders or being able to be familiar around old friends. I'm not anti-social but for some reason I have always been better at talking to those older than me, than my own peers.
-I'm still not used to having such a large work load. I worked a job over the summer at an oil company called Newfield working in their record keeping department. It was a great opportunity for me and worked out really well. It was never easy work and quite exhausting generally but I would come home and be done with work responsibilities until the next morning. Sometimes I would trade that for all the reading I have about geologic systems, proper grammar, global positioning systems, immunizations, and many other copious topics covered throughout my curriculum. I'm determined to transfer to BYU Provo after my mission and in order to do so, I need all A's. I know I can do it but it hasn't been easy thus far.
-I miss my mother's cooking. Denise Peterson Wood is a fantastic cook. Her pies, roast beef and bread rival even my love for my fox shirt (in case you don't know, I have a shirt with a fox on it. It is amazing). I haven't been starving but I definitely have been starving for real food sometimes.
So that's how college is basically going so far. I just realized that the list of cons right now is larger and I don't mean to sound pessimistic because college is actually going really well. I think I just have more detail to add to the things that are making me miss the things I'm familiar with. I've been finding that I have been learning more than just academic pursuits. I've been learning to live by myself, adapt to a totally new environment, and be with totally different people. I'm excited for the future and hope to keep everyone updated on my life at BYU Idaho.
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Five Weeks
So it's official, five weeks till I am done with work for the summer and I get ready to move out to school. Kind of weird really. I don't even think it's really sunk in yet that I am going to be living away from home by myself. This summer hasn't exactly been easy, and yes I've been making good money, but 30 days seems very far away at the current moment. I really actually am so thankful for my job but I can't say I'm sad to be leaving out to school in 6 weeks. But overall I've been staying fairly positive and I think it's been helping. Here's to staying positive and staying calm.
Well, I actually really need to get to bed but I think I'll end this post with some amusing, funny, whatever you call it photos. Laughter is one way that I've made my summer better and these photos help quite a bit.
Well, I actually really need to get to bed but I think I'll end this post with some amusing, funny, whatever you call it photos. Laughter is one way that I've made my summer better and these photos help quite a bit.
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Full Time Employment
So anyone who might read this blog probably knows that I am working full time at an oil company called Newfield Exploration. I got my foot in the door thanks to my amazing sister Emily! It's such a fantastic job right out of high school. It pays way better than any job I could possibly find at this age, (other than a young drug lord) it is good experience, and it's good networking. It really is fantastic. I'm so thankful that I'm making money to go through college and go on a mission in the future. However, I find myself having a hard time with the change.
Again, I'm super thankful for the job and maybe I'm just a ignorant teenager but working full time is incredibly stressful and tiring. I know I'm working for all the right reasons but my summers have usually consisted of sleeping in, practicing guitar, and playing video games (with the occasional job or two thrown in there). I never really appreciated how much time I have had for the past couple years and now I'm kicking myself for not utilizing it as much as I could have.
I remember thinking at one point last summer that I hated sitting around and doing nothing productive. I was an idiot! As much as I wasn't wholly productive, I was doing three of my favorite activities all the time. Now I feel like every second I don't use at home is a huge waste. I only have a short amount of time until I go out to college up in Idaho for BYUI and I still have so many things to do. I have to pack, I have to make more money, I have to help my family move into a different house, I have to figure out what I want to study up at school...the list goes on for ages.
I have all of these things happening at once and not enough time but when I think about it, that's what growing up is all about: Having my own life and being solely responsible for my own choices. I have so much more responsibility and so many more decisions to make than I ever have in my entire life. It's super daunting but I think I can do it if I have the right attitude.
I don't know what it is, but in the past couple months I've realized something really important: my attitude can actually be to my benefit. I will admit it, I've been fairly pessimistic through much of my life but I think that is going to change. Today, I had the slowest day yet at work, it was atrocious. I went into today thinking about how much I would hate it and it turned out to be just as awful, if not way worse than what I excepted. My sister Charlotte always tells me something when I'm in a bad mood, "don't have a badittude." As much as I absolutely detest that cheesy, dumb saying, it has some merit. Maybe we should all choose good attitudes. I know that I could easily make my summer much worse and less than enjoyable but now I feel like I have that choice. I choose a positive, enjoyable, exciting summer with as little negativity as possible (I seriously have no clue what this person has done with John Wood).
Working has seriously been a huge slap in the face. Reality has hit me hard but I'm slowly starting to learn so much more than I intended. I may have gone into full time employment expecting just steady income but I am gaining so much more through everything I am learning. I am actually starting to get excited about my future and everything I have yet to learn. I thank everyone for their positive attitudes and support throughout my life. I have so much more to do and accomplish but hey, at least my summer is going to be fantastic.
Again, I'm super thankful for the job and maybe I'm just a ignorant teenager but working full time is incredibly stressful and tiring. I know I'm working for all the right reasons but my summers have usually consisted of sleeping in, practicing guitar, and playing video games (with the occasional job or two thrown in there). I never really appreciated how much time I have had for the past couple years and now I'm kicking myself for not utilizing it as much as I could have.
I remember thinking at one point last summer that I hated sitting around and doing nothing productive. I was an idiot! As much as I wasn't wholly productive, I was doing three of my favorite activities all the time. Now I feel like every second I don't use at home is a huge waste. I only have a short amount of time until I go out to college up in Idaho for BYUI and I still have so many things to do. I have to pack, I have to make more money, I have to help my family move into a different house, I have to figure out what I want to study up at school...the list goes on for ages.
I have all of these things happening at once and not enough time but when I think about it, that's what growing up is all about: Having my own life and being solely responsible for my own choices. I have so much more responsibility and so many more decisions to make than I ever have in my entire life. It's super daunting but I think I can do it if I have the right attitude.
I don't know what it is, but in the past couple months I've realized something really important: my attitude can actually be to my benefit. I will admit it, I've been fairly pessimistic through much of my life but I think that is going to change. Today, I had the slowest day yet at work, it was atrocious. I went into today thinking about how much I would hate it and it turned out to be just as awful, if not way worse than what I excepted. My sister Charlotte always tells me something when I'm in a bad mood, "don't have a badittude." As much as I absolutely detest that cheesy, dumb saying, it has some merit. Maybe we should all choose good attitudes. I know that I could easily make my summer much worse and less than enjoyable but now I feel like I have that choice. I choose a positive, enjoyable, exciting summer with as little negativity as possible (I seriously have no clue what this person has done with John Wood).
Working has seriously been a huge slap in the face. Reality has hit me hard but I'm slowly starting to learn so much more than I intended. I may have gone into full time employment expecting just steady income but I am gaining so much more through everything I am learning. I am actually starting to get excited about my future and everything I have yet to learn. I thank everyone for their positive attitudes and support throughout my life. I have so much more to do and accomplish but hey, at least my summer is going to be fantastic.
Sunday, July 1, 2012
I Return to the Blogosphere
So, I was thinking the other day about how I have so much going on in my life now. A full time job, going out to college and I'm essentially starting a new, excited phase of my life.
I started this blog about a year ago I believe and I only posted a couple times. Now I think I'm back and here's why: with all these things happening so fast and frequently in my life now, I want to share them with everyone that so wishes to listen. I love getting feedback about basically anything, I think blogging more frequently will allow me to get that.
I'm excited to share more about my experiences and my life with all of you more frequently.
I started this blog about a year ago I believe and I only posted a couple times. Now I think I'm back and here's why: with all these things happening so fast and frequently in my life now, I want to share them with everyone that so wishes to listen. I love getting feedback about basically anything, I think blogging more frequently will allow me to get that.
I'm excited to share more about my experiences and my life with all of you more frequently.
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