My Top Five Proudest Moments

In order of when they happened:

Winning First Place in a writing contest in my local newspaper

I entered a portion of a short story I wrote into a contest for the Simi Valley Acorn Newspaper, and I won First Place in the Under 18 division! This was the first time I'd ever entered any of my writing into a contest, and even though it was just a local thing and I probably wasn't competing against many others, I felt SO PROUD! If you want to see the article and read the piece that won, click here!

Graduating with an Associate in Social & Behavioral Sciences AND another in Humanities from Moorpark Community College

I wasn't happy about staying home for the first three years of college, since I always planned on going straight to BYU-Idaho after high school. But in those three years, I took enough classes to get me TWO Associate Degrees in two very different fields, which sets me apart from a lot of others not only going into teaching, but going into the workforce in general. It was worth it in the end!

Getting my endowments

What exactly is an endowment? The best way I can describe it is a special spiritual blessing for members of the LDS church. Think of it sort of like communion in the Catholic church, only you receive your endowment when you're much older than that. Most people get them before they go on their LDS mission, or before they get married.

Getting married

This one pretty much speaks for itself. Every girl thinks she'll never end up finding someone who wants to be stuck with her for so long, but I lucked out and found a keeper! Jake and I were married in the LDS Los Angeles Temple on August 30th, 2014. Want to know why we had a temple marriage? Click here!

Student teaching position offers/acceptance

From the conversations I've had with several of my classmates who are going to be student teaching around the same time as me, I am extremely lucky to have received the offers that I did. Several people interviewed locally and NO ONE wanted them at all, so now the school is scrambling to find them a place to teach. Several others are ending up having to move to Ogden or even farther out to do their student teaching, because those are the only schools that were interested in working with them. And many people only received one offer, whereas I had TWO schools that were interested in working with me. I feel bad for my friends that are struggling and anxious about figuring out their futures, but it also makes me feel extremely grateful and proud of myself for how I conducted myself at my interviews, and for how hard I've worked over the past few years to be able to reach this point.

When I Knew I Was A Writer

I don't think there was ever a set defining moment when a pillar of light shone on me and I just knew that I was a writer. Ever since I could write, I've loved it. I have a memory of getting a worksheet back from my teacher in 1st grade, where we had to color in a Raggedy-Ann-type doll and then write a few sentences about our creation. My paper had the comment "GREAT adjectives!". So really, it's been that long.

I wrote my first real short story in 5th grade. All I remember about it was that the story was set during Colonial times, and it was about a girl and her slave, who was her best friend. I wrote it and illustrated the pages myself, and was pretty proud of it. I wish I still had that little stapled, lovingly-created story because I'm sure it would give me lots of laughs!

During the end of my sophomore year of high school and the summer before my junior year, I was working hard on my first attempt at a full-length novel. I entered some of it into a writing contest in my local newspaper, and won first place for the Under-18 division. That was when it actually occurred to me that I might be good at this. 

I still work on the novel from time to time, and I've named it Seashells. I used it as my critique piece in both creative writing classes I took during my years at community college, but aside from my classmates very few people have read it. It's just one of those things that I doubt I will ever attempt to publish, because it's a very personal piece and I love it dearly. Too dearly to have an editor rip it to shreds!

It's my love for writing (and reading, of course) that led me to pursue a career as an English teacher. Writing is a skill that many--kids and adults alike--struggle with, and find to be very frustrating or unpleasant. But if you can really learn how to do it in a way that works for you, it is an incredible tool! I'm hoping that I can teach my students about the power of words, and how anyone can create a story with them.

Road Trip Memories

Since many of my friends are making their way either to or from BYU-Idaho this week, it's made me think back on the many road trips I've been on throughout my life. Growing up, every single vacation we took involved long hours in the car. Driving from California to Utah for family reunions, going camping in the Sequoia National Park, or trips to Disneyland or the beach. Those all seem like a really long time ago, since it's probably been about ten years since my entire family took a trip like that together. Lots of fun memories!

The road trip I remember most clearly was right after Jake and I got married, when we made the long drive from my hometown in California up here to Rexburg, Idaho. We were exhausted after an amazing wedding day, and still sick from the colds we'd both gotten on our honeymoon, so that definitely didn't help make the drive go any more smoothly. What should have been an 18-hour drive ended up being about 20-22, because we were towing a very heavy trailer behind us filled with all the furniture we'd been so fortunate to be able to take from my grandparents' old house. We drove all the way to Salt Lake City in one day, and stayed at Jake's aunt's house for the night. I remember falling asleep in the car, and apparently when we were getting fairly close to Jake's aunt's, I started getting really grouchy. ...While I was still asleep. Apparently I even tried to open the car door so I could get out right then and there, and nearly gave Jake a heart attack since we were on the freeway haha. Poor guy! We'd only been married about a week, and Jake had NO idea what he was getting himself into!!

On the first day of our drive, we passed through a tiny corner of Arizona. So beautiful!

We made it to Rexburg in one piece (obviously, since we're both alive today) and that was the end of that. But I think the road trip I'm going to hate the most is going to be happening within the next 18 months, hopefully! Jake and I plan to move to Northern Texas once he has his AA, and that will be an even longer drive. We'll also be taking Zoe with us of course, so we'll have to stop more often to let her get out and stretch her legs and go to the bathroom. Zoe does NOT like long car rides, and insists on sitting in my lap every time we go anywhere, so that trip will be VERY long. Ugh!

One Thing I Couldn't Live Without

One thing I could never live without won't come as a surprise to anyone who knows me well: 

lip balm. 

Aka my reason for staying sane in so many stressful/boring situations. I thought I was going to lose my mind when I went to take my PRAXIS and was told I couldn't bring my trusty Burt's Bees in the testing center with me.

When I was a kid, I had a major problem with chapped lips. My classmates and other kids at church used to call me Clown Face, because I constantly had a red ring around my lips of chapped skin. Apparently I licked my lips a LOT. My mom eventually bought me some lip balm, and it became my saving grace. Ever since then, I've had to have some on me at all times. I have emergency balms stored in every single bag I own, in case I ever leave the house and don't remember to pack my "regular stick." I'm putting this stuff on my lips at least once an hour, if not more. I know, I'm weird.

Due to my strange addiction, I've become an expert on all brands of lip balms: my favorites are EOS and Burt's Bees. Maybelline's Baby Lips have also become one of my all-time favorite things, because they come in tinted shades so I can have some lip color while still keeping my lips feeling smooth. So if you ever need a recommendation, I'm your girl.

My Top Five Favorite Movies

Those who know me well will probably tell you that I'm pretty picky about my movies. When it comes to picking out a movie to watch at home, I'm a difficult person to work with, I know. I have a hard time watching a movie that I feel I've just recently seen...although "recently seen" to me could be a year ago! So whenever someone asks me my favorite movie, it always takes me a while to come up with a good answer, because I get so easily bored with movies that my favorites are almost always changing. But here are the movies (in no particular order) that I could watch at LEAST once a year, which is saying something for me.

Little Women

This movie is just plain wonderful. I laugh, I cry, I feel inspired. This was always my go-to movie when I was home sick from school.

The Lion King

Need I say more?

The Sword in the Stone

One of my favorite Disney movies, so of course it makes this list. I will never get sick of this film.

BBC Pride & Prejudice

The Keira Knightly version of P&P is just plain CRAP #sorrynotsorry but it's true. To properly do Jane Austen's novel justice, you've gotta have a longer film! This is another movie that I'd watch when home sick from school, or on a rainy day. Colin Firth is the perfect Darcy and no one can convince me otherwise.

She's the Man

This movie never fails to crack me up. If you haven't seen it yet, you are missing out BIG TIME and need to find yourself a copy!

Living Boldly

What does it mean to live boldly?

Living boldly means that you take chances. 

You are willing to admit when you are wrong; you apologize when you've done something that hurts others. 

You never live with regrets. 

You remember every day that life is short, and you act on that realization. 

You be yourself, no matter what.

Keeping a Journal

Keeping a journal was always something strongly encouraged when I was growing up, whether it was from friends, family, or church leaders. But I wasn't very good at it all through middle school and high school, and looking back I really do regret that. Social media started becoming a big thing when I was in about 9th grade, so I have some of those memories to hold on to, but I don't have as much as I'd like, especially when it comes to honest opinions and feelings. I have hundreds of photos from all throughout my life, but not many handwritten documented occurrences. 

Once I got married, however, establishing a routine with journal writing has become a TON easier--Jake and I will get ready for bed (clean up the kitchen, take Zoe to the bathroom, etc), read scriptures together, and then I'll write in my journal. Since I have another person that I'm "accountable" to when I write, it helps me to write more often. I started a journal about a month before we got married, and I'm almost done with the first full journal from our marriage.

You're probably wondering (like most people would) what the point of even keeping a journal is anymore, if we have so many social media options to help us quickly document our day as it passes, instead of having to take the time at the end of the day to try and remember everything worth writing about? Well, to be frank, I'm not 100% "me" on any form of social media except for Twitter, which I keep private. I don't share my completely honest opinion about a lot of things on Facebook or even this blog, because I just have no desire to put my thoughts out there and have them be ridiculed, or I don't feel that certain parts of my life are something that should be publicly shared. My journal is a place where I can truly share my feelings about certain social or political issues, incidences with friends/acquaintances, and my marriage. Keeping a journal is a great way for you to be able to document your emotions and experiences with 100% candidness, and not be afraid of the outcome!

Ten Things I Wish People Knew About Me

About 60% of what comes out of my mouth is sarcastic. So if you don't speak sarcasm-ese, you and I might not see eye-to-eye on a lot of things.

Yes, I stayed at home for three years after high school before coming to BYU-I. However, in those three years I got 2 AAs: one in Social and Behavioral Sciences, and the other in Humanities.

I do plan on being a mom someday. However, that day is not today. Or tomorrow. Or next month.

I can watch shows and movies with blood and guts galore and not freak out, but the second you start talking about your recent trip to the dentist or your child wiggles a loose tooth in front of me, I WILL gag.

Yes, I'm aware that high school English teachers don't make a lot of money, and that it's a very difficult job.

I'm terrified of bees, wasps, etc. Anything that flies and could stab/bite me.

One of my biggest pet peeves is when people joke around about being schizophrenic, when they don't actually know what the word means. Click here to educate yourself.

It is possible to be intelligent and also love makeup. I am (hopefully) proof of that.

I have a (probably unhealthy) obsession with all things involving the Salem Witch Trials. I think it's just so freakin' fascinating!

Just because I'm a Mormon doesn't mean I don't understand the difficult things in life. People seem to think that being LDS means you never have any "real life" problems or struggles, but that's just not true at all.