Hey guys, so I haven't written in a few months. Just thought I'd post an update and talk about what the heck is going on with my life. Well, I'm assuming most of you are friends with me on Facebook, which means you guys practically see my life 24/7. Anywho, what have I been up to?
I finished up this semester majoring in elementary education. I started off with communications, which don't get me wrong, I LOVED COMMUNICATIONS. The classes were amazing and my professors, Sister Jackson, Sister Meade, and Sister Bean were all really cool professors and they made school fun but I felt that education was better for me. I changed halfway through the semester. I was already taking a few classes in ELED so it was easier. I had history of education (Sister Tobler) and geography (Brother Cannon), which was amazing. This semester ended with a 3.7 and an overall cumulative GPA of 3.2. So overall, I loved this semester and loved my professors. It was such an amazing semester.
I had the most amazing roommates ever. Now don't get me wrong, my past roommates were good too. Bentley, Chazz, Kade, Christian, and James from summer session 2016 were super cool. I didn't get super close to a couple of them and didn't always get along with them but they were really awesome. My roommates from Fall 2016 were amazing. I loved Adam, who was my room roommate, and I saw him a few times this semester. Eric, Michael, David, and Matt were super cool and I loved being roommates with them. I thought my roommates from Spring 2017 were some of the best too. Christian, Thomas, Fernando, Tyler, and Joseph were all awesome in their own ways and I had such a fun time with all of them. But this semester, I had the best time ever. I loved my roommates. Braeden, Dakota, Ian, and Matt were amazing guys and then my room roommate Sam was super fun to be around. I had an amazing time with them all. I'm extremely grateful for the roommates I had and the amazing memories we had.
The friends I had were so awesome. I was constantly surrounded by some of the most amazing people I knew. They were all amazing influences in my life and helped me to continue making good choices. I have way too many friends and I have talked about so many in the past. My next door neighbors were some of my favorite people. Nathan, Nathan (yes two Nathan's), Ryan, Ben, Cody, and Taylor are so awesome. I would go over there every day and visit with them. They let me borrow things and gave me food and would give me rides to places. It made me happy whenever I was around them and I was always grateful for the favors they did for me. There were so many other people I met and became friends with and grew closer with. And a few of them I have known for quite some time. Some honorary people are Amberly, Callie, Rylie, Katie, Juliette, Kaylee, Jozelle, Maia, Cullen, Amanda (my roommates' fiance and old FHE sister), Valerie, and so much more. I'm just super happy for everyone I met and all the memories created.
So when I began typing this blog post, it was the other night before I got exciting news. Today (Wednesday, December 27, 2017), I met with LDS family services. I have had about 5 or so meetings with them over the span of a year and a half to determine if I'm able to serve my mission. And every time, they tell me I need to wait a little bit longer and mature a little bit. No problem. I understand that I need to grow as a person before I serve, especially with my Aspergers and ADD, I really need to give it some time. Well, today, I went into my interview assuming it would go well. He asked me questions and I answered him and we just had our conversation. He eventually told me that he doesn't even notice I have Aspergers and he can notice that I have grown. He went on to tell me he will have to speak with my stake president but he is confident in recommending me for my mission. This is a huge blessing in my life. I have been waiting to serve for such a long time now and I am happy that I will be approved. Now it just comes down to the church and the mission department if they feel I am ready to serve. I'm super stoked and hopefully, I can serve now.
Before my mission, I was against serving anywhere. Like, who would ever want to serve in the Idaho Falls mission and be stuck in Rexburg for another 2 years? Or who would want to go to Kansas or Nebraska for 2 years? I told myself that I didn't want to serve in those places. I had such a negative attitude towards serving in some places. To be honest, I wanted to go foreign. And of course, I still want to serve foreign but my viewpoint has changed. I have been wanting to serve for over a year and a half now. Well, I have been wanting to serve my whole life but ever since I started my papers in May of 2016, I have really wanted to serve. Anyway, this past year and a half have changed my viewpoint. I have opened my eyes and realized it doesn't matter where I serve. At this point, I want to serve in Kansas or Nebraska. I know it doesn't matter WHERE I serve, it only matters that I AM serving. I know wherever I serve is where the Lord needs me and there is someone there who needs to hear my message. Being openminded to serving anywhere has been important to me in growing as a person and growing spiritually. I realized I was being selfish and only looking at my own needs. I may never know the real reason, but I feel that the Lord prevented me from serving for such a long time because he wanted me to understand the importance of serving wherever he needs me and any mission is an important mission. This is why I'll go where you want me to go, Dear Lord.
I hope that everyone else who is having trouble with coming to a realization of serving in "boring" places realizes it doesn't matter where you get called to serve. Receive your call and serve loud and proud. The Lord is proud of you no matter where you are serving. From Kansas all the way to Fiji. No mission is more important than the other. They are all the same and meant to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Life is great. School is great. And I'm loving everything. I should have my mission papers in later on this month and hopefully, have my call towards the end of January. Thanks again for reading this everyone and being supportive. Love you all!!!
Thursday, December 28, 2017
Wednesday, October 4, 2017
Going out on limb with life right now
As I'm sitting here on this cold, October evening in Rexburg, I honestly don't know what to talk about. I have so many ideas but don't know what to talk about but I think I will just talk about a bunch of stuff. Don't worry though, this will be totally worth it and another amazing blog.
First off, I'll let you guys all know that school is amazing and is awesome right now. I am currently majoring in communications but I am planning on changing it to Elementary education and then sticking with that. I love my roommates this semester. They are amazing dudes and I couldn't ask for anyone better. I have met so many new people this semester and have made so many amazing new friends so I am pretty happy with where I am on that right now. All my old friends live right around the corner from me, so I still visit them everyday but it kinda sucks that I have to walk to go hang out with them. Other than that, things are pretty mighty dandy and this semester is going to be a great but cold one.
I have a couple stories to share but here is my first story about something that happened on Monday.
Ok. I am actually going to share an experience with everyone that happened the other day. This is something that no one is allowed to chastise me for but I don't recommend it for anyone else. I am literally opening up to how this all went down to all of Facebook and the world so hopefully this works well. Anyway, I like this girl. I've known her for a while (most of my friends know who I am talking about) but I never told her. Usually girls I like will know right away because I can't hide it and I confess it to them. Anyway, this friend I knew for 4 months and then I went home for school and she stayed and I haven't seen her in a while. Last semester, my friends (roommates this semester), who know her very well, told me I should tell her. I knew it wasn't going anywhere, but she also informed me that she was going to serve a mission, so if I were to tell her, it should be sooner than later. I contemplated it but never got the guts to do it. As it drew closer to her time to leave on her mission, I realize that I shouldn't tell her and decided I was going to keep it to myself. It was killing me though. How can I go the next three years without her knowing? Oh well, I thought. So we are texting the other day and the conversation gets into the girl I like. And I'm at the point where I want her to know but I don't want to tell her because "Hey, she's leaving on her mission. I don't want to be that kid who tells someone he likes someone right before their mission. Like that's not cool." Little did I know that I would become that boy. After she told me she wanted to know, I told her to call me later. At this point, she obviously knew it was her but she was going to call me anyway. She calls me a day later and I was like hey and then a bunch of awkward conversation happened and then I hesitated to tell her. Of course, at this point she probably knows it's her because I was so nervous to tell her. I finally just blabbered on and told her and just kept talking and blah blah blah. Anyway, I knew exactly what her response was going to be, in fact, I told her her response while I was talking.
So what's the point of this story?
The point here is that if you like someone, TELL THEM. But hold on, one second. DON'T DO WHAT I DID. What I did is not how you tell a girl you like. Yes, I knew she was going to tell me that she was focused on her mission and not into relationships or boys right now. No, I was not looking to get her to ditch her mission last minute, HECK, I haven't even served a mission yet. But you know what, what if I died or something happened and I could have never told her. That would suck. I had to tell her even though it wasn't good timing at all. If I'm going to give advice, my advice is to tell your friends and family that you love them. Tell the girl you like that you like them, LET THEM KNOW YOUR FEELINGS. Once again, DON'T TELL THEM RIGHT BEFORE THEIR MISSION. I want to keep emphasizing that because that was not the way to go. I only did that because I felt that I needed her to know and I couldn't keep it in. I know it was something I should have done a long time ago but I didn't and I regret doing it later rather than sooner. Anyway, just go for it and tell them. THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN LOSE.
My other story is about phone addictions. I hate writing these things so this story will be shorter. I HAVE A PHONE ADDICTION AND I WILL ADMIT IT. I love my phone, I love social media, I just love it all. I'm always on it looking for notifications for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat. However, yesterday in my mass media class, my professor challenged me to delete the apps and not go on it until the weekend. It has only been a day and I have already struggled. I will continue to turn on my phone and swipe around, only to realize that I have no access to my social media. I finally realized that I have a phone addiction. Trust me, an addiction to a phone is just as bad as an addiction to drugs and other things. It does affect you differently but it is just as bad. I started relying on my phone so much that it took control of my mind. I can tell that it took control of what I did. I got into such deep habits of pulling my phone out and looking at it, that even without social media, I still do it and I can't stop. My phone was controlling everything I did. I didn't even notice that my phone was doing this to me and that it has such a huge effect on my daily life. These past 24 hours has shown me that phones truly can control what you do and can have a huge negative influence on your life. Deleting social media apps from my phone was a great idea and although it is hard, I will be able to do this. Heck, I'm posting this onto Facebook but I won't even see likes or comments because I'm sharing which means I don't have to log onto Facebook to post. I won't see any notifications until Friday at 2 or 3, whenever I decide to download social media again. Anyway, I hope you guys realize how social media and your phone can affect what you do and how dangerous it is to always be on it.
Moral of the story: Tell the girl you like her (unless she's leaving on her mission) and don't let your phone control you. These are important things to do in life and will definitely help you in being better. Honestly, as much as I didn't want to tell her that I liked her, it felt so much better getting it off my chest. Don't be scared to tell someone that you like them. I should have told her months ago but didn't and I regret doing it now. Stay off your phone!!! Allow your mind to communicate with others and free your mind from social media. Interact with people in the real world and not virtual people that are behind a screen. This is much healthier for your mind and so much better.
Anyway, I just wanted to share that with you. I hope you guys are enjoying yourself and life. I love it here in Rexburg and everything is going great. It is cold and it snowed the other day but I am having a blast and loving my friends and roommates. I love you all and thanks for reading yet again, another amazing blog post.
First off, I'll let you guys all know that school is amazing and is awesome right now. I am currently majoring in communications but I am planning on changing it to Elementary education and then sticking with that. I love my roommates this semester. They are amazing dudes and I couldn't ask for anyone better. I have met so many new people this semester and have made so many amazing new friends so I am pretty happy with where I am on that right now. All my old friends live right around the corner from me, so I still visit them everyday but it kinda sucks that I have to walk to go hang out with them. Other than that, things are pretty mighty dandy and this semester is going to be a great but cold one.
I have a couple stories to share but here is my first story about something that happened on Monday.
Ok. I am actually going to share an experience with everyone that happened the other day. This is something that no one is allowed to chastise me for but I don't recommend it for anyone else. I am literally opening up to how this all went down to all of Facebook and the world so hopefully this works well. Anyway, I like this girl. I've known her for a while (most of my friends know who I am talking about) but I never told her. Usually girls I like will know right away because I can't hide it and I confess it to them. Anyway, this friend I knew for 4 months and then I went home for school and she stayed and I haven't seen her in a while. Last semester, my friends (roommates this semester), who know her very well, told me I should tell her. I knew it wasn't going anywhere, but she also informed me that she was going to serve a mission, so if I were to tell her, it should be sooner than later. I contemplated it but never got the guts to do it. As it drew closer to her time to leave on her mission, I realize that I shouldn't tell her and decided I was going to keep it to myself. It was killing me though. How can I go the next three years without her knowing? Oh well, I thought. So we are texting the other day and the conversation gets into the girl I like. And I'm at the point where I want her to know but I don't want to tell her because "Hey, she's leaving on her mission. I don't want to be that kid who tells someone he likes someone right before their mission. Like that's not cool." Little did I know that I would become that boy. After she told me she wanted to know, I told her to call me later. At this point, she obviously knew it was her but she was going to call me anyway. She calls me a day later and I was like hey and then a bunch of awkward conversation happened and then I hesitated to tell her. Of course, at this point she probably knows it's her because I was so nervous to tell her. I finally just blabbered on and told her and just kept talking and blah blah blah. Anyway, I knew exactly what her response was going to be, in fact, I told her her response while I was talking.
So what's the point of this story?
The point here is that if you like someone, TELL THEM. But hold on, one second. DON'T DO WHAT I DID. What I did is not how you tell a girl you like. Yes, I knew she was going to tell me that she was focused on her mission and not into relationships or boys right now. No, I was not looking to get her to ditch her mission last minute, HECK, I haven't even served a mission yet. But you know what, what if I died or something happened and I could have never told her. That would suck. I had to tell her even though it wasn't good timing at all. If I'm going to give advice, my advice is to tell your friends and family that you love them. Tell the girl you like that you like them, LET THEM KNOW YOUR FEELINGS. Once again, DON'T TELL THEM RIGHT BEFORE THEIR MISSION. I want to keep emphasizing that because that was not the way to go. I only did that because I felt that I needed her to know and I couldn't keep it in. I know it was something I should have done a long time ago but I didn't and I regret doing it later rather than sooner. Anyway, just go for it and tell them. THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN LOSE.
My other story is about phone addictions. I hate writing these things so this story will be shorter. I HAVE A PHONE ADDICTION AND I WILL ADMIT IT. I love my phone, I love social media, I just love it all. I'm always on it looking for notifications for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat. However, yesterday in my mass media class, my professor challenged me to delete the apps and not go on it until the weekend. It has only been a day and I have already struggled. I will continue to turn on my phone and swipe around, only to realize that I have no access to my social media. I finally realized that I have a phone addiction. Trust me, an addiction to a phone is just as bad as an addiction to drugs and other things. It does affect you differently but it is just as bad. I started relying on my phone so much that it took control of my mind. I can tell that it took control of what I did. I got into such deep habits of pulling my phone out and looking at it, that even without social media, I still do it and I can't stop. My phone was controlling everything I did. I didn't even notice that my phone was doing this to me and that it has such a huge effect on my daily life. These past 24 hours has shown me that phones truly can control what you do and can have a huge negative influence on your life. Deleting social media apps from my phone was a great idea and although it is hard, I will be able to do this. Heck, I'm posting this onto Facebook but I won't even see likes or comments because I'm sharing which means I don't have to log onto Facebook to post. I won't see any notifications until Friday at 2 or 3, whenever I decide to download social media again. Anyway, I hope you guys realize how social media and your phone can affect what you do and how dangerous it is to always be on it.
Moral of the story: Tell the girl you like her (unless she's leaving on her mission) and don't let your phone control you. These are important things to do in life and will definitely help you in being better. Honestly, as much as I didn't want to tell her that I liked her, it felt so much better getting it off my chest. Don't be scared to tell someone that you like them. I should have told her months ago but didn't and I regret doing it now. Stay off your phone!!! Allow your mind to communicate with others and free your mind from social media. Interact with people in the real world and not virtual people that are behind a screen. This is much healthier for your mind and so much better.
Anyway, I just wanted to share that with you. I hope you guys are enjoying yourself and life. I love it here in Rexburg and everything is going great. It is cold and it snowed the other day but I am having a blast and loving my friends and roommates. I love you all and thanks for reading yet again, another amazing blog post.
Friday, August 4, 2017
祈祷作为一个奇迹 (prayer)
So you know how I said I gave up on creative titles, well I decided to start doing my titles in different languages. THANK GOODNESS FOR GOOGLE TRANSLATE.
So last night I got home from Rexburg after driving 14 hours straight from Rexburg on 3 1/2 hours of sleep and one bottle of Coke. And quite frankly, this was by far the best semester I have had yet. I had so many ups and downs, so many trials, and so many difficult moments where I just wanted to give up but I also had some of the most amazing memories ever. This semester really tested me and made me contemplate a lot of stuff but I managed to make it through and make it the best semester yet. The friends I made, the teachers I had, the grades I got, and the memories I made. All of that combined, made for an amazing semester.
I wanna first mention my friends. Oh boy, where do I start. Let's begin with my roommates. Thomas Landrith, my room roommate is a totally awesome dude. We went to the gas station at 1:30 in the morning one time because we were bored and wanted a soda. As we were jaywalking across the main street, a cop rolls by and just keeps driving, good times. He is such a hilarious person and I loved being around him. I can't compare him to my other roommates because I loved all of them too, but he was an amazing roommate. Then there is Fernando, who would often drive me places when I needed a ride and was super cool. I loved hanging out with him and Thomas. We had so much fun together especially when the three of us went to get drinks and then watch the NBA finals and stayed up until 4 AM watching horror movies. Yeah, we got kinda scared but it wasn't too bad. Anyway, I did a ton of stuff with them and we always had a blast. My other roommate is Joseph and he was pretty cool. Didn't do too much with him but I know he's a great guy. Christian was never home but he got engaged and that was cool. But, I still did see him a ton during the semester and we always had a great time when we saw each other. Then there is Tyler, a super awesome person. I loved hanging out with him. Half the semester involved us collecting the empty toilet paper rolls and would put them in each others rooms. Then it stopped, however, I went home for the weekend and he managed to put them all on my bed and put my mattress sitting on top of it. I don't know how he did it but he managed to do it. All together we had an amazing semester. We all went to Big Juds one day after going to the river and we got food. Man, it was a great semester. I loved it and I love my roommates.
Ok, be patient guys. I know the title is about prayer but we will get there. I have a really good story that goes along with prayer. I was also gonna speak about friends and my FHE sisters this post but I'm gonna write another one with those because that might be a lot.
Anyway, I wanna talk about my teachers. Let's start with Brother Gardner. He is such an amazing religions teacher. Brother Gardner gave that personal touch to his students and always tried to connect with them every day and made me feel included in class. He had such a positive and uplifting attitude that made me want to come to class every day. I'm so glad to have had him and for the influence he had on me. I will never forget how awesome he was. The next teacher is Sister Nelson, my American Epidemic teacher. She was so funny and so fun to talk to. She always made class enjoyable and was really easy to get along with. I loved having her as a teacher and all the fun stuff we learned in the class. Oh and she nicknamed me Barefoot Mike (long story), so it's always fun to have a nickname. My other two teachers, Brother Christenson and Brother Fisher, were great. I didn't get super close to them but I managed to get a B in Fisher's class and then an A in one of Christenson's classes and a B in retaking bio in his class. Overall, I loved my teachers this semester and had such an amazing experience with them.
So here's the point where we get to prayer. As we can recall, fall semester ended with me getting a 63% in Biology and I had two C's, one B, and one A. That semester ended in failure with a 2.6 GPA. This semester I decided to retake biology because I don't give up and decided I would give it a second chance. In addition to that, I had my religions class (fairly easy), bio orientation (pretty much show up for attendance), a class about China, and then The American Epidemic (health class). This semester was the turning point. If I did good in bio then I was keeping it as my major, if I failed then I was going to find a new major. I started the semester really well and got an 86% on my biology exam which was 24% higher than the first time I took the unit one exam. I got high scores on the first exams for my other classes. However, I started getting into my same habit of not studying and not doing the study guides. Grades kept dropping in both biology, The American Epidemic, and although I didn't try in my China class, I somehow managed a 90% all semester. As the semester draws nearer to an end, I have two A's, a B, and two high C's. This is where I turned towards prayer.
I'll make a timeline for how it went.
The Monday of the last week of school, I was preparing and just excited to get school over with. I had a test for China that was due Tuesday. My China tests, however, are usually difficult and awkward to study for so I never studied and that's why my test scores kept dropping on each test. I decided that I needed to pray and that that would help. I had five exams ahead of me and I was taking one exam a day. Tuesday- China, Wednesday- Unit 5 bio, Thursday- Unit 5 The American Epidemic, Friday- Bio final, Saturday- American epidemic final. I prayed for every test and prayed that I would study and pass each one so that this semester was a success.
Tuesday rolls around and like I said, I didn't study for China but went to take the test. These test I take fairly quickly and I was always concerned that I didn't do them correctly. I walked in sat down, and said a quick prayer asking Heavenly Father to give me guidance and help on this test. These exams were computer exams with written responses so I usually didn't find out my scores until later on. I walked out feeling fairly confident that I did good but also really nervous that I failed. A few days later, I checked my grades and I got an 88% on the test and passed the class with a B+. So I get ready for the test Wednesday but I usually don't study for bio exams because I'm an idiot. I walk to the library, sit down, said a prayer again asking for help with studying and that I would be able to retain the information and remember it for the test. I studied for a straight four hours, while also starving, and then decided to take the test. Once again, I sat down and prayed for help on the test and that I would be successful. I honestly just poured my heart out asking for help on this test because I knew I needed my grade to be bumped up. I ended up getting a 78% on the exam, which is actually a good thing. I knew that putting myself out there and taking it so many times and asking Heavenly Father to help me would make me successful. Oh and don't let me forget that last time I took that exact exam I think I got like a 46% on it so I improved significantly. I was so happy that while I was walking home I was smiling the whole entire time and just feeling so good. I was on a roll. So I'm feeling happy Thursday, knowing I have another exam and feeling confident. I was going to study for this one for like five hours but didn't feel like it so I skimmed my notes and went for it. As I sat down, ready to take the test, I also said a prayer. This time, I just asked to do well and that I would get higher than a C. I didn't care what I got, I was just hoping for something decent. That test I ended up getting a 90% on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now hold on here, not only is that my highest exam score in the class but the highest exam score ever in the testing center. I couldn't contain my excitement at that point. I think I might have quietly screamed YES inside the room that shows you the scores and then I walked home. I saw a girl from my class and couldn't help but brag because I was so happy. I felt bad because she didn't do as well but I couldn't contain my excitement. We both wished each other luck on all remaining tests then went on our way (pretty sure we're friends on Facebook, but I don't know if I sent the request to the right person but whoever it is, I'm friends on Facebook with one of the girls from my class). I have two more exams but they make a turn for the worst which I'll explain next paragraph. Lesson here is that PRAYER IS A POWERFUL TOOL. I know Heavenly Father listens and answers our prayers. He is there for us and he wants us to succeed. However, YOU HAVE TO APPLY YOURSELF. I knew I wasn't going to magically do well on those exams if I didn't study. I studied for four hours for biology and trust me, I would not have done so well if I didn't study. You have to do your part in order for Heavenly Father to do his part.
Sorry, for such a long paragraph. That's partly why I created a new one. So I'll finish this off quickly. Friday, I didn't study as much, I wasn't focused and said screw it. I glanced through my notes but to be honest, it's kinda hard to study for all of the content from the past three months. So I went to take the test and got a 52%. BUT, that is 21% more than what I got last time I took the final and I passed the class with an 80%. Although, I said if I did well, I wouldn't change my major, I still did because I don't want to take stupid chemistry. I changed it to communications with an emphasis in PR and I'm taking some Elementary Education courses because I'm stuck at a crossroads of what I wanna do in life. Later on Friday, I was just chilling and realized that I didn't want to go to campus on Saturday and what not. I decided to give it a try and take my American Epidemic exam. I grabbed my notebook and walked over there, quickly glanced at my notes, said a quick prayer, and took the exam. I ended up getting a 69% on the exam, which isn't too bad. I knew that I could've done much better but just didn't apply myself. I ended that class with an 81% and I felt really accomplished.
This semester turned out to be great. I had so many amazing memories, I made so many new friends, hung out with all my old friends and just had a huge blast. My GPA went from a 2.6 to a 3.05, so I'm quickly working my way up and will hopefully be able to continue to raise my GPA throughout my college career. I am forever grateful for this semester and all the amazing learning experiences. Everyone made this semester amazing and I can't wait until the fall semester to be even better. Thanks to everyone who still reads this and takes the time to read about my life. Means a lot, love you all.
So last night I got home from Rexburg after driving 14 hours straight from Rexburg on 3 1/2 hours of sleep and one bottle of Coke. And quite frankly, this was by far the best semester I have had yet. I had so many ups and downs, so many trials, and so many difficult moments where I just wanted to give up but I also had some of the most amazing memories ever. This semester really tested me and made me contemplate a lot of stuff but I managed to make it through and make it the best semester yet. The friends I made, the teachers I had, the grades I got, and the memories I made. All of that combined, made for an amazing semester.
I wanna first mention my friends. Oh boy, where do I start. Let's begin with my roommates. Thomas Landrith, my room roommate is a totally awesome dude. We went to the gas station at 1:30 in the morning one time because we were bored and wanted a soda. As we were jaywalking across the main street, a cop rolls by and just keeps driving, good times. He is such a hilarious person and I loved being around him. I can't compare him to my other roommates because I loved all of them too, but he was an amazing roommate. Then there is Fernando, who would often drive me places when I needed a ride and was super cool. I loved hanging out with him and Thomas. We had so much fun together especially when the three of us went to get drinks and then watch the NBA finals and stayed up until 4 AM watching horror movies. Yeah, we got kinda scared but it wasn't too bad. Anyway, I did a ton of stuff with them and we always had a blast. My other roommate is Joseph and he was pretty cool. Didn't do too much with him but I know he's a great guy. Christian was never home but he got engaged and that was cool. But, I still did see him a ton during the semester and we always had a great time when we saw each other. Then there is Tyler, a super awesome person. I loved hanging out with him. Half the semester involved us collecting the empty toilet paper rolls and would put them in each others rooms. Then it stopped, however, I went home for the weekend and he managed to put them all on my bed and put my mattress sitting on top of it. I don't know how he did it but he managed to do it. All together we had an amazing semester. We all went to Big Juds one day after going to the river and we got food. Man, it was a great semester. I loved it and I love my roommates.
Ok, be patient guys. I know the title is about prayer but we will get there. I have a really good story that goes along with prayer. I was also gonna speak about friends and my FHE sisters this post but I'm gonna write another one with those because that might be a lot.
Anyway, I wanna talk about my teachers. Let's start with Brother Gardner. He is such an amazing religions teacher. Brother Gardner gave that personal touch to his students and always tried to connect with them every day and made me feel included in class. He had such a positive and uplifting attitude that made me want to come to class every day. I'm so glad to have had him and for the influence he had on me. I will never forget how awesome he was. The next teacher is Sister Nelson, my American Epidemic teacher. She was so funny and so fun to talk to. She always made class enjoyable and was really easy to get along with. I loved having her as a teacher and all the fun stuff we learned in the class. Oh and she nicknamed me Barefoot Mike (long story), so it's always fun to have a nickname. My other two teachers, Brother Christenson and Brother Fisher, were great. I didn't get super close to them but I managed to get a B in Fisher's class and then an A in one of Christenson's classes and a B in retaking bio in his class. Overall, I loved my teachers this semester and had such an amazing experience with them.
So here's the point where we get to prayer. As we can recall, fall semester ended with me getting a 63% in Biology and I had two C's, one B, and one A. That semester ended in failure with a 2.6 GPA. This semester I decided to retake biology because I don't give up and decided I would give it a second chance. In addition to that, I had my religions class (fairly easy), bio orientation (pretty much show up for attendance), a class about China, and then The American Epidemic (health class). This semester was the turning point. If I did good in bio then I was keeping it as my major, if I failed then I was going to find a new major. I started the semester really well and got an 86% on my biology exam which was 24% higher than the first time I took the unit one exam. I got high scores on the first exams for my other classes. However, I started getting into my same habit of not studying and not doing the study guides. Grades kept dropping in both biology, The American Epidemic, and although I didn't try in my China class, I somehow managed a 90% all semester. As the semester draws nearer to an end, I have two A's, a B, and two high C's. This is where I turned towards prayer.
I'll make a timeline for how it went.
The Monday of the last week of school, I was preparing and just excited to get school over with. I had a test for China that was due Tuesday. My China tests, however, are usually difficult and awkward to study for so I never studied and that's why my test scores kept dropping on each test. I decided that I needed to pray and that that would help. I had five exams ahead of me and I was taking one exam a day. Tuesday- China, Wednesday- Unit 5 bio, Thursday- Unit 5 The American Epidemic, Friday- Bio final, Saturday- American epidemic final. I prayed for every test and prayed that I would study and pass each one so that this semester was a success.
Tuesday rolls around and like I said, I didn't study for China but went to take the test. These test I take fairly quickly and I was always concerned that I didn't do them correctly. I walked in sat down, and said a quick prayer asking Heavenly Father to give me guidance and help on this test. These exams were computer exams with written responses so I usually didn't find out my scores until later on. I walked out feeling fairly confident that I did good but also really nervous that I failed. A few days later, I checked my grades and I got an 88% on the test and passed the class with a B+. So I get ready for the test Wednesday but I usually don't study for bio exams because I'm an idiot. I walk to the library, sit down, said a prayer again asking for help with studying and that I would be able to retain the information and remember it for the test. I studied for a straight four hours, while also starving, and then decided to take the test. Once again, I sat down and prayed for help on the test and that I would be successful. I honestly just poured my heart out asking for help on this test because I knew I needed my grade to be bumped up. I ended up getting a 78% on the exam, which is actually a good thing. I knew that putting myself out there and taking it so many times and asking Heavenly Father to help me would make me successful. Oh and don't let me forget that last time I took that exact exam I think I got like a 46% on it so I improved significantly. I was so happy that while I was walking home I was smiling the whole entire time and just feeling so good. I was on a roll. So I'm feeling happy Thursday, knowing I have another exam and feeling confident. I was going to study for this one for like five hours but didn't feel like it so I skimmed my notes and went for it. As I sat down, ready to take the test, I also said a prayer. This time, I just asked to do well and that I would get higher than a C. I didn't care what I got, I was just hoping for something decent. That test I ended up getting a 90% on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now hold on here, not only is that my highest exam score in the class but the highest exam score ever in the testing center. I couldn't contain my excitement at that point. I think I might have quietly screamed YES inside the room that shows you the scores and then I walked home. I saw a girl from my class and couldn't help but brag because I was so happy. I felt bad because she didn't do as well but I couldn't contain my excitement. We both wished each other luck on all remaining tests then went on our way (pretty sure we're friends on Facebook, but I don't know if I sent the request to the right person but whoever it is, I'm friends on Facebook with one of the girls from my class). I have two more exams but they make a turn for the worst which I'll explain next paragraph. Lesson here is that PRAYER IS A POWERFUL TOOL. I know Heavenly Father listens and answers our prayers. He is there for us and he wants us to succeed. However, YOU HAVE TO APPLY YOURSELF. I knew I wasn't going to magically do well on those exams if I didn't study. I studied for four hours for biology and trust me, I would not have done so well if I didn't study. You have to do your part in order for Heavenly Father to do his part.
Sorry, for such a long paragraph. That's partly why I created a new one. So I'll finish this off quickly. Friday, I didn't study as much, I wasn't focused and said screw it. I glanced through my notes but to be honest, it's kinda hard to study for all of the content from the past three months. So I went to take the test and got a 52%. BUT, that is 21% more than what I got last time I took the final and I passed the class with an 80%. Although, I said if I did well, I wouldn't change my major, I still did because I don't want to take stupid chemistry. I changed it to communications with an emphasis in PR and I'm taking some Elementary Education courses because I'm stuck at a crossroads of what I wanna do in life. Later on Friday, I was just chilling and realized that I didn't want to go to campus on Saturday and what not. I decided to give it a try and take my American Epidemic exam. I grabbed my notebook and walked over there, quickly glanced at my notes, said a quick prayer, and took the exam. I ended up getting a 69% on the exam, which isn't too bad. I knew that I could've done much better but just didn't apply myself. I ended that class with an 81% and I felt really accomplished.
This semester turned out to be great. I had so many amazing memories, I made so many new friends, hung out with all my old friends and just had a huge blast. My GPA went from a 2.6 to a 3.05, so I'm quickly working my way up and will hopefully be able to continue to raise my GPA throughout my college career. I am forever grateful for this semester and all the amazing learning experiences. Everyone made this semester amazing and I can't wait until the fall semester to be even better. Thanks to everyone who still reads this and takes the time to read about my life. Means a lot, love you all.
Monday, May 1, 2017
Universidad ronda tres
Hola amigos!! Sorry for the Spanish title but I am running out of creative titles. Ok well none of my titles are creative. Anyway, I started my 3rd ish semester of college a week ago and I just finished my first week of school. It's been great. I love my roommates and new friends and so far it has been an amazing experience my first couple weeks. I know that last sentence said the first week but I procrastinated and I am now writing this at 3 am on Saturday April 29th, 2017. But yeah I love it. LOL. I don't even know what day I'm writing this now. Scratch everything I just said.
Let's start off with my first night here.
So after I had driven 6 long hours that day from Cedar City and roughly 8 hours the previous day from Hesperia to Cedar city (due to a crap ton of traffic in places that I've never encountered traffic), we finally made it to Rexburg. Yeah, my sister trusted me driving her brand new car all the way to school. I was happy. I did get to stop in Provo and say hi to Olivia Yocum, so shoutout to Olivia because she's super cool and awesome and you're the best Winter Formal date. She's such a super awesome person and I know she's doing great down at BYU in Provo. Anyway, so we arrive in Rexburg and I immediately went over to say hi to my friends. I figured unpacking could come later. I walk into apartment 405 and immediately Tara Pope and Savanna Theobald come running up to me to hug me and say hi. Tara was like, "I don't know why I was that excited to see you" well obviously because you have a crush on me that you won't admit. Then I saw a bunch of other friends like Kennedy Lee and Eliza Griffin and Travis Morgan and Gavin Brown. I forget when I saw each of them but I missed all of those people. Brianna Haroldsen showed up and I ran up to her. She's a great person and I love being around her.
From there I went over to Centre Square to see my other friends. As soon as I walk into the apartment that I wanted to go to Dimani, Katie, and Emily came running up to me to hug me. Like no joke, I was probably the happiest I have ever been. I LOVED seeing Dimani since she is one of my best friends. And then seeing Katie and Emily after 3 and a half months was a great feeling. I missed them so much. Let's be honest, I only missed Katie for her dog. JK. I love Katie and Emily so much they are both amazing girls. And as I have talked about Dimani before, she is the coolest person I know. That night, we went swimming at an apartment complex and it was super fun. Then I had to go to Walmart and while there I get a call from my sister. "Hey Michael, come to the sugar aisle, there's someone you wanna see." So I go over there and boom I leave my cart in the middle of the aisle of a lot of people passing by and I run up to Angel Gonzales. I missed that dude so much. Love him so much and he has the best laugh.
Easter Sunday came around the next day. I did my usual of going to church and then coming home. We had potluck that night which was super fun. Around 50-70 people showed up to one apartment and dang it was a crowded apartment. But we were all awaiting the arrival of the newly engaged couple, Housten Christiansen and Veronica Martinez. They got engaged that Friday and I found out Saturday before they announced it on social media. As soon as they pulled into the parking lot, I ran up to the car and jumped on top of them and then gave both of them a huge hug. It was so amazing to see them. I missed them so much and was super ecstatic to see them. I am so happy for them and can't wait for their wedding.
Anyway, lets talk about my roommates. So my room roommate is Thomas, I don't know his last name. He's super chill and fun to be around. Tyler, one of my other roommates is super funny and he's a great person to hang out with. He's also in my biology class. The same exact class that I'm retaking since I failed it the first time. Fernando, he's another friend that I've had since last semester and he's really cool. I love hanging out with him and love being around him. Joseph is super awesome and he's chill. I don't talk to Christian often but he's super awesome. I love my roommates. However, I will note that I saw David and Adam the other day and it was so awesome seeing them. I miss both of them so much and man I was so happy to see them.
So all of my new friends this semester. Hmmmm. I don't know if you guys remember but I was good friends with apartment 602 fall semester which included Brooklin, Summer, Carlie, Aubree, Katie, and Meghan, and then Chyna pretty much lived there too. Well the first day, I told the new 602 that I would become best friends with them. So now I am good friends with Lizzy, Jozelle, Abby, Mak, Ella and Katie (who is still there). So yeah they are now pretty much my new best friends. They're amazing and super fun to hang out with. It's weird being with a different 602 but they are some of my favorite people. Then there is 401, my FHE sisters. They include Natalie, Beth, Grace, Amanda, Jenna, and Maya. They are super fun to be around and I love them. They are super sweet and some of the nicest people I know. THEY ARE THE BEST. Then the usual 404 which is my sisters apartment. That includes Emily Finch, Brianna, Ellen, Mele (she's from Australia), and Veronica. I'm over there everyday and I'm always hanging out with them. I love them too. And then finally there is 405. That includes, Taylin, Bailey, Eliza, Savanna, Tara, and Salena. They are super awesome and I love hanging out with them. I'm always at their apartment too. Another guys apartment I'm always at is 305 which has Ian, Nick, Adam, Houston, Gavin, and Travis. The latter three, I was friends with last semester and they are my best guy friends up here. Ian and Nick I knew but I wasn't close with but they're cool. Adam is a hilarious dude and he's the best. He gave me a ride to class this morning. And then there's the usual Elliot, Ian, and Sam and miscellaneous friends that I hang out with. I love everyone.
Anyway, I love school so far this semester. Plenty of friends, plenty of cute girls, plenty of food, and plenty of good times. It's been so fun being here with my sister. She's the best sister ever. I love my roommates and I love my friends. I'm so happy to be here another semester and am so excited for what's to come. I'm a little disappointed that I couldn't serve my mission yet but I know this is where I'm supposed to be right now. This will be an amazing semester. I love you all and know that the Lord has a plan and you are exactly where you're supposed to be. Stay safe everyone. Thanks for reading.
P.S. I'm not even going to bother proofreading so let me know if I need to fix anything.
Let's start off with my first night here.
So after I had driven 6 long hours that day from Cedar City and roughly 8 hours the previous day from Hesperia to Cedar city (due to a crap ton of traffic in places that I've never encountered traffic), we finally made it to Rexburg. Yeah, my sister trusted me driving her brand new car all the way to school. I was happy. I did get to stop in Provo and say hi to Olivia Yocum, so shoutout to Olivia because she's super cool and awesome and you're the best Winter Formal date. She's such a super awesome person and I know she's doing great down at BYU in Provo. Anyway, so we arrive in Rexburg and I immediately went over to say hi to my friends. I figured unpacking could come later. I walk into apartment 405 and immediately Tara Pope and Savanna Theobald come running up to me to hug me and say hi. Tara was like, "I don't know why I was that excited to see you" well obviously because you have a crush on me that you won't admit. Then I saw a bunch of other friends like Kennedy Lee and Eliza Griffin and Travis Morgan and Gavin Brown. I forget when I saw each of them but I missed all of those people. Brianna Haroldsen showed up and I ran up to her. She's a great person and I love being around her.
From there I went over to Centre Square to see my other friends. As soon as I walk into the apartment that I wanted to go to Dimani, Katie, and Emily came running up to me to hug me. Like no joke, I was probably the happiest I have ever been. I LOVED seeing Dimani since she is one of my best friends. And then seeing Katie and Emily after 3 and a half months was a great feeling. I missed them so much. Let's be honest, I only missed Katie for her dog. JK. I love Katie and Emily so much they are both amazing girls. And as I have talked about Dimani before, she is the coolest person I know. That night, we went swimming at an apartment complex and it was super fun. Then I had to go to Walmart and while there I get a call from my sister. "Hey Michael, come to the sugar aisle, there's someone you wanna see." So I go over there and boom I leave my cart in the middle of the aisle of a lot of people passing by and I run up to Angel Gonzales. I missed that dude so much. Love him so much and he has the best laugh.
Easter Sunday came around the next day. I did my usual of going to church and then coming home. We had potluck that night which was super fun. Around 50-70 people showed up to one apartment and dang it was a crowded apartment. But we were all awaiting the arrival of the newly engaged couple, Housten Christiansen and Veronica Martinez. They got engaged that Friday and I found out Saturday before they announced it on social media. As soon as they pulled into the parking lot, I ran up to the car and jumped on top of them and then gave both of them a huge hug. It was so amazing to see them. I missed them so much and was super ecstatic to see them. I am so happy for them and can't wait for their wedding.
Anyway, lets talk about my roommates. So my room roommate is Thomas, I don't know his last name. He's super chill and fun to be around. Tyler, one of my other roommates is super funny and he's a great person to hang out with. He's also in my biology class. The same exact class that I'm retaking since I failed it the first time. Fernando, he's another friend that I've had since last semester and he's really cool. I love hanging out with him and love being around him. Joseph is super awesome and he's chill. I don't talk to Christian often but he's super awesome. I love my roommates. However, I will note that I saw David and Adam the other day and it was so awesome seeing them. I miss both of them so much and man I was so happy to see them.
So all of my new friends this semester. Hmmmm. I don't know if you guys remember but I was good friends with apartment 602 fall semester which included Brooklin, Summer, Carlie, Aubree, Katie, and Meghan, and then Chyna pretty much lived there too. Well the first day, I told the new 602 that I would become best friends with them. So now I am good friends with Lizzy, Jozelle, Abby, Mak, Ella and Katie (who is still there). So yeah they are now pretty much my new best friends. They're amazing and super fun to hang out with. It's weird being with a different 602 but they are some of my favorite people. Then there is 401, my FHE sisters. They include Natalie, Beth, Grace, Amanda, Jenna, and Maya. They are super fun to be around and I love them. They are super sweet and some of the nicest people I know. THEY ARE THE BEST. Then the usual 404 which is my sisters apartment. That includes Emily Finch, Brianna, Ellen, Mele (she's from Australia), and Veronica. I'm over there everyday and I'm always hanging out with them. I love them too. And then finally there is 405. That includes, Taylin, Bailey, Eliza, Savanna, Tara, and Salena. They are super awesome and I love hanging out with them. I'm always at their apartment too. Another guys apartment I'm always at is 305 which has Ian, Nick, Adam, Houston, Gavin, and Travis. The latter three, I was friends with last semester and they are my best guy friends up here. Ian and Nick I knew but I wasn't close with but they're cool. Adam is a hilarious dude and he's the best. He gave me a ride to class this morning. And then there's the usual Elliot, Ian, and Sam and miscellaneous friends that I hang out with. I love everyone.
Anyway, I love school so far this semester. Plenty of friends, plenty of cute girls, plenty of food, and plenty of good times. It's been so fun being here with my sister. She's the best sister ever. I love my roommates and I love my friends. I'm so happy to be here another semester and am so excited for what's to come. I'm a little disappointed that I couldn't serve my mission yet but I know this is where I'm supposed to be right now. This will be an amazing semester. I love you all and know that the Lord has a plan and you are exactly where you're supposed to be. Stay safe everyone. Thanks for reading.
P.S. I'm not even going to bother proofreading so let me know if I need to fix anything.
Tuesday, April 11, 2017
SHOW LOVE TO EVERYONE
Hey guys, I haven't even created a title for this one yet because I don't even know what I'm writing about. It's currently Tuesday afternoon and I'm sitting here on my couch listening to the Beauty and the Beast soundtrack and decided I should write another post. But a few minutes into writing this I realized why not write about the new TV show 13 Reasons Why. I won't write about it but I'll write about how we should treat others and I'll give a brief update on my life.
First off, I leave Friday to go back to school until July then come home for summer then go back from September to December. Anyway, these past three months have been such an eye opening experience. Yes, they have been super boring because I have no friends here in Temecula and they all live in Rexburg but I'll see them in less than a week. I can't wait!!! Especially can't wait to see Dimani. I LOVE YOU GIRL!!! She's the funniest person ever. Anyway back to the reason for this post.
I binge watched 13 Reasons Why in the span of 24 hours. I was going to stay up all night and watch it but got tired. The premise of the show is about a girl who commits suicide and leaves behind 13 tapes with 13 reasons why she killed herself targeted towards 12 different people. Now each individual reason on it's own may not seem like a huge deal but it's the fact that everything happened to her that led her to her decision. Now she wasn't some shy, lonely, ugly, girl who was bullied and had no friends. I feel like when a lot of people view suicide that's what they think of. UMMM, no, anyone can have those thoughts. This girl was a beautiful, lovely, sweet, kind, innocent girl. Of course, the other description you can be shy, lonely, ugly, kind, sweet, and innocent too. Heck, a lot of them aren't even ugly but I just wanted to share a description that describes that she wasn't a nobody. I hope this isn't coming off wrong. The whole school knew her. So anyway, it was so heartbreaking to see everything that happened to her and how this could have so easily been avoided. Which brings me to the title...
Everyone you know deserves to be loved. Don't be jerk and don't be an idiot. Joe Gatto, from Impractical Jokers, is a huge advocate against bullying. I love him so much and admire that he strives to be uplifting to everyone. He goes live on Periscope every Monday and at the end tells everyone to not be a bully and that it gets better and to not be mean, etc. Totally true what he says and it always helps me to stay strong at times when I'm struggling. You don't know what is going on in anyone's lives and its frickin annoying that anyone would treat someone like crap when their life might already be horrible as is. No one deserves it. I've been a bully and a victim. YOU ARE LYING TO YOURSELF IF YOU SAY YOU HAVEN'T BEEN A VICTIM OR A BULLY. There are a few exceptions and very few people I know that haven't been a bully in any form ever in their life. And if you're reading this then you probably aren't one of them. I didn't mean to sound like I was attacking anyone there but we should all be self aware of our actions and how we affect (I still don't know the difference between affect and effect) the people around us. We may hurt people's feelings and not even realize it. Being sarcastic doesn't let you off the hook, trust me, my sarcasm has hurt lots of feelings. Throughout high school, I would always find out about my friends hanging out and I was never invited. I've done it too. There have been times where I purposely wouldn't invite someone somewhere and I feel bad about it now. It made me feel horrible when those people wouldn't invite me. For prom last year, I didn't have a group of friends to go to dinner with so my prom date and I went with another student and his date that I've known since freshman year who also has Aspergers but is a little bit less functioning than me. At first, I was hesitant because I wanted to find a group with the "cool" kids but then I was like nah there isn't anything cool about not letting someone hang out with me. I had a blast with this student.
I want to share a few examples of people showing me love in my life. Lets start off with the three boys that I shared about I think in the past. It was a Friday night and none of my "friends" would hang out with me. These boys shared on Twitter that they were baking cookies and asked if anyone wanted some and so I replied back saying I do and they said they'd come by. It was around 10:30 PM and they still weren't there and so I gave up and then bam they showed up and it made my night. Later on, I was expressing my boredom on Twitter and they invited me to come over to their house to go swimming. Oh and they were Varsity football players. Contrary to what the Disney movies show, football players are not jerks. Umm, let's see my 16th surprise birthday party had over 50 people so that made me happy. I invited a few friends to come to my house and play ping pong and have Taco Bell one time and they showed up and we had a blast. I miss you Jacob Devine, Shayan Rahimi, Tanner Kuljian, Natalie Orme, JJ Wiggins, and Julia Pion. That was a great night.
Let's move onto college. Dimani is my favorite person ever. She's always excited to see me and she doesn't care that I always just randomly show up to her apartment. She has become like a second sister and one of my greatest friends at BYU Idaho. I have another friend that I wanna leave anonymous but this friend I found a little bit annoying or irritating at the beginning of the semester but as the semester grew on and we became closer she became one of my favorite people. Besides Dimani, I miss her the most and she is always there for me. She doesn't mind if I sit there and just vent about my problems to her. She is just one of those people that you can just talk to and it's great for me to be able to go to her. I trust her with everything. I can't wait to see her again. I've already talked about my roommate, but Adam Smith is such an amazing person. He helped me the first weekend invite my sister's best friend's apartment for a spaghetti dinner to impress a girl I liked in that apartment and from there our friendship just continued. He is a great roommate and we had so much fun throughout the semester. I miss him and hope that one day I'll be able to see him again. I don't think he's at BYU Idaho next semester. The rest of the friends I made that semester were amazing and I can't wait to see almost every single one of them in a few days. A few of them will be at home this semester but I'll see them again someday. College has been a huge blessing.
Anyway, I share that to show how easily it is to show love to everyone. Hang out with those that may be lonely and be kind to everyone around you. It's not that hard to show love and kindness. The simplest acts can go the longest ways. Show people you care and don't be a jerk. BEING A BULLY GETS YOU NO WHERE IN LIFE. Anyway thanks for reading. Love you all.
First off, I leave Friday to go back to school until July then come home for summer then go back from September to December. Anyway, these past three months have been such an eye opening experience. Yes, they have been super boring because I have no friends here in Temecula and they all live in Rexburg but I'll see them in less than a week. I can't wait!!! Especially can't wait to see Dimani. I LOVE YOU GIRL!!! She's the funniest person ever. Anyway back to the reason for this post.
I binge watched 13 Reasons Why in the span of 24 hours. I was going to stay up all night and watch it but got tired. The premise of the show is about a girl who commits suicide and leaves behind 13 tapes with 13 reasons why she killed herself targeted towards 12 different people. Now each individual reason on it's own may not seem like a huge deal but it's the fact that everything happened to her that led her to her decision. Now she wasn't some shy, lonely, ugly, girl who was bullied and had no friends. I feel like when a lot of people view suicide that's what they think of. UMMM, no, anyone can have those thoughts. This girl was a beautiful, lovely, sweet, kind, innocent girl. Of course, the other description you can be shy, lonely, ugly, kind, sweet, and innocent too. Heck, a lot of them aren't even ugly but I just wanted to share a description that describes that she wasn't a nobody. I hope this isn't coming off wrong. The whole school knew her. So anyway, it was so heartbreaking to see everything that happened to her and how this could have so easily been avoided. Which brings me to the title...
Everyone you know deserves to be loved. Don't be jerk and don't be an idiot. Joe Gatto, from Impractical Jokers, is a huge advocate against bullying. I love him so much and admire that he strives to be uplifting to everyone. He goes live on Periscope every Monday and at the end tells everyone to not be a bully and that it gets better and to not be mean, etc. Totally true what he says and it always helps me to stay strong at times when I'm struggling. You don't know what is going on in anyone's lives and its frickin annoying that anyone would treat someone like crap when their life might already be horrible as is. No one deserves it. I've been a bully and a victim. YOU ARE LYING TO YOURSELF IF YOU SAY YOU HAVEN'T BEEN A VICTIM OR A BULLY. There are a few exceptions and very few people I know that haven't been a bully in any form ever in their life. And if you're reading this then you probably aren't one of them. I didn't mean to sound like I was attacking anyone there but we should all be self aware of our actions and how we affect (I still don't know the difference between affect and effect) the people around us. We may hurt people's feelings and not even realize it. Being sarcastic doesn't let you off the hook, trust me, my sarcasm has hurt lots of feelings. Throughout high school, I would always find out about my friends hanging out and I was never invited. I've done it too. There have been times where I purposely wouldn't invite someone somewhere and I feel bad about it now. It made me feel horrible when those people wouldn't invite me. For prom last year, I didn't have a group of friends to go to dinner with so my prom date and I went with another student and his date that I've known since freshman year who also has Aspergers but is a little bit less functioning than me. At first, I was hesitant because I wanted to find a group with the "cool" kids but then I was like nah there isn't anything cool about not letting someone hang out with me. I had a blast with this student.
I want to share a few examples of people showing me love in my life. Lets start off with the three boys that I shared about I think in the past. It was a Friday night and none of my "friends" would hang out with me. These boys shared on Twitter that they were baking cookies and asked if anyone wanted some and so I replied back saying I do and they said they'd come by. It was around 10:30 PM and they still weren't there and so I gave up and then bam they showed up and it made my night. Later on, I was expressing my boredom on Twitter and they invited me to come over to their house to go swimming. Oh and they were Varsity football players. Contrary to what the Disney movies show, football players are not jerks. Umm, let's see my 16th surprise birthday party had over 50 people so that made me happy. I invited a few friends to come to my house and play ping pong and have Taco Bell one time and they showed up and we had a blast. I miss you Jacob Devine, Shayan Rahimi, Tanner Kuljian, Natalie Orme, JJ Wiggins, and Julia Pion. That was a great night.
Let's move onto college. Dimani is my favorite person ever. She's always excited to see me and she doesn't care that I always just randomly show up to her apartment. She has become like a second sister and one of my greatest friends at BYU Idaho. I have another friend that I wanna leave anonymous but this friend I found a little bit annoying or irritating at the beginning of the semester but as the semester grew on and we became closer she became one of my favorite people. Besides Dimani, I miss her the most and she is always there for me. She doesn't mind if I sit there and just vent about my problems to her. She is just one of those people that you can just talk to and it's great for me to be able to go to her. I trust her with everything. I can't wait to see her again. I've already talked about my roommate, but Adam Smith is such an amazing person. He helped me the first weekend invite my sister's best friend's apartment for a spaghetti dinner to impress a girl I liked in that apartment and from there our friendship just continued. He is a great roommate and we had so much fun throughout the semester. I miss him and hope that one day I'll be able to see him again. I don't think he's at BYU Idaho next semester. The rest of the friends I made that semester were amazing and I can't wait to see almost every single one of them in a few days. A few of them will be at home this semester but I'll see them again someday. College has been a huge blessing.
Anyway, I share that to show how easily it is to show love to everyone. Hang out with those that may be lonely and be kind to everyone around you. It's not that hard to show love and kindness. The simplest acts can go the longest ways. Show people you care and don't be a jerk. BEING A BULLY GETS YOU NO WHERE IN LIFE. Anyway thanks for reading. Love you all.
Tuesday, January 31, 2017
Delays in serving
Ok, so last time I wrote I explained about the promptings I had to come home and serve a mission and that I was confident about leaving. Well, it has been good so far. I have started attending the YSA ward where I actually have friends and hang out with people and it's super fun. I am looking for a job (unsuccessfully), after having looked at so many places. I have hung out with my brother and family. Oh and I have definitely eaten a lot of food because food is amazing. But let's continue on with what the topic of this post is about.
So I had to get another interview with LDS Family Services because of my aspergers. So I drove up to Colton and had my interview. I thought it was going well at first until I told her about an incident in summer session with my roommates and wanted to show my improvement with my behavior during fall semester and how I became more mature during the semester. Well, she had explained to me that she works with many missionaries with aspergers and thinks that maybe it would be better if I waited a few more months and waited until I was older. She did however tell me that she sees that I'm high functioning enough to serve in a normal mission but just not at the moment. She asked if I was ok with that and with hesitancy agreed that if I have to, I will wait. Now this may not be the end and there may still be a chance to go now.
Now, some may ask, what about the prompting you had to come home? I sacrificed a lot by coming home at the last minute. I sacrificed my security deposit, I had to cancel being a 1st year mentor at the last minute, I sacrificed a social life for 4 months, I sacrificed being around some of my closest friends, and in reality I sacrificed a lot. However, being home has taught me a few lessons. First off, it has taught me how to binge watch The Office and Parks and Rec in the span of three weeks, even though I am here for three months. But honestly, it has taught me how to get out of my comfort zone and go into so many businesses looking for jobs (still unsuccessful). It has taught me how to be a harder worker (currently redoing a lot of our backyard). Umm, let's see, it's been nice seeing all of my friends. I have been able to see some of my teachers. I haven't had much of a social life but it's ok. I go to the YSA branch every week and we do things Mondays - Wednesday's. So far everything is going great although I miss Rexburg so much. I miss my friends, I miss the snow, and for some strange reason, I miss school.
From here on out, what are my plans? Well, I'm currently trying to make money to take a small vacation to a special place. Right now, I am trying to find a job. If I don't get a job then I'm going to go back to school in April. If I do get a job then I'm going to stay here until around August. But who knows what the Lord is placing in my path. I just want everything to work out. All I really want right now is to be in Rexburg with all of my friends.
Anyway, the lesson here is that the Lord may give you promptings to go do something and it may turn into something else. There is a lot I could have done if I stayed up in Rexburg but I know this was the right choice for me and that I gained a lot from it. Anyway, just wanted to let you know what's up with my mission. Thanks for reading. Love you all.
So I had to get another interview with LDS Family Services because of my aspergers. So I drove up to Colton and had my interview. I thought it was going well at first until I told her about an incident in summer session with my roommates and wanted to show my improvement with my behavior during fall semester and how I became more mature during the semester. Well, she had explained to me that she works with many missionaries with aspergers and thinks that maybe it would be better if I waited a few more months and waited until I was older. She did however tell me that she sees that I'm high functioning enough to serve in a normal mission but just not at the moment. She asked if I was ok with that and with hesitancy agreed that if I have to, I will wait. Now this may not be the end and there may still be a chance to go now.
Now, some may ask, what about the prompting you had to come home? I sacrificed a lot by coming home at the last minute. I sacrificed my security deposit, I had to cancel being a 1st year mentor at the last minute, I sacrificed a social life for 4 months, I sacrificed being around some of my closest friends, and in reality I sacrificed a lot. However, being home has taught me a few lessons. First off, it has taught me how to binge watch The Office and Parks and Rec in the span of three weeks, even though I am here for three months. But honestly, it has taught me how to get out of my comfort zone and go into so many businesses looking for jobs (still unsuccessful). It has taught me how to be a harder worker (currently redoing a lot of our backyard). Umm, let's see, it's been nice seeing all of my friends. I have been able to see some of my teachers. I haven't had much of a social life but it's ok. I go to the YSA branch every week and we do things Mondays - Wednesday's. So far everything is going great although I miss Rexburg so much. I miss my friends, I miss the snow, and for some strange reason, I miss school.
From here on out, what are my plans? Well, I'm currently trying to make money to take a small vacation to a special place. Right now, I am trying to find a job. If I don't get a job then I'm going to go back to school in April. If I do get a job then I'm going to stay here until around August. But who knows what the Lord is placing in my path. I just want everything to work out. All I really want right now is to be in Rexburg with all of my friends.
Anyway, the lesson here is that the Lord may give you promptings to go do something and it may turn into something else. There is a lot I could have done if I stayed up in Rexburg but I know this was the right choice for me and that I gained a lot from it. Anyway, just wanted to let you know what's up with my mission. Thanks for reading. Love you all.
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