Live Like Trevor

I have a very dear friend.

His name is Trevor.

This upcoming March will mark three years since his passing.

But today is a very special day.

It is his 21st birthday!

And in order to celebrate, I thought I'd share a few words...

Trevor is one of the most amazing people I have ever met and I am sure that I will never come across someone like him again.

My first memory of Trevor is in our freshman english class. I was new to the school and didn't know a single person. This particular day was the first pep rally of the school year. Being new, I didn't know a single person and I had thought about calling my mom to come and pick me up. But then, as we were leaving for the pep rally, Trevor came up to me with all of his energy and excitement and asked me to sit with his friends. So that's what I did. I had such a good time and he made me feel so included that day. That's what Trevor did, he was friends with everyone, no matter who they were or what their story was. 

He had perfected the art of friendship.

Trevor has a passion that I have never found in anyone else. No matter what he is doing, he always has a fun time with it. He can find excitement in the most boring of situations. And he is always doing something CRAZY! 

Sometimes, I think we become victims of life rather than participants. We don't really live life fully. Or maybe we are too scared or think we are too busy and we become boring.

I don't want to live like that.

I want to live like Trevor.

And really, I think that means that we should live life to the fullest every single day. There is joy in every situation and there are good times to be had in every moment. We are all capable of finding that joy and that fun. 

Trevor knew how to find it.

He has left a perfect example for us all to live by.

Love every person, every moment, no matter what.

Trevor spread happiness to everyone he came in contact with and I feel so lucky to have been touched by that happiness.

I am so blessed to have been his friend. I am so grateful for him, probably more so than he will ever know. He touched my life so deeply and he is often in my mind and always in my heart.

Thank you, Trevor.

Until we meet again.

A Challenge

Finals week.

It's here.

And I am drowning in an ocean of stress.

My first final is tomorrow and I am freaking out. Finance. I feel like no amount of studying can possibly help me with this final. But by this time tomorrow, I will be forever done with finance! 

I could also be done with this blog by tomorrow. I mean, this blog was started for academic purposes and technically, this is my last graded post. But the whole blogging thing has grown on me, so I think I'll keep going.

With this last post, my professor gave us a challenge:

Find someone who is more stressed than you 

and do something nice for them.

Challenge accepted.

I have a roommate. We don't always get along. We're just very different people and our perspectives are not at all the same. But she is moving out of the apartment and she has been packing up boxes all weekend while trying to study for her finals.

They say that the best way to develop love for someone is by serving them. So tonight I decided to serve my roommate by helping her carry and load all of her boxes. A small act of service, no big deal. It made the job seem a lot less daunting and we finished pretty quickly. She was appreciative and it was a decent bonding moment. Maybe I should have tried this earlier, but at least I did one final act of love, right? 

So in the midst of all my stress, I took time to relieve some of her stress, even if it was just a small amount. 

Service is good, 

service is love, 

and service makes you happy.

Try it sometime, I highly recommend it.

The Music of the Night

This weekend was harp weekend.

It was also the weekend of plentiful powder.

The fact that they occurred on the same weekend was a bit of the disappointment. Sometimes it's hard to have so many talents! 

Just kidding, sarcasm. I'm not that conceited.

Anyway, I had two harp recitals this weekend. Friday night was my solo performance and Saturday was my ensemble performance.

My solo performance. 

I thought it was going to be an utter disaster. I didn't have a lot of time to practice this semester. Now that I'm not a music major, harp has been put on the back burner. I love harp, but I just have so much work to complete in my other classes. 

I didn't realize how hard it would be to balance my music life with my business life. And it's alarming how quickly harp dropped on my list of priorities.

I'll always play harp, but never again like I used to play.

Friday night was my last solo recital, and it went better than expected. I played Clair de Lune. It's such a beautiful song. And it was a good ending.

My ensemble concert. 

Always a fun time. My favorite part about ensemble is the opportunity we have to create our own arrangement of a piece. This semester my group did and arrangement of 

Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again

from Phantom.

It was so lovely!

And to top it off, Dr. Brady, the harp professor, came up to me afterwards and told me that our arrangement was the best arrangement she has ever heard from the harp ensemble.

WOW!

Such a HUGE compliment!

I definitely felt fulfilled as a harpist after that comment.

Confidence = boosted.

Grateful

There are so many things to be grateful for, both big and small. In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I thought it appropriate to list some of the things that I am grateful to have in my life.

My family. 

I am so grateful for all of their love and support. They have helped shape me into the person I am today.

My brother.

We have such a close relationship and I love him so much. I am so proud of the amazing man he is becoming.

My friends.

I'm pretty sure I have the best friends in the world. They are always there for me and have helped me through so much.

My dogs.
Their love is unconditional and they are the most loyal creatures I have ever known. They can brighten my day faster than anyone.

My education.

Education is so important and I am so blessed to attend BYU and be able to learn and grow and develop the skills I will be using for the rest of my life.

Music.

I had to throw this in. I love music. And I am thankful for my musical talent and I am thankful for the joy and meaning it brings into my life.

The great outdoors.
As you already know, I love the mountains, the ocean, trees, flowers, clouds...almost anything found outside. It's so beautiful and makes you realize how truly amazing this world is.

Snow.
I wish there were more of it right about now, because I love snow. I find it to be absolutely stunning. And I love to ski, which requires snow.

The Savior.

I am so grateful for Hi sacrifice that made it possible for all of us to return to Him. I am grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who leads and guides me throughout my life. I am thankful for the peace and comfort I have found by following Him. Through Him, I have found true happiness and love.

Ski Season

A lot of people complain about the snow. They complain about winter and how it's too cold. Honestly though, it happens every single year, you'd think that people would be used to it by now.

As for me, I love the snow. I love waking up to a blanket of shimmering white. Because that can only mean one thing.

Ski season.

I am an avid skier.

I have been skiing for 15 years of my life. I have been skiing longer than I have been doing anything else in my life. I absolutely love it. I love cutting down the mountain with the snow splashing out around me. It is so exhilarating. I feel completely free, just me and the mountain.

I ski Park City.

Yesterday was opening day.

I went, of course.

Because how could I possibly stay away?!

It felt so good to be back on the mountain. I missed it so much. Like I've said before, the mountains call my name.

I felt right at home, out on the slopes once again.

I went and met up with Sarah. She was volunteering at the National Abilities Center. They help people learn how to ski despite their physical challenges. And now I want to volunteer. I love skiing and I want to share that with others. How cool to be able to help someone learn how to do what I love to do. What an amazing way to put a smile on someone's face, just by spending my Saturday doing something that I would already be doing.

The Lord has given us talents to share with others and lift them up. And now I have discovered a way to do that with skiing. I can do what I love while loving others as well. 

It's a win win situation.

And I'm going to go for it. 

Fruit Snob

I am one of those people you see in the grocery store sifting through all of the fruit looking for the very best of the best. I don't do soft and mushy bruises, I don't do odd shapes and colors. If you want to be a fruit in my produce club you have to be better than the rest because we are very exclusive. Because otherwise I can't handle it, I'm just weird like that. 
I'm a fruit snob.

Earlier this week I was at the grocery store doing a little produce shopping with a friend. Whenever I go grocery shopping with someone else I always feel a little silly because my method seems so strange. 

I'm just so snobby! I can't help it. 
I like my food to look pretty.

I was picking out apples, which is probably the fruit I am the most snobby about. So there I was, picking up every single apple and checking it for perfection. Then I looked over at the girl next to me. She was doing the same thing. She looked at me and said, "So I see that you are a fruit snob as well". 

And then we became instant friends. Because how can you not be friends with another fruit snob?

I finished my grocery shop, doing the same check-for-perfection process with my bananas and pears and avocados.

And this may seem like a pointless story, and it kind of is.

Usually I have a little deeper meaning type of thing at the end of all of my posts. So I'm going to sum it up with a movie quote from Fantastic Mr. Fox. 
This is one of my favorite movies, by the way, and if you haven't seen it then maybe you should check it out. Then again, it's a very specific kind of humor so maybe you shouldn't. You'll just think I'm even more strange than you already think.

But that is my point!

"We're all different, 
but there's something kind of fantastic about that".

So go be different, go be yourself, go be a fruit snob. 

Because chances are there will always be someone else who is going to be the same kind of different as you.

Indie

I am a lover of all things music. 

I cannot go for one day without listening to music. I would probably die without it. I consider myself an indie rock kid. That's my genre, that's my scene. But don't go confusing me with that hipster crowd. If it's good music, it should be known and heard by everyone. I'm supportive of mainstream. But I'm not supportive of the music that is mainstream right now. That's not real music. I don't know what that is. And I don't want to know. There is so much real talent out there! All you have to do is look beyond the radio.

I'm a musician.

I play the harp, 

I play the guitar, 

I play the piano. 

I sing. 

I have opened for a local concert 

and I have played in a bar in Spain. 

But what I consider my most interesting accomplishment is my title as an indie recording harpist for one of the most talented and passionate bands I know.

Shrink the Giant.

Go check them out. They've got some pretty good stuff and a whole lot of heart. They are some of the most amazing people I know and their music is pure fun and happiness. All good vibes and positive attitudes. So much of the stuff out there today leaves you feeling like you are covered in grime and dirt. 

It's not real. It's all just a show.

Go listen to Shrink the Giant. They're real, they're genuine, and they won't let you down. 

Just one song. 

They are well worth your time.

Knowing

Lately I have had a lot of questions.

About the future,

about the present,

about love,

about life in general.

Questions about if I'm doing the best thing, about if I'm doing the right thing. I've had questions about how I feel and what I feel and what it all means.

I know that I can ask. God is there and He is listening.

But you also have to be patient.

Asking is easy. 

Patience is hard.

I want to know now! I wish I could have a small glimpse into the future, just to know if I'm on the right path. 

Because sometimes I wonder. 

I feel like it's right, 

but is that the same thing as knowing that it's right? 

I guess sometimes we need to learn things for ourselves, we need to make a decision and see where it leads us. Not everything is dictated out. As we change, the plan changes with us. And there's no need to worry, we are given hints to find along the way. 

He helps us out.

But we need to help too.

That's the hard part for me. Sometimes I just want to be told what to do...but then I was thinking, 

what would be the fun in that? 

I have the liberty of choice. I can make decisions on my own. 

And if they're right, 

then it will work out,

and if not,

then I'll move on to the next thing.

Sometimes that can be scary. 

But that's life. 

There is beauty in wondering, 

there is beauty in the unknown, 

and there is beauty in knowing 

that it will all work out.

The Boyfriend

I know this boy named Will. He has been one of my dearest friends since the beginning of high school, as in we're going on seven years now. That's a long time to know somebody. 

Will is very funny and always says the most clever things. He is so creative and thinks about things in a way that I've never found in anyone else. We have the most interesting conversations. Sometimes our conversations are silly but they're some of the most real conversations I've ever had.

Will is very smart, even if he doesn't admit it. He has so many talents and can probably do whatever he wants to do with his life. A writer, a philosopher, an engineer, a businessman, an adventurer extraordinaire, you name it. He's very passionate about the things that he loves and he can go on about some topic with so much excitement that it makes you excited about it as well. 

Will has good taste in music. For some reason that's a thing for me, good music taste. I also find him to be very attractive in an understated way (Do I want to put that on the Internet? Maybe not. Oh well). 

So many great attributes, right? 

So sweet, so charming, so fun. 

In high school I had the biggest crush on him, and now that crush has finally paid off. Here we are seven years later and I guess you could say we're a thing. 

Or dating. 

Or whatever. 

Either way, it's good.

For Sarah

I have this friend named Sarah. She studies Therapeutic Recreation. If you ever need any life advice, you should go to her because she always knows what to say and how to say it.

It's amazing.

 There are some days when I feel like my life is falling apart, but after talking to Sarah for 10 minutes I feel perfectly calm and collected. 

She has so much room in her heart. 

She has so much love to give and she gives that love to anyone and everyone no matter who they are or what their story is. She accepts you for who you are, taking the good along with the bad.

 She has so much light and she let's it shine so brightly. Her light spreads to others, allowing them to let their own light shine.

I've never seen anything like it.

She lights up an entire room when she walks in and she has so much confidence. She isn't afraid to be exactly who she is. She is so happy and alive, and she makes me happy as well. 

She is one of my dearest friends and I am so grateful to her. She has helped me get through so many things, mostly just by being who she is. 

I don't know what I would do without her, I love her so. 

Stay gold, Sarah, and let your light shine.

Picnics

Right now is my favorite time of year. 

The leaves are changing color, 

the air is crisp and cool, 

and the sweater weather season is in full swing. 

Yesterday we drove up the canyon and had a picnic in the leaves. Heather and I have made it a tradition (Two years in the making now) and it could possibly be the most picturesque thing we have ever done. 

We spread out blankets next to the river on a pile of leaves and ate delicious food like pumpkin bars and apples with caramel dip.

 And, of course, 

we shared it with our favorite boys. 

It felt like autumn in every single way. 

I love going up into the mountains. The air is so pure and smells so fresh. Breathing it in makes you feel more alive than you were before, it makes you feel like you don't have a care in the world. 

And for a moment, 

every worry and stress is wiped away and you feel that nothing in the world could make you more content than you are in that moment, sitting under the leaves somewhere in the mountains. 

Well, that was my experience anyways. 

favorites.

Sometimes You Just Need to Get Away

So this weekend I went up to Park City. 

I love it there. 

It is so peaceful and so relaxing and so beautiful. I fall deeper  and deeper in love every time I go up. There's just something about those mountains that speak to me. 

All of the leaves have changed colors and the air is so crisp and clean. You can see all of the stars at night. 

That's something that you don't get down here in Provo, 

stars. 

Not real stars. 

Just the ones that somehow break through all of 

the bustle and haze. 

Park City is an escape and all of the stars are free and shining. 

This weekend was also conference weekend. 

And some of you may know what that is, and others maybe not so much. But it's always uplifting and it always comes when I need it the most. Now I feel like I can take on the world, along with whatever else I may come across. 

I also have realized where I can be better, what I can work on. 

And that's really the whole point, 

becoming the best you you can be. 

It's a process and it might take an entire lifetime, but we can do it. And maybe it starts with getting away from it all and having time to be with yourself.

Fairy Dust

Sometimes we have crazy ideas, 

and sometimes they actually work, 

and sometimes they are ridiculously fun. 

I'm talking about glow-in-the-dark tennis. 

If you have the means I highly recommend it (and yes, that was a Ferris Bueller quote). 

I have an amazing friend who thought of this idea and of all people, he chose to share it with me. I'd like to think his choice was due to the fact that I am so wildly fun. 

Just kidding, I'm not that pretentious. 

But we did have a splendid time. 

We cut open glow sticks, 

poured them onto tennis balls, 

and hit them back and forth. 

When you hit the tennis ball, the glow sprays everywhere and covers the court. 

It was like fairy dust! 

And it was completely magical. 

I was in awe the whole entire time, running around and giggling like I was five years old. 

It was the most fun I've had in a long time. 

It was completely crazy and I found the silly side of myself that hasn't been around in awhile. 

I missed her, 

and I'm glad she came back. 

And I'm glad that he brought her back. 

It's comfortable, 

it's casual, 

it's more...me. 

And I like that. 

A More Somber Topic

A moonlit chair lift ride with the best of friends, 

a trip or two to the hospital, 

the first midterm exam of the semester, 

and the passing of a friend. 

This week has been wonderful and terrible all at the same time. 

No need to worry about the hospital visits, it's a reoccurring event in my life. And I'm fine, I mean, it could be worse, right? We all have challenges to endure, 

but some of the events this week... 

I never thought I'd have to deal with. 

Life. 

It's crazy. 

I had a friend pass away this week, in a scary and unexpected way. It always makes my heart tighten and skip to think of 

how fragile life can be, 

how someone can be so full of life and the next moment 

they can be gone. 

It's so instantaneous, so final...but only in this life. 

I know that there is a life to come and I know that we all have a loving Heavenly Father who is waiting to welcome us back into 

His presence. 

This knowledge is what has gotten me through this week, the knowledge that our Father is waiting for us to return home. 

Life doesn't end here. 

There are far greater things ahead of us, 

and we were meant for great things. 

I know that Peter is meant for great things. Even though his time here on earth was short, he touched the lives he came in contact with. He had so much love to give. I am grateful to have had the chance to know such a true friend. He will be dearly missed. 

Until we meet again, Peter.

The State Fair

Fairs have become such a romantic icon. 

Think about every classic chic flic that you've seen, 

there's always a fair scene. 

The boy wins the girl a stuffed animal, 

they eat cotton candy together 

and then ride the ferris wheel 

where they end up kissing at the top. 

It's all so perfect. 

Yes, fairs are chic flic breeding grounds and 

I am in full support of that! 

Last night we went to the Utah state fair and had a lovely time. Heather and I being the Texas girls that we are went all out, cowboy boots included. We looked fabulous, 

if I do say so myself. 

The thing about the fair is that it is full of such 

simple little pleasures. 

We ate deep fried oreos, 

we went and saw every kind of animal there was to see, 

we walked around and just observed the people

 and the atmosphere 

and we loved every second of it. 

It felt good to be alive and I felt so content with myself and so at peace with my life and everything that is going on. 

Life can get so busy and hectic. It was refreshing to have a night full of country music and laughing with the best friends 

a girl could ask for. 

Like I said before, simple little pleasures, 

tiny reminders that life is good and fun and beautiful.

You've Gotta Start Somewhere

My first blog post. 

I'm not sure how this works, 

really I don't even know what to say. 

I suppose I'll begin with the reason I am starting a blog. 

The answer is my MCom class. 

Communication in Organizational Settings, to be specific. 

I am a student at Brigham Young University, found in the beautiful mountains of Provo, UT. 

I am, 

as of last semester, 

a business major, 

so we'll see how that goes. 

So far I have questioned that decision every single day of this semester. Then again, we're only four days in. 

I just have a heavy class load, which includes the reason 

for this blog. 

Supposedly this will make me a better writer, 

a better communicator, 

and I believe it. 

And maybe this blog will help me in more ways 

than getting an A in this class. 

Maybe it will be good for me, 

and maybe it will be good for anyone who happens to read it. 

That's what we all hope for, right? People will read your blog and be overwhelmingly inspired by your life's 

adventures and loves and passions. 

I don't know how inspiring my life is, 

but I guess we're going to find out.