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.