nerd moment of the day.

I was the only one in my Humanities class to answer the question "What is the uncertainty principle?"

3 things emphasized in conference that are probably important

1. "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." 

We can receive revelation today to the questions that we have if we are obedient. 

2. "And now my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall." Helaman 5:12

This has been quoted frequently in the past couple conferences. Thus, it is very important to make sure we have a foundation on Christ. 

3. Use digital devices with discipline. Devote the time you would spend doing other things you do on your phones and devices to studying and memorizing scriptures. Don't let digital devices get in the way of family time. 

There are so many great teachings that I want to apply, but these are just three repeated themes that stood out to me! 

happy.

so many reasons to be happy right now, even if school is crazy stressful.

I got to hang out with Keith and Spencer and this is embarrassing... but actually hang out with my roommates and it was wonderful.

tonight I am going to volunteer at my friend's work and we are taking some of the residents to the park. I love them and it will be gorgeous.

then we are having a study abroad get together and so I will get to know some of the people going to London with me better. and speaking of London... they told us that we are going to the Harry Potter studio tour. pretty much the biggest thing I wanted to do while we were there so I am beyond stoked. they also told us to expect to spend about $200 a week. yikes. I know some weeks I will spend that much money. I might spend that much money alone in the gift shop at the HP studio tour. but some weeks I will definitely have to hold back!

then I am going to a bonfire up the canyon. man how fun!

anyways... since I have been failing at my Friday Favorites... here is one today. I LOVE to read. The first three years of college I stopped reading for fun all together because I just did not have the time. but I have been trying to make it a priority again and I am remembering how awesome it is. books are ten million times better. You get to know the characters better and really experience the story. Because it takes longer, you get to make predictions and hypothesize. I also love the symbolism in books and analyzing the stories and characters. so basically I am obsessed with reading again and I can't wait to read a ton of books spring semester when I have way more time.

here's my goodreads... if you are wondering what I am currently reading or want to read! :)

another reason I am happy... I am more in shape and healthier than I have been in a long time! the last couple weeks were not so healthy, but I truly love my body, I love to exercise, and I am working to be healthier. 

Friday favorites

I decided that I am going to post at least every Friday. and these specific Friday blog posts are going to be about my favorite things in life right now. because life has been feeling pretty normal lately, but there are still some things I really love about my life right now.

oh, and starting today, I am working to overcome not only my school senioritis by learning about something new and fascinating, but also my social senioritis. I have become apathetic about my social life too. How does that even happen? so, I am ready to party and hopefully will actually do something with my ward by the end of the semester!

Are you smarter than an 11th grader?

For me, the answer in this case is no. I volunteered at the Provo School District Science Fair and had a great time talking to 5th and 6th graders about science and the projects they did. and then my friend Alicia and I decided to go take a peek at the high school projects... and we found this...

This kid is in 11th grade. I am pretty sure that he knows way more about science than me. and he obviously has some sweet connections. but seriously? 4 binders full of scientific analysis? and did I mention that the poster seen above costs more than $100 to print? It's not a cheap thing. So for his sake, I hope he wins grand prize for all the time and money he spent! 

but seriously, this high school genius is pretty awesome. He will go on to do great things. 

recommitting. and having faith.

Relief society was so wonderful today! Every week in church I feel like I am always taught something that I need to hear to help me become better or to strengthen my testimony.

this week it was on revelation. I have really been struggling with the topic of revelation because I feel like I never receive revelation in my life. I never really felt guided toward a particular major, or a particular place to live, or even for guidance in serving others. and it is frustrating to me.

Today in Relief Society, we talked about how revelation is most often gradual and it can be difficult to notice in the moment. Often times, it is easy to think that it is just us and that we are not really guided by the Lord. I think this is one of Satan's techniques... to make us think that we are not being guided by the Lord, leaving us feeling alone and confused. However, I learned to day that I need to have faith and trust in the Lord and recognize that if I continue praying and try my best to do what is right, I will be following revelation of the Lord and I will be guided. I also realized that it's okay if I feel I am lacking spiritual guidance. The Lord loves all of us enough and trusts us to make righteous decisions, and I need to learn to trust in my own decision making skills as well. It is definitely hard for me to develop more faith in my ability to receive revelation and to wait for answers and more revelation than I want, but I know that the Lord wants us to develop patience and I need to have faith in Him and myself that I am doing the best I can and that the revelation I seek will come in time.

I also decided today that from now on, I am COMMITTED to eating healthy. I have eaten so much junk in the past couple days and I feel gross. I want to lose about 15 more pounds and I want to feel healthy. Thus, I am cutting out sweets completely (one small treat a week is okay, if it is in my calorie range) and I am exercising 5 days a week. When I go to restaurants, I will watch the calories I eat. most importantly, I am not going to pig out on the weekends!

weekends...

I have this problem where I get invited to do way too many fun things on the weekends! I mean it is so great to feel like I have lots of friends and fun things to do, but it's so hard turning everyone down! 

Tonight, I have been invited to:

go to my roommate's fondue party for her birthday (that's happening)

go to a Black and White themed party planned by some people in my ward

go to a game night

go see Wreck it Ralph at the dollar theatre

...and so on and so forth! I just hate saying no to people! 

...and there's also that Humanities test I have to take tomorrow morning that I haven't studied for. but it's my senior year so I gotta live it up! 

but, good news... I'M GOING TO LONDON! holy cow it's so exciting and crazy! I applied for a passport today and can't believe I will be studying abroad there in June!