Words of Wisdom

A friend of mine posted this on her facebook status and I liked it so much that I decided to share it with you. Enjoy.

“Instead of studying for finals, what about just going to the Bahamas and catching some rays? Maybe you’ll flunk, but you might have flunked anyway; that’s my point.”

— Jack Handy

The problem with my brain...

This is what happens when I try to write a 12-page paper for my history class:

This is what happens when I let my mind wander away from thinking about my 12-page paper and ponder on ideas of what I want to do with my life:

Problematic? Perhaps.

Every once in awhile I get inspired with an insane amount of things I decide I have to do. Coincidentally, this usually tends to occur right about when I'm supposed to be focusing on something else (say for example....homework....?). It's when I get my best ideas about the path my life is taking. Let me fill you in on what the past two days of the attempt (and avoidance) of writing this paper has brought into my mind. Here is my (tentative) three-year plan:

• Stick it out in Provo until December. This will be the longest I have stayed in one place since I was in high school. It's a big deal. I'm planning on having my first summer in Provo which I've heard is a party. I personally feel dedicated to making that rumor true and already have several ideas in the works (while also working a lot a lot and making money I promise Dad!)

• Begin my student teaching in January, but not just anywhere. No no, not just anywhere. In the city I've been dying to travel to for the last five years of my life....drumroll please......Washington D.C! It will be fabulous. BYU has an option giving teaching majors an alternative to student teaching in the too-highly-saturated-teaching-field-of-Provo. You can opt instead to teach in D.C. or Houston, Texas. With all due respect to all the Texans out there, I can't think of any other place I'd rather be than D.C. My plan is to stay until April when I will come home for.......

• COLLEGE GRADUATION!!! I know, you thought it wasn't gonna happen right? Sometimes I wondered myself if this seemingly eternal schooling would ever end. But there is a light at the end of my 8-year tunnel. Faint, still distant, but it's there. In April 2011 I will officially be a college graduate in History Teaching with a TESOL minor.

• Next, (this is the new exciting part which I may have forgotten to mention to my family just yet) I'm hoping to be a part of HELP International. It's this awesome humanitarian group that I've been learning a lot about lately. They have programs in six different countries and their projects are really beneficial to the communities they serve. I could tell you all about everything I've been learning but it might just be easier (and more eye-pleasing) to check out the details for yourself http://www.help-international.org/

• After I get home from wherever I end up going during that summer, I will need to start making money, being a college grad and all with student loans to pay back. But here's what I'm thinking just to mix things up a little. I will start teaching as planned. However, not history just yet, but English! (as a second language). I've been learning lately of a lot of really cool programs overseas where governments will pay for your flight, housing, PLUS pay you monthly wage to come teach English in public schools. So I'd still get to teach the age that I love if I can find a job in a secondary school somewhere. And I figure, I'm still using my college education since TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) is my minor. I don't really know how long I'd stay, maybe a five or six months, maybe a year. It just depends on what happens between now and then.

• Finally, after returning home from this golden opportunity, I will dive into teaching my favorite subject: history. Who knows where. Somewhere exciting though. But still in the states because U.S. History is my favorite and I don't see a lot of international opportunities to teach it.

So there you have it. That's the tentative plan. I realize that it sounds crazy, I'm not so naive as to think that I can pull it all off easy-peasy. I also realize that what I want could easily change with each new day I have. But I have a pretty strong will (some might call it stubborn), and I know that if life continues to lead me in the direction I'm going now, this is all possible.

And that is exciting.

And if somehow life leads me down a different path that is even better, well, that is even more exciting.

Why?

It's 11:22 pm. I am at the library. I have a list as big as China of stuff I have to get done before Thursday morning at 11:00 so I can go to Disneyland. And I CAN'T MAKE MYSELF WORK ANYMORE!

Nevermind the seven page research paper I have to write. Nevermind the two ugly midterms I have to study for. Nevermind the technology teacher tests I have to take. Here I sit. Blogging.

Is there something wrong with me?

This must be why people shouldn't take 8 years to get through college.

Me?

Good news everyone! I'm pretty sure I chose the right career! (Awesome, right? Since I've been out of high school for seven years).

I decided a while back that I wanted to be a history teacher, and I've been super excited about teaching junior high aged kids. But every once in awhile I get a little freaked out. Am I really gonna be able to control 30-40 kids? Am I creative enough to come up with fun lesson plans? Do I even know enough about the subject material? Although I know I love history, these questions sometimes haunt my dreams.

Well, in one of my classes this semester, we've had the chance to teach a number of times, including an elementary school, a charter school, and to our fellow classmates. But today, my friends, was a big day. Today I taught a junior high class for the first time. And seriously, it was the funnest 45 minutes of my week.

And that leads me to believe that I chose the right career.

And that is a very good feeling.

the lucky one.

That’s 2009 in a word. Lucky. It was one of those chapters of life that you could never forget. And you’d never want to. Somehow, the stars aligned and life led me through a series of unbelievable experiences that are etched in my mind and hopefully will stay there. Here’s a little taste of what made such an impact this year:

A growing family with three new babies (and two more on the way)

A Holy Land

A weekly trip to the Garden Tomb

A camel ride along the Nile

A dance party in ancient Roman ruins accompanied by bagpipe playing Jordanians.

A hike up Mount Sinai to see the sunrise

An Indiana Jones reenactment in Petra


A better and truer celebration of Palm Sunday and Easter than any other


A verse of "Master the Tempest is Raging" on the Sea of Galilee

An unbreakable bond with 77 new friends

A new perspective on an ancient conflict




A trip back to Romania


A chance to see the people that changed my life

A chance to show my parents my home of 18 months


A reunion of three close friends

A quality week with the ones I've missed

A reunion with delicious Romanian sarmale

A summer sales job in Washington and all the growing that comes with daily frustration :)

An occasional break from the blessed job to swim in the ice cold Columbia River

A necessary slurpee run almost daily to the 7-11 with 18 flavors

A camaraderie of kindred spirits I worked and lived with there

A happy hour at Applebees as needed

A first-ever car accident and a blessed soul who fixed my headlight for free

A Lake Powell extravaganza with the Hales and their 20 newly adopted children

A near-death experience

A move back to Provo


A new addiction to SYTYCD

An apartment full of the greatest roommates a girl could ask for

Like I said, it's been a lucky year. And I've been a lucky soul. I've laughed and cried and felt every other emotion on the scale. And I've loved every bit of it. 2010, you've got big shoes to fill. Let's see what you can do!

Priceless...

I know I know, "two posts in one day" you ask? What could possibly be the cause of such irregularity? It could just be that I love my nieces and nephews so much that I have to post about how great they are. It could also be that I'm avoiding writing my paper.

I choose 90% the former and 10% the latter.


So this post is in honor of my niece, Miss Mia Bell. It was Mia's birthday last Wednesday and she is now a whoppin 3 years old! In her honor I have posted one of my favorite videos of all time. Keep in mind that this is about six months old, but I love it so much that I still play it whenever I need to smile, even if I'm all alone. Works every time.


So without further ado....

Again I say,

priceless.

You Were Right....

...it totally would have been worth it.

Have you ever seen a hot dog look so good? I submit that you have not. Since posting these very pictures on their blog, Isaac and Kelsie have been informed that they are required to bring the hot dog costume to Thanksgiving Dinner. (Thanks for letting me steal these from you)

Mmmm....

I can't wait to see them and this little heartbreaker

Only two more weeks!