El Buen Viaje

4th of July weekend some friends from BYU-I stayed with me at my parent's house for the weekend to attend a wedding. they couldn't hold themselves back from going to Mexico when they learned how close it is to Phoenix. So we rented a car (I knew taking my parents car wouldn't go over well when they found out) and drove down for a day and spent the night in Rocky Point. This was my first time back in Mexico since my mission.

When I came home from my mission a lot of the details became blurry and the memories faded only a little to resemble dreams more than reality.  For the first several weeks I listened to reggaeton, ate tacos and preferred Spanish over english. All of this was done hoping to combine two worlds. As weeks turned to months and now years the details began to fade.

Our trip down taught me a simple lesson. Mexico was always in the details.  I couldn't recreate the culture by eating a taco or speaking spanish. It was the sum of the details that made the experience. Mexico is still there. The corner stores, desert landscape, box houses and thick accents still exist.

The past three months have been ones of accelerated growth as I've made decisions to grow up and move on. I've spent weeks praying, fasting and studying to become better and my lesson learned in Mexico is a principle that has marked my recent experiences. Moving on doesn't erase what happened in the past or make it any less real. The things I learned in Mexico both as a missionary and a civilian are guideposts for my future.

I learned about love, service, sacrifice and joy. Life is full of challenges but "if it so be that [we] keep the commandments of God he doth nourish [us], and strengthen [us], and provide means whereby [we] can accomplish the thing which he has commanded [us]" (1 Nephi 17:3).

Create

Whoop-dee-do we graduated!

I'm hoping to write an update that doesn't sound too philosophic but still offers more than a play by play of my life. One month ago I moved home. Sometimes dreams come true but right now it appears dreams come  back at you chewed up and spit out like when projectile vomit on a roller-coaster (sorry fr the visual- even more sorry that if you weren't imagining it you are now).

I went to school determined to prove wrong unemployment statistics and negative opinions of communication majors. I would graduate and be employed. Yet here I am unemployed living in my parents house. Jokes on me.

Now people like to tell me what to do with my life. They think they know the key to get a job, find a wife or just be better than me. Likely they're right but the way they say it makes me more inclined to close the bedroom door, get under the covers and ignore my blaring alarm clock. If I hide long enough one day problems will go away. Right?

Wrong.

It turns out the key is doing something. Apply for jobs. Date. Spend time with people. Actively seeking for the things I want doesn't always offer what I had hoped but it appears to offer a different sort of contentment and joy.

So I fill my time listening to friends, playing with my niece and nephew, applying for jobs here and there, attending institute, reading books and today I even spent time cleaning my room (Now there is something you won't here me say often).

When I was a missionary Mexico my companion and I taught a girl named Jackie. She had great desires and dreams but allowed others to control her life. My companion found a talk to share with her about our abilities to create:

"Everyone can create."

Creation begins as we seek out simple opportunities to focus on things we can control and make them something better. I find my best days are those where I do something worthwhile that can be checked off (even if I cannot do-- or create-- everything I would like).

So go ahead. Create.

EFY 2012: Goal Accomplished

This summer I met amazing youth who changed my life forever. I worked with co-counselors who taught me about Christ through the way they lived and the love they showed.  A lot of my goals are unwritten; a summer of EFY was one of those.  Two posts ago I wrote about EFY. This summer I had the chance to work 11 EFY weeks in a row.  At 13 I thought counselors who worked all summer had the best life in the world. I was right.

My New Adventure

I like to be healthy now.

The view from our office

I am forgetful.

My living room

This morning I made a "to-do list" for work. I left it at home. Before leaving work, I made a "to-do list" for home. I left it at work. This is why I don't accomplish anything. Luckily I remember that my list said to make a blog post.

Three weeks ago I moved to Dallas, Tx for an internship with Fleishman-Hillard (A PR firm). My internship amazes me. When they offered me the job I felt incapable and under qualified. Working proved I was right, but I am learning. One day I will be a PR pro.

Dallas is an interesting city. It's like Phoenix only greener and more humid. I'm not sure if I like living on my own or not. There si something nice about coming home to roommates and even being annoyed by their habits. Homework is easier, but socializing is harder. I think it needs more adjustment. Check back later for more updates on my crazy intern life.

Especially For Youth 2011- Rexburg

Believe. Hope. Endure.

I wanted to be an EFY (A summer camp for LDS youth) counselor ever since I first went at 13. I was ever disappointed when BYUI required me to devote my summers to school taking away any chance of being a summer camp counselor. This past summer I managed the chance to do it. The application process lasts up to 4 months but the experience validated the wait.

I got to spend three weeks working with some of the coolest youth in the world. Here is a brief recap of each week:

Week 1:

The first week feels like a tornado of late nights, lessons, excitement and confusion. I never knew for sure what I was supposed to be doing (Even though I read the manual a thousand times). Thankfully I was blessed with an amazing Co-counselor (co-co), Sarah Hill. She kept me from looking like fool all week. We had an amazing chemistry and therefore our group of youth was awesome. I was sad EFY

stopped the week long competition between groups because I'm pretty sure we would have won EVERYTHING.

Traditionally EFY assigned the groups scripture based names. This is no longer the case. Now

the youth get a chance to create their own names based on scriptures the counselors choose

before the youth arrive. This week I over zealously decided for our partnership to use Deuteronomy 7:3-4-- the marriage scripture. From the scripture they picked "Destroy thy Anger." It isn't quite as cool as one of their other ideas, "Anger of the Daughters," but it was still the BEST name that week.

My only disappointment this week was to realize youth REALLY do think it is cool to sneak out at night. Counselors never do because this means no sleep. A word to the wise, when given a chance, respect other peoples right to sleep.

Also an important note- our cheer was awesome and should have been included in the cheer-off but the judges ignored the awesomeness of our J-Biebs cheer. (Sarah Bieber...anyone?). They did recognize the coolest banner in the history of EFY. I wish I could say this was all my idea- too bad counselors just supervise.By Saturday of that week I had NO energy which made helped me be insane. As counselors we eat breakfast after the youth check out each Saturday and then have a week wrap-up meeting. At breakfast I formed an awesome friendship bond of insanity with Rachel Oberholzer and Sarah (my co-co). Everyone kept looking at us for our excessive laughter. For the rest of the three weeks we stayed insane around other counselors and couldn't seem to shake that rep.

Week 2:

This week I was partnered with the amazing Aimee Warren. It was her firs week and my second. It rained every day, affecting many of the outside activities. I was initially scared to work with 14-year-olds because I thought they would be obnoxious- wrong. They definitely have a different energy than 16-year-olds but still fun. Again I had a group with an awesome banner and this week we added a top cheer (I did have to help a LITTLE with this one because they were quite as proactive as the 16-18 group).

This week I started telling my youth that BC (which actually means Building Counselor or the people just above counselors in the chain of command) meant Best Counselors. I wanted to convince them that they could vote me BC at the end of the week. Luckily for them I am too nice and told them the truth shortly after lying.

I loved working with Aimee because her testimony was so sweet. She was humble and willing to improve and made me want to do even better than I had the first week. Being a counselor can be a lot more difficult the first week than it would appear and Aimee did a great job. There was such a good feeling as Aimee and I team taught the last nights devotional. I loved teaching it from an angle of our advice to the kids on how to make the most of their teenage years. I flet like the theme tied in so well here. BELIEVE. We must believe first. As we come to believe we find HOPE. Hope is necessary to get through difficulties and trials that await us all in the future. That is how we ENDURE. It is all founded in the atonement of Jesus Christ. After that devotional we sang the theme song for the youth. (that was probably my most daring move- I do not sing)

WEEK 3

This week was more exhausting and rewarding than any other week. I had one boy in my group who didn't speak english. I spent most days translating for him and taught all my lessons bilingually- thanks to my mission to Mexico I could communicate with him. It is crazy how God works to make sure he had a counselor that week who spoke spanish (One of my CO-CO's is also studying Spanish in school- there is no way that is by chance)

Another struggle was having extra Co-counselors. There were four of us for the week. I liked working with each of them but never felt like our

relationship could be as strong because we couldn't bond like in weeks past.

This week I found myself having more spiritual experiences and learning moments as I dedicated all my time to working with a youth who didn't speak the language while also trying to give each of the other youth in my group my time. Of all the weeks, the third was mostly about ME. I feel bad- I gave it my all but there was so much for me to learn.

Over all EFY was an incredible experience. I learned so much about the youth, about myself and about the Savior. I tried each day to pray and ask God to have me teach what he would have the youth understand. I asked to be able to see them as he did and to be able to show his love. I realize that I can never have been able to show exactly what he feels, but I did feel something different. I got a chance to understand better what it feels like to be disappointed by youth not wanting to do whats right, I felt frustration when words didn't seem to be enough and I felt satisfaction t the sight of changes. The youth taught me a lot. I'm glad I did it. If you're LDS, single and free for even one week in the summer APPLY! Heres the link: efy.byu.edu/yp.

Welcome to 2004

My complex has received "too many complaints" about slow wifi, so today they shut it off. I had to find a ride to the store (Snow was rapid falling outside) to buy an Ethernet cord. I haven't had a BYUI complex require that of me- ever. Wired internet feels like a blast from the past. When I arrived home I realized how lucky we are to live with all the amenities we have. My biggest struggle is that the world is only at my fingertips when I sit 7 feet from this whole in my bedroom wall. I'm so thankful for what we have. As I sit in classes and learn about the benefits of social media and viral marketing I can't help but be amazed by progression in the last 15 years. Count your blessings today. I'll start by giving you 1. Technology.

15 Credits

Today I signed up for three more credits. What? Yes. Three more credits bringing my total to 15. Sometimes I amaze myself; others i just doubt myself. Today I am doing both. Most people wouldn't consider 15 to be an overload- but they haven't met me. I have had incredibly successful semesters of 12 credits and failures at 14. (maybe B's aren't failures but it feels like it when they keep me form getting a scholarship) I hope this semester I can prove myself. this semester I will also be spending significant time on the board of the BYU-I chapter of PRSSA. I am excited for that but can only imagine how that will take away time not create more. Right now I can't see how people possibly survive medical school- a bachelor's seems like enough work.