passion and piano keys

recently i've been thinking about passion. what am i passionate about? what makes me really excited? what do i love doing? i am sure there are multiple answers to these questions. but this weekend i was reminded of one of my greatest passions- helping other's dreams come true.

my little brother Hyrum is awesome. seriously. on my birthday we found out that he had been accepted to Brigham Young University's Piano Performance Program! i literally screamed. it is so difficult to get into the School of Music here and i am so proud that out of 80 who auditioned, hyrum was one of 12 to be accepted.
when hyrum was about 8 or 9, we sat together in Abravanel Hall watching a young man play Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2-- an extremely difficult piece of music. that day hyrum said to us, "someday i'm going to play that concerto with an orchestra." this weekend, i am proud to say, he fulfilled that dream.

as i sat and watched him play, although i had heard the piece many times, it was new and exciting to me. he played with passion and fire. he loved every second of it. before i knew it, the concerto was over and we were on our feet, ecstatic with applause. it was the best performance i had ever heard him make. i impatiently waited through two more pieces until the concert was over. i couldn't wait to hug my brother. as we hugged i felt his emotions. they were flowing over. i don't cry easy, but seeing my brother close to tears, from happiness, was overwhelming and i had to check myself to hold back the tears that threatened to push their way out.
people, do what you love! i was judged and despised last week because my goals did not include an MD or a six figure salary. but really, that is not what matters. be practical (we can't all run away to the beach and have all the money in the world), but don't limit yourself. if you have a dream then go out and get it. there are great places you can go. you can do anything! don't forget to allow yourself to dream, to do the things you love, and always live with passion.
in other news: it was the weekend of insanity.
friday evening after the concert.
- stake activity at seven peaks. soup and bread sticks. dancing. ice skating.
- baby mama with erin, jessie, john and matt. "i want to reward you with five minutes of uninterrupted eye contact."
- hot chocolate from 7-11 at 1:30 am.

saturday.
-sleeping in until 10. woops.
- getting africa pictures from sarah.
- unwanted batch of brownies.
- michelle's senior recital.
- get rejected #1.
- failed attempt at Tucanos. going to Beto's (aka Rancherito's) instead. i want to have a heart attack.
- filling out the fafsa threatens to ruin my mood.
- retail therapy with Shaunzi. 2 for 1 boots at forever 21. score. God loves me.
- grocery shopping without your list= jell-O and skittles.
- physics 108 paper
- visiting heather. girl talk. Connie and Carla. popcorn. old Christmas candy.
- hyrum goes to the ER. sprained ankle. at least it's not his hand.
- laundry at 11:30 pm.

sunday.
- Mark's farewell. cold chapel= freezing me. luncheon after. best. salad. ever. (lettuce, bleu cheese, candied walnuts, yellow peppers, and craisins.)
- get rejected #2
- watch 17 Miracles on youtube. roommate's boyfriend laughs at me.
- make homemade oreos.
- letter writing.
- get asked on a date. dance for joy.
- brownie delivery.
- oreo birthday party. cute boy is there. i'm trying to play it cool. what does that even mean?
- finish filling out scholarship application. please give me money so i can graduate!
- finally finish Harry Potter 4 with jake. it's about freakin' time.

phew it was a cray cray weekend! i didn't take as many pictures as i wanted to but that's because i was spending time making memories :) i like having busy weekends, except when i wake up on monday and realize how much studying i have to do. hooray.


what was your favorite part of the weekend?

valentine's dance

this last friday my ward and two other ward's in my stake hosted a Tri-Ward Valentine's dance! it was fun (despite all my griping and complaining about it)! every girl loves getting dressed up. and it didn't hurt that i had a great date and an awesome group of friends to hang out with at the dance.

i was real excited to be there

Andrew, Erin, me and Kevin

the whole group at Pizza Factory

it was kind of funny because the waitress at Pizza Factory thought we were from a high school. uhhhhh no we aren't. she was kind of embarrassed. but we forgave her because she looked like jessica simpson.
i don't have any pictures from the dance because we were too busy krumping it up! haha as much as you can at a mormon dance. . . it was fun though! i'm so grateful for my good friends who made the night so fun!


on another note: this week is my birthday week. starting tomorrow, i vow to myself to only do the things i want to do. meaning, i am not going to hang out with people who i don't want to hang out with. i'm going to take time for myself. i don't have any expectations for my birthday, but i do want to be able to do my own thing. so, if you hang out with me this week, feel privileged. 

all hallows eve

i'm really trying to get caught up with my posting so please excuse me if i do a few posts in one day. halloween was the biggest success. i was going to be a minion (from Despicable Me) but apparently people aren't giving away their overalls anymore. (i guess they are wearing them which fills me with much concern...) then kendra had the best idea that we should be (duh duh duh) goldfish!
how did we make them? (for under $20)
2XL orange t shirts (from Gen X)
black leggings
coffee filters
orange shoelaces (to be made into headbands)
ping pong balls (for eyes)
orange spray paint

the final product was awesome. lookee here:

we won "funniest" costume at my ward party. everyone loved it, even if they were confused about what exactly we were supposed to be (angry birds? traffic cones? nemo?). i also participated in the pie eating contest, which i almost one- i was two bites away from victory. next time, i will be the supreme winning pie eater. i even had pie in my hair. why yes, i do take my food seriously.

after three halloween parties, kendra, kevin, erin, cameron and i headed to the dollar theater to see Cowbows and Aliens. not exactly the best movie title ever. i was skeptical but since it has Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig in it, i was easily persuaded into seeing it.

real Halloween was equally awesome. Kendra and i traveled up to PG to celebrate with my family. my family looooved our costumes! we had delicious soup for dinner. then we ate doughnuts off a string. kendra and i were the best.

we went trick or treating to all the rooms in the house next. i love me some halloween candy :) kendra and i gave out 'Ghost Poop' (mini white marshmallows). ha ha i am so creative- thank you pinterest.

mine weren't this cute but you get the idea

finally, we watched Miracle. made me want to watch lots and lots of hockey. all in all, Halloween was awesome. i loved every party and i loved my costume! next year, be ready for an even more epic and creative costume.

ps. did you know that the average person spends $45 on halloween candy every year?! what is the world coming to?

birrthday celebration no. 4- Mocktail Party

this week has been insane. i had a genetics test to take on friday, and studying for that consumed my life. it was eat, sleep, and breathe genetics. hence why my birthday was so lame exciting. friday i studied all day for the test and then went to take it at 4. side note: this is a 2 credit class, but i think (and have heard) that it is really equivalent to a 7 credit class; now you understand why i was stressed. this is how i looked before i went up to take the test.

  the test took me 2.5 hours- loooong for me (i am a fast test taker by nature). so when i walked out of Satan's Abode the Testing Center at approximately 6:40 my mind was about to implode. i came home, cleaned, showered, and got everything ready for the guests. and then, they came.

the freshman roomates (plus a few)

martini cake- yum!

jus' a few cool peeps

sam and me. she is pretty cool.

channy and me. she saved my life.

Adam, Sarah, and me

they are pretty cute. nbd.

 the party was a huge success. virgin margaritas, daquiries, and pina coladas. delicious foods. a little jazz. dance party. possibly a rave. despicable me. swing dancing. sleepover with sam.

the celebration isn't over! tomorrow= family party. monday= no class. 

off to neverland!

last saturday I went to the BYU Preference dance- Peter Pan style. yes folks, i flew to Never Never Land. it's really the coolest place ever and I want to be a kid forever. i went with my roommate, Debi, and good friend, Lindsay, and our dates. we danced. we sang. we laughed. we raided Wendy's. i probably poked a few eyes out with my fairy wings.
{yes, i decided to be Tinkerbell, even though Tiger Lily is so much better. i discovered that it is very difficult to find an indian costume at Savers. next halloween, if i can find a young man to be peter pan, i will be Tiger Lily.}

to say the least, this dance was the funnest dance i have been to since freshman year. it was basically a rave. LOVE. it was an almost perfect night and i am so glad i got to share it with the people i did.

peter pan

i do realize that i have expressed my love for a certain boy in green (aka peter pan) already on this blog. did i tell you that last time i was in disneyland, peter pan totally waved at me? yup, we're getting married. in three weeks.
i need your advice. there is a peter pan dance here at the Y this weekend and i don't know which girl to be. here are my choices:



wendy- wendy is sensible and caring. but let's be honest, she's a bit of a stick in the mud for a little while. however, the Lost Boys come to love her because she is like a mother to them. she is also courageous and fights for what she loves. her choice of clothing- the nightgown- isn't terribly flattering on most figures, so i'm not sure i could pull it off.






tinkerbell- fiesty, girly, and spunky, tinkerbell is quite a handful. although she loses her way for a but, ultimately her love for peter pan shines through. and, who doesn't love wings and a wand? (a plus for me is that she has blond hair...)
















tiger lily- tiger lily is adventurous, stubborn, and a great friend. she also loves to dance. she is loyal to her family and to peter pan. i'm pretty sure peter pan is secretly in love with her. (personally my favorite, but where would i get a costume?)






please take part in the poll on the left soon so that i can get a costume and find my peter pan!

off to neverland!

my life be like...

about the lack of postage. . . let me explain

january has been crazy.

why?

tough classes- genetics, physiology, stats
a new calling in the relief society presidency
working out for rugby
trying to survive the winter months

oh yes and attempting at a social life

here is january so far in photos
sarah king left on her mission

i am addicted to soy milk

i'm fund raising for africa
(read about it here)
buy a headband!

i have two new roommates who are awesomespice
(yes i stole that from this blog)

i've been eating a lot of frozen yogurt


i luau-ed
lovin the suspenders

my life has been stressful and yesterday was super disappointing. but the outlook is good[ish] and i am positive [or trying to be]. hey, i'm just gonna fake it until i make it.





ps. remember my favorite missionary?
please pray for him. k thanks.

Let's Dance! On the night of nights....

The new semester has started off with a bang! I love all my classes (except Chemistry 107 which scares me quite a bit). I am taking: Book of Mormon 122, PDBio 120, Aerobic Dance (basically awesome), Chem 106 and 107, Honors Freshman English, and Political Science 150 (intro to comparative governments). It is a total of 14.5 credits which is less than how many I took last semester. This gives me hope that I will get mostly A's and only one or two B's.
I was so happy to be back with my roommates. After a difficult Christmas break, it was nice to have stuff to keep me busy again. I had an awesome first week of semester and I don't know any better way to tell you than to display photos. So here are some highlights.I bought this sweet hat at Claire's using Christmas money.Me and my roommates- Kyli, Natalie and Amy- dressed up for the Dancing Through the Decades dance at the central building on Saturday the 10th. There was also a dance on Friday at the Wilk. Both were amazing!
Adam Mikkleson and Neal Ferrin decked out for the Decades Dance. The orange pants are amazing right?
Me and my date, Neal Daniel Ferrin, at the Decades Dance. Yes, he IS pointing at me.Sledding at The Bowl for FHE! This is me and my awesome roommates!