Ski Skool

I'm pretty sure I learn some of the most important lessons during the weekends when I don't spend a minute in a classroom.

My extremely smart roommate Jamie is in the accounting program at BYU. Since it is the #2 accounting program in the nation, PWC (one of the major accounting firms) does some hard-core recruiting here. For instance, they sponsored a skiing day this past Saturday for all the accounting students and they could bring a guest. I got to be Jamie's guest and ski at Sundance all day and get donuts and free lunch for just $10 (ok, so there's no such thing as a free lunch).

My FHE brothers Kevin and Cameron came too and I was on the ski lift with them at one point. I had been getting off at the first stop over and over, because I'm not a very experienced skier and the easiest hill was enough excitement for me. But when I was riding the lift with Kev and Cam, they put the bar down in front of us and wouldn't let me get off on the first stop, thus forcing me to ride to the top of the lift and be on a blue square level-run which was, to say the least, terrifying to me. I don't know why they had such confidence in me that I could ski at that level, but those pro-skiers slowed down and made sure I made it down safely.

It was on that run down that I got a taste of how skiing is supposed to be. I embraced the speed instead of constantly trying to slow down or come to stop. The beautiful views, the cold wind in your face, the friction-less velocity of skiing....it was a whole new world that I never would have discovered had I stayed on the bunny hill (which I certainly would have done if not for the challenge of my FHE brothers). I went down that blue square hill several more times voluntarily and loved it (yes, it's possible to love something you're terrible at, thank goodness!) despite the epic wipe-outs.

I didn't think I would ever be able to ski down a hill any steeper than the easiest one. This experience solidified in me one of my all-time favorite quotes by Eleanor Roosevelt,

"You must do that which you think you cannot."

Expecting

I bet you're expecting a really interesting post just from the title of it, huh? Whahaha.

It's been a goal of mine to expect less from other people and expect more of myself. If you don't expect anything, you won't be disappointed as much and you will be more grateful for what you have. It's really quite liberating. If you don't expect anyone to do the dishes you won't be upset if they don't, and if they do it will be that much more of a delightful surprise. They say the best things in life are unexpected--because there were no expectations. Anger comes from frustrated expectations.

 

On the other hand, we also can't assume that good things won't happen. Today I heard a really dynamic teacher telling a couple hundred missionaries, "Even if it seems like something just can't happen, it can!" Those who we least expect to join the Church sometimes become the most faithful members. It's sometimes a fine line between having faith and having high expectations I guess, huh?

Last night I had a class by a professor who blew me away with his story. He has Tourretts syndrome which is usually accompanied by ADD, OCD, and other mental disabilities, making it harder to learn. He had a high school counselor tell him that, basically, he was not smart enough to go to college. He told his mother this and she said, "So what? So what if you will have to work harder than everyone else? So what if he told you that?" Her response was extremely impactful on his life, and he went on to get a Masters degree of Public Health. He could barely afford for him and his wife to live during his masters program and would work all night and go to school all day to get by. But he finished and has had great jobs. Eight years ago his wife and mother died within 17 days of each other. A few years ago he felt strongly he should get a PhD and do research on Tourretts, even though he didn't necessarily want to go back to school. Now he travels the nation speaking about Tourretts and his research on how it affects families. He has had absolutely nothing going for him his whole life, yet has made so much of it. He tells all his students,

"You can do what you want to do!"

He likes to quote the movie The Unsinkable Molly Brown, "Nobody wants me down more than I want me up."

Sometimes we expect that "life will get in the way" and our goals will never happen, so why make them. We assume that we're not smart enough to do what we want, not good enough for a certain someone to ever be interested in us, not capable enough, experienced enough, hard-working enough. But honestly, if you're determined enough you really can do what you want to do (in the majority of situations). Even something as distracting as Tourette's didn't stop my professor from doing what he wanted.

The moral of this little post is, don't assume anything!

Post yer comments if you have any thoughts on this.

Faith in the Future

Sometimes the title of your blog just pops at you and slaps you in face. Ok, maybe yours doesn't, but mine did. Sometimes, I need to remind myself that I need more faith in every footstep.

Faith in footsteps that are clearly lit or steps into the dark when you're not sure where they're going to lead you.

Footsteps way from home when you won't see your home for nearly two years until you get home from your mission in October 2013.

Footsteps away from your home ward in Sedona, away from people you will miss.

Footsteps away from your mom and dad who you will only see for a few more days in April before the 18-month hiatus, and who you will miss with all your heart.

Footsteps into a semester that you're really not sure about.
HOWEVER,

 “My beloved brothers and sisters, fear not. Be of good cheer. The future is as bright as your faith.”
~President Monson


Faith is what carries me through it all. It's what makes me realize the future is not really grey at all but something to look forward to. And I realize that without my faith I would be quite depressed, fearful and unhappy right now. And this realization is what helps me know that serving a mission is worth all the hard footsteps leading up to it, because I can share my faith to help others through the moments when they feel like their future is everything but bright.

Study Break

I had to take a blogging break from studying about the endocrine system just to ensure my adrenal cortex doesn't go ker-plunk.. Ask me to explain what panhypopituitarism is one more time and I'll probably develop it. Make me read about the hormones secreted by the anterior lobe of the pituitary gland, or the difference between toxic and nontoxic goiter and I might cry.

Sometimes it seems no matter how much you study, it's never enough.  However, this

talk by Sister Dalton (love her!) gives me hope.  

She urges us to dare great things, which require us to

1) dream big

2) move out of our comfort zones

3) go forward with full confidence relying on the strength of the Lord.

Although cliche at first, she says, 

"Believe in yourself! Don’t give up. Endure! You have the power to achieve anything you set your mind to. Now you may not be contemplating a marathon or an ultra-marathon, but you may be in the middle of a challenge that looks like one. You may feel opposed on every side. You may wonder if you really can continue to push forward with a perfect brightness of hope. So as Paul taught the Hebrews, today I repeat the same words to each of you—“Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward.” Go forward with faith knowing if you do your part, the Lord will always do His."

On a different note, my mom sent me this picture which I've been thinking about. It reminds me there is so much more to the world than my pitiful stress about finals.

Moore Quotes

In aspiring to imitate the date 11/11/11 and try my hand at alliteration, I'm going to do a post called Feature Friend Friday and feature one of my friends this Friday.

Travis Moore moved into my ward when I was a senior in high school and has been such a genuine friend ever since. He is at BYU with me now. He has texted me a quote almost every single day for the past year and a half or so and still does! When I am abroad and out of cell phone reception, he texts quotes to my email. Dedication.

He also has very creative ideas. For instance, today he and his brother Jeremy organized a flash mob in my History of Creativity class. Around 20 people who are not in that class were sitting in among the 60-ish students who are in the class, and at 11:11 a.m. their cell phone alarms went off and they left the classroom to make a wish. I think our substitute professor is still a little confused as to why they left...but the rest of us were amused.

Another creative idea he helped to mastermind was a facebook in real life party.  We all brought white t-shirts and wrote a status on it. We had relationship status stickers, green dots to show we were online to chat, a list of friends on our sleeves. There were events and photos everywhere, and we even played "Pin the Like sticker on Mark Zuckerberg." Very creative!

I have done photo shoots, gone urban exploring, been spelunking, watched movies in random places, explored the roof of the Swicket, gone canoeing, and scores of other fun things with Travis and his innovation.  He's a great example to me of spirituality, service, charity, and good wholesome activities.

Yesterday's quote from Travis leads me to one last thought for this Veteran's Day.

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them."~John F. Kennedy. 

Veterans are great examples of living by their gratitude for America. They truly understand that life is not just about themselves, but that life is in service to others. I am thankful for America and our freedom beyond what words on a blog can express. All it takes is going to another country to instill deep patriotism in your soul.