Today was probably one of the best days I've had in quite a while. So far, my summer has been uneventful and I often find myself with nothing to do. Usually both of my parents are working for most of the day and my little sister, Raquel and I are left to find ways to entertain ourselves. The beginning of my days start out okay: I make some breakfast and read a book or play my piano or my uke. Sometimes, I'll draw or paint. But whatever I do, I get bored at some point. Today was a little different. I woke up early this morning, made myself a smoothie for breakfast (yum!), and settled on the back porch to read a bit. I love reading. Today, in my book, I was whisked away into the world of an elite cellist playing at Carnegie Hall (every classical musician's dream). But this girl was not happy. She was struggling with depression as a result of her family being killed in a car accident a couple months before. It made me really appreciate being surrounded with my family all of the time. I am so grateful for them. After breakfast, I did my chores and I got dressed for my day. Now it has been pretty nice around here for the past few days; not too hot, but warm enough to wear shorts and t-shirts. This is actually pretty rare, because I am almost always cold. So, I decided to wear a dress. I usually don't wear dresses unless I am going church. But today I decided to wear one and it just made me really happy. I decided to tag along with my mom on her Saturday morning errands. I know it seems odd, but I love hanging out with my mom. It is really nice to have one on one time with your parents. Especially if you have siblings, I know that it is sometimes hard to focus on your parents or for them to focus on you when everyone is competing for attention. We went to a couple of stores and then grabbed some sandwiches for lunch. I love having alone time with my mom, even if it is while we're running errands. Later, I was reading my book in my room upstairs, when my dad popped his head in and asked if I wanted to grab some dinner with him. We ended up going to our favorite poké place. For those of you who don't know what poké is, it's basically lettuce with raw or seared fish (my favorite is seared albacore), imitation crab, seaweed, avocado, soy sauce and sesame seeds. It is my absolute favorite meal. We picked up our poké to go and took it to our favorite spot on the beach. After we finished, I got to play a little uke at the beach. I love mixing the sound of waves crashing with ukulele chords. I think sometimes it is easy to get caught up in the less important things that we don't have time for. But I have learned that when you make time for things and people that really matter, you will never regret it.
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I think one of the best things in life is reading books. Not those new digital books. No, in fact I am wholeheartedly opposed to using those things. “Digital Books” cannot be infused with smells. You can’t press flowers between the pages. You can’t write musings in the margins. It can’t contain spilt tears or hot chocolate stains. No, only a real book with real covers and bindings can do these things. I love receiving letters in the mail. I don’t know what it is exactly, but something about opening a mailbox to find a handwritten letter just makes me so happy. Knowing someone took the time to write out a letter and not just send a quick text or email. It makes the message so much more personal. Even though it takes a while longer to reach its destination, it is so worth it to be able to actually see the other person’s handwriting. The uniqueness of a person’s handwriting reminds so much about a person. When my sister sent me a letter a couple months after she had moved to Idaho, it for some reason reminded me that even though we were so far away from each other, she was still a big part of my life. I think letters just make your message a bit more personal and it is always exciting for someone to receive one. I am no astronomer, but one of the most calming things I have ever experienced would have to be lying out under the stars and just looking. I can’t exactly pinpoint what makes it so calming, but it has something to do with being reminded of the enormity of the sky. It just makes me and my tiny life feel so...well, small. It is always a reminder that Heavenly Father owns the skies and yet, he wants my heart. It completely blows my mind that He has this entire world to concern Himself with but even so, He still cares about me, my life and my struggles. Because change is always good. It is so calming to listen to the rain hitting my window pane at night. I usually have trouble falling asleep at night. No matter what I try to do, my mind starts racing as soon as I start trying to fall asleep. I think I have tried everything from counting sheep, reading to make myself tired, establishing a set bedtime. You name it, I’ve tried it. I never seem to have this problem when I can hear it raining outside. I don’t know what it is, but when it is raining and I open my window and bundle up in all of my blankets, I fall asleep easily. I am so grateful that technology allows us to talk to people whenever. I am glad that I can pick up the phone at any given moment and call people. Even so, I have this crazy irrational fear of talking to people over the phone. I mean I still call people, but due to my CP, sometimes it is harder for people to understand me over the phone. Literally every time my phone rings, I have to give myself a pep talk before I answer. But with video calls, it is like the person is right there, which makes it a little less scary for me. I love that I can use my computer to talk to people that are hundreds of miles away. I always seem to be cold. I don’t know what it is, but even on warm days, I have to at least wear a thin sweater. Being cold a lot becomes a big issue especially in the winter. Even during the colder months of the year, I have to sleep with my window open or I will not be able to sleep. This brings about some issues when it’s cold out. My solution: fuzzy socks and rice bags. My rice bag is my best friend. I’m not joking. I’m pretty sure I would be miserable without it. My sister made it for me a couple Christmases ago. Best. Present. Ever. I bring it with me to bed every night during the winter. The same goes for my fuzzy socks. Because my feet are always cold, I have to wear fuzzy socks at night or I will freeze. I have no idea what I would do without these things. I know it’s a bit odd, but I love them so much. It’s no secret that I have zero physical stamina. My muscles tire easily and exercising or walking long distances is very hard for me. That being said, I do like to challenge myself every once and awhile. Last summer, I had the opportunity to go to Zion National Park in Utah for girls camp. I was NOT expecting to go on any hikes, but I ended up going on one each day. Aside from the last one, I had been able to do most of the hikes without too many issues. It was actually really fun. Every once and awhile I would look down to see how far I had come. I never thought I’d ever be able to do stuff like that. But I did it! Now, I don’t go on too many hikes anymore, but I do go to the beach trails by my house and run a bit. I love going outside and exercising and am so grateful that my body has at least enough strength for a good workout. During the summer, I usually have to fend for myself when it comes to breakfast and lunch. I try my best to make something edible because I am no cook. Grilled cheese, quesadillas, salads and smoothies are about the extent of my cooking expertise. I am always listening to music around my house. Every once and awhile, while the quesadillas are cooking or the blender is blending, I get bored and start dancing. It’s a little embarrassing actually. But who cares right? It isn’t like the stuff you’d see me doing at a like a school dance either. In fact, I don’t really know what to call it. I would describe it as having a lot of jumping around and kind of just flailing arms and legs. Anyway, despite the fact that I am not a good dancer, I love dancing around in the kitchen. I honestly don’t think there is anything much better than dancing in my kitchen. One of my absolute favorite things to do is to look at some of our old family photo albums. In our family room downstairs, we have an entire shelf of old family photo albums that my mom has made over the years. As a sentimental person, I have spent hours pouring over those photo albums and reflecting on what an amazing life I’ve had thus far and how grateful I am for my two gorgeous sisters. As the middle child, it helps remind me how blessed I am to be sandwiched between two of the best people on earth. Not that we always get along -- believe me, we each have our disagreements, but somehow we always resolve them. Looking back through these photos reminds me of how much I really love my two sisters.
Today was the very last day of school for my junior year. Oh my gosh. I still can't believe it is over. I’m a little torn, though. I mean, yes, it was hard at times, but I would be lying if I didn’t say that I did not have so much fun. This year has brought so many memories--both good and bad. The past couple weeks have been filled with lasts. Tuesday, last week was the last day I had all six of my classes in one day. I went to seminary for the last time this year two fridays ago. The last time eating lunch at school (because next year, I’ll only have 4 classes on campus). I sat in a high school Spanish class for the last time ever. I made my last piece in ceramics last week. Monday was the last time the seniors at my school would be on campus. There are so many things I will miss, some will return when I come back with me at the beginning of next year, but others are just over and to be honest, it kind of makes me sad. But who the heck wants to be sad in a gorgeous day like this? Certainly not me! I’ve decided I want to make this post as happy as I can make it! First of all, this year, I started riding to school with my best friend. As opposed to last year when I either rode to school with either my mom or Soph, my sister. Don’t get me wrong, I love the fam bam, but it was really fun riding in my best friend’s car every day and listening to her music and just being around her so much. It was also really nice not having to wait around for my mom to come pick me up after school. Next year, I am only going to have four classes on campus, as will most of my friends. This means, that we won’t have to stay at school for lunch. I really enjoyed hanging out with my friends at lunch. I never really have a lot of time to hang out with people outside of school. Having sat at a slightly rowdy table for the past three years with pretty much the same people, I’m going to miss cracking up at their odd antics. There are going to be some things that I definitely will never miss. Like being in my Spanish class and not completely understanding what Señor is trying to say to me. I am not going to miss the labs we did in Marine Ecology, because lets just face it, I’m not scientific at all. But I am going to miss the teacher, who always had something positive to say. Of all of my memories from my Junior year, I think some of the best were definately Formal, Mormal and Prom. I used to hate going to dances. I remember going to some of my church’s stake dances and not really liking them because not a lot of my friends went and everyone was crowded together. I went to my first formal this year with my friend that I didn’t know all too well. I actually decided to ask him the night before I actually asked him. It was a kind of spontaneous thing to ask him like that, but I was so glad that I did. I wrote on his car with surf wax to ask him. I had so much fun at that dance. But something about these dances was different. I loved making boutineers and getting all dressed up. It made the dances seem more special. The second dance I went to was Mormal, which is basically another formal, but with all Mormons. I was actually asked by a kid that I’ve known since I was like nine. About a week before he asked me, I remember we had gone with our youth group to see the movie Risen (a Jesus movie). He sat next to me and all throughout the movie, he would say something funny to me to try to get me to laugh and kept pretending to cry on my shoulder during the dramatic parts of the movie. During the dance, this kid was the definition of crazy when it came to the actual dancing part of the night. I mean I thought we going to get kicked out of the dance because he was so crazy. The last dance I went to was Prom. I wasn’t really expecting to get asked because a bunch of my friends had been asked already, but I did get asked! I remember I couldn’t stop smiling all day that day. Around the time of that dance, I had been really stressed out about life, I remember I had so much fun because I got to forget about everything and just have be with my friends and dance! Before the dance, we took pictures at our friend’s house by the beach. I went on a party bus for the first time, which I was a little scared about because I can get really carsick when I can’t see the road sometimes, but I didn’t! It was so fun to be surrounded by all of my friends that night. On the party bus, things got a little crazy, but it was so much fun! We ate dinner at IN-N-OUT (the best place to get grilled cheese btw). At the dance, I had so much fun and my date was a little cray, making it all the more fun! I think one of the best things about this year was starting this blog. I absolutely love writing it and am so thrilled when I see on my stats that people actually read it. That kind of surprises me because I feel like half the time, I end up ranting or complaining about stuff. But, it has been so fun posting about whatever I want on here! One thing from this year that I have mixed feelings about was Soph (my older sister) moving up to BYUI. When she first left, I was a mess. She had moved up to Idaho to go to school about two weeks into my school year. Before she had left, we would fight quite a bit, I thought I was ready for us to be apart for a while. But then it came time for her to actually leave. It was right before seminary. I was totally fine, until it was my turn to say goodbye. I cried all the way to seminary. I realized that I wouldn’t get to see her every day and was scared that we would never talk to each other. But it ended up alright, we have a family group chat and she facetimes us at least once a week. Everything turned out okay. It really helped me to become more independent.
Overall, it has been a pretty good year. Sure there were ups and downs, but I have learned and changed so much. My perspective on life has changed completely and it has been interesting to see how much I have changed in just a year. I kept my grades up higher than last year. I started my blog. My friend group shifted a little. I have progressed a lot artistically. I gained a lot more confidence in myself and learned to how to decide when to trust others and when to rely on myself. This school year has been great. I have made so many new friends and have learned so much. Thank you for reading my blogs and making the year all the better! I’m looking forward to sharing my summer adventures with you! I just want to take a moment to say that I am so grateful to live in a country where I can receive an education, but I'm also thankful for summer! The past couple weeks of school have been pretty stressful. My workload has just been piling higher and higher. Finals are approaching quickly, teachers seem to be assigning last minute projects and essays left and right. There is now only one more week of school! One more week and I won't have to carry binders, books and my backpack everywhere I go. No more worrying about being late to class, no more late night study sessions.
For me though, summer can get old fast. I find myself fresh out of things to do, which can result in becoming a major couch potato. All throughout last summer, I would find myself sitting in front of the TV and watching hours of the Food Network channel, while I don't even cook! Hours of my summer were wasted on TV and pinterest that I am very ashamed to admit. My time wasn't all like that though, I read so many books. I think I was able to finish at least one book each week. While reading is fun and all, I have made a couple of other goals for myself this summer. One of my goals is to write (and hopefully post) more poetry. I have been writing poetry for years, but recently I have been having a hard time finding ways to string the words together like I used to, so I want to try to focus more on writing poetry than reading books. Another thing I have been wanting to do is update the walls of my room. I have really gotten tired of seeing the same old pictures on my walls that have been hanging in my room for years. It is high time for some redecorating. For the past couple weeks, I have been thinking hard about what I can fill my walls with. Stay tuned for some possible posts about my room! With summer here in California, comes the perfect weather for going to the beach and enjoying the warm sand and cool waters. There is nothing like spending a summer day on the beach! Whether you like going out in the water and swimming in the ocean or laying out in the sand and reading a good book, the beach is the best place to spend your summer! Something I really look forward to in the summer is going to the Sawdust Festival. I first went to the Sawdust Festival last summer and immediately fell in love with the eclectic styles. It is basically a place where artists come and set up shop to sell the art that they have made in the off season. It is always really cool to actually meet the artists and talk about their work with them. Last year, I went a couple times. One time I went with my older sister, Soph, and we each got toe rings! Another time, my little sister got to throw a bowl on the potter's wheel. I am excited to have more time to focus on drawing and painting. I love drawing, but haven't found the time to sit myself down and focus on anything more than a quick sketch. I have recently discovered a new painting technique, but have been too busy to explore my new medium in more depth. I am planning to post more about this new technique once I can pinpoint what it is exactly. I'm not quite sure this makes sense, but I have been experimenting a whole new painting medium. It is a different form of abstract painting that I really enjoy creating. If I can master this new technique, I will definately post some pics. Something I really struggle with during the summer is staying healthy. It is so easy for me to develop unhealthy eating and exercising habits. With being home most of the day, I get really bored. One of the things I tend to do when I'm bored is eat. I know that eating because I am bored is not the best thing, so I am trying to break that habit. In the past, I also have struggled with exercising regularly. I am really self-conscious about exercising when I am around other people, so one of my favorite ways of exercising is to use a stationary bike. In order to actually get myself to ride it though, I have to have a way to entertain myself while I am riding the bike. One of my favorite ways to do this is to listen to church media while I ride. I apologize if this post has been a bunch of nonsensical ramblings. I am hoping to get back on track with uplifting blogs as soon as I have more time to focus on them. I most likely will not be posting more until after my finals are over and I've settled comfortably into the summer. So, if I don't post for a while, don't worry, I have not fallen off the face of the earth! |
My name is Ellie. I am a sophomore at BYU Idaho. I am excited to live life and to share a small piece of it with you!
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