Awesome vs. Legendary

So recently I've been told that I have a tendency to overuse the world awesome.

I would tend to agree.

However, in my defense, I would like to point out that alternatives aren't particularly different.

I actually looked up synonyms in a Thesaurus -- cause I'm awesome. :D

(see what I did there?)

Some examples are:

- awe-inspiring (really not all that different, plus it sounds awkward)

- wonderful

- amazing

- cool

- neat

- impressive

- breathtaking

- inspiring

- impressive

- overwhelming

- shocking

- grand

- striking

- phenomenal

I'm not really fond of any of those words, except perhaps wonderful, amazing, cool, and phenomenal.

But the one I like the most is most definitely LEGENDARY.

Why you ask?

Well, it's all Neil Patrick Harris' fault. Well maybe not, maybe it's the writers fault.

The point is, the reference is to the TV show How I Met Your Mother, which, in my opinion, is one of the greatest TV shows that has ever graced us with its presence on television.

And I particularly love Barney -- played by Neil Patrick Harris (in the bathtub) -- who has quite a disturbing view of the world, but is loves life and is determined to make everything as legendary as possible. He has several catch phrases, one of which is his use of the word legendary. It's frequently used in a manner such as this:

"It's gonna be, legend...wait-for-it...dary!"

"Comon, it's legend...wait-for-it...I hope you're not lactose intolerant cause the next word is...dairy!"

He even convinces one of the other couples to give their baby the middle name "wait-for-it."

One of the things I love the most about its use though, is that he (meaning Barney) uses it in the attempt to argue that whatever they're doing is a way to live life to the fullest. Barney is always trying to make life interesting and fun and different, and sometimes to the point of hilariousness and stupidity, but hey, I think the sentiment is just adorable.

It's sorta like YOLO -- except way classier (ditto with Carpe Diem -- definitely a more high brow vocabulary usage).

So here's to living a legendary life. 'Cause it's not worth doing if it isn't LEGENDARY!

Live. Laugh. Photograph (all things legendary).

Best Friends Are Way Better in Person

So this post has been a seriously long time coming, seeing as it has been waiting since June to be posted. HOWEVER, I wanted to post it after my birthday one, and after another, but that one I haven't written yet, so... here's this one. :D

I got to see the BFF (otherwise known as Katie. My roommate, also Katie, will henceforth be distinguished as KT on this blog, so as not to confuse the two) at the end of June for an amazing week of best friend bonding time.

We had an absolute blast, and I got to show her around campus and properly introduce her to Provo, Utah.

We also went up to Logan for the weekend to visit my Grandparents, Aunt and Uncle and Cousins.
My lovely Aunt took some pictures of the two of us, because we've come to realize that we don't really have a whole lot, and definitely needed some more updated ones.

So, now you get to see some of my favorites. :D

We are incapable of keeping straight faces.

Cheesy adorable hugging faces.

If we were getting married, this would be our engagement picture.

We actually discussed this while we were taking the pictures -- and then had a debate about who would change their last name. We just decided it'd be best to hyphenate and then end up with switched last names. We're weird. It's okay.

This series is supposedly my "sassy goddess" personality. I love how awkward Katie is. She has no idea what I'm doing.

We are also juvenile. So what?

Can you see our tonsils? Once upon a time Katie took a picture of me in which you could see my tonsils and basically all the way down my esophagus. We thought that re-creating it would be completely normal.

We're awesome legendary.

Loving you and missing you everyday Katie!! :D

Live. Laugh. Photograph. 

(Cause you always wanna remember the awesome moments of life!)

Birthdays Are About As Cool As NYC

Well, my life has been a crazy crazy mess of awesomeness legendary-ness (more on this word usage later) for the last little bit.

I've got about four half-written posts about several different things, but haven't actually gotten around to posting them because I'm waiting on something.

Like Photos.

Or permission from other people to post stuff.

So, since this one goes back the second farthest, we'll start here. :D

Waaay back in the last week of July, something special happened.

I went home.
To NYC that is.
And it was the best.
THE BEST!!

And.

I turned 19, for all of those who didn't know.
(But you all probably do, but whatever)

So, of course, I couldn't help but think that I needed to update you all on the awesome legendary goings on that my birthday, and NYC adventures included, because...well, because I want to.

SO the day actually started out with presents, and since I wasn't expecting anything, I was pleasantly shocked and delighted by the wonderful gifts I did receive. :D

The Rubster and Mom gave me two things from South Africa (where they just returned from) -- a beautiful, light blue scarf that's covered in outlines of giraffes. I totally love it. It's also really light, which fills in a gap in my scarf collection -- all of mine are pretty heavy and good for winter, but not so much for spring and summer.

I also got a pair of serving spoons -- they're wooden and have some cool designs on them. I love it! More cool stuff for my apartment!!!

Don't worry. When I have a straight piece of mind I'll share photos with you.

Then, dear dear Katie gave me the present that just blew me away.

Look!

It included a little note that said this:

THIS EMERGENCY KIT INCLUDES ALL ESSENTIALS FOR A HEALTHY MIND, BODY, AND SPIRIT IN THE TREACHEROUS LAND OF THE YOUNG ADULT.

THE FOLLOWING ITEMS ARE INCLUDED:

2 TYPES OF GLUCOSE ENRICHED MEDIA

2 COCONUT INFUSED BOMBS

1 REVITALIZING PERSONAL HYGIENE SET

1 CUSTOMIZED PLAYLIST

1 GUIDE FOR SURVIVAL IN THIS WORLD AND POSSIBLY THE NEXT.

CERTIFIED AUTHENTIC BY AN EMT

First of all. Hilariousness. She's an EMT at school, so the whole theme is just priceless. (Yes, those are band-aids taped on and it is indeed wrapped up in an ace bandage)

The different items were also just amazing.

The "Glucose Enriched Media" was a box of Truffles and some really nice Sarabeth's Hot Chocolate mix. Mmmmmmmm.

The "Coconut infused bombs" were bath bombs. They smell SO amazing. (One downside though: I don't have a bath. Guess I'll just save them for a special occasion.)

The "Personal Hygiene Set" is self-explanatory. It's Lacome. It's amazing.

The "Customized Playlist" should make everyone jealous. I have such a good friend!! :D (No, I'm not telling you the songs. I'm content just listening to them over and over and over and over and over.....)

And the "Guide for Survival"? A book called The Fault In Our Stars. Omigosh so amazing!! I'm only a little bit into it, but AAAAHHHHH! So many feels! 

Read it people.

I could talk and talk and talk about this present, but there's so much other stuff I want to write about! So I'm gonna keep moving on.

I got one other present when I got back to Utah that totally surprised me, but I'm totally excited about as well. 

My dear brother (and *ahem* someone else) gave me these two albums. First of all: Imagine Dragons. Their album is the first one I've ever listened to and LOVED from start to finish. That takes awesomeness legendary-ness. 

And then, Lindsey Sterling. Oh my goodness she's just phenomenal. I wish I was as cool as her. 

Check her out here. My favorite song of her's: this one. Beautiful.

And then of course, the ultimate conversion of Imagine Dragons and Lindsey Sterling: Radioactive. If you don't love it you have no soul. 

(Just kidding)

THEN, birthday activities included things like:

Chilling out under the whale in the Museum of Natural History (Dinosaur Museum to me.)

Eating at Dinosaur BBQ and delicious German Chocolate Cake at Magnolia Bakery. 

I didn't take a picture, sadly, but know now, if you're ever wondering how to win a way to this girl's heart, giving me a piece of this delicious cake is it. Or making me one. :D

All in all it was a quiet birthday, which I couldn't have loved more. It was just what I needed. And the rest of the week. Getting to enjoy my city and seeing all the people I love and miss so so so much!

Here's a short sum up of the rest of the week's activities.

Went to a Thrift Store in Brooklyn. I got an adorable pair of pink heels, and the discoveries within the stores were just priceless. Such as this gold pair of pants that come straight out of Mamma Mia, and the disturbingly large collection of Mason Jars that I'm sure some Mormon Mommy Bloggers and/or hipsters would go nuts over.

(Ignore my stereotypical comments. I mean no offense.)

My dear Aunt and Uncle came into town for the day, and not only did we get to enjoy their wonderful company and their adorably amazing kids, but we went to Serendipity's as well. Their frozen Hot Chocolate is to DIE for.

The dear Rubster dragged me to the Museum of Math (yes, that is a thing, and I only say dragged because of my sheer dislike of math, not my sister), which was surprisingly awesome legendary, and had some phenomenal little exhibits and fun stuff to do.

Like this cool little painting/pattern thing. Rubster and I went all out. :D

They also had this cool geometric shape builder thing, that you could build one and submit it for votes, and the design with the most votes at the end of the day would get printed out on their 3D printer. And they all looked pretty amazing. 

Ruby submitted one, and I may or may not have done a bit of finagling and got hers to win. :D

Although we didn't get a chance to go back and check and see if they printed it out.

She'll have to go down and see for me. This was her design: 

Pretty cool huh?

The Rubster also hadn't seen Star Trek - Into Darkness, so I took her down to Union Square to see it. We both cried like babies and giggled at the appearance of the Tribble. If you haven't seen it, you're seriously missing out. It was LEGENDARY! (It was also my third time seeing it. I can't complain.)

Speaking of movies, I went to two others while I was in NYC. One of which was Joss Whedon's Much Ado About Nothing. 

It. Was. Phenomenal.

First of all, if you don't know who Joss Whedon is, think this: the Director of Firefly & Serenity. If that's too obscure for you, think of the new Avengers movie. He directed that. Basically, he's amazing.

I was super excited when I found out that he was doing a movie version of a Shakespeare play for several reasons. 

A) He's Joss Whedon.

B) I love Much Ado -- One of my favorite comedies.

C) The cast was top notch.

D) I was going to get to see it with Katie dearest (we swore that we wouldn't see it until we were together).

It had several really cool aspects to it. It was all in Black and White, and while set in a modern time, all of the original language was used -- think Romeo and Juliet version with Leonardo DiCaprio.

All in all, I highly recommend seeing it. The moment I can buy it I will, because its one of those movies you could watch over and over and over again.

Disclaimer though: While the play is completely appropriate for kids, the movie itself isn't -- there's something about it being on screen with the extra details that probably isn't good, like the disturbingly (not really) large amount of alcohol in every scene. It isn't that big of a deal, seeing as that is apart of the actual play, but its completely different from on-stage.

Plus there's a bit of a sexual theme to the beginning -- PG-13 level.

So not good for kids...say, of a 10 year old age? You know, like my sister? :)

But see it! Especially if you're a Shakespeare fan!

ANYWHO, moving on!

We ALSO went to see (we meaning Rubster, Katie and I) the first Harry Potter movie atop the Intrepid museum.

For those of you who don't know, the Intrepid is an old aircraft carrier that, upon it's retirement, was turned into a Museum down by the piers in Manhattan. Such a cool museum.

Apparently they have this summer thing where they play a movie on a huge projector screen and allow people to come watch!

And there are several plus's to this.

1. It's free.

2. You get to watch the sunset on the deck, as the movie starts just after the sun goes down.

3. They encourage you to bring a blanket or lawn chairs, and even food to enjoy the movie.

4. During the summer, its just beautiful, and as it is in the evening, its cooled down and you even get a little breeze off of the river.

5. Great for kids -- depending on the movie they play. Some are a little bit more mature -- like they played Top Gun the week before (or was it the week after?), but they're always pretty solid, classic movies that you're sure to get excited about! :D

I also got to see some old friends from High School -- which was definitely awesome legendary. It was great to catch up, cause I missed them a TON. Plus, no offense to Provo, but I missed people who had a bit of a foul mouth. 

It was also shocking to realize how drastically different BYU is from other colleges. I've had 3 roommates get married already, and only two who haven't. You tend not to have those issues at other colleges.

There was a ton of other stuff I did over the week, but if I were to write about all of it, you guys would get incredibly bored.

But I'll leave you with one last thing.

On Saturday, my last day, we went to the beach, which was interesting at first, seeing as it was raining when we left. However, by the time we got there, it had stopped, and we had the luxury of having a nearly empty beach to enjoy. The sun even came out after a while, and seeing as I didn't think to use sunscreen due to the weather, not a lovely sunburn on my back and shoulders.

It was fun!

We also turned the Rubster into a mermaid. I'm sure that any minute her hair will turn red and she'll start singing Part of Your World.

Isn't she getting so BIG! My heavens! She's grown 3 inches since Christmas, and I swear she looks like a whole different person! A huge part of me just wants her to stop growing up! She's supposed to be my baby sister, and at this rate, she'll be taller than me by the time she's 12. She's only got 8in left to go. She's already 3 inches taller than I was at 12, and she's two years younger!

AAAGGGGH!

Anyway. Seeing as I've posted this just under a month after my birthday, I think that's pretty good! 

Till next time ladies and gents (which will be very soon, I've got some BIG stuff I get to post!)

Up and Coming: 

-Best Friends are better in person

- The six words I never thought I'd say

- Awesome vs. Legendary

- Shakespeare Festival

- Apartments and New Roommates (Plus, a new school year!)

Live. Laugh. Photograph.

P.S. Like the new background?

Because I haven't had much time...

Here's my life as of recent in photos. Mostly from Instagram and Facebook, so you've probably seen them, but whatever. I'm being lazy.

I got a haircut. My hair is short and blunt and I really can't wait till it grows out.

I've decided I need to do this ridiculously often.

New life motto.

My phone seriously thinks I have problems.

I waste too much time watching movies.

Jenny has concluded that the outside is awesome, but children are scary.

I have really really adorable cousins.

Bonus of spending so much time with them: Getting to love their cute faces and personalities every freakin' day.

Super Duper Bonus of spending so much time with them: When they get to be too much I realize how NOT ready I am for kids. Birth control at its finest people.

This conversation.

My mother is the best.

My birthday is on Saturday. I'm going to be 19. I'm sorta freaking out.

Also, I go back to NYC on Friday. Super super super ridiculously excited. 

Life is pretty good. Considering.

Live. Laugh. Photograph.

Well that sucks.

So you know how I was raving about my job in my last post?

Well I spoke too soon.

I got fired.

It really really sucks. 

I wish it wasn't the case, but what can I do?

They had to cut someone. I was the last hired. And I was late one too many times.

Now I have no idea what to do with my summer.

I'm gonna go wallow in self-pity now.

Remember to appreciate what you've got before it's gone.

Where Do I Even Start?

Well. Its been a while. Hello Blog, I've missed you.

I haven't posted since February. Its June. Holy crap that's a long time.

Specifically 5 Months.

How do I even sum up the last 5 months in a blog post?

Well, "Lemme 'splain. No, there is too much. Lemme sum up."

I'll start back in Feb.

1) Well, besides re-evaluating my life decisions (see my last post), I pretty much did nothing. Well, besides procrastinate all things school related. And watch a lot of Divine Comedy. And other things. Yea, I was basically a very lazy individual

March:

2) Divine Comedy. Studio C. Enough Said.

3) Facebook stalked the whole world. (Not really)

4) Picked out an apartment to live in next year with KT (new nickname for the Roommate -- this will be explained later)

5) Visited some of my extended family up in Logan. Loads of fun.

6) Became Instagram obsessed. I have problems.

April:

7) Finished off the semester with more crappy grades. However, I only failed one class, so that's a plus. And, I got an A- in my Psychology Class. I'm awesome.

8) My brother moved to Seattle. Helped him move. I was sad to see him go, but super excited that he would get to start an amazing new job and be in an amazing new city.

9) Mom, Dad, please don't kill me for this... but I got a CAR! Her/His name is Serenity. 

(Have you seen Firefly? If you haven't, go on Netflix right now and watch it. RIGHT NOW!)

I'm ridiculously lucky to be a Freshman and to have a car available to me. Its amazing and grown up and overall awesome. Also, I get to put a ridiculous number of bumper stickers on her. My car is extremely nerdy.

Also, Gas is expensive. That really sucks.

But now, its way easier to visit people in Logan. And to escape the Zion Curtain. 

(Don't get the reference? Watch this)

10) I got a job! And not just any job mind you. A job working as a Student Photographer for BYU Photo! 

Now, there's a lot of backstory to this job. Waaayyy back in my Junior Year of High School, a dear friend of mine went off to college (BYU) and, since she's a freaking amazing actress, got some headshots taken of her. I LOVED these photos, so, naturally, I stalked the guy who took them. I found out that he also worked for BYU Photo, before he left on his mission. It was then that I decided that I wanted to work there if I went to BYU.

I held onto this little dream all the way through my Senior Year -- and when I was accepted, one of the first things I did was email them and ask what they did about hiring students. They responded, and were real sweet about it, too. Then in June -- before I had even graduated, I emailed them my resume and portfolio, hoping to get an interview. And in August, I went to visit their office, just to check it out and to further show my interest (or obsession, it could go either way). They just told me that they weren't hiring at the moment but that they kept all of their resume's and called people when they were.

Well, in Mid-April, they called me up, out of the blue, and asked if I wanted an interview. I said YES! (duh) and began to seriously freak out (out of nerves). The interview went well, but I figured that they didn't want a freshman who wasn't even in the Photography program or was even planning on doing it (although I hadn't officially changed my major yet), plus I was ridiculously inexperienced.

So, when I didn't hear from them after two weeks, I figured "Oh, well, at least I tried." And left it at that. BUT, I was totally shocked when they suddenly called me up and offered me a second interview.

WHAT? 

Serious freak out time.

Well, it went really well, because at the end of the interview I was offered the job!

Turns out all the things I thought they didn't want was exactly what they were looking for! Inexperienced (to a certain extent -- definitely not in photography), young (18 year old just finishing up her freshman year? Check!), and NOT a Photography major (What?!?!)

Yea, turns out Photography majors have a tendency not to focus on the job 'cause their too into their own work.

So, I tried to hold in my internal squealing and desire to jump up and down like a kiddy schoolgirl as I accepted and worked out the details.

I started the very beginning of May, and I've totally loved it! Despite the level of boring work I've got to do, as the newbie and lackey and all that. :D

Now, back to the list-- long tangent there, but the story had to be told.

11) Moved into a new apartment. I'll spare you the details until I have pictures to post on the awesomeness that it is.

May:

12) Work. School. Awesomeness.

June:
13) MY BEST FRIEND CAME TO VISIT for ALMOST A WEEK!!!

It was awesome. Too awesome to put here. It needs its own post. Along with the photos my super awesome aunt took of us.

So basically-- it's time to gear up and get ready for DA SUMMA!

Which is like... my FAVORITE time of year. Specifically for a certain day that comes at the end of July. It's like, the greatest day of the year, but I may be biased.

So I've made a goal to update this blog more often, so here's whats coming your way!

- Goals for the summer
-Best Friend's are the greatest when you see them in person
-My apartment is more awesome than your apartment
-My Cousin's are cuter than your cousins
-I have mad skillz. Specifically of the crocheting variety.

So ta ta for now!

Live. Laugh. Photograph.

What does the future hold?

Why hello blogging world!

Wow, I've totally bombed at this whole blogging for 2013 huh?

Don't worry, I'll get better.

ANYWAY,

Quite a few interesting things have happened since I last let the world know of my whereabouts.

I'll start by mentioning the future.

I'm a very good planner, the kind who gets everything planned out, and then throws everything out the window the moment something goes wrong. It's okay, I'm just weird.

So of course, upon starting college, I had quite a bit planned out. I had intended to try and graduate with a double major and a minor in 5.5yrs and then proceed to do a Master's program in Occupational Therapy. I even had my class schedule planned out for each semester between now and then.

But, as I hope many of you know, life doesn't like to play by my rules. So I had a couple of wrenches thrown in my plans, some good, some bad.

Wrench #1: I only passed two classes last semester of my original six. Yikes. Doesn't bode well for one's academic record now does it?

Wrench #2: It was announced that women could now serve as Missionaries for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints at the age of 19 instead of the previous 21. I turn 19 next July, and have decided that this is indeed something I strongly feel I should do.

Wrench #3: My double major and minor planned is not physically possible to complete at BYU. What do I mean? I mean, it'll require over 180 credits to do, and we need 120 to graduate. Once you hit about 140 you start getting pressured to graduate, and they have major issues with you going much farther than that. I highly doubt they'd even let me complete one or two of them after a certain point. Oops.

Wrench #4: Timing. Preparation. Consideration. (This will make sense in a minute)

So my life has been a whirlwind of changes and somewhat difficult decisions over the last couple of weeks. Not that the last year has been difficult enough...

So now I get to tell you my new-and-improved-but-will-probably-end-up-getting-changed-anyway life plan!

First things first. I have decided to change my major(s)/minor. I had wanted to get into the BFA Photography program here at BYU, and go through the Exercise Science degree and add a minor in Italian on top of that.

Well, as much as it kills me to do this, I've decided I can't do the BFA program. Photography is definitely my biggest passion, there's no doubt about that, but honestly, at this point in my life, I don't think I could actually complete the program, much less even get into it. I've been so busy just trying to live day to day to even focus on my passion. And that hurts more than anything else. 

But at the same time, it's the most practical of my dreams to drop....for the time being.

I don't think I'll ever let it go. But I do believe that it's something that I can either a) come back to later on in life, b) pursue on a semi-professional level without necessarily getting the education I'd like for it, or c) enjoy it as a passion, even if that's just my own daily life.

This then gives me room to pursue what some would call the profession that would "actually make me money."

No I don't think that I couldn't make money as a Photographer, but I also know that I have so many interests, I'd rather not limit the possibilities in front of me, or even limit the different ways of making money. If I felt that I could not be happy doing nothing but Photography, I would do it. But while it makes me extremely happy, it is not my only course of action in life, nor would I need to choose one way or another. Education in Photography is an interesting thing. Sometimes it is difficult to decide what level of education you would need to achieve which goals.

Although I do believe that one of my biggest goals for Photography is significantly less likely to happen  should I not pursue it educationally. And that is to have a photograph featured in the National Geographic. But one can still dream eh?

So. Moving on.

As you all know I then intended to get a Master's in Occupational Therapy, but that would require going down the Exercise Science route at BYU. However, BYU has just opened a new program for Communications Disorders, leading straight into their Speech Therapy and Audiology Masters programs. Unlike Exercise Science, it's significantly simpler, it narrows down the kinds of classes necessary for me to take, and getting in has a narrower field of requirements. Looking closely at this program, I really like that it is such a streamlined process, and one that would be less difficult to navigate since it wouldn't be on my own.

I also talked with one of the Advisors in the ComD program, who said that based on my personality tests or whatever, she thought that perhaps I was better suited to Speech Pathology than Occupational Therapy. Thinking about this, I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders, because it suddenly wasn't as complicated, and actually, less difficult, even though it's actually a more intense process because I have to actually apply. Which I don't have to for Exercise Science.

So I've decided to switch and to pursue the ComD program and Speech Pathology. I've also decided to keep to the Italian Minor, because I can do that quite easily tacked onto the ComD program.

I have always felt extremely blessed to know what it is I want to do and to get out of my life from a very early on. And while I wish it was exactly the same, I've come to realize that I really have sticked to what it is that I want, I've just been tweaking the process required to get there.

Ah, so, with that figured out, it then is easier to address the possibility of going on a Mission. And while it might makes sense to put my papers in this spring and leave in August, I think it's too early for me. Which means that I've decided, and with luck, I will be leaving sometime late April to early May next year for a mission! Still an extremely exciting prospect!

Ahah, I have no idea why I decided that this should be the subject of my post, but who cares? There's really no better way to share one's thoughts than over the internet right? ;)

So with that, I leave ya.

Next post will probably include something a little closer to this week rather than next year and beyond :D

Happy Living!

Also, check out this awesome photo I took for my Photography Class!

Live, Laugh, Photograph.