SENIORITIS

I have a severe case of SENIORITIS! I've been sitting here all afternoon trying to write a 5-page analytical paper of my childhood for my child development class....to no avail. I'm still on the 1st page. I have no focus, no dedication to school, and quite frankly, I don't care at the moment. That is bad. So, instead of doing WRITING for homework, I'm writing on my blog. Ironic. Maybe if I tried writing my paper as a blog post it'd get done a lot faster.

Urbandictionary.com is one of my favorite new things, and can be quite entertaining. The following are definitions for senioritis which come from urbandictionary.com. Not all of the descriptions accurately describe my current state of being, but some come eerily close.

"- (noun) A crippling disease that strikes high school and college seniors. Symptoms include: laziness, an over-excessive wearing of track pants, old athletic shirts, sweatpants, athletic shorts, and sweatshirts. Also features a lack of studying, repeated absences, and a generally dismissive attitude. The only known cure is a phenomenon known as Graduation.


- (verb) When you leave your backpack in your car trunk from 3pm - 8am.


- (noun) A virus which seems to affect mainly second semester seniors, with few exceptions (First semester Seniors etc). This virus can be deadly to one's grades, as the carrier becomes totally apathetic about their grades, classes, homework etc. This results in many "Zeros ( 0 )" or failing grades - ultimately leading to the drastic lowering of the grade in the carrier's classes. Side effects include: Failure to give a d***, complete and utter apathy, and not graduating with the carrier's class."

I definitely never open my backpack. I only have class on M/T/W...so from Wednesday night to Sunday afternoon, I don't even think about school at all. This is a problem.

I can't get away with wearing sweats all the time due to my jobs, but if I could, I would definitely be living in sweats and t-shirts. My hair looks nice occassionally, but is consistently up in a ponytail by the end of the day.

Luckily, I'm not failing any of my classes...yet. Let's hope it stays that way.

Hhhhmmmmm....back to homework now? Not likely.

Any cures? Let me know.

They say "Time Flies...."

First off, who are "they?" The infamous "they" we always refer to....they say this, or they say that. Who are THEY?

Well, there is that saying, "Time flies!" It sounds old and lame of me to say it, but I'll say it anyway, since we're on a little adage/sayings kick anyway - the older I get, the faster time flies. I'm not old, not even close. But I'm definitely at the period of transitioning into "adulthood," or that's what my Dad keeps trying to convince me of. There's truth to it, but I'm still a kid....sorry Dad. My thoughts on being a kid still could be a whole different post.

Seriously though, let me tell you all (all of you who aren't actually reading this) a little bit about my life right now. Back in November I started looking for full-time jobs. I only had 2 required classes left to graduate, both of which I could take at night, leaving me the opportunity and flexibility to work full-time during the day. I had several interviews, for both multiple part-time jobs and a few regular full-time jobs. Nothing was working out, week after week. The end of December rolls around and I get an internship opportunity in the social entrepreneurship arena, working with an awesome new non-profit start-up...but I only have 12 hours to accept or reject the offer. Well, since nothing full-time was happening for me, I took the internship, which led me to decide to just stay in school full-time, work part-time, and do my internship part-time.

January comes around, I register full-time with my 2 required classes, and finally throw in those couple of purely fun, selfish, "I've always wanted to take that class since my freshman year" classes and buckled in for a full semester. Then the add/drop deadline comes and goes....2 days after the deadline, I get another part-time job offer and take it. So now I'm working at the MTC with all the insanity and joy that goes along with it, and another 6-10 hours a week at my other job. Literally the next day, one of the companies that I interviewed with back in early December calls me to see if I can come in and talk to some more people at their company, a 2nd interview if you will. Later that week they asked me when I could start. I took the job.

Ok, so a quick overview, in case this was hard to follow. At this point in time, mid-January, I'm in school full-time, internship, working 2 jobs, and just started a 3rd job. Sound a little insane? Of course...that's my life.

I start at the 3rd job and give the MTC my 2-week notice. For the next 2 weeks, I work like a crazy person; no sleep, no food, LOTS of caffeine, no homework....awesome!

I'm getting to the point soon, I promise. Finally, today, February 26, at 5:00pm, I'm really starting to realize in a new way what "they" mean when "they" say that time flies! I typically leave my apartment around 8:30am (not too early) and get home anywhere between 11pm-12:30am. I wake up Monday morning, and 2 seconds later it's Friday night, my body is beat, my brain is mush, and I'm left wondering what I really even accomplished this week. Which will eventually lead me to another post along that topic...of what's actually important in my life as opposed to all the urgent things, what I really want to do with my life, who I want to become, priorities, etc. Wow, blogging really is therapeutic. I should do this more often, even merely for my own sanity. I'm loving being able to just get thoughts out. Sweet.

Anyway, that's all for now folks! Back to work I go for another 4 hours before it's playtime tonight!

Sweet 16

Today, my baby sister turned 16 years old! I know it sounds lame, but that makes me feel sooo old! Gosh, my parents must be freaking out...which they should be.
1- That means they're getting really old ;)
2- For most of you who don't know my little sister, she epitomizes the term "sweet 16."
Blonde hair, rich brown eyes, curvy, athletic, hilarious, extremely caring, and probably one of the happiest people I know. Every boy I know from the age of 12-21 is in love with her. She just loves life, and joy and laughter radiate from her very being. I wish I was more like her. She is an inspiration to me, but doesn't know it. So today, in honor of her, I include 16 things that I love about her or things I've learned from her. Thanks for being the best, I love you!

1- Your beautiful smile, it lights up every room and brings joy to my heart!
2- Your sense of style...you can wear anything and make it look good, even multi-colored awful sequin french berets.
3- Your laugh, it's infectious.
4- Your ability to love.
5- Your ability to be loved.
6- You're quick to forgive.
7- Compassion
8- Athleticism, who says you can't be tough and pretty?
9- Service, you're constantly doing something nice for someone else.
10- Happiness, you love life and are constantly happy and sharing that with everyone!
11- Carefree, I want to be like you in this, to not let things stress me out so much!
12- Peacemaker, you always try to keep the peace and make sure everyone is happy!
13- Spiritual strength, you just do what's right and encourage others to do the same.
14- Love of family, you really bring everyone together, and even put up with us when we're beyond ridiculous.
15- Stunning, chocolate brown eyes...people are always shocked at that blonde hair, brown eyes combo! Ow ow!
16- Friendship, um, can I say miss popular? Everyone wants to be you friend, because you are so kind, and all of the above mentioned things!

Basically, Jacks, you are my hero! A Rockstar! *Jellyfish, jellyfish, jellyfish!!!*
I love you! Happy Sweet 16!

L.O.V.E. on Valentine's Day

You're pretty lucky, you're getting 2 posts on the same day. I must be feeling pretty motivated.

Typically, Valentine's Day is my least favorite holiday of the year. Don't get me wrong, I think there definitely needs to be a holiday to celebrate LOVE! But, Valentine's Day has just become so commercialized, and there are so many expectations that it's sort of killed the beauty of it for me.

Also, add to that being almost 25 and single, in Provo, Utah, at BYU, and Valentine's Day becomes miserable...

But really, the worst part is when there is someone very special that you care about so much, and you feel like they'll never care about you the same way you care about them. As John Mayer says, "Noone ever really wins in heartbreak warfare..." Then he contradicts himself though by saying, "If you want more love, why don't you say so?" I agree. I think honesty is the best policy, especially when it comes to relationships. So many of the major problems in the world stem from dishonesty. Heartbreak is no different. I'm saying it - I want more love!

I guess I could choose to not feel bitter about this holiday, so last night, after having one of the longest, busiest, hardest weeks in months, and after having a major mental breakdown for a variety of reasons, I cuddled up and watched "This Is It," the movie about Michael Jackson. It was bliss. And even though sometimes MJ might have been on the verge of insanity, he is definitely one of the greatest entertainers and talented artists of all-time - at least in my book. I love his music. I love his dancing. I love that I want to dance to every single one of his songs. And last night, I discovered that I love how much he freely expressed his love for everyone that he worked with, all the time. He kept saying it, "God bless. I love you. Love. L.O.V.E." 

So, this Valentine's Day evening, it comes down to this: I want more love! I want more love in every aspect of life! I want to love more freely, more openly, more deeply, without reserve! I want to love the life I'm living more, and live the life I love (thanks Jenna)!

Tired of Holdin' This Inside My Head...

Here it comes, my first blog post. Since nobody will read this, nobody will have chance to ask "I wonder why Beth started blogging?" Well, I'll answer it for you, in case somebody does actually come to read this someday in the future. There are a few reasons I've decided to start a blog.

- I'm doing an internship this semester that is all about social media. I've been studying social media usage, and especially blogging. We had to create a team blog for the internship, and it made me want my own personal blog.
- Therapeutic catharsis...or in my non-academic terms, a release, an escape. Sometimes you just need to get things out, and if you don't have someone to talk to, or you don't want to talk to anyone, but still just want to let it go.
- Change. I'm at a lot of crossroads in life, and there are a lot of changes happening. I want to write about it, to process it, and to remember it.
- Improve my ability to effectively and freely express myself through words. I'm a creative person. I like to create things with my hands, to see "the fruits of my labors" so to speak. By blogging, I can not only create a tangible, visual masterpiece (yes, this will indeed become a masterpiece), but I can also develop my thoughts and ideas.
- To get over my guilt-trip for never writing in a journal. If any of my mission companions read this, they'll know that I suffer from self-inflicted guilt from not writing in a journal, ever.
- There are probably a few more reasons, but this should be sufficient enough.

That's it for now. Expect great things from me, but be patient as it all develops...