True Story.
WHEW! I'm absolutely and completely torn as to which I love/loved more: Summer or school. My heart breaks every time I see a video of Jackson, pictures of Brook and Sam, or just updates on Facebook from Trista. I miss California and everyone so much.
But don't worry! I didn't get completely stuck in summertime, because I am loving all my classes (yes, even the 6:30 AM one!) and activities. Anywho, it's been a couple weeks, so I'll start up from there.
I HAVE, in fact, met all my roommates now! I had the apartment completely to myself for two or three days, honestly. A couple gals (Becca and Wuendy) moved in Friday and Saturday evenings, so it was just us three haha. Saturday night, while my buddy Spencer and I were making delicious stir-fry, another gal walked in! 'Twas Lindy. Becca and Lindy are from Idaho, and Wuendy is from Jersey but was born in Mexico. So here is our tasty chicken stir-fry. (:
I was able to go to my new ward for the first time! It was so cool, because when I went in a few minutes earlier than Lindy and Becca, I sat down by myself. I'm leafing through the program and see a bunch of movement out of the corner of my eye. I glance over and see a couple of my Bug Boy friends waving furiously and making their way over to me haha. Mike Decker went and sat with his roommates, but Kaleb came and sat with me. Kaleb isn't actually in my ward, he had just stayed with Decker the night before, so I haven't seen him since haha. But Decker is! He's a funny fella, and apparently he is a bloody PRO at walking/spinning/almost being able to FLIP on a tight rope! Wicked crazy. (OH! And I went and picked up Kaitlyn from teh bus stop on Sunday! Whoots!! We've been having far too much fun being roommates haha). We learned this the next day at our ward's opening social at the park, where we met our new FHE brothers. This semester they're all freshmen again in the dorms, and for the 30-45 minutes we got to meet with them, we had a blast haha. Played a couple fun games and laughed at each other attempting to walk on the tight rope. I'm pretty stoked to have some great FHE times again. (:
Well the first week of school was pretty chill, as usual. Just a lot of syllabus stuff and getting down our schedules. Kaitlyn and I are addicted to the Farmer's Market that goes every Friday afternoon, though haha. We have gone religiously for the last 3 weeks and have loved buying super cheap pluots, peaches, corn on the cob, etc. It's great. I will give all the credit to Trista for getting me addicted to fresh fruits and vegetables. Perhaps I never appreciated them while living at home, but I swear it's all I eat. I go through so much whole wheat bread from making so many sandwiches haha. My favorite is a veggie sandwich, believe it or not. Lettuce, tomato, cucumber, cheese, avocado, olives, and (if I have them) mushrooms. Mmm. Needless to say, they're fat sandwiches haha. Anywho! So last Friday when we went to the Farmer's Market, I got a cheap cantaloupe, and I decided to...draw on..."him". :P
On Tuesday, 9/11, a group of students who are in the military decided they wanted to do a small program in the little amphitheater outside the bookstore and McKay library. This sight brought tears to my eyes. I never realized how much pride and appreciation I have for those who serve our country. It is truly a sacrifice of no measure.
I just had to snap a picture of all the flags while walking by on my way to one of my favorite classes! SOFTBALL :D
It's been a great class, and I have loved getting to know the girls. After the first day, a few gals I clicked and have been able to hang out outside of class quite a bit. The first gal, Kaylee, played catcher her whole life, and she is absolutely hilarious. She's from Vancouver, WA and is often my throwing partner. The other two gals, Kaylyn and Camrie are pretty great, too. I may be graduated and no longer playing softball really, but one will always miss the camaraderie of a sports team. I never realized this until we were all walking off the field and home together, just talking about the scrimmage game we had played against one another. I hope this is the feeling that all of those whom I coach in the future will get after practice, being with their teammates. There's strength in numbers, but there is unfathomable power in a team that works well together.
Okay, small side note. Thank you, California, for making the random blonde streaks near the temples of my head stand out like NO other. Thus far, they haven't gone away. I'm fairly certain that's where I'll end up going grey first haha.
OH! I forgot to mention a funny/great moment Kaitlyn and I had at the Farmer's Market last week haha. So there's this booth with Filipino food, which is where she served her mission. She absolutely loved her mission, as most missionaries do haha, and I never realized how much happiness it brought her until we walked by this booth. She noticed the ladies serving and cooking the food were also from the Philippines. She hesitantly asked them in Tagalog if they understood the language. When they cheerfully responded back, Kaitlyn's face lit up so much! It was incredible standing there, watching and listening, as they mentioned where they were from or where she had served, and as she ordered a couple of her favorite things for us to try. Her excitement was absolutely intoxicating. I known I've mentioned a mission a few times, and this was just another small reinforcement as to how much I would love to go. It's really frustrating knowing I still have over a year and a half left; I'm continually trying to think of ways to get around that haha. Obviously no such way, for the most part. :P But anywho, here's my attempt at catching a moment of her excitement while talking with the women.
Oh yes, and this was the week I got some cantaloupe! I thought I was pretty genius coming up with this idea here. It's one thing to put fruit with your granola; it's another to put granola in with your fruit! Haha actually it didn't taste as yummy as I'd hoped. But whatever, I saved myself from having to clean a bowl. (;
Last Saturday was also Gill's bridal shower! If you don't remember, Gill is my old roommate. The one who would play Bomber Man and Mario with me until late at night in our room haha. Yeah, well, all summer a few of us old roommates (five of us, to be exact) had been planning on being roommates again! It was supposed to be Kaitlyn, Gill, Cynthia, Jessi, and I. Well Jessi decided to stay back in Oregon for an internship; Cynthia is staying at a friend's house here in Rexburg to save money on rent. It was then just Kaitlyn, Gill, and I. Well I had known that Gill started dating this guy from her single's ward down in Utah. She hadn't mentioned much as to how serious it was, but all she did say was that she "was worried that she wasn't MORE worried as to how much she enjoyed being with this guy". Yeah, I'm not clueless haha. She texted me one day, "Sooo would you completely hate me if I didn't go to BYU-I this next year?" I responded, "Yes. Very much so. Being engaged is not a viable excuse." Hahaha. Called it. I was joking, of course, because I am pretty stoked for her. :D Anywho! Christian graciously let me borrow his car, so Kaitlyn and I could go to Idaho Falls for her shower. Of course, I got her lingerie and found it hilarious. Of course, Gill was the only other one our age at her bridal shower baha. Everyone else consisted of her mom, mother in-law, aunts, and grandma. One of her aunts asked me, "Is that even ALLOWED at BYU-Idaho?!" Hahaha it made me laugh. But I am extremely sad to say I never got any pictures. ):
Afterwards, Kaitlyn and I made a stop at Winco! Apparently Kaitlyn had never been introduced to "bulk bins", because her extreme excitement came out all over again haha. We got our essentials, I stayed in my budget, AND I was able to get lots of oats to make some granola! So this is Kaitlyn giddily writing down the bin numbers on her oats and brownie mix. (:
"Look at all the different things they have!! Cashews, peanuts, almonds, PECANS!"
We came home and chilled for a little while before I decided I should probably take Christian's car back to him. So I let Audrey know I was on my way to their place, and she mentioned having some dinner almost ready. Certainly couldn't pass that up! Audrey cooks wonderfully! Well I ended up staying haha. Had to finish watching Patriot, and then we decided on watching What to Expect When You're Expecting, which they had rented haha. It was hilarious, and there was a part or two that I may or may not have teared up on haha. Anywho, we didn't even get an hour through it before I realized a had a couple recent missed calls from a different Bug Boy friend, Cameron. I give him a call back, he gives me crap for not answering my phone, and then he says, "Well hey, wanna go to the dunes?!"..."Uhhh right now?" Duh, of course right now. It was already after 8 probably. So I agree and sadly ditch Christian and Audrey. ): Cameron finally figured out his way to the apartment complexes, and we meet up with a few of his buddies from high school, since they're all from Fruitland, ID. Eight of us squish in the truck, a couple go in their own car, and we're off to the dunes! It was a little chilly, but it was a blast singing along to the guitar-playing, making s'mores by the fire, and watching a couple of the guys bury their buddy! Haha. Great fun. Anywho, this be Cameron and his friend building the fire, and the next couple picture are first the guy being buried and then him trying to get out without his shorts falling off. Talented, indeed.
We got home, and I passed out from exhaustion. I got up early for church (9 AM church!), annnd this is how both Kaitlyn and I were during church haha. I managed to stay awake for all of relief society, though. Kaitlyn? Not so much. (;
DANG! And that was just the first week of school...**Sigh** I'm exhausted again just thinking about it all. But now, back to actual school haha. So my first class of most days is Spanish at 6:30 in the morning! Love my professor, and he makes it interesting. Only because he knows there is no other way we'd all stay awake. (; So this is how the day would look during my first week of classes AFTER Spanish. All pretty and sun just coming out...It no longer looks like that. It's still a bit dark when leaving class haha.
My other classes are: family foundations, exercise physiology, exercise phys lab, softball, and biostatistics. I'm taking family foundations from my Book of Mormon teacher from last Fall, whom I had loved. So I thought I try it out again to see if I liked it still, and I do! Brother Peck does a great job of focusing on the spirit of class rather than covering everything outlined. Exercise phys is definitely one of my favorite classes. Hardly anyone enjoys reading a textbook, right? Yeah, well, you know you enjoy the class when you can read chapter 12, "Aerobic and Strength Training Prescription for Health and Performance" for two hours without falling asleep. Our first assignment was to put together a training program according to ACSM guidelines, having the correct frequency of how often we work out with enough time per week, whether our workouts will be high-intensity or low-intensity, what type of workout (aerobic or strength training), etc, etc. SO FUN! Hahaha. And the lab?...I honestly thought I was going to not enjoy it.
(Random picture of exercise phys class?)
**Sigh** It's really frustrating, honestly. Not the lab, itself. Not because it's two hours long. Not because of my 10 classmates. Not because of my professor. In fact, I love all that. The lab is fun, we're literally figuring out things like what our VO2 max is or what our max heart rate is. Two hours is hardly long enough with the science and math we're doing. Ten classmates is great, because we all are the same major, interested in the same things. My professor...Is so motivating and passionate about what he's doing; that is the frustrating part. Weird, right? Here's the thing. When exercise phys majors are introducing themselves to a class and saying what they want to do with their major, they always are planning something awesomely huge and great. I LOVE it. Medical field, physical/occupational therapy, ER emergency surgeries, etc. And honestly, I'm always proud to say, "What I want to do? Simply, be a weight training teacher, maybe personal train on the side, and coach softball." I know I'm supposed to help teenagers or a group of the likes to simply enjoy life more through my profession. Who is it that a teenager/high schooler often looks up to, who is it that often inspires them? Personally, I've found it to be family, a friend, teachers, and coaches. I can be all of those through my goals. Teams ARE families, if they are formed and guided correctly. Coaches and teachers ARE friends. I go visit Bill Gonzeles, Pauline, Pam, and Ms. Murray whenever I go home. Those are the people who have inspired ME. And I know through experience with some of the younger softball players like Candice, Aurorah, Cheyenne, Letty, Laura...I can motivate them, too. I have no shame among the future therapists and surgeons to claim I just want to teach and coach...But my lab professor. He graduated from BYU-Idaho 3 years ago. When he was introducing himself, he mentioned he was in the beginning processes of some research, backed up by the university, five hospitals, and the American Cancer Society. After our lab was over, with about a half hour left of class, we asked him to expound on what his research entailed...You could see the passion in his eyes to find the answers. He had originally worked and trained those with cardiovascular diseases, and now his research was basically to see if, through vigorous-intense exercise, if the lactate in the muscles (which ultimately lowers the amount of estrogen in the body) would help cure and prevent those with breast cancer (the cause of such being too high estrogen levels). Brother Bennion had mentioned wanting a select number of excellent, motivated individuals to work with him on this research. Only the best, most articulate professionals. That's what he wants to make out of us in his class, excellent scientists. His passion for his research, to find these answers, to be so motivated to find the funding through grants to power this research, to take months and years of data and put it all together, to display the work in front of the top scientists of the world who only want to tear your research apart to ensure that your work is the best and most accurate, to have it peer-reviewed, and to have it published in a exercise science journal...No one has ever done studies on this before. You can understand his passion through his words and desire to find the right individuals...I know I could be a part of something incredible like that. If I never planned on one day being married and having kids, so I wouldn't have to worry about working so much overtime and travelling to be peer-reviewed by these scientists all over the world...I would do research. But I won't. That would be incredible; I want to do that. But I want to start at the beginning of these great scientists and researchers and professors and engineers. I want to be "the coach who told me to go to college", "the coach who pushed me to be my best, when no one else believed in me", "the teacher who showed me my true passion", "the teacher who saved me". That's what I want to be; the underlying factor as to why these great scientists and doctors chose to make the first step towards their future. That is the impact I want to have.
