Apple Parties, Baby Blessings, Halloween, and MISSION UPDATES!

So I swear I do NOT have that busy of a schedule, but getting around to writing a blog post just seems so...time consuming? That still isn't even a very good excuse; especially not on days like today, Tuesday, since my one and only class is Spanish. Therefore, I am done with classes at 7:30 AM, before anyone else even starts classes haha. Anywho, I'm a few weeks overdue. Since I'm hungry, we're gonna start off with a Taco FEAST!

My roommate, Lindy, is now engaged! Well she got engaged several weeks ago haha, but since she and her fiance, Chandler, are from Idaho Falls, he often comes over. Melody and I were out in the living room and talking about how hungry we were, yet too lazy to make anything. All that day I had been planning on making myself some delicious tacos for dinner. Well Lindy and Chan are heading out the door and say, "Hey, we're running to the store for stuff for tacos. Are you guys needing anything? Milk? Bread?" Melody says, "Oh! I was planning on making tacos for myself, too!"...Me: "Well that's just weird. So was I!"...We then decided to compile all of our ingredients and have our Taco Feast. :D Yes, that is about 2.5 lbs of delicious hamburger!

Everything from cilantro and a giant bowl-full of shredded pepperjack cheese to seasoned meat and guacamole! Mmmm. (:

Now that I'm in dire need of food...Next! I was able to watch the end of Christian's ultimate frisbee game after I finished my own softball game. (: So here are a few shots of my lovely brother, coaching and playing a game he loves!

RAWRRR!

Coaches leading their team

Last fall semester, while living with Kaitlyn and Gill, we hosted an Apple Party! It was a great fall idea and was tons of fun! Kaitlyn has decided to make it her annual festivity to bring in the fall season. But first, we needed a load of apples to cook with. (PS: An "Apple Party" is basically eating a bunch of apple-y things such as apple cake, apple pie, caramel apples, apple crisp, caramel and marshmallow dip for sliced apples, apple cider, apple juice...Uhhh yeah. Delicious.) Last year we were able to get all of our apple at the university's orchard for super cheap. So we figured we'd do that again, of course...Unfortunately, we arrived and all the apples had been cleared out. Sad day. But we did take the opportunity to take several fun pictures. (: Most you can find on Facebook. I have an album for my pictures, and I am tagged in all of the other ones Kaitlyn took. But I thought I'd include a couple of my favorites. (:

Yes, the majority of these pictures are posed hahaha.

It snowed. Gah. Freak. I already was having California withdrawals; the snow in the middle of October was NOT what I was hoping for yet. Oh well. It's all gone and melted for now. (: Best not jinx myself, though. Oy.

My view at 6:30 in the morning, waking up to snow and heading to class.

Melody is from California and was SUPER excited about the snow. :D

Kaitlyn and I headed to the temple that afternoon. (:

And what had I been SO excited for FOREVER?! Everyone came to visitttt!!! Except for Trista and Russ. ): I can definitely see why they didn't come up, though haha. New Mexico is quite the distance. :P

Momma and Papa decided to accompany me to Idaho Falls for my doctor's appointment. Padre needed a nap, methinks. (;

Uncle Christian teaching Jackson how to spit grapes super far. :P

Playing with Jackson, who (of course) was hiding behind his own momma.

Jackson playing a game of peek-a-boo haha.

Oh m'goodness, you should have seen the look and excitement on his face when he finally was able to "hold" baby Kali. :D Hahaha in this picture, his mouth was the biggest "O" I had ever seen on his face. (:

While the family was here, one of my FHE brothers received his mission call!! Sean Dalton was called to the Lyon, France mission and reports February 20th! I'm a water spout and cry all the time anyways, so of course I begin tearing up as he begins reading it. But oh my word, when Sean broke down and started crying, too...I was a goner. My roommates just stood next to me and laughed, because they are so used to it now haha. Anywho, I compiled the few pictures of him opening his call for you to get a good idea of his reaction (my other FHE brother is the one on the right holding the cell phone, that's Jacob our FHE leader/Dad). The picture on the bottom left is my favorite haha, he was just really overcome with excitement and happiness all he could do was cry a tad. It was so great, and he is WAY excited to serve in France!

The next Monday after all the family went home, I had to head back to Idaho Falls for my LAST doctor's appointment! (Yes, these last couple of weeks have been full of lasts: LAST paper to fill out, LAST doctor's appointment, LAST bishop interview, LAST of all the interviews...) Kaitlyn came with me, so we made a quick stop at Winco, which is ALWAYS an adventure with us haha. The Sunday evening before, we had watched a couple of our friends do the Cinnamon Challenge. I had not seen anyone do it before, but I will take everyone's word for it being awful haha. Including Christian, considering he's done it before. :P Anywho, Kaitlyn and I were walking through the bulk foods and both busted up laughing when we saw the glorious amount of cinnamon there. (;

That same day, Monday, our entire ward had an FHE Halloween party at the counselor's house! My whole apartment and I weren't super huge on the whole dressing up dealio, but Becca suggested we all be cats. Thus...We became cats lol. From the left to the right: Me, Kaitlyn, Melody, and Becca. (:

Off we go to the party! This is my bishop, getting the game of Limbo ready for us. (;

He has been absolutely INCREDIBLE to work on my papers with. He has done so much for the MANY perspective missionaries in my ward.

A few of the guys from our ward who continually stop by our apartment; they won the best outfit award!

My roommates and a few of our great FHE brothers!

Wuendy is on the far left, Lindy is the cute blonde gal to the left of me. Then it goes me, Becca up top, Aaron is below her, Mel is to the right of Becca, Kaitlyn, Jake is standing next to Kaitlyn, and Danny is below  Jake. (: We were only missing two of the guys: Jacob and Sean!

Dance par-tayyy!

Kaitlyn's birthday was the next day, Tuesday. So what do you do? Streamer our door shut (almost shut--for about a week we slid under, because we didn't have the heart to take it down haha) at 5:30 in the morning! :P

Random: I love my Religions teacher. I took his Book of Mormon class last Fall and absolutely loved it. So much that I signed up for his Family Foundations class this semester! He is a bishop here in Rexburg, he always knows how to bring the Spirit into our lessons, he used to be a seminary teacher in Kennewick before teaching here, and (as you can tell from this video) he always has so much fun, enthusiasm, and joy doing what he does! Haha.

Mission Updates!

I know, I know. This is really what you're looking for among all these random pictures and nothingness haha.

-Paperwork?! DONE!

-Doctor's Appointments?! DONE!

-Dentist Check Up?! DONE!

-Bishops Interviews?! DONE

-Stake President Interview?! TONIGHT!! In approx. one hour, in fact. (:

After tonight, my stake president will send my papers off to Salt Lake! The average here for receiving a call has been between 10 days and two weeks. The latest I've seen is three weeks. All I have left is to get my wisdom teeth out (scheduled for December 20th, yes, just before Christmas haha), a last eye doctor check up (scheduled for December 18th), and to get my Hep A shots!...Whenever I finally get those haha.

Where do I want to go? Honestly, just Spanish-speaking. I love my Spanish class now, and Spanish is one of my minors. It would be SO great. Even more specific? I'd love to go to Argentina haha. Everything I've heard from Felipe Cornu-Labat's family has made me want to visit so much! There or just anywhere in South America. Orrr for in states? Shaun mentioned like Pennsylvania or one of the states on the East Coast that were the first colonies established in the U.S. That would be incredible. :D

Depending on when I get my call my depend on when/where I decide to go to the temple. I sort of just assumed the Columbia River temple. Possibly over Christmas break? However, Christian said that him and Audrey may not make it home for Christmas. ): Sooo I dno. Plans are still up in the air, and I am open for suggestions.

Alrighty! That's all for now. I really don't know what else you all want updates on, so I'll leave it at that haha. I'm gonna grab something to eat and head to my last interview! :D Love you all!

"I CAN GO ON A MISSION!! NOW!"

This will be a post of few pictures (I'm not even including all of the ones I've taken) and lots of words, as most of you can understand haha. I'm gonna insert these pictures, give a few little explanations, and then I will get you all updated!

So! I dno if any of you remember Sara Kirk, whom I graduated with. She was friends with a lot of us LDS people, and Trevor Marcusen was a good friend of her's. Well let's just say Trevor sent her a wedding present! Haha she thought it was hilarious, and she posted a picture of her present on Facebook:

For the past two or three years, I have continued to think about this journal, off and on. I had seen it online once, and I fell in love with it. A few weeks ago, in church, I glance over at Kaitlyn and find her writing in her own leather notebook. Reminded me again of this journal I've been wanting, and I told her about it. "Well if you've been thinking about it for that long, you know you're not gonna regret it! Just buy it!"...So I did. (: Fifteen dollars!!

I went to go take another test this last week and decided I should get something to eat beforehand. So I stopped by the cafeteria place, the Crossroads, and picked up something to eat and drink. My Sobe drink was very encouraging! :P

Competitive softball season just started up, and I'm on the Hawks team. At first, I had doubts about my team. Competitive softball isn't as competitive as I'd hoped for, and I worried about my team's talent. Well we had our first two games this Friday and Saturday! We won them both! :D These are a couple of my teammates. Steph on the left plays third, and Kam on the right is our pitcher. Love these gals. (:

Saturday evening, I went over to Christian and Audrey's! I got a mass amount of laundry done, but best of all, we had some chucklesome moments with Kali baha. For example:

Annnd this is the only look I ever get from Kali haha. So glad my niece loves me. :P

Last weekend, after the first session of Conference, I took a quick trip to Utah! Of those friends I was able to visit...They're all freakin' engaged it seems! Hahaha or something close to it. :P I can't exactly throw out specific names, but there are a few haha. I am so stoked. (: Anywho, I watched Sunday session with a friend and their family before heading back here to Rexburg. And we were rolling back into town just as the sun was going down. (:

OKAY!...So just to start off my ranting and raving about missions, I had to include this hilarious picture. It's not lying, either! Haha. The dating pool is gonna drop DRAMATICALLY for the next while haha.

Many of you know of the huge announcement that President Thomas S. Monson made last week during the first session of General Conference, Saturday morning. Most of my roommates were out of town, Melody had taken off to watch it at a friend's place, and Wuendy was watching it in her room. So I was sitting in my living room, watching conference and enjoying the quiet simplicity of it just being me. Uchtdorf opened the meeting, and then Monson soon got up to make some quick announcements about temples and such. He then switched to the topic of missionary work. He began with a story about an 18-year old young man who had received permission to serve at an earlier age, rather than waiting another year. It was mentioned that in many countries, young men have the option to begin their missions at 18, but that was not the policy in the United States. President Monson said that, effective immediately, ALL young men, despite the country in which they live, now have the opportunity to serve at the age of 18 if they are worthy and feel capable of doing so! That was so unbelievably exciting!! I couldn't help but giggle a little at the screen shots of the young men in the crowd, like the one above haha. And then immediately I could feel a slight anxiousness about me, as my mind began to think, "Wait, what about the girls? Will they change the age? Maybe to 20?" I was hoping SO badly they would lower the age to 20, secretly hoping for 19...

I can't even remember exactly what Monson was saying exactly. All I remember is dropping my face to my hands and bawling like a child. Quite literally, I was choking on my tears, because I was hysterically crying. I didn't know what to do other than pray and cry and thank my Heavenly Father for answering my prayers. Just a few weeks ago, in my last blog post, I had said, "I know I've mentioned a mission a few times, and this was just another small reinforcement as to how much I would love to go (referring to Kaitlyn's experience with the Philippine women at the farmer's market). 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." ...I had tossed around the idea of even taking off next year to just go home and train teams or do some sort of service to those girls back home, whom I love so dearly. But I knew that probably wasn't the best idea. Anywho, immediately after the announcement, I texted Mom, Dad, and Trista: "I CAN GO ON A MISSION!! NOW!" And soon after that, Christian texted me: "AAAAAH! GUESS WHAT! YOU CAN GO ON A MISSION TODAY IF YA WANT!" We exchanged a few texts, and he told me that he somehow knew I'd have the chance to serve before 21. We had briefly talked about it a few weeks earlier when I had spent a few days at their apartment before school. Well Mom and Dad were in Northern Idaho and unable to watch conference at the time. Next thing I know, they're calling me up. Dad was on the phone, and he sounded a bit confused haha. He asked me to explain what was going on...If any of you have heard me try to talk AND cry at the same time, you know it doesn't work haha. I began bawling and choking up all over again. I simply couldn't explain it. I asked if they were able to watch conference, but they weren't able to obviously. So I struggled to choke out that Monson had just announced that men can serve at 18, and women...We can serve at NINETEEN. That I could go NOW!

I can't thank my parents near enough. I know adding another "bill" of sorts to pay for a mission will be difficult, but they have never--not EVER--denied me their full support of me serving a mission. And I must thank Dene'/Mom a bit, as well. I mean, yes, I had expressed interest in being an exchange student, but I decided it was a bit expensive, and I'd rather use that money for a mission or school. I sort of dropped the mission idea for a couple months. And then December rolls around, and Audrey, Dene', and I are sitting in Audrey's temporary room (before the wedding) until probably 3 in the morning. Somewhere in the conversation, Dene' says, "Shelan, you realize Mom is kind of like...planning on you going on a mission? I wouldn't doubt if they're saving up or something!"..."Uhhh really?? I haven't even really tossed around the idea THAT much..." Yeah, well, it stuck with me. During Winter semester, I made it a habit of going to the temple often, and that is when I decided I should go. I made that my focus. And I am so excited to say that I had my initial bishop's interview last Wednesday, immediately after my interview my bishop got Bishop Pete's number and tried to get a hold of him that night, and my online mission papers opened up that night. I have started them, and I am now in the process of setting up an appointment with the dentist here and finding a doctor to receive a physical from. I'm hoping to get them finished in the next couple of weeks! I went to Mission Prep and Temple Prep yesterday, and I am able to go through the temple as soon as I have my call. (: I will be deferring next semester, I have sold my contract for Winter rent to Kaitlyn, my roommate, and after this semester I am GOING ON A MISSION!! And I am so unbelievably excited. So incredibly grateful. I am really doing this!

I Could Do Research, Be A Great Scientist...But I Won't.

Just wanted to start off with a picture of Christian and I playing the great game of softball! As Coach Schleg always says, "Y'know, softball isn't important to our eternal salvation. But for some of you, it's important for sanity...AND we get to play in the shadow of the temple!"

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.