Saturday, February 26, 2011

This is my SECOND time writing this month. Proud, much? Thank you, thank you.

Right now I'm listening to Carrie Underwood's "The More Boys I Meet" and I'm agreeing with the song 100%. Now that we have a puppy, I can legitimately say that "the more boys I meet, the more I love my dog"... oh, how true that statement is. I'm really ok with having my own Cassie time right now. Not Cassie + boy time, just me and myself figuring life out one day at a time.

This morning Mom and Marci and I attended the Mapleton Stake Women's Conference. It was so good! Sister Lant was the guest speaker, and she talked about appreciating ourselves more and focusing on what really matters most. It is so easy to lose perspective, isn't it? I don't know about you, but sometimes I definitely fall into the traps of self guilt trips and self-criticism. I never do enough, I'm not pretty enough, I can't I can't I can't... why is it that we're always beating ourselves up and not giving ourselves the credit that we deserve? "We're doing better than we think we are." (Sis. Beck) I always try to pack SO MUCH into one little day and add unnecessary extras to my to do lists; I'm going to make it a point to convince myself that more is not always better.

I'm starting to get really excited about my future career. Not necessarily my major, because it's only a stepping stone to my master's degree (Although Communication Disorders is VERY interesting as well!). But the other day in my Acoustics of Music and Speech class, we were learning about the vocal tract and potential problems with vocal cords, and I think my neighbors were about ready to duct tape my mouth shut. We were watching videos of Vocal Specialists doing their thing in the medical field, and I was telling the people next to me lots of obnoxious facts about vocal cords and ENT doctors and how vocal nodules affect singing and how I have a "granuloma" on my vocal cord... you get the idea. Anyway, I'm feeling confident that I've chosen the right field. :) Even though some days go by oh so slow and the homework load is often overbearing, I really do love school. I love to learn!

Mom and I are completely redoing my room. I'm going to post pictures very soon. It's black and white and red... all over, like the newspaper. (I'm really hoping you've heard that one before.) But I'm getting really excited about it. We just bought the magnet board yesterday that will hang above my new desk, and we ordered the bedding today! We've been shopping everywhere for bedding and finally found a good deal. Hooray!

I should REALLY be doing homework. But before I go, I wanted to share a great thought that I heard today, especially because the darn snow tends to dampen our days around this time of year: "Those who bring sunshine to others cannot keep it from themselves." Isn't this so true? It's short and simple, and I love it. There isn't a better time for us to be happy than right now. We don't have to wait for a new stage of life, a new day, a new hour, or even a new minute to be happy. :) It's a simple choice. Have a great one, friends!

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Rising Rays

Hello, friends! What a crazy ride it's been since the last post. Life never ceases to both surprise and excite me. :)

Aaron left in December. I have to say that the past couple of months have been quite the struggle, but I'm definitely on the up and up, and the sunshine is making me ten times happier! It's difficult when your best friend leaves. You always hear that "you don't know what you got till it's gone"; I thought I knew perfectly, but as it turns out, I didn't know the half of it! I'm just even more grateful now for the wonderful friend that he is. If there's anything I've learned the past little while, it's the importance of making new friends and being a TRUE friend. Anyway, I'm so excited for Aaron. He just left the MTC on Monday to serve in Tampa, FL until his visa comes, then he'll head off to Brazil. He's loving the work and was already a zone leader in the MTC. So proud. :) I'm feeling much happier now and the lonely feeling is leaving little by little as I make new friends and keep myself busy with school and singing and dance and everything.

School is so great, and I'm SO happy to be here at BYU. I really do love all my classes and professors, and call me a nerd but I kind of even enjoy studying. This semester is much better than last. And I'm sure next will be even better, right? I've been branching out the last little while; I'm taking two dance classes right now (jazz dance and private lessons) because I'm working up to my lifetime dream of being a BYU Young Ambassador. What I really wanna do is prove to myself that I'm brave enough to audition, because dancing in front of people happens to be a phobia of mine. I picked the perfect dream, right? Ha, but I'm enjoying dance very much! I love doing things that push me. Still on the topic of the arts, voice lessons are also coming along very well. Without a doubt the highlight of my week. We're actually going to begin recording my first CD (LDS hymns) within the next two weeks! I love to sing. I really really do. :) So thankful for music.

I thought I'd throw in a picture of Darby (Sharon's new dog) just because she's adorable. She's definitely brightening up the home...



Oh, right, did I mention I moved home? I decided to save some money by living at home until Fall semester, because next Spring I'm planning on going to London for Study Abroad... hooray! Super excited for that. Anyway, living at home has been great. I love hanging out with Mom every day, and being able to see Dad and Chris and Ryan more often has been fun. Not that I wasn't home half the time last semester anyway. :)

That's about all I have time for today, because my kind friend Jenna Higgins offered to take me to lunch at the MOA Cafe! Love her! I will try to update more often. You'd think more often than a few times a year would be manageable.... so I'll work on it.

Enjoy the sunshine and have a great day!!

Cassie