Grateful for Experience

      It being the season of gratitude, I decided I might share a few thoughts. When people ask me what I'm most grateful for, I usually say I am grateful for my experiences. This might kind of be cheating, but I feel it is the best way to sum up all my many blessings. I'm so grateful for each and every person I've had the opportunity to work with and get to know in my athletics, dancing, performing arts, debate, different jobs I've had, church callings and activities, high school, college, family experiences, and many more. I'm so grateful for the talents I've been blessed with, as well as the ones I've not been blessed with but that I've been able to obtain. I'm grateful for the opportunities I've had to share those talents with others. I'm grateful for my parents allowing me to have so many of these experiences. I'm grateful that I've been able to travel and see different parts of the country and the world. I'm grateful for the education I have and am receiving. I'm grateful for Snow Canyon High School. I'm grateful for Southern Virginia University. I'm grateful for America and the founding fathers. I'm grateful for the gospel and for the many people who have suffered in its defense.
      Since it's been a while, here are some recent adventures and experiences I am grateful for:

I voted! For the first time ever. :) 11.06.2012

The USCAA Nationals Cross Country meet was held in Lake Placid, NY.
This is the view of  Mirror Lake from our hotel window.
Lake Placid is an "Olympic Village" where many train for the Winter Olympics.

Some of my teammates eating dinner at the banquet the night before the race.
Ashley, Shelbi, Kera, Elle and Tori.

Amanda dared me to drink the entire container of cream...

I felt this photo was necessary to properly record the banquet - we spent
at least 20 minutes doing the balance-spoon-on-nose trick!

Academic Honors! We've all kept a GPA of 3.5 or above in college.

The ladies team :)
[Me], Elle, Tori, Leah, Jacey, Katelyn, Kera, Shelbi and Ashley.
The twins were MIA.

One of the least snowy parts of our snowy course.
I used to hate hate hate running in the cold. But now I only kind of dislike it
a little bit.

It was a close race, but WE DID IT! We won the USCAA National Championship!

Go Lady Knights! Second National Championship in a row.
11th Women's Cross Country National Championship in 15 years for SVU.
I love this team so much. Katelyn, Ashley, [Me], Leah, Shelbi, Tori, Jacey,
Kelli, Kera, Elle and Nicole.
We laughed together, cried together, ran together, grew together and
WON TOGETHER.

Yeah. It was that cold. Brrrrr.

A few of us (me, Jacey, Amanda [the athletic trainer], and Leah) sneaked away
during our free time to watch the Bobsledding World Cup!

National's took place on November 9, 2012. It was one of those experiences that will always stick out in my memory, one that I will always treasure.

Happy Constitution Day!

    I am currently taking an Institute class called Church History: Part I. It is AMAZING. Seriously. I love it so much. In honor of Constitution Day (today), I'd like to quote a few lines from the student manual, Church History in the Fulness of Times.

"the Constitution of the United States is a glorious standard; it is founded in the wisdom of God."

"under the Constitution the Lord could restore the gospel and reestablish his church..."

"The discovery [of America] was one of the most important factors in bringing to pass the purpose of the Almighty in the restoration of his Gospel in its fulness for the salvation of men in the latter days."

"The restoration of the gospel and of the Lord's true Church could not have taken place amidst the religious intolerance in Europe and early America. It was only possible in the setting of religious liberty, reevalutaion of Christian thinking, and spiritual awakening that had developed in early nineteenth-century America. The Lord's hand was evident in directing that the Restoration take place exactly when it did."

    
    As I've been studying, I have been in awe at how remarkable the coming forth of the gospel actually has been. The Lord's hand is in literally everything as He works to bring forth the blessings of the gospel to his children and to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of men. We studied the Apostasy and the dark ages, the formation of America and the New England heritage Joseph Smith Jr. was raised in, and my mind is exposed more and more to the miraculous chain of events that lead to the restoration of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It truly is remarkable. I have a testimony of the miracles of the restoration and I know that God's hand is in my life just as much as it was in the restoration. I love the United States of America, and although there are certainly some scary things going on, I know that America needed to exist so that the gospel could come forth. Ether 2: 12 says "Behold, this is a choice land, and whatsoever nation shall possess it shall be free from bondage, and from captivity, and from all other nations under heaven, if they will but serve the God of the land, who is Jesus Christ, who hath been manifested by the things which we have written." I am grateful for this beautiful country and feel so blessed to have been born here. I am grateful for the gospel as well and that it was able to come forth in this nation.

    Happy Constitution Day everyone, and may we all try our best to be our best and remember to not take living in this country and having so many rights for granted. God bless America.

Sometimes I Wear Purple Pants and Put Feathers in My Hair

    My schedule is officially official! It's nice to actually know for sure which classes I'm going to now.

Mon./Wed./Fri.
Acting I (3 credits)
Institute: Church History Part 1 (2 credits)
Leader-Servant (1 credit)
Spanish I (4 credits)
Cross Country (1 credit)

Tues./Thurs.
Health and Wellness (2 credits)
Bella Voce (1 credit)
Spanish I
Western Literature (3 credits)
Cross Country

...and starting block two semester I'll have Information Literacy for 2 credits.

Putting the grand total at 18 credits! I've never done this many before...so we'll see how this goes.

Oh yeah, and sometimes I wear purple pants and put feathers in my hair. Just because. :)

[9.11.2012]
 p.s.
In honor of this date, we sang "America the Beautiful" in Bella Voce. The events that occurred on 9/11/2001 influenced so many lives. May we learn that life is precious and remember it forever. May we thank the heroes who risked their lives on that day, as well as many to come and many before. God bless America.