Possibly Insightful Ramblings

Going on a mission means I get to do cool things with my friends and family before I leave. Like play Monopoly Deal in the Marriott Center before a BYU basketball game. Basically one of the best games ever. Even if Nate does usually win. Just some of my favorite people ever. And then there are always McDonalds breakfast trips, complete with origami folding of the paper napkins. We're pretty talented, especially because paper napkins don't like staying folded. And foam sword fights in the toy department. Someday I might actually own some of these. Of course there are the completely necessary lollipops with red lips attached . . . Um, yes . . .  . . . . and playground pictures. Love these two! And we can't forget my brother's choir concerts. And getting creamed in racquetball by my best friend's mom. And barn dancing. And simply just talking to friends. Yep, I think I'd have to say I've got the best people in the...

Once you get to know me well enough, you begin to realize that I am hopelessly, madly, and completely in love with penguins. I have a whole waddle of penguins in my room, ranging from stuffed animals to pictures to rubber or glass figurines. (Sadly I do not own a live penguin, but perhaps someday . . .) I even have a friend who can't think of me without thinking about penguins, which is a mental association I'm quite proud of, considering how wonderful penguins are. Those little creatures have an infinite capacity for making me smile whether they're diving gracefully, popping out of the water, clumsily waddling, or zooming down an ice sheet on their bellies. So, needless to say, when I found out I was going to be able to go behind the scenes at the Living Planet Aquarium and hang out in the same room as my feathered friends, I was ecstatic. Excited to go see penguins! As we began the tour, our guide told us a little about the Gentoo penguins we would be seeing...

Pretty sure fall is my favorite time of the year. Something about the smell of leaves and the sound they make as I tread through them the way to class makes me feel alive. There is a crispness to the air, and I can't help but be filled with wonder and gratitude at the majesty of God's creations. Part of me wants to capture these beautiful autumn moments and never let winter come, but I realize that the beauty of fall is partially due to its transience, for if leaves were always a fiery red, we'd miss the green. And even the snow. But for these brief months when the mountains are aflame with color and the air is rich with the smell of leaves, I want to soak in every moment.  When I returned from Yellowstone in mid-September, I was shocked to see a that the mountains I had left perfectly green now had a few red trees. I was a little put out with Provo for changing while I was gone, so I determined not to miss another moment of fall's transition. For the past month an...

You know those days that are just so great that you would relive them over and over if you could? This past Wednesday was definitely one of those. For one thing, it was my best friend's 21st birthday. Which means partying and Swedish apple pie. And celebrating how awesome Megan is. Good times. Second, it was a Wednesday, which meant there was a distinct possibility that my mission call would come. When I saw the mail truck outside my apartment building, I was seized with an intense excitement. I jumped around and searched everywhere for the mailman. I think he must have delivered mail to several other buildings before he reached mine. I was dying. When the mailman finally reached my building, I ran downstairs with my roommate and family who had been up that afternoon. We stood by the mailman, who calmly finished putting advertisements in the boxes. Finally, he finished and asked "All right, which one of you is it?" Third, my call actually did come! The mailman pulle...

In case it wasn't already official, it has now been verified - I am a nerd. I'm taking physiology right now, which is possibly the coolest class I have ever had. My roommates can attest that I get so excited about physiological concepts that they sometimes receive unsolicited explanations of how NSAIDs work or why the heart can never have tetanus. (If the concept is particularly exciting, it may be the first thing I tell a roommate in the morning, obviously preempting "good morning.") The past couple days, my studies have focused on the heart. As I sat the other night looking at a diagram of the phases of a heartbeat, trying to remember exactly what was going on in the process, I could almost hear my heart speak to me (not in a love-sick type of way, or the like the normal heart sounds at the closing of the valves, but actual words) - "The whole 24 hours you've been trying to figure that out, I've been sitting here in your chest doing it. Several thousa...