Rexy

I orginally had this entire post planned out, that I would write up when i first got home, but then life got in the way and i somehow forgot about it for a while. I planned it to be based on a quote from the movie "Juno". It was orginally supposed to be about how thankful I am for my home in Fresno. But then I realized that Rexburg is my home. It's where I've learned more about myself than I ever have in Fresno. Where I met people that changed my life within just a few months.

 

"I never realized how much I like being home, until I have been somewhere

really different for a while."- Juno.

 

I used to think that this really different place for me was Rexburg, but over time I've realized that Fresno has become the weird place. Not in a bad way. I've just come to know this town isn't the place for me. I meant to be in Rexburg. I meant to be with those people. And i think it has taken this experience of coming home for me to realize just how much I love that place. I love the beautiful snowfalls. I love the people I'm surrounded by. I love the campus, even though it has 2879237 stair cases and 2839902 hills. I love the atmosphere. I love that I feel safe. I love it.

 

 

 

Inspired

This post was influenced by a post a friend of mine made a few days ago.

 

Her post reminded me of all the good things I have in my life.

 

I think that this post is definitely long overdue. The past few days I've done nothing but complain, and today I've decide to change that.

 

Today I'm thankful for Melissa, because she helped me realize there are good things in our lives if you seek for them. I'm thankful for Kelsey, because she taught me how to be a real friend. Im thankful for the summer I spent with Kaleina, because she kept me strong when I could have easily been weak. I'm thankful for Bubba, because he taught me how to work hard. I'm thankful for my dad, because he taught me how to laugh. I'm thankful for Justin, becuase he taught me what not to look for in a guy. I'm thankful for Celestte, because she taught me how to say sorry and mean it. I'm thankful for Bishop Bigler, because he taught me how to forgive myself. I'm thankful for the opportunity to live away from home, because it makes me love and appreciate it so much more. I'm thankful for my mom, because she has taught me how to make a house a home. I'm thankful for movies with happy endings, because they give me hope for the future. I'm thankful for all the fake friends, because they showed me who my real ones are. I'm thankful for bad days, because they make the good ones even better. I'm thankful for temple marriage, because it makes hard decisions worth it. I'm thankful for the Church of Jesus Chirst, because it has given me more than I could ever ask for. I'm thankful for Bruno in "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas," because he taught me to be less judgmental. He also taught me to have courage. I'm thankful for Nana, because she has taught me how to support the ones you love. I'm thankful for how mean Coach Gorton was to me, becuase I learned just how strong I could be. I'm thankful for the clothes that fit a little snug, because it means I am getting enough to eat. I'm thankful for the girl behind me at churh who sings off key, because it means I can hear. I'm thankful for the alarm that goes off in the early morning, becuase it means that I have.....

yet another day to live.

 

I'm thankful for it all.

you've got a friend in me.

 

Today I'm grateful for friends. The kind that stick by your side no matter what. The ones that love you through it all. The ones that never turn their back because of a decision you make. Those are the freinds that will last a lifetime.

 

 

I don't have a ton of those friends. But I don't feel I need more than I already have.

 

Kelsey Frances Quintos.

 

  

 

It's been the best 14 years with her by my side. She has been my best freind for the longest. She knows me better than anyone. She knows the mistakes I've made. She knows how to cheer me up when I'm down. She knows how to make me laugh. And not to brag or anything, but we are flat out hilarious when we're together. She has one of those personalities that draw people in. I know that without her I would not have half the friends I have now. I am truly thankful for Kelsey. Life would not be the same without her. I'm thankful for all the Sunday nights we spent on my dad's tailgate, talking about the stupid mistakes we've made. I remember the days we would talk about how different life would be when we both moved away for college, and how much we would miss eachother. I remember parking next to eachother everyday at school, walking to Burriss' with Casidy, and wondering how we ever became cool enough to have a friend like her. I remember looking at her everytime Mrs. Cook did something crazy, and without saying a word we knew exactly what the other was thinking. I remember the first day of High School, sitting waiting for the bus when some idiot opened our eyes and let us know that we weren't in middle school anymore. I remember sitting by her at every football game. I remember all the days/nights I spent at her house. I will be forever thankful for all the times we got to play sports together, whether it be soccer, softball or even basketball. (When we would game up on all the guys in elementary school and they thought we were the best) I remember making ghetto music videos with her throughout middle school. I will forever be grateful for all the days I got to spend with Kelsey, and for the many many things that she has done for me. I know that we will be friends throughout our lives. I wouldn't have it any other way.
I love Kelsey.

 

 

Kaleina Mekenzie Jones.

 

 

You could say all the wrong reasons brought us together. A guy that wasn't worth it. But I think I will be forever thankful for him, in that he brought me and Kaleina together. Kaleina was the one that was always there when I needed her. I spent literally every day of summer at her house. I will forever be thankful for this summer. I'm thankful that we were able to get so close so fast. She kept me strong through the hardest time in my life, and I cannot thank her enough for that. Kaleina is one of my closest friends and I would not throw that away for anything. I don't care if people think our friendship is twisted. It's one of the best I have. I know that no matter what happens we will remain friends. I'm thankful for Kaleina's fiery spirit. I'm thankful for her willingness to remain by my side through thick and thin. I'm thankful for the many summer days we spent driving around Fresno, blasting music with the windows down because we were burnin' up. When I think of summer 2012, I will forever think of Kaleina. I'm thankful for her parents. I'm thankful for the poeple I have met because of Kaleina. I'm thankful for the hope she gave me, when I thought my life was over. I'm thankful for everything she has ever done for me. I'm thankful for the relationship she has with my parents. After such a short time, I know my parents love her. I'm thankful for all the days I spent at her house crying to her about how stupid I felt and how she promised me things would get better. I'm thankful that she believed in me. I will forever view Kaleina as one of the strongest people I know.

I love Kaleina.

 

Casidy Mikayla Olmsted.

 

 

Although I have only known her for a little over a year now, I will forever consider her one of my best friends. I honestly don't even know how we became friends. But I'm so grateful that we did. Out of nowhere we got really close and spent almost everyday together. Often times I would go to her house to work on a project for school, however, we never seemed to get anything done. We would talk the whole time and I would get home and still feel the need to call her. We were kind of the same person when it came to certain things. I loved all the days we anchored together for CTV. I remember all the times her and I would get told to be quiet in Mr. Wells' class. I miss all the times we would go places just because we were bored and we needed to tell eachother about all the things that had happened in our lives within the 3 hours that we had been apart after school. I loved that she was always there for me. She told me what I needed to hear, even if I didn't want to hear it. I'm thankful for all the days she brought me some sweet tea that her mom made. I'm thankful for all the days we hung out at her house, doing nothing. I regret how we didn't hangout as much during the last  few months that I was home. I wish I could have spent more time with her. I truly believe she deserves the best life has to offer us. I know someday she will marry some model of a guy and they will be beautiful together. I'm thankful for everything she has ever done for me. All the times she told me that I was worth more than what I was settling for. All the times she helped me believe that in the end things would get better. I'm thankful for the friendship we have.

I love Casidy.

 

Jamie Elizabeth Turner.

 

 

This girl is seriously one of the funniest people I have ever met. I'm more than grateful for the friendship she has given me. I'm so grateful she came back to public school senior year, and that I had the opportunity to meet her. I remember when I used to stalk her on facebook before I even knew her, and how I wished I could be her friend. I don't know what it was about her. Maybe it was the red hair, or maybe even just the fact that we had some mutual friends. Who knows. I'm thankful for Econ class senior year with Mr. Smith, that brought us together. I'm thankful that I can trust her with anything. I'm thankful that she had my back. She knew what I needed to hear, when I needed to hear it, and she was more than willing to yell it to my face, as long as it would get the point across. I'm thankful for her strength. She is definitely one of the strongest people I know, if not the strongest. I'm thankful for all the times I got to hang out with Jamie. I thankful for how loyal she is to the people that matter to her. I'm thankful for her spunky personality that got kept me going on the days that I thought there was no hope. I'm thankful for her example in my life. She has taught me so much, and she probably doesn't even know it. My senior year/life as I know it, would not be the same without her.

I love Jamie.

 

Melissa Michiale Hansen.

 

 

College would not be the same without her. I'm thankful to have her here with me. I'm thankful for the friendship we have. I'm thankful that she is like the sister I never had. She keeps me sane when college drives me crazy. I am so grateful for all that she has done for me. I'm thankful for girl's camp. I'm thankful for the gospel that brought us together. I'm thankful for her example. I'm thankful that I was blessed to have her in my life. Whether or not she knows it, I need her. I really do. She has helped me through one of the toughest times in my life, and for that I will forever be grateful. She's always been an example to me, and I will continue to look up to her for the rest of my life. I love how crazy she is. I love that she is not afraid to be herself. I love that when she doesn't like someone she drives me crazy hoping to scare the other person away. I love her family. They are seriously great. I'm thankful for her faith. I know that no matter what I can count on her. I'm thankful that we are practically the same. I never knew how close you could be to a person, until I met her. I'm thankful that we are hilarious together, and I know that I am not making that up, it's been proven. I love how we can do absolutely nothing yet be content. I cannot wait to see where this life takes each of us. 

 I know, no matter what we will remain friends.

I love Melissa.

 



This is my temporary home.

I have been living in Rexburg for almost two months. I feel like it's been much much longer than that. It's crazy how different things are here. No target. None of my friends from back home. No car. SNOW. No asians. No panera. It's kind of dissapointing sometimes.

 

I miss everything about home.

 

I miss my parents. I miss how my dad would come in every morning before seminary to tell me it was time to get up; even though he got mad at me half of the time. I miss knowing he was there everyday. I miss my mom. I miss having to make sure she was getting up every morning when i left for seminary. I miss the mornings over summer when she came in asking if I would come lay with Molly. I miss how they would wash the leftover food off my plates for me. I miss how they did my laundry sometimes. I miss taking naps with them on Sunday afternoons. I miss going shopping with them on Saturdays. I miss Cafe Leon dinners every friday/saturday night.  I miss all the simple things. I miss how they were there, everyday of my life. 

 

I miss Lanthan. I miss watching Rookie Blue, Hawaii Five-0, and Love in the Wild with him. I miss watching movies late into the night. I miss the sound of his car pulling into the driveway..letting me know he was home safe. I miss going places together, and people looking at us as if we were a couple. Actually I don't miss that. But I do miss him. I miss how he was there everyday of my life.

 

I miss Nana and Bubba. I miss going over to their house every Sunday for family dinner. I miss enchilada casserole, even if it seemed like we had it every other week. I miss how close we were. I miss all the days I spent at their house over winter and summer breaks. All the mornings Bubba made bacon for me and Lanthan. I miss the smell of their house at Christmastime, and Thanksgiving. I miss watching tv with them at night. Although, I was usually the only one actually watching, while they snored through the shows. I miss living within 10 minutes of them. I miss having them around, everyday of my life.  

 

I miss Kelsey. I miss living down the street from her. I miss our late night talks. I miss our sleepovers. I miss going anywhere and everywhere with her. I miss her family. I miss all the days we worked out. I miss her blue and green room that i spent so many days/nights in. I miss the air mattress that we had to inflate every night I slept over because she refused to share the bed. I miss seeing her everyday at school. I miss being able to talk to her everyday without life getting in the way. I miss being a part of her everyday life, and I miss her being a part of mine. I miss having her there everyday of my life.

 

I miss Kaleina. I miss all the summer days I spent at her house. I miss the multiple nights we spent tp'ing the Lea residence. I miss her house. I miss all the sleepovers with her, Jamie, Kelsey, Cheyane, and I. I miss all the times she was there for me. I miss driving around in my car with her blasting AMEN and relating it and every other song to our lives. I miss her mother. I miss the kids that were there everyday. I miss all the friends I made through Kaleina. (Kelsey, Cheyane) I miss hearing her say "text me when you get home," because it let me know she truly cared. I miss our "twisted friendship" that everyone thought we had. I miss having her around, what seemed like everyday of my life this summer.

 

I miss Molly. Yes, I miss my dog. I miss her soft ears. I miss how excited she was when I got home. I miss laying with her on summer mornings. I miss how she would bark when it was dinner time. I miss how she snored like my dad. I miss taking her in the car. I miss chasing her around the neighnorhood when my dad would forget to shut the gate. I miss seeing her everyday of my life for the past 5 years.

 

It's good to know that I will always be able to go home. I'm glad that this home here in Rexburg is temporary. I can't wait to see everyone in Fresno again. Let the countdown begin...22...

Rainy Days

Well it's official. The rainy season has begun here in Rexburg. I love it. I love the rain. I love everything about this campus in the rain. I love what the rain reminds me of... And boy does it remind me of alot of things. First, it reminds me of the day my parents dropped me off here. I think it's kind of ironic that it rained that day. I have always thought of rain in a sense of starting new. The rain brings new beginnings, washes away the old. So now everytime it rains while I am here, I will think of my mom and dad, and that day. I'm thankful for them, and all that they have done for me. I'm thankful that they let me come here. And i'm thankful for rainy days.

Another thing the rain reminds me of is softball. All the days that Gorton was completely out of his mind. The days that we had to drive out to the middle of Clovis in the pouring rain for a practice that lasted about an hour. Sometimes I wonder what the man was thinking. However, those practices brought forth a team capable of winning a championship. Rain will always remind me of the Valley Championship. I remember everything about that game. I remember thinking this game better not be rained-out. But in the end i thought the rain was so symbloic. I remember telling my teammate about the rain. Central High School had never won a championship and everyone looked down on us. They thought that that would never change; that we had no chance. But we proved them wrong. We won that game and pretty much made history. I'm thankful for rainy days.

Rainy days also remind me of the many days i spent with Bubba over winter break, back when I was in elementary school. I remember the smell of their house at Christmas. I remember the star on the top of the tree that blinked bright lights. I remember the smell of bacon every morning that I walked in. Bub was always good about that. I never doubted if he loved me. He always showed it. I remember curling up in a blanket and watching disney channel and full house and of course the Cosby Show which was one of Bub's favorites. I miss those days. I miss Bubba. I miss their house. I miss going with Bubba eveywhere in his little red truck. He's the greatest. I'm thankful for rainy days.

And last but not least rainy days remind me of home. All the days me and Lanthan would lay on the couch and watch movies. All the times my friends and I planned to have pool parties and the clouds looked as if they were going to start pouring rain. All the mornings waking up to the sound of rain outside my window. The days that me and my dad would go places in his truck and he couldn't possibly see out the windshield, but refused to turn his windshield wipers on. All the days Lanthan would finally wash his car and it would rain the next day. All the days i wore TOMS to school and had to go to Burriss' class so my feet could get feeling back into them , after being numb for so long. All the days I spent with my mom at the mall around Christmastime. I miss those days. I'm thankful for rainy days.

Montana

I am more than pleased to say that I got out of Rexburg this weekend. FINALLY. I mean no offense to this beautiful town, it's just kinda small with not much to do. And boy did I need it. Not more than an hour before our departure I failed an Anatomy and Physiology exam. Happy weekend to me.. but once we got in the car, I felt free of college for the first time in about a month. The car ride was pretty awesome. We (Jaylene, Melissa, Chelsea and I) blasted the music and pretty much sang our way to Montana. We took one of those epic pictures in front of the state sign on the side of the freeway. You know, the ones you see and wonder why the people got out of their car for that? Yeah, we did that. I can now cross that off my bucket list thank you very much.

First experience in Montana..the natural Hot Springs of course. And with that came the "normal" as Jaylene would say, old men hitting on you. She tried to tell us that they were just being friendly but Melissa and I being from California and all, had a real bad feeling about it. But I'm alive and writing so that obviously means we made it out okay. The Hot Springs were actually pretty neat. I was going to say they were pretty "cool" but that would make them sound like they weren't hot, which they definitely were. 104 degrees to be exact. No biggie.

Second experience of Montana..HORSEBACK RIDING. I've dreamed about going horseback riding since I was a little girl and thanks to Jaylene, i fulfilled that dream. FINALLY. And where better than in Montana, right? I cannot even express how excited I was to do this. I wanted to cry of excitement the whole time. Melissa being the lovely friend that she is, decided it would be a good idea to take a "show me your excited face" picture...

 

However...It was quite windy, so this is what it came out to be. I look real excited huh? Well I was. And here are some of the beautiful pictures we got. Props to Melissa Michiale Hansen.

 

 

 

 

Overall, it was an amzing time in Montana. And even coming back to Rexburg was nice. I love the people here. My roommates that welcomed me home, Jacob waiting to sit by me in church today, it was just one of those weekends that made life just that much better.

call me crazy

I have found that it is crazy how fast you can learn to love someone. First impressions are nothing but judgements. Being in college for a month now I still cannot believe how close I am with people I have barely met, how close I am with people I initially thought I would never be friends with, and how much closer I've gotten with people I already knew.

Let's first start out with the roommates. Anne Marie Michelsen. She's awesome. I cannot thank her enough for not hating me after all those mornings of having to get out of bed to tell me about MY alarm going off. I'm definitely glad that we are roommates. We get eachother. We can do practically anything and laugh our way though it by somehow relating it to Mr. Wizard. I love her. Then we have Melissa Myers. AKA seven pounds. Because she practically weighs that much. She's crazy. She has a great amount of sassiness in her that comes out more and more each day. She would be the main reason I wouldn't get fat here, and one day I will remember to thank her. She and I are alot alike i think. We are the really laid back ones in the apartment, not many worries, just living the life of a college student. I love her. Last, but not least, we have Alyssa Pearl Olsen. I'm not going to lie, at first I didn't feel like we got along. She has more of a loud personality, and at first I just wasn't used to it. But over time, I've come to love it. When she's not out with her other friends she's pretty great to have around. I love her. These three have taught me alot about learning to love someone you have barely met.

Then we have the category of people that I initially thought i just wouldn't be friends with. Let's start off with Chelsea Sara Applegate. I remember the first time we met. Honestly I thought she was too "cool" for me. She snowboards and that definitely attracts the guys here. I just thought i didn't have a chance. However, I am pleased to say that me and Chelsea have become the best of friends. We've spent many hours talking about our lives and all the crazy things we've been through. Chelsea is great. She's strong, even if she doesn't think she is. And she can make me laugh like no other. She's kinda the closest thing I have to my friends back home. I love her. I couldn't possibly forget Jacob Huskinson. When we first met i thought he was crazy. He still is but he's great. He has one of those personalities that people are drawn to. Always giving, constantly making jokes. He is confident enough to make fun of himself and I die laughing everytime he is around. I'm thankful for Jake..he's a good guy. I love him. Then we have Hannah Drewery. Known here as "British Hannah". The day she showed up I think everyone thought to themselves, "I wanna meet her". I know I did atleast. And belive it or not, we have become pretty good friends. She can be really calm one moment and completely histerical the next. Because of her i will forever call vacuuming, hoovering. Thank you Hannah. I love her.

Lastly we have the friends that I already knew. Actually, we just have Melissa. Melissa Michiale Hansen. The girl that hated me not too many years back. I think we can both agree that we have gotten over that. I'm thankful for my 5th year of girl's camp, where I had the opportunity to meet her. I'll be forever thankful for having her next door and here with me, even if it's only for this semester. I've needed her. Especially this past week. It's crazy how much closer we have gotten the past few weeks. I didn't think it was possible to be the same person in two different bodies, but we pretty much are. I'm thankful for her strength in the gospel. She has always been a role model to me, even if I have never told her that personally. I love her.