Helaman 2:9

"....And he ran and told Helaman all the things

which he had seen, and heard, and done...."

    You guys know how much I love to talk but I REALLY want to talk about this. In case you're unfamiliar with what's happening in this chapter this servant just killed the assassin, Kishkumen, who was about to kill Helaman (the new chief judge). But this guy is SO smart! He doesn't hide it or worry about it because weather he's done something wrong or not he goes to tell Helaman what's happened. And he doesn't just take his time or try to schedule it into his day, no, he RUNS to Helaman. Now take that principle out of the scriptures and apply it to life.

    When you make a mistake don't just think about how and when you'll go to the Lord, run to Him. When you're scared, nervous, anxious, worried, anything really, run. Run to the Lord and tell him all the things you have seen, heard, and done.

     I can't tell you how many times I've begun telling Him everything I've seen or heard that has bothered me and it always leads to telling Him everything I've done. Not only does He want to hear about it all, but like Helaman's reaction, God will help you. He will take the next step. Going to Him was the right decision. Run to where you need to be, run to make yourself clean, run to find peace, and don't hesitate or try to talk yourself out of it. Run to the Lord and you will always find what you need.

Atittude

Isn't it funny how attitude really does change everything? I mean, I always knew it was true and I believed it but it wasn't until today that I saw it. Okay, maybe I should change that. I've seen it in my life and others before but today it was different.

Let’s start at the beginning. I've had trouble with my choir teacher ALL year! He’s been driving me crazy! But today I had to come early for something and I was just gonna deal with it and I decided to go and try to enjoy myself and ya know what happened? I loved it. It was an absolute blast! And it started my day off so nicely!  I was in a good mood when I finally got to class and I was prepared for everything that was coming my way.

But it gets better!

I was in my advanced cooking class (called ProStart) and there was SERIOUS drama! First off let me explain, there are some groups who………….are less effective, and slightly more idle. The largest group happens to be this group of boys who are amazingly creative and quite capable when it comes to producing a final product. However, they are not the best when it comes to time management or cleanup. Frequently their jobs are done by my group or others and it’s slightly frustrating. So their cupcake project was going beautifully, if a bit slow, while ours fell apart! I have no words for how fantastic it was! So just check out the pictures….

…..it was amazing. I don’t know if I've ever messed up so bad in my life :) It was an impressive feat. So a couple of my group were suddenly stressed out of their mind. I, however, just died! I started laughing and couldn't stop. It was just so funny to me! So from that point I was just in a super good mood. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn't delighted that our assignment for the day had bombed so terribly but what was I supposed to do!? It wasn't like we could fix it at that point, we just had to start over. But then my friend Alex and I got the more-than-gentle impression that we should do something other than cupcakes for the rest of class. So we started on the dishes with our friend Kristina. Well we had a blast! We laughed like crazy and got so much work done and it was just fun. Quite possibly the best time I've ever had in that class.

And then things went downhill. It was quite literally the last five or ten minutes of class and everyone who hadn't been working decided to start working and so OF COURSE it wasn't going to all be done by the bell. Dishes and cleanup are the longest part and everyone lollygags. That’s so not our fault though. And we’d done a lot so we moved away from the dishes and started on counters, clearing down and wiping off. Then some of our peers who we try to think positively of, despite the difficulties we have with them, yelled at me. Now you’re reading this, you can’t tell that the whole time I've been quite amused in my writing up until now. I don’t like yelling, and I don’t tolerate yelling at me. Especially when they yell “Don’t leave! You have to help! You haven’t helped all class!!” and I have never wanted so badly to smack someone. I had been doing SO much work for probably more than half the class and HE was yelling at ME…….I wasn't happy. But I was just like “Dude chill! I wasn't going to leave.” and I kept helping. Then our teacher (I wouldn't say yell but…) yelled at my friends to get to work and that just grated on their nerves.

Neither of them is a bad kid. They work really hard and their good people, excellent students, super hard workers. Well she yelled at them and that was so uncool. We hadn't done anything wrong and we always feel like she’s picking favorites with those boys in our class and it just isn't fair. It’s not. And you know how I hate injustice! It’s infuriating!! We talked and I let them all vent (to be fair I wasn't the happiest camper either but I was trying to remain positive and I was still totally laughing at our cupcake attempts, I mean just look at it…..

….tolja). And then I was like, “Let’s lodge a formal complaint” and I could tell that Alex was a little like “...no, I don’t know” because that’s crazy scary so I don’t blame her. I was a little hesitant now that I’d said it too! At this point Kristina had gone (in tears? Not totally sure) and our friend Kayela was trying to be supportive and help out. Well we did. We made a complaint and we talked to our principal about it and ya know what? I felt really good about it. I felt like we’d gone through the proper channels and our principal gave us some advice, made us promise to come back after we talked to our teachers and it was just good. It was like I real restoration in my faith in authority. So I don’t know how things are gonna go but my attitude about everything has just made today brilliant! This is a long story to make a simple point but just remember that attitude isn't everything, but it certainly can change everything.

Come Back With The Story Of Your Life

Life's a lovely thing, isn't it? I like it. most the time :) The thing is, life is supposed to be wonderful and brilliant and perfect and you're supposed to be happy. And I know a lot of us aren't. For me so much of it is what I learn about the world the older I get. The more I learn the more I long to either have the power to change it, or the ability to return to my childhood innocence when I thought all the world was as happy as I was.

"When you're a kid they tell you it's all...grow up, get a job, get married, get a house, have a kid, and that it'. But the truth is the world is SO much stranger than that. It's so much darker, and so much madder. And so much better."

I feel like that quote is just....perfect? Yeah, I think that's what I want. Because the world can be a dark place and it can be strange and scary and terrible. But oh how beautiful it can be too! There can be so much joy and so much beauty if we just look for it and if we just try. I know it's there and better yet, I know it's there for us! It wasn't put there just by chance but it was put there for us to see, and use, and love, and to make us feel like there's hope and happiness even in the landscapes and sunsets, and stars, and it was made to be perfect for us.

But let's not forget our part. We can't just expect to be happy all the time and for things to be perfect and sometimes even when we're having a brilliant adventure we're not necessarily happy and excited and in love with what we're going through or what we're doing. But we have to explore, we have to try things out and we have to embrace all of our adventures because that's how we live!

It's like this quote. Some people really do live more in twenty years than others in eighty! And it's true that it's not at all about how much or how little time we have, it's about the things we're doing and the people we're spending that time with. I know that for myself I've seen that I don't always look back on the day and think "Wow that was so much fun!"and those are the days that I realize I need to re-evaluate myself and what I was doing because I shouldn't have to have days that I'm not happy with. Every night I want to crawl into bed feeling completely exhausted from the emotional, physical, spiritual, and intellectual fun I've had. Everyday should be packed full of things we'll never regret. And so we should all spend each day with people we love to be with. I know that there are teenagers out there thinking "But I have to go to school everyday."And I wanna be like "THEN LEARN TO LOVE THE PEOPLE YOU GO TO SCHOOL WITH!!"I mean, after all, you can't dislike them all. There must be someone you like and think is super cool. It just takes a little looking and a little of being the kind of friend you'd like to have and in no time at all you'll find people who don't bother you so much as you think everyone does. Life is meant to be lived and you can decide what that means for you personally, but for me that means loving each day. Sometimes I don't, it's a work in progress, and it's a goal that I haven't quite reached, but it's the attempts that are success, not the completion of the goal. Plus I don't think I'll ever really be done with this goal. I've got so much to do in my life and I want to live every moment of it until I look back and have stories to tell.

One time, my sister and I were talking and she told me that for a little while she'd try to go out in the mornings  and come home at night with a story to write down in her journal. If everyday of your life you had a new story to tell, oh, think of how glorious those stories would turn out to be.

So don't forget to live. There's still so much life left in each and every day. Don't be discouraged and don't stop trying, because you'll come back with an even greater story to tell then you'd ever thought you'd find. You'll have the story of your life.

Be Small Enough

"There have been moments when I could not face Goliath on my own. And how could I forget we marched around our share of Jericho's. I will not be setting out a fleece for you tonight. Just wanna know that everything will be alright."

I honestly am a little lost as to how I made it through his week. It's been one of the hardest weeks of my life. I've been doing a lot of really hard things and dealing with tough problems everyday this week. And today (Friday) after I went running I put this song on to stretch to, and I cried. I wouldn't have made it through this sweet with a smile on my face if it hadn't been for my Heavenly Father. I've broken down and I've worked my tale off and I'm so done today. But listening to this song I remembered how incredibly blessed I am.

"I know you could leave writing on the wall that's just for me or send wisdom while I'm sleeping like in Solomon's sweet dreams, but I don't need the strength of Samson or a Chariot in the end. I just wanna know that you still know how many hairs are on my head. Oh great God, be small enough to hear me now."

I just want to thank everyone who is always there for me without trying to be. In the background of my life cheering me on and encouraging me forward. I know with my whole soul that God is always small enough to hear our prayers, sometimes event he unspoken ones. He hears you and He loves you.

A Pretty Good Reason to Love Disney

Disney is so well loved because of a lot of things, I think that one of those reasons, an important one, is because it's so relate-able. I know, you're like "Come on, whatever, it's nothing like real life." Which is fair. But listen up, don't you sometimes wish life was a little like a Disney movie? I know I do! I love Disney, it just makes me happy. And I think Disney has some incredible things to share with the world. Amazing gospel principles (even if they're not trying all good things testify of Christ), and just really wonderful life principles. I'm going to share some with you because this is the reason I love Disney. This is why it makes me happy. I've always found that some Disney princess song would temporarily become my life motto and I want you to see why. Although I'm sure you already know ;)

Let's start with a classic, Beauty and the Beast. Who doesn't love Belle?
She's intelligent and beautiful and just basically one of the very best Disney princesses of all time. In the

reprise of the song "Belle" she sings:

"I want adventure in the great wide somewhere

I want it more then I can tell

And for once it might be grand

To have someone understand

I want so much more then they've got planned!"

This was seriously my song during a long "I'm a misunderstood teenager who's plans are way to big for the rest of you to comprehend" phase. I'm over it but I still love these lines. Who doesn't want adventure?! And who doesn't make plans that they sometimes feel are misunderstood? I think it's safe to say that we've all been there.

I really wanna talk Frozen. Some people didn't like it, everyone was comparing it to Tangled, but most people loved it I think. It's kind of a hit, and how could it not be with Idina Menzel singing? Like what a rock star right! So in defense of Frozen I just want to say, stop comparing it to Tangled. They're different stories, let them stand alone. And now I'm gonna tell you why I thought Frozen taught great things. First off, true love? Sisterly love? Come one, who doesn't like that? :) Anyway, in "Love is an Open Door" Anna says:

"All my life has been a series of doors in my face

Then suddenly I bump into you...

...Love is an open door!"

Okay, I totally get it if you feel like "She's so shallow" but think about that song in the context of what the movie is really about. Sisterly love. Love is an open door. Isn't that exactly what "Do You Want to Build a Snowman" is all about? Anna is singing to Elsa from outside the room asking her to show her love, to open the door, to be with her. I don't think it's a stretch. Also when Anna is singing "For the First Time in Forever" she talks about all these hopes and dreams she has. She sings:

"For the first time in forever

I've getting what I'm dreaming of

A chance to change my lonely world"

How can you not feel like she's a relate-able character? Am I crazy for thinking that people are so excited when they get what they've been dreaming of? And who isn't lonely once in a while? I feel like I'm only friends with people who feel lonely no matter who they're with. Doesn't that say something about how Disney is targeting their song? People are lonely and who doesn't love the opportunity to change something about that? Maybe none of us are having that opportunity "for the first time ever" but we like it all the same. Then there's Elsa, and I mean COME ON! How can you not love her? Her voice alone and then she's beautiful and can I just point out that she is definitely NOT a Disney princess. She is a Disney QUEEN. Yeah, and she acts like it. I love "Let it Go" and I'm about to tell you why :)

"Conceal, don't feel, don't let them know.

Well now they know

Let it go! Let is go,

Can't hold you back anymore

Let it go, let it go,

Turn your back and slam the door....

...It's funny how some distance makes everything seem small

The fears that once controlled me

Can't get to me at all...

...It's time to see,

Test my limits and break through...

.....I'm free.....

...You'll never see me cry,

Here I stand, and here I'll stay

Let the storm rage on...

..I'm never going back,

The past is in the past...

...I'll rise like the break of dawn..

..That perfect girl is gone...

...Here I stand in the light of day

Let the storm rage on

The cold never bothered me anyway."

Okay, I attacked that song, it's because it's SO amazing though! All the things it talks about are just perfect! She's been taught all her life that she needs to hide who she is and what she is and she like "well now they know," and in the movie you're like "YES!" because she's so intense! And she's thinking that she's literally going to let it all go. She's going to stop letting people scare her, or control her. She's going to test her limits, find out who she really is and who she really wants to be. This is a classic example of self discovery. Everyone needs to figure out who they are and who they want to become. And that doesn't happen just once. You have to figure out who you are all the time and then you have to re-align yourself with the person you want to be. It's a life long process and she's finally started hers, which is awesome!! She's all about being free and standing strong through the storm, letting the past go, getting some perspective so she can understand that her fears aren't really that scary. What about this song isn't in life? Like it's amazing! And when she sing "the cold never bothered me anyway" you're just like "WHOA" because she's got such attitude and she's finally letting it out! People should always let the real them out because it's an improvement for them, the world, and it's honest. But I'll move on so you don't feel like I'm laying on Frozen to hard (yeah, I know, you're like "Too late!"). Let move on to what people have been comparing it to. Tangled.

Which is totally different by the way. Totally not similar stories. I guess a couple of things are similar but lets me real, they're super different. I'm so not going to talk about this. I want to share something from Tangled. Like "When Will My Life Begin" and "I've Got a Dream" she sings:

"I'll keep wonderin' and wonderin'

And wonderin' and wonderin'

When will my life begin.......

...Now that I'm older

Mother might just

Let me go."

I love this. What teenager isn't like "I just want to do what ever I want!" as they collapse dramatically into their bed and what teenager doesn't thing "Maybe mom/dad will let me go now..." This part of Tangled to me is just so easy to relate to. I definitely had a stage with this song. And then she sings:

"And with every passing hour

I'm so glad I left my tower!

Like all you lovely folks

I've got a dream!"

Don't anyone tell me they don't like this song. I mean, look at it. It's all about everyone having a dream, recognizing it and going for it. It's a fun song but remember that it's a song about life. All the best songs are about life. There are only a couple more! Hang in there :)

It seems appropriate now to talk about Tiana from the Princess and the Frog. There are some great songs in that one but the one but I wanna talk about "Almost There". It's my favorite song from that movie. She says:

"I ain't got time for messin' around

And it's not my style...

...But I know exactly where I'm going

And I'm getting closer and closer everyday...

...But I've climbed the mountain, I've crossed the river

I'm almost there!"

Tell me how can you not admire Tiana? She's so incredible! She's so motivated! And totally determined and ready and brave and I would love to have half the courage and motivation that Tiana's got.  She's such a hard worker! Which is why I think she was such a breath of fresh air and she's wonderful! Her's it pretty straight forward, it's a story all about how hard work really does pay off and dreams can really come true.

I want to talk about Ariel now. She's a favorite of mine, though friends try to dissuade me and tell me what a terrible Disney princess she is, I disagree. I love her. She doesn't get to sing as much as I'd like since, ya know, her voice is stolen! But she sings in "Part of Your World" saying:

"(Speaking) Maybe he's right. Maybe there is something the matter with me.

I just don't see how a world that makes such wonderful things could be bad.

(Singing)Look at this stuff.

Isn't in neat?...

...I wanna be where the people are

I wanna see, see them dancing...

...Up where they walk, up where they run

Up where they stay all day in the sun

Wanderin' free, wish I could be

Part of that world."

Well first off, no one, not anyone should ever be made to feel like there is something wrong with them. Ariel's family made her sad. Her father make her feel terrible! That shouldn't happen. I know it does, but it shouldn't. And then she shows us her collection of all the things she loves and dreams about. She just wants to walk around in the sun. At this point she isn't really considering leaving her family forever, she only wants a  little freedom, to feel independent. She wants the choice to do the things she's dreaming about and then she'll make the right choice, or the wrong, and she'd learn. But she wasn't given a choice and everyone deserves the choice.

I know this one's been long so thank you :)

"All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to persue them" -Walt Disney

Little Wonders

Please Listen, read along, and hear my thoughts.

Let it go,
Let it roll right off your shoulder
Don't you know
The hardest part is over
Let it in,
Let your clarity define you
In the end
We will only just remember how it feels

Our lives are made
In these small hours
These little wonders,
These twists & turns of fate
Time falls away,
But these small hours,
These small hours still remain

Let it slide,
Let your troubles fall behind you
Let it shine
Until you feel it all around you
And i don't mind
If it's me you need to turn to
We'll get by,
It's the heart that really matters in the end

Our lives are made
In these small hours
These little wonders,
These twists & turns of fate
Time falls away,
But these small hours,
These small hours still remain

All of my regret
Will wash away some how
But i can not forget
The way i feel right now

In these small hours
These little wonders
These twists & turns of fate
These twists & turns of fate
Time falls away but these small hours
These small hours, still remain,
Still remain
These little wonders
These twists & turns of fate
Time falls away
But these small hours
These little wonders still remain

     This is the theme song we're using at my school for your annual charity drive this year. We have one more week. I've moved past worrying about the total of what we might make and I've decided that I won't let other people tell me they didn't like certain things ruin the way I feel when it's something that's nearly sacred to me. The feelings and the truth that you feel as you service others is unbelievable. I love that this song was chosen because I feel like it embodies Silver Rush. It's the little wonders, in our small hours of service with the twists and turns of fate that make it what it is. Silver Rush would not be so special to all of us if it wasn't the little things, the small and simple things that change our perspective and change how we feel about life. I realize that we have moments where we feel the spirit so strongly that we declare our determination to change and to be a new person completely and then as time goes by, the rush wears off and we forget abut those experiences. But I hope I will always carry apart of the service I do as a student at Riverton High Silver Rush as part of me for the rest of my life. I don't want to let it fade. It's the greatest reminder of the things that are wonderful in life aren't the times we're focused on ourselves and they're not the times we spend with friends necessarily but the times we think about people we know and love and even more the people we don't know and love anyway. Those people who see who are different that you in so many ways but you can't help but notice that they go to school too, they have friends kind of like yours and you love them for their quirks and just because you know who they are in some small way that they might not even recognize. There's nothing quite like the love you can feel for someone, for any one, when you let yourself. It's a miracle! A wonder that you can find yourself loving people so much and you never run out of love. Love is an active, excited, powerful action and feeling. The beautiful thing about love is how many different ways you can share your love, and it all still means "I love you" and everyone understands that. Elder Uchtdorf said everyone understands "the universal language of Christ's love." And, you know, he's right. As he often is. And I realize that sometimes love doesn't come easily but sometimes the love that takes a little work is the love most worth fighting for and sometimes you find you love someone instantly, treasure that too because you don't find it often enough. But never let yourself not love because there is SO much worth loving in everyone you meet. Let love create the little wonders in you life. Let yourself be guided in love and in the small moments, the small hours of your life. Love doesn't take a lot of time to give. Just love and never stop. Let the little wonders take over in your life.

Make Your Choice

          Sometimes you have to choose! Just wake up and say "I('m going to be happy today" and don't let anyone fight that from you. No one, and nothing can make you feel how you don't want too. Don't let the darkness that hounds you from outside and from within win! Don't let it! Fight back with a smile on you face and a spring in you step. You are NOT ALONE in this war. So don't you dare pull that card. There are thousands fighting with you and there are so many people who love you. So make your choice.

"Choose ye this day whom ye will serve;...

but as for me, and my house, we will serve the Lord."

Joshua 24:15

A Judgment Call

          There's a girl who sits next to me in choir and between her and the boy sitting beside her I'm terrified of life. They talk about people and are so cruel! Often when I complain about these sorts of things I have friends who say things like "That's just the way it is," and I refuse to accept that! People should be better than that. Don't they want to be?
          The girl tells her friend how it's so awful that this boy across the room sings so loud because he's clearly tone deaf and how the girl a couple rows in front of us is a "whore" because of some very flimsy evidence. And it really disgusts me but it also frightens me. What might they think of me? When I'm not in class or when they aren't sitting beside me again what do they say? Do I even want to know? Do I really care?
          There's just something about it that leaves me sitting still and stiff during choir because I don't want to receive their judgment. And it's people like them that not only give our entire age group a bad reputation but they're also the people who end up bitter and unhappy. And where does this horrible desire of theirs come from where they want to say these terrible things about their peers? And why is it that the ones they say these things are the ones who are wacky? Crazy, nerds, theater geeks, loud, kind of annoying, and totally okay with themselves? Perhaps it's not the boy across the room or the girl a few rows in down that have the problem. They're both laughing and talking to lots of people who like them. So could it be that the problem lies with the two sitting beside me? Are they the ones who need to look closer at themselves? Isn't there something said about fixing the world from the inside out? Start with yourself and move outward? "He who is without sin cast the first stone." Isn't that what Christ said?
          So I guess the point here is me saying that I didn't like it. I didn't like what they were saying and I was even more displeased with myself for not telling them that I happened to be friends with the "tone deaf" boy and the quite kind girl in front of us. Start with yourself and let others follow but don't judge them because they do things differently. And certainly don't judge them for loving themselves and the life that they have.

Answered Prayers

Sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers

Remember when you're talkin' to the man upstairs

That just because he doesn't answer doesn't mean he don't care

Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers

             I don't know if you've ever heard the song Unanswered Prayers by Garth Brooks but it's a favorite of mine. I think it's beautiful and so true and just perfect! And I've thought about that song a lot recently but today, tonight I want to talk about the prayers that we receive answers to. In the most beautiful way too. I was in the middle of a really hard situation with a friend of mine who I just love. She's wonderful, but I was in sticky spot with her so instead of deciding what was right or wrong I decided that I loved her and that I would just keep loving her despite the situation. It was hard. And that night I knelt down beside my bed and I wept. I prayed and pleaded for understanding and guidance and it might very well be one of the hardest things that I've ever experienced. And then today, four days later, the situation has been altered and cleaned up quite unexpectedly. I wept again. I couldn't believe it. Of all the blessings I was expecting from my Father in Heaven it was not this. It was not that kind of blessing but I was so grateful for it. I saw my friends text message and right there I sat down on my stairs where I'd been standing and I prayed while I cried because I don't think I could ever properly express my gratitude. It was so wonderful. So the one of the last lines in the song is "I guess the Lord knows what he's doin' after all" and I just want to say that it's true. He does know. And I don't know all His reasoning for everything but I do know that it's all worked out and I've learned a lot in four short days so I just want to say that I know God answers prayers. Sometimes His silence is an answer in itself but so often you just have to kneel down and be grateful for the prayers that he does answer. Tonight I'm grateful for the answered prayers.

My Favorite Thing About Endings

             I don't handle endings very well. I don't like them. They're just so sad. It's taken me a long time but I know now that all things need to end. People can't live forever and stories can't go on after they've been told. It's just not the way the world works. Everything eventually ends. Every books has a happily ever after. Every day has a good night. Every life has a good bye. And every sunrise has a sunset. Every fire leaves it's ashes. The point is that everything ends. There's nothing you can do about it.
             But fortunately for us, every books tells it's story, every day has a good morning. For every death their is new life. And every sunset has a sunrise. Every fire leaves long enough for what was destroyed to be rebuilt. The end is bitter sweet. There's pain in every good bye but there's also hope. You'll see them again. Good byes are never final. I was thinking today, while I was laying on the floor in the sunshine, that afternoons are my favorite. I realized that they are also kind of sad. They're the end of something great. But what if the day hadn't been great? Wouldn't the afternoon and evening be a welcome occurrence? So I suppose that it's all about perspective when it comes to whether something is happy or sad. If someone has been suffering then wouldn't it make them happy to go, to be free of pain? Wouldn't it make someone happy to see a sad story end well? The important thing here is that endings are in actuality a good thing. They can be painful and sad but they can also be happy and so full of joy. Personally, I struggle with endings. I don't want things to end. I never want summer to end. But that's not because I love the summer so much. It's mostly because that's when I get to do things with family. I never want to stop spending time with all the people I love, my family, my friends. I would love for the times we get to be together to continue on forever.
             However, with the end of summer comes the start of school. Of new experiences and new friends. The end of so much focused time with family leaves me a little more time for friends, and the end of time with friends leaves time for family. Endings always have a transition period, there's the pain and the heartache but then there's this wonderful time where you start to love what's come of that ending. They way things have changed turns out to be a beautiful thing, the sort of thing you just can't take your eyes off of and your heart never let's go of.
             When I started high school I joined the school newspaper. I was thrilled. It was going to be the most amazing experience! I was going to write and people were just going to love me! I was going to be the best and it would be what I was truly known for in high school. Well a month or two into the class I realized very quickly that I wasn't going to make friends there and I wasn't going to be able to be myself. I felt incredibly uncomfortable and the other students were just plain mean and did kind of disgusting things. So I quite the newspaper. It was probably one of the hardest things I'd done up to that point in my life, I was terrified to tell my incredibly intimidating teacher that I was leaving. I left. That was the end of my newspaper dreams. And I can't tell you how alone and completely afraid I felt to try something I'd never thought about. It was horrifying for me. But then I somehow ended up in a foods class. Cooking? It wasn't really my thing but I hadn't known what else to do! This is how I ended up meeting my best friend and how I decided I wanted to major in culinary arts. It all started here, with an exciting adventure gone all wrong. By the ned of the newspaper I was starting a new adventure that I hadn't even anticipated. And oh, how wonderful it was.
             There's never a real ending. As my sweet sister said a while ago "Life is just a bunch of adventures stacked up next to each other," and she was so, so right. With then end of one adventure you begin another one. You never know what's just around the corner.
           My favorite thing about endings are beginnings.