Hello everyone! It's been ages, literally. But I am back and ready to fill you all in with the daily happenings of my busy life. It has been almost two months since coming back to BYU and it has been fantastic! I'm currently taking 17.5 credits, and I'm very busy with school, but it's a blast so I'll take it. So here's what happened over the past couple months:
I got called to be the Relief Society President in my Young Singles Adult Ward . . . after a short freak out session and minor discombobulation, I decided I was simply not of cut out to be a relief society president due to my neglect of tablecloths and center pieces and decided it wasn't real. Then after a pep talk from Spencer I've decided that maybe my lack of confidence in this arena is exactly why I have the calling and perhaps I do have what it takes. I've been running and doing my best ever since. Yay for blessings and awesome counselors and loving girls. : )
Spencer and I hiked to the Summit of Mount Timpanogos with his marvelous Jerusalem Center friends. It was a two day hike. We left at 6 or so Friday night, camping at Emerald Lake with s'mores, laughs, and bedtime stories. The next morning we hiked to the summit and let me tell you, it was literally a scene from Mordor. It was all rock slides and shale and as the light rose a dull gray sheen covered every thing in in sight. But shin splints, heavy packs, exhaustion, and altitude headaches set aside it was so worth it! The sunrise was breathtaking as the pink hues crept along the horizon to herald in the beam of radiant light that followed. Then we sang and talked all the way down and my friendship with many a Jerusalem student was born!
Sleepovers! Every Thursday night brings a delightful sleepover with Kenyon, a recent tradition we've started due to Basement Politics at the Moore's, my constant plethora of homework, my laziness in walking the 30 minutes home, and in general wanting to spend more time with Spencer and then girl-talk with Kenyon after. I'm never quite prepared though leading to the discovery that sleeping in one's clothes is not entirely uncomfortable, tooth brushes though lovely are a bit overrated, and Reeses Puffs are a must if Kenyon has them in her cupboard. Also snuggling is lovely.
Folk Dancing is wonderful as usual. I'm still on one of the Basic Wilk Teams which is great because I'm on Amanda's team, a friend of mine from home. I'm also taking four other dance classes (Beg. Ballet, Beg. World Dance, Beg. Clogging, and Beg. Irish Dance) so we'll see where I go from here. : ) We also just got to be in the Homecoming Parade. It was like running a marathon, trust me. And because I foolishly had not been drinking water for about 24 hours previous by the end of the parade I was dry heaving from dehydration. Lovely...But it really was a blast. We got to do a fun Bhangra Indian Dance, and a crazy American Country Dance, along with a fun cheer a couple of the boys on Spencer's team (backup) put together. In the crowd I saw a lot of friends and even some family friends from home so dry heaving set aside, I once again say it was worth it.
So I'm sure I'm not the only one who will soon say goodbye to many close friends but with the new age options regarding missions, many of my close friends (Annica, Kenyon, Paige, and Sarah) have decided that they will be leaving anywhere between January and May. Kind of crazy but exciting nonetheless. I've always wanted to go, I even took a mission prep course this summer to help make my life a mission. But I need to be be here so whatever life has for me bring it on cause it looks like I'm sticking around! :)
I also got to go to my first concert ever! It was Train with Matt Kearney, Andy Grammer as pre-performances. Basically, it was amazing...we saw a couple get married by the drummer, and the lead singer gave away his guitar to a girl in a wheelchair. Paige got touched by both Matt Kearney and Andy Grammer and it was a great time. : )
We also got to go to the Relief Society Broadcast in Salt Lake City. The Bishop asked me to go so I got to take my roommates except for Ruby who couldn't go and instead we had Adria come with us. But it was of course a wonderful experience. The Second Counselor's talk really touched me, and if for nothing else I went for that talk. And I even made it back in time for a little bit of folk dancing.
I have recently become an expert in constellations thought my skills still need to be tried and tested so romantic dates are sure to be in store. And...oh oh oh! I can't forget Miyazaki Movie Nights. One Sunday Spencer, Abby, and many other friends had congregated in Jon Fox's apartment and decided to watch a Miyazaki film and like magic, it caught on and we've been watching Miyazaki every Sunday since, with the exception of Origins: Spirits of the Past. So far we've seen "Nausicaa," "My Neighbor Totoro," "Howl's Moving Castle," "Origins: Spirits of the Past," "Castle in the Sky," "Princess Mononoke," and in my own time I've also seen "Kiki's Delivery Service." Abby is a film major and I a music buff, so we have fantastic conversations every single week about the genius of Miyazaki, and regardless of whether his animation style or plot lines are your preferred medium, it's hard to disagree with the fact that each film is truly memorable.
I'm getting better at French, which is magnificent. Nathan Jellen, my teacher, also happens to be a guy that went to the Jerusalem Center at the same time as Spencer which is a fun connection. Well, he keeps class exciting, hilarious, and fun, especially with all the random outburst and activities like our French Fashion Show today. It's still occasionally frustrating...okay all the time, but I love the language more and more with every passing day. I also just finished a class on Islam which was fascinating but I'll go more into that in my next post about my adventures with Spencer.
All in all, I've been enjoying the simple pleasures of existence. To be constantly exhausted yet always wide awake. Having good days and less good days and trying to make every day the best day. To collapse at the end of each day knowing I could not possibly have worked harder, laughed longer, or loved greater, but always still searching for ways to do just that. Rising every morning and literally crawling out of the covers to fall from my overly tall bed and trudge to dance class only to emerge confident and graceful in nothing but pink tights and a leotard. Rolling with the punches, dancing in the rainstorms, and starting all over again. And now as I get ready to end another day, a day which I wish I had more time to tell you about, I look forward to the bliss of nothing, but even greater is the moment I wake up, my return to existence.
-Natalie Cherie
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