Rise

(Warning: unintentional spoilers may appear. I'll do my best to avoid them.)
So...I watched the third Batman movie yesterday. Oh. My. Goodness.
So good.
It was easily my favorite of The Dark Knight trilogy. (Did you know that it's The Dark Knight trilogy, not the Batman trilogy? I learned that yesterday.) The other two were good. Incredible, even. And as much as I love Inception, Christopher Nolan outdid himself this time. I even enjoyed watching Anne Hathaway, which doesn't happen very often. (Sorry, Anne Hathaway.)
The reason I loved the movie so much wasn't because of incredible filming--although that was part of it--or that there were amazing actors--which there were--but because it was so inspirational. Don't believe me? Here's one of my favorite lines from the movie.
"A hero can be anyone. Even a man doing something as simple and reassuring as putting a coat around a little boy's shoulders to let him know that the world hadn't ended." --Batman
I mean, the whole movie is about ordinary people who make a huge difference in saving thousands, even millions, of lives. There's nothing particularly special about Batman. He's just like you and me. (Well, except for the money. And the cars. And...okay, so maybe he's not exactly like you and me.) But sometimes, he messed up. He fell. From which came another one of my favorite lines:
"Why do we fall, son? So we can learn to pick ourselves up." --Thomas Wayne
One of my favorite parts in the third movie was (spoiler alert) when Batman is trying to climb out of the pit. The men are chanting, "Deshi basara! Deshi basara!", and you think that they want to see him fail. Rather, you discover that the chant actually means, "Rise! Rise!"
How many times have you fallen into your own personal pit? How many times have you been in such despair that you think you'll never be able to make the jump and find your world again? When you find yourself in a pit, remember the words of President Gordon B. Hinckley.
"You did not come into the world to fail. You came into the world to succeed. You have accomplished much so far. It is only the beginning. As you move forward on the trail of life, keep the banner of faith in self ever before you. You may not be a genius. You may not be exceptionally smart. But you can be good, and you can try. And you will be amazed at what might happen when in faith you take a step forward."
There are so many challenges in this world. There are so many pits for us to fall into. It will never be easy to rise out of these pits. But it's possible. There are people around you, cheering for you, and they want you to succeed. I love this video of the 2012 Mutual theme song, Arise:

 

 

For me, The Dark Knight Rises was so much more than the last movie in the trilogy. It was a reminder that no matter how far I fall, I can always rise.

Arise and bring in the new day. :) 

The Space Center

     No. No, no, no, no, no.
     I'm really trying hard not to be overdramatic here, but this is one of the worst things that I can remember happening.
For those of you who haven't heard my rants on Facebook, text, or in person, the Christa McAuliffe Space Center is closed for good. I can't really express very well how I feel about this. The Space Center has played a huge role in my life. I've been going on missions since fourth grade and volunteering since fifth. Every single one of the kids in my family has taken pre-algebra from Mr. Williamson. 
      What the district needs to realize is that the Space Center is more than just simulations. It's more than Star Trek or aliens or missions. It's team building. It's working under pressure. It's the childhood of over 300,000 people. Yes, the electricity is a problem. I realize that. But do they really honestly believe that it's not worth every penny? The Space Center may not teach kids to be geniuses; it teaches much more important things than that. The Space Center taught me more about hard work, communication, and good morals than any other place I can think of (beside my home, of course).
     There is nothing to stop me right now from ripping the world apart to keep the Space Center alive. It means so much to the community as well as thousands of others, and I won't let it go this easily.

Quotes.

If there's one thing I've learned from college, it's that people say the darndest things. I think I've heard more hilarious things at BYU than I have anywhere in  my life...except maybe AP Stats. So today, in an attempt to make you smile, I'm posting some of the funny things I've heard in my month and a half at college.  

“I’ll do Ryan Lochte’s tattoo…this is a new one I found today.” –Shawntel

“Our ceiling carpet is squeaky.” –Shawntel

“Let’s go creeptastic all over the place!” –Hayden

(Directed at myself) "Sometimes, you’re a good replacement for a boyfriend. You’re warm, you text me, you cook…” –Margo

“Oh, my hormones!” –Amy

“I want to grab a random guy off of the street and make out with him.” –Amy

“Nothing’s better than cuddling. It’s like kissing with your body.” –Amy

“It’s Kathy’s cake?!!!” –Chelsea

“I didn’t know my hair was long enough to whip her face!” –Chelsea

“Why are you asking me about church when there’s a boy involved?!” –Martha

“I think you two should just get together.” “But it’s almost curfew…” –Emily and Martha

“Have I married anyone yet?” –Emily

“Once he gets married, he’ll be fine.” –Anonymous

“I want to be blind. Not really, I just think it would be cool to learn sign language.” –Margo

“Am I in the lust stage?” –Tyler

“This song is so angry. I love it!” –Martha

“That makes more senseful.” –Margo

“I love when people wear…bananas.” –Jeanine

“That’s what you get for leaving your bum in the doorway.” –Shawntel

“I didn’t say spooning, I said playing spoons!” –Margo

“If you’re going to be fat, you might as well do it right…” -Audrey

The Spirit of God

            I can’t even begin to describe the feeling that came over me when we sang “The Spirit of God” at the Brigham City temple dedication today. I had the wonderful opportunity to go to the Marriott Center with the BYU wards, and it was one of the most amazing experiences I’ve ever had. I’ve never had so many chills in my life. At the beginning of the second verse of “The Spirit of God”, I had the feeling to stand up. I shook it off, thinking no, they didn’t tell us to stand. Luckily, someone else followed the impression, because people started standing up. I stood with the armies of heaven today, and I don’t think I can ever forget that. As I looked around the room, I saw my brothers and sisters, my fellow soldiers, and I knew that I could never be alone in my life. These wonderful, good people would always stand with me. There was no doubt in my mind that Satan will lose. If you could have seen the youth of Zion stand up and say, “Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna to God and the Lamb!” then you would have felt the exact same thing that I did. You would never again doubt the youth of the Church, because even the angels were with us today. I felt them everywhere, surrounding us, standing with the future of the world. Never doubt your own divinity. Sing and shout with the armies of heaven. Satan will lose, and Christ will be victorious. Amen, and amen.

London 2012

Dude.
I'm totally in love with the Olympics.
And don't even get me started on the athletes. I'm amazed by their dedication...and their good looks. (Yes, Ryan Lochte and the US men's gymnastics team, that's you.)
But seriously.
I've done lots of things in my life. I've dabbled in a few different sports, a couple of instruments...you get the idea. To spend your entire life training for the Olympics is...astounding. Incredible. That amount of dedication and hard work just blows my mind.
Now don't get me wrong, I know that plenty of people spend their lives working for something they love, and it's not just athletes. Musician, scholars, they all do it. Everybody has their own talents that make them special and unique. Something that only they can bring to the table in their own way. Nobody does you like you do. But I deeply admire their devotion and commitment to their sport.
Now here's a few pictures for your enjoyment. Some of my favorite moments from the 2012 London Games so far. Okay, so they're mostly for my enjoyment. But you can look too. :)
                            

 Ryan Lochte with his gold medal from the 400  IM.

Cute girl's gymnastics team.

                                                  

Yes. I love USA gymnastics!

                                                                     

The stadium.

                                  

Missy Franklin and her first Olympic medal!

Loving the Olympics! :)

Summer Lovin'

Here you go Margo. :)
Summer summer summer. Where would I be without you? It's been a crazy, work-filled couple of months. Right now I'm in California, thank heavens. It's been a great break already.

Meet my cousins. They're so awesome! One of my favorite families of all time. We got here on Friday night. We went swimming with the cousins and had dinner at the pool. The next day, we went to the beach!

Can I just say how much I love the beach? It's fabulous. We spent the afternoon at the beach, then went to Cafe Rio for dinner.
Sunday we went to church, then hung out for a little while, ate lunch, packed up, and left! We got to Indio around 7. The fam got together for ping-pong. It was just Kyle (my little brother) and I with some of the extended family. Where did the other members of my family go, you may ask? Well, the answer is simple.
I found them watching the season finale of The Bachelorette with cousins.
Oh boy.
I've never seen The Bachelorette before, but let me tell you--it's a dramatic event with my family. For example:

Naturally, Sam was so distraught over the possibility that Emily MIGHT pick Arie over Jef that she had her knees to her chest in the fetal position. I think she was also on the verge of tears.
By the time I got to bed, Rachel had already shut and locked the door to the room we're sharing. Yes folks, I said locked. So naturally, I spent the night on the couch. For sleeping on the couch, it was actually a decent night's sleep. I highly recommend these couches to you, they're rather comfortable.
Anyway, today has been spent swimming, sweating like a pig while working out--can they keep the workout room ANY hotter?, swimming, relaxing, swimming, shopping, swimming, telling my mom happy birthday, swimming...we do a lot of swimming here! Of course, can you blame us? After all, look at the kind of paradise we're staying in.

Gorgeous, no? :)

Because I Love You...

I have a good friend who, a long time ago, gave me a book. It's called, "Because I Love You". (It's by Max Lucado, and it's FABULOUS. Read it.) She wrote this quote in the front cover: “You may think, who am I to be gorgeous and talented and wonderful? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your shrinking small doesn’t serve the world.” --Marianne Willamson

For a long time, I shrunk. I shrunk small, hoping that my talent and natural ability would be enough to get me through life. But then, once upon a time, Chamber orchestra had horrible (and I mean horrible) audience behavior during solos. And Mr. Beck gave us this huge talk on how we were better than that. He was right, of course—we are much better than that. I had been hiding in the back of the section for way too long. WHAT WAS WRONG WITH ME?!

Answer: I was shrinking small.

I had forgotten the reason I loved orchestra so much. Yes, it’s tons of fun. Yes, a lot of my friends do it. But you know why I started orchestra in the first place? Because I wanted to. Because I loved the cello. Because every time I sat down to play my instrument, I loved it. I have no idea when practicing became a chore, but the day we got that lecture, I decided to change. I decided to stop shrinking small and just be gorgeous and talented and wonderful. Because who am I not to be?

I will forever love Elton John and Tim Rice for writing the musical Aida. One of my favorite lines from the show is, "Nothing is an accident, we are free to have it all. We are what we want to be, it's in ourselves to rise or fall." I know that this is true. Sometimes we feel like shrinking small. Sometimes we feel less than what we are. But why? We can be what we want to be. It's in OURSELVES to rise or fall.

Please, stop shrinking small. The world needs people who aren't afraid to let their light shine.