thursday night i joined the rest of the woman around the world and saw breaking dawn at midnight. obviously i loved it. go ahead, judge all you want. i'm okay with it. my roommates are so great. i came home thursday afternoon to find that our entire house was decorated with twilight pictures, candles, red and gold chocolate, vampire cupcakes, and sparkling cranberry juice (get it, it was red, like we were drinking blood?). we had a lovely twilight party before we left. we had a toast and everything. a little much? i think not. it was so fun. team edward forever and always.
(don't mind me, i know i'm weird..)
friday night i was asked by my friend kenneth to go to the fall ball with him at turtle bay. it was a lot of fun with all our friends.
saturday i had a date night with my lovely roommate rach. we went to cheesecake factory in waikiki and just walked the strip. i love waikiki at night.
sorry i've been slacking on blogging. i've been busy, busy.
last wednesday i had the chance to help out with the hunger banquet. for those of you that don't know what it is, i'll explain...
when you arrived at the event you would receive a piece of paper that gives you a profile of a person. in that description it classifies you in one of the 3 world classes (low, middle, and high income). based off of what income class you are in, you sit in that seating area. if you were low class you sat on the floor in trash. middle class, you sat in chairs. high class, you sat at a nice table arrangement, candles, violin players, and butlers included. we had some musical performances and speakers. the statistics i learned through all of this is really quite sad. as the night went on everyone was served dinner. low class, a serving of rice in their hands. middle class, rice and hot dogs on a plate. high class, salad, spaghetti, bread, drinks, etc.
overall, i think the event went really well and we had a great turn up. my sweet friend mackenzie put on the majority of the event and if you're reading this, you did such an amazing job!! so happy i could volunteer with you :) ONE also helped out at the event. love that orginization. did you know that BYU-Hawaii is ranked #3 in the US for leading colleges involved with ONE? and the two schools above us are the university or michigan and the university of florida. and our school has like 2,500 students. waddupp.
one final thought on the whole hunger banquet..it's interesting how in the US we think of middle class in a specific way. however, compared to the rest of the world it's completely different. there is so much poverty out there. it's so saddening. and it's saddening too because we can end poverty. we have the means to do it. but there are too many people that can't help themselves, and too many people that don't have the kindness to help others. and that my friends, is why the world is the way it is. sad.
"if you can't feed a hundred people, then just feed one."
yesterday my roommate alexis was babysitting this sweet little girl maya. we decided to go for a walk on the cloudy day to say hi to some near by friends. in the words of maya we saw, "sweet doggies!!"
needless to say, it was a fun walk.
i love the innocence of kids. how the little things in life give them the most joy. spending time with maya reminded me to take pleasure in the simple aspects of our everyday lives. to lift your arms up and take a minute to really feel the warmth of the hawaiian breeze as it flows through your fingers. to take a minute to really listen to the whimsical noises of the palm tree leaves as they waver in the wind. to take a minute to really enjoy the time we have here and the life we are fulfilling. it's so important to take those minutes out of your day to ponder and think. to feel something. otherwise, before we know it, life will have passed us by without us ever taking advantage of those precious minutes of appreciation for what we have.
last week i had the opportunity to help plan an event at our school.
pretty much it was amazing.
let me introduce you to a wonderful organization called invisible children.
for those of you that have never heard about this organization, i highly suggest that you look into it.
long story short, it's an organization that helps spread awareness about this 20 year war going on in africa right now. in this war, the leaders are abducting children and forcing them to fight for them. the statistics and abuse that is going on is unreal. and most of us have no idea about it. people are comparing this to the next holocaust and here we sit, caught up in our own worlds, not a care about helping those in need.
the craziest part of it all to me, is the fact that 3 college kids discovered this entire tragedy going on in africa and created the invisible children organization only a few short years ago.
wow.
i feel so productive with my life...
honestly, this whole thing has really gotten me to think about what i'm doing with my life.
how much good am i doing for others?
planning events for non profit organizations is my dream job. helping out with these organizations that do so much good for others is what i want to do with my life. i can't think of anything better.
warning: ranting of thoughts about to start.
sometimes i get somewhat frustrated with our society. maybe this is me just being selfish though. but really... there are so many people in this world dedicated to so many things. sports, partying, drugs, art, music, facebook. the list goes on and on. but if just 1 out of every 5 of us could put half of the dedication we do into those things, into helping others... can you imagine how much better of a place this world would be? it just seems so simple to me. i don't get it. there's a solution for peace. so just do it.
be nice.
help others.
do good.
yet you turn on the news and we listen to endless stories about tragedies going on around the world.
alright, i'll chill out with my little rant of thoughts.
but really, this organization is great. it has such a special spot in my heart and i really respect everything they stand for. spend a few minutes and look into it. it's amazing.
well anywho, the event went amazing. we had a great turn up and i was so happy with the way everything went. great music. great people. great organization. great night.
saturday morning i had the opportunity to go to a retirement community and help do some yard work and clean up the elderly's homes. it was seriously so much fun. i'm so lame i know. but i loved it. those old people were so sweet and funny. i find people so interesting. everyone's story. their history. their trials. i talked to this one lady who is 92 years old. 92... i'm turning 20 soon and i feel old? it's honestly such a beautiful thought to know that there are so many more lovely events to come in my life.
while we were there i had the chance to make a new friend. his name is ford. ford has down syndrome and honestly is one of the funniest & nicest guys. talking to him i couldn't help but smile. he is so kind and friendly. i saw him yesterday and sat and talked with him for awhile in the aloha center.
me: "ford, what's been the best part of your day so far?"
ford: (leans back in his chair, takes a deep breath, and throws his hands behind his head) "ahhh this, reeeee-laxing!!"
i love the pleasure he takes out of the simple moments in life. whenever i see him around he just gives me the biggest smile and wave and it makes my day. i'm sure he has no idea how wonderful it is to chat with him, but it is indeed quite lovely.
lovely. that's how things are feeling out here in hawaii. quite lovely. i'm learning to appreciate the smaller things in life. i'm learning to put others before myself. i'm learning to be happy. i'm learning to find joy in everything i do. i'm learning to love life.
a day late, but it still counts. halloween this year was probably the most exhausting weekend ever. it consisted of multiple house parties all weekend and waikiki on actual halloween night. ridiculous. i've gotten a totaly of 3-4 hours of sleep each night. which has resulted in many naps during the day. which has resulted in bad grades... whoops. but it was a success nonetheless. i achieved my life dream of being a dog one night. dogs are the best. rach and i were catdog. hehe we think we're clever. enjoy the pictures. hope everyone had a wonderful halloween :)
based off a study spread across 10 countries, surveying 3,200 women between the ages of 18-64, only 2% consider themselves beautiful. wow. 2%. it's really saddening to see what society has classified beauty as.
the definition of beauty according to the merriam-webster dictionary is: the quality or aggregate of qualities in a person or thing that gives pleasure to the senses or pleasurably exalts the mind or spirit. the definition itself refers to beauty within,not necessarily someones physical appearance. how sad that society has made an unwritten definition of what beauty is. and the majority of us go along with it.
so next time you're quick to judge how beautiful a person is, remember to think first. because only 2% of us believe that we're beautiful. the world doesn't need more critics.
to find out more information about this survey click here. its called the real truth about beauty: a global report. i found it really interesting to read.
i'm falling back into one of my moods again. i'm getting a need to do some good. get involved again. there are days where i really miss not being involved with relay for life. i feel so unproductive not putting my efforts into helping a cause. so i'm excited because i'm getting involved again. i've made it a goal of mine to volunteer my time at least once a week with something. and every day i've been doing my good deed. and ooh la la, i am lovin it.
every tuesday and thursday i enjoy my car rides to school with lindsay and beth. we make our goals for the day. "beth, what are your goals today?" "hmmm i'm going to try to day dream only for half of my class instead of the entire class."
while looking through old photos the other day, i stumbled upon this lovely gem. this was taken about 3-4 years ago. story behind it all: my mom was taking a picture of my sister and i. sister leaned forward. i gripped tighter to stay on. the rest should make sense. and my mom doesn't know how to work a camera so she got it on film. ohhh happy day. i miss my sister and mom so much.
today it rained all day. which is my absolute favorite. rainy sunday's are the best.
so i figured i would go take pictures with my roommates and write about them on my blog so everyone knew who they were. let's begin...
this is beth. also known as bubby. she calls me cacoon. we have a very interesting relationship that i love more than anything. i think beth is the funniest person i've ever met. she always makes me smile. she thinks i need to go to fat camp but it's okay, i still love her. we write quotes on our fridge of funny things that are said, litterally i kid you not, 90% of the fridge is beth referring to me. too funny.
lauren: "oh look, How To Stay Out Of Trouble Fair, you should go to that beth!"
beth: "me?! you should. you're the one that has a crush on a married man!"
i love her.
this is lindsay. she was napping when i went around taking pictures with everyone. i love her more than anything. we give each other butterfly kisses on the daily and she's one of my bestest friends.
destiny. what a grand name right? my friend sonny says it would be awesome to marry her for 2 reasons: 1. you can say that you have a date with destiny 2. when you have kids you can say it's destiny's child. oh sonny... he's a funny one. she is probably top 5, one of the nicest girls i've ever met in my entire life. love her.
caroline. caroline is the mom of our house. which is good because without her i would not cook actual meals and only live off of mcdonalds... i personally don't see anything wrong with that but caroline tells me otherwise. she makes sure we keep our house clean and that we never run out of toilet paper. i love my mom. i would be a mess without her. we all would.
rachel. also known as racka racka. this is my baby boo. best friend. we snuggle on the reg. i love her dearly. she is quite the clumsy one and i constantly worry for her safety. i am not exaggerating when i say this. last year she got hit by a car. literally got hit by a car while she was riding her bike. i worry for this one. she is definitely blonde for a reason. but i can't help but love her for it. love her so much.
my other two roommate natalia and alexis weren't home when this picture taking was going on so i will have to write about them later. but these are the girls of the bridge house in laie, hawaii. we are currently in the works of writing a house song. should be on the radio soon.
today i am thankful for friends. friends that have become my family. friends that i can trust. friends that love me so much. new friends. i have a really tough time trusting people these days, but i know God has blessed me with these wonderful people right now for a reason.
i am also so thankful for old friends back home. i miss those crazy people more than anything.
happy rainy sunday to you all. it was quite cozy and lovely if i do say so myself.
3 years ago today my family and i said goodbye to an amazing person. jacom larson. but rather than being sad all day about missing him, i'm trying to take my sister's advice and celebrate the day. celebrate the life jacom lived. celebrate life.
i wish you were still here.
i wish my sister had her true love here, her husband.
i wish hayden had a dad.
i wish i had my brother.
i wish our family was complete.
i wish you could pin me down to the floor and tickle me again.
but you're gone and 3 years later i still have a really tough time understanding why you had to leave. it seems so unfair. i've questioned it a lot.. why do bad things happen to good people? i don't think i'll ever get any peace of mind knowing why you had to leave this earth. but i have faith that one day it will all make sense. obviously our heavenly father needed you more than we did. i know you look over all of us every day. it doesn't take away the fact that i miss you always though. i admired you so much. i admired you and beka together. i admired what you two had. i hate the past tense. i admire what you guys have.
it all still breaks my heart.
i hate how whenever i hear the word cancer i immediately think of you. i don't want to connect you to your death. i want to connect you to the amazing life you lived and the wonderful and fun times we all shared with you. so i'm going to try harder to celebrate life. celebrate your life. in the words of my sister,
"I will use October 21st as a day to remember how lucky I am to have time. I ask that y’all join me. Do something today that shows how blessed you are to be living. Eat cake for dinner (and don’t feel guilty about it), stop doing work and get on the floor and play with your kids, hug and kiss your special one just a little bit more, call someone you haven’t talked to in a while, go skinny dipping, do a Chinese fire drill, take a walk outside and look at the world, turn your phone off, just do something."
i could sit here and write on and on about the things i wish could happen. but at the end of the day, i know i can't change things. it was a blessing just to have you in my life. thank you. thank you so much for loving my sister and hayden so much. thank you for loving me. i love you. forever and always. and i can't wait for that day when i get to see your smiling face again.
i'm truly living in a paradise right now.
so sorry i've been mia from the blogging world lately. i've gotten kind of annoyed of the internet. i know, who would have thought, me of all people? but honestly it's been so nice to not be on facebook or twitter 24/7. i seriously was addicted. i'd much rather spend my time living in the moment here. living in this paradise. i am so grateful for the people God has blessed me with in my life at this time. i know 100% that i need these people in my life right now. and i am oh so thankful.
happy thursday kids.
L
