my person

"They asked me for a person to contact if I needed anything or if something went wrong. I put you down...you're my person." For those of you that aren't well educated in great TV, these are the words of Dr. Yang to Dr. Grey when they "officially" become best friends on Grey's Anatomy. This last week I have been thinking (and talking to) MY person and it's had me thinking alot about how much I love and appreciate her.

She's the person I have literally known my whole entire life. She's the person I get confused for sometimes. She's the person I want to call first when something exciting happens. She's the person I call late at night and she talks to me even though I woke her up and she has to be at work early in the morning. She's the person I can always tell the whole truth to ALL the time and never worry about her judging me. She's the person I tell all of my "I'm not supposed to say anything but..." to. She's the person that sits and listens patiently well after I've passed the TMI line, but listens anyways because she knows I just need to talk it out. She's the person I can yell and scream and fight with, but at the end of the day know that she's still there for me. She's the person that ALWAYS has my back, even to the extent of walking with me in the canyon late at night after dad kicked me out of the car :) She's the person that calls to calm me down after fighting with my mom. She's the person that I go on drives with. She's the person that can say 1 name or 1 word and have me cracking up instantly. She's the person I laugh like. She's the person that hides in the trunk when I'm throwing up, but later that night lets me sleep with her and tickle my back to make me feel better. She's the person I've gotten in trouble with. She's the person that's gotten me OUT of trouble. She's the person that knows when I'm not really fine. She's the person that takes her weekend off to drive me to Filmore to get my car. She's the person that "let's me drive" ;) She's the person that took off running to me at the airport coming home from China. She's the person I tried to drown once. She's the person that worries about me. She's the person that would stay awake at night when we were little, worried that if the house caught on fire she wouldn't be able to get me out because I'm such a deep sleeper. She's the person that I can never really stay mad at. She's the person that has always let me borrow and use her things. She's the person that always encourages me to do what I want when I tell her about my crazy ideas. She's the person I can fight with through emails from the other side of the world, but call her later and talk and laugh for 3 hours. She's the person I shared my room with for 17 years of my life and for months after she moved out, I couldn't sleep without texting "Goodnight. Love you, see you in the morning" even though I really wouldn't. She's the person that never gets mad at me for taking jokes too far. She's the person that got her finger dislocated and still wants to play "gottcha last" everytime we see each other. She's the person that always came to all of my sports games. She's the person that made me feel confident about speaking at graduation, and then followed me around for hours taking countless pictures for me. She's the person that is so much like me that we start crying at the exact same time talking about things. She's the person that I have made late COUNTLESS times, yet still she would give me rides and take me places. She's the person I go to when I hate the rest of the world. She's the person that would let me tag along with her and her friends. She's the person that is going to be an amazing nurse one day. She's the person that buys me dinner when she comes to visit even though she's poor too. She's the person I want to be like. She's the person that I freakin love She's the person that I couldn't live without.

She's the person that is my twin and my very best best friend

Apparently Dixie has weekly forums held in the Darford Auditorium! I did not even know this until last week when I was required to go to one for my biology lecture class. They are just hour long lectures with pictures to give us a broader look at the world, and quick little culture classes. Essentially, nobody goes to them unless it's extra credit or required for a class. This week, the forum was on....CHINA! Even more so than that, it was on the same Provinence that I had gone to so I decided to go and sit in just for fun since I had a break anyways. As fun as it was to see pictures of the same places I had gone, some similiar experiences and same funny food and chinglish things, I TOTALLLLLLLY miss China now! It got me thinking back on only a few of the hundreds of good times that I had there....

~"QUICKLY! QUICKLY!" Apparently no matter what time it was, we were ALWAYS late compared to the Chinese. They however could do no wrong. We would sit and wait an hour for them and they'd claim that we were told the wrong time, where if we were 5 minutes late it seemed to be a national crisis.

~Walking around the Birds Nest (award location for 2008 olympics) singing the National Anthem and talking about how cool it would be to be in the olympics and watch the flag get raised there being so far away from home. We started off singing as kind of a joke but it was actually a REALLY cool feeling!

~Quingmen Hostel: Beijing Round 2. There were counttttttless good times here! The building that we stayed in was where the workers lived when they built the Forbidden City so it is unbelievably old! It was ghetto and creepy and I had such a blast! This was where we thought it'd be a good idea to add extra security by pushing the trunk in front of our door so people couldn't open it....little did we realize that the door opened out the OTHER direction, and we didn't even lock it to begin with! Brushing our teeth out the window, too tired to run down to the bathroom.

~Yes I saw the Great Wall. Yes I hiked 10 miles on it. Yes I ziplined off of it.

~"YEAH?! Well guess what! My night is STILLLL worse than yours!"

~Allie and me had so much fun with the subways in Beijing! "Bunch me! Bunch me HERE! ....Bunch me softly!"

~"When do I get to taste you?"....oh Jack!

~ ERRRRRIC! I am now deteremind to go to Germany one day!

~ Flowers Hostel in Guilin was a week of the greatest nights of my life! I laughed so hard I couldn't breathe, almost peed, and literally got a bloody nose!

~"WHY ARE WE ALWAYS RUNNING?!" Seriously the story of our lives! Seems like we couldn't be on time if our lives depended on it.

~Ever been on a train with over 100 people in one cart, in over 100 degree weather? Imagine if you had HUGE bags with you that you were trying to balance between your ankles. Imagine if you were in a country where people didn't believe in personal hygiene. Imagine if you had already missed your first train so you were emotionally tired and scared because you don't actually know what these people are saying so you don't know if you're going to get to the right place. And did I mention that on top of all of this funness, you're STANDING while packed in with these people for SIIIIIX hours? Yeah....we did that! I have an all new appreciation for the Jews.



I seriously had a BLAST in China! It is hands down the greatest thing that I have ever done in my life and I'm back in one of my stages where I just miss it like crazy! I miss my kids SO bad some days that all I can do is sit and watch videos and look at pictures. The next group leaves in 2 weeks and one of the girls is asking me advice and what it was like etc. On one hand I'm happy to help but the true me is inside screaming "Eff you! Those are MY kids!" There's so many countless memories that you could not even begin to understand without having been there! I LOOOOVE the girls I went with and miss them like crazy! I know that China was where I was supposed to be. I grew incredible amounts while there, learning more and more about myself and life and other people. I grew spiritually in ways I'm still understanding. Thank you Alana and Ameri and Anna for telling me about your experiences and getting me informed and then so excited to go! :)

"I still miss you!..."

...I miss you picking me up... I miss texting you... "Okay you can't just leave me in there like that!"...I miss you freaking out when you drive... I miss traveling with you... I miss you hiding in my room to avoid crazy parents... I miss going to Panda Express... I miss you laughing hard and making ME laugh even harder... I miss you scaring little kids..."Why are you sad? It's a celebration!"... I miss going to Pier 49..."Cool Jess! You can go shave your BACK now!"...I miss you trying to hide your itunes password from me and Jess...I miss you being awkward with parents...I miss you randomly showing up at my house...I miss you letting me drive your car...I miss those moments when you'd catch my eye after someobdy said something stupid and just CRACKING up about it...I miss you surprising me with breakfast...I miss swim/pizza parties..."You don't understand okay! I was in an accident! A real accident!"...I miss you being mad at me for always being late...I miss you always giving me your coat because I'd never take mine...I miss going to Krispy Kreme...I miss you always randomly paying for me...I miss being out all night just driving around...I miss driving all the way to Heber just to get ice cream and drive back..."You never listen to me! SIT DOWN!"....I miss how funny it is when you'd get mad...I miss you sucking up to my mom...I miss you dancing EVERRRRY time you'd hear music...I miss our Walmart runs that were an everyday occurance..."No crying!"...I miss you always burning me CD'S...I miss our Wendy's runs...I miss going to get rainbow sherbert and then you sitting there and making fun of me the whole time I ate it...I miss you taking pictures with me all the time..."Okay...that's a grouch point. You only get 5 grouch points and then you're an UBER grouch!"...I miss how respectful you are...I miss you sucking up to authority...I miss you going to stupid movies with me that nobody else wants to see...I miss going to Haunted Houses...I miss your SUPER awkward moments..."Channnnnnn"....I miss you always helping me carry my stuff...I miss how good you always made me feel...

"Find Out Who Your Friends Are"

It's funny how quickly everything can change in life. About 1 1/2 weeks ago, everything was going GREAT, I was oddly optimistic and annoyingly happy. Then one day you wake up and something "hits you." So...you shake it off and keep going. Then the next day, I wake up late and find out I bombed a math test. I go outside in the POURING rain to walk across campus for my probation meeting and try and figure out summer school. Then friend drama. Then I find out I still don't get to have a car down here (Yay probation). Then stupid boys mess things up. Then I get sick. Then family stuff comes up. Slowly, things are bringing me down and I'm not able to really shake it off as much. When I FREAKED that our garbage disposale broke, I realized that it was time to get away for a little while.



I love that song "Find Out Who Your Friends Are" and believe it to be absoulutly true! Here is another little "shoutout" or thank you or whatever to the people that I love that much more lately! ......

Penny, Veronica and Dom. They have ALWAYS been there through all of my stupid drama and crap! They (and Ashlyn) are the biggest reasons I made it through high school the way that I did and they've stayed my best friends even since graduating and everybody starting to go their own ways.

Shay Harvey. I met her down here about this time last year and she's hilarious! I love "Shay moments" when she says the stupidest things and doesn't get mad when I make fun of her and take things too far. And she always drives clear over to pick me up for school, then back to campus, then back over the hill AGAIN to go home after. Thank you taxi girl!

BRIEZY! She is so awesome! She's a new roommate I met just a couple weeks ago when I moved down here but she's pretty much in the "best friend" category as well at this point. I LOOOOOVE talking to her! I feel like we're on the same page with a lot of things in life right now and she always has the perfect balance of listening and input. I love our dance parties, driving in her adorable car, going to Durangos, going to Coldstone, studying in the library, venting late at night, camping in the hallway and belting out our favorite songs! And of course laying on a blanket outside while we make lunch and attempt to work on homework :) (Yes this picture was at the end of January and yes we're in shorts and t-shirts)

SAAAAAM! This was on his "hater night!" One second we're yelling and he claims he hates me (which is a LIE always), then the next second he tells me I'm his best friend :) WOOH! He's like a brother to me! He always has my back and is so helpful whenever I need ANYTHING! He's the best! Except he needs to work on watching movies because so far all we get to see is "just the best parts"

J-FARNS! I realize that this picture is in 2 posts in a row but I do NOT even care! :) Like Dom, Ron and Pen, I met Jess in high school and have not only stayed close, but have gotten closer since graduating. She seems to always call at the perfect time and always knows what I need to hear whether I'm ecstatic, pissed, crying etc. And she's a good influence for getting me to do nicer things ;)

The BRANDT fam! Jake, Ashlee and Keznee girl. I love them! Ashlee and I haven't been close until recently but I'm really glad that we are now. I look up to Jake and her SOOO much! (Kinda because I'm taller than both...but figuratively speaking!) Jake is in the military and a few months ago he found out that he was going to be getting deployed. On top of this, having a new baby, moving, and change of military plans at the drop of a hat, they have handled everything SOO well! They have stayed so optimistic, and have kept the big picture in mind the whole time and just trying to make the best of the crappy situations that keep getting thrown at them. And Keznee is just adorable so she's thrown in here just for kicks :)

Brittany Cal. She sucks at "gottcha last" but I guess she's cool overall. We're 15 months apart and so obviously I've known her my whole life and she's always been my best friend. Sometimes I forget this, but at the end of the day it's always her. I can always tell her ANYTHING and she sits and listens to all of it without judging me or interrupting me and matching what emotion I need right then. And of course it's always fun saying that we're twins (like in the picture on our 21st birthday at Texas Roadhouse). She's always excited for me with whatever random thing I have going on, or whatever trip I'm talking about taking.

ER Bear! She was my first ever roommate and I love her to death! Our first "bonding" moment was when we found out that my name is actually her middle name. She got me to see a whole new perspective on life. She is such a good example of keeping your priorities straight and knowing what's most important in life. She's so loving and will do anything for people in need. Not to mention that we have had COUNTLESS good times of laughing hysterically! No matter how mad/sad I can be in a day, hanging out or talking to her will flip a 180 for me. Her family totally adopted me since I've moved down here and just totally accepted me as "one of their own." Now she's married but she still always makes time for me and thankfully we've stayed really close.

Thank you for always being there for me! Even when I know that ALL of you have much better things you could be doing with your limited spare time. Love youuuu!

Just what the doctor ordered!

So for the last 5 days I was able to go home for a little while...it was AWESOME! I was going up for my friends wedding, then I wasn't going, then I decided to go again and I'm SOO happy that I did! I was frustrated with a lot of things and life wasn't exactly going as well as I wanted it to be, so it was nice to kinda get away for a little while. It ended up being even better than I expected and it was exactly what I needed as a little break! Here's some of what happened...

FINALLY wrote missionaries back for the first time in 6 months! Sorry about that boys!

Dom and Losi! I met him down here at Jessica's wedding but not for very long and we didn't really do anything so it was nice to get to meet him "for real" and of course I always love getting to see Dom! They are such an adorable couple!

J-Farns! She is such a good friend to me and everytime I talk to her, I feel like she puts things into better perspective for me! "So...we're doing in but being nice? THAT"S NEW FOR US!" I had to crop out what was going on in the rest of the picture but just know that it was a really fun night! lol

Keznee turned 6 months! I freakin love this little girl and I do more and more everytime I see her again. I not only heard her laugh for the first time, but got her going hysterically! These overalls were so cute but they wouldn't stay on her shoulders for the life of her! LOVE YOU KEZY GIRL!

Roni, Lavi and me bowling at Fat Cats! Roni and me both won out of our lanes! Not only did we break 100 (which NEVER happens for me!), she got 114 and I got 120! And of course...a GREAT NIGHT!

Princess Roni...my colored sister! haha It's ALWAYS fun when Veronica's there and she cracks me up, especially when she's venting or kinda making fun of somebody. We went to Sconecutter and she was putting a drop of ketchup on each individual bite of her fries so we thought it was funny...sorry Ron but I had to!

Pesi and Dom! And the stupid pita sandwich. We sat there laughing and talking for so long that the worker came over and kicked us out. Before this we'd gone to sports night where we were graced with a quick appearance by Ms. Ashlyn Unga, but she was gone before we got a picture. "Well hello! Happy Halloween Dom!" haha

Kez and grandpa G. We took a quick trip down to pick up Kimber and figure things out with her so Kez, Ash and me stopped there while Jake went to meet up. Both grandma AND grandpa had work done on their knees this week so they were on recovery. Grandpa is always so cute with Kez! I didn't put it up, but there's the funniest picture of him comparing his bruised, scared and bandaged knee to Kez's little tiny white one. "Let's get a picture of the old AND the new!"

Like any other weekend, there were other people that I didn't get to see and some I WISH I didn't see, but overall it was great! I love that I got to see everybody and hangout again for more than just a quick overnight trip. Now onto my 6 math assignments I should have done....

LOVE YOU ALL!