Day Zero #100

#100 - Get a scholarship

Do you believe in miracles?

I do.

When I found out I was getting a full tuition scholarship last year, I can't even describe how blessed I felt. With the cost of my study abroad, it was really a miracle. I hardly dared hope for another miracle this year. It sounded too good to be true.

But it wasn't.

I am so very grateful to the wonderful men and women who choose to contribute to the scholarship fund, so that students like myself who work as hard as they can but still don't have enough can still get an education, participate in things like dance teams or orchestras or study abroad programs, so that the realm of opportunities isn't smaller for those who don't have very many financial resources.

Someday I want to start my own scholarship fund. I want to be the means of providing miracles to other people - because I think it's the most wonderful feeling in the world.

It was the best of times...

I am officially more than halfway done with my college education. It's rather a crazy thought. I took my last final, sold back a textbook, and walked away from winter 2011. Strange how time passes, dragging tediously on, yet in a flash it's over. The sheer number of words I've typed in the last four months is staggering, the things I've done, people I've met, experiences I've had... okay, enough silliness, WINTER SEMESTER IS OVER!!!!! HOORAY!!!! hehe :)

Still, though, with the excitement comes a twinge of nervous fright for the future - because suddenly life is flying forward at breakneck speed, and there's no stopping it, no backing up, no reverse, no rewind, no re-doing of missed moments. Sometimes in a quiet moment my thoughts catch me off guard, the sudden lurch of fear that I'm wasting time, that I'm missing the fullness of happiness and success that could be mine. I panic a moment and zoom through a mental checklist to make sure I'm still focused on the essentials. Living day to day, it's a big deal, waking, breathing, feeling, experiencing all the joy and beauty that this life has to offer.

But when a bird tweets happily outside my window, the smell of rain or of freshly-mown grass, a carpet of snow covering the ground, or even just the warmth of the sun on my face, I pause for a moment on my quest for success and perfection and think, now this, this is heaven. Life is a sweet, sweet thing.

Viva la Vida.

Ten Things to be thankful for

1. My family. I love them more than anything, and I am who I am today because of them.
2. My best friend, who is currently on a mission. He's amazing, and I'm so happy at how wonderful of a person and missionary he is.
3. Springtime. I love the warmer weather, and just sitting in the grass and looking at the flowers make life worthwhile.
4. Music. Especially inspirational music. It lifts my spirit when nothing else works.
5. The scriptures. There is peace and comfort in the scriptures for any challenge or trial. The Lord really does speak through the scriptures.
6. Fruit. I've never appreciated a sweet, crunchy apple as much as I did today.
7. The Atonement. It gives me the knowledge that Someone has gone before, and with His help, I can overcome anything.
8. Neighbors. Especially the ones that you know will be there, and you can rely on them, no matter what.
9. Friends. It's not about what you do, or what you get in this life, it's about the relationships you build along the way. I hope my friends know how much they mean to me, and if they don't, I hope I continue to show them.
10. Life. It's the greatest, most beautiful blessing I've ever been given, and I suddenly realize how short, how fragile, how precious it is. Live your life. Don't ever waste a moment of it. You never, ever know how much time you have left, and when my time comes, in those last moments when my life flashes before my eyes, I want to see it and smile, knowing that I did my best, and I really, truly lived.

Viva la Vida.

Beautiful peace

I'm working on a Day Zero goal to make a list of 101 things that make me happy. It isn't finished, mainly because there are SO many things that make me happy that I can't decide what the top 101 would be!

But as I changed my desktop background at work this morning, I realized one of the things I love most. Beautiful nature scenery. Whether it's the sun filtering through a cool canopy of leaves in a mountain forest, or the way the ocean stretches out to meet the horizon in the distance, there's a certain peace I find from sitting and drinking in the beauty that God has created. That's a kind of peace and joy I haven't found any other way - and I love it.

These are all pictures I took in Spain - in moments where the beauty took my breath away.

I'm grateful for my friends

I am so grateful for the friends I've made throughout my life. They're in all parts of the world doing all different things right now, but there's so many people who've left footprints on my heart. To them, I say thank you, for helping me become the person I am today. I wouldn't be me without you.

I love this girl more than words!

best friend. ever.