My Simple, Happy, Beautiful Life

Kristen Jensen and her friend were talking over this weekend about past friendships and relationships (If I talked like this the whole post, would it annoy you?). Don't worry I won't. I was just thinking about past relationships and friendships that I have been hurt by and thinking about how to forgive. I find it amazing the power we have over people. We have power to make people happy and miserable. I think it is so important to use this power for good to make sure that uplift people instead of bringing people down.  If they do bring us down, it is really hard to forgive. I think forgiveness is one of the hardest things we can do in life. Hatred and past hurt relationships can really damage you. There are so many general conference talks that prove this. I just encourage all of you who feel like not forgiving someone is holding you back to forgive. There is freedom and emotional rest that comes from forgiving your enemy or best friend. It may be one of the hardest things y...

So, I just watched a movie about Anne Frank on netflix. It really made me think about a couple of things. Anne Frank died but left a legacy with her journals. In the movie part of the script included some of her journal entries. She had big dreams for her future and I feel like she accomplished them even with her dire circumstances. I admire her greatly for her hope and optimism. She was able to find love, happiness and dreams even within a really inconvenient and depressing environment. She knew what was going on in the world, yet she was able to look beyond that and find hope that she would be a famous writer. Another thing I learned is about the power of family and love in this movie. I know that families and relationships may hurt you but this shows that even when you are going through a hard time, the love and support from relationships and family will help you get through even the most difficult times. It will bring new perspectives and a healthy coping mechanism. I don't k...

So, today was first classes of spring semester at BYU. I am taking Psychological Stats and Family Processes. The workload won't be too much and the teachers seem really nice and flexible. I think one of the coolest part of my day was meeting with my professor I am doing research with. I am not sure if I have written about my research job but I am writing a research report on attitudes on marriage in LDS young adults. The research report will contribute to a book that will hopefully be published about marriage preparation and transition. I love this area of research because I am fascinated in what keeps relationship healthy and happy. I think the work I will be doing will keep me busy enough with two research jobs on campus! And then I will be helping teaching GRE study groups with Psi Chi. It is safe to say that research and psychology is taking over my life sometimes...but there is hope :) For my brother's birthday, we went on the rooftop and listened to his friend play guit...

Let me tell you: I used to love watching Dr. Phil when I was younger (maybe that is why I chose psychology as my major in college). I had extra time today while waiting for my ride, so I turned on some Dr. Phil. Oh my. I noticed so many different things compared to when I was 12! First of all, Dr. Phil is the perfect example of the "american" psychology. In my personality class, we learned about various cultures and their beliefs. I never realized how self-centered Americans are taught to be from the culture. The most important thing in our culture is have self confidence, to achieve your goals andobtain happiness. Don't get me wrong, but this leaves out for thinking about others. My personal opinion is that you need to have balance between your personal comfort and happiness and helping others all the time. I was watching him interact with his "clients" and he kept referring to how they needed to be happy and focus on themselves. Is that the real solution to ...

Maybe, my title captured your attention? Yes? Well, I will say that I am in love with Rexburg. I forgot how much I am in love. Like sometimes I am head over heels in love with Rexburg. But strange thing, I was walking back to my grandpas after talking with a old roommate, and I was excited to go back to Provo. I had a great weekend yet I want to go back to Provo. I like it there too. So I am madly in love with Rexburg and I always will be. I guess you could say Rexburg was my first love, but there is time to move on and see all the other fish in the sea. There are limited opportunities for me in Rexburg yet I will always love visiting it. So that is my final conclusion. I never thought I would say that I miss Provo compared to Rexburg. P.S. I am excited for my best friend to live with me in Provo. It will be the most amazing summer. I can feel it in my bones.

I was watching You've Got Mail the other day on tv. I absolutely love that movie. Meg Ryan is adorable in it with Tom Hanks. But there was one part where she talked about closing the store and her fears about the future. Her co-worker tells Meg Ryan that she is brave for closing the store. I was confused about how this relates to bravery but now I understand why. We all live in this comfort zone where we afraid of what is outside of it. It is hard to imagine what we could do once we are done with the familiar things in our life. Facing the unknown and unfamiliar is one of the bravest things we can do. It is acknowledging that change may be good and being open to a new experience is going to change you for the better. I have talked about this concept of the unknown and combating fear with faith a lot in this blog. Looking back in my life, it is something I have had to learn. Moving to provo, ending relationships, and leaving home to work at Disney World all were experiences were...

I have discovered so many things about learning this semester. The most important thing you can do in life is to find your passion and live it. I think I have found mine and my life is forever changed! I remember my dad telling me that I needed to find my passion and just follow it. The thing about passion is that only you can know what your passion is. Even if your parents are dancers, your passion may be archaeology. The question is how do you find your passion? My answer is simply living and asking questions. You just try new things. Take different classes. When learning and living seems natural and easy, you have found your passion. When work and classes are exciting to you and you don't dread them, you have found your passion. And then life is exciting. You have something to live for because you are passionate. College is hard and stressful. There are numerous strains that you can't control, so that's why finding your passion is really important. So keep looking...

I would recommend Sarah's Key. It is isn't happy, but it portrays a lot of real emotion. I saw it tonight by myself yet I enjoyed it greatly. I may of needed the tissue box at my side, but I feel like I gained some really important insights from this movie. My mom told me that I should of been flirting instead of watching this movie, but I feel like my time was well spent. These are insights I feel like you can gain from this movie. 1. Family has a purpose of defining who we are. The family wanted to get to know each other. There was a deep interest in understanding the true story and getting to know the "real" Sarah. I feel like this shows that finding out about our family will stronger define who we are. 2. Watching how the Holocaust affected the family unit was interesting (yes, I see different things based on what I am learning in education). The Holocaust changed Sarah forever. She lived in guilt the rest of her life, even though her intentions were good to s...