Sometimes I'm so pathetic

Like those moments I just spent like half an hour stalking my favoritest missionary/roommate HPen's blog because I just sat and watched the Notebook and my rommates are slowly disappearing and I sat without pants on for a couple hours today and I don't know what I'm going to do for the rest of the summer.

I think it's time the mission gives back my friends.

Meanwhile, I have a lot of blogging to catch up on apparently! Just now realizing how far behind I am. Like extremely.

You people don't even know that I lived with my best friend for the last 6 weeks! Or that I wrote a grant! Or that I declared a major! Yeah, I'm hot stuff. Lemme tell you, Provo is looking good on this girl.

Except for when it decides to snow in June. WUT.

Finals

It has really been something else. So many emotions flow through you during these stressful times. I was elated when I saw the score for my Hist201 test. Last night, I was at the lowest low after hours of studying and I saw the less-than-satisfactory grades from my calc and chem finals. I felt like sleeping. I felt like my eyeballs were gonna fall out of my head and my brain was melted from the hours and hours of studying and testing and studying and testing and writing and studying and testing.
And there were times when I wanted to give up.
I didn't though. I didn't do all that great (for my standards). But at the end of the day I completed another semester (that's 4 down with my AP credits - shout out to CLHS for rockin' those classes).

And even if my grades say otherwise I learned a lot!
I learned about chemistry - understanding the world around me.
I learned about history - trade, religion, and biological warfare (and they didn't even test me on the last one)
I learned about mental and psychological issues and was able to apply the skills and resources in my life and the lives of those around me.
I learned about calculus - still don't know when you'd ever use it in life but hey, I learned some pretty cool tricks and I even made a friend in a class and I lost a bet too.
I learned more about my Savior's life, his Atonement, temples, and my testimony from my wonderful professor than I have in a long time.
I learned where I struggle and where I excel.
I got closer to declaring a major.
I learned that I choose sleep over class more often than not.

And learning is what's important. Knowledge is what rises with us in the resurrection. It can make a poor man rich and I truly believe that and education is the most important investment we can make in ourselves. And so, when I get those grades I'll be happy with what they are.
A's don't mean that I know the most in that class. It just means I tested well and followed the syllabus. But I know I learned something. Even if's not anything huge, or something that I'll forget in two weeks. It made a difference to me in this moment.

I Have Never Been So Thankful

I'm in one of those euphoric states. Literally everything in my life brings me joy - sometimes it just takes longer to remember it. And I can spam all of you with my immense gratitude because it's Thanksgiving. And so begins the list...

Brittani's Gratitude List (<yep. I'm 5 years old)

*Christmas music. It just brings such happiness mainly because I'm thinking about home and family and more holiday memories.

*My friends and the wonderful people they are. I'm grateful for when they cook for me. For when they know something's wrong. For when they make feel better. For when they remind me to find happiness. For when they tell me to stop being stupid and brush myself off. And for when I can do the exact same to them.

*Words. It's amazing the impact that words have - written or spoken, they can change things around completely. And I've realized the last few days how many people turn these words into art that moves me. 

*My job. I complain about it more than I should. It's in the late hours of the night sitting on the floor with my girls talking about life, love, and everything under the sun that I realize why I do what I do. And more importantly, why I love it.

*Camp Kesem. Camp gave me purpose. Camp reminded me what I love about life. It brought back the happiness in my life because I finally found a place where I belonged. It is SO much more than something to put on a resume. It's a family. It saved me.
*BYU. I'm here learning at a prestigious school on full-scholarship from some of the brightest people in the world. Not only do I get to increase my education, I get to grow spiritually in all that I do and be fully immersed in this Gospel that I hold so dearly. Not to mention the Temple that is right outside my window.

*The Gospel of Jesus Christ. It was restored on this earth for ME. Well, and you too. It reminds me to keep an eternal perspective on life. It helps me to not sweat the little things. It gives me comfort when nothing else can. It gives me purpose. It gives me hope. 

*My family. The reason I started writing this post to begin with. After spending a lovely day with my Aunt and Uncle and the rest of the clan, I came home tonight to work. And I started wallowing, "Woe is me. I'm alone on Thanksgiving night. My family is far away and I'm here alone. Why me." And I realized how blessed I am. I shouldn't be pitying myself today. I should be ecstatic about all that I have been blessed with. And my family is my everything, as crazy and complicated and backwards as it can get. I would be nowhere without these beautiful people. And as cliché as that is, I mean every single word. They're my biggest cheerleaders, my greatest examples, and the funniest people I will ever have the privilege of knowing in this life. And they're all mine. Sorry, y'all. 

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving, too. No matter where you were or who you were with because you have people, experiences, and encounters to be thankful for too.

There's Those Moments On Campus When I Hear Things And Think, "Only at BYU..."

Like today, when I was walking to my last class and I hear a guy shouting into the phone, "IN THE ETERNAL PERSPECTIVE OF THINGS..." and he proceeded to shout while I carried on my merry way to class (PS I'll tell you what, class in the Benson and then in the Heritage Central Building with 10 minutes to get there is nearly impossible. Note to self for next semester).


And while I laughed to myself about the irony of what he said with the tone of which he said it, I realized that's an important motto.
The eternal perspective: what REALLY, TRULY matters?
Does it matter what we did in high school, how many things we're involved in, how many parties we've been to, the number of hours we've slept, how much money is in our bank accounts, how many friends we've had?

No.

It matters more how we carry ourselves after our experiences.

How we spend our time and the knowledge we've gained.

What did we do with our life? What did we leave behind?

How are we living now?

Do we dwell in the past? Or do we set our sights on the future? 

We keep moving forward.

Tutti Frutti

This summer and the last I've a job working at Tutti Frutti - the only frozen yogurt shop in my home that is the treehouse. And I will whine about it until the day I stop working there. My hours are awful, there's often a lot of downtime, sometimes people aren't that friendly when they come in, I do more dishes there than I do at home, and I swear I come home covered from head to toe in yogurt. Oh, and don't forget the 824473947 pounds I'll gain by the end of the summer because it is so dang good!

But every once in a while I have some really great moments. There's a lot of people that come in that just crack me up (I mean, this is Lake County). There's also plenty of people that come in regularly, some doing the walk of shame because they might come in just a little bit too often, that I feel I ave a responsibility to make their day just a tad brighter. Plus, they tend to tip more if I'm friendly ;)

There's two little twin boys, probably 3 years old, that come in with their dad and tell me about their hunting and fishing trips and how they love the "salmon eggs" in their yogurts.

There's a little girl who comes in with her mom and is 4 going on 14. "I don't need your help, mom." "Mom, why are you doing it for me?"

There's the lady who came in and complimented me on my red hair and then said how whenever she came in I had a smile on my face and it made her happy

There's the families I knew from before I worked there that make me perk up when they come in.

There's my friends who come in when it's slow just to make me laugh. And take pictures of me. And play with the puzzle books.

There's the SUPER CUTE older couples who you know have been married forever and come in for date night to get frozen yogurt.

There's the people who commend my efforts for higher education and know that it's not easy to fund it on your own.

There's the teenagers on their first date.... and the ones that come in with the munchies.

There's so many reasons to smile

One lady found out I was a BYU student and got excited and asked me all about Utah because she was heading out there soon and wanted to know if she should fly or drive and what she could do and what I loved about Utah (Made me anxious to get back!) She left last week and came in before she did to tell me she decided to drive per my recommendation.

Then, yesterday there was a guy who found out I lived in Utah and asked if I was Mormon. (Pause: there's a lot of Mormon terms coming up.) After a brief introduction I found out he was recently baptized and that he just received the Priesthood and was attending a ward in my stake and he knew a lot of people that I did and we shared our love for the Gospel of Jesus Christ in our lives.

When I look at it this way, it makes working there not so bad and I actually wonder if my next job will be as enjoyable as this one with the way I get to interact with people so closely.

It also makes me really excited for that time in my life when I finally get to work at Disneyland - it's gonna happen.

The end.

There's really no other way to describe it. It's just the end. The end of the beginning I suppose. Haley and I are busy deep cleaning and packing and whatnot. Cleaning out the shoebox we call home. And that's what it's become - the 3103, Provo, BYU - home. I know I'm going "home" to California. But I'm going there with suitcases and a set date to come back. And I'm okay with it. I waited for this day with anticipation since day one. And I can't believe it's here and if I'm being honest, I wish it wasn't. I could sit here and make a list of all the things I wish I would've/could've done before I left, things that I could add to the Freshman Year Bucket List. Instead, I'm just so grateful for the things that I was able to do and accomplish while I was here. And now I sit in anxiously awaiting when I can get back to P-town. It'll be a fantastic end to my summer with Camp Kesem and then swinging right in to RA training. Oh yeah guys, I'm going to be an RA! Next Fall and Winter semesters I'll be living in Freshman On-Campus housing so that they'll pay for my things (housing and meal plan) and so I can help some girls navigate their Freshman year. That'll be interesting!

As for this summer, I'm going to try and figure out what I want to do with my life. I have a few ideas, and I know I have time, but really feel like I can do it. It's a "me summer". I have a few goals in mind, a job lined up, and some quality reading time to catch up on. And I can't tell you how great it all sounds.

I don't blog enough

Sometimes, there are things that happen in my life, and I'm like, "I think that might be funny for other people to read." So I blog it. But then, I get bored or I feel the need to procrastinate yet again (like now, for instance. Imagine that!) And I go back and read my old posts.
Man, I'm hilarious. But besides my obviously perfect sense of humor and complete sarcasm, I love to read the moments when I'm serious for 0.23 seconds and I'm like, wow, I actually learned something about life. And it's like a living breathing journal - which I'm supposed to have anyway, but blogging is more fun - that I can look back on and gain insight and all that mushy, gushy sentimental stuff.
So for all of you that read my blog, you're pretty cool because you get to see my life, too. Well, the cool parts anyway. So I now present to you,

Story Time Catch-Up!

Here's a picture of Jennea when she was super duper awesome and came to stay with me for an un-predetermined (pretty sure I just made that up. What of it?) amount of time and experienced momo land and tried to change my background on my computer from this

Which it still is, to this

and she's just really Mac challenged so it didn't happen. But here's your perpetual claim to fame on the blog, yo.

A few months ago, I get this in the mail:

That's how pathetic my life is. Someone wants me to advertise my "Single Lady" Status in my window and hope it brings out the good guys.
Clearly, that's the reason it's on my door for everyone to see when they come in...

Last night, I was all alone so I fell asleep watching Little Mermaid. Hello, my name is Brittani and I'm secretly five years old. Which leads me to the Monday when I went to Build-a-Bear and the Disney store with Amber and people assumed we weren't there for ourselves. Ha, yeah right! (We also decided that we want the Tangled and the Little Mermaid Dinnerware to keep in my apartment next year.) Which THEN leads me to Thursday which may or may not have been the best conversation of my life that involved A LOT of caps and other forms of text screaming out of excitement of possibly the best news of my life that'd I might be headed to Disneyland with this girl in a few months where we can act like kids in a candy story (Read: little girls in Ariel's grotto) and not be judged for it

 Might I add that we are pretty freaking adorable at any age? Even with my hoe make-up on from the musical. Ps. K, where are the pics from when we were at our happy place last summer?
^I also just have to say that I am rocking whatever print is on those pants? #YoungFashionista

With my Aunt Jamie and her familia living so close, I've gotten to see her pretty often lately which is awesome. Mainly because I get snuggles from these cuties

And she cooks for me and lets me do my laundry over there and is pretty much freaking the best ever.

Sometimes, it's really hard to keep the paparazzi away from us at lunch.. They don't get it...

I may or may not be the best FHE mom ever. So what if we do activities that I do when I babysit. It was pretty legit. 

I don't know why but only girls showed up that night. It was still super fun! My favorite is the one in the lower right hand corner. That's Cole Lyman attempting to finger paint this

It was a valiant effort, Cole.

So basically, this semester has kinda been ridiculously hard and I'm still trying to figure out my life and all. But at least I've got some great memories. I mean in all honesty, no one remembers the nights they got to sleep a lot, but they remember the times they made a not-so-great choice and went out and went crazy and had so so much fun and then have to stay up late finishing an assignment that's due the next day. Or maybe you roll in during the wee hours of the morning and you and your roomie decide to shower at 5 am because, why not? (Oh yeah, she fell asleep in her clothes... again). Or maybe you go late night bowling because you can. And it's Provo. And maybe you spend some time fifth-wheeling it, but it's okay because your friends are awesome and at least they have good, caring boyfriends. All of this is hypothetical, of course. But I think the best thing is to remember the cray cray times and enjoy life. You only live once, right?

This year

It's almost over 

WHAT.

Wasn't it just yesterday that I sat in my room balling my eyes out with Lady K because we had no friends and hated it here and wanted to be home and missed our family and the sky was falling and the world was coming to an end?

First night at school, say what?

 That was eight months ago.

And now the thought of going home is killing me. I mean I have the BEST people in my life - hands down. H, A, K, L, and the plethora of boys lining up at my door (don't even get me started on how many marriage proposals I've had this year, I mean really*). And now I've gotta go home and put all that on hold and work and make money and do some leadership stuff on the side because that's kinda my thing. I just got settled in and started enjoying, well, everything and now I'm out. And 99.9% of the people I met won't be here next year - THOSE FREAKING MISSIONS. Good thing I love this Church as much as I do and I'm okay with it. I also don't want to be struck down by lightning...

I feel like I've learned a lot. No so much in my classes but those were cool, too. More about me. And I realized how much I love this time in my life and how I don't want it to end and I don't want to grow up and I want to be able to stay up all night and jump around until we see the sun, you feel me?

It's just been some great time. Some awesome, fantastic, truly wonderful memories. And this 3-month break is going to SUUUUUUCK.

I now present to you: A Year in Pictures (The Condensed Version)

First Friends! Love them always and forever. 

Cutest Roommates you ever did see. #Jackpot

First (and LAST) time hiking the Y.

First Homecoming! True Blue. Thanks for making me go, BM.

First time having all four seasons! (Sometimes all in one day... Oh Utah.)

First real winter. Guys, I'm still alive. Shocking to even me!

Christmas at Temple Square with my lovers. Oh, that night. Memories. 

Ice skating! Still my dream date. Take note, boys, I'm easy to please.

It felt like a perfect night to dress up like hipsters. But it was really cold...

Did you know if you sit in the right place at lunch time in the CougarEat approximately 2012839201438247 people will come to talk to you about country dancing and hungry face competitions and BYU/SA?

Just a mid-week drive to Salt Lake. Gotta look hot, you know what I'm saying?

*Yeah, no that's a joke. So sorry for the disappointment. But I made it through my first year without a ring on it! Yes, it can be done! Actually, none of my friends got engaged this year. #foreveraloneattheCannonCenter

I have these really awesome people in my life like... {five}

Axel

Is leaving on his mission in exactly a week. Can you believe that?? And then he'll be gone, serving the Lord in Ukraine for two years (after a brief training period in the MTC). 

I've been thinking a lot lately about how people come into our lives. Some times it's slyly. Other times it's pretty obvious right away that the person you just introduced yourself to for the first time is going to become one of your best friends and one of the most influential people in your life.

Axel and I met because we signed up for the same Writing 150 class. Thank goodness we did. So naturally at BYU they set up groups for Freshman based on class enrollment. That led us here:

My first friends at school! Olivia and Axel. I think I hit the jackpot with that one. 

 And then to hanging out/ditching NSO so that we could find our classes and make up ridiculous names for the building acronyms and laugh so hard it hurts while I'm huffing and puffing from the altitude change.

Can we just take a moment to appreciate how FREAKING ALBINO I AM IN THIS PICTURE?? Okay so the story behind this: Axel always covers his mouth when he laughs so obviously Liv and I make fun of him. Haha

Somehow we end up sitting outside late one night, and Axel stops random guys and asks them to do a model walk off and then he rates them. I must say, the kid is spot on. Kudos, Axel.

 And then, we stayed out late one night (like 4am) in probably September or October (when there WASN'T SNOW, good ol' days) while he and Jaron were sick. And then they get me sick with their fetching blankets. Yeah guys, I remember that, and yes, I'm still bitter. PS that blanket mummy is me.

But I knew we were good friends when we watched Little Mermaid together. And he let me sing all the songs along with it. And didn't get annoyed (surprise, guys, he has the soundtrack on his phone and makes fun of ME because I can act out the whole movie). And obviously let me embarrass the crap out of him when I called him out for cuddling with his lady friend. Way to use my movie night as a way to meet hot babes, Axel. 

Anyway, that was the last picture we took. Because we're both idiots and didn't take one before I said good-bye at the end of the semester. He and all his roommates are some of the sweetest boys I know and they contributed to a lot of the positives during the sucky times last semester. 

He better be ready for the best hand shake of his life when he comes here next week and I get to see him for like .465 seconds before he leaves for two years. And hope that we don't forget the camera this time. 

Monday Night Letters

I've seen this on a couple blogs, and it looks like fun. Maybe it'll become a regular thing? Maybe not. #toomainstream #likehashtags

Dear Ladies of Chipman Hall,
Please stop trying to cook in the basement. There's a reason why you live here and you are stinking up the whole building.

Dear Poetry,
You're really just creepy and cryptic. Just come out and say it! Isn't that what all the magazines say to do anyway?

Dear Professor Kearl,
Stop being so crazy. You overcomplicated your class so much!

Dear Anatomy TAs,
Thanks for screwing me over. But thank you more for showing me that I need to step up my game. Thanks for supporting me and truly caring about my learning. It reminds me of home and that makes me comfortable and confident that I really can conquer this class.

Dear 3103,
We nap too much. Luckily we have so much beauty up in this room I feel like sleeping gives some of the other girls a chance. (And so much humility, too.)

Dear Mickey,
Can I come live with you and Minnie in Disneyland? I'm sorry I left so quickly last time. I really do miss you.

Dear Helen Keller*,
Thanks for trying to solve my BYU dating problems. And putting a smile on my face today.

Dear J,
Thanks for listening. It means more than you'll ever know.

Dear K, A, and L,
You're the best things that have ever happened to me. SO BLESSED. I'd kill/castrate with a fork anyone who tried to hurt you. Don't ever leave because I love you so much!

Dear Treehouse,
You have made me me and I love you, the memories, and the people who have been placed in my life because of you the last 8 years. Thanks for letting me have a few of them here with me.

Dear Bulldogs,
You taught me to value myself better than almost anyone. I love you all and I miss you and think of you every single day. Thank you for your love and most of all, the jokes. You changed my life for the BEST and I pray for your successes. I can't wait to see you all this summer.

Dear Family,
You're the best. Do I need to say more? I mean I'm sure I could write something cheesy and cliché all in movie quotes, but I think I'll save those reading this from trying to decipher it.

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for this life. For the beautiful views around me. For all the people, experiences, and challenges placed before me. Thank you for every moment I have to prove myself to you. Thank you for change. Thank you for perspective. And thank you for being there, every step of the way.


All my love,

Brittani

*(DISCLAIMER: This is an alias)

I Just Don't Know...

So this blog is the closest thing I have to a journal. I know that that is so pathetic. I mean everything you see is not everything I write, simply because somethings are more personal for obvious reasons. But I really do feel like I need to blog/journal more. Things are more exciting here and the Y than I let on, promises! And I know that I will regret not writing things down later on. But how do I know what's going to be important years down the road if I don't even know what's important five seconds from now?
This has been hands down the most challenging time in my life. The Church puts so much emphasis on the youth and then all of sudden, it's like "Here you are. Out you go into the real world. So... good luck with that." And the young adults are all trying to figure out what just happened and at the same time stay spiritual and stay focused on our studies and make friends and re-establish life as we know it.
But I truly believe that the Lord is there to guide us. (I promise I wasn't planning on being cliché when I started typing this) He know what's going on and has a better view of the future than I ever could. So here's to sticking to it, and plugging along when the tough times come.

Missions.

They're a great thing. Until you realize all the guy friends you made this year at BYU will slowly filter out and then you're left at square one again. Add that to your friends who are already out and you run up quite the bill in stamps. I hope that my boys spread the Gospel far and wide and make this two year separation worth it.

Reflection

For every paper I've written in my Writing 150 class, we had to complete a reflection on the process of writing our paper and the challenges and successes that came because of it.
Well, seeing as it's the end of my first semester of college (!), I thought it might be appropriate to reflect on my challenges and successes in this latest chapter of my life.

First, I have now lived on my own for four months. HATE IT. There is nothing better than going home, eating something homemade, having someone do your laundry, and not having to plan everything on your own. But, there are positives. I don't have to have someone plan my every minute (Mom, if you only knew how I spent my time here...), and I'm learning to be independent. Baby steps, for sure, but I'm doing it.

Second, I have a new family. I did the impossible and made new friends. Seeing my brothers/bulldogs over break was one of the highlights of my life, no joke. But there was a part of me that couldn't wait to get back to P-town to see Kenzi and Amber - my sisters - and all the other wonderful/not-so-wonderful people here. What a relief to know that, yes, it can be done! I can live outside of Lake County!

Third, I'm not engaged, dating someone, or planning on dating someone. Take that all you people who said I'd come to BYU and be engaged after a semester because
    a. That's what Mormons do
    b. That's what BYU is for.
    c. It didn't matter where I went to school because I really was only going to meet my future husband (MRS degree, obviously)
And that's all I'm going to say about that.

Fourth, I have cried more in the last four months than anytime I can remember. There were the times when I missed my boys. There were the times when I was so stressed about classes I couldn't see straight. There were the times when all I wanted was to be home where I didn't have to worry about money anymore! There were the times when I couldn't make up my mind about the future (a scary place by the way). And there were the times when I just wanted familiarity. BUT I LIVED. I succeeded. I made it through. And all those worries seem a lot sillier from this point of view.

Fifth, I'm okay with the fact that I haven't gotten all As this semester and that that is pretty much out of the realm of possibility. Did it suck of course? Well yeah! This girl's had straight As since the 4th grade! But then I remembered I'm at BYU. And every student here came from a highly successful academic background. And not everyone can be on top. AND I AM OKAY WITH IT.

Sixth, getting out of the Lake County bubble has opened my eyes in so many ways. I sure appreciate home a lot more. I wouldn't change growing up in hicktown Lakeport for anything in my life. I love having to explain where I live in California to people who think that they know the area so well. And then the looks on people's faces when I tell them I graduated with 100 kids. The stories that I have, the memories, make it all worth it in the end.

I guess what I'm trying to get across is that I'm happy for where I've been, and excited for where I'm going. I kinda surprised myself with sitting down and writing this with how many things I'm thankful for in my life. It may mean nothing to you. But it means everything to me!

EDIT: Oren wanted me to let you all know how miserable I was that I didn't get to see him over break. That is all.

For Anyone Wondering What It's Like To Go To BYU

Men of the 106th,

Tomorrow night is a BYU Dance. Finals are here, the semester is nigh unto an end, and the Women of the 106th have spoken thusly:

"Thou (you, my brethren) hast turned for me (a 106th Ward sister that you should ask to the dance) my mourning (finals) intodancing: thou hast put off my sackcloth, and girded me with gladness" (Psalms 30:11)

Gird up your loins guys! Gladness awaits! Ask and ye shall receive! Have a blast at the dance!

Your esteemed brother of-the-clerk,

Tony

aka Brother Anderson

p.s. Please refer to Van Halen II, Side 1, Track 2 for further instruction ;)



OH DEAR ME.

Something Witty This Way Comes

That's as good as it's getting today, folks.

But tonight I have a story to tell.

Once upon a time it was Halloween.

I know you can't tell from these pictures but it was. Promise.

So this night was an adventure to say the least. You know how college kids are on Halloween. Naturally it led to this:

Don't judge us; it's cute so it's acceptable.

But there was one thing that happened that Halloween night that we kept a secret until last night. Yes, we bought Christmas decorations. But we made this stealthy plan to decorate the boys' apartment door with our super cute stockings that we bought (which, by the way, there were only EXACTLY six of left). And all that planning led to a surprise attack:

 And us being super cute again. Luckily, it was the right time frame this time.

It's the start of some Happy Holidays. <3

Fall Semester

It's almost over. And you know it's going well when you have a whole apartment of guys that will:
a.) make you chocolate chip pancakes on a whim
b.) listen to the same music as you
c.) get addicted to How I Met Your Mother almost as fast as you did and now are in a race to finish before the end of the semester.

To top it all off - they walk you home at the end of the night. #win

THIS

Being at BYU has made me realize that there are a lot of douchebag guys out there. Now now, I know that there are A LOT of respectable men that understand what it means to be a gentleman and how to treat a lady. But I feel like here, where all the boys are focused on their missions, they feel like they have a free pass to treat people - girls especially - like garbage.
And it makes me sick! I watch those sappy old love stories, and I just wonder, what happened to all those guys? The ones who hold open doors. Who walk on the outside edge of the sidewalk. Who pull out chairs. Who offer their coats. Who pay for meals. Who are thoughtful and helpful.
The chivalrous ones that treat women like the princesses they are.
Guys have grown to be such pigs. And I know that's terrible. But it's true.
Ladies - accepting these things from a guy does not make you a prima donna. It shows that you understand and value your worth.
Gents - Treating a girl with respect benefits you in the long run, I promise you.

This guy, bless his heart:

I love watching old movies. Particularly movies from the 30’s and 40’s.
It’s fascinating to see the interaction between the characters and how well they treated each other. During that era, even Hollywood, in all its trendiness, still managed to pump out movies highlighting good old fashioned values.
So are old fashioned values still relevant today?
Is it possible to live with 20th century morals and ideals in a 21st century world?
Do these values really play a role in increasing the romance needed in marriage?
Let’s take a look at three key “old fashioned values” and see how they might help us today.
Chivalry
Chivalry is one of the easiest to indentify as being “old fashioned”. Guys, this is a message especially for us. What would it be like if we, as men, all stood up when a lady entered the room? What would it be like if we took her coat for her? What would it be like if she never had to open a door?
I know from personal experience that most women are a little shocked at first. Then, at a deeper look, you can see that it really makes them feel special – like it’s a way they’ve always wanted to be treated.
Just before my wife and I were married, a piece of advice someone gave me that really stuck with me is, “she never touches a door handle”. Meaning, I need to always be there to hold the door, open the car, and so on. By being chivalrous, you can bring back the true meaning of the word ‘gentleman’.
Even in our busy modern lives, there’s always time for a little chivalry. In fact, it’s one of the best ways to help the ladies feel grateful to you and induce more romantic feelings for you.
Respect
Tied closely to chivalry is respect. Respecting your spouse involves treating him or her the way that makes them feel important. The highest form of respect in marriage is seeing and treating each other like royalty.
Service
Serving your spouse manifests itself in many ways. It could be picking up a chore they aren’t very fond of. It could be doing something they really enjoy. It could be just taking the time to be involved with them, whatever that may mean at the time. The ways to serve your spouse are almost infinite. It’s just a matter of actively looking for ways to help.
It’s my experience, that as you look for ways to serve your husband or wife and actually do it consistently, that love will be reflected back and yours will be a happy marriage.
So are these values too old-fashioned?
What if we just removed the word “old-fashioned” and simply called them values?
In reality, any value that encourages a more romantic, more loving marriage is never old fashioned.

So give me a love like Eric and Ariel

Or Allie and Noah

Or Carl and Ellie.







That is a love worth waiting for.

Those Nights

Where it's okay to sit around in a circle for hours and make fun of each other for nothing.
That's what keeps college kids sane.

Countdown Update

1. Hike the Y?

    -We've both hiked it. But not together. Haha
19. Watch The Little Mermaid

I Have These Really Awesome People in My Life Like.... {Four}

 

Kenzi

Kenz and I met at EFY the summer of 2011. We were neighbors. And got in trouble. But that's a different story.

Next, we came to BYU together. And ended up on the same floor, in the same hall. Out of all the on-campus housing! It really was pretty awesome. Especially because we knew someone this way.

Now we're busy making memories. 

And lots of friends. And she's the best. Even if she thinks I hate her. Or whatever.