101 Lessons From the Past 12 Months

I have nearly completed my first year at SUU and I've learned a lot!

1. The last few weeks of High School are absolutely worthless
2. Graduation isn't that cool
3. Parents still give a curfew even when you're a legal adult (at least mine do)
4. Dental Assisting and working with a bunch of people older than you is actually really fun
5. I was not meant to play softball
6. Speaking in church 3 times in 2 weeks won't kill you
7. Single's Wards/Branches are a blast
8. Taking a nap on the boat at Lake Powell will give you a sunburn
9. Following the promptings of the Spirit can save your life (seriously)
10. Having a birthday near a holiday means you will not be home on your birthday. Ever.
11. When you work for you're dad, don't be surprised when he wakes you at two in the morning to go to an office for an emergency.
    
12. Don't eat a lot of food or not get much sleep before assisting an extraction. It might make you a bit queasy
13. Take ALL of your antibiotic after you get your wisdom teeth out
14. Packing for college for the first time is very difficult, you have no idea what to bring!
15. Ikea has really cool heavy duty bags that carry everything
16. Ikea has really cool...everything. I could live there!
17. The 1st week of college (like before school starts) is the most fun
18. The rest of college is pretty fun too
19. Even though you don't have a curfew at college, give yourself one or else you might be extremely tired every day
20. Going home to visit your family is a lot of fun!
21. Going home to visit your family is weird too because you don't live there anymore
22. When someone calls you at 2 in the morning looking for a missing roommate, don't answer the call.
23. Professor's are kinda stuck up sometimes
24. Homework in college isn't that bad
25. Taking 17 credits your first semester won't kill you
26. Become involved in your new ward fast so you don't get pushed aside
27. Save your quarters to do your laundry
28. Make sure you don't end up with someone else's laundry in your load
29. Don't gang up on your roommates
30. Do your dishes
31. Go to institute every chance you can
32. Go to math everyday
33. Go to every class everyday. It pays off in the long run.
34. Finals week isn't that bad
35. Facebook is a big distraction
36. Make time for your family when they come to see you
37. If you set your roommate up on a date with a guy, she might stay with him. Forever.
    
38. Read your scriptures, pray, and read your patriarchal blessing when you're feeling down
39. Do all those churchy things when you're happy too
40. Keep in touch with old roommates
41. Make friends with anyone and everyone (unless they're creepers)
42. Take risks
43. Take lots of pictures
44. Eat.
45. Keep a thing of ice cream or popsicles in your freezer at all times
46. Wal-Mart is a source of entertainment, not just a place to shop anymore
47. It's ok to wear your sweats to school
48. It's ok to take 5 minutes to get ready for class
49. It is not ok to do so everyday
50. Going home for winter break is really weird
51. Going back to school after winter break is really depressing
52. Don't be afraid to ask people to give you priesthood blessings
53. Make friends with people in your hall
54. Judge others slowly
55. Don't bottle up your feelings
56. If you have a problem with someone, tell them
57. Yet again, if you set your roommate up with someone, you might not see them as much anymore (unless they break up)
58. Stay friends with people you went to high school with
59. Set a good example at all times, in all things, and in all places, you never know who's watching
60. Have Glee parties with your friends
61. Blogs are fun
62. Pandora changes your life
63. Take your roommates to the ER when they need you too, you never know when you'll need them to take you
64. If you wake up at 530 shaking uncontrollably, you should probably go the hospital
65. If you start shaking again and your lips turn blue and your hands turn yellow, you should definitely go to the ER
66. Don't take your new Ugg boots to a hotel
67. Even if Dr.'s keep prescribing pain killers, don't always get them filled. You don't need them
68. If your roommate gets mono...be careful
69. If your tonsils take up your entire throat and antibiotics don't help, you might have mono
70. If you have mono...well life sucks
    
71. If someone you know has mono and they're extremely depressed all the time, take it easy on them
72. Go to classes if you can get out of bed. Even if your sick.
    
73. If your professor emails you with a job offer, take it
74. Doing your homework in the kitchen with your roommates may not be very productive, but it creates memories that'll last a lifetime
75. Don't have a boyfriend your first year of college, it's more fun that way (at least it was for me)
76. Institute teachers give awesome advice
77. Parents give awesome advice
78. Prayers are always answered
79. Advisers know what they're talking about
80. Getting mail is the best! Especially from missionary friends
81. Don't lead people on
82. English 2010 is hard
83. Western movies aren't that bad
84. If your teacher is a hippie, write a paper about Moab
85. The writing lab is helpful
86. Working as a computer lab assistant is a very legit job
87. If someone offers free food, take it
88. If someone offers free anything (except drugs and stuff)
89. Movie nights rock
90. Teaching Relief Society is really scary
91. Make sure you watch all of general conference in case your Bishop asks specific questions about it
92. Dance classes are...interesting
93. Don't pull into a deep gutter filled with snow
94. Spring break rocks
95. The library is nice to study in
96. Don't start movies at midnight. You won't survive
97. Keep in touch with your family
98. Eat healthy every chance you can
99. Go to the temple when you have the chance
100. If you're scurred, go to church!
101. BE HAPPY, even if you don't want to
     

Thank You Moab

I love Moab so much. In fact, I even wrote my final paper in English 2010 on the transformation of Moab from an Old West farming and ranching community to a New West tourist community. And after reading my first draft, my professor said, "Wow Kandace, you're Moab paper blew my socks off!" This week I have to finish my final draft and luckily, it is quite enjoyable because, for once in my life, I'm actually passionate about the topic. So I would like to publicly thank Moab for being so awesome and beautiful. And also for providing a wonderful topic for my final paper. (It probably helps that my professor actually moved to Utah after reading Edward Abbey's book, Desert Solitaire, which is all about the beauty of Moab)

Good Quote

"Joy does not simply happen to us. We have to choose joy and keep choosing it every day. It is a choice based on the knowledge that we belong to God and have found in God our refuge and our safety that nothing, not even death, can take God away from us. Joy is the experience of knowing that you are unconditionally loved and that nothing - sickness, failure, emotional distress, opression, war or even death - can take that love away."

-Henri Nouwen

Struggles

I have been wanting to update my blog for a few weeks now, but I honestly haven't had anything happen in my life recently that has made me very happy. I've been so stressed about school, where to live next year, papers, projects, and preparing a lesson for relief society. To top it all off, I got really sick again! grrr. It's times like these that I start asking myself,

WHY ME?!

Then I realized...things really aren't that bad. I have everything I need in my life right now. I have a loving family, great friends, good grades, the gospel, and the sun is shining today! I have a great life ahead of me and I love where I'm at right now. I just need to relax, have patience, and trust that everything will work out in the end. It always does :)