Brave or My Very Own Disney Princess

The current Disney Princesses

Here's a little bit of info on a random part of my growing up years. I never had a Disney Princess that I thought of as "mine". I loved them all for different reasons but I never truly connected with one specific princess. I admired Jasmine for her spunk, Snow White for her graceful sweetness, Sleeping Beauty/Aurora for her innocence, Cinderella for her ability to forgive, Pocahontas for her courage, Belle for her acceptance, Ariel for her perseverance, Mulan for her resolve, Tiana for her dreams, and Rapunzel for her understanding. But never did just one jump out at me. (Okay, maybe Rapunzel did, but it wasn't exactly the same. She wasn't 'my' princess).
And then, at the midnight preview of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 (AWESOME!) I saw a poster. There wasn't much to it; it looked like a deep green forest with a red blob in the middle. Upon closer examination, I discovered the blob to be a head of red curly hair. And something sparked. My friend Mikey, who I was seeing the movie with, pulled up the preview for the movie on his laptop. There still wasn't much to it, but I was intrigued and I kept thinking back to that red-headed girl despite the fact that I had no idea what the movie was even about.

Okay so it's not as foresty as I remember

And then an extended preview came out. And it was EPIC!!!! See here.

And I got all these bubbles in my stomach. This was someone who I could relate to. And it wasn't just the hair. It was the heritage and the "I want to let my hair flow in the wind as I ride through the glen, shooting arrows into the sunset" and being brave enough to change my own fate. 

And I finally saw it yesterday with all of my princess friends. Merida is my hero. She is my princess. The movie was everything that I wanted it to be and more. For those of you who haven't seen it yet, I won't spoil it for you so GO SEE IT! But it fills my heart with so much happiness and excitement. And now I feel as though my childhood dreams are complete because I have my very own Disney princess.

Be Brave. Change your own Fate.

News flash: You can't please everyone

I'll tell you what now. Being a hero is not even worth it. Not even close. I should know. For the first time in my life, I thought I was a hero today. Turns out... I just caused a lot of drama and problems. And over what? This. Little ducklings. You wouldn't believe the amount of drama over these 5 little guys. You wouldn't believe it because I couldn't believe it and I was smack dab in the middle.
It turns out that rescuing ducklings from the storm drain isn't necessarily the good thing I thought it was. There's a lot of relief and clapping and back-slapping and then there's a pause. What to do now? Should we take them to the duck pond? Should we find the mother? We should definitely give the mom a chance to find her babies, for sure, right? Well, not everybody thought so. Whether a group decision or an individual, not everyone was going to be satisfied. So I set the ducks down in the shade with some water and went on my merry way. I'd done what I wanted to do for them and what happened next was not up to me, but up to the Almighty Creator. Perhaps by rescuing, I was doing a bad thing... survival of the fittest and all of that. Maybe they could have happily survived for a long time in the storm drain as opposed to getting eaten by a cat or run over by a car. Regardless, I did it and it was done. And then people started biting my head off. What did I feed it? It needs more water! We can't leave them alone, they need protection! I give up.

PEOPLE: They're cute, but they're DUCKS!

No good deed goes unpunished. All helpful urges should be circumvented. I'm just sayin'. Elphaba had it right. Morally, there's no right answer so I step away and say, "I just don't care anymore. Please leave me alone and I promise I won't go rescuing helpless animals anymore."

And there you have it.

....

Don't worry. If you fall down a storm drain and can't get out, I'd probably rescue you. But don't ask me to take care of you afterwards.

Vision

The title is for two reasons.

A) My poor doggy is going blind. It is so sad to me. She has been a light in our family for so many years, particularly the years that my mom had cancer and was going through chemotherapy. Her name is Theeb, translated from Thai to mean Angel. And she is definitely an angel. Best dog ever. Our neighbor used to say about our family, "They all have curly hair. Even the dog has curly hair." Yup, that's my little baby.

B) It is currently Vision Conference at work. Think of it as a company retreat. One person said, "We don't use the term 'retreat'. We call it a tactical withdrawal." Let me break it down for you: all of the full time employees are away for two days and all of the students get to play! Ahem. Well, we call it work, but it's basically permission for us to have a little bit of fun without being supervised by our bosses. I spent the time learning 한국의: vocab and double vowels. It's fascinating stuff! I'm also learning the lyrics to the song Love Like This by SS501. Should you like a listen, see here. CAUTION: View with an open mind and an understanding that this is a completely different culture. So don't be racist and make fun of them for stupid reasons. I am very passionate about this and will come beat you up with a noodle. You have been warned. Back to Vision Conference. Lots to think about and lots to plan for in the future. It requires a lot of thought and I am doing my best to look into my future, despite how that's not really possible. But I digress. Life, in each minute, is good and beautiful and I have very little to complain for.

There, you have been caught up.

Shout out to my Brissa! ;)

The Times That Try a Woman's Soul... and the times thereafter

It's been a while. I guess that happens when finals come up and there's a change in life's pattern... :) Needless to say, I survived one of the hardest years of my life. That is something to celebrate. First off, I completed my first semester as an official Geography major. And I've also come to hate the question, "So... what do you want to do with that?" Let's be honest. Some people know exactly what they want to do with their education. Some people don't and they go out post-graduation, and apply for a myriad of jobs. Sometimes it just works out that way because sometimes people are simply interested in LEARNING about something particular, not necessarily saying "I'm going to major in biochemistry because I want to make a lot of money as a doctor, because that is what my father did and what his father did, etc." Life doesn't always work out that way. Wouldn't it be awesome if it did? It was April 2012 that I was supposed to graduate. Due to my dedication to a certain dance program and my lack of foresight, I have changed my major a couple of times, thus pushing back my graduation date. Do I regret it? In some ways, yes. It would be nice to be completely done with school by now, the way I'm supposed to. On the other hand, I have learned SO MUCH! And I have lots left to learn. I have experienced a ton of things and I have yet to have the neatest experiences... like a study abroad in India. I may dislike school, but I do love to learn and I have gained a ton of insight from it. There. That's my shpeel on my upcoming super senior year.

Next. So... sometimes life is hard. And things start to fall apart. We've all experienced this in one form or another... unless your life is perfect. And then I hate you. Not really, but sort of... in an 'I love you' kind of way. Ahem. So during these times, we need something that we can hold on to to brighten our day or make us smile. This can be a person or an object and should ALWAYS be our Father in Heaven and our Savior. But that's beside the point. I am lucky enough to have bonded with my two older sisters this past month over something that is probably going to sound pretty ridiculous. Brace yourself. Ready? Korean Drama. There. I said it. Now, as silly as this sounds, it has changed my life. American media is dirty. And I didn't realize how bad it is until I watched something that is just as completely entertaining without all of the muck. Seriously, I don't think I've seen something so clean, void of bad language and innuendos since  I know you've all heard the saying, "Don't knock something until you've tried it" and I'm telling it to you  now. Really. Don't. Because you might just be missing out. Actually, I know you're missing out, but far be it from me to force my likes onto you. I just recommend it, is all. Continuing on. From this newly found awesomeness, I have begun to learn the Korean language. This has been in about the last week and a half. Okay, so it's not a common language and there really aren't many people who speak it here which doesn't make it that useful, but for some reason, I love it. I love the  90s pop culture, the bright colors, the hair that changes style and color every month, the boys that almost dress like girls...

SHINee

 Ask anyone who's talked to me about it; I'm very passionate about it. Whatever the reason, I'm grateful. I've never been so happy to sit down and study before in my life! Korea. I watch their shows, I listen to their music (SS501, SHINee, etc.) I'm learning their language. This isn't something new. I've always been passionate about culture. Why do you think I did folk dance for 3 years? Why do you think I'm a geography major? I love the world and I love learning about the people in the world. Korea is just the most recent example.

It's important to find things that uplift you, that make you happy. Be it a person, place, thing, etc. And when life gets too hard to stand, kneel. That's very important too. :) Here's to the next day in a brighter future. Cheers!

Teach as you would be Taught; Learn as you would have others Learn from you

Do you remember what it was like to be young? To sit in school and listen to the teacher talk? You had your good days and your bad days. The days when everything went in one ear and out the other and then the days that what the teacher said filled your mind with wonder...
Sometimes it even still happens. Shocker.
Here's the purpose.
My success level the past several months has been approximately 1%. Everything I have tried out for since April has come back as a "Thanks but no thanks." And it hurts. The first time was the worst blow (which makes sense because it was the most important thing in my life, at the time, and I had worked the longest/hardest for it) and then there were smaller things that came after, but every time it came with a no. Can I tell you something you probably already know? NOs get harder and harder to hear after a while. You think it would get easier... but it doesn't.
So I have this good friend and some other not as good friends who suggested that I audition for this summer workshop called ReMix Vocal Academy. (As an aside: my voice is not the best. Sure, I can hum a tune, but as far as the serenity and purity... the tinkling sweet musicality of my vocal chords... not so much. It's not fingernails against a chalkboard though... just to be clear.) After some ponderage, I figured, "What the hey. I'll support my friendly acquaintances and audition. What's one more "no" to my repertoire? So I ended up picking a totally random song (Like a Prayer by Madonna? What?) and sent in... a jpg. Ha ha... oops. And it wasn't a good-looking jpg either. My mouth was wide open, chin pushed back-nearing double chinness, my hair is flying (I was in the midst of a rotation). See here:

Awkward, right?

Yeah, I know.

So at the time when I got an email back saying, (in more polite terms) "We cannot look at your audition video because you sent us a picture, genius."
At first, I just laughed at it. Because only I could do something like that. A little bit later, I saw my good friend and we talked about how I had auditioned. She knew about the jpg. And then my mind went, 'Uh oh. If she knows about the picture, then that means that....' Two people I very much respect for their talent had had a good laugh over my idiocy. Part A) I'm glad that I could be of use as comic relief. Part B) EMBARRASSING!!! And all of a sudden I was feeling like a total loser extraordinaire. Never fear, Good Friend talked me down out of my tree and after some thoughtfulness, I realized it's always better to laugh at yourself than to feel foolish about a silly thing like that. That being said, when you send in an audition for anything(!) make sure that it's a video and not an awkward, non-flattering picture.

That was my learning experience.

Now for my teaching experience.

I teach every Thursday for two and a half hours in the evenings. It has quickly become a bright spot in my week. These girls that I teach are angelic little devils, but weren't we all at that age? So yesterday I sat down with the senior company and we had a good chat about why they danced. We then talked about what dance is and how our motivation effects how we do. And after this good, deep discussion, I challenged them. "Always be genuine in everything you do."
Everything I teach those girls, is something that I wish that I had learned at their age so that I could have used it more as I transitioned. It is important to share the things, that we find important, with others, especially with those who look up to us. So maybe I don't have the best technique, but I can teach those girls some very important things that will, if utilized, change their lives forever.

Moral to all of this? A) Always be genuine in EVERYTHING you do. Don't take a second for granted. B) Be a good learner. Listen to the things that other people tell you. You don't have to use them all, but the truth is, your 'teacher' might have a greater insight on a specific situation than you. And C) Teach keeping yourself in mind as a student. Think about what you have learned and what has been most valuable to you. What do you wish you would have known five years before you actually learned it? Share your light, your energy, your passion. That is what makes a good teacher.

What's a Holiday?

So what with today being the last day off in the entire winter semester, it has provoked some thoughts. Strange, I know.

Why doesn't BYU have a spring break?
I'm sure this is a question that many people have asked over the years. Is it a torture mechanism that BYU employs? Perhaps it is an effort to prevent the regular shenanigans that happen (you know, the ones that you see in those CSI tv shows where someone always ends up dead?)

CSI Miami: "Spring Break"

Here are my thoughts on spring break. Dearest BYU, before you allowed me to be called a student, you required me to sign this document that said "Honor Code" at the top. This Honor Code specified several things that I should not do, if I wanted to remain a student at BYU.

 

So, Honor Code, here's what I think. I think you should trust your students to do what they promised (on paper, I might add) that they would/wouldn't do (as the case may be). It's fair to your students to give us the week-long break that every other student in the world gets. We need mental rest just like everyone else. Going to a religious school doesn't make us immortal. In addition to all that, it's dark and it's cold. So please please please (!) consider having mercy on us poor, mentally depleted students and give us a nice siesta in mid-March

Sincerely,

a student who knows,

Christina

Lucky

It's funny how I completely forgot all about this part of my life until my mother pulled a cd of pictures out that a friend in the ward had given her. Thank you Sis. Peterson for giving me photos so that I will always remember how lucky I was.

I've said it more than once that I have never been lucky with the men. But I was once, though not in the way you'd imagine initially. This is Rusty. He was my buddy growing up for years. He would walk me home from church and endure my silly childish pranks and he was my friend. Truly that's about all I remember about him. Except that he had ticklish elbows... doubtful.

One day he decided to go off and get himself married. I'm pretty sure I was devastated, but he invited me to the wedding and I got to meet her and tell her that if he was ever bad, she could tickle his elbows and he would behave.

I haven't seen or heard from Rusty in a very long time which is as it should be, but the memory of his kindness to a young girl who had absolutely no self esteem will live on with me for the rest of my life. It just goes to show that it's the little things you do that have the biggest impact on the lives of those you touch.