Tasting the Stars

You know those moments where you're so incredibly happy that it feels like your chest is radiating some sort of light that nothing in the world could destroy? That's how the business scholars trip made me feel or at least that's how I felt periodically throughout our trip. Looking back on pictures reminds me of those little moments that I've forgotten about where, for a second, nothing mattered in the world. Where my problems felt microscopic. Where I felt unnaturally grateful to be living in such a remarkable world. I love these moments because they make all the hard times in life worth the pain.

For the past year I have been involved in a program at the University of Utah called Business Scholars. I can honestly say that applying for this program has been one of the best decisions I've ever made. It has brought nothing, but good things this past year. Yes, the actual course was hard and overwhelming at some points, but I loved every moment. It brought new people into my life that I am forever grateful for. I got to live in the Honors Dorms and I learned so much through our business visits and lectures that it's hard to imagine how anyone could pass this course up. I could go on and on about how much I love Business Scholars, but I will spare you all.

One of the best perks of the program is that we get to go on an end of the year trip to visit international businesses. In the past they have gone to China and Paris, but this year we had the opportunity to go to London AND Paris. 

What people don't realize is that we had A LOT of time to do stuff on our own. We landed in London and had the entire day to venture the city. For various reasons it took us three hours to get to our hotel that day, but it was probably the funniest three hours ever. London is so different from Utah that we made a comment about every strange thing that we saw. It doesn't help that most of us were jet lag and slap happy and hot, but it was the best way to start our trip. 

We spent three days in London consisting of:

a trip to the study abroad school location, a business visit to Rio Tinto, 

a showing of Wicked, 

a Blue Badge tour of the Financial District and plenty more.

Our last day in London we went to the London Bridge and the London Tower and then wanted to visit Chelsea. Chelsea is a higher end area where we ventured into a book store and tried to blend in with the locals.

I'm sorry for all the pictures, it was just too much fun.

That Wednesday morning, we took a two hour ride to Paris. Paris was scary at first because 50 of us had to navigate the subway with all our luggage during rush hour in a place where we couldn't read a single sign. Then again, it was also fun.

Our first night in Paris was planned by our director so we had dinner all together and then went on a boat tour on the Siene River. I remember staring at the sunset that night on the boat feeling so satisfied with my life.  My favorite thing was floating down the river with the Eiffel Tower sparkling on our right as someone on the riverside played the accordion and parisian sirens echoed in the distance. I could not imagine being in a more wonderful place with better people. Not to mention the views on our boat tour were breathtaking.

The second day we visited Versailles, site saw, had dinner in a big group and met at night to sit by the edge of the Siene River.

Day three in Paris we ventured to the Rue Cler street market, took pictures at the Arc Du Triomphe and met our crew at the Eiffel Tower so we could climb to the top.

 We ventured to Belgium on our last day for a rainy adventure looking for chocolate and Belgium waffles.

I enjoyed the trip so much because every single one of us got so close. We all loved hanging out with each other so by the end we were like family. I can wholeheartedly say that I fell in love with Paris during our trip. The entire city has a romantic aura about itself. There are little cobblestone streets winding everywhere and cafes on every corner. There is a constant aroma of cigarette smoke and at night time the city is simply magical.

 I am so grateful that I got to go on this trip with such wonderful human beings. It was the trip of a lifetime that I will never forget. I wish every day that I could go back to relive those laughter filled days. Until next time, here's to tasting the stars around the world. 

Amour, Annika

Photo cred: Kate Moss

it's time

Olympus High School
Home of the Titans
Salt Lake City, Utah
Grades 10-12


Here's a tribute to you graduating seniors this year and for the years to come! Thrive and soak it all in. This last week of school cruises by and before you know it, you're saying bye to the people you've grown up with the past 13 years. So take it slow, and remember to enjoy it. 

"

Senior year is unlike any other. 

Here are a few things you should know. It won't hit you when you wake up for your last first day of high school. 

It won't hit you as you walk down the Olympus halls for the first time as an official senior. It won't hit you when you cheer at your last homecoming pep rally against Skyline, battling for the rock. It won't hit you when you attend your last football game on that field. 

It won't hit you as you go to your last homecoming dance and feel like you rule the dance floor. It won't hit you as your Wednesday nights consist of watching amazing boys open mission calls. 

It won't hit you as you enter the floor to perform at state for the last time. It won't hit you as you perform in your last production. It won't hit you as you attend your last assemblies.

It won't hit you as you apply to countless colleges. It won't hit you as you write that generic essay letter that you try to use for each applications. It won't hit you as your college friends return for Christmas break and give you all their advice on how to have the best Freshman year. 

It won't hit you as you celebrate New Year's with the friends you have known since childhood. It won't hit you as you attend your last basketball game.

It won't hit you when you cheer "Here we go Titan's, here we go!" at your last Senior night and cry your eyes out after with all your friends in the parking lot. You won't feel it when you are having the time of your life at your last spring break, thinking there is nowhere else you'd rather be. 

You won't realize it at  your last Prom, let alone dance, when you are having the time of your life because you are celebrating solely with your own grade.

You don't realize it as your grade participates in an huge water-fight. You don't realize it as you line up with the greatest people in the world for the Senior panoramic picture. You don't realize it as you wait in line to bear your testimony of gratitude for your class at Senior testimony meeting.

You don't realize it during Senior skip day when you're going in to get your last refund to spend at Molca right after. You don't realize it as your getting handed your last Titan yearbook. 

You begin to realize it at Graduation when you look around and realize that you will never see half of these people again. As you stand outside surrounded by the people you've known for years, all dressed in silver and green graduation gowns, it finally hits you that this is the day you've thought about ever since you started school. And as your class throws your caps and moves that graduation string to the other side, you begin to realize it.

You begin to realize it after Senior Night when you step off a school bus for the last time and the 'see you laters' officially begin. 

You really start to realize it when you're surrounded by all your best friends on senior trip, enjoying the sun and each other's company. 

You will start to see it more over the summer when every sunday consists of at least 4 mission farewells and tuesday nights are filled with 'see you laters!' rather than 'goodbyes.' 

You realize it when everyone is getting their roommates or companions, class schedules or areas, and going to orientation or the little place we call the MTC. Yet, it still hasn't fully hit you when you are sitting in your room packing up the past 18 years of your life, laughing with your best friend and mom about all the great memories you've made. 

You might feel it in the morning when you leave for college as that is another 'see you later' to your room, parents, and best friends only for a time-that's right-only for a time. 

It will finally hit you when you are sitting in your dorm room with a perfect, but relatable stranger, that you get to live with for the next year.

Then it sinks in.  

So please. PLEASE, make every moment of Senior year and/or this last week of high school count. You only get to do it once. College is great, and you will enjoy it, but don't wish away any of these last moments. Take lots of pictures, make lots of laughs, and remember to live for today.

"

So please remember to enjoy these last couple days. 

Say goodbye to your teachers and tell them how much you appreciated their time and efforts. Walk down that hall that you got sick of everyday. Run on the field and kiss that person to make sure you are a True Titan. Stand and take pictures at the O. Walk the halls of seminary and feel that special spirit there for the last time. Lay on the basketball court. Add your sticker to the graphics room. Get your yearbook signed by all your favorite teachers and people. Say thanks to the administration. Give your love to your friends and thanks to your family. Be genuine and share your love and appreciation before you can't anymore.

DO IT ALL!! and take your time to enjoy it. Cease for one second about stressing to take that perfect Instagram picture or tweeting that prime tweet. Just sit back and enjoy it. 
This post isn't to make you sad and it isn't meant to be sappy at ALL (you know I hate that.) Words cannot describe how much I want you guys to enjoy it. You only live this year and this last week once, you only graduate high school once, and you're only around the same group of kids for 12 years experiencing everything together once. So take this advice from a class who knows firsthand and live it uppppppp. 

"So featherweight freshman hold on, it's only 4 years long!"

Remember the memories and get stoked to make a lot more this next year to come. COLLEGE BRO.  

Good luck this week amigos!

It's going to be such a nice time. 

love, 

moss

Four Years - Jon McLaughlin

My Happy

The transition of coming to college was an odd one. A mixed bowl of thrilling independence and irritation of a no longer simple life. As my best friends and I laid on the carpet this past weekend we laughed at all our failed expectations of what we thought freshman year would be. Don’t get me wrong, we all have claimed freshman year as an unforgettable adventure that we are grateful for. But still, we laughed. Laughed at what we thought our dorms rooms would look like- chic, cute, and organized- instead of the reality of cinderblock walls and limited closet space. We laughed at what we thought our love lives would be- being whisked away by the cute boy in a class evolving into a romantic relationship- more like being beat out by another girl for that one decent-looking guy… or calling up your best friend at 1:00 in the morning because you’re more interested in their late-night mumbles than your most recent date. We laughed (or cried) at the actuality of the freshman fifteen. We laughed at how everybody failed to mention that college means school. Like, really, how did no one warn me that your life revolves around studying, not partying all night? Hollywood and Facebook you have failed me. We laughed at our fears of being far apart. When really, even sixty days apart didn’t even put a dent into our friendships. We laughed. Really hard. Because it turns out the things we didn’t think we would struggle with, we did. And things we thought we would struggle with, we didn’t. And we laughed because the year we thought would cause us to drift apart brought us closer than we could have imagined.

Mainly because we all encountered, in one-way or another, one of the hardest years of our lives. A year where we surely all made a phone-call at one point, with cracking voices, saying, “I’m not happy.”  Those dreaded words. The words that no one should have to admit or feel, and yet we all said them. But fortunately (or unfortunately), we didn’t have to face that realization alone; because it so happened we all went through that extended funk together… at the same time. Now that was a new one.

As friends we like to balance each other out. Whether it’s personal characteristics or helping each other through tough times, balance is our motto. So I have grown used to having someone lift me up when I am down and vice versa. Well what happens when all your best friends are down when you are down? Welcome to freshman year. Perhaps the hardest thing wasn’t even regarding our own pain, it was not being able fix each other’s. We were apart, and during those hard days, distance was an inevitable strain. For the first time we couldn’t drive five minutes for a DC pick-me-up or give each other a hug. Calling became the only tool available, but soon enough, we learned that even the most perfect words couldn’t make everything better. We couldn’t solve each other’s financial burden. We couldn’t decide each other’s future plans. We couldn’t ace each other’s tests. We couldn’t mend each other’s broken hearts. We couldn’t take away illness. We just couldn’t fix each other. All we could do was be there for each other, and pray that one day we would all get our “happy” back. 

It’s the oldest desire in the book, to be happy. Honestly, why is it so hard to “find” happiness and even harder to keep it. Deep down we all know we have the power to be happy, it’s all about attitude and perspective. And yet, during this year, no matter how positive or hopeful we were, none of us could get our happy back. I started to doubt if I could get back that place, or even if that place existed anymore. To be honest, I didn’t really know what was going to make me happy. Things that made me happy during high school weren’t necessarily available to me at this stage in life— so I set out on an expedition to find a new kind of happiness.

 So I made lists.

And goals.

And plans.

And prayed that I would find what I was so desperately looking for. That we would all find what were were looking for.

And then I found it.

 No, not happiness- but the lesson that Heavenly Father wanted me to learn.

I learned that happiness is not, I repeat NOT, a destination.

Just like the pot of gold is never found at the end of the rainbow, happiness isn’t found at the end of the journey.

But instead, the real treasure is found in the beauty of the rainbow itself.

And happiness is found…well, in this plot-twisting journey we call life.

Happiness is found in everyday blessings that we tend to ignore. It’s found in simple moments, simple pleasures, and by no means requires huge opportunity or demands an Instagram post. Happy is possessed in moments, not some unfound destination. 

Happy is a Harry Potter marathon with your brothers. 

Happy is a good run. 

Happy is taking the sacrament. 

Happy is lunch with your mom. 

Happy is watching Anastasia at 2 in the morning 

Happy is your dad giving you dating advice (which was surprisingly helpful?)

Happy is hearing your grandma tell stories about her childhood. 

Happy is reading inspiring letters from your friends around the world. 

Happy is dancing with your hallmates to Celin Dion. 

Happy is a DC run with friends. 

Happy is listening to others. 

Happy is Temple Tuesday. 

Happy is love.

Loving what you’re doing, loving others, loving yourself, and loving the plan that Heavenly Father has created specifically for you.

It may be a simple realization, but it took me awhile to figure out. Truth is, I know being happy is going to be constant battle and choice that I will face every day. But I’m learning that when I express my gratitude for the little things, the big things don’t seem as big or necessary anymore. And being happy ain't all that difficult.  

This realization came on Saturday night while we were laughing over our failed predictions of freshman year. Because although my trials have yet to pass and there’s no certainty of when they will pass… I realized I finally started to find joy in the journey not the destination. I was living for that moment and nothing else.

So we laughed.

And then my heart warmed, because I realized in the hardest times of our lives, we can still be happy.  And this moment, with these best friends of mine..

Well, they were my happy.

Love Always,

Lauren