Lessons and Blessins

So I have officially been in glorious provo for four weeks now and my goodness has it been an experience. But to be quite honest, the whole "college" didn't really hit for me for awhile. It didn't really hit me until I saw a girl I went to high school with who was in the younger grade. She asked me, "So how's college?" anddd I'm like over here thinking "wait, I'm still kid, how could I be in college?" but that got me thinking about these last four weeks and the transition of being a teen to being an adult? haha what a joke, I'm still a baby but nonetheless I have learned quite a bit in this last month of living away from home and I like to categorize these experiences into "Lessons and Blessins". So here's to my favorite (or note worthy) lesson and blessins of the month!

 BLESSIN: To be able to live right next to one of my very longest and dearest best friends. She is the girl that keeps me sane on the daily. I love that I get to share this crazy, new adventure with her. And to think that a friendship like ours has survived from awkward junior high times and going to different high schools... gets me every time. Love my erika

LESSON: I've learned to get your studying doneeee. On average there are about three-four hours where you are legit motivated to study. Take advantage of that time, because chances are by eight at night you are so burned out you will do anything to avoid it. I'm talking about justifying photobooth selfies and Mackelmore moments to avoid studying. So, yes my ADD is already kicking in and that's not too good when you have butt load of homework every night. So those three- four hours of productivity... actually use them. 

LESSON: Always, always, alwaysss say yes to Disco skating. So you may get a concussion and look like fool attempting to dance and skate at the same time... followed by falling your face... but still, one of the funnest things I have done so far. 

 

BLESSIN: Surviving Hurricane Lavelle. So Standing in line for five hours in 95 degree weather for the first football game sounded like a good idea, right? Well, LESSON, never wish that hot sun to go away because surely a hurricane will take over. But hey, standing in the pouring rain for an hour cuddling up to randoms to preserve body heat is an awesome way to meet people. So hurricane Lavelle, you were lovely. 

                                                                The before and after...

BLESSIN: To have a Great Harvest nearby that supplies by need of a good chocolate chip cookie and diet coke on rough days. And wonderful pinterest to keep me laughing on those bad days as well.

LESSON: When you are are going to Hollywood Party, always say yes to Red Lip Stick and run like the wind when someone named Ronell starts to hit on you... No but seriously, run. Fast.

LESSON: I have officially witnessed the struggles of byu football, but seriously, we need to learn to catch a ball. So with that, Ute friends--I bitterly congratulate you. But seriously, ball+hands= catch. One day we will get it. But nonetheless I still love my cougs. 

BLESSIN: Got see Dr. Dog and Lumineers in concert. Easily the best decision of the week. Somehow my friend Lize convinced me and two other strangers to purchase tickets with her. That night we all met for the first time and ventured to Salt Lake to see these amazing bands play. SUCH a good way to spend a school night. SO FUN! Totally worth getting behind on my homework. Simply amazing. 

Biggest BLESSIN & LESSON of all... 

making new, lasting friendships all around. I possibly could not ask for a better building of girls to live with. 

And to feel lucky every day to have such amazing best friends as well back home. I love hearing about their adventures on the daily and I cannot wait to be reunited with them again!

LOVE you all, Miss you like crazy every single day!! 

Love, Lauren

See you soon

To all my ladies-this one's for you.

So this summer has easily been the oddest summer of my life. At times it has been extraordinary and then sometimes absolutely boring.  It's been filled with lifetime adventures accompanied by the most bitter of goodbyes. The concept of time has challenged me leaving me hungry, exhausted, excited, and worried all at the same time (is that even possible?). It's been filled with adult responsibilities but teenager awkwardness and the lack of ability to find a happy medium of the two. But ya know, sometimes life just goes that way and more than ever I've just realized the only way you can handle those hard times in life is to simply keep moving. Now as a to-be Freshman in college the word "moving" not only is a mental action but now a physical action as well. As I'm starting to pack up my room and leave to a foreign town (pretty good description for ptown wouldn't you say? haha) I can't help but reminisce on all the amazing people and experiences that I'm forced to move from. Now that may sound melancholy and slightly depressing, which at times feels that way, more than anything I feel grateful and blessed.

Everybody graduates and everyone moves on, but I can't help but think that our graduating class was a little bit different. We no longer had the easy summer that everyone told us we would have. The boys in our grade have been the most bold and brave as nearly all of them took on the calling to leave for their LDS missions straight out of high school. Which to this day, I am amazed that they took on that challenge with such faith and grace. Me on the other hand.. I struggled. I struggled watching the boys that I've grown up with and love the very most leave so quickly. I felt like I was forced to grow up and become an adult without knowing how to be one. Now I can only imagine what our boys were forced to do as they each took on such a high responsibility at such a young age, and I forever will admire them for their faith and service, but this entry isn't actually for them. It's actually for the girls. For the girls who have been supportive to the boys, to each other, and stayed positive and patient as our male population gets lower and lower haha. They are the ones who have kept me grounded and have constantly reassured me that everything will be okay. This summer has been focused on the countless "see you soons" to the boys we love, but in all honesty, the important and sincere "see you soon" goes out to these lovely ladies. The girls I've grown up and have experienced some of my greatest and worst days with. To the girls who have given me more than I could ever express, this one's for you.

First off, thank you. And I know that's a broad statement that feels redundant, but that's honestly the best thing I can say! Thank you to all the girls for making me laugh, teaching me some of the most important lessons in my life, strengthening my testimony, supporting me in my hardest times, and helping me get to where I am today. These girls I've grown up with are easily one of my greatest blessings in my life and I will forever be impacted by their amazing examples. They are all beautiful and unique and I have NO doubt that they all will change the world in numerous way. These girls make it  easy to want to be a good person, make good decisions, be brave in a crazy world, and hold to the Gospel with my full heart. They push me to be a better person every day, help me handle my hardest trials, and constantly remind me that the heart of life is always good. I love them all so much and sometimes wonder how in the world I got sooo lucky.

Now as some of the hardest goodbyes of the summer have begun (freak, I tear up just writing that), I just wanted to wish all these lovely girls good luck on this next chapter of their lives. And most importantly that I will always remember and love the girls who have gotten me to this point. Obviously this isn't the end!... but clearly life changes and we are all starting our own brand new adventures without being by each others side 24/7. To the girl who gets cramped hands... Thank you for teaching me patience and how to always look for the good in others. To the girl who hates tiny black dots... Thank you for teaching me to be silly and how to work hard. To the girl who loves pickles... Thank for teaching me how to be passionate and how to be willing to forgive others and myself. To the girl who tends to have crumbs on her... Thank you for teaching me how to look at life in a beautiful and hopeful light. To the girl who hates feet... Thank you for teaching me that laughter is key to getting through bad days.. and Diet Coke. And to every other single girl... Thank you for teaching me how to live my life to the fullest and helping me understand that some of the greatest things in life aren't things... They're Toliet papering memories, good DC's, lunches where you pee your pants, hikes that go downhill (literally), dance parties where you "wind it up", classes where you laugh your head off, waffle dinners, and those clicking moments where you know that everything in life is absolutely worth it just because you have a good friends.

As hard and strange as this summer has been, I'm so grateful for the time I got to spend with my girls. These ladies are going to change the world, so be ready...

To all my girls--Go have the time of your life on this new adventure. Be Bold. Be lovely. Be Brave. Be Faithful. Be Fearless. I love you all!

oh, and see you soon. 

Love always,
Lauren

Be Unique

It's now been a week since I ended my internship in LA and I can't stop thinking about how different it is going from one place to another. I learned a lot during my stay in California whether it was about life or about business. There's one thing, though, that I can't get off my mind. As I watched and learned from people around me in West Hollywood, I began to understand that being different isn't something to be ashamed of, it's something to be celebrated. Every single person in that office was unique, yet they were and are incredibly successful because of it. No matter what their background consisted of, they contributed their best to the company and made a difference in others lives.

I think it's important, especially for the transition I'm experiencing in life, to remember that uniqueness isn't a flaw. Being who you are for the reasons you want, make you attractive to the world, especially when you are confident in that identity. I always struggle, like Kate said with comparing myself to others, but really, what's there to compare? Every individual was made differently so why would you try to mold yourself into something you're not? I know it's a lot easier said than done, but constantly thinking about cherishing your uniqueness is at least a step in a positive direction.
I also learned that judgement blurs your interpretation of a human being. Judging others based on first impressions is a poor way to understand what a person is about. Keeping an open mind throughout our lives allows us to gain knowledge about people and experiences we otherwise wouldn't have learned from. Not to mention it makes life easier and more enjoyable. ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING. I write these words mostly for myself so that I can soak them up and better apply them to my life. However, I challenge everyone to appreciate who they are and live judgment free more often. I promise, you'll learn from it.

"A mind that is stretched by an experience can never go back to its old dimensions."- Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.

-Annika

forget you not

I think this post is a little more for me than for anybody else, ha just like all my recent ones were I guess...but it's fine ya? k cool.

Lately, well randomly lately, I've needed this pep talk more than ever. i think that i'm feeling this way because of this weird stage of life that i'm in. this limbo. this place in life where i feel like i don't belong anywhere yet. the place between college and high school haha. 

I often find myself getting caught up in thinking about college and my role at the U next year and i start to worry and over-think things a lot...like most girls, right? so i'm normal? k cool. 

so basically my biggest struggle and worry right now is about....myself. 

i know that we're taught to love ourselves and to keep our confidence high, but i really believe that no one girl is constantly feeling that way 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. there's no way. but hey, if you're reading this right now and you are that one person, make sure to hit me up and let me know of your secrets:)

i think the whole reason why i'm starting to feel down on myself lately is because i'm constantly worrying about all of the girls i'm going to be comparing myself to next year. is that good for myself? of course not! do i still do it? duhhhh. unfortunately, i'm an 18 year old girl who sees her weaknesses more often then her own strengths. i know i don't have a flippin victoria secret model body. i know i'm not the most outgoing person. i know i'm not the prettiest person in the world. i know that my confidence doesn't shine like it should. i know that i make mistakes. and i know that i'm not that perfect girl that i wish i was. 

see and i know that Satan is just trying to get me down, i know that. i really do. i try to fight him off everyday but he knows right when and where to cut me down. he knows my weaknesses and chooses to put them right out in front of my eyes everyday. i know that. i'm not dumb haha. ahh i just really dislike him...you know what though, sometimes knowing that he is behind it all just doesn't help me move past it. and this is one of those nights! 

but you know what does help me move past it? praying to my Heavenly Father. he on the other hand, knows my strengths and knows my potential. in all honesty, a tiny tiny tiny part of me gets excited for these "confidence-lacking sessions" because i know that i can sincerely pray to Him for help. He knows exactly what i need and He knows exactly how to help me. He sends me wonderful friends and family to lift me up down here on earth- i really do feel so lucky for all of the relationships i have here. He sends us so many tools to help us get where we need to be, we just need to use them. He provides so much comfort and peace, that we just need to accept it and believe what He is trying to tell us. He knows i'm His daughter and He knows me better than anybody else. and He knew that i needed to hear my favorite speaker ever, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf, give this talk. So as i was just pulling up YouTube on my laptop, this was the first video I saw. 

Forget Me Not - President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

so learn to be patient with yourself and learn to love yourself. stop comparing and just live for you. you don't owe anybody anything and you for sure don't owe anybody your faults or your jealousy. surround yourself with good people who help you feel of your divine worth. anybody else that doesn't, isn't worth your time. know that Satan is only here to bring you down and the only thing that is true about his words is what you start to make yourself believe. it's our choice to believe the one person that lives to tear us down...or the one that died to bring us up. 

kinda sappy...but oh well!

just enjoy it babe!


love,
moss

enjoy today

so basically i've been waiting for forever to write this post because i feel like i had to write it at the right moment-when everything was going perfect. but then i found that there really is never a moment that is like that. there usually is one simple thing that we choose to dwell negatively on, which then always ceases to make our day..."perfect". but as i've read my scriptures and obsessed over pages and pages of pinterest, i've learned that you can have your perfect day; you just have to make it happen. ha so here goes what i've learned so far this summer...

we all often think that our day depends on what happens to us, but in reality it's really our reaction that drives our days. in 9th grade seminary, we learned that 10% of our life is what happens and 90% is how we react. i couldn't agree more! i mean, when has your day gone 10x better simply by being positive? this is what I've learned lately. by changing my perspective and my attitude, my day runs that much more smoothly. i could choose to nag when my mom asks me to do something, or i could help my amazing mother with a happy face. i could choose to be sorrowful about missionaries leaving, or i could praise them and my Heavenly Father for this wonderful opportunity for them to serve and share this amazing LDS gospel. i could choose to mope around and be lazy, or i could go enjoy this beautiful earth that we live on. i could choose to neglect all of these opportunities that summer brings, or go out and enjoy them for myself. there really is something to be enjoyed everyday, we just need to find it.

my point in all of this, is that we just need to enjoy. we need to enjoy today. 

and not only enjoy today, but fully enjoy today.

we need to live. live fully. and live for ourselves. i know how cheesy the saying of "live everyday like it's your last" is, but we really do need to! we're here to live to the fullest. to live to show our gratitude. to live to love others. to live to experience everything we can. to live to serve others. to live to share our beliefs. to live to lighten other's loads. to live to laugh. to live to make mistakes. to live to never postpone a prompting. to live to learn. to live to grow. to live to return to Him. to live to explore. to live to build relationships. to live to LIVE. and ultimately, to live to enjoy.
we're here to live for ourselves and for no one else. so do what you want to do and do what makes you happy. you don't owe anyone anything, so live for yourself. live in the moment and live how you want to. don't focus on the future and what you'll think about this time. just live for today. live your emotions fully. don't shrug them off, because they won't fully disappear until they are truly, fully felt. be full in all that you do. wherever you are, be all there. just enjoy it. 

enjoy your time. just enjoy it. don't focus on the legit object of time. just enjoy the time you have. don't count down, or up by time. think of time as space. just enjoy the space that is given to you. enjoy everything that you can do with that "time". do as much as you can in that space or simply just sit and relax with the "time" that you do have. we never know when it's going to run out. so just enjoy it. 
enjoy what you're given. be grateful and show it. show it to everyone. get off technology(ha irony...)and go enjoy outside and the others around you. make it a goal to strengthen the relationships you have with people face to face and not text to text. enjoy the intangible things rather than the material things of the world. focus on relationships with friends and family rather than a lit up screen. try to understand your loved ones. don't be lazy, and go that extra mile. enjoy the simple things. enjoy this beautiful world that Heavenly Father has made for us! enjoy other's happiness and try to add to it. just enjoy it. 


enjoy yourself. love yourself. love who you are and what He made you to be. how cheesy as this is, but believe in yourself. believe that you are a beautiful, smart, loving, sweet, daughter of our Heavenly Father. He loves us so much and only wants us to do the same. I heard this quote a while back and i think it explains ourselves perfectly. 

"It doesn't make sense to call ourselves ugly, because we really don't see ourselves. we don't watch ourselves sleeping in bed, curled up and silent with chest rising and falling with our own rhythm. we don't see ourselves reading a book, eyes fluttering and glowing. you don't see yourself looking at someone with love and care inside your heart. there's no mirror in your way when you're laughing and smiling and happiness is leaking out of you. you would know exactly how bright and beautiful you are if you saw yourself in the moments where you are truly yourself."

so really really truly love yourself and enjoy who you are. 

be happy. because being happy is all you can do when you've got nothing else to do! haha like me... kidding not kidding.you can be happy anytime of the day-you have full agency over your emotions. that's what i have to keep reminding myself:) it's no one else's fault on whether i feel happy or not, just my own. so be happy. happy is everything. happy is spending a day out with my mom. happy is singing along to Ella's favorite song, call me maybe, with her in the car. happy is getting letters from missionaries. happy is cruising around town with your best friends blasting music and having all of the car windows down. happy is reading your scriptures. happy is feeling the spirit every sunday from the farewell talks of these amazing Elders & Sisters. happy is seeing rain in this flippin hot summer. happy is meeting new people. happy is shopping for my future dorm. happy is taking a great nap. happy is making the best meal and stuffing your face haha. happy is roadtrips with your friends. happy is looking back on the best memories made with loved ones. there are more ways than one of being happy. happy is anything and everything. enjoy it. 

so try not to worry alright? worrying never helps and takes the happy away. think about it, it really cannot do anything! "worrying won't stop the bad from happening, it'll keep you from enjoying the good." everyday might not be good, but there definitely is good in everyday. like lauren said, "you're only here for a short time. so don't hurry, don't worry. and make sure to smell the flowers along the way!" so don't worry about tomorrow. it'll sort out itself. just...enjoy today :)

hahahaha i hope i've made my point clear...;)

love,
moss

Proper Introduction

Seeing that Lauren and Kate have blown me away with an introduction about themselves, I figured I should at least attempt to properly introduce myself as well. First off, I recently graduated high school and am in the process of doing an internship for an experiential marketing company located in West Hollywood, CA. Unlike most people I always plan ahead and can't stand not being active. I love laughing and find I'm most happiest when I'm with my family. There's a lot more to who I am, but for now, I'll leave it at that.
I want to start by saying that I've developed a love for this blog. I think it's incredibly intriguing to see three different points of view from literally around the world (maybe one day Alexa will post and make that four). I'm honored to be sharing this blog with two other sophisticated, genuine and beautiful human beings. I love them to death and know that they will always be a part of who I am. They inspire me every day so I don't know what I would do without them.

With that, I can start by catching you up on my week. Last Saturday Alexa and I got to work on site at the Swatch Scuba Libre event. Swatch is a client of my Aunt's company who have hired us to promote their products. Their most recent line of watches is water proof so we brought in a giant water swing that consumers can ride. Our goal on site was to direct shoppers at a Newport mall to the Swatch store inside. Alexa and I got the lovely job of pushing people on the water swing.

It was actually a blast and kind of funny when I had to push/slow down an individual who was larger than me. I learned a lot just by watching the production of an event and have come up with a key theme of lessons I've learned over this week. Business and most importantly life, evolve around maintaining relationships. This means creating a good relationship with the client and with those who affect your everyday lives. It's about promoting what you want others to see and being able to trust the most important people in your life. There are different aspects to maintaining relationships, but it's overall beneficial to stay in contact and continue the flow of information.
The rest of the week I spent learning about how the accounting department handles transactions in the company. I've been entering bills into Quickbooks which is a database that holds all the company accounting information. For example, when an employee spends personal money on a company project, they turn in the receipts to then be reimbursed. I helped enter those numbers into the computer so those certain individuals can be paid back. I'm sure I've already lost you ha. Its sounds boring, but I have fun doing it....
On another hand, someone else this week gave me a very valuable piece of information. Jackie in PR talked to Alexa  and me about what she does. She explained that your job should be something you live and breathe. If you aren't dedicated in this way, you don't love it. This confused and frustrated me all at the same time. I so badly want to find that thing that I love to do. I like what I'm doing at Ncompass, but do I want to work with numbers for the rest of my life? GAH. I don't know, sometimes life is hard. I have a long time to decide these things, but I wish I knew now. I'll stop boring you all with my rant on jobs and start with something more exciting.
I also sat in on a few brainstorm meetings where we all threw out ideas for an event that a certain client wants to put on. Those were fun because everyone I work with are amazing at what they do. My new co-workers have surprising backgrounds as I have recently discovered. The IT guy worked with Tom Cruise and was on set during the filming of the new Star Trek and the new girl Lexi use to be Paris Hilton's assistant. This isn't everything I've discovered about my co-workers this week, but needless to say, they are the cream of the crop. This makes being one of the interns all the more intimidating.
Speaking of interns, we were officially put in charge of putting together an employee bonfire. This means we create a budget, hire catering, hire talent, come up with decor and execute the event. Yeah, I'm nervous. We performed our first site inspection to make sure our location works for the event and that was kinda exciting. I'm really enjoying planning all of it, I just hope it works out as well as planned.

This weekend Alexa and I plan to go to the beach and explore Santa Monica. Last night we took the Audi convertible and drove to the Third Street Promenade in downtown Santa Monica. Despite getting lost in an alleyway where a homeless person resides and having more than one person honk at us, we had fun. We met a HOT Californian guy working at Tilly's who we talked to for a little bit and that made my night. I want to ride my bike to Manhattan Beach and watch my cousin's waterpolo game. The weather is perfect because it's actually hot at the beach! Anyways, I'll try not to be so ADHD my next post, but you're all caught up now.

-Annika

What the store window taught me

So my best friends and I, we have this way of sticking together when the universe tells us we need to be apart. We fight back to the universe and tell it that no matter where we are in the world or what we are doing, we will always be together in some way or another-this blog happens to be one way. And can I just say that I absolutely love it? Ya, I love it. I'm Lauren, a recent high school graduate and a partial owner of this blog. I'm a strong believer that any problem can be fixed with a Diet Coke, a good cookie, and a chat with someone you love. I'm obsessed with summer nights, the word fearless, and large,cuddly blankets. One of my greatest blessings in my life are the other writers on this blog. They are the loveliest of best friends and I seriously reccommend picking up some friends like them.  So with that little introduction being said, I'm new to the blogging world so bear with me... haha here goes nothing.

Recently I just got back from traveling in England and France with my family. It was quite lovely. I'm sure you want to know everything I learned about the kings, architecture, and revolutions... Like stop it, I know you're dyinggg to know all those gritty details. If that's the case we can go to lunch and chat it up, but I'll just say that the most important things I learned had nothing to do with history. I learned that British men have gooood style-at the least the ones trying not dress up like Kanye. I learned that ratatouille is delicious and Laduree macaroons are a gift from up above. I learned how to photobomb like a pro at museums and learned that Asian tourists are actually quite fiesty. I learned to say about a total of six words in french-- which I would butcher on the daily.  I learned the best gelato is constructed into a flower and the best shopping is done on the side streets not the main roads. I learned that family is one of the best things in this world and despite how weird, embarassing, or crazy your family may be.. They will be the ones that will keep you together when you feel like your world is falling apart. 

With being a recent graduate, there are many mixed emotions. There's excitment for the unknown future, a slight bitterness of something left behind, and a lack of stability in the present. It's surreal, awkward, and hard. Surreal because it still doesn't feel real. How can I possibly be old enough to be done with 12 years of grade school? It's awkward because now I'm in a state of limbo. I'm past the age of being in high school but can't declare that I'm in college? It's awkward. It's hard because no matter how surreal it may feel or how awkward it may be, it's still happening. Regardless of not knowing what the heck I'm doing with my life, I still have to press on and just hope that somehow I will find my way. It's hard realizing that not all my best friends won't be right by side within a few short months, something that I have most definitly taken for granted. It's hard accepting change with open arms because change is what makes goodbyes, growing up, and well, change, real.

So these were my emotions and thoughts going into the family vacation and I just so desperately wanted them to disappear. Ya, they didn't go away. If anything, the trip made them more prominent and obvious. But God has a special way of making my troubles and worries go away. Instead of my making them disappear like I want, He makes them bold. Bold enough to leave me no way to escape. So bold that I have to face it, but there's beauty in that challenge. Because once you face what you fear the most you get past the immediate shock factor. You get past the sting and direct pain and then you realize... that behind the wall of fear there's so much opportunity and goodness that fear wouldn't let you see. So on a little, quant side street in Paris I was in a perfume shop when I encountered a simply perfect moment. The type of moment that you know God just planned specifically for you. While in the shop I looked out from the inside to see a quote on the store's front window. Curiosity led me outside to read the quote-

Like how lovely is that? Did it solve all my problems?.. maybe not. But after reading this I just realized that you can plan, predict,  or even avoid the future but it really won't help. The best thing you can do to prepare for the future is to love the present. Love each day for what it's worth. Love being with your family in a foreign country being lost in translation. Love this carefree time of your life. Love being with friends when you can, and love that regardless of separations, they will always be your best friends. Love yourself and love something greater than yourself. And as hard as it may be, try to love change. There's no use in hating change. I think sometimes we forget that it was by change that some of our greatest opportunities and memories were created. Now don't get me wrong, I'm by no means ms. positive all the time and I still fear the many "see you soons" and challenges that are ahead. But I have decided to not let the fears get the best of me and live each day to the fullest. So what, I may be in a limbo stage, but even in the most surreal, awkward, hardest times of your life- there's always flowers to smell. And that was what the store window taught me.

Miss you ladies, hope you're smelling the flowers wherever you may be

All my love,

Lauren