Chapter 19---Finals are done!

I can't lie I love that the semester is over. but I miss my English class already :)

21. Chapter 21---Epilogue...To Be Continued

This is the end, essentially, of my journal :) My own personal epilogue on the past few months! I wish I could really have the future to sum up all of the rest of my life so everyone could have closure, but that's the best part of the stories of life---they never end!

Looking over my writing the past month and a half, I've noticed an overall positive feeling; I just love life. Even the bad and frustrating moments are filled with, what I feel, is a positive passion for life. I don't know if that makes sense exactly, but it's like the phrase almost all of my stories end with in one form or another, "isn't life great?!" The answer is, "Yes it is great!" Even when roommates suck, guys suck, or life is frustrating, it is still great :) I am so wonderfully blessed!

I noticed also that my story telling covers everything from gospel insights to youtube discoveries. I think this shows my interest in all things around me. I life to have my hands in as many things as possible at once, I don't know if that's good or bad, it is just something I do.

I love how I can trace my feelings in each moment through my stories :) And with that, I'd like to end. I can't say this is "The End" by any means, but I can say, "To be Continued..."

In the mean time, Life is grand :) And It is all about the stories!

20. Chapter 68---Just a DANG Good Day!

So today was just one of those days that went really well! I think I owe it all to it being a Monday which makes it a temple morning, but it was just SO good! Everything worked out so nicely :) And I was productive!

I reviewed a ton for my first final, which is TOMORROW!! Pray for me :) Hopefully it will go wonderfully... if not... At least today rocked :) It was just one of those days that goes extremely well and at the end you feel like dancing :)

I also just realized I only have 5 school days left! :) I only have class on Monday's, Tuesday's and Thursdays! And I only have 1 Monday left!!!!! :) :) YAY!!!!! Too bad finals week has to happen... hopefully it won't be that bad lol

Life is grand!

19. Chapter 27---The Holy War

That game was intense today and I LOVED it!!! However I think some people get a little too into the Holy War. It is just a game---don't lose your eternal salvation over it!

Isn't life great? :)

Chapter 100---No Pain, No Gain

“Katelynn! Are you okay?” The shaky voice was coming from somewhere above me. A warm liquid trickled down the side of my head as I slowly became aware of everything around me. I opened my eyes and looked towards the sound; memories slowly began to connect the present with the past.

I assessed the situation as I tried to stand; unbearable sharp pain prevented that action. “My foot’s broken,” I calmly answered, then shouted back, “Are you all right, Anthony?” I unsuccessfully tried to stand once more. If your body uses pain to communicate with your brain, my right foot was yelling at a new decibel; it made my head spin. I touched the liquid---blood. “My head is bleeding too.” Shock was allowing me to analyze the situation in a strangely serene state of mind.

Anthony was standing hundreds of yards above me on the face of the mountain. There were so many thoughts running through my head; before I could interpret one, it was replaced by a new equally confusing thought. If he was standing, he wasn’t paralyzed. I moved my toe. I wasn’t paralyzed. Where is my shoe? I was shaking. What happened to the four-wheeler? It must be somewhere at the bottom of the mountain. I reached up to touch my pounding head. Where is my helmet? I didn’t check to see if there were bugs on this dirty rock. Spiders…my thoughts were interrupted by Chase coming over the top of the mountain.

“Oh my heck! What happened? I’ll call 911!” He was standing near Anthony if my ears were working correctly. He continued, “I don’t have service here! I’ll have to go down the mountain and find some.” I was his date and he didn’t even come down to see if I was alright; I found it irritating and comical at the same time. His footsteps sounded further away and I assumed he had started his hike back to his four-wheeler. Sensitivity to light from my head injury had forced me to close my eyes and rely on other senses. The intensity of the pounding in my head increased with each second. I was cold, despite the bright Spring sun beating down on me.

As Chase’s footsteps became inaudible, Mandy, Anthony’s date, came running to our side of the mountain. Frantically repeating the same string of questions, she hurried to my side. My answers were the same, “My foot’s broken. My head is bleeding.” I reassessed the situation, shocked at myself I whispered, “I peed my pants.”

“Let me see how bad your head is, Kate,” Mandy said gently lifting my head to get a better look. “Holy…” she exclaimed under her breath as I pulled my hair back; she was trying to be calm.

“How bad is it?” I asked, already knowing the answer from her explicit phrase.

Mandy didn’t know I had heard, “It’s not bad at all,” she lied in a shaky voice. She took someone’s shirt and began to apply pressure to my head. She tried to help me lie down. I resisted. The ground is dirty. There could be bugs. I don’t want to lay on this. I stripped off my shirt to use it as a blanket. As my shocked mind realized that someone else had assumed the role as the calm level headed one, panic set in.

“I could have killed us!” I screamed in a voice comparable to that of a woman giving birth. I began to voice the incoherent thoughts that ran through my head. “Basketball season is ruined!” I was becoming hysterical. “We could be dead!” With each scream, hot tears flowed, the pounding in my head multiplied, and the hysteria peaked. “I ripped my pants! These are my favorite pants!”

Between pain and the effects of the body’s natural response to stress, the next few hours of waiting for the ambulance were a hazy blur. Despite my protest, the ambulance personnel had called my parents; my dad was there among the ER staff to transport me from the ambulance into the hospital. “I broke my foot, daddy,” I said pathetically.

His real feelings masked by his trained calm in stressful situations, my dad’s sympathy was as cold and hard as the tables in the ER. Looking at my swollen foot he responded, “It looks like you did.” Numbed by his assumption of the role of physician, he added, “We told you not to go, Kate.” Those words hurt worse than the actual break. He continued, “Let’s get you into x-ray.”

After x-rays were taken and an operating room was prepared, the shock began to wear off. The epinephrine that had suppressed my awareness of pain no longer had full effect. “Please, please,” I found myself almost begging, “just make it stop. Give me drugs.” My wish was granted and with an IV steadily flowing into my arm, the pain began to dull.

My mom held my hand as I drifted in and out of consciousness. Lovingly she reassured me, “Go to sleep now, when you wake up it will all be over.”

I believed her. However, it was just the beginning. The physical pain was blinding the day of the accident and it was far from over when I woke up.

“You’re lucky. The fracture was a bad one, Kate,” my Dad was explaining the prognosis to me after surgery. “You’re lucky to be alive. You’re actually lucky to have a foot, if this happened fifty years earlier we would have had to amputate it. Thanks to technology, we were able to put a few small titanium screws in your foot to hold your joints together.”

“Screws? Will I set off metal detectors?” I questioned. The irrational hysteria of shock was long gone by now, but sometimes the things I say make me question my priorities.

My mother is always there to ask the important questions, “How long ‘til she can walk on it?” Knowing that I had been counting down to my senior year of basketball since I was ten, she rephrased her question quickly, “How long until she can play basketball again?”

“Well…” He spoke slowly implying that bad news was on its way, “absolutely no weight on it for four weeks, then we’ll start physical therapy,” he paused. My dad obviously hated seeing me in pain, he tried talking to my mother as if I wasn’t there, “Most people with fractures this bad have to relearn how to walk. The books suggest no rigorous activity for at least a year…”

I tuned out the rest of the conversation to calculate the meaning of this in my head: Four weeks, I pulled out my mental calendar, put me to the first week in June. Only one week of sun loss. Not too bad. Three weeks of school with crutches---that’d be bad but doable. One year. I mulled that thought over in my mind. It was May. Pre-season started in October. May to June, June to July, July to August, August to September, September to October---“That’s only five months Dad?” I spoke my concern out loud.

“Five months to what?” Obviously the conversation had continued without me.

I clarified, “Basketball starts in five months. It’s my senior year; I’ll have to be ready in five months.”

“We’ll see if you’re ready by then,” my mom tried to bring me to grips with reality.

My parents had raised me with an invincible confidence. “It was a statement not a question,” I said determinedly.

The day my cast came off I looked at my skinny hairy right leg and round, sausage toes. Blood oozed slowly from two jagged wounds that were still healing on the top of my foot. I watched it drip slowly to the floor. “Frankenstein had a better looking outcome than this,” I exaggerated. I almost asked to have the cast put back on. This was not going to be easy.

“You’re free Kate,” my dad said with a smile as he wiped up the blood off the floor, “go ahead and put some weight on it.”

It was the first time in four weeks I had even thought about stepping on that foot. “Are you sure Dad?” Sometimes having your Dad as your doctor pays, sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes you don’t get as much sympathy or explanation as a normal patient does; that day I wanted more than a restriction release. As I put my foot down, the weak muscles and stiff joints cried out in pain. “Pretty sure I can’t walk. I don’t think I’m ready. Shouldn’t I graduate to a walking boot or something?” The confidence I’d had a few weeks earlier was gone.

“You’ll heal as fast as you’ll let yourself,” my Dad said unsympathetically. “The x-rays look great and you are free to do whatever you think you are ready to do.”

I wasn’t ready to do anything but feel sorry for myself and limp around on one foot and unnecessary crutches. Every time I would attempt to put weight on my foot, my muscles and joints would cry out in pain. For the first time in my life, I found myself repeatedly using the foreign phrase, “I can’t! It’s impossible!” Relearning to walk was the first challenge I couldn’t conquer easily.

The Monday after I got the cast off, summer basketball open gym started. As captain I felt an obligation to go even though it was obvious I wouldn’t be playing; I hadn’t even been able to master walking yet. I hobbled into the gym on my crutches and was met by the appropriate reactions.

“Look at those sausage toes!” Mandy gawked. “Your right leg compared to your left looks like a stick!”

“Does it hurt?” Someone questioned.

I stared at them in disbelief and fought the desire to say, with complete sarcasm, “Of course not stupid. I only broke my foot in half four weeks ago, it doesn’t hurt at all!” Fortunately, the injury to my head did not damage my frontal lobe. I was able to win the battle with my fierce, bitter tongue and ignore her.

Then my best friend asked the question that changed everything, “How long until your Dad says you can play again?”

I hadn’t thought about that yet. I had been focusing on learning how to walk and I had been stubborn and unmotivated. Now my perspective changed a little. In order to play basketball I had to be able to run and jump. In order to run and jump, I had to be able to walk first didn’t I? In order to walk, wouldn’t I have to first be willing to take a step? I came to the conclusion, despite the pain; I needed to start by taking baby steps, literally.

I sat on the side of the court reasoning with myself as my team warmed up without me. I felt isolated; it was like I was viewing reality from behind a wall of hazy glass. Deep thuds resounded throughout the gym as basketballs came in contact with the floor; the net whispered softly as shots were made; and the traction of the shoes on the newly waxed court squeaked in coordination with each movement of the players. The music of that moment combined with my deep thoughts consumed me; my heart beat increased with each dribble.

Someone missed a shot and the ball bounced off the rim and rolled in my direction; the ball seemed to shatter the glass wall that isolated me from reality. Without thinking, I called, “got it,” stood up, walked to the ball, bent over and picked it up. Since the day on the mountain when my life had changed, no pain had ever been more satisfying---no pain in my life was more welcomed. I threw the ball back to the shooter. Everyone was watching in disbelief as I hobbled back to my seat.

“Four months and counting,” I whispered to myself as the forgotten fire of confidence rekindled within me. There was no doubt in my mind; I’d be back and ready to play.

17. Chapter 43---Total Eclipse of the Heart

This video made my life. Pretty much I cry laughing everytime I watch it and I've watched it about 10 times since my sister showed me it earlier today!

It is an actual music video for Total Eclipse of the Heart, but some rhetorical genius rewrote the words to match what is happening in the video! SO FUNNY!
WATCH IT! WORTH EVERY MINUTE!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lj-x9ygQEGA

They say we have a drug problem in our society today?! What the heck was going on the 80's?! What would possess you to make a video THIS bad??

16. Chapter 20---Some people...

Some people don't really have social skills.

We ate dinner tonight with an apartment in our ward... There was only one of the four that came over that we would ever have back again. I am a little shocked about the whole situation.

Last week they invited us to dinner but we already had plans, so they asked us to dinner this week-- we decided they'd do the meat and veggies, we'd do potatoes, bread, and a dessert. This week came. They changed the time one us like 3 times... and two hours before we decided they bring the food over to our place--- Didn't they invite us to dinner? I was confused... so we hurried and cleaned our apartment, and when they finally come--- everyone but one guy was worthless. The rest just watched and expected us to heat and finish preparing the food they brought as well as our own...? And then last minute they invite two extra people to come, since we weren't prepared to have it in the first place, we had to scramble to find chairs and dishes and pray we had enough food, because they hardly brought anything?

If that isn't bad enough.. the conversation was strained and AWKWARD! The one and only nice guy helped us clean up while the rest sat on their butts... I can't tell you how many times I had to consciously wipe the look of disgust off of my face... I believe those are the first group of boys that I've met at BYU that are THAT socially unacceptable. There was one guy in particular... No wonder he's still single... He pretty much was your ideal jerk...

I am just in kinda shock about how socially unaware people can be...

I'm really grateful my parents taught me social skills to some degree...

15. Chapter 88---Your Heart Belongs to Me

My heart, belongs to reading. Honestly, after this Thursday's class discussion, all I've wanted to do is read. I was going to try to wait until Thanksgiving... Fail. I was in Macey's for maybe less than 5 minutes and found myself in the book section looking at Koontz' new book, "Your Heart Belongs to Me"... I couldn't resist; I bought it.

I've had to limit myself to 1 chapter tonight. If I'm productive enough tomorrow, I'll treat myself with another. I love to read so much. Here is why I think...

I am Daddy's little girl. Not just because I am the youngest, but because I was born just as my dad was finishing his residency. I was the only child who knew a Dad that was home when I went to bed each night. As a result, there wasn't a night until I was probably 6 or 7 that I didn't spend curled up at his side reading bedtime stories. It was our thing. Books were our thing. When I was "too grown up" to get read to each night, he would bring me home books on tape and novels to read from the library. Some nights he would get off work, call me, come pick me up, and we'd head back into town to go to the library together. We'd spend hours there picking out books together. That stage lasted until I moved to college. Even now though I find myself on the phone hearing about his latest novel or the newest book. Koontz is our favorite. We've both read everything and anything by him.

Some nights when its cold, especially at Chirstmas time, my dad and I will both get blankets, I'll get hot coco and he'll het his postum, he'll light a real fire in the fireplace, and we'll sit in the living room and read our books.

I will always be daddy's little girl I think.

14. Chapter 67---Christmas Music Year Round

When I went home last weekend, my parents began setting up their Christmas tree! Nothing puts you in the holiday Spirit like getting out all those boxes and working until you can't stand anymore, but it is worth it! Automatically, I found myself in the mood for Christmas music! I have a roommate that is adamint that you can't listen to Christmas music until after Thanksgiving. Personally I think any time after Halloween is fair game. In fact, sometimes throughout the year, I randomly pull out the Forgotten Christmas Carols because I LOVE Christmas music. Is that really so wrong?

Shouldn't we celebrate Christmas and Christ's birth all year round? I think so.

(Also, while I'm throwing my opinions around, I think we should get an Easter break! Winter semester needs more Holidays.)

13. Chapter 14---Ariane's Bachelorette Party

It was my roommate's bachelorette party last night, and because we as roommates love her (even when she is ornery) we threw her a great one! However... she was not into all the ideas even though we tried to stay conservative and still fun. I decided I learn a lot about what I will NOT do in situations through those I've come in contact with over the last year of my life- Let me explain...

There we were, 9 girls in black, white, and red, and 1 bride wearing a bright red dress with sequins all over it. We purposely color coordianted to match the ridiculous dress we were making her wear. We had a scavenger hunt planned at the mall. Ariane had a list of tasks to complete: 1. Get a picture with 5 random groups of guys; 2. Ask 5 people what they think Vicotria's "secret" really is; 3. Get sized for lingerie; 4. Ask 3 couples for married advice. And that was it really. Not bad right? We thought we had done a wonderful job as conservative in our planning as she is in her life. We were all waiting to take a picture and she ran back inside. We waited and waited and waited, so I finally went to see what she was up to. While we were all in our pose waiting for her to join the picture, she had been sitting in her bedroom. I found her crying and holding her cell phone. She had texted her fiance to ask permission to do the list of things we had planned. For some reason, to which I can't understnad, she had a REAL hard time even THINKING about taking pictures with groups of boys... (Because being in a picture with a guy is cheating? I'm not really sure?...) Another thing I couldn't even comprehend was the fact that she knew we were all waiting on her, and she was selfish enough to sit in her room for 10 minutes without even letting us know... Even if you're having a hard time, you should have some degree of respect for people who spent their busy week planning a party that you wanted to have and were now taking time away from their busy lives to spend the night celebrating your last few weeks as a single woman. Third, I know she loves her husband, but can she not even think enough for herself to decide on her own whether or not she can do it? If I didn't really want to do something, I wouldn't need anyone to decide that for me. But apparently, being engaged makes you completely helpless in deciding anything.

I walked back outside with a plastered smile on my face; I have learned from previous experience that it is not worth getting angry over people like that. I just took a mental note: 1. If someone goes out of their way to do something nice for me, I'm going to have respect for them and try my hardest to cooperate with thier plans. 2. Never be so selfish that you can't at least have the decency to let people know they shouldn't wait for you. 3. Don't be embarrassed by harmless things. It's not worth it. 4. Decide where YOU stand and what YOUR opinion is, independent of anyone else. Once you have your opinion, act on it independent of anyone else. 5. Have fun always.

If you aren't constantly laughing, loving, or livin' it up, then you're only breathing. Don't breathe. LIVE! :)

12. Chapter 57---Don't want to sleep!

It is only 11:28 pm and I have done everything possible on my to do list except for writing my Research Paper for PDBio... I'm in a bad position though. I know I should either work on my paper or go to bed so I can be less tired and work on my paper tomorrow... But I don't want to do either! This sucks! Haha

So this post is basically my excuse to stay up a few minutes longer... I have always loathed getting ready for bed. I can't ever figure out why, but all I know is I can't sleep until I brush my teeth, take off my make up, and get in my p.j.'s. It will only take me tops 5 minutes if I hurry... but some nights I'd rather sit, dead tired, doing nothing then get ready for bed. I dread it more than anything! I just wish I could snap my fingers and be ready for bed! I'd get so much more sleep! I can't believe how ridiculous this mental block towards getting ready for bed is!

Now that I've wasted a few minutes and vented... I'll go get ready for bed...

11. Chapter 47---It is a SMALL world after all!

This world is small. How small you ask? Very.

I went home this weekend for a homecoming of a good guy friend of mine (Brady). After his talk, I went up and gave him a hug and this random character comes up to me and is like, "were you in Provo last weekend?" I realized this was Brady's favorite companion from his mission that he told me was going to be at the homecoming that day. And stunned I go, "I live in Provo, so I'm always there." He's like, "I knew it! We met at that Halloween Party just last week! You and your roommate were secret agents and I was the cowboy remeber?!" He was. I was. This was all true. We even took pictures together haha how small of a world is it that I can meet one of my guy friend's favorite companions at a party just a week before my guy friend gets home? It is a good thing I didn't do anything too crazy... haha

The world gets smaller though... ha that night, upon returning to Provo, I went to a ward function with my roommies! While there we were talking with a guy from my ward and when he discovered I was from BC, he asked if I knew a Stuart Peterson who served in London. I just looked at my roommates in shock! "I'm actually in love with his older brother, Stu is my next door neighbor, his mother is my second mom, and I know him extremely well!" Turns out they served together very early in their missions and had lost contact! I was able to reunite them (touching I know ha) :) IT IS A SMALL SMALL WORLD!!!

The moral of the story: Be careful what you do and what you say. The world is small and everyone is connected to everyone. Especially inside the church. and Especially in Provo! It is a small world AFTER ALL!!!

10. Chapter 3: Elder Nelson

I just want the world to know, that although I love EVERY talk Elder Holland has EVER given, thanks to my Teachings of the Living Prophets class, I think Elder Nelson is becoming my new favorite! He was and IS AMAZING! Let me share some of the things I learned about him this week:

• He has perfect pitch, plays the organ, and writes hymns
• He was a MD by 22, graduated from the U! (22! Can you believe that?!)
• He isn't just a world renowned heart surgeon, he is THE world renowned heart surgeon. He worked on the team of scientists that invented the cardiovascular machine that allows physicians to perform open heart surgery and keep the lungs supplying oxygen to the blood! (Do you even know how smart you would have to be to do that?! We are talking about the person who invented heart surgery here!)
• He had to be one of the most busy men in the world: At one point in his life he was a practicing surgeon, head of CES, father of 10 children (9 girls, 1 boy), and a member of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir! (I can't even imagine doing any of those one things by myself, let alone do them all at the same time!)
• He was set apart as a Stake President by Elder (at the time) Spencer W. Kimball. He was blessed to perfect the aortic valve replacement in that setting apart; he later had to perform that surgery on Elder Kimball, and while finishing a perfect operation, Elder Nelson received the impression that he had been prepared all his life so that he could save the prophet's life.
• Elder Nelson did not save President Harold B. Lee's life when he came into the hospital. He was devastated, and he later had a vision in which President Lee came to him reassuring him that it was his time to go and the work would go on with President Kimball just the same as it would if he were still the prophet!

Those are just a few of the amazing things! I need to meet someone like that! That honestly just raised my standard for my husband by a million! No wonder he is a general authority! He is so amazing! They all are actually!

The Church is True! Basically.

9. Chapter 31--- All Hallow's Eve!

This last weekend was one of the most fun and most unproductive of the school year! Starting Friday morning, I got in the Halloween Spirit of things and didn't do much else until Sunday night! (I did manage to spit out a paragraph for my English paper... but that was about it) My roommates and I went to party after party, made ginger snap cookies and pumpkin dip (which is all I ate on Saturday), and basically had two great days in a row! We are the best! We went as Charlie's Angels this year and took pictures with EVERYONE! What can I say, we looked hott!

But we picked out our favorite costumes from all the photos we took and here are the top three winners of the night:

Number 3: The Jolly Green Giant! Covering yourself in a full layer of green body paint--- that deserves an award!

Number 2: White Chocolate (Gangster) He stayed in Character ALL night! No one lived their costume as well as he did!

Number 1: Obama and Secret Service! They were all perfect a match to their characters!

Life is grand! :)

8. Chapter 72---To whom shall we go?

So quick insight that comes from John 6. Basically the whole chapter is about the Bread of Life, which is Christ and His Gospel. My teacher had us view this through Elder Scott's talk in October General Conference. In his address Elder Scott said, “Father in Heaven knew that you would face challenges and be required to make some decisions that would be beyond your own ability to decide correctly”. There are certain trials we will face on this earth that we are not expected to face alone.We were expected to face them with the Savior-The Bread of Life. In John 6, the people come to Christ for bread (physical bread) and He points out to them there is more to being a disciple of Christ than eating his bread and partaking of his miracles. We must partake of Him and His Atonement to be considered His true followers. In verse 66, after hearing this, many people choose to walk no more with Him. I can vividly imagine the scene. Christ is there feeling rejected and heartbroken that his children whom He loves have turned away. He had offered his life for them if they would repent, come unto him, endure to the end, but they left because they wanted the instant gratification of the physical “bread.” In verse 67 Christ then asks his apostles, “Will ye also go away ?” To which Peter profoundly answers “ Lord, to whom shall we go ?” That has never hit me so strongly before in my life. To whom shall we go? Who or what else is there to turn to? If we turn away from the Savior, the Bread of Life, TO WHOM SHALL WE GO??? There is no one else. If we choose to turn away from the Savior and His atonement, to not partake of it for WHATEVER REASON-to whom shall we go? Eventually everyone in this life or the next will realize that to whomever or whatever they turn to will not really feed them what they need. Christ is the only one who “hast the words of eternal life.” He is the only one with the plan, the only one with the doctrine, the only one in which we can find true happiness, comfort and peace. He is the ONLY ONE.

Returning to Elder Scott's address, if Christ is the only one and we turn away, who can help us with those decisions and challenges that Heavenly Father knew would be beyond our ability? If we choose not to follow Him, how shall we survive? To whom shall we go? I know there is no other way. With every fiber of my being, I know Christ lives and that because He lives and died for us, we can inherit eternal life. He showed us the way...He IS the way--- the Bread of Life.

7. Chapter 88---Jaws

Around these parts, I go by the name "Jaws"--- because I am THAT tough!

Haha actually it all started because I made the claim that you could tell how good a guy kissed by how good looking his jaw was! I still stand by my theory. It is a hypothesis I would dedicate my life to proving true. In fact, as a science minded person, I plan on actually doing a legit study and publishing my findings on my hypothesis one day. I will be famous one day :)

That's why I go by Jaws :)

6. Chapter 7--- Engaged Roommates....Bridezillas Occasionally

I couldn't have asked for better roommates this semester! I didn't know any of them moving in, but I felt like I was really inspired to live where I chose to, even though my friends wanted to live somewhere different than I did. The Lord is so good to me, and put me exactly where I needed to be! From the moment I moved in, I fell in love with all three of the girls I live with!

Three weeks into the semester though, my room-roommate got engaged! We were all so excited at first! We would throw her a shower and help her shop for flowers and buy her lingerie! It was our little apartments dream! We were all so excited! (And don’t get me wrong, we still are most of the time)

Then our engaged roommate morphed into “bridezilla” for the first time! Taking her stress of school and wedding planning and fiancé time out on us, she turned VERY scary! This began only to manifest itself on small occasions and then slowly more and more, until now it is almost all we see with occasional sprits of the roommate we love.

Also once you’re engaged, apparently it is an unwritten rule that you are a professional at relationships. This then entitles you to force your opinion on relationships and dating on to all those around you. This applies to every new bride to be, including those, who like my roommate, have only ever dated and kissed one guy, their current fiancé. I feel as if I, who have kissed and dated a multitude of men, had my fair share of serious relationships, and have had five older siblings as examples of what to do and not to do, have more advice then she will ever have. (In case you can’t tell, I’m a little annoyed at that one…) What frustrates me the most is that we have one freshman roommate who is barely getting the hang of what it means to be in college, and the bridezilla is trying to control her every move when it comes to dating and boys… Everyone deserves their agency!

Now don’t get me wrong, I still love this Bridezilla, but I just hope the wedding comes soon or she gets over the stress of being newly engaged! Because if not, this will prove to be a very long semester! Good thing my other two roommates and I can just laugh at her and ignore her slight temporary insanity!!!

Isn’t life a blast?!

5. Chapter 19: English Paper Topic

This isn't going to be an entertaining story :) But it could lead to an A paper, which would lead to me getting a good grade in this class, which would lead to me celebrating, which inevitably---because I am who I am--- lead to a very exciting, very entertaining story!

My Research Topic has to do with Metabolism and genetics.

How much is the ability for people to gain and lose weight (metabolism) a genetic factor? Do people have natural tendencies to be fat or overweight?

I would approach it from the science level (obviously), but I really do want to know once and for all: are you destined to be fat or skinny? Are my children doomed to be fat because my great Greek Grandmother weighed 200 pounds? Or is it the fact that my great Italian Grandmother always had homemade spaghetti sauce on the stove with fresh homemade bread to dip in it available at all times that we just have learned to eat fattening, yet tasty food?

It is something to think about huh? :)

4. Chapter 32: A little of Italy

Starving and driving down Center Street at 9 tonight, my roommates and I were on the prowl with one goal in mind: a restaurant. We had shopped all day long and we realized that it was now very late and we hadn't eaten since around noon; The adrenaline shopping gives us is very powerful. We had one extra qualification tonight though, we wanted somewhere new. I have always been a fan of the "hole-in-the-wall" restaurants and I wasn't going to settle for the normal chains of eating choices. Down one side street, like a message from above, I miraculously spotted a sign for a restaurant I had never seen before!

De Dolche Vida

Quickly taking action on what I considered to be pure inspiration, I dangerously maneuvered through traffic and pulled in front of this new discovery! "We can just look at a menu and decide how it looks, ok?"

One glance was all we needed! Gnocchi, tortellini, raviolis, etc. And to make it that much better, the staff BARELY spoke English! This was going to be great...

I ordered, by recommendation, the Chef's Patter: chicken parmesan, gnocchi in sauce, beef tortellini, and baked alfredo! It was way too much food, but I ate it ALL! It was authentic and delicious and I Loved EVERY bite!

I have a new favorite Italian place in Provo!! I would suggest it to everyone!

3. Chapter 10---The month of October!

Halloween has got to be one of the most irrelavent holidays, but also the most fun! I realized, after the excitement of conference had worn off just enough, that it was finally the first week in October. This realization came after the date I went on last night.

Like all first dates it was a little awkward, but our activity was effective at putting awkwardness aside and setting the Spirit of Halloween! It was simple, we had a date pumpkin carving contest: couple that carved the best pumpkin won.


I don't lose. Those that know me well, will testify of that fact. I was lucky enough to be asked out by a guy who didn't lose as well. On top of that much appreciated quality, he also was a skilled pumpkin carver in a prior life. As you can tell from the picture, we picked a perfectly round pumpkin---the first necessary step to winning a carving contest. We also secretly bought a pumpkin stencile. Some might call that cheating, which out of jealously some of our competitors did, but we call it using our resources! After I cleaned out the pumpkin's guts, we discovered my date had a natural talent for detailed pumpkin carving. So being the kind of person that I am, I just sat back and looked good and let him do the work, occassionally wiping off the pumpkin goo that was blocking the pattern. I was so good at my job!

Ours is the one on the far left...Obviously, we won. My date being the gentleman he was, let me take the pumpkin back to my apartment--- our VERY FIRST Halloween decoration!! Due to the common knowledge that I love stories and flaunting my skilled winning, I went to wake up my roommates to show them our newest addition.

Sara ran into the kitchen to see the surprise before Jessie could even get out of bed. Thrilled at the beautiful display, but a little confused, Sara ran back in exclaiming, "Katelynn! Your face is on a pumpkin!!!!" Because my life is blessed with having the most oportune timing to create stories under, that comment came just as Jessie was thinking of the best way to roll out of bed. I casually responded, "No... Actually it is a vampire, but yes that is my jack-o-lantern on the counter." Something about that comment, in her half asleep stage, made Jessie unintentionally fall out of bed sending us all into a 2 am laughing fit. This rupture of loud laughter woke up our other roommate, who was not as thrilled about the pumpkin as the rest of us were...

Oh the joy October brings!

2. Chapter 13---Because my stories don't always start with one!

You know that feeling when you first see a boy and your heart skips a little beat or the butterflies in your stomach flutter for a few seconds as he walks by? Thanks to my best friend, we've coined that term a baby crush: Not a real, mature, full blown, "I want to date him" kind of crush, but just the kind of crush that brings a tiny smile to your face when someone mentions his name.

Using baby crush for the first time in front of my new roommates though got quite the reaction! After explained to them though, it created a very accurate scale upon which we can rely on during our nightly "story time." We can now talk about a boy in one of our classes using phrases like, "I think I'm getting a baby crush!" or "I think he's graduating to pre-school!" or "Totally high school!" There is an image associated with each of these terms and I find myself constantly asking, "On a scale of baby to college how would YOU rate this crush??"

It has made our story time so much more effective by establishing a common language among my roommates and I! What started out as just a few minute chat while we brushed our teeth, can sometimes go on for hours until our ornery roommate wakes up and yells at us all to be quiet! That usually makes us giggle harder, but it does send us to bed eventually! It is the highlight of each night, the inspiration for this blog, and basically what dreams are made of!

What would life be like without "story time?" I hope I never have to find out!

1. Preface--- because every story begins somewhere

Someone, somewhere once said that life is a stage and we are all the star of our own play (Or something to that effect). From my long nineteen years of experience however, I have learned that life, at least for me, isn't a play; its more like a sitcom. Whoever invented reality TV really had something going there! Life is never boring, especially when you're me!

You could begin somewhere in the pre-existence or at birth or with a first conscious memory, but I think my story begins when I first realized how much I love to tell stories. It wasn't so much the story as much as it was the attention, the reactions, and the thrill of being the center of it all!

I learned first by watching. My mother would hold me and make up stories of "Katie and Squirrely" and their adventures to foreign lands. I would listen with all the attention my five year old brain could handle with awe at how her voice could actually take me (Katie), and my flying squirrel best friend (Squirrely) to places unknown or undiscovered by other humans! Other times my father, after much persuasion, would turn off the lights and grab a flashlight, and weave a tale of Sasquatch and Mummies and things that go bump in the night! When their imaginations were exhausted, they would then read from the scriptures, poetry books, Dr. Seuss, mystery novels, and just about anything else we had in the house, and let experienced authors have a turn at weaving a story for me.

At age eight, things began to change though. Instead of wanting to hear others stories, I wanted my story to be told! There was a high associated with getting my family to laugh at what I had to say, or having all my friends scream as I told the best scary tales at the sleepover. Everyone's attention was on me, and if I was telling the story, no one could interrupt or interject! It was wonderfully thrilling!

And that is when I realized, life is all about the stories. Some moments you may ask yourself: "This is so stupid, why am I doing this?" The answer is simple: "This will make the BEST story!"

Welcome to my life: one long, exciting story, with many chapters and an unfinished ending.