Faith. It's really a simple concept that many people struggle with. Who knew a five letter word could mean so much? Faith.
I have faith, without it, I don't know where I'd be. I truly understand the importance of having faith in all I do. I know that no matter what I do or no matter what's thrown my way, no matter how cliche it may sound, there's a reason for it.
In recent days, I've come to realize more and more, and even though I have my fears, I know that what's happening right this second is the way things are supposed to be and I'm content with that.
I definitely have someone to thank for the way things have played out, especially this past week. Someone's watchin' over me :)
Christin Grace
Friday, March 25, 2011
Monday, March 21, 2011
I Think I Should Write A Book
I do believe blogs are one of the best procrastination/distraction/time fillers to ever exist. Why do you ask? I have two more hours until my time slot is open for me to register for classes and I'm trying to come up with ideas of what I should do to help the time pass and another blog sounded like a great idea. So.. here goes nothing!
I think I should write a book. I have always enjoyed books, at least the non-assigned ones for class, but in reality, I wouldn't know if I'd enjoy them because I never read them. Assigned book reading stopped after my freshman year in high school. My biggest reading accomplishment since then: reading the Twilight Saga this past summer. Even though yes, everyone is doing it, it is a big accomplishment on my part, just ask my best friend Jessica, she'll tell ya! It was good to know she was proud of me. LOL
When I was young, I was a writing and reading fanatic, but my desire and love for reading, not so much writing, died once I got into junior high and was forced to read full books that I wouldn't have picked for myself and wouldn't appreciate or enjoy. My desire I did not have for reading came to a dead stop in high school. I think it was because of the International Baccalaureate Program that burnt me out in every way imaginable, but that's a whole other subject we will not touch right now. ANYWAY!
So book writing. I feel that even though I'm only 18, I've experienced a lot that your typical 18 year-old has yet to experience and may never experience. Yes, in this day and age life is tough and has always been tough and is often unfair. Am I complaining? Not quite, just simply stating a fact. Even though life hasn't always been the greatest, I feel that I am able to relate to a lot of people in different ways because of the different situations I have been in and lived through and in a way, it is almost a blessing.
At this point, I'm sure you're thinking, "this chick is crazy!" Though, without offense being taken, if you really knew me, you'd know at least some of what I'm talking about. Trust me, plenty of life experience in this 18 year-old. And, for those of you who do not think I'm crazy over the fact that I say I have a lot of life experience, you may be thinking I'm crazy for thinking that bad things or in other words, the not so great times, are a blessing, may be activating that crazy card in your mind, but really! When anyone goes through something tough, you have a better understanding of yourself and those around you, you grow and mature, you become stronger, you overcome challenges, which can only better yourself, if and only if you have a positive attitude and believe that you have the strengthen to get past it and won't let your past hold you back from your future. Life is a lesson, you learn. Without it, where would we be? About as smart as a 5th grade, but according to the TV show, maybe that wouldn't be such a bad thing for many adults out there.
If I wrote a book, honestly, I'm not sure I'd know what to write it on. There's so many topics that I feel I could write about and be capable of applying real emotion, but would it be of any fascination to any of you? Yes, I might feel accomplished and be praying that it somehow effects someone else whether it be the encouragement they need or to learn something new, but would it really be worth it? Besides, if I were to write a book, by now, you would all be thinking that I'd be writing about something that personally happened to me and if that were true, something personal would become public, and if it wasn't about me, you would all be thinking it actually happened to me and judging would begin, if it has not already started.
All-in-all, would it really be worth it for me to write a book?
Christin
I think I should write a book. I have always enjoyed books, at least the non-assigned ones for class, but in reality, I wouldn't know if I'd enjoy them because I never read them. Assigned book reading stopped after my freshman year in high school. My biggest reading accomplishment since then: reading the Twilight Saga this past summer. Even though yes, everyone is doing it, it is a big accomplishment on my part, just ask my best friend Jessica, she'll tell ya! It was good to know she was proud of me. LOL
When I was young, I was a writing and reading fanatic, but my desire and love for reading, not so much writing, died once I got into junior high and was forced to read full books that I wouldn't have picked for myself and wouldn't appreciate or enjoy. My desire I did not have for reading came to a dead stop in high school. I think it was because of the International Baccalaureate Program that burnt me out in every way imaginable, but that's a whole other subject we will not touch right now. ANYWAY!
So book writing. I feel that even though I'm only 18, I've experienced a lot that your typical 18 year-old has yet to experience and may never experience. Yes, in this day and age life is tough and has always been tough and is often unfair. Am I complaining? Not quite, just simply stating a fact. Even though life hasn't always been the greatest, I feel that I am able to relate to a lot of people in different ways because of the different situations I have been in and lived through and in a way, it is almost a blessing.
At this point, I'm sure you're thinking, "this chick is crazy!" Though, without offense being taken, if you really knew me, you'd know at least some of what I'm talking about. Trust me, plenty of life experience in this 18 year-old. And, for those of you who do not think I'm crazy over the fact that I say I have a lot of life experience, you may be thinking I'm crazy for thinking that bad things or in other words, the not so great times, are a blessing, may be activating that crazy card in your mind, but really! When anyone goes through something tough, you have a better understanding of yourself and those around you, you grow and mature, you become stronger, you overcome challenges, which can only better yourself, if and only if you have a positive attitude and believe that you have the strengthen to get past it and won't let your past hold you back from your future. Life is a lesson, you learn. Without it, where would we be? About as smart as a 5th grade, but according to the TV show, maybe that wouldn't be such a bad thing for many adults out there.
If I wrote a book, honestly, I'm not sure I'd know what to write it on. There's so many topics that I feel I could write about and be capable of applying real emotion, but would it be of any fascination to any of you? Yes, I might feel accomplished and be praying that it somehow effects someone else whether it be the encouragement they need or to learn something new, but would it really be worth it? Besides, if I were to write a book, by now, you would all be thinking that I'd be writing about something that personally happened to me and if that were true, something personal would become public, and if it wasn't about me, you would all be thinking it actually happened to me and judging would begin, if it has not already started.
All-in-all, would it really be worth it for me to write a book?
Christin
The Life of a Workaholic
Soo.. Work. Kari is one of my best friends and the entire time I've been home, I've been working my butt off and Kari calls me a workaholic, and I'm ok with that.
As stated in my last blog, I got home from Idaho 5/5:30AM on Sunday and started working Monday, babysitting, seems easy right?
Well, since I've been home, I've been:
Babysitting- specific days of the week on a weekly basis (Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays) as well as spontaneous days and times throughout the week
Chauffer- My aunt had shoulder surgery (yeah, try saying that five times fast, GOOD LUCK!) so I drove her to and from work 5 days a week for 7 weeks and helped her with her actual work: grading papers, tests, in putting grades, organizing, etc.
Nanny- Talk about crazy! I was a nanny for 8 weeks and decided, it was too much. I went into work on Friday at 6pm and didn't leave until Sunday and 10PM. It was really hard to leave the family because it was twins, 5 years old, a boy and girl, and they were sweet at times, and I was really being paid to be their mother, so to cut those ties, were, believe it or not, kind of hard, but definitely what I needed to do.
Cleaning- I have helped my friends keep their apartment clean throughout the week, but it's been fun because I get to talk and work side by side with my friend as we're doing it. Nothing brings you closer than cleaning!
Personal Assistant- I am a personal assistant for my formal dance teacher who is a National Make-Up Artist for Smashbox Cosmetics, and let me tell you people, I LOVE IT! It has been so much fun and it's so much fun to be able to spend time with her again and because I have worked with her, I have other work opportunities including:
Smashbox- I am actually employed at Smashbox Cosmetics doing different things here and there that they need done, including helping plan and organize for a big photo event, I loved it! I have already learned so much and have fallen even more in love with make-up and LA.
Also! Personal Assistant- for another Make-up artist and helping her get a business going, I'm looking forward to it!
And that's not all! I have had the opportunity to help my old dance teacher get her own personal business with her brother started, I love this stuff people. Office work, is believe it or not, fun!
I have been working really hard and for the most part, loving every minute of it. Being home has been such a big learning experience and such an adventure. Work or no work, it has definitely been one of the biggest 3-month rollercoasters of my life, but I am very excited to see where all of this leads!
I have been keeping myself super busy and as Kari stated, I really am a workaholic. Any chance I get to work, I'll take it! I even at one point went 3 and a half weeks without a single day off, I was so excited when I finally had a day off, I almost didn't know what to with myself.
BUT that's all I have to say for now.
XOXO
Christin Grace
PS,
Please excuse my horrible writing skills in this blog, I was rushing :)
As stated in my last blog, I got home from Idaho 5/5:30AM on Sunday and started working Monday, babysitting, seems easy right?
Well, since I've been home, I've been:
Babysitting- specific days of the week on a weekly basis (Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays) as well as spontaneous days and times throughout the week
Chauffer- My aunt had shoulder surgery (yeah, try saying that five times fast, GOOD LUCK!) so I drove her to and from work 5 days a week for 7 weeks and helped her with her actual work: grading papers, tests, in putting grades, organizing, etc.
Nanny- Talk about crazy! I was a nanny for 8 weeks and decided, it was too much. I went into work on Friday at 6pm and didn't leave until Sunday and 10PM. It was really hard to leave the family because it was twins, 5 years old, a boy and girl, and they were sweet at times, and I was really being paid to be their mother, so to cut those ties, were, believe it or not, kind of hard, but definitely what I needed to do.
Cleaning- I have helped my friends keep their apartment clean throughout the week, but it's been fun because I get to talk and work side by side with my friend as we're doing it. Nothing brings you closer than cleaning!
Personal Assistant- I am a personal assistant for my formal dance teacher who is a National Make-Up Artist for Smashbox Cosmetics, and let me tell you people, I LOVE IT! It has been so much fun and it's so much fun to be able to spend time with her again and because I have worked with her, I have other work opportunities including:
Smashbox- I am actually employed at Smashbox Cosmetics doing different things here and there that they need done, including helping plan and organize for a big photo event, I loved it! I have already learned so much and have fallen even more in love with make-up and LA.
Also! Personal Assistant- for another Make-up artist and helping her get a business going, I'm looking forward to it!
And that's not all! I have had the opportunity to help my old dance teacher get her own personal business with her brother started, I love this stuff people. Office work, is believe it or not, fun!
I have been working really hard and for the most part, loving every minute of it. Being home has been such a big learning experience and such an adventure. Work or no work, it has definitely been one of the biggest 3-month rollercoasters of my life, but I am very excited to see where all of this leads!
I have been keeping myself super busy and as Kari stated, I really am a workaholic. Any chance I get to work, I'll take it! I even at one point went 3 and a half weeks without a single day off, I was so excited when I finally had a day off, I almost didn't know what to with myself.
BUT that's all I have to say for now.
XOXO
Christin Grace
PS,
Please excuse my horrible writing skills in this blog, I was rushing :)
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Let's Get Down to Business
So, after reading Kaitlin's blog, I realize that the last blog I posted was November 30th and I still lived in Idaho, great! So let me through an update your way as to how everything went from the end of the semester, if I can remember, and how everything has been since I've been home!
December 2010
My last three weeks of college flew by. For my brother's 21st birthday, he came to visit me for a whole week! I am going to ignore the fact that one of my room mates was his girlfriend and that it had been a whole 2 or 3 weeks since the last time he had seen her, he clearly spent his 21st in Rexburg just to be with me. I didn't get him a birthday present because I was clearly a poor college student, but I did make him an awesome ice cream birthday cake, with rainbow sherbert on the inside and everything, yeah, I'm a good sister.
As the week continued, my last week of college, I was going crazy studying for finals and working hard to get everything packed up. I only had two finals- one of which I did not HAVE to take. My psychology final was my hardest final. I studied really hard, we're talking days here; I got a B on it! I was so proud of myself. Then, my American Foundations final was all I had left. I didn't have to take it because my professor would have dropped our lowest test score and I was pretty sure I already had an A in the class. This is what went down: it's our last night in Rexburg. We have dinner/goodbyes with our FHE, Irene leaves at 4:30AM, Katelyn has to leave around 11? (I don't completely remember) to make her flight to Long Beach, and I went to the BYU Idaho Center Dedication with Courtney and then Randy, Allison and I had to pack up the car and get on the road, trust me, did not go as smooth as it should have, but we will get to that in a minute. Back to finals. I needed to study for my American Foundations final and finish packing up. How in the world was I going to manage? You're about to find out. I spend all day packing, and I mean, ALLLL day. We have to get ready to go to our FHE goodbye dinner, I run over there, have dinner/dessert, say my goodbyes, and Courtney and Irene encourage me to go take my test. SO! I leave the dinner early, book it back to the apartment, and grabbed two pencils, grabbed my notebook, read over my notes, studied the different tensions, totaling 10 minutes, 12 at most, and hopped in the car to the Testing Center, because guess what, the last test goes out at 9 and it's 8:52. Great!! I make it in time, get my test, speed through it, or so it felt, turn my test it, walk out, wait for my ID number to show up on the TV right outside the room, and guess what a 90%! I was in shock. I thought I was going to do bad because it seemed too easy and I finished so quickly, besides, I didn't even study! Then, heading down to Broulims to try to get more boxes for all of us to pack up, it's now 10PM, I have no jacket, and the car is register 6 degrees outside, really? Believe it or not, I wasn't even that cold. Broulims didn't have any more boxes, so I hopped in the car to Walmart, waited almost an hour, and got some boxes, and headed home to continue packing.
I wanted to make sure I was going to say goodbye to Irene, so I stayed up until 4:30 just to say goodbye. While still packing and talking, spending our last moments together, Randy and Allison decide to block our neighbors door with snow, and we're talking a wall of snow that went clear up to the door knob, they're lucky they weren't completely stuck in there. It was kind of funny though. Anyway, I stayed up to say goodbye to Irene. It was clearly below zero by now and I only had a light zip up hoodie on, really? You'd think I would have thought that out a little more, NOT. So I made it to saying goodbye to Irene and then I had to run back into an empty apartment, in a room where I had to sleep by myself. After 4 months of having your best friend sleep in the bed two and a half feet away from you, trust me, this was a hard task.
I woke up, after very few hours of sleep, and headed to the BYU Idaho Center Dedication with Courtney!
And then headed back to the apartment to find a car that had not been loaded and an empty storage unit that also should have been loaded. Good job big brother! We were supposed to be on the road by 12, instead, we got on the freeway at 3:45, after the biggest ordeal of a way too packed car, two trips to the storage unit, and a trip to UPS. And then it was goodbye Idaho!
December 2010
My last three weeks of college flew by. For my brother's 21st birthday, he came to visit me for a whole week! I am going to ignore the fact that one of my room mates was his girlfriend and that it had been a whole 2 or 3 weeks since the last time he had seen her, he clearly spent his 21st in Rexburg just to be with me. I didn't get him a birthday present because I was clearly a poor college student, but I did make him an awesome ice cream birthday cake, with rainbow sherbert on the inside and everything, yeah, I'm a good sister.
As the week continued, my last week of college, I was going crazy studying for finals and working hard to get everything packed up. I only had two finals- one of which I did not HAVE to take. My psychology final was my hardest final. I studied really hard, we're talking days here; I got a B on it! I was so proud of myself. Then, my American Foundations final was all I had left. I didn't have to take it because my professor would have dropped our lowest test score and I was pretty sure I already had an A in the class. This is what went down: it's our last night in Rexburg. We have dinner/goodbyes with our FHE, Irene leaves at 4:30AM, Katelyn has to leave around 11? (I don't completely remember) to make her flight to Long Beach, and I went to the BYU Idaho Center Dedication with Courtney and then Randy, Allison and I had to pack up the car and get on the road, trust me, did not go as smooth as it should have, but we will get to that in a minute. Back to finals. I needed to study for my American Foundations final and finish packing up. How in the world was I going to manage? You're about to find out. I spend all day packing, and I mean, ALLLL day. We have to get ready to go to our FHE goodbye dinner, I run over there, have dinner/dessert, say my goodbyes, and Courtney and Irene encourage me to go take my test. SO! I leave the dinner early, book it back to the apartment, and grabbed two pencils, grabbed my notebook, read over my notes, studied the different tensions, totaling 10 minutes, 12 at most, and hopped in the car to the Testing Center, because guess what, the last test goes out at 9 and it's 8:52. Great!! I make it in time, get my test, speed through it, or so it felt, turn my test it, walk out, wait for my ID number to show up on the TV right outside the room, and guess what a 90%! I was in shock. I thought I was going to do bad because it seemed too easy and I finished so quickly, besides, I didn't even study! Then, heading down to Broulims to try to get more boxes for all of us to pack up, it's now 10PM, I have no jacket, and the car is register 6 degrees outside, really? Believe it or not, I wasn't even that cold. Broulims didn't have any more boxes, so I hopped in the car to Walmart, waited almost an hour, and got some boxes, and headed home to continue packing.
I wanted to make sure I was going to say goodbye to Irene, so I stayed up until 4:30 just to say goodbye. While still packing and talking, spending our last moments together, Randy and Allison decide to block our neighbors door with snow, and we're talking a wall of snow that went clear up to the door knob, they're lucky they weren't completely stuck in there. It was kind of funny though. Anyway, I stayed up to say goodbye to Irene. It was clearly below zero by now and I only had a light zip up hoodie on, really? You'd think I would have thought that out a little more, NOT. So I made it to saying goodbye to Irene and then I had to run back into an empty apartment, in a room where I had to sleep by myself. After 4 months of having your best friend sleep in the bed two and a half feet away from you, trust me, this was a hard task.
I woke up, after very few hours of sleep, and headed to the BYU Idaho Center Dedication with Courtney!
And then headed back to the apartment to find a car that had not been loaded and an empty storage unit that also should have been loaded. Good job big brother! We were supposed to be on the road by 12, instead, we got on the freeway at 3:45, after the biggest ordeal of a way too packed car, two trips to the storage unit, and a trip to UPS. And then it was goodbye Idaho!
Rexburg, Idaho Temple
The drive home, around Pocatello, Idaho.
My last Idaho sunset! Don't mind the dirty windshield.
Let me tell you, the drive home was ridiculous. After driving 925 miles, all driven by myself thank you very much Randall and Allison, I finally made it home at 6:30 AM (Mountain time.) I drove home through a snow storm, rain storm, fog, rain storm in fog, ice, more crazy snow, the weather conditions were absolutely ridiculous. I plan to never do that again.
Once I got home, I had a great Christmas with the family and started working right away.
But my memories from my first semester at college will never fade.
The Idaho Falls, Idaho Temple
Pajamas in the Idaho Falls, Idaho Target
Clearly the best group date ever
An awesome night
The Most Epic Flight Home
Kaitlin and Aly spending the night, cuddling or spooning, whichever you prefer, on my ever small couch and freezing living room!
Freezing walks with my Kaitikins!
With some... yeah, pictures
Some last minute pranks on Allison :)
Needless to say, she enjoyed it
I am done writing for now, but my next blog will definitely update you guys on the million jobs that I have had since I've been home. Until then... Adios!
XOXO
Christin Grace
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