Thoughts from the Dorms

College. Has. Been. So. Fun.
.......and that pretty much sums it up.

But really though, I have been more social and done more fun things in the past week and a half than I did in a month of my senior year. Every night there is something going on. Its kind of exhausting and my more introverted self that emerged senior year is having coping problems but frankly I am not sure if that is such a bad thing. I like people here. Ok I like the guys here. Everyone is willing to go do stuff and at the same time everyone has got their own schedule and universe they are operating inside of. It makes for a healthy balance. I have made a ton of friends and situations like this are terrifying (meeting people, putting yourself out there, taking the chance that you might very well look like a fool if you open your mouth) but at the same time such an overall confidence booster. I think that everyone in high school got tired of each other and appreciated each other less because everyone was around everyday. But here people like me. And miracle of miracles I LIKE THEM. And I meet new people everyday. People check me out all the time and it is so strange and great and weird. Its a cross between sheer terror of ones self and others and pleasant surprise at how that terror is never realized. (That pretty much is how it is everyday for me)

I love love love tennis every morning but I hate hate hate the actual get-out-of-bed-at-7:45 thing. That sounds super lame but when you are up till like 1 every night it gets old really fast. Physical Science is as awful as I predicted so that's nice and Intro to Music has been a little dry.
The world cup is a huge deal to like everyone (not just to me!!!!) and it is ridiculously fun. I have been on two dates (confidence boosters I tell ya) and have only missed my family periodically and communicate with them nearly everyday. Family Home evening was awkward and Sunday dinners at Amy's+ Sunday drives with Max and Allie are so therapeutic. Also Allie works at this greasy diner that plays smashing music and I love terrorizing visiting her.    

Orientaion and Classes

Orientation felt like EFY. The group leaders were older college kids, we ate together, we went to devotionals and we walked everywhere. I met a ton of people but overall it was quite awkward. I did enjoy the English Orientation. It made me wish I was taking English classes for summer. Sunday was fun though. I had to teach gospel doctrine and it was a lot of fun and I met a bunch more people, especially because we had ward prayer that night and then hung out and it was really fun. Monday morning I got up and went to tennis (we didn't actually play, it was a boring first day) and then came back to my dorm and showered and then headed with Cassie (my fabulous roommate) and her friend Tyler to Physical Science. I then watched Netflix and then Cassie and I went to Target for some housekeeping shopping and then we had a ward social that night that was so much fun- we played Frisbee and got to know the ward better. This morning in tennis we actually played tennis and then tonight I have Into to Music and I am pumped. Plus I think tomorrow we are hiking the Y!

 Saturday I hung out with these two hooligans^^^^^^

Provo Bound and Pre Orientation

Driving up!

Allie and I did a lot of this ^^^^^^^

Pretty Utah^^^^^

Pre-Provo Plus Packing

The official packing beings. In the end I had 4 boxes, 2 suitcases, two garbage bags, a guitar case and a backpack.

 This was my last night home. That night I had friends over to say goodbye and it felt very strange for some of then and not at all for others haha

Peurto Rico 5

The last day. We got up, finished packing and got on the bus to head to San Juan, saying goodbye to our beautiful beach and resort. Once we got to San Juan we couldn't find a place for our suitcases so we had to lug them around with us witch was frankly embarrassing. Way to walk around with a billboard that says HELLO WE ARE TOURISTS. But I got over it. We took a trolley to the old Spanish ramparts and then took another on to the tourist shop section and enjoyed shopping around. I love tourist shopping. We had a delicious Puerto Rican lunch and continued to shop and walk along the beautiful and colorful city. Then at about 2 we headed back to the airport and flew to Houston and had to run to make our connecting flight back to Phoenix. On the flight home I finished Mere Christianity and Eat Pray Love. Both were great. I loved EPL, it was a fun read. It made me want to go to India, Italy and Indonesia. We got back at like 11 but I was stressing about packing so I stayed up until like 1 organizing and prepping.

 

 

Peurto Rico 4

We got up and got picked up and headed to the Marina where we got on a sailboat and headed to this island for snorkeling. There were a ton of people around which kind of sucked and the reef wasn't very colorful but I loved swimming around and the water was amazingly beautiful and the reef was cool. We had lunch there and then we headed to this other island and the reef was way better there according to my pro-snorkeling/ world traveling mother it was still pretty lame but I thought it was amazing. Snorkeling feels like flying because you are soaring over this whole world beneath you. I slept on the boat ride back to the marina. Back at the resort we showered and took a nap and then headed to the town and had dinner and walked around. The sunset that night was incredible.

^^^^^^^^^^ My hair got all curly from the humidity

Puerto Rico 3

The lazy beach day came. We slept in until 10, ate our beautiful mango, donned our damp suits, still moist from yesterday's adventures and not dry because of the humidity, and headed down to the marina. We waited around for the ferry, got on and headed to the island. It's was beautiful. We read. We slept. We explored the reef. We didn't wear shoes and our feet were dying so we went back and got our shoes from the beach. I collected coral. Mom floated. We sat in the sand. We sat in the sea. We enjoyed the tropical rain and let the tropical breeze wip through our hair. We stayed until 5ish and then we headed back, took showers and ate our fish tacos and mango drinks. We then put on our other swim suits and went to the boo bay kayaks. We waited for a solid two hours because we got there early and the   group before us was late. I told my mom that there was this small spot in the middle of my chest, and that no matter how hard the ocean, sea-spray filled wind blew all my other cares and worrys away that spot stayed and that cavity inside of me was fear got next week. For college. For every adventure and heartache to come. I am like my baby brother Reed, who is simultaneously terrified and desperate for bugs- I have wanted this so long so badly but know that it is finally here I am afraid to touch it. 

We kayaked out to the ocean and then entered into the tunnel of mangroves. It was incredible . There was a full moon and so it filtered down through the thick trees and made the water shimmer. We kayaked through and then it opened up into a bay. Then the full moon was not our friend because we could not see our glowing dinoflagellates. Instead they gave us a tarp that we took turns putting over us. You swished your hand around and then whoosh! Your hand was glowing! It was like someone poured the stuff inside glow sticks in the water, the moe you splashed the brighter it glowed. If you pulled your hand out it would sparkled like a twinkling  Christmas tree. I splashed the water over out kayack and aoon everything was blinking and twinkling. It was incredible. We kayaked back and were happy to be on shore when we did, we were salty and tired. We walked back to the resort and went to bed.