Spontaneity, Never say Never

Recent events have taught me that even when you think you have life all figured out you really don't. Something else will come along and sweep your feet from under you leaving you on the floor asking "What the freak just happened?" (in voice from Kid history episode 6) I am a planner by nature so when things don't go according to plan it is a bit cray-cray. Justin Beiber had it right when he said, "Never say Never". It is when you do say this phrase that things happen. When you aren't looking that things suddenly appear before your eyes. It could be just a matter of changing your perspective or perhaps it is something much more than that. Kinda like Murphy's law.. the unexpected should thus be expected to happen. Or Edgar Allen Poe's Imp of the Perverse, when someone tells you not to do something it becomes the only thing that you can think about. I don't know what it is about the month of November but it seems to be the month of new beginnings and endings. I have run the emotional marathon this month but I'll make it through. Everything will work out the way it is supposed to. It may not be the easiest or even how I envisioned it but I know the Big Man Upstairs is watching out for me. He'll make sure everything goes according to plan and I trust Him completely. Spontaneity after all is a part of life for good or bad. If we just put our trust in Him then we will be able to stop our racing minds and relax just a bit. Life can sure get crazy and I am grateful to have a line directly to Him at any time I feel I need it. All we have to do is ask.

Random Fact: Bananas contain a natural chemical which can make a person happy. This same chemical is found in Prozac. 

Random trip to Israel?

This morning was crazy. Jump out of bed at 8:20 throw on some clothes, grab a granola bar, and head off to class. I got to the JSB only to find the printer wasn't working. I didn't know where the other printers were in the ESC or the BNSN so I traveled across campus to the Talmage building where I printed off my assignment. Needless to say I am buying a printer TONIGHT! No more trekking across campus 5 minutes before class. Gosh. So after this journey in the crisp autumn air, yes it is autumn here now, I flopped into my seat removed said paper from my backpack and put it on the table. Nearly everyone in the class had arrived when I turned to my friend Mariam and commented on how Brother Ogden was going to be late. Just then as if their ears had been burning one of his TAs came in and announced that he had randomly decided to go to Israel and should be back next week so class was canceled! HOOORAY! Since I didn't get to eat breakfast or do a number of things this morning I was over joyed. I happily traipsed down the hill to home and made myself a celebratory bowl of oatmeal. Yes, it tasted that much sweeter knowing that I did not have class until noon now. I still can't believe that my professor just decided to up and leave. There must be something REALLY exciting going on in Israel that called his attention. Nevertheless, I am grateful for his absence on a crazy morning like this. So I salute you Professor Ogden and your random spur of the moment trips to Israel. Thank you!

Random Fact: Chocolate syrup was used for blood in the famous 45 second shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock's movie, Psycho, which actually took 7 days to shoot.

Hey man! What am I doing wrong?

Tonight for the first time I had Frozen Yogurt in Provo. I know, I live a sheltered life. :P Provo seriously has a million frozen yogurt places but tonight we went to a place called Spoon it Up. It is just west of campus and walking distance from my happy abode. My roommates Nicole and Andrea were so nice as to introduce me to a plethora of Frozen Yogurt flavors. Johny Boy accompanied us on our Fun adventure. As we were walking up the road we passed a group of 3 rather beefy guys talking.
"Hey Man! I don't know what are you doing..." -Beefy guy holding scriptures
Johny gave him an odd look and we all were kinda caught off guard.
Beefy man cont. "I don't know what you are doing so right. Cause I am stuck with two ugly guys while you are walking with three hot girls."
Cue nervous laughter. We were relieved cause we didn't know what he wanted.
"I mean I should get you to sign my scriptures or something." -Beefy man
This short little exchange totally made my week. We were laughing the whole way to Spoon It Up!

Random Fact: Barbie's measurements if she were life size: 39-23-33

Shopping for Commandments

Today at church was great. I just was able to get a lot out of all the testimonies and felt the spirit really strong in all of the lessons. Sunday school I went to my friend Adam's lesson and we talked about Companion Study. Kind of hard to relate to considering I have never been on a mission but the way that he just whipped up a lesson in about an hour amazed me. Return missionaries are the best! They have such a strong spiritual power about them that is indescribable. They make me feel a bit inferior though with their impressive knowledge of the scriptures. I have grown up with these stories all my life but if you asked me where they were located in those plethora of pages I'd probably give you a sheepish grin and admit I have no idea.

Relief Society has always been a bit daunting for me. The thought of going into a room full of women can give me heart palpitations. I am much more comfortable with my Bros. Today though I felt so welcomed. Everyone in this ward has taken me in under their wing with no reservation at all. Mind you half the ward is new but I feel lucky to have such great roommates and brothers/sisters in the Gospel. We talked about our feelings of the impending future. When she asked if anyone is scared I am pretty sure my hand was the first in the air. I am a planner by nature and I like to know what is coming up. If you looked on my computer you would find a calendar with every single hw assignment or test in all my classes calendared.

Something that really stuck with me was an analogy of Commandments and Shopping. I know these things really don't seem to go together but they do. Commandments should all be followed. You can't just pick one or two of them and decide. It is like when you go shopping. You can't go shopping for commandments and decide "Oh this one doesn't look cute on me, I don't think I will follow this one". The other thing that really struck me is someone said that Tithing is a commandment that you can be perfect in. It is so true. It is all in your power to make sure that you pay your tithing. Well that's all for today's update!

Random Fact:  The first bomb dropped on Germany in WWII killed the only elephant in the Berlin zoo.

I Found my TWIN!

Ok, So I have so much to say about this week it is insane so I had to do another blog post. This is just dedicated to the amazing fact that I have found another Kierstyn!!!! Yep, that's right... Another Kierstyn who spells her name just like me. She is a Freshman in my Greek and Roman Literature class. You should have seen our faces when we came to this realization. Professor Brockliss asked everyone to go around the room and say their name. So I said my name and she was sitting next to me and leaned over and said that was her name too. I asked her how she spelled it and she wrote it down. Cue MIND BLOWN! Holy cow! That's how I spell it too! After a casual exchange of High 5's we were both grinning like idiots. Now every time we have that class we say "hi Kierstyn", "Why hello there Kierstyn" and we both laugh. It seriously is the coolest thing ever! I love it. Then today in class we were sitting next to two Laurens. They had a little epiphany moment as well. Found my niche in that class? I'd say so. :)

Random Fact:  Coca-Cola was originally Green.

Tetris and Frogger

Yes! Made it through my first week of school here at BYU. Feeling pretty pumped for this semester but dang does it have me working. It is only the first week and if I am not sleeping or eating I am in the library or Math Lab slaving my life away.  Every morning it is like a game getting ready for classes. First our fridge is so packed full of yummy foods that we seriously have to play tetris to get the milk out. Then it is a quick hop, skip, and a jump across the road and up the large hill scattered with stairs to campus. So here is a run down of my schedule and the classes I am taking:

Course								Course Title
CL CV 110								Hnrs Intro to Greek&Roman Lit
HONRS 290R								Great Works & Arts Engagement
IHUM 261								AmerHumanities1:Colonial-1876
MATH 112								Honors Calculus 1
PWS 340								Genetics
REL A 211								Honors: The New Testament

Math is pretty brutal because it is every single day of the week. We have lecture every day except Thursday so I always feel like I am playing catch up in that class and it is only the first week! Definitely going to use this long weekend to try and get a bit ahead. I start off with Genetics which seems like a fascinating class but yeah I'm also behind in the reading for that class. We moved through 3 chapters in two classes which is about 60 pages in the textbook. -.- Yeah so more catch up this weekend. Hooray! Dr. Maughan is hilarious though and he makes the subject sound even more interesting than I thought it would be and I mean it is my major after all. Intro to Greek and Roman literature is already kicking my butt. The shear amount of reading in that class is almost cripling. I have plowed my way through 200 pages of the Iliad already and have another 100 pages to read over the weekend. It sounds like it will be fun though. Just lots and lots of reading.

The class that will probably be my favorite is my Great Works science class which only meets once a week. It is low maintenance as far as the reading goes and it is a lot of hands on experience. Last class we seriously just played with minerals and metals. Way fun! This Thursday we have a fieldtrip to the Planetarium on campus. I'm way excited cause I have been wanting to go to one of those shows forever.

New Testament has me really excited already. Brother Ogden has me fired up about Christ and I am looking forward to diving into the scriptures and coming to know my Savior on a deeper level. He joked around that his class is the best class on campus and I don't doubt that if I put in the work required I can come away with a stronger testimony and personal revelation about my Redeemer. Our first devotional on campus is on Tuesday so I am definitely going to that before my math class again. Now, my Humanities class is at a really weird time but I love it already. We are reading fascinating things about Jamestown and the early colonies. He is very knowledgeable and even was relating Pocahontas (the real one) to the Disney version. Man Disney had it all wrong but I can see why they changed it the way they did. I mean, it wouldn't be as popular for one. If you're curious as to what the story really is go Google it. :) One thing I learned in this class is that the Indian on campus that everyone calls the "Naked Indian" (He is wearing a loincloth) is actually Massosoit. Pretty sweet! So something that I see every day now has so much more meaning now.

Well, that's the run down of my classes. This week has been activities week for our ward. Every night there has been a ward activity to try and get us to branch out and make friends. It has been way fun. Monday night for FHE we got together and went to Jump On It! which is a trampoline house. We were all having a blast, eating pizza and such, when this poor kid Allen broke his leg! He landed on the dividers between the trampolines wrong and his leg snapped. Luckily it wasn't a compound fracture but still, ouch! The next night was cookies and lemonade where I made a quick guest appearance, grabbed some cookies and scurried away to my apartment to slave away at homework. Wednesday brought games and Ice Cream. YUMMY! It was pretty fun, gotta love the games that these people come up with, so random. Thursday was Cops and Robbers but I couldn't attend cause I went to a math review for my Pre-Test in Calculus. Yep that's right Calculus pretest... if I don't get about a 75 I can't take the class. Plus it counts as two homework grades so I better do good on it. Tonight is movie night at the Bishops. I am way excited. I don't even care what the movie is. I just want to roast marshmellows and enjoy the company of my fellow college students.

I cannot express just how good it is to be back at BYU. All summer I felt a little lost. I didn't really know what I was doing with my life. Everything was all caddiwhompus and it was just a mess frankly. Now that I have some structure again I am so focused. Life seems to be just falling into place and I couldn't be happier right now. I have awesome roommates. The guys in the ward are fantastic. Mark and I are the best of friends. Well, and my mom is visiting next weekend! Woot! Simply put, I could not be more happy with my life at the moment. Well, sure I could have less homework, but at the same time I love that feeling of accomplishment when you leave the library at a ridiculous hour and walk home in the crisp late summer air. It is exhilarating. Yes, I know I am a nerd, so sue me. My friend Adam whom I have affectionately nick-named "Scooby" due to his laugh and mannerisms has me hooked on going to the periodicals. No service down there so you can actually get stuff done. It is great!

Random Fact: People generally read 25% slower from a computer screen compared to paper.

Ewwww Gross, 'Nuf said.

 

I saw this commercial as I was watching YouTube videos. There I was innocently shuffling through VEVO when BAM! this hit me. Now I will give it credit because it held my attention longer then the required 30 seconds that I had to watch before I could skip to my video. Instead I watched all 2 minutes of it just for kicks. Guess I have no life :P Well anyway I couldn't stop laughing at it and yet it intrigues me... does it actually work? I knew that bad breathe comes from your tongue but how well does this product actually clean it. Still the analogies of the various ways to clean your tongue were witty. This commercial definitely deserves 5 stars in my book. It'll be the next Old Spice, well maybe not that popular but it shows promise given it has over 15 million hits on YouTube already. So watch it and enjoy... maybe you'll learn a thing or two too.

Random Fact: Leather skin does not have any smell. The leather smell that you sense is actually derived from the materials used in the tanning process.

Memories of Freshman Year

In honor of school coming up I figured I should do something to commemorate my first year at BYU and my roomies. So I made a montage from a rather fun memory of helium balloons. Good times. Good times. I am looking forward to making more crazy memories with my future roommates and new friends. Enjoy!

Random Fact: The salute of uniform bodies (eg. army, police) originated from knights who would lift their visors to show their face to royalty.