Gratitude

It's amazing how much we can learn from a person. This past week I had the opportunity to go to Portland, where I served my mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I was able to visit with those that I served and helped come closer to Christ as I was there and after. It was incredible.

The people we work with and surround ourselves with are amazing. My boyfriend's family is also in Portland so we were able to spend the holiday with them. What a great experience it was being there in my mission with some of the people I love.

My gratitude is overflowing after this trip as I have seen and been reminded of the many blessings I have in my life. There is one family in particular that I want to talk about.

This family is wonderful. They've been through many hard struggles in their lives but love the gospel. My companion and I taught them two-and-a-half years ago and the wife was baptized! She overcame her addiction of smoking, started coming to church more, and eventually received a calling after she was baptized. Incredible progress for her! Her husband still struggled with his addiction to smoking and, eventually, she began smoking again. She once again struggled with the same things that had held her back from being baptized before. Soon, the missionaries lost contact.

As I returned to visit Portland, I felt prompted to drop by their house. I had no idea that missionaries were not visiting them anymore but I found out that nobody had been able to get into their house to even say hi. As I knocked on the door, their son answered. He's in his twenties and I had begun teaching him as well when I was there. A moment of excitement and relief overcame me when the door opened.

I was able to talk with their son and with the husband for awhile and found out then that missionaries had not come to visit. These two wonderful people I taught had their CTR rings and were still pushing for the success they wanted: baptism and activity in the Church. Although they are still far from that goal, they are working on it and I am grateful that I had the prompting to stop by. Because of that, I was able to get them reconnected with the missionaries and help them remember the feelings they once had when they met with them.

My gratitude is full and is still filling up because of the miracles and experiences I had just over this past week in Portland.

"The Spirit of gratitude brings true joy and great happiness." -President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Veteran's Day

Having two very close men to me has brought me closer to the love and importance of Veteran's Day. This holiday is a day to remember those men and women who have fought for our country. Many of these men and women have families at home. As they fought and defended our country, they prayed and hoped every day that they would return safely.

My father is one of these men. After serving a tour in Iraq for 15 months, he returned home. About a year later, he was deployed again to Iraq for another 15 months. This was hard for my family but knowing the importance of it and how grateful I am of his return has brought peace and joy to my heart.

Yesterday, Paris was attacked. Many were killed and many others were taken hostage. This devastating act in Paris is another thought that has crossed my mind. I am so grateful for those willing to undergo these hard trials and acts. I have a few friends from France and although they are here in the States, their friends and families are there in France, going through this hard time in their home country.

This act has united our world together just as 9/11 did years ago. #prayforparis is flooding social media, profile pictures have been changed to the French flag, and indeed, today, we are all French just as the world was all Americans many years ago when 9/11/ occurred.

I am so blessed to have my family together and although many families aren't, I know they will be. The lesson this week is that I need to show my patriotism more. Patriotism is taken for granted and is not shown much in our nation as much as it once did.

We, as a people, must gather together and unite to show the love of our nation and our world. We never know what will happen.

Just as I stood as a little girl waiting for my dad to return home for over two years, we must wait patiently and do all we can to support and show our love and patriotism while we can.

Murder Mystery

You can't judge a book by it's cover. Ain't that the truth?

I don't know if anyone else heard about the BYU Murder Mystery Dinner shows but I had the opportunity to attend tonight. All of the events, clues, happenings, and people led me to one idea, yet again: networking.

Our world depends on networking. At this event, we were given a character to act as with clues and hints to lead to the killer. These clues meant nothing if we didn't talk to the others in the room. We were able to go around and ask other characters who they knew and what they knew about them. It was interesting and gave a greater appreciation for networking and the importance of it.

Another aspect learned from this dinner is we never know the play-by-plays of life. We sat together as dates not knowing what to expect for sure but knew there was an end result: someone was the killer and we had to figure out who.

Just as in this dinner, we're given all the tools we need to reach our end goal, but now we need to put them into action.

I am not always the best at applying what I learn but this one is essential as it involves everyone in my life and how my life is currently and in the future.

Murder Mystery Dinner has helped me see in action WHY I need to network, WHY I am involved in various activities, WHO I need to talk to, and WHAT the result is.

This was a good learning environment to see for myself, while in character, how I can change where I'm at currently.

I've actually been doing pretty good with my goals posted on my blogs so here goes another one:

I'm going to make a plan of things I want to work on for the next year. So, grab a calendar and start making monthly goals! Yes, I can change them as I go if I feel needed but this will be a good start for me to get a move-on with my life.

Who's up for the challenge?

Shalae

Remote Meeting

I love working as part of Grammonites! We as a team are working effectively and are scheduling times to accomplish tasks. Our presentation on Comcast is going well and we are working to meet deadlines.

This week, we met on Google Hangouts to discuss our findings, research, and any updates for our presentation. We found that we need to be communicating more often with each other as it will stand as a reminder for our group to work hard and effectively so we can meet our deadlines.

We did not experience any technological difficulties which made for a great, short meeting. Meeting online worked out well for us as we did not have to have a specified place that worked for all of us. We were able to meet wherever we were at a designated time, quickly discuss and go over the agenda, and accomplish the tasks without any other distractions.

Go team Grammonites!

Online Interview

Mock interviews are hard. It's not something you just walk into with no problem and feel super accomplished afterwards. I was able to learn a lot about what to work on for upcoming interviews with job positions.

I am applying for a Resident Assistant position for BYU On-Campus Housing. With the mock interviews we participated in during class as well as the online interview, I was able to learn that this job has a lot of details. I was an RA almost three years ago, my freshman year, but now looking at the job again, I see that there is much more and I cannot walk into the interview and think that since I had the job in the past, all is well.

I was able to learn from those who don't know the position very well that I need to stay positive and energetic but use the experience I've had to my advantage. I need to show the application that was involved as I worked as an RA my freshman year.

These interviews helped me greatly see what I need to work on and how to better prepare myself and calm my nerves to participate in interviews whenever they may arise.

Costume Identity

Oh, Halloween!

What a time of the year. It's a time where everyone is able to dress up and be someone they're not. What does this do for us? It creates an image of confidence in someone we are for a day and then it disappears. Why is that confidence there for a short time? Or a lasting time in others? What is it about Halloween that allows us to become something else and feel good about that?

This week, I dressed up as a Ravenclaw from Harry Potter. I guess you could say it was pretty magical! Haha.

Something I've learned about Halloween and activities this week is that we are all able to help each other out and be the people each other needs. We are here for each other and no matter what our identity may be, we have something to give. Nobody looks the same whether we dress up similarly or not, but we have so much to offer.

This Halloween and the rest of this year, I want to work on being the person someone may need. I may feel like my identity isn't hidden but to someone else, I am a new person with a hidden identity and I have much to offer.

This Halloween, remember that. Your costume identity is not who you are but it is fun and allows for a good time. Remember that aside from your costume, you have much to give to those around you.

This helps us in every day lives as we are able to connect more with those around us and be a beacon of light to our peers.

I Will Survive

This song could not be more applicable than right now!

On Thursday alone, I had six midterms. Is that even possible?!

But I survived and and am able to feel such relief from knowing how blessed I am to be in school and be studying at such a great university.

I've taken for granted the chance I have to be studying at Brigham Young University and to get such a great education. I want to strive to be more diligent with my classes to take advantage of the time I have here.

Something I want to begin doing is using more of the campus resources. I am striving to search for an internship and with the career connections trip I went on last week, I am more motivated to use the resources we have at BYU.

I had the opportunity to go and get my resume reviewed last week on campus and that helped me a ton! I learned a lot about making my resume stand out and because I worked on my resume more, I was able to get more connections with my new and improved resume. (It's still not great, don't get me wrong.) Haha but I feel so grateful to go to a university where they care about ME as an individual and not just the money I bring.

So know that YES, YOU WILL SURVIVE! Life is grand and we are blessed.

Use the resources on campus! Here's a link to the career and counseling website for BYU. It's great. Please use it!

https://ccc.byu.edu/

Shalae

Pumpkins

I really connected with President Russell M. Nelson's talk from this past conference given a couple weeks ago. He talked about womanhood and how essential and important it is for all of us. 

He said, "We, your brethren, need your strength, your conversion, your conviction, your ability to lead, your wisdom, and your voices. We need women who know how to make important things happen by their faith and who are courageous defenders of morality and families in a sin-sick world."

I love this quote and all that it encompasses. Every Sunday, my roommates and I gather in the kitchen and pick a recipe to make that day! It is so much fun! We have named it "Domestic Sundays." This fun activity brings us together and allows us to have a good time while doing so. Last week, we hit the high point of domestication. I was baking, Lydia knitting, Amanda painting, Paige reading, and Jade listening to music. Haha!

This blog post is titled "Pumpkins" because, well, we've used quite a bit of pumpkin in our recipes lately. It's the season for it! So far, we've made chocolate truffles, chocolate chip cookies, pumpkin bread, pumpkin roll, a Southern dinner, Venezuelan dinner, waffles, monkey bread, and a pasta casserole. Yes, we're domestic.

Something I've learned from having these Sunday fun-days is that WE are the ones to decide how we make life. My roommates and I could think, 'why do we spend so much time making food when we usually end up giving it away to people?'

It makes us feel good to do something we love and to develop more talents! From this new-found activity and talent, I am setting a goal in my life to spend more time doing things that make me feel good!

President Nelson said, "...sisters...step forward! Take you rightful and needful place in your home, in your community, and in the kingdom of God--more than you ever have before."

I love being able to magnify my calling on earth as a woman and be able to have fun while doing so! This is something that has been tested and tried in our society and I want to be one to take a stand and be proud of the moral force of women. I know it's important and I know that I matter.

With this, I would love your input on other fun things my roommates and I can do on Sundays and, more especially, what we can bake! Please take this survey!

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RRMG7ZW

Career Connections Field Trip

Today I had the opportunity to attend the BYU FHSS Career Connections Field Trip. For this trip, each of us had to apply and send our resumes to be accepted to go. When I finally got my resume looking a little better, I was accepted and was able to attend the trip to Salt Lake City today.

The companies we visited included:

• Goldman Sachs
• CHG Healthcare
• Instructure
• Qualtrics

This trip was a great way to network and get to know these companies and some of the positions that can apply to the group I was with as Social Science majors.

I went in to Goldman Sachs thinking there was no way that anything could or would apply to ME as an anthropology major! I was wrong. At Goldman Sachs, I learned that they teach their staff the techniques of working for a top-end investment banking firm. Something I'm interested in now is working on the Human Capital Management team there.

CHG Healthcare is a little different and gives many opportunities for Human Resources at their company. Mark, the Chief Operating Officer for CHG, was there to talk to us more about the work ethic and the mission of the organization. The mission is what stood out to me the most: "Putting People First." This mission statement is brought about my many other points and I loved learning about that today.

Instructure is a newer company founded by two BYU students. They developed a new learning manager platform called Canvas and their company has developed from that. The focus I liked with this company is that they hire many people to start working with marketing development but they never want anyone to stay in that department. This department gives more experience and opportunities to build and move to other greater positions.

Qualtrics is a company we all know pretty well here at BYU. Getting to tour the office and see what it's like was fascinating! It reminded me of my mission: hipster. I'm not quite sure what I liked in particular about the company for ME personally, but it's a great company that gives opportunities for experience to anyone and everyone.

This field trip has given me the drive to search more for internships and mainly to build my network even further. These CEO's, CFO's, and COO's are ready to see what we've got and I'm ready to give it my all to be ready for when I graduate. Time to get to work!

Diligencia

Life has a way of, well, not going exactly the way we plan it to go. There are times that we don't know how to handle everything on our plates and take it all in but there are little aspects we can look at and be grateful for as well.

This week, I had the opportunity to go to the midnight release of Brandon Sanderson's new book. Due to the event, I didn't get home until 4:00 a.m. My alarm (usually) goes off at 7:00 a.m. but I guess I slept through it because I woke up at noon. NOON! 

Needless to say, I missed my morning Spanish class. Because I missed my class, though, it gave me the opportunity to get up and catch up on a lot of homework I hadn't had time to complete. On top of that, I actually got a full eight hours of sleep for the first time in...awhile.

That day, I was able to get ahead three days in Spanish homework, finish a paper that was due the next day, and study for an exam I had this week. What a blessing!

It's amazing how things work out. This past weekend at General Conference, a meeting that is broadcast across the world twice a year, I learned much about diligence and putting the Lord first.

It was amazing to see how well life gets balanced out when things are organized and laid out a specific way. It felt great to be ahead on my homework, even if it was just a short time, and to feel a relief from stress!

This incident has given me motivation to plan out my life more, to set goals and make plans for each week, and to make sure that the social, emotional, physical, and mental aspects of my life are balanced more.

There's a funny chart that I'm sure many of you have seen: this is what has been pictured in my mind for the past few days now.

I want to challenge those of you who are reading this blog to evaluate your life and balance of it. I know I've been struggling with having ideas of what to do so I would love your input.

Until next time,

Shalae

Climb Every Mountain, Er...Tower

This week was very exciting! I had the privilege of playing with the BYU Gamelan Percussion Ensemble to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Carillon Bell Tower on campus. It was an amazing experience to play a Bali instrument with the carillon.

The Carillon is something everyone at BYU hears all the time. Sometimes, throughout the year, one may even have the privilege of hearing Harry Potter being played from the tower! Oh, what joy!

Not many people get to experience what it is like being AT the bell tower, though. They miss the true joy of seeing what is there and how special it is to the area. This week, I had that opportunity.

Climbing the bell tower is so exhilarating! But, climbing the bell tower is also a lot of work. Is it worth it to climb endlessly to see something you've never seen before? How much work does it take for us to see something we've always heard and wondered about but have never witnessed or seen for ourselves? For me, it was worth it and was something I was willing to work for.

The carillon bell tower isn't exactly a small tower. It has about 100 steps on a small, spiral staircase. Once one reaches the top, though, a new view is seen and it makes all the work worth it! (It's like the "stairs of death" but you can't see the end and have no idea where you're at.)

Now, you're probably wondering why this actually matters! "Cool, you got to climb into a tower and see an instrument." Haha well, it made me feel accomplished that I was able to practice for weeks on this piece and then to have it pay off in the end by performing well AND being able to climb and see inside the bell tower.

With this, I know I can do hard things and nothing has to stop me or pull me back for whatever reason. There are no limitations. 

At the beginning of the semester, I had no idea what kind of instrument I was even playing and now, I'm excited to have played the instrument well and be able to see progress in so many ways.

I'm grateful for the opportunity I had to go and push my limits this week by working hard to see it all pay off in the end. God is aware of us and I know that's true.

With this, I am setting new goals for this week of ways I can continue to push myself forward. I want to challenge those of you reading this to find some way to challenge yourself this week.

As was said in conference today, "Reach upwards, not across." -Robert D. Hales

Until next time,

Shalae

Road Trips

This week I had the opportunity to attend a wedding in Rexburg, Idaho. Now, I have to think to myself...why did I drive four hours to see a friend get married and then drive back (another four hours) the same day?

Well, it just so happens that the bride is my mission trainer! It was great to drive up there with two of the other people I served with on my mission so we could see her be married in the temple.

I don't know if y'all know this but road trips can be really long. I've never done a cross-country road trip before but I've driven from Texas to Utah multiple times, which is a 22-hour road trip, as well as a few other road trips. As I drove the four hours there and then another four hours back, I thought about how exciting road trips really are.

Road trips are usually done for a reason. Whether that reason is for fun, education, vacation, spontaneity, or something else, they give the opportunity for a good time with good people. This trip did just that, too!

There were many people I had the opportunity to catch up with as I have not seen many of them in quite a long time. One person, in particular, I had not seen in about 10 years. I'm not exaggerating when I throw that number out, either. This friend is someone I grew up with in two different places. We lived in New Mexico together on a military base and then both of our families moved to Texas after that, as well. We spent years together and our families were close. Through the years, we moved away from each other and lost touch. Well, I finally got to meet up with her again!

Now, why is this important or applicable to anything?

Networking. Networking is a key tool for us to use in our lives. We meet people every day and WE are the ones to choose how we can use that relationship. Do we keep it to a casual "I remember you but I don't know where from" type of relationship or can we continue to build it through constant interaction?

I choose the latter. Growing up, I was told I am a social butterfly and I still believe that is true! I love having the opportunity to network every day. Getting to catch up with an old childhood friend gave for an opportunity to meet others, as well. Because I got to catch up with her, I met her roommates and ended up finding out that one of her roommates and I have a few mutual friends!

Because I got to catch up with my friend again, it gives me more of a reason to catch up with others whom I've lost contact with, as well as meet others more often so that I can make those same connections and more each day.

I'm glad we have this great tool to use in our lives. I've seen miracles from networking! My current job is a job I received because of networking and it's not a coincidence.

"Every Little Thing...Is Gonna Be Alright"

Hey y'all!

I found myself wondering more this week; wondering about life, wondering about family, and wondering about friends. I found myself getting lost and wondering where life is at. I also found myself questioning where I am at currently in my life; if this is really where I'm supposed to be at this time.

I'm sure we've all had these thoughts before and have wondered what is next for us. Then, on Friday, an event occurred in my life that helped me to understand more of why I am here and the things I need to learn.

No, I'm not engaged nor even close to it so don't think that or anything of the like is the event. Yesterday was Involvapalooza. (This is a picture of the event.) At Brigham Young University, the school I attend, all of the clubs on campus have the opportunity to showcase their club with a booth, to try and let others know about the club and how they can join. I was so excited for this event to happen on campus, as I got to help out with the A Cappella booth this year! With a little public relations and advertising experience, I looked forward to the opportunity to help our club be known a little more.

Well, despite my hopes and excitement, we ended up not getting a booth with Involvapalooza. We were away from the rest of the booths due to some unexpected things that came up. Needless to say, I was not very happy. I didn't have the best attitude knowing I could have done something more for the club. The entire time I was wishing I was with the other hundreds of people at the event rather than where I was.

I know now that attitude is what makes things what they are. If one has a bad attitude at a party, they're not going to enjoy the time. If one has a positive attitude during a hard time, the effect will be more than what it would've been had the attitude been pessimistic.

I learned that I am here for a reason and although I'm not completely positive on what that entails, I know that if I have a good attitude, it will be better than what it could have ended up as. With what I've learned, I'm going to start an attitude journal. At EFY (Especially for Youth), we talked about this sometimes but I never thought of having one for myself. In this journal, I will record my attitude on certain days and document why my attitude was the way it was that day. With this, I hope to have an optimistic and positive attitude more often.

I have to remember: "Every little thing is gonna be alright..." -Bob Marley

A sister in my mission posted this blog about self-worth and our importance. I thought it was quite pertinent to this blog so here's the link to her blog post:  http://bit.ly/1iYVY8O

Until next time,

Shalae

Consequences: What are they?

Another week has come and gone. One thing that has stuck out to me this week is how consequential our every actions are in our lives. Consequential does not just have a negative connotation, but can be positive as well.

Definition of consequences:

• a result of an action of condition

How do consequences play a role in our lives? I'll discuss some ways it plays a role in my life.

Let's start with high school. I was involved in several different clubs, I was President of a couple of those clubs, held offices in several settings throughout, had a high GPA, and had fun while doing so. The consequence of me doing many things throughout high school included me getting accepted to my school of choice: Brigham Young University. As I entered college, however, my priorities changed.

My first year of college, I had a hard time academically because I was focusing on having a social life more than focusing on my schoolwork. The consequences soon came around as my grades did not end up where I wanted them to be at. They slowly went downhill from there.

I left on my mission a year later and soon discovered more of what the Lord has in store for me. There is a plan and I am a part of it! Reading, studying, and communicating more with those around me helped me realize what I needed to do.

I returned home from my mission and began school again just two weeks later. My grades were still not where I wanted them to be but I had developed better study habits. That semester, I became involved in the BYU A Cappella Club on campus. I got into an all-girls' group, Attention, and loved every minute of it! At the end of the semester, I decided to run for an officer position for the Club.

My grades began increasing and I became more involved in various clubs on campus, including the A Cappella Club, of course.

This semester, I now serve as the Vice President of Media Productions for the BYU A Cappella Club. On top of that, I am in a Gamelan percussion ensemble, which has allowed me to get to know more professors and people. Being a part of these clubs and groups has already been for my benefit and I've seen many changes in myself and in my life because I decided to become more involved.

Consequences occur every day from the choices and actions we make.

Beginning this new school year as an officer for the BYU A Cappella Club has opened my eyes to many other things that are ahead. I am busy with this position, my job, schoolwork, and attempting to have a social life on top of that. Busy is good, though, and I look forward to learning more about consequences that will effect my life from this day forward. I know that every action I take has a consequence and will focus on how I can balance everything in my life to continue to see these positive consequences in my life.

"The consequences of today are determined by actions of the past. To change your future, alter your decisions today." -Anonymous

"Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured."

Well folks, starting today, I actually get to keep a blog! Y'all know how much I've wanted to start a blog and now, for my class, I get to accomplish this goal.

Blogs aren't just a task to get done. Blogs aren't just something to do to pass the time. A blog is a way to keep track of the different events occurring in life. Thus, I named this blog "A Day in the Life of" to show those events that happen day to day, week to week.

I will not be posting each day in this blog. I am a college student. Let's be honest, I can barely keep track of my own classes and work let alone adding a blog onto that. I will be posting once a week, though, to keep track of everything happening in life and how I can apply the things I learn to my future.

I hope as you read my blog each week that you'll find new things YOU want to apply to YOUR own life. Personally. FOR YOU!

One of my favorite quotes is by President Gordon B. Hinckley:

"Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured."

My thoughts turn to this quote as I begin this blog for at least this semester. (I hope I can keep up with it after this semester is over, though.)

How can I, or we, enjoy life and not just endure it?

Life is a blissful thing we've been given! For ME, I want to take life day to day, finding positives and turning any negatives I come across into positives. For ME, I will set goals and make plans to accomplish the goals I have. (This being one of those goals.)

And so, folks, I begin this blog to focus on the positives of life. While life is not just about the positives, it is about finding joy in the journey. I hope to portray that as I keep this blog. I will not just post the positives of life but will post about turning any negatives into positives as well.

So I bid you adieu until next time.