Finally Home!

Well, I had an extremely interesting time trying to get home for the holidays.

It all started out with me going to New York City to spend some time with my sister Steph, her husband Anthony, and their baby Benjamin. I drove the 4-5 hours down to Salt Lake (well, all the way down to the Provo area to have dinner with my friend Ryan's family with Leah and Sara), and then flew out of SLC at around 1:20 AM. My flight was supposed to leave at 11:15 PM on Friday, but got delayed until 1:20 AM Saturday morning. It was terrible. But, nevertheless, I made it to the JFK airport at 7:30 AM New York time. I made it to the hotel near Times Square at around 8 AM. I had a wonderful time in New York with my family. We went everywhere! My sister used to live there, so she knew where all of the great food places were, where the best stores were, and where the best places were to go to. It was awesome. Then it was time to go home on Tuesday afternoon.

We were running very late. My flight back home was at 5:20 PM, and Steph and Anth's flight was at 4:59 PM to go to Minneapolis (his family lives in Cincinnati, so they were going there for the holidays). It was about 3:30 by the time we were trying to catch a cab, which was not good because there was a lot of traffic, and no one wanted to drive to the La Guardia Airport which was located in Queens. I had anticipated getting in a mini-van cab together to drive to the airport because that's all that would fit all of our luggage together, but we couldn't find one in time, so we had to take two separate cabs. I was terrified; I HATE cabs, especially riding in them alone. There's just something about them that I get a little nervous about. So, Steph flags down one cab, they put all their stuff in it, and Anthony turns to me, tells me to go down the street a little bit to this movie theater and tells me I will be able to catch a cab down there. They got in the cab, left, and I walked down the street by myself. I was dead scared. It probably took me around 15 minutes to catch a cab, and even then, the cab driver was very reluctant to take me to the airport. I just basically looked at him and begged, "Pleeeaaasssee." So, the guy took me to La Guardia; I got there at about 4:20 PM. I hadn't printed out my boarding pass or anything, and I needed to check a bag on, so I stood in the line for about 20 minutes, got to the front, the lady printed out my boarding pass, started helping me with my bag, and then looked at the time. She told me I needed to HURRY through security, and run to my gate or else I might not make it. So I did just as she told me. Once I got to my gate, they were already boarding, so I just went straight on to the plane. It was around 5 PM when I sat down. The captain started talking to us a few minutes later and said that we were going to have to sit in the plane at the gate for another hour, and that even when we taxied out onto the tarmac, our expected departure time wasn't until 8 PM! It was horrible! I was worried about this because I had a layover at the Chicago Ohare airport. I was certain that I was going to miss it, and I was frantically on the phone with my family back at home trying to figure out what I was supposed to do. Mind you, this was my second time flying alone, and I was completely stressed out. So at about 6 PM, we started to taxi out. We sat out on the tarmac for another hour, and then we finally took off at 7:05 PM. I got to Chicago at 8:30 PM Chicago time, and while on the plane, heard that my flight to LAX had been delayed until 9:45 PM, rather than the original departure time of 8:25. I was soooo happy! So, once I got off the plane, I checked the board to see the status of my flight, and it had been delayed even more, until 11 PM. That was still alright with me, I was just happy to have made my flight. So I went to my gate, and sat there until 11. Finally, over the PA, the gate agent told us that our flight was going to be delayed until 11:50 PM because we were waiting for another flight to get in so we could use that crew to take us home. So they boarded us onto the plane. At 11:55, the gate agent came onto the plane and said, "Thank you for flying American Airlines. Unfortunately, I have some bad news. The captain and first mate of the other flight refused this flight, so you all are stuck here in Chicago for the night. We have voucher tickets for you, you can take a shuttle to a hotel that we will pay for you to stay in. Your flight leaves tomorrow morning at 8 AM, same gate." I was FURIOUS! And completely stressed out! I didn't have a clue what I was supposed to do, and I knew that I was totally on my own. I realized during this time that I do not do very well on my own. I stress out too much. But, I held myself together throughout this whole experience so far. I got off the plane, got my voucher ticket, and followed the signs to the bus shuttle, while on the phone with my mom explaining the situation. I found the shuttle, which surprisingly was pretty difficult to find. When I finally got to the hotel, I went to my room, threw my stuff down, closed the door, and immediately started bawling my eyes out. It was the first time I had broken down in the entire day, although there were times where I felt like I wanted to earlier. I guess I just needed to get it all out. I cried for probably a few minutes, and then immediately called my mom. She told me she felt so helpless because all she could do was listen to me. She couldn't really help me, and I was so upset because I knew I was all on my own. She kept telling me I wasn't really alone, and that I needed to pray for comfort. I knew she was right, and after about 20 minutes on the phone, I hung up and got into the big King-size bed waiting for me. But now, I was really alone in this big city. No one to talk to now, and now I had my thoughts haunting me basically. I started worrying that I was going to either not wake up in time, or miss my flight or something along those lines. So I said a prayer. It comforted me a little bit. I started to fall asleep when Greg Livingston called me. It was the first time I'd talked to him on the phone since we had left Rexburg. He was on a cruise in Hawaii, and I was so happy to hear from him! He got my mind off of my situation, and I started to be happy again. We talked for a while, and then I finally got to sleep at around 3 AM. I woke up at 5 AM, and got to the airport at about 5:45. When I got to my gate, I went up to the lady at the counter and asked her if I was in the right place. She told me that my flight was at a different gate, across terminals. I thought this strange, but followed what she said. When I got to the other gate, I asked if I was now in the right place. The guy told me I had to go back to the original gate. So, as I headed back over there, I went up to another gate agent and asked where my flight was. He directed me to the other gate, not the original one. I explained to him my situation, and he got on the phone, and figured out that I needed to go back to the original gate. Apparently the airport made a new flight with the same number as mine for the next day, because they assumed that my flight was already gone. So basically, my morning flight that was rescheduled just wasn't known about, and there was a new flight already created, if that makes sense. So I went back to the original gate, and some random 30-something year old guy came and sat next to me. He was nice enough, but kind of weirded me out a little. He was... I guess you could say flirty? But it wasn't over-kill. It was actually really nice to have someone lighten the mood. I felt more comfortable after the fiasco I had been through. Our flight left on time, and I got to LAX at 10:30 AM. I was sooo happy to see my mom, dad, and sister when the picked me up. It was a loooong and overwhelming process, but I made it home!

Temple

Well, I went to the temple today with Greg. We make an effort to go together every week. It is so awesome. I love it there. I feel the most peace than ever when I am inside those walls. Lately, I haven't been feeling comforted, to be blunt. I have not been happy the past few days and honestly, I guess I haven't been as in tune with the Spirit as I could be. I haven't been doing anything wrong, but haven't been making a very good effort to keep the Spirit with me. But I went into the temple today with a hope that I would be able to feel better and to be comforted during the things that I am going through in my life right now. I picked up an article out of the Ensign while we were waiting to go into the confirmation room. The article was about a woman who lost her husband when she was 36 years old because he drowned. She said that she was angry that he left her, but instead of asking the Lord "Why?" she asked "How?" How was she going to get through this difficult time and keep the Spirit with her? This lady was very inspiring and basically, just reading makes you feel pumped up and ready to face anything. Heavenly Father isn't going to just give us everything without an effort on our part first. We need to prove that we really do want what we are asking for. The article really opened my eyes on the matter; it is the same principle with everything we do in our lives. In order to get good grades, we must actively study first and then take a test. To go out on the weekends as a teenager, we must follow our parents rules and do our chores (or whatever else we need to do) first. Our Father in Heaven expects nothing less than our best when he is testing us, and then if we endure it well, we will gain all the blessings He has in store for us.

Cute, huh?

Greg, Lauren, and me

Sam Livingston and Sam Lee

Lauren, Sam, and me

It Has Been a While!

I definitely have not written for about 2 months now.. I'm laggin' it. I don't even know where to begin! So much has happened these past few months while I've been at college. It has been awesome and exciting, but also stressful and crazy! Basically, life has been good. Better than it had been previous to my college experience. I still love it here at BYU Idaho, and my roommates and I have grown pretty close. But also, Greg and I have been pretty close as well. Since I can't think of anything super specific to write about that happened right after Conference weekend in October, I'll just start from Thanksgiving Break and go from there.

I went to Park City, Utah with Greg to meet his family and spend Thanksgiving with them. Let me tell you, I was pretty nervous the entire week leading up to it. I don't really even know why because his family is AWESOME. We left on Friday, and drove down with Greg's friend Doug. We made it there pretty quickly, and then Greg's mom picked us up from Salt Lake and we drove to their house. It was dark outside, so at that time I couldn't really see where we were or the scenery around us, but just as a side note: it is extremely nice there. Greg's family lives up in the mountains with trees and snow all around, and they have the most beautiful house too! It is super nice and honestly the perfect place to live. His family itself is just so great and righteous. His dad is hilarious, even though sometimes I don't think he really means to be. It comes naturally. He is truly an amazing man and I know he cares so much about his family. His mom is one of the most caring women I have ever met. She has so much going on in her life and still found the time to make breakfast, lunch, and dinner for us and on top of that, keep her house looking perfect and beautiful. I can definitely say that I want to be like her when I am a mother. He has an older brother named Chris, who came over for Sunday dinner with his girlfriend and also spent Wednesday through Saturday with us. He is a way cool guy and is really into DJing. I heard some of his music and it actually sounds really good. He also is super funny and a very like-able person. Greg has another brother that is on his mission right now. His name is Shaun, but I didn't meet him for obvious reasons. Greg's little sister, Alisa, is 16 years old. To be honest, I think I was most afraid of meeting her because I was afraid of what she would think. This was because I remember when my brothers brought girls home and the way I felt about it. I didn't want the girls to take my brothers away, you know, the kinds of things a sister thinks about when change is happening. Or maybe that's just me. Either way, I was still pretty nervous about it, but she ended up being a really incredible girl. I really admire her because she doesn't really care that much about what other people think. I wish I could be more like that. Greg's other sister, Lauren, is 13 years old. She is the cutest girl I've ever met! She wears these big glasses that just add to how cute she is. I loved it. She is super fun to be around; Greg and I went and watched her play soccer a few times at a nearby indoor facility. She totally almost scored twice. It was a lot of fun! Then, last but not least, we have Greg's little brother Sam. He is 6 years old and pretty much the cutest little boy I've ever met. He was always just cracking up at the littlest things and wanted to play all the time, which I loved. He is a little ham, steals the spotlight, and he cracked ME up all week! We got along pretty well. I really admire the fact that Greg plays and messes around with him a lot. It shows how much he cares, and I know that Sam is going to want to be just like Greg when he grows up.

While in Park City, we went to a ward Turkey Shoot. At this time, I give much credit to Greg's dad for all the teasing he did on the way to this event. He got me to believe that we were actually going to go shoot live turkeys. Heck, I'd never been to a Turkey Shoot before! And the worst part was that Greg was in on the little joke too. Much to my surprise, there were no real turkeys (thank heavens) but man, I definitely felt stupid! But it was all in good fun, so I was cracking up at myself for believing that. Let's just say that I caught on really fast to not believe everything his dad said, even though it was all in good fun. He made me laugh all week because of his sarcasm and jokes. Among the turkey shoot, Greg and I did a lot of other things as well. We went to see the ski resorts in Park City, went to Main Street, saw Lauren play soccer, went sledding, shoveled some snow off the deck, made cookies and dessert, drove through a snow storm to pick up Lauren from her friend's house, and other fun things like that. I had a really great time there.

On Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving, all of us drove back up to Rexburg to spend the holiday with their cousins and aunt and uncle. They were very hospitable and allowed me to stay at their house as well, even though my apartment was only about 10 minutes away. Thanksgiving day was a blast; all of the kids helped make dinner and dessert. Alisa and I made a homemade Lemon Meringue pie from scratch. It was a lot of fun making it together. The food was delicious, as well as the dessert! It was very nice to be with such a great family during that holiday. I did miss my family back at home at one point during the day, but I know I will see them soon. The rest of that weekend, we ended up seeing the new Harry Potter movie, hanging out at the house, went to the temple with everyone who was old enough, played laser tag, and played board and card games. It was the perfect ending to a perfect week. I'm very grateful for the family that Greg has and for their welcoming hearts and loving hospitality. I really enjoyed the time that I spent with all of them, and honestly, I miss them a lot. I hope I get to see them again.

"Who Are You When I'm Not Lookin'" by Blake Shelton

My oh my, you're so good-looking
Hold yourself together like a pair of bookends
But I've not tasted all your cooking
Who are you when I'm not looking?

Do you pour a little something on the rocks?
Slide down the hallway in your socks?
When you undress, do you leave a path?
Then sink to your nose in a bubble bath?

My oh my, you're so good-looking
Hold yourself together like a pair of bookends
But I've not tasted all your cooking
Who are you when I'm not looking?

I wanna know
I wanna know
I wanna know

Do you break things when you get mad?
Eat a box of chocolates 'cause you're feelin' bad?
Do you paint your toes 'cause you bite your nails?
Call up momma when all else fails?

Who are you when I'm not around?
When the door is locked and the shades are down?
Do you listen to your music quietly?
And when it feels just right, are you thinkin' of me?

I wanna know
I wanna know
I wanna know

My oh my, you're so good-looking
But who are you when I'm not looking?

Back in Idaho

This weekend was a lot of fun. I already wrote about Friday night, which was way fun might I add. But then Saturday I just spent the entire day with Greg and Karina. I was just happy to be with them. We actually went to Jessica Labrum's house (Tod wasn't there). She cut Karina's bangs, as well as mine. It was nice to see her for a tiny bit. That night, the three of us went to see the movie Salt with Angelina Jolie. I'm usually not a huge fan of her, but this movie was actually pretty good. Then we went back to their house and watched The Bourne Identity. Karina made us cookies, which were bomb.

Sunday, I went to Leah's aunt's house in Lehi for breakfast, then I dropped the car off at Janet and Martha's in Draper, and a got a ride with Sean (Leah's cousin) to Salt Lake for conference. We saw the second session on Sunday. It was AWESOME! The conference center is amazing, and hearing the apostles and general authority, as well as the Prophet himself, was such a blessing. Definitely worth it. Then the ride home was pretty long. We met up with Greg, and we all drove to Ogden to hitch another ride with Nicole up to Rexburg. It was a long process... We met Nicole in Roy, Utah at a Panda Express, but we had to wait there for Nicole to go back to Ogden to get her own car, and then come pick us up at the Panda. While we were waiting, we had no food, so Leah and I bought some food for all of us. BUT! The best part was that Greg was outside watching all of our stuff, but decided to come inside to talk to us, but he straight up smacked into this huge window NEXT to the door. I don't know what he was thinking, but it honestly made our day. It was the funniest thing ever. He didn't even bother coming inside after that because it was kind of embarrassing. Some guy was sitting right next to the window too, and it didn't even phase him. But Leah and I were almost on the floor crying because we were laughing so hard. I will never forget that. After that incident, we finally got picked up by Nicole and her boyfriend Kyle, and drove home to Rexburg. I, of course, sat next to Greg the entire way. It was a lot of fun.

On My Way To Provo...

Well, today was an awesome day. Here's why:

I had one class today from 12:45-1:45, and then went and hung out with Nicole Goold, a girl I met a few years ago at BYU Soccer Camp. At about 4:30, Greg Livingston came over to Nicole's apartment, where Nicole, her boyfriend Kyle, and I were waiting (because his class didn't get out until 4:15). We ended up leaving for our road trip to Provo, Utah.

The ride was a lot of fun actually. We played car games, talked, listened to music, and teased each other. Greg even tried to braid my hair, but couldn't quite get the hang of it... We stopped in Ogden because that is where Nicole lives, and she wanted to drop off all her stuff before we kept going toward Salt Lake City. After about a half hour there, we were on the road again, trying to use the GPS in Nicole's Jeep Cherokee to guide us to a food place in Salt Lake City. We followed all of the directions the GPS told us, but we were somehow still lost. I called my brother Greg, who drove up to Salt Lake with Karina to meet us halfway, and as he was trying to explain directions to where he was, we still couldn't find him or find out where the heck we were. Until we found out that we were in the wrong city, using the wrong directions. We were in Bountiful. I don't know how we messed that one up, but long story short, Nicole finally let Greg drive the car because he kind of knew what he was doing, and we ended up finding Greg and Karina.

Greg Livingston, Greg, Karina, and I drove to Draper after that, and stopped at Janet and Martha's house. They ordered pizza for us, we talked, had some good laughs, and they ended up letting me use one of their cars for the weekend. They are the most generous people I have ever met. I love them so much. Greg Livingston and I then followed Greg and Karina to Provo, where we stopped to get some Frozone (frozen yogurt). Greg kept trying to get free samples the whole time. It was hilarious. Then we went to Center Street in Provo because Greg Livingston's brother was DJing at a party over there. The only bad thing was that it cost 7 bucks each to get into the party, and there was an "intimidating" bouncer at the door, so Greg was the only one who could've gotten in for free because of his brother. But instead, he came and hung out with Greg, Karina, and me at Greg and Karina's place. It was a lot of fun :]

Overall, I really enjoyed today. A lot happened, but I got to hang out with Greg Livingston and see two of my favorite people in the entire world! Which, in fact, I'm staying at their house this weekend during Conference. It's awesome having this much freedom and being on my own!

Want a Good Laugh?

Best webiste ever invented: peopleofwalmart.com.

Check it out. You will laugh your pantalones off.

Go Vikings!!!

What's New?

Well, not a whole lot has been going on these past few days. But I must say that I've hung out with Greg every day this week. It's been a lot of fun. I love his roommates. They all play Super Smash Brothers (occasionally I play too), but two of them, Kedrick and Casey, get sooo into the game! They yell at each other and make hilarious comments during the course of their playing. They told me that they were so loud, even the people down below them had to come up and tell them to try to be more quiet. I seriously LOVE it. I will sit there and crack up at them the whole time.

On the more serious side though of going over to their apartment, Greg and I have had some really good talks. We talk about classes, church/doctrinal things, our families, our hobbies, our traits, etc. He is someone that I can tell anything to. It is so easy to talk to him. Tonight he is coming over as well to "study and do homework", but the good thing is, my roommates all really like him a lot. I'm way excited :]

Soccer.. etc..

Last night was my first soccer game here at BYU-I. I am on the Vikings team, and we basically dominated last night. We played the Hawks. The final score was 5-0 (mainly because there is a mercy rule and we can't win by more than 5 or else it'll give us sportsmanship points, which isn't good..). I scored the 3rd goal; it went right into the left side of the goal. I was stoked. Then I went to see the last minute of Greg's game, which was right next to my field. Turns out the score was 3-3, and he scored the game-winning goal in the last minute of the game to make the score 4-3! He also scored the first goal of the game too. I was surprised, but super excited for him.

Greg had his bike up at the fields, but he walked all the way home with me, and then went back to his apartment. We both took showers really fast, and then we went on another walk. I just enjoy talking to him so much. He is awesome! We walked everywhere; I'm sure we saw the entire city of Rexburg. But even though we both were super sore from our games, we didn't care. Half the time we didn't even realize how far we were walking because we were so caught up in the conversation. Basically, it was an awesome night. I'm glad I met Greg.

I'm Happy :]

Things are good here, everyone. I'm so genuinely happy, and I love it. Tonight, our FHE brothers Ryan and Martin came over, and a little bit later Greg Livingston came too. We talked, ate this delicious Oreo dessert that Leah and I made (courtesy of Karina Lee), played Uno with some Skip-Bo cards, and just had a really good time together. But tonight we had an apartment check, and as soon as we heard that our checker was two apartments down from ours, Greg immediately said, "Hey Sam, let's get out of here during this cleaning check." So we went for a walk. I loved it. I love talking to Greg. I have such a great appreciation for him. We had a nice time out in the freezing cold weather. We were both chattering and wishing we hadn't forgotten our jackets (I really hope I don't get a cold...). But it was very nice and super fun :]

Life is good today. It's been good since I've been up here. And I wouldn't trade what's happening here for the world.

Last Night :]

Alright, scratch what I said about Saturday night being the best night I've had since I've been here... LAST NIGHT TOTALLY WAS! There were people coming in and out of our apartment all night after FHE. It was awesome. I love it because we make so many friends. That's what college is all about.

One of the greatest parts of the night was when a few of our FHE brothers, Ryan, Martin, and Stewy came over and hung out. We all got Stewy to get up in front of everyone who was in the room and sing "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen at the top of his lungs. He even did the air guitar! It was the most funny thing I think I have ever seen. Ryan got him on video, so don't be surprised if you randomly come across a funny video of some random guy singing on YouTube.

A little bit later, Greg asked if I wanted to talk with him because he needed to talk to me face to face. So we went for a drive and just talked about every little thing. I really appreciated it. It made me feel a lot better about stuff... Let's just say that I'm excited with things right now. Oh, and my roommates were sitting waiting for me when I got home after talking with Greg. It was pretty funny.

I am so glad I came here. I honestly can't say it enough. I love the people here. I love the friends I've made. I love my classes. I love my life right now!

My Weekend

Is it bad that I already sometimes just don't want to go to school some days? I mean, come on, who wants to get up and go to school on a Monday morning after an awesome and fun weekend? Not me. In all honesty, school really isn't too bad. I actually really enjoy most of my teachers. The worst part about it obviously is the homework and reading. But hey, I'm not the first one to go through college, so I think I can deal with it.

Basically, my weekend went like this:
I had soccer tryouts on Friday night, went home with Leah afterward, and started watching a movie. About an hour later, this guy named Greg and two of his roommates came over and hung out and we ended up going back to their apartment complex to check out his pool. No, I didn't go in it, but it was really weird to see that there was a pool in Rexburg, Idaho. Overall, extremely fun night. And yes, everyone, Greg is super cute.

Saturday, I had soccer again in the morning, but ended up coming home and pretty much did nothing all day. But then later that night, Greg texted me and asked if my roommates and I wanted to go to a bonfire with his roommates and him. I was tired of being cooped up all day, so Emma and I went with them. I have never been to a bonfire like that before! The fire was HUGE! Definitely nothing like a beach bonfire; it was about 100 times better. Let's just say that Saturday night was the best night I've had since I've been up here.

Sunday, went to church, Sara gave the Relief Society lesson, and then got to hang out with all my roommates, plus Greg and his roommates once again. Sunday actually wasn't that awesome. But overall, I'm starting to feel like I'm in college now.

Today I have practice in about 45 minutes. I'm excited, but I think my coach, Kat, is going to make us run a lot. Oh well, no big deal. I hope everyone is doing great! I am!

Soccer :]

I am finally playing soccer again! It's been about 6 months since I last played, and that was for my high school team. We had tryouts today and last night. But to be honest, it wasn't really tryouts.. It was more like making sure they could even out the teams with the girls that were "trying out." It all went well though. It made me realize just how much I miss playing soccer. It also made me realize that I am in HORRIBLE shape! It was tough running a lot after hardly not even doing anything for such a long amount of time. But I am so excited to be playing again :] I will find out what team I am on tonight, hopefully!

Josh, Diana, and Family

I also want to thank Diana and Josh for the awesome package they sent me full of goodies and sweet messages. Thank you so much! I love you and your family so much, and can't wait until the next time I get to see you!

Thinking About What Matters

I have been pondering about how you know if a choice you want to make is right or if it is wrong. I have prayed so much with such real intent about this, and I've come to know that it is a tough thing to discern when making huge decisions that could influence the rest of your life. I know sometimes Heavenly Father's answers don't always come in a heartbeat, but they do come. I know that for sure. I'm grateful for the changes I have seen in my life since I've been in college in Idaho. I can't express my gratitude enough! I wish everyone the best in all they are doing back at home and my family who is abroad. I love you all!

He Hears Me... Really.

This morning, my glasses broke. One of the screws had come undone, so Leah tried to fix it for me. As she was attempting to help, the screw fell on the floor, and we frantically tried to find it with no luck. I stopped and told Leah that we needed to pray to Heavenly Father to help us find the screw. We did so, and once again started to look for it. After a few minutes (I had to stop because I needed to get to school soon), I started making my bed. As I was putting the pillows back on, I stepped on something tiny, but sharp. And yes, you guessed it. It was the screw. I know that my Father in Heaven hears me, even though this is such a small and simple experience. But isn't that how our Heavenly Father works? He almost never gives us huge miracles to rely on. He wants us to have faith in the small and simple things. That is how our testimonies are strengthened. I love Him with all of my heart, and I am immensely grateful that he gave me the opportunity to be up here at BYU-I.

Food

Making food is probably the hardest part of living on your own. Although the act of making dinner really isn't too bad, it's the motivation to get up and do it that really gets me! But last night I made some enchiladas for everyone. I was actually very proud of myself. That's a step up from the burnt pizza I made the first night I was in Idaho, right?

College!

Well, college has been great so far. I'm really glad I came up here to BYU-Idaho. It has blessed my life immensely. I read the Book of Mormon every single day, and I pray every single morning and night. I haven't always been the best at either of these things, but I have already seen the changes in my life. The Spirit here is so strong. I love my roommates; they are all so great. I've met numerous people, and I love my teachers. One teacher that has really caught my attention is my Book of Mormon teacher, Brother Astel. He is so very powerful during his lessons and it really gets you thinking about what life is all about. I've noticed that since I've been here in Rexburg, Idaho, I have been contemplating my life and what is most important to me. I'm not sure I would be able to have the experiences I am having now had I stayed at home for college. I recommend to anyone to go out of state for college if you can. It is so worth it. I still miss my family and friends back at home, and I'm not sure how long it'll take til I feel like I'm at home, but I do know that I wouldn't trade this experience for anything.