Skip to main content

New Year's Reflections

2011 was an absolutely amazing year. A lot of changes came about in my life, which was difficult at times, but I am so thankful for all of the memories and for those amazing people who have shared this year's journey with me! Here's a few of the highlights of 2011!

-In January, I got to perform in the Broadway Cabaret at my school. I was given the amazing opportunity of having my own song and a trio! It was a blast working with the amazing Van Slykes and of course my wonderful friends! Performing in this production was such a great part of my senior year!

-At the end of February, I was accepted to BYU. I spend the next couple of weeks deciding whether I was going to go to BYU or BYU-Idaho in the fall. It ended up being quite the ordeal, made even more difficult by the fact that I had never set foot on either campus in my entire life. My parents and I did extensive research about both schools. I made pro/con lists that went on for pages. Eventually, I came to a decision, but then began to second guess the choice I'd made. However, with the support of my amazing parents, wonderful friends who refrained from mocking my pro/con lists, and the amazing YW leaders I had at the time, I came to a decision to attend BYU. I had a strong feeling that this was the place that I was meant to be, and have not regretted it once.

-At the end of March, I had the opportunity to travel to Disney World with choir. I was blessed not only to have some amazing friends with me on the trip, but a ton of my family! Amy, Matthew, and Michael went on the trip and my mom and Aunt Julie were both chaperones. This was a trip that I will never forget. After spending an awesome three days in the park and competing, we took home over 15 trophies. In Madrigals and Show Choir, we both won our divisions and in the overall category, Mads tied for first, with Show Choir in second. I was so proud of my choirs, and it was awesome to be one of the ones who got to go up and accept the trophies! It was a trip I won't soon forget!

-Another choir memory I won't soon forget was Pops Concert, my final concert at HHS. I kind of loved all of the songs that my three choirs picked to perform. In addition, I got to sing a senior spotlight! I sang "The Call" by Regina Spektor. I also got to sing a solo in the Journey Medley that we performed at the end of the concert. This night was a blast, but I must admit that there were lots of tears. I realized that night how truly blessed I'd been to spend four years in the Herndon Choir department. Mrs. Van Slyke was not just an incredible teacher, but also a wonderful mentor! In addition, I learned so much and made so many wonderful memories performing with my closest friends!

-In June, I graduated from high school. Oh my goodness. So many emotions. I was so happy to have finished high school and excited to leave for BYU! At the same time, I new big changes were in store, and it was terrifying! I also had a wonderful graduation party with Matthew! So many people came to congratulate us and it meant the world to us both!

-At the end of June, I attended my last Youth Conference- Trek! Matthew and I were our wards representatives to the Youth Committee, so it was so fun to see how the event turned out after months of planning!

-In July, we took a family trip to the Outer Banks in North Carolina! It's always so fun to have all 21 of us staying in a huge beach house! I am such a beach girl, and I loved spending the week with my amazing family!

-I also turned 18 in July! I still don't feel like an adult, but I guess technically I am one!

-Matthew, Becky, and I spent a couple of days in NYC in August! We saw How to Succeed in Business and explored the city!

-At the end of August I left to start my first semester at BYU after many hard good-byes. The semester that I spend there came with some of the most amazing memories of my life. I met some absolutely amazing friends! Some of my favorite memories have been: football games, movie nights, late night chats, snow adventures, venturing off campus, visit from Aunt Becky, my two run ins with the campus police that my friends relentlessly make fun of, getting to hear a devotional from President Monson, and the list could just keep on going! In addition, I grew a lot closer to my Heavenly Father in those difficult moments when I felt alone or scared. I feel so blessed to be attending BYU and am thrilled by the fact that I get to spend the next three and a half years (at least) going to school there!

-spending these past two and a half weeks back in Virginia with my family has been amazing! I got to see all of my friends, see all of the amazing people from my ward who have been such a blessing in my life, and spend time making wonderful memories with my family!

2011 has been so good to me, and I can't wait to see what 2012 has in store! Happy New Year everyone!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

My Journey to Self-Confidence

This is a picture of me almost exactly three years ago: And this is a picture of me now: Now, you might be thinking this is one of those stories that you see in Weight Watchers ads on T.V. endorsing a diet. I promise it's not. This journey was about so much more than a number on a scale. It was about working towards being able to recognize my divine nature as a daughter of God. I'll start at the beginning. When I started my freshman year at BYU, my self-confidence was at an all time low. I would try on about five outfits every morning, look in the mirror, and then immediately change. My low self-esteem was reflected in the way I talked to people, the way I dressed, and just the overall way that I carried myself. I compared myself to everyone else around me and was constantly tearing myself down. My lack of self-esteem seemed so obvious, yet it seemed like no one truly understood how I felt. I knew I needed to make some changes, but I just didn't know how. Af...

A Slight Transformation

So I'm sitting here procrastinating homework, the usual, I really need a spring break, but anyhow, I was looking through some pictures and I found this. This is a picture of my sisters and I last Christmas break (Dec 2011) And this is a picture of me and my sisters from this past Christmas break one year later (Dec 2012): A lot is the same between these two pictures. We're the same four sisters. Other than Abby and I swapping places we're standing in the exact same order. Both were taken at my grandparents' house in Virginia while I was on break from BYU. And these three girls are still my three dearest friends in the world. At the same time, a lot has changed. We've grown a little bit, both as people and in height (well except for me). Amy got accepted to BYU (YES!), Abby started middle school, Jenn's become a little singing star! I decided what to do with my life and began pursuing a degree in Elementary Education. The biggest change between these pict...

London Living

I've learned a few things in the two days since I left the U.S. First of all, flying internationally is AWESOME. Going through customs, not so awesome but I'll get there. You're greeted at your seat by a pillow and blanket, you get served Indian food for dinner, and there's tons of T.V. shows and movies to watch. I didn't sleep much, and thus was a bit disoriented when we landed at 7 am London time, while my body was on Virginia time where it was the middle of the night. I completely forgot that my dad had told me that before you go through passport control, there's a landing form you have to fill out. When my half asleep half awake self handed the border patrol officer my passport I was met with a very dirty glare as he angrily asked where my landing form was. He handed me one after I explained that I had forgotten to grab one, but not without a bit of eye rolling. I frantically filled it out and made it through customs in one piece after being questioned about...