A Preview of Good Things To Come

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It really pains me that I haven't kept up on blogging. It's not that I didn't have the time, I just didn't feel like I had anything to blog about!!

Or maybe I just got hit with a nasty case of severe laziness, due to the comfortableness of my bed and the fact that college is hard.

You decide.

BUT! That time has now passed. Hardworking Kaela (who is blogging instead of studying for finals) is back! I promise. Because good things are ahead. Great things. Things that are (finally) blog-worthy.

My friends, I really hope you remember this.

Blogging Basketball/Volleyball Co-ed was such a golden thing to blog about because such strange stuff happened every day. The walk-out, the pants incident, archery...and the list goes on.

To be honest, strange stuff happens to me every day. Too much to blog about. But...yeah. Most of you should know that about me by now.

Anyways, I've been waiting for something to come along with similar potential, but it's been difficult. I could have blogged about working at Seven Peaks this summer, because that certainly had the potential, but I never had time. I could be blogging about the dorm life, but that would just be story after story of Maggie and I making weird sounds at each other, and regular complaints about trying to take a shower during visiting hours. Aaaaaaaaaaaand mission talk. Lots and lots of mission talk because that's all I really think about! So I've been sparing you, up to a point.

But I think I've found something with the golden potential that Basketball/Volleyball Co-ed had, only I feel like this will be a much more positive experience.

As of today...or maybe yesterday, or Monday or something, I am officially an employee at the MTC. The one in Provo, in case any of you were confused.

Anyways, my job is to go in at 6 AM every morning and do various custodial tasks. I would explain more, but you'll just have to wait for my first post. Even the whole interview process was blog-worthy, so look forward to that.

So, I got a job, and I'll be blogging about that soon. I'm pretty excited because hopefully I'll have both funny stories and actual learning experiences that will help me prepare for my mission that I can share on here, because those are always good.

But that isn't the only thing to look forward to! I've got ex-boyfriends leaving on missions, which means I have TONS of great stories I've been waiting YEARS to blog about. For example, The Awkward Date of Spring Break 2011. A more golden story has never been told. Failed duck hunting and manly competitiveness....good times.

Awkward journal entries from middle school about people who I've been waiting to leave on their missions? Check.

AWESOME MOVIES COMING OUT?!?!?!?!!?? CHECK.

Most importantly, though, as much as I try to make this blog funny, I'm also in serious mission prep mode, so hopefully I'll be posting more stuff on here about what I'm doing to prepare for a mission, insights about the gospel, you know, spiritual things and all of that good stuff. Which I used to be pretty good at blogging about, but like I said, I've gotten really lazy.

So be excited!! Because I am. Many good things are ahead.

Love,
Kaela

My Jam. (My peanut butter?)

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I'm really sorry that I've been seriously lacking in my blogging. I don't know what it is! I'm losing my touch. I've gotta get back in the game!! Anyways, I just want to mention this really quickly. Because...it is something I cannot explain.

I've never been shy to admit that I have an unhealthy obsession with B.o.B. I've never been afraid to confess my love for the Biebs. But neither of those artists have created my official jam. I don't know why this song is my jam. Maybe it reminds me of good times. Maybe it's catchy. Maybe it just fits me like a puzzle piece. It doesn't matter what season it is or what mood I'm in. No matter what I'm doing, when this song comes on, I cannot stop myself from just...completely jamming out.

Ladies and gentlemen.

This is my Jam.

Love,
Kaela

Why I Am Choosing To Serve A Mission [and it's totally for the reason you're thinking it is.]

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The hipster deep within me says, "No....Kaela...don't blog about missionary work...that's what everyone is doing right now..." And then the other hipster within me is saying something like, "except, you've been getting excited about missionary work since one year ago today, so I guess it's okay." The truth is, I have been getting excited about missionary work for the past 12 exact months. Excited, and scared. Pretty much the way I'm feeling now, really.

Thanks to Nick Walton, I already knew about the announcement before it was made....but that only slightly lessened the shock of it. The truth is, I literally cried until I ran out of tears. I wanted to keep crying, but it was actually physically impossible. I don't know why I was crying, exactly. Lots of reasons. I know a lot of it was fear. But deep down, I know it was because I knew this was the answer to my prayers.

Why am I choosing to serve a mission? Well, right after the announcement I just got really excited and knew it was for me! I didn't even have to think about it, or pray about it, or anything! I just knew! I mean, they may as well have made it mandatory for all girls to serve, because let's be honest, who doesn't want to serve a mission?? If you don't want to serve a mission, geez, you must be some sort of heathen.

...............

My dear, wonderful, fellow female friends. Listen to me. NOBODY IS JUDGING YOU. You are loved! You are loved by your friends and family and Heavenly Father and your decision whether or not to serve a mission is between you and the Lord, and I hope you understand that and knows that everybody else understands that too. If you have never felt the desire to serve a mission, then by all means, don't go. If you are starting to think that a mission may be the thing for you, then I encourage you to prayerfully consider that and seek counsel from your family and friends and leaders. But that is totally, completely, 100% up to you. I really, really want every girl out there right now who is feeling judged or hated because of this announcement to know that this announcement was not intended to make you feel that way. Do not be angry. Do not feel hurt. There is simply no need and no place for that. The miracle of missionary work was never designed to make anyone feel second class. Also, this blog is not an attempt to persuade anyone to serve a mission. I wouldn't do that. The purpose of this blog is to explain why I, personally, am choosing to prepare for and serve a mission.

With that, I want to make a plea. There are those of us who have chosen to serve a mission, and I promise you, it is not to conform to a hype. This change in ages is a miracle, a miracle that is going to further the growth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Missionary work is not a "new fad" that everyone is just going to "get over it" and life will go back to normal. If you have been thinking that way, I am going to bluntly encourage you to stop thinking that way...right now. Up until a couple days ago, I never thought I was going to serve a mission, but after LOTS of prayerful consideration, tears, and thinking so much it felt like my head was going to explode...here is why I decided to serve a mission.

Alma 29:9 - "I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I do not glory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy."

I have a strong, firm testimony of missionary work, and nothing makes me happier than seeing people being brought into the light of the gospel! Nothing would make me happier if I could devote 18 months of my life strictly to the Lord, and bringing more of His children into the gospel.

Second, I was watching Elder Holland's talk from the October 2011 Priesthood Session, "We Are All Enlisted." He was talking about senior couples being an example to their children and grandchildren...I'll admit I wasn't paying that close of attention, but there was one thing he said that struck me: "In this family, we serve missions." I realized that's exactly how I want my future family to be. I want that to be a standard within my family: "we serve missions." I know the dynamics of missionary work within families are going to change in the coming years, and when I raise my children I want to be an example to them. If my daughters choose to serve missions, I want to be an example to them and be able to help encourage them with my own experience.

But most of all, 2 Nephi 25:26 - "And we talk of Christ, we rejoice in Christ, we preach of Christ, we prophesy of Christ, and we write according to our prophecies, that our children may know to what source they may look for a remission of their sins."

I want everyone to know about Christ. Simple as that.

There are about a thousand other reasons, but I don't think I'm going to share my life story on this blog. I hope you all know that this is an individual decision that I considered very, very carefully. And so I'm going to ask one more favor...I need help. I can't do this on my own. I need your support, and prayers. I need advice and counsel. Right now I'm more scared than excited but I know that I want to do this.

With that, there are some people I want to thank. First, Elder Matthew Woodruff, thank you for being the best example of a true missionary there ever was. You've been showing me what it means to be a missionary for longer than just the few months you've been gone. Watching you serve has given me so much courage and strength.

Second, my wonderful leaders, of which there are too many to name, but you know who you are, who have always encouraged my spiritual growth, and encouraged me to never give up. I miss you all so much and you better believe I'm going to be calling you up for some serious life counsel!

And most of all, my loving family. Thank you for letting me stay at home over the weekend and crying with me and giving me all of your wonderful advice. Dad, thanks for being a worthy priesthood holder so you could give me a blessing when I needed it. Mom, thanks for talking to me and giving me comfort and advice, and for being a great example. Stockton, I hope you're still cool with us putting in our papers at the same time!

If not for all of these people, I don't think I would be where I am today, and I definitely wouldn't be choosing to serve a mission. Whew! This is big. I'm scared, but I know it'll be worth it.

In advance, thank you for all of your support and prayers. And, bear with me, because this is all I'm going to talk about for the next 9 months.

Love,
Kaela

Here's to the only thing I ever talk about.

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Too bad this is the busiest week of my life, or I was going to draw a pie-chart for what I'm about to talk about! Which, really, is all I ever talk about, I'm beginning to notice.

Okay, so this is the only picture of the temple I have. This is the only picture of the temple even invented!! Except this picture is from the groundbreaking. But the picture within the picture (pik-ception) is the only one that has existed so far in time.

Okay, okay. Remember how I was all "They can take as long as they want to build the temple because blah blah and temple insurance blah blah!" Well that still mostly stands. But seriously, I cannot WAIT for the temple to be finished.

Last Sunday was the dedication for the Brigham City Temple. It was seriously one of the coolest things I have ever attended, and the whole time I couldn't help thinking how much more exciting it would be when the Tabernacle Temple is being dedicated, and the open house, and then getting to actually go inside and participate in all of the great work we get to do there!

You know those things that make you cry just by thinking about them? When I remember going to the tabernacle and watching it burn down, I cry. When I remember President Monson announcing they were turning it into a temple, I cry. And when I think about the day it's finished, and attending the dedication (I'm still holding out for a chance to be able to go to the dedication at the temple...) I cry. Because honestly, I am soooooooooooooooooo excited for the temple to be finished and I don't even know how to explain why. I just can't wait to see everything they do with it! Like, ah. I can't even imagine.

[A totally unrelated side note, I just googled "Where is Justin Bieber" because I wanted to see where his tour was kicking off, as today is day one, and I found a ridiculously creepy website that....tells you where Justin Bieber is! Via a picture of his face on a map! (he's in the United States right now, if you were curious)]

Anyways, I'm using a quote/story from the groundbreaking from Elder Holland's talk for my lesson tomorrow, and that's what got me thinking about all of this.

I'm going to make a grilled cheese sandwich now. Because I can. #college #mealplan #temples #2014 #yolo #tempernacle #hungry

Love,
Kaela

You Know You're In Cash Control When....

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Yes, I haven't blogged in what feels like an eternity. Yes, I haven't actually worked in Cash Control in a couple weeks. But I miss it, a lot, and I miss my Cash Control buddies. And I came up with this idea forever ago, so let this be my official tribute to Seven Peaks.

For all of the strange, wonderful things that happened in Cash Control, I present to you...

How to know if you're in Cash Control.

• Nothing brings you more anger than seeing the phrase "Chain Detected."
• You know there is nothing more disgusting than dried up, five year old rubberbands.
• Jeff Quirk and Joseph Ellet. NEED to total their floats. (And the day they did was one of the best moments of your life).
• You know all the words to Speak Now by Taylor Swift (just kidding! You actually don't. You're also really bad at karaoke).
• As long as we're talking about music...you probably know the words to every song that plays on One Direction Radio.
• Your singing voice is perfected from belting "My Heart Will Go On" (Celine!)
• You also know how to whisper sing...like a boss. (so sexy)
• The best way to kill bugs that get into Cash Control is by throwing bags of coin at them...obviously.
• If you're in Cash Control, chances are, you like a boy named Matt (exactly a 60% chance. Until you realize that certain boys named Matt like to make 14 year olds cry).
• You know that when Josh Mullen walks in, ish is about to go down.
• You also know that Josh Mullen makes the best snow cones.
• Whenever Josh Mullen walks in, you want a snow cone.
• You want a snow cone.
• JOSH MULLEN.
• You know how to pack several thousand dollars through a crowded waterpark.
• You know, approximately, how much several thousand dollars in ones is.
• You also know how heavy $500 in quarters is.
• Disorganized tills are the worst thing ever. Especially when the wristbands look like they got in a fight, and the bills are facing the wrong way, and the cashiers strapped their own bills, and the whole thing looks like one wet, demented brick.
• You know who was doing dog fights in the maintenance garage.
• You know there is a very distinct difference between 10-25ing someone and 10-25ing WITH someone (with the lights off, in Cash Control).
• It's been two weeks since you worked but you could still probably balance the vault in your sleep.
• You probably have epilepsy and/or nightmares from the crappy/demented TV (until you realize it's actually the camera...)
• You probably have arthritis from shredding so many receipts.
• The skin by your nails on your fingers is all mangled from rolling coins.
• You know there is nothing worse than forgetting to send the Revenue Report.
• No, the marketing room is not open.
• If there is a month old protein shake or a random pair of shoes sitting in the room, we all know who they belong to...;)
• Making tills is actually pretty fun. But you probably still can't do it without looking at the paper.
• You hand-strap bills to kill time. Or if they're fives, because let's be honest...that machine is kind of dumb.
• You secretly love counting Tube and Parking tills more than any other till.
• Buying a Justin Bieber poster was the best thing we did with our fun money. Everyone loved it. Especially Dan.
• Paycheck/Pool Party Friday's are the worst. And the Saturday morning after is pretty bad, too.
• Walking through the park at 11:00 at night is one of the scariest things you've ever done.
• You know how to work the teal collared shirt, all day, every day.
• And you love wings. A lot. Especially if your name is Kela. So lets go get some wings soon, agreed?

And more, but seriously. Thanks for the best summer, ever.

Love,
Kela

Kaela Radio

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So, it's been a long time since I've blogged.

I'm sorry. My only excuse for this is because I tend to blog more when I'm using my laptop regularly, and since it's summer and I work a ton I really don't use my laptop that often. It's feeling neglected and I'm sorry. But, once school starts, that will probably change, and then I can have another excuse to procrastinate my homework.

I've also just had nothing to blog about! I've got a couple ideas, but they are still in the works. But today, I was sitting outside in my awesome chair hammock, which I am going to miss very much when I leave for college (don't even get me started on what I am going to miss when I go to college), when the idea just CAME to me!! And I figured, since I haven't blogged in a while, and I used to do weekly spiritual thoughts on my blog, which I no longer do but should really start up again, this can be my attempt to get back into blogging about both regular things and spiritual things.

Did that make any sense?

I'm back!

Okay, this thought I had requires some back story. I work at Seven Peaks. I love my job. I work in the only two departments who are allowed to listen to music, and I work roughly 40 hours a week, so I've got a lot of time to listen to music.

I won't really get into what we listen to in HR. Part of it is just that I'm SUPER picky when it comes to what sounds I allow to grace my ears.....so that's why I tend to complain a lot about what we listen to in there. Some times I'm more justified than others. (If you've talked to me in the past month, you know exactly what I'm talking about.)

But, I also work in Cash Control! I love Cash Control! We listen to 1D radio, Justin Bieber radio, and NSYNC radio, just to name a few. I love Pandora. A lot.

Through listening to Pandora so much, I've discovered just how awesome it is. It's not just about making a station. If you like a song, they'll play it more times than you'll ever want to hear it. If you dislike a song, it won't play on that station again. You can add songs or artists to a playlist to add some variety. For the person who is too lazy to find songs she likes and put them onto her phone/iPod, Pandora is perfect.

On days when I'm in the mood for some B.O.B, I turn on B.O.B radio.

On days when I'm in the mood for Jason Mraz, I turn on Jason Mraz radio.

On days when I'm in the mood for top 40 songs, I turn on Top Hits radio.

But what about the days when I'm in the mood for everything? What if I want a Pandora station to play me everything I, Kaela Carter, enjoy listening to? And only stuff I enjoy listening to? What if I want a balanced mix of all of the music I like? A station that will play Usher one minute, and Coldplay the next?

Thus, Kaela Radio was born.

Kaela Radio has been my summer project. A challenge, if you will. The ultimate challenge to create the Pandora radio station that will be perfect for me.

I started out with creating Justin Bieber radio. Then I added all of my favorite artists to it, and a couple of my favorite songs, and now it's mostly been about liking or disliking songs. Right now, Kaela Radio is still in the works. But my goal is to have it perfected by the end of the summer. Seeing as how I rarely get to listen to Kaela Radio, that probably won't happen.

At this point, I'm sure anyone still reading this is wondering something like "So...I thought there was a spiritual point to this? Thou blaspheming troll!"

(I use the word troll a lot, because I think it's funny. But usually people give me weird looks whenever I say it.)

There is a spiritual point to this. Right now, not only am I trying to perfect Kaela Radio, I'm also trying to perfect Kaela...Kaela! Me! Now that I'm moving out in just 17 short days, starting BYU, and beginning my adult life, I've realized I have a lot of decisions to make. Who I am is the biggest one. In psych we talked about the Identity/Role Confusion stage of life a lot. (Erikson. I remember that because I'm awesome.) It's not that I'm confused about who I am, so much as I can see in my mind's eye who I want to become, but I know I'm not quite there yet. In fact I'm not even close. Just as I have a vision of what I want Kaela Radio to look like when it's perfected, I have a vision of who I want to be.

So, as I sat outside in my chair hammock, I realized the connection between my goal to gain this identity, and perfect Kaela Radio. So now I'm going to try to explain that.

When I created Kaela Radio, I combined all of my favorite artists and songs, but that didn't automatically make it the perfect station, because Pandora can't read my mind, so they don't know exactly what I want. Just like in real life, I don't know exactly what I want!

Just like I have to build my Pandora station slowly, by liking or disliking each song, and by adding artists when I find someone who I like, or by taking away artists when it's playing too much rap, I have to build my own character bit by bit. If there is a characteristic I want to add, such as someone who has a firm testimony, reads her scriptures every day, never gossips, etc., then I have to start practicing those things so I can make them habits. With each decision I make, it's like liking or disliking a song. If I'm disliking and liking all of the right songs, then Kaela Radio becomes more balanced and closer to what I want it to be. If I like too much of something, then it'll only play that, and that's when I get into the problem of it playing tons of weird hipster music that I don't even like. If I dislike too many songs, it will stop letting me skip them and sometimes it even gets angry and completely stops working. So if I'm making too many wrong decisions, then I start going down a path that is actually really hard to come back from. And, unlike Pandora, in life you can't just go into "settings" and un-like a bunch of songs so that you are automatically back on the right path. And, of course, unlike Pandora, life isn't as simple as adding an artist or disliking a song. If I want a certain characteristic, I can't just "add" it and it's automatically there. I have to work for it, constantly, until it becomes a habit.

The truth is, I will never "perfect" Kaela radio. Why? Because my music taste is constantly changing! There may come a day where I don't like B.O.B anymore (that day will never actually come though), and I'll have to fix my radio station again. Just like in life, every experience I have is going to change me. And, of course, I'll never reach perfection in this life. That's just kind of a given.

Well, this wasn't as spiritual as I thought it was going to be. I'm sorry the return to my blog was more philosophical than funny, but I'm working on it.

Have a great day!

Love,
Kaela

Kaela's Not-So-Realistic College Guide: Chapter 3: Taking My Own Advice

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The other day in Cash Control, Kat said to me, "You know Kaela, maybe you should read your own blog."

She was right. Sometimes I really need to take my own advice. But, for the times that I don't take my own advice, I get great stories to blog about. Someday, I'll just write a book. But for now, I just have this blog, and I feel a little more safe talking about the crazy people I meet on here, because I doubt anybody will find it.

Remember this? All of my fancy ideas on how to scare off a marriage hungry RM? Remember how I tested out the Underage and I was all, "oh yeah, this should be highly effective!"

I'm like, 0 for 2 on the Underage working. You would think that telling a 20-something year old "Hey, I'm 17. I'm so young I can't even buy dry ice, and insurance companies charge my parents extra because I'm so young and immature," would be enough to send any man packing, but for some reason it really doesn't even phase them. I've been milking the Underage for all it's worth, because I've only got a few days left until it becomes even less effective than it already is....and all it's given me in return is a good excuse to cancel a date at the very last minute.

Yeah. That was a weird situation. And I'm not even going to talk about it because I'm still pissed that I even let myself get into that situation. I learned a lot of important lessons though. One of which was, just because someone is cute, doesn't mean they aren't crazy. I'm pretty sure that's also the closest I've ever come to being proposed to. It was terrifying.

I remember a long time ago, I was talking to my mom at the dentist. She said something like, "buying you your 5th retainer because you keep losing them/never wear them costs several thousand dollars. But, since we have insurance, we only have to pay a couple hundred."

Insurance is great. I love my temple insurance. It was comforting to know I had temple insurance throughout the insanity of this week. But, it also got me into some trouble. I was willing to take some risks because I knew I had temple insurance.

Well guess what. Smart people with health insurance don't drink expired milk every day just because they can. Smart people with home insurance don't burn their house down just because they can. Smart people with life insurance don't jump off skyscrapers just because they know their families will be covered in the incident of their death. Smart people don't do stupid things just because they have insurance.

So. I'm going to try to start being a smart people.

Love,
Kaela

Mormon Winning

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I have an institute teacher named Brother Eggett who, every lesson he gives finds itself on the top ten best lessons I've ever received list. I don't think that was grammatically correct. And I don't think grammatically is a word.

Anyways, last time he gave us some advice, and today I tried it out.

He told us that whenever he resists a temptation, he likes to start singing "We Are the Champions."

So today, that is exactly what I did. And guess what: it is basically one of the coolest feelings ever. True swag. Thanks, Queen.

Love,
Kaela

Coincidence? I think not!

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Hopefully these 1:00 AM ramblings make sense.

I've come to realize something in the course of my life. I think I'm learning how to better recognize the Lord's hand in my own life.

Here's what I've been able to discern.

Crazy coincidences.....aren't all that coincidental.

It's like....a bunch of puzzle pieces being dropped on the floor and they all land in the right place. Some might say, wow! What a crazy coincidence!!

But to me it seems more like the Lord is just really good at puzzles.

I like to think everything happens for a reason. The good and the bad. But when you look at your life and think, "What are the chances that all of these extremely unlikely things would have fallen into place in such a way that would have created this specific outcome?" you can look at that as proof that the Lord is directing your paths, so to speak.

The point of all of that is this: God works in mysterious ways. And when crazy 'coincidences' are lining up perfectly towards a specific outcome, you can basically guarantee that "specific outcome" is pretty important.

Yeah....I hope that made sense.

Have a fantastic day/night/thing!

Love,
Kaela

Things I Learned From The Senior All Night Party

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• The later it gets, the more fun stupid things seem to be.
• I'm not really afraid of heights -- I'm afraid of falling
• The more tired you get, the looser your standards become. This is a bad thing. But luckily...
• Whoever said the Spirit goes to bed at midnight is not entirely correct. So I didn't end up doing anything too insane. Except for that 5 hour energy shot.
• Five hour energy shots taste like alien pee. Also, they make me puke, or at least almost puke.
• When your five hour energy shot wears off, it feels like a hangover. Or at least what I am assuming a hangover feels like.
• The combination of 5 hour energy, helium, and chicken wings leaves you with a feeling commonly known as regret and indigestion.
• Even though you are graduated, it doesn't really feel like it.
• Walking around a carousel backwards...is awesome.
• The more people on a carousel, the more fun it is. Especially when the attendant doesn't care what you are doing.
• The only reason I enjoyed Men In Black 3 was because I was watching it at 3 in the morning, and basically everything was funny at 3 in the morning.
• Trying to fall asleep at 7 in the morning when the sun is coming up isn't exactly easy, no matter how tired you are.
• After a crazy party like that, my brain goes into hyperdrive and my dreams are like inception times infinity. I can't even count how many dream within a dreams I woke up from last night. I mean this morning.
• The sun rises in the east...not in the west. (I already knew this, but apparently yesterday at 6 in the morning I didn't.)
• The more tired I get, the more my brain filter stops working and I just say everything I'm thinking. Sometimes this is good, other times this is bad.
• I'm still bad at bowling.
• Grilled cheese sandwiches are delicious, even when they are made with fake cheese.
• Unlimited ski-ball is greater than or equal to pure joy.
• Free food of a delicious nature in plenty gives me so much joy that I just want to scream. Which I did.
• All night parties are fun. But it makes me sad that that's basically the last time I'll be together with my whole senior class, at a really fun, awesome establishment, with lots of free food and time to just run around acting crazy and doing fun things with your friends. Man, I am going to miss my senior friends so freaking much. Love you guys.

Love,
Kaela

Kaela's Not-So-Realistic College Guide: Chapter 2. "The Underage"

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I really don't know if I should call this chapter 2 of my unofficial not so realistic college guide...because it mostly plays off of my first "chapter." But since this is both unofficial and not so realistic, I guess it doesn't matter.

Go and read this.

Now let me recap. I am in two institute classes, the first being the second half of Book of Mormon, and the other being the Teachings of Thomas S. Monson. There are tons of married people in that class, and it is a little unnerving.

I really like it though. And I like my Book of Mormon class even more. Mostly because Brother Knowlton is AWESOME.

However, you should remember that I met someone who I referred to as a marriage hungry RM. HRM. He seemed very interested in me, and it scared the Schachter Two-Factor out of me. So I sketched out a list of ideas that I figured would be effective in scaring off a HRM. Today, I am going to tell you just how effective the "Underage" really is.

The thing about the Underage is that it probably doesn't happen that much in college. In this poor guys defense, he probably thought he was perfectly safe hitting on a girl in a college institute class.

Here is how our conversation went:

HRM: So did you go to FHE last night?
Me: Ummmmmm...nooooope.
HRM: Oh you bad girl. I'm in charge of all of the FHE groups.
Me: -thinking- geez how old is this guy? Yeah, I don't have an FHE group.
HRM: Oh, so you are in a family ward? Are you in primary?
Me: ok i'm not THAT young. Haha...no...

At this point, I knew what was coming. And I was trying so hard not to laugh just from the anticipation.

HRM: Haha! I meant do you teach primary?
Me: Oh, no. I'm in young womens.

What happened next was so priceless, so hilarious, that I do not know what part of my brain kicked in to keep me from completely losing it. The look on his face was one of shock, disgust and confusion. I thought to myself, my work here is done.

Recall that I said this method should be highly effective. And in most cases, I'm sure it would be. However, my story is not over.

I was walking out of class, and the HRM started to walk with me. In his confusion, he started asking questions: "So, is this your first semester in college? Did you graduate early?" I told him that this was my second semester in college, and I was graduating high school this Thursday. I kept playing the Underage card, and talked a lot about being a college freshmen at BYU, because it seemed to make him more disgusted. But when he told me I was making a mistake living in the dorms as a freshmen, I wanted to punch him in the face. And then he said something else, and I literally almost threw up.

"Yeah, I graduated in 2004. That means you must have been in 4th grade when I was a college Freshmen!"

Desperate to keep up the young card, I just said "yep, you're right!" and then I said goodbye and went to the library. That's when it hit me. This guy must be at least 10 years older than me.  I literally started gagging. I've already said that people who are at least 4 years older than me hitting on me makes me uncomfortable, but TEN?!!?!?!?!?!?!

This is where things started to make sense. It didn't matter that I was jailbait because I was turning 18 soon and for a guy who is basically an old man who really wants to get married, age differences like that simply don't matter.

The moral of this story is, The Underage still, theoretically, should work. And the looks on the faces of those you use it on is seriously one of the funniest things I have ever witnessed. But sometimes, the underage is not effective. At this point, it seems like if even the Underage won't work, it needs some reinforcements. I am not just giving up on this challenge. So next week, I think I will try to combine it with either the "I'm Waiting for Someone" or "I Have a Child." Stay tuned!

Love,
Kaela

Tribute to Seminary

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Dear Seminary, it has been quite a long, strange, trip. And oh, has it been fun.

Seminary has had its ups and downs. But, today I graduated from seminary, and I couldn't be happier, especially considering two weeks ago I wasn't sure if I was going to graduate or not.

My very first seminary class I will always remember. I was just a little freshmen, but honestly, it was the Juniors and Seniors who made it great. And Brother Barrow. I love that man. I loved his lessons, and I remember being so sad when that class ended.

My second teacher was Sister Anthony. I absolutely loved her, I loved her lessons, and I especially loved the goofy songs we sang to memorize scripture mastery. I remember a year after I had taken her class I was sitting in my room, too scared to sleep because I had just watched a scary movie, and the only scriptures I had memorized were the ones I had learned from her. So I started singing those scripture mastery verses to calm myself down.

My testimony was on the rocks when I started high school...at best. But seminary sparked some new life into my dying little testimony, and I don't think I would be where I am today if it wasn't for seminary.

My sophomore year things were just as good. I had Brother Boyce, who I actually don't remember hardly at all. But I do remember that it was a really good class and I learned some great things about the Book of Mormon.

Brother Martin was one of my favorite teachers. He was hilarious, and to this day I still remember some of the lessons he gave. I loved learning about the Book of Mormon so much. My testimony of the Book of Mormon grew much stronger after I learned about it in seminary.

Junior year things started to get a little rocky. I had Brother Wilcox my first semester, and I loved him, as well as that class. I made a lot of great friends in that class, and I learned some really cool stuff about D&C. That was the semester I ever ditched seminary, but...it was for a good cause.

Next semester I had Brother Roberts. They tried to put me in Brother Pierce's class but for some very odd reason I requested that they put me in Brother Robert's class. To this day, I know my life would have been very different if I had not made that request...but I try not to think about it. Haha. I learned some good lessons from being in Bro. Robert's class. However, that was the first semester where I really didn't like going to seminary. And I did skip a few times. However, it was through doing makeup with Matt in Brother Barrow's class that I learned one of the best lessons I've ever gotten out of seminary: Learning about the gospel is so much more fulfilling when you are with your friends.

My senior year the decision to take early morning was...not the smartest decision I've ever made. I am not a morning person, and for the first time I realized that going to seminary was not as fulfilling as I had remembered it. Because, well, you can't learn much if you aren't awake. Brother Kearns was a really great teacher though, and we had some pretty great lessons.

Second semester was where everything fell apart and then somehow came together into a very grand seminary finale. I tried to do early morning again with Brother Drysdale, but I was racking up the absences with how much I missed because of college, and plain old sleeping in. It was then that I remembered the lesson I had learned at the end of my junior year: Learning about the gospel is so much more fulfilling when you are with your friends.

So I made a decision. This was the last seminary class I was ever going to have, so I was going to go out of my way to make it great. So I started doing makeup in Brother Dykstra's class, and I realized the same thing I had the year before: that I loved the class I was doing makeup in a lot more than the class I was actually enrolled in. So I transferred into Brother Dykstra's class. That was one of the best decisions I've ever made. I loved that class. Those were some of the best lessons I had ever had in my four years of seminary. I loved learning with my friends. And Brother Dykstra was the best teacher I've ever had. He helped me get all of my absences made up, he let me transfer into his class at the beginning of 4th term, even though I missed class a bunch, and he honestly helped me out a lot more than I ever deserved. That's the thing I really love about seminary versus institute. In seminary, the class feels more like a family, and you feel much more of a connection with your teachers. I don't even know the name of one of my institute teachers. But, institute is still great, and I would highly recommend going.

Two weeks ago, I didn't know if I would be graduating seminary, but Brother Dykstra pulled some strings and helped me get that diploma. The fact that there was the fear that I wouldn't be receiving it made actually getting it all the better. I felt so happy today, seeing so many people who had come to support me - my family, my young women's leaders, friends...it was a truly remarkable experience.

I will always hold a special place in my heart for the memories I have of seminary. I don't know where I would be now without seminary, but I can honestly say it has absolutely changed my life for the better. These last four years have truly been amazing.

I hope the goodbye I said to seminary today isn't forever. I have a feeling it might only be temporary.

Love,
Kaela

Life is Great: Part 2

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No more anger.

No more bitterness.

No more resentment.

No more spiteful remarks.

No more of that bitter, sour, nasty feeling I get in my stomach.

I am so happy for you.

I am so proud of you.

You are going to do great things.

I mean it.

Love,
Kaela

Life is Like a Clock on Steroids

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Today was my last day of seminary. Ever.

One week from today I will graduate and be done with high school. Forever.

I was thinking about it during seminary today and I realized that I am a completely, COMPLETELY different person now than I was when I was a freshmen. I can't even call that girl me because, it just couldn't have been me. We are so different. There is no way that girl is Kaela Carter. It's impossible.

Of course, Freshmen me was a complete psycho. So that could be it, too.

But it just feels like yesterday was my first day of high school and now I'm graduating! It's like I walked in the doors, blinked, and now I'm wearing a cap and gown. All in the space of four years.

You know what that means. I'm going to blink again, and I'll be married...and pregnant! Okay, I can't blink. I don't want to get preggers. (Just kidding, I know you don't make babies by just blinking. Haha! That was a funny joke...)

But seriously. Time is moving by way too fast. So, mr. time man, take it easy, alright?

I need more time to act immature and get away with it. (I guess that's what freshmen year at BYU is for though).

Ah, what the heck, I'm ready to be done with high school. I'm so excited to move out.

Life is great :)
I mean it.

Love,
Kaela

"We Are A Temple Building People!"

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Today, I had the magnificent opportunity to participate in a historical event. The groundbreaking for the Provo City Center Temple. (....Provo Tabernacle Temple...)

I was so blessed to get tickets, and I ended up going with my mom and brother. We went pretty early, and were able to get seats directly behind the section marked off for stake presidents. There was about an hour and a half wait, so I worked on some stuff on my laptop while my brother and mom read. It was kind of cold, too. There was also a hot air balloon flying RIGHT NEXT to the tabernacle, and I couldn't help thinking that if that hot air balloon caught the tabernacle on fire...again...I would probably dig myself a grave right where I was sitting, and then just stay there for the rest of forever. Luckily, nothing happened.

But, the ceremony was amazing. It was really cool to be able to look back at how far we've come since the day the tabernacle burned down. The last time I had stood at the site of the tabernacle was when my mom and I drove there the morning it burned down. It was so amazing to see, a year and a half later, even though the tabernacle was just a burned out shell, it still looked bright and majestic. All of the speakers talked about the history of the temple and how important it is to the people of Provo. It was really touching.

Then Elder Holland's wife spoke, and her talk was really good. And then Elder Holland spoke. And basically...yeah. He is awesome.

The thing about Elder Holland is that he always looks so intense during general conference. But he was super perky during his talk, and even said that he was "Downright giddy!!"
He explained how we are making history, since this is the largest gathering there will ever be at the site of the tabernacle. He talked about the significance of there being two temples within a mile of each other.
However, my favorite part of his talk was when he talked about a groundbreaking being symbolic of faith. He talked about how the pioneers had tried and failed many times to build temples, but kept getting kicked out of their towns they had built, and the discouragement they felt. So when they got to Salt Lake and Brigham Young said they were going to build a temple, there were probably people who were thinking, "You really think that's gonna happen?"

I didn't get the exact quote from Brigham Young that Elder Holland gave, but paraphrasing, it went something like "I do not know if we will be able to enjoy the fruits of our labors for this temple....but this I do know. We are a temple building people...we will build a temple wherever we go!"

It was a really powerful example of faith, and it made me think of the groundbreaking in a whole new perspective. He then explained how a groundbreaking is actually an ordinance that we will all get to take part in. Then, he announced that he would be giving the dedicatory prayer to dedicate the site. The way he led up to it really made it seem like everyone in the audience was actually a real part of it all. It was nuts.

And then he said the prayer. I've heard a dedicatory prayer once before in my life. But just think about Elder Holland's conference talks. He gives pretty good conference talks. He gives even better prayers. It was the most beautiful prayer I have ever heard, and the moment he said "we dedicate this site" it was like a spiritual wave went through the crowd, and I could actually feel the difference -- that I was actually sitting on dedicated ground. It was such an incredible thing to witness.

After that, Elder Holland and all of the other general authorities and their wives came down and broke ground. Here is my attempts at a picture of that:

I hope that is big enough...people were going crazy with their cameras at this point.

After that, a million other important city people came up and got a chance to dig and get their picture taken and whatnot. And then they turned it over to us! They told us that we were welcome to come break ground and take pictures, as long as we did so in an orderly manner. So my mom and brother and I braved the crowd, and were actually able to literally participate in the ground breaking!

That....was a really awesome experience. The cool thing about the rack holding the shovels, is they made that out of old beams they salvaged from the tabernacle. Neat, huh?

After that, Elder Holland was on the stand shaking hands with people, so we went up to meet him. We were all kind of gathered around the stand and he was shaking hands with everyone around it. Sadly, my arms were too short, so I was not able to reach enough to shake his hand. I was a little disappointed, but I will always have the tennis ball incident. First my arms were too sweaty, and now they were too short. Someday I will shake his hand.

It was funny, because for how intense he acts in conference, he is SO nice and friendly. He was shaking everyone's hands and he was all "I wish I could shake everyone's hands! Can I just wave??" and he waved at all of us. He was smiling and laughing and it was really cool! I even got a close up picture of him:

Still looking intense. Haha. But see! I was literally right behind that girl he was talking to! Ah!!

After that, we took more pictures around the temple:

Just the place I'm gonna get married. Nbd.

Not a tabernacle anymore!

And then we went home! What a blessing, and an experience I will never forget.

Love,
Kaela

Kaela's Not-So Realistic College Guide: Chapter 1. Marriage Hungry Males

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Well folks, today was my first day of institute. That's right, I haven't given up on UVU just yet. I'm taking two institute classes, because I figured that I wasn't doing much with my life and I needed something to preoccupy myself. So I'm taking the second half of Book of Mormon and a class called "The Teachings of Thomas S. Monson" which is an extremely cool class. Oh, and Book of Mormon is taught by Brother Knowlton. When I promised myself that I would not graduate high school until I had taken a class from him, I meant it.

There are many other, more complicated reasons I decided to take two institute classes back to back. All of which I will probably never share on this blog. However, I am not here to talk about why I am taking institute this summer, or even how great my classes are (because, just accept that they are. I'm pretty excited.)

I am here today to blog about this. Remember this puppy? Note the part where I said "Return missionaries can sometimes be likened to a pack of hungry wolves, on the prowl for an unsuspecting female they can eat. I mean marry." Well I was joking. Half joking. That is a stereotype I throw around a lot, but after my first semester of college where not only did zero marriage hungry RM's try to eat me, but any guy I interacted with thought I was a porn addict, (I miss those days. More than I can possibly, rationally express) I realized that my fears of crossing one of these stereotyped marriage crazed RM's were pretty irrational.

WRONG

Before I get into what happened, I have a confession to make. I, in my college experience, have already formed some rather bad habits. Skipping class was one of them, but it ended up being a win win situation because I still passed both of my classes.
My other bad habit was lying. Lying about who I really am. I had too much pride to admit that I was not only still in high school, but not even a legal adult yet. I don't really see why I've done that...I really just wanted to fit in, but I also could have totally bragged about it. "Yeah...I'm 17...a sophomore in high school [meant to say college there...that's awkward]...no big deal..."

I will come back to that in a moment. But now, I am going to tell you what happened on this fateful spring day in May.

I walked into my Book of Mormon class and sat in the back because I was late. Brother Knowlton had us introduce ourselves to the people around us, so the guy I sat down next to turned to me and started talking. Within seconds, I realized that he was what I fear most: a marriage hungry return missionary.

All of the signs were there, I promise. Every time I try to explain this I end up sounding like a jerk, so suffice to say that I knew exactly what was going through his mind and it scared the Schachter Two Factor out of me. As in, I started to feel the physiological symptoms of fear, so I cognitively labeled my emotion as fear. Eh, eh, still remember psychology after the test, because of my great mnemonic device!! Whatup buddy!!

Ahem. Anyways, after that whole experience that left me shaking, I walked into the UVU library and I almost started to cry. Not because of the experience I had just had, but because the library reminds me of delicious cinnamon bagels. And I did not have any way to get a cinnamon bagel. Because...I left my wallet at home. So I went and got on a computer...without a cinnamon bagel. And I thought of all the great times I'd had in that library...eating cinnamon bagels.

I had a cinnamon bagel yesterday during the AP Psych test...let me tell you...it was delicious. I loved the way it made my hands all sticky.

Moooooooooving on.

While I was sitting in the library, I decided that I needed a plan for the next time I encounter a marriage hungry RM, or in reality a marriage hungry male of any size shape or form. Please understand that I don't hate RM's by any means...I am just terrified of the ones who think they need to get married RIGHT AWAY. Also, it scares me when older guys try to flirt with me. In fact it makes me really, really uncomfortable.

So, my friends, these are the solutions my brain came up with.

The Underage
Also known as the "Jailbait," this method requires the you to inform the marriage seeker that you are under 18 and still in high school. This is what I should have done, but didn't.

Effectiveness: This should be highly effective, if you are, for the most part, being truthful. I'm sure the older and farther into college you get, the less believable it is. Especially if you are say, living in the dorms. If this method is not effective, and you are actually still technically considered "jailbait" then feel free to combine it with another method, such as the....


"I'm Waiting for Someone"
This requires you to inform the marriage seeker that your lover has gone away...for 24 months...to some foreign land...wearing a tie! Casually slipping it into the conversation is the most practical way to go

Effectiveness: I honestly don't know how effective this is, but I'm sure there will come a day when I will test it out. I really think it depends on how determined the guy is. For the most part, I think it should be moderately effective, but not nearly as effective as the...

Fake Wedding Ring
I don't have the words to describe this, so I drew a picture.

I didn't draw these, but I feel like they also portray just how effective this method is.

Effectiveness: Highly effective. Basically about as effective as it gets. This is so effective it hurts. A ring on your left hand ring finger will work not unlike a magical force field. The only way this may lose some of its effectiveness is if the guy starts asking about your husband, because then you have to start making up stuff on the spot, unless you planned out a story already. Which would be a little weird. But not as weird as the...

"I Have a Child"
It's worth a shot.

Effectiveness: Unknown. This also falls under the category of doing weird things in general. Some of which include, but are not limited to...dancing, burping, crying, rapping, making weird noises with your throat, talking excessively about cats, etc.
 
"Totally Clueless"
This is the method I tried, and I'm just gonna say right now that it doesn't work. It involves reverting back to a primitive state of non intelligence where you realize you don't know how to interact with this type of human being so you do what comes naturally, which in my case unfortunately involved acting clueless and lying about myself to feed the prideful monster inside of me....and I did not use any of the aforementioned methods.

Effectiveness: It isn't.

Now, these methods are not 100% guaranteed. In the same way taking medicine and eating an apple every day is not 100% guaranteed to keep you from getting sick. This is why people invest in health insurance.

And THIS is why I invest in TEMPLE INSURANCE!!!

2015, baby. 2015.

Love,
Kaela

P.S. This blog was not meant to be offensive to anyone. I don't have anything against return missionaries, I have everything against people who are willing to marry any girl in the room as long as she knows how to breathe and birth children. There, of course, are much more logistic reasons for why I am terrified to get married too young and even why I am writing this blog....I just want you all to understand that I'm not a hater of RM's...I'm just afraid of really weird things. Like, getting my face wet for example. And backtracked music. So...lets not judge. The end.

Life is Great: Part 1

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Life is great. That is one of my favorite things to say. Because I only say it if I absolutely mean it.

So why am I happy?

Well, I'm tired of being sad. Instead of taking the hard things in life head on, I just let them wear me down until I emotionally can't take it anymore But, just in the past week, I have shot up from absolute rock bottom status to life is great status. In just a week. I can look in the mirror and the girl looking back at me is smiling and happy. And I love it. Life really is great.

Why?

Life is great because I passed my government final, even though I only ended up going to class for half the time. I got 85 out of 100, which I was not expecting, but all of this means that I am going to graduate high school. I also got an A in my English class. Woo!

Life is great because next week I am starting summer institute. I am taking Book of Mormon from Brother Knowlton, and then another class completely devoted to the teachings of President Monson. That means three and a half hours of institute every Tuesday and Thursday. Why? Because I'm insane. And it is going to be so much fun. I am so, SO excited.

Life is great because I get to go to the Provo Tabernacle Temple groundbreaking. I am so excited to hear Elder Holland speak, and watch as construction on the temple finally begins. 2015!!!

Life is great because it is summer and it is beautiful outside and I can finally wear shorts as much as I want.

Life is great because on Monday I got to see my cousin Emma, who I hadn't seen in about a year and a half, and she is basically the coolest person ever, so we had a lot of fun.

Life is great because I am graduating in 20 days, and I get to go to an EPIC all night party and hang out with all of my fellow senior friends. Speaking of graduation, I really don't know what to do for the camera at graduation. I've been thinking about this for three years! I need something clever to do! Ah!!

Life is great because I saw Avengers last night, and it was AMAZING. Easily one of the best movies I have ever seen. Definitely somewhere in my top 5...but I'm going to have to see it again when I'm not super tired. Midnight showings are totally worth it though.

Life is great because I am no longer worried about anything. I have received closure and assurance for every single problem I've faced for the past...very long time. And wow, it feels really good.

Life is great because, after next week, I don't have to go to work for the next two weeks. It'll be really nice to have that vacation.

Life is great because this chapter of my life is coming to an end. And while I'm sad about that, sad about graduating and moving on, I'm also unbelievably excited. I'm so excited to see what my new life will be like.

Sooooo life is great! Nuff said :D

Love,
Kaela

Not Ashamed

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You know what? I don't care what people think about me. If you want to judge me, that means you are too lazy to actually get to know me.

Sunday Post #9

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Yesterday, I learned a very important lesson.

Several, actually.

Back story: have you ever had a question about something, and prayed and prayed to know the answer, and while waiting for that answer, you just accept what you think the answer to your question is on faith?

I'm gonna give you the condensed version of what happened. The full, 5 page story is currently sitting in my journal, where you will never, ever read it. Actually, when I write in my journal, I just like to ramble. So whatever is written in there isn't much different than what I'm about to tell you.

Anyways...

I've had a question about like that. I have, for the past several months, been accepting something on complete faith. Something I know next to nothing about:

Missionary Work.

I'm not going to go into much detail about why, other than that I can basically count on one hand how many farewells I've been to, and how many people I know well who are currently serving. I have only ever watched two guys open their mission calls, and it was at the same time. I have only received one letter from a missionary. None of my siblings have served a mission, yet. My most memorable experience with the missionaries was when I drove past the MTC wearing a heinous wig and about 20 of them walked past and laughed at me. I don't blame them. But essentially, it's just an area I know nothing about.

I'm not saying I've been thinking that missionary work is bad. It's just something I don't know a whole lot about, but have been accepting, on faith, the importance of it.

I didn't know why it was important, I had just been accepting, on faith, that it was.

But, remember the whole "witness comes after the trial of your faith?"

Sometimes, the trial of your faith takes a long time. But the Lord really does have a time and a place for everything. And my prayers were eventually answered.

I was working at Spicy Thai (my last day there, thank heavens), when two missionaries walked in. So I walked over and greeted then and sat them down at a table, and went to get their waters. When I came back, they started talking to me, asking where I was from, how long I had been working there, etc. They were the only people who I ever served who asked what my name was, and asked about, well, me. So we had a pretty good conversation, and I learned that the senior companion was from England (not gonna lie, he had a pretty awesome accent), and the other was from Minnesota.

I left to go seat another customer, but the minute I sat down again to start folding napkins I realized that the Spirit was like, overwhelmingly strong, for a reason I can't possibly explain. I was experiencing some major spiritual heartburn, which actually doesn't happen to me all that often. At that point, the voice in my head said, simply, "Those missionaries will answer any question you have." And I realized that this just might be the answer to my prayers.

At that point, it got busy, so I didn't get much of a chance to talk to them. But I racked my brain through every single question I had about missionary work and narrowed it down to one, which I asked while I was ringing them up: Why? Why did you choose to serve a mission? Why is it so important?

The British elder explained to me that there are people in the world who don't know who they are, or why they are here, and they (the missionaries) are sent to them to help them, essentially. He told me he chose to serve a mission because he knew the Lord expected him to, and he wanted to as well.

This part is about to get pretty confusing, so hold onto your hats, and I'll try to keep this in English.

It wasn't him answering my question that answered my question. It was the fact that they not only willingly answered my questions, but were eager to answer them. Largely, it was their example. They wanted to know who I was. They wanted to know about my life. They were easily the nicest people I ever served. And they had nothing on them except their wallets and a Book of Mormon.

Essentially, they were perfect examples of what the Lord's servants would look like.

So it hit me, that's what a mission is. Being the Lord's servant 24/7 for two years, where literally your main purpose is to serve others and bring them the gospel. For two years, you are sent into people's lives to change them. You get to be the answer to other people's prayers, daily. Knowing you are the answer to somebody's prayer is one of the greatest feelings in the world. So to be the answer to people's prayers, daily? Wow. That is pretty cool.

So I finally understand. I understand that the Lord will always answer your prayers, even if it does take months and months of faith and lots and lots of praying. He will answer your prayers when they are meant to be answered. No sooner, no later. I understand why people serve missions, and why they are so blessed for doing so. I finally understand why they are called the Lord's servants. They literally are. I had been praying for months, and he literally sent two of his servants into a restaurant simply to answer my prayers, and then leave to go change somebody else's life. That is what they do. They go where the Lord wants them to go.

I know running into the missionaries at work really isn't that big of an event, but I still feel so amazed that it happened. It's basically just a witness to me that Heavenly Father really does hear my prayers, and a witness that missionary work is basically the coolest thing ever.

You guys, the church is true. Seriously. And I know that I mess up, a lot, enough to come off as somebody who seems like she doesn't really care about the church, but I promise, those days are over.

Prayer is real, faith is real, the church is true. I promise. You guys are great. Thanks for reading the awkward novels I churn out every Sunday.

Have a great day!

Love,
Kaela

One Year Older and Wiser Too

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Well, one year ago was Prom. Still one of the best days of my life, hands down.

I tend to think of that day as a turning point in my life. The day my life officially changed, if you will. Because, well, it was. My life was extremely different after Prom.

I was thinking about it this weekend, and found myself asking, "is it weird that I still remember Prom, vividly, and think about it and still refer to it as the best day of my life, even though it was now one year ago?" From what I've been able to tell, most of my other friends...don't. It was just a fun date, and that's that.

Is it ridiculous that, after all this time, if I could relive one day in my life, it would be Prom? Yeah, it's pretty ridiculous. But here's how I justify that.

As I look back on the past year, Prom really was the last day of my official fun carefree childhood. After Prom, life wasn't simple and easy like it had been before. My life took a turn down a very bumpy, rocky road, and it has been ever since. Not that life hasn't been fun, because it has. But I've felt more like an adult than ever before. I've had to make some pretty grown up decisions. Like going to college. That was kind of a pretty grown up thing, right?

I've also had to deal with some pretty hard things. While life before Prom wasn't perfect, it certainly was a breeze compared to how my life is now.

So now the question is, would I consider that my life has improved since Prom?

Remember good, better and best?

Before Prom, my life was good. My life was very good. But all of the trials I went through after Prom were basically a refiner's fire. So my life is certainly much more difficult than it was before Prom, but the lessons I've learned since then have, I think, I hope...made me into a better person.

My heart is kind of breaking a little bit now as I'm writing this, so if this starts to not make any sense...you can just stop reading. I won't be offended. I won't even know!

Often, I have looked back on that previous life and wish for that carefree, easy bliss more than anything.

But life isn't supposed to be easy. And I wouldn't trade the lessons I've learned for anything in the world.

And let's be honest, I'm going to move out and be at BYU in a few months, so there's no way that my life is going to get easier. But the lessons I've learned in the past year are going to help me endure that trial. (Not that I think I'm going to hate living in the dorms and going to BYU. I'm actually completely stoked). And then the lessons I learn from living at BYU are going to help me in the next series of trials I endure. Ever since Prom it's like an explosion of learning has happened in my life. I don't know how to explain it, so here is a picture. I hope Sweetwood appreciates this beautifully crafted graph.

I'm not saying that Prom was where I learned a lot of great life lessons, it was basically just what happened at Prom that led to different things happening that caused me to learn lots of life lessons...yeah. The only lessons I learned at Prom were...never mind.

The point is, life hasn't been easy, but every trial, every heartbreak, every dumb thing that has happened has helped me grow significantly.

So Prom, here's to you. Thanks for a great day, and for quite an eventful year.

No regrets!

Love,
Kaela

Lessons I Learned From The Shortest Job I Ever Had

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A while back, I wrote a blog post venting about how angry I was working at Seven Peaks.

I take it all back. Literally, I took it back...as in I deleted the post.

As many, if not all of you are well aware, I have a bad habit of making stupid decisions when I am upset. And guess what? Looking at how much tuition costs at the same time as you find out you didn't get a job promotion that would pay you basically enough to pay for said tuition is likely to make you upset. So that was bad decision number one. Bad decision number two was me deciding that I immediately needed to get another job.

This is about to get kind of religious, so hold onto your hats.

I've never really been the best at knowing when the Spirit is trying to tell me something. Buuuuuuut I've begun to figure out that when I have a really sick feeling and the voice in my head keeps saying "Kaela, don't do this. Kaela, bad idea. No, Kaela, stop. Bad...bad idea. Stop that. Stop that right now. Kaela, is this really the best idea? No, of course it isn't. No good. No bueno. Stop, stop, stop." then I'm not about to make a very smart decision.

So that much, I do know. And when I got that feeling as I applied for this job at Spicy Thai, and when I got the phone call for the job, and when I came in for an interview, and even when I was praying about whether or not I should take the job, I cannot FATHOM why I ignored that feeling, every single time. Okay, I do. I thought that I could handle it, I thought I needed the money, whatever.

The moral of this story is, if the Spirit is telling you not to do something, don't do it.

It will prevent a lot of problems. Trust me.

Luckily, quitting wasn't as painful as I thought it would be...but I would rather have avoided that situation all together.

At least I learned a lesson!

But seriously...when you have a bad feeling about something...it's there for a reason.

Strange Stories in the Life of Kaela Part...what is this, 50 million?

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First of all, I would like to start off by saying I have come up with a genius way to ensure that my children are not crazy drivers. I'm gonna be a freakin awesome parent.

I came up with this idea today when I was driving with an open container of food in the seat next to me. I was careful to not drive like a maniac, not slam on my breaks, and basically follow all of the traffic laws that I usually don't.

That's when I realized: if I were to teach my children how to drive, with an open container of food (for example, their lunch) sitting out, say on the dash, or the backseat, or something...then they would drive carefully so as not to spill their food. (Having it on the dash is even more effective because then they don't want to spill it on themselves.) This way, when it comes time to get their license, they will have become conditioned to driving carefully, and I don't have to worry about any crashes or tickets or what not.

I know, I'm kind of brilliant. Feel free to steal this idea. I would love nothing more than to keep the roads safe with my brilliant idea.

Have a great day!
Love
Kaela

UV You Need to Know

I think my iPod is so old, that my mind and its microchip have melded. It has a knack for playing exactly the type of music that matches my mood.

For instance, I'm listening to a playlist with over a hundred songs, maybe 6 or 7 of which are Coldplay, and the rest range from Justin Bieber to B.O.B. ....it is only playing Coldplay. Thanks, buddy.

So why am I in a Coldplay mood? Today is my last day of UVU. The first, one could say, of my goodbyes. I have absolutely loved going here. My professors are amazing. The experience has been phenomenal. Right now, I'm sitting on a very comfy cushion next to a window, blogging to my heart's delight, and a couple girls came up to me with a box of cookies and asked if I wanted one.

As long as I'm talking about food, let me just say that the massive amounts of food available here has been one of my top three sources of nourishment over the last semester. (ANOTHER Coldplay song just came on!! I don't know what's happening!!) I can be walking down the hall, and I'll see a vending machine, and think to myself, "I'll just use the next one" which is probably 20 feet down the hall. Once, I almost bought a drink, and then decided to use the next vending machine, and the next one was like a dollar cheaper. Yeah. And the Pizza Hut here is heavenly. And the cinnamon bagels....oh world...

The fact that I skipped my government class three times in a row and my teacher didn't freak out, the school didn't call my parents, and I did not receive a NG or a TR or whatever they give out now...it feels good.

I love my English class. So much. As I was finishing up my paper and putting together my portfolio last night, I almost started crying because of how much I'm going to miss it. It is the only class I've ever had where the students, collectively, have more power than the teacher. It is also the only class I've ever had where the teacher swears like a sailor and tells dirty jokes. And yes, pornography is still an inside joke for our class. Last time, we had a quiz show. My group ended up crushing all of the other teams, but the competition got pretty intense. Like, it's just a semester long English 2010 class, but I'm going to miss it a LOT. Ah! :(

And the library. I love the library. I'm going to have a lot of fond memories of the library. The ULTRA comfy chairs, hanging out with Matt, and the food....the food!

This blog post is not about food. Okay.

Don't get me wrong. I am WAY excited for BYU. I am so excited to move out, meet new people, and have another great college experience. But UVU has been a lot of fun. And I wouldn't trade the experience I had here for anything that could have happened at Timpview.

So this is my tribute to UVU. For anybody reading this who is considering going to UVU next year, trust me -- it is an AWESOME school. Lots of people think its just a ghetto college for BYU rejects, but that's not at all what it is. It is fun, the teachers are great, and it's pretty daaaaang easy (just sayin).

UVU, thanks for a great semester, and a fantastic first college experience!

BYU....here I come!

Love,
Kaela

Sunday Post #8

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So last week...I just sat home and watched like...8 hours of TV. And I didn't go to church.

Just like everyone else!!

Okay, that was a bad joke. But wasn't conference great? It's like every six months, we just get this huge refresher of new wisdom and council from our leaders. It is seriously one of the best things ever.

Last conference, I was watching one of the sessions at work when my co-worker told me how one of her friends or something had been talking about how if you watch one talk a week after conference, you'll have re-watched all of the sessions by the time the next conference rolls around. I thought that was so cool! But then I forgot.

I've decided to do it this time around though. I don't think you can get everything out of a talk by just listening to it once. It's like reading the scriptures: every time I read the Book of Mormon, I learn something new. There are a lot of different principles we can learn from all of the different conference talks, and I think they are just as important to study as the scriptures.

So with that in mind, I'm taking the challenge! I'm going to try to re-watch all of conference by October. Wow, that's scary to think. The next time I watch conference, it will not be in my own home. It'll be in Helaman Halls. Ah!

Looks like I'm gonna need all the help I can get!

Love,
Kaela

Just Take the Time to Stop, Think.

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Today was one of those thinking days.

This is going to be the first of many "everyone is leaving!" blogs, so brace yourself.

Today started out with a decision to make unleavened bread for Easter/my mom's birthday. So it actually wasn't very unleavened. It was just banana...Reese's Peanut Butter Cup...bread. And I actually haven't tried it yet, but I hope it is as delicious as it sounds.

Then I cleaned my house...and my room. My room was a complete disaster. So I started out by picking up my shoes. After that...my room was pretty much clean. I have a lot of shoes.

In my now clean room, I tried to practice breakdancing. I am pretty sure that resulted in two pulled muscles, because I am in severe amounts of pain. 8 hours later.

Then I took a nap. I dreamed that I was lying in bed awake. It was surreal.

Then I tried to work on homework, but let's be honest, I can only take working on my porn research paper in half an hour increments before I go absolutely insane.

And then I went to the international cinema with Yon Soo to watch "My Name Is Khan." I'll admit I went in pretty skeptical, because some foreign movies I've watched have either been really good (Town Called Panic, Hadippa!) or completely weird (Russian Ark...still haunts me).

This is one of the best movies I've ever seen. It made me tear up more than any movie I've ever watched, and I rarely get choked up during movies.

It was the story of a Muslim man with Asperger's syndrome and how his life was changed after 9/11 and his journey to tell the president, "My name is Khan, and I am not a terrorist."

A short plot summary doesn't explain what the movie was really about though. It was a very, very powerful story about love. Not a love story, a story about love. Love bringing people together. Love helping people overcome pain and anger. Love being the real solution.

It was amazing. And it got me in a really somber mood, which is why today was a thinking day.

I came to several realizations about life.

First, God is smart. For the past...ever...I've been praying for two things that, unknown to me, were contradicting each other. The first one was getting into Heritage Halls. Stupid, I know. And I'll admit, I was so angry with Him for not giving me that. Didn't He know how much I wanted it?

Yeah, He did. But He also knew how much I wanted this other thing. That ultimately, I wanted that more than anything else in the world. And, the other thing would be a lot better blessing than living in Heritage Halls.

I know that didn't make any sense. But the point is, my prayers were answered, just not in the way I expected, but still in a better way I ever could have hoped for.

Second, I've been really selfish. I've literally been sitting around only thinking about myself. "I'm going to be so miserable." "Nothing ever goes right in my life."

Yeah, a lot of things are going to happen soon that are going to make me pretty darn sad. Will I cry at graduation? You bet I will. Will I burst into tears during the AP Stats test? I'd say there's a pretty good chance, especially if there is a free response about Type II errors.

I've been pretty worried about May. The people I've grown closest to this year are going to be leaving for a new part of their own lives, and I've been sitting around thinking about how miserable that's going to make me.

And then I realized a couple things. I'm not the only one who is going to go through that. I'm not saying it won't be hard, but I've really been sitting here thinking that I'm the only one who is going to go through that. Which is just plain selfish. This is freaking graduation. Everybody is going to be going through that.

The other thing I realized is that I've been dwelling too much on people leaving instead of enjoying what time we have left. I've been unhappy basically all of the time because I've had exactly the wrong mindset through all of this.

And one more thing: people that I love are going to leave. But, people that I will come to love will be coming into my life, too! I'm going to meet so many people, especially living in Helaman Halls! I can't even express how excited I am for that. It is going to be such a blast.

This is life. Life is full of changes. Some are a lot bigger than others, but learning how to cope with them is just another part of the experience. College, moving out, really will be a new chapter in my life. And I'm going to make it a fantastic one.

Love,
Kaela

News That Makes Your Heart Stop

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I'm sure that anybody reading this is very well aware of my intense love of the tabernacle, soon to be the newest Provo temple. So I'm really not going to go into detail.

I want to get married there. There is no other temple I would get married in. So future husband, plan accordingly.

This is also known as my "Temple Insurance" plan, making it so I cannot get married until that temple is finished, by or before 2015.

Why Kaela, how did you know that?

http://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/central/provo/lds-church-announces-temple-groundbreaking/article_6f458076-9ef3-536b-848d-72aa3bb26f86.html

Read that, and then understand something. When I saw this article, my heart literally stopped. And I thought, I have to go to that. I must go to that.

You guys, I can't even express how much I cannot wait for that temple to be finished. I absolutely cannot wait to see how absolutely gorgeous the inside will be. I cannot wait to get married inside that temple.

May 12th, 2012. I have to be there.