Oh, the things you can learn in a year

Warning: this is my cheesy new years post. Mostly written for myself. And kind of long.
One year goes by quickly. But thinking back to what was going on at the beginning of a year- it was so long ago. I've learned so many life lessons in that short/long time. So life lessons/ high times of the year in pictures and words. The year has three parts to me: Winter semester, summer, and Fall semester.

Heading back to college after a particularly challenging first semester where I found myself still determined, but a bit discouraged. I moved in- still quiet, unsure, and wanting to restart again- to an apartment of loud, fun, confident, kind girls. Learned that people I'd always imagined were a certain way were just like me. In fact they all were just normal people like everyone else.
This is where I most felt self worth. This was a home where love was commonly told and shown instead of just assumed. This was a place where I was pushed out of my shell and decided it was okay to like myself and what I was becoming. I learned a good deal of social skills so that when I met people the first word used to describe me would not be: shy. I was taught that any dream I could come up with can be achievable and I gained friends that constantly built me up and allowed me to become who I wanted. I felt wanted.

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

I found my love for floral arranging and that my medium of art is flowers. 

And I found that peace and closeness to God is easy to feel in the fields of Rexburg in the quite, and under a star filled sky. 

The Summer where I learned the importance of being friends with your family, I creatively explored crafts and floral arrangements of my own, traveled to my hearts content, found out how to create my own adventures and learned how to be content on my own, gardened, learned I didn't need to put quite so much time into my looks in order to feel good about myself, worked on a hot catering bus of crazy women who taught me to take everything with a grain of salt, and worked delivering sandwiches and made friends with people who didn't have the same standards as me and made me realize I had some figuring out to do to find my own personal testimony of the gospel, and saved up a enough money for the next bit of college. 

And then in a return to college I figured out how to make friends with teachers and get through days of insane amounts of studying- I figured out how to get by the weather and the homework loads. I learned how to make time for the people that I cared about, people that taught me lessons of trust, service, and more confidence. And on my own as I searched for answers I really found my own testimony and love for the gospel. Which came just in time as I figured out I was supposed to start my mission papers. And I started to see that God has a plan for me even before I know why or can give up my own stubbornness and go with it. 

And most importantly- it all, always works out.

I learned how to cook a lot more things, despite a couple of failed attempts, became obsessed with family history, and stepped away from some time wasting habits on the computer. I traveled to Hawaii, spent a lot of nights wrapped up in warm sheets out of the dryer in the laundry room to friends and family far away (first semester in college with no family around), and I had way too many corn experiments and late nights in the library. The adventures continued....

sledding on cookie sheets

the corn experiments winner

A whole year summarized in one. 

Next year will be full of lessons from my mission in Japan. Starting February 20th.

Appreciation for things I used to not appreciate

When I was 8 I got 6 journals for birthday presents (plus I already had one)- because apparently the age of 8 is just perfect for journal writing. I'm not one to get a gift and not use it. So you know what my 8-year-old self did? Made each one into a journal for each separate day. Sunday's journal had a butterfly on it, Monday's had smiley faces, Wednesday was a fuzzy Winnie the Pooh one. I remember this because one day I went back to try and see what my 8 year old self deemed worthy to write in a journal and found that I could not- for the life of me- follow the story line through the 7 different journals. Since then I'd like to think I've gotten a bit better- I still have my life story separated in between letters to missionaries, my blog, my old paperback journal, and my journal on my computer. Four's better than seven? I think it's improvement. The point of the matter is that forever ago when mom used to have to remind me to write in my journal daily I definitely did not see the point in it all. The other day I got a bit bored and started reading over my computer journal from last winter semester and a bit of the summer and it was definitely inspiring. Just looking back and seeing that the questions that I had that I most wanted answers to- I got answers to them, the things I was struggling with changed me so much for the better, and the things I worried about didn't end up mattering in the long run. It really is incredible. In one of my entries I went off for like a whole page about how stressed I was with my major- should I really keep Horticulture or would I ever find something that I really loved.  I had always felt like I was a bit inspired when I chose it but on that particular day I seemed to be doubting everything. Let me tell you- this past week when I was in Hawaii and was constantly educating everyone who would listen about nerdy things like that tomatoes are infact classified as a berry, and making them memorize different plants (which also made me think oh! I'm turning into my mom!) I realized that I couldn't see myself doing anything else. Which just goes to show- God knows us pretty well- when he tells us to do something, he knows what he's talking about, even if we don't catch on for a while. Sometimes I feel like he reminds us of these moments when he has made everything turn out alright as if to say "I know what I'm doing- you should trust me by now."
One of my favorite quotes about this is Richard G. Scott in his talk "Finding Happiness"

"Although it may not be a welcome insight, you will grow more rapidly through challenge and trial than from a life of ease and serenity with no disturbing elements. The intent of your Father in Heaven is to lift you from where you are to where he knows you will have eternal purpose and unspeakable happiness. By using the talents, abilities, and latent capacities developed in the premortal existence, he will lead you through growth experiences here on earth. When faced squarely and lived fully without complaint, they will raise you to glorious heights of accomplishment and service. To do all of that during the brief period you are on earth is a tremendous challenge. To accelerate your growth and attainment in his plan for you, sometimes he employs a pattern described on the label of some medicines: "shake well before using."

And Neal A. Mawell in "But for a Small Moment"

"The future "you" is before him now. He knows what it is he wishes to bring to pass in your life. He knows the kind of remodeling in your life and in mine that he wishes to achieve. "

The other thing I never thought I would find myself saying that I appreciated was Geneology/Family History. You know...that thing that 'only old people do'. Well today after being encouraged to get involved with it in church, and after I had talked to my roommate about it- I was introduced to the Family Search. She had been saying that since our ancestors are the ones that help us out in this life, and she's preparing to go on a mission and she could use all the help she can get, she thought it would be a good idea to find them and do their temple work for them. And then she taught me how. And no joke- I was on there for 4 hours straight and only stopped because my eyes were hurting. It is SO COOL! Plus I was able to trace myself all the way back to Adam and Eve!

I also thought it was funny that there's a space to fill in Seth's wive's parent's...because you know...:)

 Anyways. That was my Sunday- reading old journal entries and doing family history. Oh the craziness of my college life...right?

Maui, Hawaii- in collages

warning: this entire post is collages and there are lots of plant pictures. 

Thanksgiving 2012. The first year we did not make apple cider. And I was fine with it. You know it's going to be a good week when you can pack nothing but short sleeved shirts, swimsuits, and coverups, and go fly to Hawaii to a condo right close to the beach. My little horticulture brain went crazy. And when I got home I realized that more than half of my pictures were of plants. I guess this just goes to show that I chose my major for a reason. Anyhow. Good weather, forests, fish, snorkeling, beaches, luaus, fruit, and other such adventures in Maui...sounds like a good idea for me. 

"Things that you struggle to grow in greenhouses...they grow like weeds on the side of the road there."

SNORKELING. Every Day. Obviously not many pictures for this one because we were underwater. But Maui has some incredible beaches with insane amounts of the coolest fish ever. We went out in a little cove, to the airport beach, and the black rock beach (favorite) and swam with schools of fish, watched eels, looked at all the colorful fish that I'd never heard of, and (my favorite) almost swam right into the face of a turtle. SO SOO cool! 

The Smoothie Bus that we found on our drive around the mountain (best. smoothie. ever.). Giant shark jaws in one of the windows on the Lahaina street (like the Hawaiian version of Park City's main street). Giant coconuts that are fallen all over the road and giant avacados. Basically all the fruit is huge and delicious. The streets are just strewn with flowers and fallen fruit. I love how the paths in the jungle smell like guava and are covered in these orange flowers. Little crosses all along the road. And geckos jumping on the leaves of the flowers I bend over to smell.

I learned very quickly the power of the ocean. It's so incredible the energy that is in the waves. But it was not so fun before I realized that a small slow girl like myself cannot, in fact, out run the waves of a rising tide when trapped in the awesome little cove she found with her faster sisters. So yes, I did get a few battle scars from being knocked over and then rolled on the lava rocks and feeling like Tom Hanks on Cast Away when he gets smashed on the coral. Thank goodness for sisters who can save you from those kinds of things. 

And yes. I was very much pleased when we got to make stops like 'Arboretum' and 'Kumu Farms' and I got to name off flowers and see the things I've been learning about in person..and just be amazed at all the tree types and how they grow SO MUCH produce there. 

BEACHES!

Hey Sabrina- lay down next to your Hawaii sign and I'll take a picture of you *as a big wave is on it's way*....the things we do to little sisters :)

Banyan trees + an art in the park type of deal...coolest thing ever- the tree takes up the entire park because it has expanded so much. It's in Lahaina.

 The Old Lahaina Luau. They made us a Hawaiian style Thanksgiving dinner, I actually ate some of that pig (yes, after seeing it in the pit with a face), had orchids and live music everywhere, and the hula dancing was awesome. Plus...the desert was super good- except that white thing was like some kind of coconut tofu tasting deal.

 Oh! The fancyness of the tropical flowers and orchid leis - and I was in heaven.

 And what happens when your server takes your camera...

Here's some Hawaiian dancing videos...

The Road to Hana (some of the previous pictures were from this as well).

Hiking through the jungle and swimming in hidden waterfall lakes. 

Native villages where they grow taro and eat fish they catch from the ocean, and Scotlandesque beaches. 

Black Rock Beach

Red Rock Beach

The Seven Sacred Pools

And more plants....because who knew that left-picture is what the inside of center-picture looks like, and right-picture is what the center of a banana tree looks like?

And awesome flowers that I had never seen before.