So my title comes because recently I was talking to my friend Michal for the first time in 80 years and she remarked how different I was. Which, to be honest, freaked me out. I mean, the more I thought about it, the more I realized it was true.
Things that are different about me:
- Instead of creeping on boys on Facebook, I creep on various political figures (i.e. Female Secretaries of State. Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher, etc.) on Wikipedia.
- I try new food on the drop of a hat.
- I actually put the subject in the subject line of my emails. (A lesson I picked up on here very quickly).
- I call/email top child advocacy organizations to set up informational meetings. (Remember how I used to not be able even order my food? What is happening?! Who I am?!)
- I stay up later than 10 so I can read the Washington Post. (This is a bit of a lie. Sometimes I am staying up late to read the paper, but usually I am watching funny videos on YouTube with Chels)
- I have not crack laughed in over a month. (but I still laugh every day at pretty much everything, so I'm not really sure this counts)
- I'm thinking about attending law school somewhere other than BYU or places in Colorado. (i.e. Georgetown, GW, Chicago, or maybe even in North Carolina).
- I haven't gotten lost. Once. Which is pretty much insane if you know me at all.
- Contractions are the devil. As in I find myself changing contractions in even colloquial writing because it makes your writing so much stronger.
- I called Harvard law professors to tell them their materials for an upcoming conference were due. (Although I'm not sure this should count because I freaked out a lot before I finally did it!)
Did you read that list and freak out? I know! But do not worry, I believe that all of these changes are for the better. I wish I could express in words all the lessons I have already learned about myself and about the world I live in, but it would be impossibly long (and I'll probably end up writing it anyway at the end). Let us just say that I a. love it here and b. love who I am becoming. I did not know it was possible to change so much in such a short time, but I am so thankful I have!
Anyways, I've decided to come up with a new goal. I realized that maybe part of the reason I was feeling a bit lost last week was because I did not have any new goals. Last year, my main goal was to be more positive and I actively worked at it every day. I feel very successful in that regard. So now my new goal is "to be kinder than I feel." One of my favorite talks, as many people know, is
"The Tongue Can be a Sharp Sword" by Marvin J. Ashton, and how he explains that nobody needs one more person tearing them down and we should build others up. I recently was reading No Doubt About It by Sheri Dew (which I have not finished, but I love) and she quoted C.S. Lewis' "Weight of Glory:"
“It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which,if you say it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree helping each other to one or the other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all of our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations - these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit - immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.”
I read this and almost started crying. The line "There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal" made me realize that I need to be kinder. It is not like I am overly mean to others, but one of my catch phrases is "I hate people." Does that sound like I appreciate all of God's children? I do not think so. I realized that although I would consider myself compassionate, I could brush up on treating people better. I am also a gossip. I hate typing that sentence, but it is true and that is the first step of a goal. Reminding yourself that you have weaknesses but you will be able to make them strengths.
And now it is time for a motivational quote from my philosophical crush, Og Mandino, (which as a side note, I found the 32 pages of his famous 'scrolls' online and if you like anything I've published from him, or like me at all, I would suggest reading it
here. I LOVE HIM).
"I will greet this day with love in my heart.
And how will I speak? I will laud mine enemies and they will become friends; I will
encourage my friends and they will become brothers. Always will I dig for reasons to
applaud; never will I scratch for excuses to gossip. When I am tempted to criticize I
will bite my tongue; when I am moved to praise I will shout from the roofs. "
And now onto some highlights of the last couple of weeks:
- The DC temple! I had the opportunity to go do baptisms when I was having my ear ache, so I was a little out of it, but I can say that I LOVE THE TEMPLE! Seriously, I came out of there completely refreshed and ready to take on the world. It was snowing when we came out and the temple was gorgeous. It also really does come out of nowhere and looks like a castle. So gorgeous. SO grateful I can go whenever I want!
- When I was sick, Chels and I had the opportunity to go hear Elder Holland speak in one of the senate buildings on Capitol Hill. This was the day when I had the flu, so to be honest, I can really only remember that he told a funny joke at the beginning. We then went to the Botanical Gardens. It's really relaxing and soothing in there. So much so that I fell asleep sitting up on a bench after we walked around. So even though both things were incredible, I don't remember a lot!
- Museums-Chels and I went to the coolest museum EVER: the International Spy Museum. This was one of the main things I wanted to do while here in DC, and it was totally worth the money. I had the opportunity to crawl through a duct (felt like Jack Bauer) and hold onto a piece of metal pretending to be hanging on the edge of a cliff (like James Bond. And I literally only made it .5 seconds, but it was the experience that counts). Anyways, it was legit. Last weekend we were supposed to go to Baltimore, but had a service project (more on that later) so we also went to Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum which was also super fun! I took pictures with nearly every president and celebs... and Hillary Clinton. That was worth it right there.
- I found a new favorite spot in town. Well actually I have several. The first being the Lincoln Memorial, the second being Paul (the French bakery that has a view of the Archives) and my latest- the inside gallery of the National Portrait Museum. As Chelsea described, it's "like summer in there." The ceiling is glass and they have all these beautiful flowers. There is a possibility that I could just sit there for hours. It is so relaxing.
- Memorial/Monuments- The other day I just really needed to go on a walk, so I walked to the Lincoln Memorial (it's going to be so sad when I can't say that anymore!) It is so gorgeous. And peaceful. It definitely helped clear my head. I then walked over to the MLK and FDR memorials, both of which were fantastic. I finally saw the Potomac while not on the Metro and it puts my favorite lake in Colorado to shame. SO GORGEOUS. I just love it here! :)
- Food- Chelsea and I tried a Portuguese placed called Nando's which had THE best garlic bread and chicken in the world. And if you know anything about me, you know I could live off garlic bread. We have also been to Lincoln's Waffle House twice because the environment and pancakes are the best! I also finally tried Potbelly's ice-cream sandwiches and holy muffins, I AM ADDICTED. I just found out there is one in Union Station (where we usually go for lunch at work), so this might turn into a problem. Another new favorite is Paul, the French restaurant I mentioned earlier. I found this new thing that is like a chocolate croissant with pastry filling and it is so delicious.
- Last Friday we had the opportunity to participate in Dr. Seuss day with some students from American University. I'm not going to lie, I was grumpy because we were supposed to go to Baltimore, but this was so much better! I got partnered with a girl named Leena from AU and we chatted tons and then read Sneetches by Dr. Seuss to kindergartners. It was absolutely adorable and perfect. I want to visit kindergarten every day- they give the best compliments.
- I got to see Madeline Albright speak in person! She was speaking at Georgetown, so I headed over there after work and it was amazing. I loved the room and the fact that she was wearing a purple power suit. She also stated that there "are only two great cities: Prague and Denver." So yeah. I've also decided I'm going to be the youngest female Sec of State, so I'll get on that now.
- The day I was finally better, I got to go to a Supreme Court hearing. It was an incredible, and enlightening, excursion. Although the case was pretty boring, it was crazy to see real-life lawyers doing oral arguments before all the justices. That's never going to happen to me. It was also interesting to see the justices' different attitudes. Some appeared very arrogant, but I really liked Chief Justice Roberts. He was calm, respectful and thoughtful. Anyways, it was a GREAT experience. I mean, how many people actually have the opportunity to do that?!
- Children and Family Summit- Yesterday I had the opportunity to attend a huge children's focus summit because I have the BEST boss in the world! (Seriously, I could write a blog post about how amazing she is, but just take my word for it). The Secretary of Education, the editor-in-chief from Parent magazine and all these incredible child advocates were there. I got to network with people in my field and it was so great! :) I can't wait to be a child advocate.
- Mexican Drug Cartel Simulation- Two Fridays ago, we had a 7 hour simulation on the Mexican Drug Cartel. I was the Mexican External Relations woman, so I basically was the Mexican version of Hillary Clinton. I called myself Lolita, which is my flirty alter ego self, after a suggestion from my mom. haha she's the greatest. Anyways, we would have our country meetings, and then bilateral meetings twice to try and solve this issue. Holy crap was this difficult! It was hard trying to find a solution that pleased everyone and I now have a lot more respect for politicians who are working on any issue like this with another country. I also had an epiphany (which I should give my friend Jeremy credit for) that I would be a good mediator. I am looking more into that field as well as an option post-law school. Anyways, it was an enlightening experience to say the least.
- Julie and Julia- Last Friday, Chelsea wanted to watch Julie and Julia, which I had never seen. As we were watching it, I really wanted all the food in it. So we decided to make some of the items in the movie. It. was. so. much. fun. We made bruschetta, a shrimp scampi (not from Julia Child, but seriously the most amazing main dish ever) and her chocolate almond cake. It took us almost 3 hours, but it was definitely worth it. It made me want to cook delicious food all the time. It was a perfect Friday night.
- Nicholas Sparks movie night- Yes I finally saw Safe Haen, which was the movie I wanted to see on Valentine's day and it was great. I really liked it because it wasn't super cheesy. Although they totally should have picked someone more attractive than Josh Duchamel. I mean, after Zac Efron? Yeah no. Then I came home and one of the greatest girls here, Alyse, wanted to watch The Last Song. So that's how I ended up watching two Nicholas Sparks movies on a Saturday night, shouting "When I Look at You" at midnight. It was a great moment! :)
- Today I didn't have work because of "Snowquester" which was supposed to be a big snow storm that definitely did not happen. I went to work for half the day to make up some time I missed, but then came home and caught up on my TV and now I'm planning the things I want to do in New York this weekend!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I AM FINALLY GOING THERE. IT'S GOING TO HAPPEN. Yesterday, Chelsea found out that her friend we were supposed to be staying with is going out of town this weekend, so we can't really stay there. We can't really go any other time because we're going to Philadelphia and Gettysburg and then it's the last Friday. CRAZY. So I decided to go by myself. We'l see how it goes, but I am super excited because I am going to go to Serendipity, the Met, Wicked (well if I get the lottery!), and the restaurant from Seinfeld. I can't wait!
And now onto some pictures of my recent adventures:
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| Sitting with Lincoln in "Ford's Theater" |
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| Rosa Parks and I |
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| Winston Churchill giving me the stare down. |
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| Delivering a speech with Martin Luther King. |
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| HILLARY CLINTON (!!!!!!) |
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| Brangelina and I |
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