"Be happy with what you have while working for what you want. So much has been given to me, I have no time to ponder that which has been denied."- Helen Keller

I LOVE LOVE LOVE Helen Keller and think she was such a boss and she definitely had it right. I loved this quote because I'm fairly certain I didn't get into the leadership thing in New York because I didn't get an email. But I'm actually okay with it because it's been a really good week. I have so many great things going for me in my life and I cannot wait for all my future beautiful things, places and people I'll get to privilege to know. 

•  Friends/People in your life for a reason.  I absolutely loved this quote I stumbled upon:

"In Friendship… we think we have chosen our peer. In reality a few years’ difference in the dates of our births, a few more miles between certain houses, the choice of one university instead of another… the accident of a topic being raised or not raised at a first meeting- any of these chances might have kept us apart. But, for a Christian, there are, strictly speaking, no chances.

A secret Master of Ceremonies has been at work. Christ, who said to the disciples, “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you,” can truly say to every group of Christian friends, “You have not chosen one another, but I have chosen you for one another.” The Friendship is not a reward for our discriminating and good taste in finding one another out. It is the instrument by which God reveals to each the beauties of others.” –C.S. Lewis

Holy guacamole. I read this and started tearing up. I love the part that says that are “no chances.” I really love this quote because I realized all the people in my life that I really shouldn’t have become friends with or even met had this been in a day and age where you can travel. It’s also cool to think that Heavenly Father is so actively enrolled in your life that he helps guide you to your friends. Recently I have met two people who I KNOW are in my life at this time for a reason: my roommates Sarah and Mary Elizabeth. It is so weird how much Sarah and I have in common and how ME and I can talk about struggles we’ve had with personal issues. After reading this quote, I just can’t help but think that this is NOT a chance that they ended up as my roommates. I’ve felt this many times in my life, especially last summer, but it’s so amazing that they are so great. (Yes, this is cheesy, but I am just feeling so grateful for the ‘chances’ in my life that keep occurring).

• Last Saturday all us girls (my roommates Marisa, Sarah and Mary Elizabeth) had one of the best nights I’ve had in awhile. I am still sometimes stuck in DC mode where everything is an adventure and Provo is definitely NOT most of the time. Anyways, we went out to pizza at this swanky pizzeria and then went for cazookies. We then all went to Monsters University and I was so surprised how good it was. It was so fun to bond with them and realize that this thing is really only acceptable in college! I loved it, but instantly got sad that I will have to eventually leave this place. It was a weird feeling because I usually hate Provo. Anyways, moral of the story: my roommates rock.

• This weekend was delightful. I stayed in on Friday and caught up on Modern Family/ studied a bit for the GRE. Then yesterday, I had a nearly perfect day. I went to the Draper temple and did baptisms with Sarah. It was such a good temple experience. The people were more laid-back than Provo and I actually could feel the spirit because it was silent. The baptistery is also super pretty. It was just what I needed to fill my spiritual tank. We then went to Chipotle (yay!) and bought mini bundt cakes. Then Sarah and I watched Bride Wars and the whole time I was missing Marisa (she’s in Boston!) because that’s one of our movies.

• Inspire My Life. I got these free tickets (thanks Christine!) to this event called Inspire My Life, which was all about being inspirational and using music to do so. The guy that did the score for Napoleon Dynamite performed with his band and then this motivational speaker, Hank Smith got up and gave such an empowering speech about determination. Two stories stuck out:

1. Did you know the guy who broke the four-minute mile, Roger Bannister, wasn’t even a professional runner? He was a med student, meaning he would have 12 hour shifts at the hospital and then train to run. CRAZY.

2. There has been a blind man (Erik Weihenmayer) who climbed Mt. Everest. I feel like I have NO excuse to not do anything active. His story is crazy good, and I suggest you read more about him if you have the opportunity. 

It was so great. One of my favorite random moments was when he said “We vote with our feet.” He was saying that by going to certain things or places, we are consciously  making a decision to support that/put it as a priority. I loved that! The things we choose to participate in show what we truly care about. I also loved how he talked about how good was the enemy of great and how complacent we as humans tend to be. 

• Tender Mercy. While I was at Inspire My Life, a woman who looked familiar got up and started singing. And then she started talking and it sounded exactly like the woman who plays Emma Smith in my favorite movie. I was like holy crackers, I'm probably hallucinating. But after a quick verification of the actress' name (thanks dad!), I found out it was her! I started getting really excited. After her performance, I went up and talked to her about my love for Emma and her portrayal of her. It was unreal and was not something that was ever on my 'bucket list' but it was too perfect. Here I was, discussing Emma with the woman who had portrayed her in multiple movies. It was like meeting Emma in real life. After a really starstruck picture, I walked out, called my mom and started crying. I hadn't even realized that this was ever something I needed, but it was a perfect moment of divine inspiration. I cannot wait until I actually meet Emma Smith! It really increased my testimony that my Heavenly Father knows me more than I do! Also you should check out this song/video about her life. It made me cry. 

• Boss Women Unite. So Candace and I are actually doing this. We're going to launch a Facebook page and blog with awesome quotes and inspirational little post. I LOVE THIS GIRL. It's not every often that a joke turns into a real thing and this is because of her drive. I cannot wait to help women everywhere embrace their inner boss with her. Ah! Look forward to it people!

New iPad cover

ME AND KATHERINE NELSON (i.e. Emma)

Draper temple with Amanda and Sarah!!

Draper temple

Going to miss this guy for the next two years!

Anyways, I'm obviously in a very grateful mood! This is my current jam (American Honey by Lady Antebellum) because it's so summery! Life is great! :)

“Live life fully while you're here. Experience everything. Take care of yourself and your friends. Have fun, be crazy, be weird. Go out and screw up! You're going to anyway, so you might as well enjoy the process. Take the opportunity to learn from your mistakes: find the cause of your problem and eliminate it. Don't try to be perfect; just be an excellent example of being human.” Anthony Robbins

Lately I've had a few instincts to do some crazy things (i.e. go to Italy on a whim, apply to a leadership program where the application was open to the WORLD, and think about joining the Peace Corp). I find out in 10 days whether I get to go to New York for the Next Generation Leadership program. If I get in, huzzah! I will be oh, so happy! But if I don't, I have to do something else. I am filling this intense need to get out and do something. Maybe volunteer. Or travel the world. Or start my non-profit now. I'm getting stir crazy! :) But for now, I'm just going to try to be an "excellent example of being human." Anyways, onto some recent events:

• Mason's mission call. My little brother is all grown up! I got the call last Thursday that Mason got his mission call. I went to the temple (for the first time in four months and it was glorious! LOVE IT) and then Facetimed with them while he opened it. I was surprised by how calm he was. I definitely would have freaked out and started crying. But he just read, "Elder Davis, you are hereby called to serve as a missionary of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. You are assigned to labor in the Brazil Fortaleza mission. You should report to the Brazil missionary training center on Wednesday, November 6, 2013." I am so excited for him to go. The next day, Lincoln (my co-worker) and I 'drove' the streets for Fortaleza  on Google Earth. He's going to live right by the ocean and is super close to the Equator. He is such a great example of strength and I am so jealous that the people of Brazil. Look at how happy he is:

  

  Brazil here he comes!

• Volunteering/Man of Steel. Last Friday, my friend Catherine needed some volunteers to help out, so Marisa and I went. It turns out we were helping with a birthday party for a few kids. IT WAS SO MUCH FUN. I forgot how much I loved volunteering with children. We played with a giant parachute, we talked about 1D and Taylor Swift and we ate pizza and cupcakes. It was PERFECT. I'm going to do the training so I can be a volunteer for the next year. It was great. Afterwards, a few people for our ward went to see Man of Steel. I loved the beginning and the development of the character of Clark Kent. And I loved these two quotes from his dad because it reminded me of my own great dad: 

"You will give the people an ideal to strive towards. They will race behind you, they will stumble, they will fall. But in time, they will join you in the sun. In time, you will help them accomplish wonders."

"You're not just anyone. One day, you're going to have to make a choice. You have to decide what kind of man you want to grow up to be. Whoever that man is, good character or bad, it's going to change the world."

Catherine and I at the BBQ. 

Michal, BBQ. Last Saturday, Michal came down and finally told me the whole story about her week in Canada. I AM SO PUMPED! She's getting married on my birthday, so now I get to share it with her in an even more special way!! That night, I went to a BBQ with Catherine and it was so much fun! We ate good food, hung out and just talked a bunch. It was so great and I just love her!

• Donating  blood/Lunch with Ruth. It's weird how much I love donating blood. Seriously. I love going in and knowing that I am taking an hour of my day to save three people's lives. It's like the temporal version of a temple for me. I also love trying to PR every time and guess what I did it! I donated in 5 minutes 41 seconds. So not only did I save people's lives, I had a personal best while doing so! :) I also had the opportunity to go out to lunch with my former Young Women's president. We went to Zupas and it was so great catching up. It's weird that I am an adult instead of my 16 year-old self that I feel like when I see her! It was fun to see what's going on in her life and it was perfect because I was getting a bit homesick! 
• More Taylor! Cassie put our pictures from the T-Swizzle concert on FB... so here they are! 

13s on our hands!

Cass and I at Mason/Jess' graduation!

Abi, Cass, me, and Jess before the concert!

Best friends!

Showing off our songs lyrics! 

And now onto some of my personal thoughts and musings:

• My realization. You can be a boss no matter where you are. It's all about your perspective. I'm reading a book by Tony Robbins (more on that later) and he talks about how you can literally change how you feel about something by changing how you think. So even if I'm not being a boss in DC, I am being a boss here! I'm working to pay for my second to last semester of college and learning how to make new friends. So, wherever you are, be there. Embrace your current life. 

• I absolutely loved this article about things to stop doing in your 20's. Particularly this part:

 "Stop identifying yourself as a cliche and start treating yourself as an individual. Constantly checking your life against a pre-written narrative or story of how things “should” be is a bought-into way of life. It’s sort of like renting your identity. It isn’t you. You are more nuanced than the narrative you try to fit yourself into, more complex than the story that “should” be happening."

• My dad introduced me to Tony Robbins, and I've been reading his book "Awaken the Giant Within." To say it's one of my new favorite books would be an understatement. It's incredible what this man can teach you how to do in a book. Here a few favorite quotes:

"If you can develop the absolute sense of certainty that powerful beliefs provide, then you can get yourself  to accomplish virtually anything, including those things that other people are certain are impossible."

"God's delays are not God's denials."

"One of the most important decisions you can make to ensure your long-term happiness is to decide to use whatever life gives you in the moment." 

• I really like people with flaws. My dad once gave me the greatest advice about having role models in life. He told me that if you put people on a pedestal that they have nowhere to go but down. I love watching people make progress in their lives. I think it's  important that people have role models with flaws because it shows the greatness you can achieve even if you're not perfect. Here's a list of people I admire whole-heartedly but who are actually human and made mistakes/personal issues:

1. Nelson Mandela- He is known for being a boss and for his famous quote as he was liberated after TWENTY SEVEN years in prison: "As I walked out the door toward my freedom, I knew that if I did not leave all the anger, hatred and bitterness behind that I would still be in prison." But he had affairs and also used to support Communism. 
2. Emma Smith- Many people harp on her for leaving the church, but she went through so much: her husband being gone nearly all the time during their marriage, multiple miscarriages, moving several times, almost never having her own house and yet, she still had such a great attitude. 
3. Abraham Lincoln- He is considered one of the best presidents and known for fighting and abolishing slavery. He gave one of the world's best speeches in 272 words. Yet, he suffered from clinical depression and failed a zillion times in the millitary, businesses and public office. 
4. Eleanor Roosevelt- She is considered the main force in the White House during her husband's presidency. She was a force of political good and taught me the power of overcoming fears. But, she is also known for having extra-marital relationships. 
5. Mother Theresa- She is known for being one of the world's great humanitarians and for selflessly helping others and a devout Catholic. However, in multiple letters to others, she questioned the existence of God. She had struggles and doubts whether God acted in her life, yet she told others to believe in him and she soldiered on as well. 

Every single one of these people became legends yet suffered from personal hardships and made mistakes. If we can't accept other people with flaws, how are we going to accept ourselves? I've made mistakes like everyone, but I love the fact that even with my flaws and mistakes, I can still become an inspiration and change the world. These people are my role models not because they didn't screw up, but because they DID. 

So that's enough of my "thinking" part of my INTJ personality. Hope you have a good week! 

"Promise yourself to be so strong that nothing can disturb your peace of mind.... to press onto to the greater achievements of the future." -Christian D. Larson

So the title of this post comes from this "Optimist Creed":

“Promise Yourself

To be so strong that nothing
can disturb your peace of mind.
To talk health, happiness, and prosperity
to every person you meet.

To make all your friends feel
that there is something in them
To look at the sunny side of everything
and make your optimism come true.

To think only the best, to work only for the best,
and to expect only the best.
To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others
as you are about your own.

To forget the mistakes of the past
and press on to the greater achievements of the future.
To wear a cheerful countenance at all times
and give every living creature you meet a smile.

To give so much time to the improvement of yourself
that you have no time to criticize others.
To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear,
and too happy to permit the presence of trouble.

To think well of yourself and to proclaim this fact to the world,
not in loud words but great deeds.
To live in faith that the whole world is on your side
so long as you are true to the best that is in you.”

― Christian D. Larson, Your Forces and How to Use Them

I LOVE THIS so much that I printed it out so I could read it every day. Could this be any better? This is the new mantra of my life. I could go on, but let's get to my life already: 

• Emma Smith. I just re-watched the Emma Smith movie for the bazillionth time and remembered how much I LOVE her. She went through so many personal tragedies and still stuck to her faith. Before Joseph went to Carthage, he told her to write a blessing and he would sign it. The blessing said, in part, “That I may be able to comprehend the designs of God when revealed through his servants without doubting.  To honor and respect my husband as my head and by acting in unison with him retain the place which God has given me by his side.  To perform all the work I covenanted to perform in the Spirit World.  I desire that whatever may be my lot through life, I may be enabled to acknowledge the hand of God in all things.” Um wow? Yeah, I just want to be able to have her positive attitude and her sass. Actually, I just want to be her and have a marriage like her and Joseph's. People always question me on this because a. he was never home and b. he made no money, but I just think to myself, even if they didn't have a lot of time in this life, they'll make up for it in the next and their marriage was beautiful here, so who cares? 

• Sunday dinner. So Sunday was pretty good because I got to talk to my Omi about her cruise and both of my parents... and I found out that Mason will be getting his mission call. So all exciting things. But after all the excitement, I was sitting by myself about to watching 24. #loser Luckily my roommate Mary Elizabeth saw my lonesome self and invited me to dinner at her house. It was really fun and I got to eat the best pie ever! :)

• Boss Women Unite. I've recently come to the conclusion that all I really want to do is help people, especially women, become more confident in themselves. So I've started not only my BWU book with quotes and speech ideas, but also a Pinterest page (located here) so I can actually make this happen. I've also recently become obsessed with Tony Robbin's books/speeches (thanks dad for sharing the book with me!) and Ted talks because they're so inspirational.  And when people are like "Hmm why would you want to form another organization for women?" I just say:

(This may or may not be the photo on my new iPad case)

• Services/Nutella/Linds. Last night was the epitome of a college night and it was great. Marisa and Skyped Lindsey in Thailand and it was great to be 'reunited.' I can't wait for that girl to get back and tell me about her boss adventures. Marisa and I bought Nutella (for the first time in over six months) and may or may not have gotten really hyper... Luckily our roommates came home and we put that energy into 'service.' (Can't go into specifics, but let's just say it involved hearts and boys). Anyways, after that we got our roommates hooked on personality quizzes. (We stayed up until 11:30 doing like 80 of them in a row). It was one of those nights that can only happen in college and it made me realize that I'm going to miss all this in a year. 

• HILLARY CLINTON GOT A REAL LIFE TWITTER. And her first tweet/picture referenced Texts From Hillary. And she mentions pantsuits and her hair. It's so sassy and hilarious and I love it so much to the point that I got a twitter.... #sorry not sorry

And I was all:

"I'M GOING TO TWEET HILLZ UNTIL SHE TWEETS ME BACK."#obsessed

I also got the best tweet ever from my girl Alyse: 

So yeah, you could say that I am loving twitter right now. #sexytaryofstate

• Quarter-life crisis. The other day Marisa and I almost yolo'd it and went to a European country. It's been a rough fefw days especially because we LIVE IN PROVO. I've been feeling something lacking because I just want to go out and do crazy awesome things. Guys, I've been looking into joining the Peace Corp. So we'll just leave it at that...Because let's be honest. Who wouldn't want to drop everything and go to...

England

Italy 

Victoria Falls in Africa 

Yeah, I want to go everywhere. Right. Now. But I'm also really happy that I get to enjoy my time in Provo for a little bit more before I come an adult. 

And the best part of my life ? Taylor Swift's new music video:

It is actually the most precious thing I've seen in awhile. Peace and blessings everyone!

“Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.” ― Lao Tzu

So there are a lot of changes going on in my life and I really liked this quote when I found it. I feel like everyone is moving on without me! Michal and Marisa are getting married (WAHOOO!!!!!! FINALLY! I was in Colorado when I got the call that Michal is finally marrying her Michael. I was so excited that I'm pretty sure everyone in the house thought I was the one getting married), Mason, Danny and Jess are on/going on missions and Linds is in Thailand. I've been having that same feeling I had in high school where I just felt really anxious to start somewhere fresh. Which is good. Because I am going to officially start applying to grad school in about two months. I could be living my dream in the next year (i.e. moving back to DC and being a boss!) My last few weeks have been incredible though so I can't really complain. 

• Concerts. I've been to three concerts since I last blogged. Marisa and I went to Kate Nash because she is our girl and sings the story of my high school life. (You can hear it here). Anyways, we went to Chipotle and ate mini bundt cakes which was just presh. We then went to her concert and let's just say she's a bit crazy.... Or a lot crazy. And she didn't sing "We Get On." But overall, it was good because I got to chill with Marisa. The concert was on Friday and then the following Sunday, one of our former ward friends posted on Facebook that he was selling tickets for the Imagine Dragon concerts the following night. Marisa and I jumped on the opportunity because I was super mad that my whole family had seen them at Red Rocks a few nights before. IT WAS INCREDIBLE. Seriously though. When they performed "Radioactive," a part of my soul left to be with it. SO GOOD. It was also really good just to let go. When I was home, I also went to Taylor Swift with Cassie, Abi, and Jess. We all dressed in red, wrote 13's on our hands and song lyrics on our arms so we would officially look like fans... not like anyone was doubting! It was also super good. We got there early and played MMM and when we got there, we were actually closer than we had been for her Fearless tour, so it was good. I just love her. And I'm glad I could share it with Cassie because we promised each other we would NOT miss her next concert! :) 
• V5 reunion. Before I left for Colorado, I went to a reunion with the my roommates from the summer.It was so much fun! It's crazy because both Jordan and Kristina are engaged! I'm so excited for them and it was good to eat snow cones and catch up with each other. 
• Mason graduated! I was lucky enough to find cheap tickets to come home and it was great to see him moving on. It was also weird to think that I was almost done with a college degree. I felt like I had just graduated high school. Where has the time gone?! It was precious though and I'm glad I came home because Mason officially submitted his mission papers on Sunday. I can't wait to see where he will go, even though I'm going to hardcore miss his face. 
• Denver Art Museum. The first Saturday of the month is free at the Art Museum, so my dad, Colin, Laurel and I went to walk around. It was really cool because I had not been there in over three years. Although not as impressive as the collections in the Smithsonian, it was still cool to go back and appreciate it a lot more than I did when I was younger. Then the whole family went for some chicken wings and they were delish. 
• Cheesecake Factory. Okay I've had this weird obsession with the Cheesecake Factory because I feel like everyone and their dog has been there and I never had. So we went out to dinner as a fam and then my dad drove us to go get cheesecake. IT WAS SO RICH. But delicious, and worth it. We also wandered around the mall and even got my dad and brother to wait in Forever 21 while we looked at clothes. 
• Scariest moment of my life. Okay, that might be dramatic, but it was really embarrassing/scary. My sister had her student government closing social thing so I had to go pick her up. I had dropped her off at what I thought was the bottom of the person's driveway (because it was really steep and up in the mountains). She called me and told me she could see my car but wanted to be picked up at the house because she didn't want to walk down the hill. I obliged and drove to what I thought was their house... except it wasn't because Laurel said she couldn't see me. After an embarrassing U-turn, I headed up even further. I hadn't realized it was this steep earlier and instantly felt bad for making her walk (until I remembered she's a runner). Anyways, I finally get up there and realize there is no way in heck I'm going to be able to turn around. I start to panic as she gets in the car and we both start cracking up nervously because at this point, it was not looking good. Then one of the teacher comes out (one whom I harbor non-positive feelings for!) and she sees us laughing and comes over to talk at us. I'm sweating profusely and make up some reason why we're laughing. We wait until she gets in the house and then proceed to do a 12-point turn that STILL doesn't get us down. I eventually drove to their lower driveway and did a 4-point turn and got us out of there, but it was still so embarrassing because they could all see us... whoops! :) 
• Gille twins! While Danny received his endownments, I watched Katy and Marty's twins. They are the cutest things ever, but I gained an appreciation of how hard it would be to have two babies at one time. Even with Laurel and I, it was a struggle to keep up with them! But they are adorable, so it didn't matter! 
• Lazzzy. While I was home, I read the whole Hunger Games series and watched four movies within 48 hours. And I watched all of the Mindy Project. (I am now in love with that show because it is hilarious. I want Mindy to be my best friend). But it was super good to just chill!
• Last night in Colorado. On my last night in Colorado, we just chilled and watched TV and read books. It was good. I then had to say goodbye to Daniel Scott because this was the last time I would see him for two years. It was unbelivably crazy that I wouldn't see him for this long! For our last few minutes, Danny, Mason and I walked around the lake reminiscing about the weird things we did when we were younger. They also made me be it for Monkey on the Ground which was actually pretty cruel because it still took me like ten minutes to tag any of them. But it was good! It was the perfect way to say goodbye. I can't believe this time next month he'll be in Brasil! After that, my mom, Laurel and I watched the Lucky One. Two words: Zac Efron. I just love him! :) 
• Return to Provo. After an early morning flight (let's just say I actually saw the sunrise!), I arrived in Provo, where Marisa picked me up. It was so good to see her!!!!! I was kind of sad to be back but when I came home, I found an Uchtdorf postcard from Jess, I mean Sister Charters, and it seriously made my day!!! She is just the best! I slept for three hours, and then read all of Sarah Dessen's new book... and was disappointed! It was not my favorite, but I guess she can't be perfect all the time! :) Later on, we worked out and immediately bought Ben and Jerry's and watched the Mindy Project. It was the perfect way to be okay with returning to Provo. 

Kate Nash!

Virginia Five reunion! #v54lyfe

Imagine Dragons concert

Can't believe it's been three years since Cassie and I graduated!

Taylor Swift!!!!!!!!

Jess sent this to 'postcard' to me!

Before Mason's graduation with seester and mom!

We call this Blue Steele.

He loves us a lot!

Classic. 

Sibling love!

Family!

Also, this is my new favorite motivational video. You should watch it:

"Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. While some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do."

Yep, I'm crazy enough to think I can change the world and I can't wait to start. I find out on June 29 whether I got in to the Women in the World's Next Generation Leadership training but there is a HUGE possibility I won't get in because they had tons of women apply. That's okay though. Baby steps. I can't wait to be in my Conflict Resolution program in the near future. I'm looking forward to my remaining concerts (Kelly Clarkson and One Direction) and a few months of studying for the GRE. It's looking good! :)