“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!