Anything but Ordinary: “Now more than ever do I realize that I will never be content with a sedentary life, that I will always be haunted by thoughts of a sun-drenched elsewhere.” ― Isabelle Eberhardt

I love this quote because after traveling a lot this year, I've realized I'm always going to want to travel. But more on that later. Well I went to Canada. Was it glorious and perfect? YES. Now let's get to the fun part:

Michal's wedding. I get to share my favorite day with one of my favorite people for the rest of my life! Although I couldn't attend the temple sealing, I was there to greet Michal and Mike coming out of the temple. I just love their love! They are so patient and loving towards each other already that it's insane. In the midst of so many marriages failing, it was great to see one with such a strong foundation. Michal looked so radiant and happy that I actually cried when I gave her a hug. Her dress, made by her mom, was breathtaking. After taking pictures, we all headed to a luncheon and Michal, being the greatest friend in the world, didn't leave until she gave me a birthday present of purple nail polish! :) Haven't I told you she's the best?!? After a brief cleaning up, Sister Tilleman (sidenote: The Tillemans are incredible! Thanks for letting me stay in your home the night before the wedding) drove me to the airport so I could hop on the Skytrain (the metro system there). I got to what I thought was my hostel only to be told I didn't have a reservation. Luckily for me, they told me they have two different locations and that the next one was just a few blocks up and nearere the beach. So I got there and everything was all set. By now, it's nearly 7, literally a thousand degrees because my hostel has no air conditioning and all I wanted in the world was to FaceTime my mom and dad because I was emotionally exhausted, but the internet was super skethcy. I ended up talking to my dad for a bit with bad internet connection which was definitely a blessing because I was missing my family super bad. And then I went to Sunset Beach, ate a Subway sandwich and read a letter from Danny. To say that this was a perfect moment would still do it injustice. On the beach, you can see the water, mountains and downtown. It was the perfect combination for some self reflection time. And, Danny ALWAYS knows what to say to make me feel better. I then headed back to my hostel, met my roommie from Brazil and FINALLY talked to my mom around 11. By this time, I was almost in hysterics because it wasn't connecting. Luckily for me (many frantic prayers!) it finally did and I could talk to her. Overall, it was a fantastic birthday!
Day one. I woke up in Canada to a beautiful cloudy day. My first plan of attack was going to the Capilano Suspension bridge,which has a free shuttle from downtown. As I stood at the stop, there was another girl there wearing a University of Colorado sweatshirt, so of course I asked her if she was attending school there. It turns out she was doing her MBA there and was originally from New York. We were both staying alone and kind of became insta friends. There was another guy there traveling by himself and so while we took the trolley, we decided we would stick together at the bridge so that we wouldn't have to take awkward selfies or make strangers take our pictures. It was so much fun! I've wanted to walk across this suspension bridge for quite awhile, and it was so fun with my new friends. We took oodles of pictures and when we asked a couple to take a picture of three of us, they remarked how much fun we seemed to be having and said we looked like a group of really close friends. We are laughing because we had just met two hours ago. We also did this cliff walk, where you walk on this tiny part of the bridge, which seems super sketch, but it was so much fun. I really loved it and recommend that everyone go there. I also really liked making friend with random people. The rest of the day was spent on the Trolley Tour. I saw the torch from the Vancouver Olympics and then explored Stanley Park which is GORGEOUS!!!!!! This trip made me really appreciate being outside because Vancouver is beautiful. I then ended the day eating at my FAVE restaurant in DC, Nando's, and then went to the beach again. I could seriously live on that beach. It was really fun to sit and read/ponder.
Day two. I woke up and took my first ferry! Okay, so it was literally four minute and it was just across the beach, but I still felt pretty cool. I grabbed the trolley and headed out on an adventure. At the Chinatown stop, I randomly decided to get off and explore and I am so glad I did. I went to a Chinese Garden and it was incredible. I've never had the desire to go to China until I went to the garden. They are really big on symbolism and I just loved everything about the details and balance/harmony that the garden was supposed to represent. It was also cool because it was the first garden outside of China, so the Chinese government shipped everything directly from China and had Chinese people construct it, so it's very authentic. Since my visit, I've decided that my dad and I need to go to China/Japan. After my little jaunt in Chinatown, I hopped on the trolley and saw Canada place (where all the cruise ships come in) and then headed to English Bay Beach, where I consumed a really delicious turkey burger and said and read the book "One Day." It was very relaxing. I also went to the Planetarium because I am a sucker for them. It turns out that I probably shouldn't have paid $18 for this really crappy show, but that's okay. At least I can say I've been to a planetarium in another country. I then did a free walking tour through Granville Island, which has a really great market and shops. It was very cool. I then got a gelato, sat on a bench and watched the ocean while listening to this guy sing really excellent covers. It was another picture perfect moment. Then I went to... you guessed it! Sunset beach. So yeah, you could say I spent some quality time at the beach. I then got restless, so I went to see World War Z because it was the only thing not rated R. It was pretty good, but I absolutely loathe 3D movies. Anyways,I absolutely LOVE Canada and I am so blessed that I had the opportunity to go. I love traveling! I cannot wait for my future adventures.
Temple/hiking. This past Saturday, I had the chance to reconnect with Madison! She stayed at my apartment for a few days. Even though I had a MASSIVE migraine from all the sugar consumed at Michal's Utah wedding reception, I went to the Provo temple with Madison. She's such a good influence! :) Afterwards I sat in bad for three hours because my head was actually going to kill me. Then Madison convinced me to go hike Timp Falls with her and Mitch and it was excellent! :) Love that girl!
Miracles. There have been so many miracles and blessing this week that it would be impossible to name them all. I am just so thankful for random tender mercies like finding a copied chapter of a really excellent book ("Divine Signatures"), having home teachers that really care, having people to let me sob to, getting an email from Danny, hearing someone quote the exact talk you were reading earlier in a direct answer to prayer and on and on. It's crazy how much love I have felt even through this really crappy week. Heavenly Father truly does love us. He knows us and He knows exactly what we need when we need it. So thankful for the miracles in my life.
Use the whole crayon box. This week was REALLY really rough. You know the expression when it rains, it pours? Well that's exactly how it felt. I got so sad and so frustrated. My dad always tells me (or maybe it was someone else, but my dad is getting the credit) to use the whole crayon box of emotions. Sometimes you need to use your "sobbing" crayon or "super frustrated"crayon longer than you want to, and that's okay. I found this quote (on Pinterest of course) and I loved it: "I'll lead with the bad news: it's going to get worse. I've even begun collecting raindrops to prove it isn't sunny all the time. I've spent entire days in bed and I've lost entire hours in lukewarm water. It's okay. Some days are bad. I have to get up even when I don't want to . It happens. It is still a beautiful life." I am so thankful for the gospel that has helped me through, most specifically prayers and priesthood blessings from the best home teachers!
Katy Perry. Again, what? Let me explain. I watched her movie and actually cried. She is a boss woman. I know you probably don't believe me, but she's all about empowering others. She also realizes that sometimes bad things happen and it's okay to break down. Also her new single, Roar, is my JAM right now. I may or may not listen to it a thousand times a day and I am NOT sorry.

Batman. You probably are like what the heck? Why are you bringing up Batman Kels? Well let me tell you. I am a little bit obsessed with the Dark Knight Rises. My dad and I have talked about it numerous times because we love the symbolism and tie in. Yesterday in Marriage Prep, they showed this clip:

And I LOVE this scene. First of all, the symbolism of how the first movie he first gets over his fear of falling in a well (almost like this prison) and there are even bats before he jumps. It is just so empowering that in order to move on (jump to higher places if you will), we need to let go of things that hold us back or our in our comfort zone. And we also learn that sometimes we fall so we can learn to pick ourselves back up and become stronger. I just love everything about this scene. Talk to me about it when I see you next!

UN class. So in a crazy spin of events, I randomly found out that BYU has a model UN class. Because I really want to work for a place like the UN, I've decided to take it, even though it puts me back a class! I am really excited and it will help me flesh out if this is really what I want to do, so wish me luck!

And here's some pictures of my adventures in Canada and such: