College Life – Page 2

Josh’s Awesome Video

Aloha! It’s the first Saturday of the semester, and I have exactly nothing pressing to do right now. #thatawkwardfirstweek. A few highlights of the week include my sister Lauren getting her mission call (!!!!!), making nature journals in my Science Methods class, watching Interstellar twice, taking my roommate to the temple for her second time (which I think is the scariest), and seeing this incredible video my friend Josh Mason made about me.

Part of me feels awkward that there’s a video about me, but it highlights a lesson that I think I’m on earth to teach: our loving Heavenly Father gave us weaknesses BECAUSE He loves us, and He knows that weaknesses bring us closer to Him. I am so grateful for my experiences with epilepsy. I can honestly say that I am the person I am in part because of those experiences.

So for your viewing pleasure, here is the video. Go ahead and share it so your friends can feel God’s love for them, and remember who they are.

Discoveries

I’ve recently come in contact with some pretty great things, a few of which I wanted to share with you.

Gabby and I are watching this show with our one-month Netflix free trial. It’s about a single mom and her daughter, who is only 16 years younger than her. Really fun.

My cooperating teacher at the elementary gave me a bottle of this divine stuff. A friend of hers sent a bunch from the Mainland, and it was about to expire, so she gave it to me. Delicious.

I’ve started reading the New York Times. I don’t have a lot of time, but I’ve been a fan of what I’ve read so far.

I got a phone case with a wallet in it for my birthday, and it’s just fantastic. I haven’t lost my debit card since, and that’s an accomplishment.

Now that I’m going to the elementary, I have to be on my guard. Airborne was invented by a school teacher, as you can see from the picture, and it works. I testify of the power of Airborne.

Project Banana

As evidenced by my increasing number of blogs about the way I eat, my diet is of high concern to me right now. I don’t make time to eat. I rarely to never go grocery shopping. When I do eat, it’s often junk. Sooooo the quest for a dietary reformation continues to be under way.

I just wanted to fill you in on the latest from my current weapon of choice: the banana.

Many of you are aware that I hate bananas. Blairs aren’t picky eaters, and only crazy people hate, so there are very few foods in this world that I literally refuse to eat. Actually I don’t think there really are any. But as for foods that I would rather have shards of glass in my eyes than eat, I would list bananas, green peppers, and mushrooms. Punto.

Where am I going with this? It has come to my awareness that I need potassium. As a runner (currently a wannabe runner), I am well aware that bananas contain high levels of potassium. As a resident of Hawaii, I know that bananas are basically the only reasonably-priced produce item besides pineapples. Therefore I have decided to commence what I’d like to call PROJECT BANANA.

As painful as it is, I have decided to start buying bananas, and eating one every day. So far it’s completely disgusting, but I’m doing it. I’ll let you know if my wildest dreams start coming true soon, because then we can for sure blame it on the banana that was missing all my life.

I Choose Eustress

Aloha! I’m currently sitting on the beach, watching the sun come up and glisten upon the calm waves of the North Shore of O’ahu. The Steven Sharp Nelson pandora station is playing (#SundayMusic), and I’m still enjoying the benefits of my one-month Pandora One free trial, so my listening has been entirely ad-free. I read my scriptures for about 30 minutes and now I’m content to just watch the waves and write this blog. Life is pleasant. Life is good. I live in Hawaii, so I don’t have a care in the world.

Not.

That whole paragraph was a lie. I am definitely not on the beach this morning. I’m hastily trying to write this to make sure Lucy and Aileen aren’t mad at me for missing another week. I went to bed late last night, trying to finish some assignments and study for an upcoming exam. This morning I need to finish preparing a Relief Society lesson and then get to Ward Council as fast as I can. Then there’s a stake leadership training after church. November visiting teaching still needs to happen, so we’ll see if we can make time for that today or later this week. Then I’m going to meet with a member of the stake presidency to talk about my new stake calling, and then we have a fireside. #DayofRest I’ll probably start studying again at midnight.

Sound familiar? Just writing that stressed me out. Relaxing on the beach would be ideal, and I do indeed live about 800 yards from Temple Beach, but I just don’t have time for such activities.

False. Elder Bednar: “We all have the same amount of time. It just depends on how we choose to use it.”

My point in all this is to argue that the way we spend each hour of each day is completely up to us. It was my choice to take 21 credits this semester, and my choice to have two jobs. It was my choice to procrastinate the RS lesson and those assignments and not prioritize yesterday.

Given, some have heavier workloads than others. Some have more “stuff” to do. But we are all in charge of our lives, and we control our daily reactions. I have decided that whether or not we are stressed is our choice. Stress is a choice. Stress is a lifestyle. I learned on the mission that we need to have certain amounts of stress in order to be effective. There’s good stress and bad stress. It comes down to whether or not we have enough resources to combat the stress.

Quick list of resources:
1. Sleep
2. Healthy food
3. Friends/ family
4. Positive self-talk
5. Goal-setting and planning

There it is. Stress will be there, but our reaction is the choice. I am trying to choose to be positively motivated by the stressors in my life, which are actually incredibly minor, and just keep swimming. Eustress is good stress, by the way.

Being a Nerd

I’ll say it straight up: I am a nerd. I acknowledge it, I accept it, and I embrace it. To some, this title might be insulting, and some intend it as such. But if you are a true Nerd, you will a) hesitate beginning a sentence with “but”, and b) never be phased such a gentle reminder of the passion within you.

Passion. “Nerd” is actually code for “Passionate”, and should be considered a compliment. I say if you aren’t “nerdy” about something, you’re a boring person. In fact, anyone who is truly great at something is so-called nerdy, because you have to be in order to attain that greatness.

I identify myself as a music nerd, which is inevitable as a Music major. As a college student, you are forced to become a “nerd” at whatever field of study you choose to pursue, because you are completely immersed in all things pertaining to that subject, appropriately yielding the title of Nerd, unless you are just mediocre at, and mildly invested in what you do.

I am also a Harry Potter nerd and a grammar nerd, two categories that are commonly associated with said title. Why aren’t pro athletes graced with the nerd association? Why do only certain categories of nerdy people have that privilege? I could also be a running nerd, a religion nerd, a pie nerd, a missionary nerd, and any number of other sorts of “nerds”. I would gladly accept it.

We need more nerds in this world. They are what make this world interesting.

Hale Lujah

I am moving, I am moving

From the hale, from the hale

Hale Luja

I have decided that it’s time for a move

Off-campus, from the hale

Hale Luja

For there are many things that I can no longer stand

Such as roaches (yes cockroaches) And I’m leaving! And I’m leaving!

Hale luja! Hale luja!

Hale lujah! Hale lujah! Hale lujah!

The kingdom of the hales

Has become the kingdom of my life

There’s no escape, there’s no escape

The mice shall reign forever and ever

It was convenient, so very convenient

And very close to the practice rooms

As well as all my classes

But far away from Foodland

And from the Bus

I used to have to walk forever and ever

To go anywhere, forever and ever

And now it won’t be bad

Hale lujah! Hale lujah!

I’ll have those memories forever and ever

Door alarms! Freshmen couples outside the doors!

I’ll have those memories forever and ever

Hale 5 lounge! And “No Men Allowed”

Now I’m moving! Hale lujah! Hale lujah!

Hale luja! Hale lujah! Hale lujah! Hale lujah!

Snacks

As many of you know, I resolved to change my eating habits this semester, specifically to remember to eat (and actually eat) 3 full meals every day, and choose healthier foods.

This resolution was actually inspired (and/ or forced upon me) by my mom and Melissa, but I’m really grateful I’ve been doing it, because I’ve noticed a huge change in the way I feel, and with the amount of energy I have.

This is of course linked to the extra 3 or so hours of sleep I’ve been getting, and with the running I’ve started getting into. The point is, I’ve been healthier this semester, and it started with food.

These are some of the quick, easy, healthy, low-budget recipes I’ve tried so far:

Um, just kidding. This is the girl who has ruined Ramen, instant oatmeal, Campbell’s soup, pancakes, and pretty much everything else. Someday I will be able to cook, though. And I am getting better! But the purpose of this post was to recommend easy, healthy snacks that I’ve discovered. So here they are:

I like to put string cheese on my crackers, and eat them with grapes. I just bought a HUGE bag of string cheese from Costco, so I’m just trying to eat it all before I leave.

I always eat a protein granola bar right when I get home from my run. They are great.

Edamame is probably my favorite healthy snack of all time. And all you have to do is throw it in the microwave! You dont even have to worry about puncturing the easy open bag in the right way. So it’s impossible to ruin, which is necessary for me.

Carrots are so great. Who doesn’t love carrots?

Let it be known that I’ve greatly improved on my eating habits this semester. I may yet be a gourmet chef someday.

My Single Most Defining Feature

“You wore your hair down!”

Well, this is my very own hair. And to be quite honest, I had a rather terrible relationship with it for several years of my life. (This was of course after my bald phase, which lasted approximately two years.) I am well aware than many girls would die to have hair like mine, and they spend large amounts of money to artificially curl it, as I’ve been told multiple times. But it’s just not the same if wild and crazy hair is forced upon you. I used to tie it up EVERY SINGLE DAY, and then I’d randomly wear it down, and I’d get, “You wore your hair down!” all day. Still do. Because I still tie it up EVERY SINGLE DAY. —See pictured:

“How did you do that?”

This I could not do in high school. Somehow I discovered in Hawaii that my hair would stay tied in a knot without an elastic, and there was no going back from there. I don’t know if there’s been a day that my hair hasn’t ended up in a knot, even with all the friendly comments I get about how they love that I wore my hair down. I have, however, been asked about fifty times how I do that cool style. But then there’s the fancier way, which is a combination of my two signature styles:

“I really like how you did your hair.” [Why, thank you!]

That’s the very kind comment I always get when I do this. And it’s kind of weird that you can tell my hair only occasionally goes up like that, because it’s not bleached in the middle.

“Did you straighten your hair?/ Did you get extensions?/ Your hair is SO LONG!”

Well surprise, surprise. My hair is much longer than anyone ever knew. That’s all. This task takes roughly 40 minutes, or a large portion of a movie, to accomplish. I can’t keep my hands out of it, because I don’t know how to deal with that much hair! And it just doesn’t tie up like it should!

“uhhhhhhhh”