"Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured"

No matter what happens, there is no reason in life not to be happy. This is a nice thought I had this week. I realized that recently I have been doing a lot of smiling. Just walking down campus, I'll have the biggest, goofiest grin on my face and I love it! That's not to say that my life is perfect. This week has had it's challenges, but I chose to have a good attitude, be thankful for what I do have, and just be happy.

On Tuesday, I didn't realize that my Book of Mormon test closed at 2 o'clock. My plan was to take it after all my classes at 3, so I missed it. That could have really messed me up for the class and ruined my day. However, I decided not to worry and quickly got in touch with my teacher. He was kind enough to let me make it up, but with 15% of the grade taken off. I was fine with that; that's better than what I deserved. I should have gotten a 0, but instead I scored a 92% before the deduction. I'm happy that I could rob justice a little!

Tanner wasn't too happy with me that night though. I could not sleep, no matter what I tried. I got a drink, used the bathroom, adjusted my pillow, got another drink, and flopped around in my bed like a fish on the bank of a lake. I just couldn't sleep! I soon realized that it was because my ear was hurting. My first thought was, "A clean ear is a happy ear," and soon had the most hygienic ears around. No matter what I did, though, the pain was still there and I could not sleep. I ended up going to the student health center to find out that it was an ear infection. For the next couple of days, I felt like I was standing sideways and could only hear half of what was going on around me. But, I thought how wonderful it was that I could get it taken care of so soon and how glad I was to have working ears most of the time.

All the time, I see or hear people complaining about small things. I wish that instead we would focus more on things that bring us joy, the opportunities we have to fix the things that bother us, and the small gifts we have everyday. Even though people may do things to us or situations become a little more difficult than we may desire, the choice is ours to be grateful or bitter.

Owned!

These last couple of weeks have been pretty busy! I had my first big test for American Heritage, and I was freaking out! It was the most I have studied for any test. I worked really hard on the test to make sure I knew what they were asking. I prayed before and after my test that I would do well and remember what I studied. I expected somewhere between 50 and 70 percent, but I got the biggest surprise of my life when I looked at the results. I got a 94%! I think I had the second highest grade in my TA's sections. I felt pretty awesome after that!

Also, I got to play in a Heritage Halls videogame tournament. I played Super Smash Brothers for the N64 with my friend, Brandon. We were a little intimidated by the other participants histories, but felt good about what we did. We ended up playing my roommate, Bryan, and his teammate in the second round. We had three lives, and they killed us first, but we beat them both once. But, no one killed either of them until they got to the finals. When they were there, they had five lives and they both only lost life again. Bryan told me after the tournament that we played better than anyone else they had played. That made me feel pretty good, too!

I also had the opportunity to teach all the guys in my hall the haka! It's a Maori war dance from New Zealand. The national rugby team there does it before their games and it has been a couple of movies. We are planning on doing it before our next Rogers vs. Shipp competition. I think it should be pretty awesome!

Other than all of that, not much has happened. I hope everything is going well where all of you lovely people are!

Incapacitated

I have had a lot on my plate the last couple of weeks! The biggest thing is having to go to the hospital for the VERY FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE!!! I remember it well... It was a cold, dark Friday night; you know the kind. Now, to depart from my film noir telling of the story, some friends and I were going ice skating for a date at Seven Peaks Ice Arena in Provo. I was looking forward to it! I don't get to ice skate very often, but I always love it when I do get to go. We got our skates and went around the rink a few times, just to get a feel for the ice. Then, my date, Lindsey, and I decided to make things a little more interesting and tried to learn how to skate backwards. She had been skating a lot, so she picked it up pretty quickly. I, however, looked like I was trying to do the chicken dance. So, then we tried spinning. I was doing alright and decided to try a high-speed spin. This time, it didn't turn out so well. I had gone too fast, which made me lose my balance. When I started going down, I decided to break the fall with my face. Catching yourself with your hands is so old-school. I didn't hit any skates or anything, but my eyebrow split open. I thought I had just gotten a nose bleed, so I pinched my nose and skated off the ice. Thinking about it now, I'm kinda surprised that I was still coordinated enough to get off by myself. I learned pretty quickly that it wasn't a bloody nose and that I'd have to go to the hospital. Some friends and Lindsey came to the ER with me; I needed someone to drive and Lindsey is a pre-nursing student so seeing the muscles in my face was fascinating. We ended up staying there for a couple of hours. I think it's because I only said my pain was a four instead of something worse. I really couldn't feel a thing, though. It hasn't hurt me the entire time, only itched. I thought I'd make use of my time, and learned the name of all the staff that checked on me. There was Doctor Symonds, Colby, the PA, Melissa, and Amberly. Dr. Symonds put 13 stitches in my face, and we were headed back home. It didn't swell until Sunday, and then I looked like Quasimodo from the Hunchback of Notre Dame. It wasn't so serious that my back was misshapen, but my face was pretty gnarly. It healed up pretty quickly, though, and I am practically back to normal. My left eyebrow is just a little thinner and when I furrow my brow, it doesn't come down as far as my right eyebrow. I should be alright, as far as long term effects go. And I even got a good story out of it!

Other than that, I had my first big tests of the semester last week. I got a 95% on my Math test and a 70% on my Chem. I'm not too upset by either of those. I know that I can improve in Chem, so that's my goal!

Also, I was able to go to the Provo Temple on both Thursdays. The first week was a pretty dreary day and every was a little glum, but I was as happy as could be!

Finally, two of my friends got their mission calls! Jared, my roommate, got his call to Ukraine and a new friend this semester, Aaron, got his call to Hong Kong. The cool thing about Aaron's is that he's always said that he wants to go to China. I can't wait to get my call! I don't care if it's to North Dakota! I'll be excited to go anywhere.