Egg Nog Ice Cream... Awk.

Tonight I had the ultimate dilemma: To sleep or not to sleep, that was the question. Let me explain...

Well this week is finals week. I've had four finals in the last two days, and when I came home tonight, I was exhausted. So at about six, I decided to take a nap. I slept until 7:30, an then my roommates came in and tried to force me out of bed so I would be able to fall asleep later tonight. I thought I was really tired and would be able to sleep through the night. I was wrong.

I woke up about half an hour ago to an extremely hot body (temp wise :) ) and delightful laughter coming out of my kitchen. I tried to go back to sleep, and failed. I got water and shed some blankets. Then I tried to go back to sleep, and failed. I put a pillow over my face, tried to go back to sleep, and failed. I counted sheep, tried to go back to sleep, and failed. I went through all of the elements according to mass number in my head, tired to go back to sleep, and failed. That's a lie, I didn't do that. But I just thought of that and  had I have thought of that half an hour ago, it probably would have put me to sleep.

So now it's 10:30 and I just took a four hour nap. So, if anyone is still up at like three this morning, you can give me a call. Because I probably still will be up, memorizing the periodic table, trying to get me to sleep.

My roommate is drinking Sunkist before she goes to sleep. This is ironic because she was the one who tried to get me out of bed.

My other roommate really wants me to talk about her. SO, her name is Rachael Davies. She is blonde and being OCD about her studying and reading our whole physical science book in three days. I think this is a dumb idea, but it's probably more entertaining then making hundreds of flashcards. Also, I have her for Christmas Secret Santa! Except now that I think about it, none of it is really secret. Hence me posting who I have on the internet. Anyways, she is going to get the best Christmas present of her life from me! So Rach, gf, be prepared.

Okay, my favorite part of Christmas tonight is people buying egg nog ice cream from the Creamery. I think this is disgusting and funny at the same time. Some people honestly spend $5 on EGG NOG ice cream. Think of all the other things you could get with $5! You could get 5 episodes of Pretty Little Liars, 5 matchbox cars, 5 packs of gum, a late testing fee from the Testing Center, 2 loafs of bread, or a partridge in a pear tree. Any of those would be a better way to spend money then getting egg nog ice cream. I'm clearly not judging these super weird people though. I'm over it!

Here is my favorite Christmas song right now. It's brilliant.

Things I Should Have Learned Years Ago... With a Dash of Christmas Lights

Today is a very important day. This is where if I could hear you, I am sure you would be asking "Why? Please tell me!" So I will tell you. First of all, in 1980, John Lennon was shot. Second of all, in 1941, the United States declared war on Japan. Third of all, the Bears beat the Redskins 73-0 in an NFL Championship game back in 1940. These are all very important things. There's another reason today is important though... Drumroll please.... I have officially finished classes for my first semester of college! This is what I have learned from my first four months of living away from home:

1. The perfect turkey-cheese ratio on a sandwich is 3:1. Now that I know this, my culinary skills have indeed improved. People come all over the Heritage complex to eat one of my delectable sandwiches. 
2. If you are one of those weird people who work their best under extreme levels of stress, you really need to get that checked out. And probably fixed.
3. The best way to get a guy to stop hitting on you in the middle of class is to pull up facebook on your computer and start stalking all of your most attractive guy friends. 
4. Life always gives you what you want right after you decide you don't want it anymore. I suggest you just realize this and develop a sense of humor. It's really the only way to deal with the situation.
5. There is room to care for everyone in your heart. You just have to decide whether you are going to let them in or not. 

I've also learned a little bit about philosophy, history, physics, art, religion, chemistry, service, you know. However, the lessons learned on the list is the real reason I'm paying tuition. 

Okay, time for some Christmas cheer! :) One of the things I love most about Christmas is the way my mom decorates our house. She has these gorgeous garlands covered in lights and other pretty things that get hung throughout the main level. The first night we have those hung and our Christmas tree set up and decorated, I stay up late until everyone else is asleep. Then I go downstairs and turn all of the Christmas lights and just look around at the shadows playfully being thrown on the wall by the hundreds of light bulbs lighting up the rooms. When we have the decorations set up and there's snow on the ground, that's when I know it's Christmas!

We also have these Christmas blankets that decorate the couches and chairs in our living room. One of my first Christmas memories took place when I was sitting on one of the chairs the blanket was thrown on. I thought that those blankets were so cool. Like one of the coolest things of my life. Cooler than... cool whip! So I got my two youngest brothers and started a Christmas club with them. The main rule was when we had club meetings, we all had to be sitting on one of the blankets. I'm pretty sure we met for like three minutes and then my mom started coming down the stairs, so we playfully attacked her to preserve the secrecy of our club. And now I'm posting this on the internet. My 8 year old secretive self is killing my conscience right now! Anyways, I can't wait to go home and see all of our beautiful Christmas decorations everywhere! 

Poisoning Santa is Just Plain Rude

Pluto had this thing called the Form. Essentially, it is the perfect form of something on earth. Nothing is perfect on earth, so Forms are on some Form planet living with Form people living Form ideals. I feel like there are a lot of ideologies in the world that are just Forms. Stuff like democracy, world peace, wise time management, a chick flick that doesn't make you horribly depressed about your life, you know. They are all just theories that would make the world a better place but never going to happen. Though let's be honest. If there ever was such thing as a chick flick that makes you happy about your life, why spend time watching it? You've got it better than the movie which completely defeats the purpose. So. I've decided to give up on expecting these to ever become realities, and to embrace the world's imperfections. If the world was perfect, you wouldn't appreciate it because you wouldn't have the imperfections show you why the world is perfect. Hmm, I'm not sure that made sense. It did in my mind, so I'm keeping it. 

Next item of business: It's CHRISTMAS time. So I've decided that my posts leading up to Christmas are going to tell you my favorite parts of the season. 

1. Christmas music. Except Frosty the Snowman, Rudolph, and Jingle Bells. I think I overdosed on those songs as a child, and now I cringe whenever I hear their overly jolly tunes coming from my Pandora station. Let's just analyze Frosty for a second. First of all, who honestly cares about Frosty? He ends up melting into a puddle. What is that supposed to teach children? Oh hey, you can make friends with giant, talking, frozen chunks of H20, but he's probably going to die in a couple of days. Just FYI. And Rudolph? It doesn't matter if you are made fun of for having red noses! You will probably meet a old, fat, jolly man who will realize your full potential and make you carry him across the world once a year. It's either that or go back to being a social outcast. Okay, I'll be more positive now. My favorite Christmas songs this year though are My Grown-Up Christmas List, O Holy Night and the Nutcracker Suite. Love everything about them. :)

Yea, that's good for today. Take home lesson: Appreciate the imperfections that make your surroundings unique; if you meet a talking snowman, don't get emotionally attached to him; Josh Groban is the king of singing. I don't think I mentioned that last one yet, but now I am. So just accept it and move on! 20 days left until Christmas!

Finally, just something to start your Monday on a happy note. :)

Hey, Welcome back, Pal!!

Well… It’s been a while! I have a whole bunch of lame excuses as to why I haven’t posted in a while.


1. I have done homework. I understand this is a lame excuse, as I spend plenty time not doing homework. But I do do a lot of homework. So I’m counting it as an excuse.

2.       I have been cleaning my room. If you know me, you know how likely this excuse actually is.

3.       I have been becoming a high cuisine chef. I am now qualified to make anyone a mean bowl of cereal, grilled peanut butter and jelly sandwich or apple. Yes, I make apples. From scratch.

4.       I am on a strike from all social media. If you would like this to be proven to you, go check my facebook and just try to send me an email. I refuse to answer.

5.       I’m trying to redeem myself from all of the scandalous lies I just told.

Really, I’ve just been busy. College just kind of consumes your life and so all extra little things often get put on the back burner. I do still care about keeping in touch with all of you!

So, in the last few months, great things have happened.


1.  I went home for Thanksgiving. Seriously, this was one of the best weeks of my life. My family was awesome and was really good at pretending they were so glad to have my sassy little self back inside their home. They honestly must have all taken acting classes because were so happy to see me! Regardless of how that emotion came across, I immensely enjoyed myself. I played a lot of games with my siblings, so if anyone would like to challenge me on Racko, chess, or Ticket to Ride, now would be the time to challenge me.

2.       I went home for Thanksgiving. I got to see all of my best friends I hadn’t seen in forever! I stole a pillow that had been held hostage for months, had awesome Caribou runs, went to some parks, and spent time just really enjoying everyone’s beautiful faces. 17 days and counting until I get to go home again!

3.       My home teachers gave me cake in a cup. I haven’t had it yet, but how great is that? You just stick it in the microwave and wait for two minutes and BAM! You have cake. Also, our apartment has a real legit quesadilla maker. Also way cool.

4.       I met Santa yesterday. I told him exactly what I wanted. But I’m not going to tell anyone else so if it really happens, I know he is the real Santa.

5.       Ah, life is just overall good. I love the people that are in it, how we spend our time, weekends, my roommates, my pillow, weekends, and everything else.

So that’s my life right now. I hope you have an absolute Friday. And just for the record, I woke up at 7 a.m. and had a bowl of cereal. Then I saw my friends. However, I walked to class and I do not have a rule that all of my friends have to look Norwegian. So, that’s where the similarities between Rebecca Black and I end. :) 

Garfield, Sprite, and a Little of Everything Else

Once upon a time there was a princess named Anne Katherine. She wanted three things desperately with all of her heart. First of all, she really wanted a scholarship for school her sophomore year. Her parents, the King and Queen, were very helpful in paying for college, but she knew she needed to contribute. So she worked very hard in school and wrote lots of papers with happy endings and studied painting, horseback riding, diplomacy, and how-to-ward-off-witches 101 very hard. Anne Katherine loved to sing. She sang all day, every day. Usually it was High School Musical which sometimes her roommates got sick of. But they were nice about it and would counter it with their own songs. The princess sang so much because one of her deepest desires was to get into her school’s music education program. She knew only 12 people got in every year, so she practiced her Italian love songs every day. The other thing Princess AK really wanted was a handsome young prince to come into her life. It wasn’t like she was boy deprived; she had many amazing boys she loved that she had met at her school. However, she needed someone to take her to dinner a couple times a week because she was sick of eating sandwiches for lunch and dinner every day. There are only so many times you can eat turkey and cheese and expect it to still taste delicious. But the princess knew she had been spoiled at home where her mom made her food every day, and so she tried to appreciate what she had been given. Also, she wanted a handsome young prince to help her with her Calc class she was thinking about taking next semester. It intimidated her, and she knew if she was going to take it, she would need a lot of help. She met a guy at a dance last weekend that she really liked, but before the end of the dance, she was swept away by her roommate and left before midnight. So after that dance, she never saw him again.

Once upon a time there was another girl named Ellen. She was Anne Katherine’s roommate and took very good care of Anne Katherine when she got sick. Anne Katherine really appreciated that about Ellen and loved her very much.

Once upon another time there was a guy named Herman Cain. Anne Katherine thought he was funny and funny that America was rooting for the CEO of Godfather’s Pizza. Once she went to Godfather’s Pizza when she was a child for her birthday. They gave her a giant Garfield doll. But hey, if you gave every starving child a plush Garfield and instigated the 9-9-9 plan, world hunger would be solved. Right? Right.

I'm thinking that Princess Anne Katherine could run for president if she wanted to. After all, she's come up with this brilliant idea called the 1-1-1, where each person gets one scholarship, one admittance to the program of their choice, and one handsome prince. Also, she used to be the CEO of Sprite. Clearly, she is qualified. 

One Picture Tells 1000 Stories

I was directed for one of my classes to a website with 25 of the most influential photographs of all time. These pictures honestly and frankly tell America's story over the last 80 years more efficiently than any textbook I have read. Some tell of the mountains we have climbed and the progress we have made. Many of the pictures truly show the pain that has been endured. Some are disturbing because you realize these aren't just pictures; they are people, events and stories that actually took place. Hunger, war, racism, and natural disasters are realities of the world that we live in. They are cruel realities, but ones that we must face. Not only must we face them, but we must accept them and where we can, fight them. 90 years from now, there are going to be a set of 25 equally illuminates photographs depicting the rest of the 21st century. What pictures do you want to be shown there? Will they be more pictures of war and violence, hatred and indifference? Undoubtedly, some will tell of horrors we cannot imagine. I can only hope though that some will tell of compassion and charity. Some will show that yes the world has evil, but it can be countered with human creativity, progress, ambition and love. 

Right now you might be saying "This girl is ridiculously ideological." I am, and I take that as a compliment. If you can never expect the human race to get better, why are you here? Look at Martin Luther King Jr. Certainly he was an ideologist. He fought for something no one could foresee happening: equal rights for both whites and blacks. And yet in the last 50 years, America has revolutionized because of the civil rights movement. 

I am not Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Theresa or Gandhi, but I am Anne Katherine. I do not fight for revolutionary world change, but I will argue that one person does make the difference. In your life, you are that one person. So many people undervalue the true effect a single person can have on the world. Pick a cause, and fight for it. If you are unhappy with something, try to change it. If you love someone, tell them. If you don't, what will the world say about you when you are gone? Or will it have anything to say at all? 

If you want to take a look at the site, here is the link. I suggest you take a look. http://www.pxleyes.com/blog/2011/07/25-of-the-most-influential-news-images-of-all-time/

Go change your world, okay? 

Anne Katherine

Umm.. Can You Stand Up Without Arms or Legs? Probably Not.. :)

So yes, the little messages that flash in between the clips of him are cheesy. But in an "I need to keep watching this right now," way. This guy is the epitome of a positive attitude. It's insane. Just watch!

"Nick Vujicic was born in Melbourne, Australia with the rare Tetra-amelia disorder: limbless, missing both arms at shoulder level, and having one small foot with two toes protruding from his left thigh. Despite the absence of limbs, he is doing surf and swimming, and playing golf and soccer. Nick graduated from college at the age of 21 with a double major in Accounting and Financial Planning. He began his travels as a motivational speaker, focusing on the topics that today's teenagers face."

How amazing is that?! AH, amazing. It puts my little college tests into perspective. 

Another thing. Let's just say you need five minutes to chill out and need something to entertain you? Go to drawastickman.com. 

My favorite song at the moment: 

And just an underwater river. NBD.

The world is beautiful, don't you think?! Night!!

Word Up, Braski.

When I left, my little brother could barely string three words together. Today, he told me that he liked hockey and about how he was learning to paint in preschool. It's crazy just how much you miss in a month and a half.

Thales, a Greek philosopher said, "Underlying all the change in the world, there is a fundamental order ad unity that does not change." I'll believe it when I see it, dude.

I made homemade peach pie with my grandma on Sunday. It was delicious. And I helped make it... That is very paradoxical. But I was very happy with how it turned out. It was so nice being at my grandparent's house this weekend. They are such amazing people and such wonderful examples to me. And my uncle and aunt are so much fun to be with also. And for the record, I beat them in Ticket to Ride. Anyone who knows them knows that this is a big deal.

This is how I feel right now:

However, it's HOMECOMING!!!! :D This week there is something huge happening every night (minus tonight) and the weekend is even better. Football, 5 dances, lots of parties. It is going to be great! That is.. if I get the hundreds of papers I have due done. If not, they will be looming over my head like the giant rain cloud that hit Provo an hour ago. Whenever people talk about college, they conveniently forget to tell you just how much homework you are going to have. 

Anyways, it's still homecoming this week and I cannot wait. It is going to be WAY awesome. 

Way. That is a word that is WAY overused on campus. It doesn't even make sense. It's way confusing. 

See what I mean? 

A cute boy I didn't know came and sat by me this morning. I love random encounters with attractive men. Almost as much as the regular encounters with attractive men. 

Do you want to know how to persuade people you are going to rule the world? All Alexander the Great had to do was cut a knot. You think I'm joking, but I'm not. There was a knot in Gordium that was tied to a wagon. The knot was complex and whoever could untie it was said would rule the world. Alexander got there, looked at it, and cut it in half. The world then believed he would rule the world. 

If only it were that easy.

My roommate, Rachael Davies, feels like an old soul. At least that's what she tells me at 2 in the morning. 

One last thing. You know in cartoons when people drop coconuts and they break? I didn't think this would actually happen. Rachael and I bought a coconut but could not figure out how to cut it open. We tried three knives. Finally, I just jokingly threw it down on the floor. And it shattered. ALL OVER. Then two seconds later, like 10 boys walked into our apartment. And found us splattered in coconut milk with the shell all over the ground. It was a... humorous moment.

Anyways, be yourself.

AK

Plato, Star Wars and Harry Potter. Life Doesn't Get Much Better.

I have found my perfect Pandora channel. Nora Jones, Sara Bareilles and Howie Day. It is genius. If you are in the mood for a chill and spunky music channel, this is it. I love it. I listen to it practically every day. 


So my professor dressed up as Plato the other day. Greek white robe, the gold laurel headband, stone tablet and talked liked Plato the whole time. He pulled a girl up from the first row and started questioning her in the Socratic method and pretty much proved to her she had no idea what she was doing with her life. If I was her, I would still be in a state of confusion. I guess you could say he is pretty passionate about Greek Philosophy...


I ran into something comparing Star Wars to Harry Potter the other day. It made me laugh. A lot. So if you are in to either Star Wars or Harry Potter- or better yet- BOTH, check it out. It takes three seconds. Just Go Here.


Also, if you are still unsure of Harry Potter's dominance over Twilight.. Go Here Right Now.

Hope you smiled today!

Everything They Taught You in Kindergarten is Wrong.

Tonight I have something for you to consider.

Can anyone do anything unselfishly?

At first, you would like to say yes. But many good acts are done because of something you will get in return. You get good camaraderie, tax returns, scholarships, a good feeling, eternal happiness, and so on. I thought about my life and all the things I had done to serve other people. Most of the time it was because I was with my friends, I knew it would benefit me, colleges wanted to see it or I knew God wanted me to help others. Have you ever done anything unselfishly without any invested interest in it? Think about it...

I have my own opinion on this. You form your own ideas though. I'm not going to tell you how to think!

Just for laughs...

Love, AK

I Believe

Premise: Everyone has different things they value. One of the things I prize the most in life is my religion. My church has completely inspired me and I love it with all of my heart. :)

You know those days where everything said at church applies to you? Today was definitely one of those days. I was ready to hear the things the Lord wanted me to, and I received many answers to prayers. After church, two of my roommates and I walked up to the temple and read our scriptures. That was an equally amazing and insightful experience. Because I can't rely on the people back at home, I am really learning how to trust my Heavenly Father. It's really hard deciding that someone knows better then you, and trying to follow all of the Lord's commandments and rules can seem really restricting. However, looking back at how much He helped me through high school, I don't regret any of the things I had to "give up" because of religion. I see the happiness, wholeness and wellness my church has brought into my life. I look at the people I go to church with, my family and friends in the gospel, and they are just as at peace. Life is hard and giving your life to God is harder, but it brings an unmeasured sense of happiness and peace. I don't have to worry about hundreds of issues the world faces because God's commandments protect me. That's a huge paradigm shift right there: to view His laws not as restrictions but as bumpers on a road. I don't however see myself missing out on anything; I see myself happy and completely confident in who I am. I am a daughter of God, and He is my eternal father. He knows where the bumps in the road are better than I do. The feelings I have when I read His word or pray to Him are not artificial. I'm 17 and I already know who I am, where I am going and how to find happiness in this world. And that knowledge is the greatest inspiration one could ever have.

My life goal: "I say unto you, can you imagine to yourselves that ye hear the voice of the Lord, saying unto you, in that day: Come unto me ye blessed, for behold, your works have been the works of righteousness upon the face of the earth?" -Alma 5:16

This is what I believe: mormon.org

HAPPY SUNDAY!! :D

Today I Did Something Irresponsible

Note: If you have high expectations of me, don't read this. You might be disappointed.

When I woke up today, I was crabby. This is the truth straight from the word of AK. I went to a physical science lab which was not emotionally fulfilling, let me tell you. Then I went to my Honors 292 lecture. Basically what happens is people come in and lecture, you take notes and then write a one page paper on the topic. When I got there I was so tired and emotionally drained. (You know these kind of days..) So half way through the lecture, I left. I had taken plenty of notes to get me through the class and I have 100% after 3 papers, so I figured I was good.
I walked out and it was BEAUTIFUL. There were like 20 people curled up in random spots on the Maeser lawn trying to sleep, so I decided to join them. I curled up, used my backpack as a pillow and took a 30 minute nap in the sun. When I woke up, I was in such a good mood. All of my dumb problems involving everything dumb melted away. And then I had the best day ever.
So my inspiration is sometimes, you need to take care of yourself. Prioritize whats important. Today, it was important for me to chill. After my nap, I had an awesome film class, edited a paper like a boss, went to Olive Garden with my roommates, went to a choir concert, celebrated Elle's birthday, tried to do homework, did homework, went underneath an invisibility cloak, and laughed a lot. It was great overall. Sometimes bad days can turn good.

Saturday I have my first college exam. Wish me luck!

Also, my roommate Rachael Davies CAN step in the same river twice. At least.. That's what she tells her humanities class.

Just a Shout Out to my Favorite Superhero of All Time

Today is my mother's 40th birthday. Now she might be really embarrassed that the whole world now knows how old she is. It's not embarrassing Mom, I promise. Also, she looks like she is 27. We went to New York this summer (which was the best week of my entire life, no joke) and 40 people asked us if we were sisters. People don't ask that to a teenager and a woman who looks like she is 40. I rest my case.
I've realized over the last couple of weeks just how much my mom did for me. Everyone says that you realize this when you go to college, but I never quite took those people seriously. Beyond the normal matriarchal duties, she taught me how to read and write and do math before I entered kindergarten. Some people accuse me of being smart because I skipped a grade. I'm really not, it is all in the fact my mom taught me from a young age that education was important.
My mom also gave me my love for music. She started teaching me piano and ever since then, music and I have been inseparable. She taught me how to work, even when I really did not want to learn.
Most of all though, she has been an incredible example of service. She is the mother of seven children and has whole heartily dedicated her life to us, even when it meant putting every aspect of her life on the back burner. We watched this movie in a service class I have and it reminded me completely of her. She has always been that one person to stand up and help others when many people sat and watched. She takes on the impossible, and prays that Heavenly Father will help with the rest.

She is my #1 inspiration. 

I love you, Mom!

Proving that Movement is Impossible..

I would like to start with an apology. My last post had lots of bad grammar and spelling issues. I am sorry! I am not going to go fix it though. So when you see I am in the grove of things rather then the groove of things, well, just go with it. :)

Okay so my inspiration of the day was something really cool that I learned. In ancient Greece, there was this philosopher named Xeno. He created an issue that is now known as Xeno's dillema. *People are just so creative when they name these kind of things..* So imagine you are facing a wall. In order to cross to get to the wall, you would have to go half way first. That makes sense! But in order to get to that half, you would have to walk half of that distance. And in order to get there, you would have to get to half of that distance. It keeps breaking down further but you get the point. Think about it though, if you half to go half the distance before you could move but that would be prevented because you would have to go that half first. So according to Xeno, any movement is impossible. 

Now we know this isn't true. At least all of the sensory information flooding our brain for our whole lives tells us that isn't true. But how can you prove it? 

WELL. There was this guy named Democritus. He discovered a particle which cannot be divided into a half. It is called an atom. Perhaps you have heard of it? Democritus reasoned that because you can't split an atom in half, you would have to move the distance of a whole atom and must go the whole way. And thus, you have conquered Xeno's dilemma. 

Okay, so that's just a lot of talk. The reason why that inspired me is because someone philosophically proved something, and then it was countered with another argument. When you keep studying and searching for answers, you can disprove other things that might have been previously proven true. It gives me hope that world issues, incurable diseases of the body and mind, and philosophy proving that man is evil might someday be reversed. 

Today is the 10 year anniversary of 9/11. Since then, terrorism and fear has racked the world. Perhaps one day they will go the same route of Xeno's dilemma and someone will be able to find a way to reverse the illogicality of the situation. It blows my mind the hatred people have for each other. The world needs a modern day Democritus who will step up to the plate and find a solution that no one has thought of before. Who knows? Maybe it will be you. :)

Just a quick plug to my best friend, Angie Roushar. My blog is dedicated to you. ;) Now go write something!! :)

Some pictures of life over the last couple of weeks :)

Word.

Life Transplant.. NBD.

It's weird how fast you adjust to a whole new life. The transition between high school and college was hard, I'll admit. But once you get here and starting getting in the grove, it's hard to remember you've only been here a few weeks. You learn to cook and go grocery shopping when you no longer have food. You force yourself to do homework when you don't have a mom telling you need to do it. You wake yourself up, go to class at a school that is 16x bigger then your high school. And you do all of that with different friends and teachers then you had just a month ago.
I'm telling you, it's weird. It amazes me just how resilient the brain is. You don't really have a choice to go back home, so you force yourself onward. I do miss home, and I miss it a lot. I miss the dumb things we did in Politics each day, singing in choir. I miss the predictability of church at home; you knew where you were going to sit in Sunday School, what everyone's names were and where to hide when you didn't want your family to find you just quite yet. I miss trying to block out my little brother's screams as I did my homework every night. I miss my family and my friends faces, personalities and how well they knew you.
But even with all of this, you don't have a choice to live in the past. You float, swim, or drown. I'm just starting to float and feel comfortable with my new life. Soon, it will be time to swim to the edge of where  college can put me.
So here is the thing. Don't give up. Keep swimming, even when the tide is against you. At least you aren't in a foreign country with bad guys trying to kill you. And if you are... well why are you reading this? You should be running right now!!!
One more thing; I love Disney movies. A lot. But we had to analyze The Little Mermaid for three minutes in film today. The themes were; If you run away, disobey your parents and sell part of yourself to a witch, a handsome young prince will sweep you off your feet and fall in love with you anyways. Apparently the seaweed is always greener in somebody else's lake.
Whatever Disney, I'm perfectly content with my own life thank you very much! I already ran away from home and well I probably stay out later then my parents would care to know. But there is no way I'm selling my voice for some dude. Do you know how many guys are here? Ariel, you got it all wrong. Love your life.

Weak Things Become Strong- And we aren't talking about the impressive size of your biceps. Sorry. :)

I would like to start off today by telling you something important: You can indeed overcook Ramen noodles. 

I did not know this. I just left them cooking while I cooked some chicken. And as a result, they turned to mush. My roomates and I feasted on mushy Ramen stir fry. It was not our most stellar meal, but you live and learn.  

My inspiration of the day is completely unrelated the art of cooking Ramen. Being enrolled in the 2nd largest private university in the world tends to occasionally make you feel small and insignificant. The things you did in high school doesn't really matter other then the fact that they made you who you are. The friend you had in high school are very much part of your life and your personality, but you don't get to see them every day. Your family you've been living with for the last 18 years is 1500 miles away. Some good comes out of the large abundance of people however, In the process of making a whole new set of friends and meeting new people every day, I've realized something important. Every single person has distinct strengths and weaknesses. My personal belief is that God gave each individual person their own unique set of gifts and talents to achieve what He would need them to do. Even if our opinions differ on this, this distinct set of talents each person owns truly makes the world unique. 

I am coming to appreciate my own talents more every day. You should as well. Think about what you are good at and how you can use those to your advantage, as well as how you can use them to help other people. You might also want to consider your weaknesses and how you can make them strong. 

I was reminded at church today of one of my favorite scriptures. It reads, "And if men come unto me, I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they my be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before m, and have faith in m, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."

Amen to that, brother. 

I thought this was lovely. Happy Sunday!

The Truth Behind Atlantis

There's this thing called college. I'm not sure if you've heard about it yet. For those of you that haven't, I'll explain it to you. College: noun. Step 1: Leave everything you have known for the last 18 years. Step 2: Pay someone a lot of money to learn things from expensive textbooks. And on the side, pay more money to sleep and eat. (Whoever invented this thing was an economic mastermind.) Step 3a: Take advantage of the expensive education you just payed for and do homework. 3b: Follow the calls of happy people outside and have fun. 4: Say you will go to sleep early. 5: Not go to sleep early. 6: Wake up to go to your 8 a.m. dance class. 7: Repeat.

So that is college. 

But sometimes, you learn cool little bits of knowledge that make life interesting. (This is my inspiration of the day. By the way.)

In my History of Creativity class, I was reading about the Minoans. Their culture suddenly died off around 1600 B.C. and scholars debate what caused this fall out. One of the theories is Thera, a large volcano in close proximity to the island where the Minoans lived, exploded. This is what the textbook was explaining when it went off on a small tangent and explained another conspiracy theory. 

"Some scholars have equated this event with the legendary destruction of the island of Atlantis as reported by Plato. . . These scholars believe that if the distance from the Greek mainland is corrected, along with the size of the island and the time, the disappearance of Atlantis would correspond closely with the eruption of Thera."

I don't know what the chances of this actually being true, but it's interesting to think about. Myths often start with some grain of truth in them. What if Atlantis was real? It's probably hiding under the ocean and now all of the people have evolved into a hybrid of mermaids!!!

(Based off of a true story...)

I appreciate the fact that the world has mysteries that aren't uncovered. It makes the living way more interesting because you will never know what you will learn or hear about. Or what new discovery will change the world. Or what invention will revolutionize human life. 

I guess that's why you go to college. 

ELISE

I asked my wonderful roomate Elise what was inspiring and she answered herself. So I will tell you about Elise and the other AWESOME girls I live with. Besides Elise, their names are Emily, Ellen, Alysha and Rachael. We have so much fun together. Probably too much fun. :D We have a roomate code of conduct called "Roomie Rules." Super original, right?!? But they are decorated pretty and have rules dealing with food and making dessert for each other. We dance with bananas and brooms, have secret dances early in the morning when we tell people to give us their money, have awesome pancake breakfasts, make people kneel on the one prayer rug, have spontaneous dance parties, meet people by waving to them through our kitchen windows, dance in the rain, and talk about everything under the sun. And when I say under the sun, I mean it. Utah is a tad bit warmer then Minnesota.

So they rock. End of story.

Also, I'm learning how to cook. NOTE: When making chicken alfredo, thaw the chicken before you start frying it. I did not know this. So I did not thaw it. It still worked though with a little bit of creativity in cutting the cooked part off in little sections. It was very yummy. 

Also, boys that cook make life so much better. Today, I got free tacos. They were very delicious. 

Take home lesson from tonight: Pick awesome roomates, thaw frozen chicken and persuade people to make you free tacos.

Tomorrow I start classes so then I might actually have something inspirational to say. Stay tuned. :D

Tainted Lens

I have an inspiration of the day for you. It is the beautiful song I Love You Because from the musical, I Love You Because. Super creative, right?

So clearly this is a love song. But you can apply it to any relationship or friendship. Love people because of their flaws, not despite them. This system does have it's flaws and you in no means want to be blind to someone's rougher spots, but realize that you have rough spots too. I'm slowly trying to learn this lesson. That's the way to live!

Two days ago, I heard from a speaker through an honors program I am enrolled in. He came up wearing a nice suit and an African hat and started speaking in a very heavy African accent. I got a little antsy and started checking the clock. He then asked where all of us were from, and after asked us where we thought he was from. People threw out ideas like Morocco, South Africa, Nigeria, and such. He would laugh and say "No. But bery bery close." Finally we gave up and asked for him to tell us. He took off his hat and in a very clear American voice said, "I'm from Brooklyn." He went on telling us that on average, you make 11 judgments about someone in 7 seconds. You factor in things like attract-ability, intelligence, social status, the works. What he just proved to us though was a first impression on someone can be completely wrong, and you won't really know unless you give someone the chance to prove who they are. 

Last year in an amazing English class I took, our teacher took us to a website that scientifically measured our bias towards different religions, races, social status, genders, everything! I think it was through Harvard. They would assign one group positive words and another group negative words. They would then show you pictures of various people or words that fit into the group you were testing on. Depending on how fast you would click good or bad, and whether you clicked the right corresponding word, they would judge how biased you were towards that certain group. It was so interesting to find out how subconsciously biased everyone is to lifestyles that don't match their own! 

I have a challenge. Take someone you don't like or don't know yet. It could be a roomate, a sibling you can't get along with, or that crazy girl in your chem class that just won't shut up. Don't judge them, just chill out and try to find out their back story as to why they act the way they do. See what they see, and make an effort for them to see what you see. Only then will you be able to appreciate the world for it's true beauty. 

Finally, if you love acoustic music, go to this site. I'm obsessed. :D

BEAUTIFUL MUSIC HERE.

An Ode to Life

Today is my first day of college.

WHAT. THE. HECK.

This girls name is Beth. This is us as freshman. Now were going to college together. AHH! Time flies.

I seriously feel like I could be a little freshman walking into high school for the first time again and do four more years of high school. I would get sick of the unrealistic melodramatic high school atmosphere half way through October if that really were to happen, but on the other hand, that unrealistic melodramatic high school atmosphere did me good for four years. I decided that instead of focusing on one thing that inspired me tonight, I would relate a couple of the little things I learned in high school that has changed me. It is my personal ode to life.

#1. Spontaneity is the way to go. First of all, if you are bored and need something dumb to do, go right HERE! The website is a creative date site that I stumbled upon, but almost everything would make for a good laugh with friends. Or a hot date. Take your pick.

One of the best dates EVER. :)

Sculpture Garden loveliness.

#2. Trust your friends. If they haven't done anything to hurt you, why are you holding back?! You never know how close you can become with a person until you have started to confide your deepest, darkest secrets with them. In my life, I have three people that I know I can trust unconditionally. I tell them everything and I've realized I'm a better person for it. If you limit yourself to yourself, you will never be able to walk on paths that you didn't imagine.
And, if you have been hurt by people, learn from it and move on. It's not fair to judge all the rest of the people in your life off of one person who screwed up.

Best friends a girl could ever have. (Both pictures.) :D

#3. Laugh out loud. And no, I'm not referring to the preteen LOL that worms itself into every text message sent. Laugh at yourself and the dumb quirks that make you unique to the world. Laugh with your friends, and appreciate the happy moments in life. It will be those moments that pull you through the hard times.

#4. Give yourself change. Listen to a new song, wear something you never would have otherwise, eat a mango, do ballet, play frisbee with yourself, just do something different!! :D

#5. Do something for someone else EVERY DAY. It will make you realize how small your life problems are in the grand scheme of the world. Honestly, bad hair days do not compare with starving children in Africa. And you always feel better about yourself when you've made a difference in someone's day.

Volunteering for Special Olympics!

Kind of a long post, but I needed to tell myself that high school wasn't a waste of time and I learned valuable things there. And looky here, I did!!

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

I have officially left for college. Which is a nerve racking experience I tell you!! When you are in the middle of a big life transition and you start internally freaking out, I suggest you:

• Have a good best friend you can call on hand when you start breaking down.
• Force yourself to learn a new hairstyle as it will give your life change that you can control and yet make you feel twice as confident. 
• Go on myyellowsandbox.blogspot.com. It is one of the cutest things I have ever seen and her hairstyles are brilliant (see above post.) :)
• Force yourself to memorize a needlessly long and complicated song. I suggest We Didn't Start the Fire or Love Like Woe. Either will take all of your extra brain power and distract it on a dumb and pointless task. Which surprisingly helps. 
• Pass something of your bucket list.

Great transition Anne Katherine! Today I just happened to pass something off my bucket list. I found the end of a rainbow. And not only did I find one end of the rainbow, I found both ends. I think it was God's way of saying, "Hey. Stop freaking out. Beautiful things aren't just found in your little Andover, Minnesota. So decide to live a little and open your eyes to all the possibilities your new life will bring you." 

The end of a rainbow is surprisingly beautiful. Whenever I imagined it, I pictured a pot o' gold with leprechauns bonding over it. Instead, you find the mixture of two completely different elements, meeting together in the middle to compromise their differences through a rainbow. It truly inspired me. 

So I decided to start listening to God. I'm looking for the beauty everywhere from now on, and I suggest you do the same.

Life is full of God's creative beauties, it's just up to you whether you will be creative enough to recognize them when you see them. Good luck :)

Cinemagraphy = Muggle Hope

I have an obsession with anything belonging in the world of Harry Potter. I love the movies, quote the books and spend too much time wondering what happened to my letter from Hogwarts when I turned 11. It's fantastic. So when I ran into the concept of cinemegraphs today, I freaked out. It's a mix between a movie and a photo. Not quite real life, but it looks like the people in the photo could pop out and start chatting with me any second. Basically... magical photographs. Now if only I could get one to guard the entrance into my bedroom I would be set! I found a couple of websites with some really good examples of this and just wanted to share them with you as they are my inspiration of the day,

Magical Photo Set #1

Magical Photo Set #2

I know some of the photo's overlap, but at least you kind of know what I'm talking about now. :) I know that in most of the pictures, only one subject was moving and not the whole photo, but think about how much this could grow! It made me excited for what exactly the world is going to bring in the next couple of decades. If you could invent anything, what would it be?

And just in case any of you doubted Harry Potter's excellence...

I think that pretty much sums it up.

Peace out, and may the force be with you.

Spirited Away

Anne Katherine's Mood Flow Chart:

Anne Katherine can't sleep because she is too busy thinking and her mind refuses to shut down. -->

Anne Katherine doesn't get enough sleep and becomes sleep deprived. -->

Anne Katherine gets crabby. -->

Solution to crabbiness: Inspiration #8. 

My medicine for this said crabbiness isn't the usual coffee, chocolate, flirting or sleep. Well... sometimes it's sleep. But most often it's a good, familiar book that will spirit me away into a different world for a few hours so I can forget about dumb things like paying for college, what to do on bad hair days, and how to persuade my mom to buy me more shoes. (I have a tough life. I know.)

Last night I was particularly crabby so I took out one of my favorite, most favorite, MOST FAVORITE books; The Hunger Games. If you haven't read it, please stop reading this post right now, go check it out from your public library and go read it. If you have some good excuse as to why you stop everything in your life to go to the library, well, I found the first two chapters of it online so you can get hooked without going anywhere. 
Just Click Right Here!
So this book rocks my world. The other book I always read when I need a good pick me up is Anne of the Island. Way different than the intense survivor feeling of the Hunger Games, but it holds its own with its sweet and happy tone. Also, Anne may be one of the most lovable characters ever created.
The nice things about books is they take your mind places you would never dream about otherwise. It unlocks whole worlds, scores of people and hundreds of new ideas. It forces you to think about the decisions people make, and the consequences that happen from them. 
I think Cornelia Funke described it best in her book Inkheart when she said, "If you take a book with you on a journey,... an odd thing happens: The book begins collecting your memories. And forever after you have only to open that book to be back where you first read it. It will all come into your mind with the very first words: the sights you saw in that place, what it smelled like, the ice cream you ate while you were reading it...yes, books are like flypaper--memories cling to the printed page better than anything else." 
Words of wisdom from the Funke herself.
Next time you get crabby at your life, I suggest reading instead of taking your anger out on the people in your life. However, if you see me reading I strongly suggest you don't interrupt me. Otherwise this will happen. 

You've been warned...

Love,

Anne with an E.

And When You Dream, Dream Big

So this post is going to need a little bit of background information before I dive in. As you all know, I went on a camping trip last week. It was an amazing experience and I got to know some awesome people I didn't really know before. There is something about camping and being in nature away from the gajillion distractions in the world that encourage bonding and personal reflection. I'm being so vague though! Let me give you details. :)
On Friday, there was a service project planned for all of us girls to participate in. It was the usual service project; make tie blankets for a homeless shelter. Quick, easy and requires lots of people. We split up in a couple of groups and made cards and blankets while the other group played games outside. It was an enjoyable experience but not initially memorable.
However, this time I got to see the effects of our little act of service. I volunteered with my lovely friend Berlynn to help our leader take the blankets over to the shelter we were donating the blankets to. I didn't know this previously, but the shelter was designed for women and their children that had been involved in abusive relationships. When I walked into the shelter, there were two beautiful brown eyed children that followed the three of us. Their eyes really got to me. They looked so knowing for being so young. I couldn't imagine my little brothers the same age as them having the same look of sadness and wisdom in place of their usual cheery and mischievous looks.
Anyways, we handed the blankets off and our leader asked if we could tour the shelter. As I walked around the facility, I realized what an amazing cause this was. The people that worked here were making a huge difference in the lives of women who truly had been given the short stick in life. I then realized really there was no better purpose in life then to serve others around us. I mean we hear that so often that it just becomes a catch phrase; "Treat others the way you want to be treated," or "Serving others serves God," but who really stops to think about what that means? I didn't!
So I decided that I have a new Inspiration #7. I'm as of right now going to be majoring in business, and I want to use that degree to open a shelter for women who are abused, depressed or have eating disorders. I have very close friends who at some point suffered with all of these things and they all need a safe refuge where they can retreat from the world. Moreover, I want to share my passion of music with them and help that shape their lives. People who are sad and lonely need something small that they feel like is improving in their life. What better thing to improve then musical ability? It's so easy to track progress and music touches the soul unlike any other thing.
Obviously there are ten million things I need to work out. Money, time, balancing a family, all of that will need to fall into place. Anyways, leave comments if you have any ideas on how to make this dream a reality or on what your dream is. Love all of you, and may you all find something to keep you inspired.
Also, if you feel alone, know that Jesus Christ has felt everything. EVER. You are never alone.

Anne Katherine

Title of this post credited to one of my favorite songs, Dream Big. Listen Here :)

Sometimes You Just Need to Wear Neon

So I know this girl. Her name is Angie Roushar and has been one of my dearest friends for as long as I can remember. She is one of those people that anchor you to the world when everything else is storming around you. Angie is one of those girls where you feel like you can talk and laugh for a lifetime without getting bored. She also puts up with all of my increasingly dumb jokes.

Exhibit A:
AK: Hey Angie! Want to hear a joke?
Angie: Uh... Sure.
AK: Whats green and has wheels?
Angie: A tractor? *Insert appropriate loving eye roll here.*
AK: NO!! Grass. I lied about the wheels.

See what I mean? Anyone who puts up with that deserves a medal. Anyways, she will get a post exclusively dedicated to her soon. But for the mean time, she gave me an incredible present.

Inspiration #6. Neon sweatshirts.

BRIGHT YELLOW neon sweatshirts.

I love it. And it inspires me because you truly can't wear it without being super happy. Once I tried crying in it and I had to take it off because I couldn't take myself seriously with it on. I LOVE IT. It is going with me to college so I have something to remind me to be happy when I feel horribly alone. (Hopefully that won't happen though.)

Just for the record, this is my favorite picture of Angie and I. 

And this is me wearing my neon sweatshirt. YAY!!

So here is my advice on this lovely Monday morning. If you are feeling a little down in the dumps for some reason or another, go put on something bright. And if you don't have anything then I suggest you go to Goodwill. :)

Stay happy!

P.S. If you are bored and have a dumb sense of humor, go look up Kid History on YouTube. My friend told me to watch it at camp this week and there are some pretty entertaining moments in it! It's stories from two friends growing up now told by (I think) their kids. LOVE IT. 

If you want to watch it, click HERE. :)

Story of my Life

So I want to tell you the story of my life. Minus the fact that it's 17 years long and would take way to long to tell you and you would get bored. So I am going to shorten it to about 3 minutes... Give or take a couple seconds.

Inspiration #5. The Call by Regina Spektor.

LISTEN TO IT RIGHT NOW

This song completely describes everything I am feeling right now as I leave for college in less than 2 weeks. Life just needs to take a little chill pill for a moment and let me breathe. I'm dying from pre-college anxiety!

Hope that your Saturday has been blissfully happy!

Living in the Wild

So this week has been incredibly busy and I haven't even started to head out to BYU yet. How does life slip away so fast? There are so many people to see and things to pack and money to earn. And more money to earn. And MORE money to earn. That's really been consuming my life lately. But I just got my beautiful laptop (her name is Bethany) and so that should make blogging a whole lot easier.

So life is taking over life. No surprise there. It's also called growing up. But I luckily get to take a nice 3 day break starting tomorrow. Inspiration #4. Camping. I LOVE CAMPING. So the camp site I am going to has about one hundred girls from church all over and it's all fun and all, but just being outside 24/7 makes me so incredibly happy.

I Love:
Waking up and hearing the birds right away.
Staying up ridiculously late around the campfire until the smell of smoke is almost gone and the embers are almost visibly burned out.
Sneaking out of the campsite to do rebellious things like mudsliding and taking a private tour of the castle at the campsite. (And that isn't a joke.)
Making yummy campfire food.
Not having to worry about phones or facebook or working for a couple of days.

I hate:
Peeing in the woods for the first time in a long time.
Missing all of my wonderful friends not camping with me.

So some pictures of my amazing camping experience:

So this is why I love it so much!!!! This is where I am going to be for the next couple of days. Living in the wild.

Oh and by the way. Read Into the Wild. It is one of the best books ever.