An Ode to Freshman Year

An Ode to Freshman Year:

In college you learn a lot of things,
Like time management and the art of cooking Mac n Cheese.
That is a lie,
I never made Mac n Cheese
Or Ramen.

In college you learn a lot of stuff,
Like what parking garages are best to hide in.
That is a truth,
I have much knowledge of on-campus parking garages.
They should have me teach a class.

In college you make a lot of friends,
But then they leave for two years.
That is a lie,
Some only leave for the summer.
Still.
I don't want to say good-bye.

As you can tell by the beautiful photos, I have the best friends in the world. They have all taught me how to be a better person, how to change, how to chill out, how to push yourself, and how to be yourself. It isn't very often you meet one person that does all that, much less many people that do all that.

Also, did you see the music video at the end? Further proof I have the best friends in the world. 

So, my dear freshman year, as you come to a close I wish to thank you. You have brought me much happiness, many friends, and no freshman 15. 

Life is good.

Childhood Memories from an ^Almost Adult

Life
By Benjamin Kotey

It takes a day to day to make a dream,
But it takes many nights for a seed to become a tree.

Life is a ladder that must be climbed.
But in every stage,

There are many rivers and battles to fight
And our hope determines our future.

Life is a trip through the wilderness 
And everyone must survive for success.

And without a determination
We can never reach our destination.

There are many roads in life,
But choice

Stands between the broad and the narrow.
But the world is not only what we see

But what we hear
Life is time and time is tide.

We are making an endless journey
But no ladder is without an end

Problems may fall like rain
But every seed has its seasons.


~~~

Today is my last official day of childhood. I graduated high school, left home, and went grocery shopping for myself for the first time months ago. But tomorrow I will be 18 years old. The idea of being 18 seems foreign to me: I won't have to call my dad when I'm on a date at Low's because I'm not old enough to decide if I can handle jumping into giant foam pits; I won't have to have my mom tell my hairdresser that she has permission to cut my hair from 1500 miles away; I can vote; I can even elope! I probably won't, but the point is, I could.

In 24 hours, I won't be a different person then who I am today. But this upcoming age has given me a chance to reflect on my childhood memories that make Anne Katherine who she really is.

I entertained the idea that my mom was an alien for a week, laid under my piano's keyboard when I needed to clear my thoughts, and recorded jokes with my brother on a tape cassette. Lion King hyenas lived in my basement, a donkey resided under my bed who ate my blanket if they hung off the end of my bed, and an alligator escaped from the zoo, traveled through the sewer system and tried to break into my room to eat me. I remember sitting on a circle chair in Hawaii watching girls dance with ribbons to a song about lollipops. One Fourth of July, my baby blanket started on fire from a little sparkler, and some nice lady in my ward patched up the whole with a heart.

I remember sitting on my parents floor when they called us to tell us that Camille was a girl, and not the Timothy that they were expecting; I saved my pretty red and white striped dress for when I got to visit her  for the very first time. Playing with bendy-fox, bendy-lion and bendy-gator on the carpet protector in our living room with Simeon and Christian. Wearing a Chinese outfit for Halloween and feeling Simeon's felt lion costume. Falling asleep every night holding Camille's hand through the crib; telling my mom that it was Camille who wanted to hold hands, but in reality, it was me who couldn't bear the thought of waking up with my sister not being there. Going to D.C. and walking into our house at the end of vacation, seeing all the presents under the tree and knowing that Santa Clause was real because my parents had been in a different state.  Duct taped whiffle balls and family truth or truth games that unfailingly ended in tears. Cardboard noodles, SPAM, pickle surprises. Tag around the main level, hiding Lorenzo in a laundry bin. Locking the babysitter out of the house and Kelsey Parkinson giving us cough drops as rewards for good behavior. "Joseph Smith Hide and Go Seek," "Preach my Gospel," and family trivia. Zachary Tyler. Queen Jane. Percy Jackson. Fielding falling asleep in my arms for the very first time. 6 years later, helping him read the Magic Tree House books. Text audits by the parents where they learn about their daughter's dating life. Sneaking into Abe's room when he was crying in the middle of the night because I was sick of hearing him scream and my parents were training him to sleep through the night. My mom catching me.Threatening my mom that I would quit piano; her responding that it was my choice, fully knowing that I never would.

Becoming friends with Angie because of an offer to bring the croutons to a salad. Going to primary in the Andover Ward for the first time, and desperately wanting Nick notice me as much as I noticed him. Meeting Lexi on the first day of 8th grade and wanting to someday be as friendly as she was. Weight training with Andrea sophomore year and developing an awesome friendship as we lifted and skipped running days. Jenna inviting me to a sleepover at her house for the first time for freshman year homecoming. Singing Sk8r Boi on the monkey bars with Marissa in fifth grade. Walks home with Brittney. Playing ultimate with Ellen, climbing over dressers with Shemaina. APUSH with Grant and Joe, chemistry with Max and Tom. Phil's "tooth hurty" jokes, Jack's Al Gore imitations. Plan Las Vegas at that one park with Marc. Beth's inventive hanger purses. Awkward lunch conversations in Nauvoo with Kevin, Jake and Chad. Pretty and witty Bennett sisters, backstage moments and Caribou runs with the theater kids. Tater tots and eye candy with the best choir nerds in Minnesota. Learning from my roommate's signature dance moves. Rachael's celebration of life. Prolly having well grammar with Brad and Austin. Zeegan and Greg's Iowa-Utah caucus confusion.

Skipping kindergarten, winning my first piano competition, making all-state, being the Witch, graduating from high school, getting Personal Progress, attending BYU.

Sister, daughter, student, musician, thinker, prayer, joker, creator, philosopher, friend, best friend.

This is who I am. I am inspired by the thousands of people that have influenced and nurtured me, laughed with me, and prayed with me. I hope that in the next 18 years, I will be able to take everything you have taught me and start to apply it to the world. I wish to make as much difference on others as you have on me.

To laughing, to loving, to living.

AK

~~~

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

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

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.

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 :)

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!

It's the Gift That Keeps on Growing

Life is an endless struggle full of frustrations and challenges, but eventually you find a hair stylist you like.  ~Author Unknown

Hair is my Inspiration #3. I'm not going to start by explaining. Just observe. 

Before:

And After:

We are going to establish right now that Emma Watson is gorgeous. I'm glad we established that.* Now, onto why I'm inspired by hair. Please examine the before and after shots. Its the same head tilt, same makeup, same smoldering half smile, yet there is a completely different aura to the shot. Oh... and just ignore the lighting and costume differences please. :) Emma got bored of her hair and she cut it. It's a whole new look, and you get a whole new feel to who she is and who she is trying to become. Hair expresses such individuality and shows people more the anything how you view yourself. Whether you like Watson's haircut or not is completely up to you, but look how easily she just decided to change. 

But even more then the ability to use hair to express yourself, think of how resilient hair is. THAT is why hair inspires me. You can burn it, dye it, chop it off, add extensions, mohawk it, fohawk it, gel it, drown it in hairspray, curl it, perm it, really do what ever you want. Besides dreadlocks. DON'T EVER DO DREADLOCKS. But even if you do  make the unfortunate mistake of styling your hair into think, long blobs, eventually it will just go back to its original state. How cool is that? Emma Watson completely chopped off her hair and even if she doesn't like it, it will be back to its original length in the next couple of years. I'm so glad something is like that in the world. Because if everything and everyone just completely changed and you didn't have something to depend on, the world would be chaos.

I know that when I go to bed tonight with medium long, wavy brown hair, I'm going to wake up with the same hair. Unless my little brothers chop it off. And if that just spontaneously happens... I'll have bigger issues to deal with.

*If you are still questioning Emma Watson's complete BEAUTY, go look up Emma Watson images on google. You will be amazed. 

**And if you are a girl reading this blog and is sick of your hair, google how to waterfall braid. I love it. I can't do it yet, but I'm working on it. :)

Change in My Pocket

Hello there! My name is Anne Katherine Toronto. I'm not going to waste precious time introducing myself, as I'm sure you will get to know me thoroughly through this blog. So, I'm just going to dive right into the confines of my mind and tell you what has been running through it lately.

Inspiration. The dictionary told me that inspiration was an inspiring or animating action or influence. Helpful, right?! I thought, "Oh man. I can do way better then that." So I tried to sit down and come up with  a better definition to inspiration... It's harder then I thought to come up with a better definition then the dictionary. Then I had an epiphany... Inspiration isn't a definition. It is a noun, an adjective, a verb. Sometimes it occurs like a lightbulb flashing across your brain, other times it is a slow sunrise that eventually throws light upon all.

I am creating this blog to help myself define inspiration. It may be a little bit longer then the typical dictionary definition, but throughout it, I hope to find the things that truly inspire me to become the best person I can. :)

So. Inspiration #1. Change. Change is a BEAUTIFUL thing, people. Without it, the human race would have no capability to move on. Think about it; change is one of the most under appreciated concepts our world offers on a day to day basis. Without change... well nothing would change. Adam and Eve would still be sitting in the Garden of Eden hanging out. They wouldn't have developed their relationship or learned how to tame the already tamed lions because that would have required change. Even though the Minnesota government is officially shut down, Israel is constantly in a civil war and I can't truly assert my own individuality, that can all change. So, take a moment and think about what you are going to do with change. Are you going to refuse to change, simply because change takes to much effort? That would be called laziness. An issue has been challenged; If you are reading this, decide something that you are going to change, TODAY. It could be as simple as deciding to wear that shirt in the back of your closet you feel is too exuberant for everyday life. It could be mending a broken friendship or actually making those cookies for that someone that you've been thinking about all month. You could smile at someone at work you've never seen before. I don't care how you do it. JUST DO IT. *thank you nike.*

You know what I'm going to do?

Of course you don't! Which is why I'm going to tell you. :) I am going to have a conversation with my dearest little sister every day for the rest of the summer. I'm telling you, this girl is a doll. And most times, I ignore her. So, I'm going to change. Life would truly suck without the ability to improve.

All I have left to say is whoever woke up one day and in a flash of inspiration said, 'Variety is the spice of life!' deserves a gold medal. Well... Gold might be a stretch in this economy. AT LEAST a batch of cookies. Because he truly was inspired.