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.