God Gave Me You

From the first moment that I saw Taylor, I knew that he was somebody that I wanted to know and that he would be someone worth getting to know. There was just something about him that before I even met him, I felt like I already knew him.

I'm going to have to disagree with the statement that "curiosity killed the cat," because my curiosity gave me a different perspective on life. After meeting Taylor, I sometimes feel like my reason for existence was to find Taylor. We all have some sort of idea of the kind of man that we want. Sometimes, we make these huge lists of qualities that we want and if a guy doesn't have one, it could potentially be a deal breaker. All my life, I thought I had this idea in my head of what the perfect man for me would be like, and my imagination was pretty creative with that, but Taylor is everything that I imagined, magnified 10 times. He is so much more than I could have ever hoped for. He completes me. I found the man that I am going to be sealed to for time and all eternity.

I told a friend of mine not too long ago, that Taylor and I plan on getting married. She looked at me as if I were a lunatic. I tried to explain to her that I was certain that I was going to marry him, and she was even more baffled. She was so interested in what I had to say, and I wasn't quite sure why. She explained to me that normally, when people have been dating for a long time, usually a few years, they work up to the idea of marriage. When they feel as though they have hit a certain point in their relationship, that's when they start thinking about marriage. She said that for me to say that I was certain that he was the one for me was kind of crazy because for a lot of people, their mindset isn't "he is the one that I want to spend time and all eternity with," but most others see it as,"at this moment, I'm satisfied with where we are in this relationship, so let's get married because it's the next step." Most people work up to marriage, but it worked out differently for me. Marriage was the last thing that I ever thought I would be having to worry about at this point in my life, I'm 19 years old. But the Lord's plan for me tells me differently. I know that I am going to marry Taylor. There is a song that I feel like describes Taylor and I's situation quite well. In the song, I love you this big by Scott McCreery, it says:

I know I'm still young,
but, I know how I feel
I might not have too much experience
but, I know when love is real

By the way my heart starts pounding
When I look into your eyes
I might look a little silly
Standing with my arms stretched open wide

I love you this big
Eyes have never seen.. this big
No one's ever dreamed.. this big
And I'll spend the rest of my life
Explaining what words cannot describe but, I'll try
I love you this big.

I know that I'm about 7 years younger than the average national age for girls getting married, but I know what I'm doing. I know what love is, and I know that I love Taylor, with every fiber of my being, I might add. There was one night when we were just watching a movie, and I turned my head to look at Taylor, and he was already looking at me. We stared at each other for a moment, and then I just got a rush and knew that it was right. It has been made very clear to me through various other experiences, such as the one just mentioned. Even just as simple as that one was.

With Taylor, everything just feels right. Due to a past relationship, I have struggled with being able to just be me, to be my complete self around others, and not try to change to fit their likes. I still struggle with opening up to people a little bit. With Taylor, I don't have to try, I am just always myself with him. When my mom met Taylor for the first time, she told me that day that she liked the person that I was when I was with Taylor, because she could tell how happy I was, and she knows better than anyone that if there's one person I can always be myself around, it's him. That was huge for me. I'm going to use another song to describe how I feel about him as well. In the song God Gave Me You by Blake Shelton, it says:

...And I need you

God gave me you for the ups and downs
God gave me you for the days of doubt
And for when I think I lost my way
There are no words here left to say, its true
God gave me you

On my own I’m only
Half of what I could be
I can’t do without you
We are stitched together
And what love has tethered
I pray we never undo

Taylor makes me a better person. We are stronger together, than we are apart. You'd think that after spending day after day together, for hours and hours at a time, you would get sick of someone. Nope. We're different in that way too. We really don't get sick of each other, which is good because we both prefer to spend all day, every day together. Almost 5 months ago, Taylor and I had our first date. I don't think I ever imagined that things would turn out as they have, but I do know that this has been the happiest 5 months of my life. We have had to endure being separated at opposite ends of the United States for a few weeks, but that only made our love for each other stronger, and the time that we spent together when we saw each other again, more precious. I'm not sure if they will ever read this, but I would just like to take a second and thank Taylor's parents for raising their son to be the man of my dreams. Taylor speaks so highly of all of his family members and it is evident that family is of utmost importance to him. Also, his siblings for being accepting of me. Before I meet another of Taylor's siblings, I always get really nervous, and fear that they won't like me, and Taylor knows that. He tells me not to worry about it and says that his family loves me already. I tell him that's impossible because they haven't even met me. He replies by telling me that he knows they're going to love me because they can all tell how much he loves me.

There was one night when Taylor and I didn't get to see each other for as long as we would have liked because I had a big test coming up the next day and I was studying all night for it. Taylor was texting me, and when I was finally too tired and couldn't study anymore, I told him that I was going to go to bed. He said "wait one second, okay?" A minute later, I heard a knock on my bedroom window. I pulled up the blinds, and Taylor was standing there. He came to my window to tell me goodnight, and as he was leaving, he handed me a note that said, I love you. Little things like this, make me fall in love with Taylor all over again. He opens the car door for me every time we get in the car, he comes to take care of me when I'm not feeling good, he walks me to and from class, he dances with me in parking lots when no music is playing, and he shows me that he loves me each and every day. Every girl deserves to have a guy like this, and I have been so blessed by him. I can't wait to spend forever with him. I love you, Taylor. <3

Don't Lose Your Lift Ticket

There is a quote in Hamlet that says, "All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts."

I had an experience that reminded me of this quote just a few weeks ago. It was a Saturday night, and me and one of my roommates were bored. We decided that what better way to get us going on a Saturday night than by turning up the music really loud and just having a jam session? Anybody who knows me can tell you that once the music starts playing, it's inevitable that I will jam, regardless of sometimes looking like a fool doing so. As this was happening, I noticed that our blinds were open. I saw something green outside of the window, and walked over to investigate. To my dismay, I realized that there were a few boys standing outside of our window, watching me make a fool out of myself. At first, I was humiliated, but after a few seconds, I decided that I didn't care and that I was going to keep doing what I was doing. This event made me think of a very important life lesson: Someone is always watching, whether we know it or not and whether we like it or not.

Maybe it's just automatically built into our brains that being different is a bad thing. A lot of our lives, we strive to fit in. We make it a top priority to know what the latest fashion is and to know the latest trends so that we can fit in and not stick out like a sore thumb. But, what's so wrong with being different? To me, being different just says that you're standing for something that you believe in and you're not afraid to make that known to people and to make a statement. I have come to terms with the fact that I am different.

As the quote says, we all play many parts in our life time. I think that this is representative of the different stages that we go through in our lives. One of the most important stages that I remember going through in my life thusfar, was realizing that I was different, but that it wasn't a bad thing. I realize that part of being who I am is facing the fact that I am different, and that people will judge me for my beliefs. I think that the first time I started to realize this was a few years back when I was at an archery tournament. I noticed that as I was competing in this archery tournament, an older man was watching me. After a few minutes of this going on, the man approached me. We started talking about archery and then he did something that surprised me. He told me that I was different and that he had noticed, and he pulled a laminated card out of his pocket. He handed it to me and I sat there, looking at it for a few moments, not entirely registering what it said. It was a picture of a man on a ski lift, being lifted up and approaching the sun (the light). At the top of this card, it said "Don't lose your lift ticket." The man talked to me for a few more moments, and then for the rest of the tournament, he was nowhere to be found. At first, I thought it was so strange, that a random man would come up to me and do such a thing. I thought, "Of everybody competing in the tournament, Why me? Why did he come up and give this to me?" I then looked at the card again, and was instantly so grateful that this situation had occurred. The man taught me something that day, something that I don't know that I will ever be able to put my finger on. I just remember looking about that picture and thinking to myself "The gospel is my lift ticket, and if I lose that ticket, I will just be wandering around, not exactly sure what to do or which path to take."

As the second part of the quote mentions, "players have their exits and entrances." Part of growing up is realizing and accepting that there are going to be people in your life for a reason, but also that there are going to be people in your life that will disappear from your stage, never to return again. I'm thankful for the people in my life that have been on stage with me from Day 1, and also the new additions to my play, because each and every one of these people has taught me something important and helped me to find myself along the way.

We are each cast a role in the play of life, starting when we are born. We must try our best to be able to fit the role we have been assigned, but sometimes no matter how hard we try, our best is never good enough for the audience. We may sometimes slip up and forget our lines or be in the wrong place at the wrong time, leaving the audience wanting to throw tomatoes at us. Or, things can take an opposite turn and leave the audience giving us a standing ovation. However, through this process of learning to find ourselves, and play "our part," we are going to make mistakes. People are always going to be there watching us, every step of the way, so let's make the show worthwhile.

Drowned Rat with Glasses

June 21, 1992 was the day that I was born. That day just happened to be Father's Day as well. Each year around this time, I joke with my family and say that I was the best Father's Day present my dad could have gotten because after having two boys, I was his little girl. But this blog post is not about me by any means, it is about a very influential man in my life, my dad. Can I just start off by saying how grateful I am for my him? Despite the disagreements on my wearing makeup and wearing my hair a certain way, me and my dad have always gotten along and he has taught me some very important life lessons.

My dad is very good with managing finances and saving nearly every single dime that he makes. On numerous occasions he has tried to teach me this important lesson. But being a girl, it is in my nature to want to spend my money on shopping. I think when I came out to college I realized that I should have spent a little more time paying attention when he taught me about the importance of saving my money. I hope to someday be as good of a saver as he is.

Another thing about my dad that I love is that he is a people person. He can start up a conversation with just about anybody. I remember growing up, whenever we would go somewhere, my dad always knew somebody. It seemed to me like he knew everybody within a twenty mile radius of our house. As a little girl, I wished that I could have that many friends someday. I admire him for his people skills.

My dad is also a very good instructor. He teaches archery and is patient with the younger children, but strict when they are not listening or just choose to disobey. Archery was one activity that every single member of my family was involved in, and I loved that. We would go to archery tournaments and have our own support/cheering section. Of course you don't really cheer in archery, but that's beside the point.

My dad always made it to any event or activity in my life that I considered important. I was a cheerleader in high school, and even though he made fun of me for that and called me a "ditzy cheerleader," he never once missed a game. He attended every single dance recital that I have been in, and I took at least 10-12 years of dancing. I know that guys are not very interested in watching dance recitals and that they would much rather be watching basketball, but he came without fail every year. Deep down, I think he secretly liked watching me dance. :)

I feel like I don't really look like anybody in my family, but people have told me that I look just like my dad. Of course, I take this as a compliment because my dad was known as quite a fox back in the day. I remember him telling us stories about when he was younger and how he would get in fights with guys at school and I remember thinking that was really cool. And as I mentioned earlier, he would call me a ditzy cheerleader, which meant that it was only appropriate that I called him out for being a dumb jock in highschool.

There's one really funny story that comes to mind whenever I think about my dad. We were swimming in the pool one day when I was little and had just gotten out. Normally, when you just get out of the pool, your hair is all weird and stringy. My dad commented that I looked like a "drowned rat." My reply was "Well you look like a drowned rat with glasses." Haha.

With Father's Day being tomorrow, I wanted to take this time to let my dad know how much he means to me. I'm so excited to be able to see him and the rest of my family in about 41 days. I miss and love you all and can't wait to see you ! Happy Father's Day dad !<3

Don't Judge a Book by its Cover

I have never been "that girl" who involves herself in drama. No, I've tried to steer clear of all the drama that comes with being a teenage girl. However, I think we have all fallen victim to silently judging a book by its cover. I'll be the first to admit that there are times when I definitely put a label on people who I don't even know, just based on the few seconds that I see of them in passing or overhear a conversation that they are having. That is one thing that I have been trying to work on the most this semester, not judging. So far, I have to say that I'm doing a pretty good job, but every once in a while I catch myself breaking my good streak and having to start all over again.

The first item I'd like to address is this... "Why are they together, he's soo out of her league!?" First of all, I'm pretty sure I don't believe in the whole "out of your league concept." You love who you love and there's really not anything you can do about it. And besides, the last time I checked, there wasn't a universal scale of goodlooking-ness where people went to look up what their rating was, so how did you get the privilege of randomly selecting a number and assigning it to a person? Love is deeper than just skin deep, it's the emotional bond that you share as well, so who's to judge a couple based on their looks? Not me, that's for sure. What I do know though is that we will never be able to see what somebody sees in somebody else until we get to know that person for ourselves.

The second item I'd like to address is one that is near and dear to my heart. Anybody who is in their right mind knows that there are two sides to every story. Having said this, why are we so quick to jump on and attack one person based on the snippets of information we've heard "through the grapevine?" It's really kind of pathetic how people who have no business sticking their nose somewhere are living through the thrill of drama that comes from butting into other people's business, and judging those people based on the things that they've heard. I know that as humans, it is inevitable that we are going to make mistakes, but I think people need to stop and think about what they say before they say it. A very good friend of mine is going through a tough time with this right now. People are placing harsh judgements on her based on the information they have heard from others. Is this really fair? Not at all. If you want to find out answers, maybe you should try getting both sides of the story instead of just one. If there's one thing I know, it's that if people care enough to bother with what you do and how you live your life, then you're already better than them. Let them think what they will, you know the truth of the matter and that should be all that matters.

There's a movie that kind of reminds me of this topic. I have learned to love the movie Despicable Me. My roommates can tell you that much, because I think I quote that movie every single day... and I have a little inflatable minion chilling out on my desk in my room. Yes, I'm a nerd. But anyways, I really like the theme that comes across in the end. I've found that theme to be having a change of heart. It took getting to know three little orphan girls for Gru, the main character to be able to make a 180 degree change in his life. He started off being this big bad villain, but by the end of the story you can clearly see the change in his life that has taken place. He realizes that his love for these three girls overpowers his love for doing evil. I think that kind of applies in this situation as well. By going around and making judgments about people, we are being no better than a villain and stirring up trouble and contention. We need to remember to find ourselves throughout this process and be able to realize who we are or who we want to become and become that person. I'm almost positive when you think of a good person, the word judgmental is not the first word that comes to mind. We need to quit being the people that we promised ourselves we would never be and think about our actions and words before we end up hurting someone who does not deserve to be hurt. It's funny how big of an impact a children's movie can have on somebody's life. Just to leave with a quote, "Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves."

Mother Knows Best

With Mother's Day soon approaching, I figured I would take this time to write a little something about my mom. First off, I have the best mom in the entire world. She is not only my parental unit, but my very best friend. She has been there for me through thick and thin. When I left Pennsylvania and came out to college in Idaho, all the way on the other side of the country, I didn't realize how hard it would be to not have my mom around. Don't worry though, I found a solution: calling her, every single day without fail. :)

I can honestly say that I don't think I have ever gone through that stage where I was embarrassed of being around my mom as a teen. Whenever I had friends come over, they always thought of her as "the cool mom." And, she always was the cool mom. I can talk to my mom about anything and everything. On my worst of days and on the days when something exciting happens in my life, she is the first person to get the scoop. My senior year of high school, there would be some weekends when I wouldn't go out and hangout with my friends, but I would go to the movies with my mom instead. I wouldn't trade our relationship for anything in the world.

I hope that someday I am lucky enough to have the kind of relationship me and my mom have with my own children. She helps me through every situation that pops up in my life, and I find that she always knows the right thing to say to make me feel just a little bit better. I guess the saying really is true, mother knows best. I think that all mom's have this built in sense of knowing EVERYTHING, and I mean everything. She knows when I'm upset before I ever have to say a word. It's like a spidey sense that only mom's have. I think that my mom and I share this bond where we are able to be good judges of character and we also get good or bad feelings about certain things in life. Like mother, like daughter I guess you can say. I'm so thankful that she is there to give me a nudge in the right direction when my mind is off in a million directions. I just want my mom to know how much I love and miss her and how much I appreciate everything she does for me. I can't wait until I'm able to go home and see her and the rest of my family again because I miss them all so very much. If there's one thing I learned while I've been out here at college, it would be to make the most of the time that I have with my family. I think that statement alone is proof that I have grown up in being on my own for these past few months. Friends are no longer the most important thing in my life, family will always come first. Love and miss all of my family. Happy Mother's Day mom ! <3

Where The Heart Is

Have you ever had one of those instances where you were so lucky that you were in the right place at the right time because something somebody said had significance in your life and you felt like you just needed to hear it? I had one of those “Aha moments” today at stake conference. One of the speakers made a very interesting analogy. He was talking about Pirates of the Caribbean and about Captain Jack Sparrow. He said that Jack’s compass served as something that was very near and dear to his heart, and he couldn’t bear to have it away from him. At first, we have no idea why this compass is so very important to him. We later findout, however, that this is no regular compass that shows north and south, but that it has a deeper meaning. This compass only points in one direction, and that is in the direction of the thing that Jack desires most. Captain Jack’s heart is set on the treasure, which is why the compass always has a way of pointing to the treasure.

The speaker made the comment that our heart lies with the things that we desire the most. In Jack Sparrow’s case, that is the treasure. But what about the rest of us, where do our hearts lie? In what direction do our compass’s point? Is it in a direction that will bring us closer to God? There is a quote by Gordon B. Hinckley that I really love that says, “You are good. But it is not enough just to be good. You must be good for something. You must contribute good to the world. The world must be a better place for your presence. And the good that is in you must be spread to others….”

A lot of times, best friends think they know EVERYTHING about one another. Everything isn’t just your favorite color or your favorite store to shop at. Those things don’t come anywhere close to truly knowing someone. And I’ve come to the conclusion that it is impossible for somebody else to know you, when you don’t even know yourself. I wasn’t able to begin to figure out who I was until my senior year of highschool, and I still am learning new things about myself on a daily basis. But I think that now, I can say with confidence that I at least know that my compass is pointing me in the right direction. Though sometimes we make mistakes and the material desires of our heart may lead us astray, you are always able to find your way back.

I know that I’m no expert, I’m only 18 years old, what do I know. But I do think that if you discover what direction you want to go in early on in life, that you will be so much better off. And then you will be able to enjoy life, being content with the person that you are, learning new things about yourself along the way. In a weird way, this topic reminds me of the song “Dark Blue” by Jacks Mannequin. This song completely confuses me, but make’s perfect sense to me at the same time. The lyrics say:
“I have, I have you breathing down my neck, breathing down my neck. I don’t, don’t know what you could possibly expect under this condition so I’ll wait, I’ll wait for the ambulance to come, ambulance to come pick us up off the floor. what did you possibly expect under this condition so slow down, this night’s a perfect shade of dark blue, dark blue, have you ever been alone in a crowded room, well i’m here with you. I said the world could be burning til there’s nothing but dark blue.”
And of course, all lyrics are open to our own interpretation, but my way of thinking of this is that when he says “I don’t know what you could possibly expect under this condition,” he’s trying to say that he’s confused and doesn’t exactly know where he’s going or who he is and it makes it even harder when everybody has such high expectations for you and they’re on your back trying to lead you in a million different directions. And you know that you’re going to make some mistakes because it’s life and nobody’s perfect, but sometimes you just need to slow down and take a look around you and not take the people and things in your life for granted. And that sometimes you will think that you’re all alone and that nobody understands, but there is always somebody who has gone through the same thing.

Hearing this talk today was huge for me. I’m so very thankful for the people in my life and the memories that I have made with them. Through the good experiences and the bad experiences that I’ve had in life, I wouldn’t trade them in for anything because they’ve all helped me develop into my own person, and that’s so important. Just this past month, situations came up that made me aware of certain things that will be of utmost importance sometime in the near future. I’m so very blessed to have this church in my life. It has helped me through so much and has been my source of comfort. It’s the one thing in my life that I know i can always depend on for that. And I’m so glad for the situations that I’ve gone through that have made me realize how very important the church is in other people’s lives, because it has made it that much more important in mine. And just to end with a quote, “It is not easy to find happiness in ourselves, and it is not possible to find it elsewhere.” – Agnes Repplier (:

Have thoughts on this? Tell me what you think (:

The Pursuit of Happiness

On campus, there’s this place called the Horticulture Gardens. While walking through the gardens, there’s this cute little cottage with a saying above the doorway that says ”While in the pursuit of happiness, one should stop, and just be happy…” As I thought about this quote, I thought about this past year. I don’t know about you, but my year was filled with disappointments, humiliation, and sorrows, but also new friends and unforgettable memories. Despite everything that happened this past year, the good and the bad, I tried to take a positive outlook , even on the most negative of situations. I had the mindset “Everything happens for a reason, the negatives that i have faced this year will make me into a better person, and I will grow and learn from them.” But everybody has those days where they feel like their whole world is crashing down, one bad thing happens, followed by many others that make you feel like you’re carrying the biggest burden on your shoulders. For me, that day is today.

I’m one of those people who breaks things down and tries to analyze situations. Sometimes I feel like I overanalyze, and if there’s one thing I wish I could change about myself, it would be that. Nonetheless, I still do it and I feel like that is one of the reasons why I find myself getting hurt. Because I take these negative situations that I’m in and try and find the positive in them, which gives me a bundle of hope that everything will turn out exactly how I want it. Who am I kidding? This is life, it’s neither easy nor fair. That’s where my optimistic attitude got me. Don’t get me wrong, optimism is definately not a bad thing, however there’s an extent to which you can be optimistic before you just start living this make believe life. Something that I like to call being “overly optimistic.”

So then, I tried to reverse my way of thinking. I talked to a guy who clearly had feelings for me, but whenever somebody mentioned it that he did have feelings, I denied it for fear of being hurt. That didn’t end too well either, seeing how after a few days of doing this I felt like a more miserable person because all I would do was deny the obvious.

Amidst all my confusion on which outlook on life I should take, I stumbled upon that picture of the cottage and remembered the quote from the Gardens that stated “While in the pursuit of happiness, one should stop, and just be happy.” No sooner had I read that than it hit me. I don’t need to be overly optimistic or be a debbie downer and overanalyze, I just need to be content and happy with my life. Taylor Swift once said, “There is really no such thing as what might have been. There’s what happened and what will happen. I’ve just had to realize that what might have been is imaginary, and it’s this beautiful illusion of how it could have been if you had just done this right or if things had just lined up. But things don’t line up and you mess up for a reason.” I feel like this quote sums up my life. You can’t dwell on the past and think “Well if i did this differently , i may have seen different results.” That will do nothing for you but cause you misery. The only thing you can do is go with it and handle everything that comes at you in life to the best of your ability and be content with that. One of the most important lessons I’ve learned this year is that if you are patient, everything will work out in the end.

One of my favorite quotes says, “We neither grow better nor worse as we get older, but more like ourselves.” I recently discovered how much I like to write, so i created a blog. This blog was not intended for anyone but myself. It’s a way to get my feelings out and just expand on different feelings or perspectives that I have. The issues I write about are always issues that I feel have helped me become the person who I am today. It might seem dumb, but sometimes after I blog, I feel more at ease with myself. So, I'm sharing it with you (: Please feel free to comment !

"Clam"ity

Why can’t all guys be like Bruno Mars, that is the golden question. I mean just read these lyrics..

Oh, her eyes, her eyes, make the stars look like they’re not shining. Her hair, her hair, falls perfectly without her trying. She’s so beautiful , and I tell her everyday.Yeah I know, I know when I compliment her she wont believe me And its so, its so sad to think she don’t see what I see But every time she asks me do I look okay I say When I see your face There’s not a thing that I would change Cause you’re amazing Just the way you are And when you smile,The whole world stops and stares for awhile Cause girl you’re amazing Just the way you are. Her lips, her lips I could kiss them all day if she’d let me Her laugh, her laugh She hates but I think its so sexy She’s so beautiful and I tell her everyday.

If any guy ever sang these lyrics to me, I would swoon over him and my heart would melt. Why can’t guys in real life be this adorable? Oh wait, cause they’re too busy messing with girls emotions. What ever gave them the power to control our every emotion in the first place ? We’re constantly waiting on their name to pop up in our text inbox, and when we want them to text us the most, it’s always somebody else’s name that appears. Whenever they’re in a bad mood, so are we because their mood suddenly controls ours. It’s proposterous , I tell you. Some say real men wear pink? I say real men talk about their emotions instead of playing this “game” cause frankly it’s stupid, and soon enough girls are gonna start catching on to the rules of the game. If they haven’t figured it out already, boys like the chase. And once that’s over, they’ll move on to a new chase. Well I’ve got news for you boys, two can play that game. Don’t hate the player, hate the game? Hmm no, i hate the player who made up the game. If there’s something you want to tell us, then here’s an idea.. TELL US. I had an experience once when a guy waited until 5 hours before I was getting on a flight for college all the way on the other side of the country to tell me his thoughts all along. Now what could that have done? Nothing. 5 snaps for you for waiting until the last possible second.

We’re not mind readers, that’s impossible. Because trust me, if the opportunity were there for any girl to get inside a guy’s mind for a day, she would seize that opportunity. Girls on the other hand are like open books. Once you get them talking about their feelings, they won’t stop talking about them. You would think that girls and guys are from two different planets. It just boggles my mind that girls wear their emotions on their sleeves while guys keep everything bottled up and don’t let you know what they feel. Is it an issue of their masculinity? Maybe. In my highschool, guys called other guys who treated their girlfriends nice “clams.” Really guys ? It’s called treating yo lady with respect. It’s such a “clam”ity to girls hearts and minds. So heres a quick p.s. to all the “clams” out there.. keep doing what you’re doing, that’s why you have a lady and the guys who made up the word clam are single and making up words like clam. I rest my case.

A Hint of Hope

Okay so here’s the deal. Im no expert on the way males think. In fact, I’m prettysure it’s impossible to know why guys think the way they do. If by chance you think you’ve got it all down, pardon me and more power to you. What I do know , however is that I have had my fair share of experiences with the opposite sex, both good and bad, but we’ll save those stories for another time.

Im no doctor love, by any means. I’m just as clueless as the next girl. But, I do live with 3 other college girls with long distance boyfriends, so I have learned a thing or two.

Girls, including myself, always like it better when they have a boyfriend or someone who notices them and gives them attention. It gives them more self confidence and lets them know that they will have somebody that will be there for them. Which is why when girls fall victim to the one word text responses of their mancandy, yeah we’re mostlikely going to freak out and wonder what kind of activities our men are participating in a million miles away while we’re stuck here in Rexburg, Idaho. Can you blame us?

Now , there’s two very important principles I’ve learned in my living here. First, “out of sight, out of mind,” and Second “Absence makes the heart grow fonder.” In my opinion, it is more often than not that boys stick to the first principle, while girls stick more to the second. Why does it always seem that girls are the ones who are always willing to make sacrifices to make their relationships work, but guys seem to “move on to the next one” as soon as you’re out of sight. I’ve never really understood the principle of “out of sight, out of mind.” I mean, If you love somebody, distance shouldn’t matter, right? The fact that your in love should be that one factor that gets you up and out of bed each morning instead of wallowing away , watching sad movies, and eating ice cream: The common remedy for females going through heartache.

What about those who believe that absence makes the heart grow fonder? Well, I know for sure that I believe this. You don’t know what you have until it’s gone. In this case I mean that once you start spending day after day with your significant other, and then have to spend periods of time apart, that’s when you realize what they truly mean to you.

Let me address one final issue. Now girls, I know we can’t get inside of guys brains, but what I do know is that if they give you an indication, any indication at all that there’s hope, we have to trust it, even if it leads us to a little bit of heartache in the end. Honestly, I don’t think guys have any idea what they want. The truth is, girl’s don’t really know what they want either. They may have this list going of all the qualities they want in somebody, but that list can be totally changed along the road. There is only one thing we can do, and that is only to have a hint of hope to keep us moving forward. But a hint of hope alone is all it takes.