2011 mini-journal

Let's just copy everything that Busy Bee Lauren does. Ok cool.

January: I had waited my whole life to see these babies. They were well worth the wait.


January was just amazing. It was full of so many new things. Places, people, and adventures. I was so happy to find that I loved everything about Jerusalem, and that I had the most amazing roommates ever. I could just tell that everything was going to be wonderful.

February: I honestly loved this day with every fiber of my being.


This month was kinda hard overall. I just had a lot of really stressful days and I think I just got homesick. That's weird to think about, because now I get homesick for Jerusalem. And it was stressful because of midterms, and we had to write those crazy Islam papers and such. Luckily there were days like the one in this picture to keep me sane.

 March: This is a picture of a model of Jerusalem after the Romans came in and took everything out. And by everything I mean the Jews. That happened in 70 AD.


I loved walking around and seeing all the diagrams and things about the history of Jerusalem and realizing that I knew all of it! It was one of those moments of pure validation when you realize that all of the work and study has paid off. I am so glad I had such amazing professors who made sure we really understood the history of the land. I am so proud of all my knowledge. 

April: My last picture in the Old City. This was probably the saddest time of my life :(


...but seriously. I will always look back on April of 2011 as just like, depression. I was so sad to be leaving I couldn't even handle it. One day I will be able to explain that sadness, one day. 

May: My surgery and my brother's return from Iraq.


I basically spent this entire month in bed watching 24 and Parenthood. I was tired all the time and constantly on high-dosage pain killers, ergo the whole month is a bit of a blur. 

June: I turned 20 and started my first summer term. How exciting!


I basically spent this entire month at the pool with Jenna and Brian. Each Tuesday Jenna and I gathered at her place to cook food from pinterest and watch the Bachelorette. Poor Ben, he was so much better for Ashley than JP...

July: Is it sad that my favorite memory from July is getting totally lost in Idaho?


I still spent many of my July days at the pool with Jenna, and blew many dollars of snow cones. But is money you enjoyed wasting really wasted? 

August: It didn't take long for me to realize that I was in love with the girls I live with. And in love with my new job. Too bad I didn't feel the same way about school, huh?


August also marks the start of my four month facebook disappearing act, and with that I kinda fell off the face of the planet. I needed it, and I loved it. Over the summer I had started to feel like I was not in control of my life, but rather the people around me were. I just needed time to take a break and focus on me, without worrying about what other people thought. 

September: Seeing the Lion King in 3D. It was such a blissful reenactment of my childhood.


Looking back on this semester the things that stand out are: parking handicap by the Clyde, my ridiculous Women's Studies class, the hundred dollar voice, the awkward moment when I put my first name with my TA's last name, dinner at other people's apartments, and DQ chocolate extreme.   

October: I finally completed a corn maze. Life goal accomplished.


October was awesome cause it's when I felt like I was really starting to make friends in the ward. I'm one of those "people who don't know me say I'm quiet, people who do known me wish I was" kinda girls, and mid-October is when I finally started to be myself outside of my apartment. Too bad apartment 89 still thinks I'm "so quiet and serious"... 

November: I went to a dance.


You guys, this is huge, and it totally defines my November. The whole month I was just filled with the weirdest form of energy ever. It was so pent up for such a long time and eventually it all exploded at a dance, and I hate dances, so this was huge. My painful facial expression is to show that this is not something I would normally be doing.


Quote to define November: "I think it's time for you to go to Target..." -Jennie. She was trying to study and I was distracting her with my energy so she tried to kick me out :)

December: I got sick of normal jean blankets so I decided to mix it up. I would not recommend making a quilt without a pattern.

December has just been... December. But without the snow. Seriously, what a fluke winter. If I had to come up with one way to describe this month it would be A) stressed and B) bored. I guess that's two ways to describe it? Stressed for finals, bored when they were over. Christmas break is always such a poser. You think it's going to be awesome but then you realize all your friends are going home and you're just alone in Provo which is like the worst scenario ever. I've read a few books and done some productive things, which is good. But some really good things have come to an end this December, which is really sad. So, like I said, I guess it's just another December.


I am ready to bring in a new year. I love looking at calendars for next December and wondering what will be happening. Who will be in my life that isn't right now? Where will I be living? What will my family be like?  Will I have a new hobby? How will my life path have changed?

I am so excited to see what 2012 has in store :)