So, I graduated

So, I graduated.

That was pretty cool, I guess. I mean, if you read my last post you'll understand my level of excitement (or lack thereof).

My parents drove out to Idaho to attend my graduate and bring back all of my belongings—two cars was just enough. The weather was practically perfect, which is a blessing considering the states and the time of year in which we were traveling.

It wasn't so weird when I was saying good bye and leaving Rexburg. It didn't feel like it was the last time I'd be in Rexburg. But it's finally sinking in that I'm done. Rexburg is no longer my home. Most people would say "Hallelujah! It's about time." However, Rexburg has grown on me.

When it's not blindly cold, it's a beautiful town. (OK. Even when it is cold, it's still pretty).

The temple was a 3 minute drive/20 minute walk from my apartment. How cool is that?

Picture taken by Rod Keller

And I met some of the most awesome people in Rexburg — roommates, professors, friends, bishoprics.

I'm glad that I graduated from college. But I wasn't quite ready to say good bye to friends and Rexburg.

I'd rather be a student ...

I don't have much to write, but I'd like to mention that I only have a week and a half until graduation.

It's an absolutely surreal experience.

Natalie and I put on our caps and gowns yesterday. When I looked in the mirror, it was shocking. I've always known that I would get my bachelor's, but it's finally happening.

However, I have mixed emotions about the whole affair.

I'm excited to have achieved this feat, but I'm also sad/scared to be moving on. I'll go home for Christmas, but I won't be coming back in January. I won't be starting classes. This is the first time that I haven't had a real path to go on. While it's exciting to have so many options, it's terrifying to not know the next step.

I had a interviewer ask me my year and five-year plan.

Here's my reaction:

I don't know where I'll be living in less than a month, why are you asking me where I'll be in a year?

I'm excited to see where life will take me, but I'm still nervous.

Maybe I'll just ride the education train for a little bit longer. So what if I have over 140 credits — I'm a good student. Didn't you always tell us to do what we're good at? What about what makes me happy?

It seems like there's a simple answer: just leave me be. I'm happy with no real responsibilities.

November Love List

• long-sleeve shirts

• boots

• blankets

• scented candles

• turkey

• mashed potatoes

• attempted trips to Mesa Falls

• soup

• Conference issue of the Ensign

• baking

• snow-covered trees

• work

• Thanksgiving

• pie

• first-time jello making experiences

• sunshine

• hot chocolate

new york sneak peak

I promise, I will update soon.

Here's a little sneak peak from my New York trip. It was an absolutely amazing experience — visiting with all the companies, walking around Times Square, seeing The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway.

Where have all the Halloween shenanigans and candy gone?

Most people spend Halloween getting ready for a night of shenanigans and candy. I used to be one of those people. Those were the days — carefree and candy-driven.

I don't plan on dressing up for the holiday tonight. I'm dressing up in my pajamas, but not my previously-planned Ginny Weasley costume.

Right now, I'm in the Scroll office. I have spent the day editing, listening to classic 90s music and watching "How I Met Your Mother." While some may not find this to be an adequate way to spend Halloween, I think it's great. I like editing, 90s music and "HIMYM."

I did celebrate Halloween last night. I carved a pumpkin, smeared pumpkin guts on Kyle's face, took a picture with said pumpkin and then went and blew up pumpkins. The only thing that was missing was candy. But I'm sure I'll fix that later today.

Anywho, I am about to leave the Scroll office to go and take some pictures for a video podcast. But I thought I'd mention that even though Elyssa Squires abandoned me this weekend, Kate Bailey made a triumphant return to Saturdays at the Scroll office. It really made my day.

Here's a picture documenting this momentous occasion.




And yes, I am aware how crazy my braid looks. Giant headphones tend to mess things up a bit.

Searching for joy

Sometimes, it's hard to be happy. I think we can all agree on that.

I spent the majority of November 2008 to February 2009 trying to figure out why I wasn't happy. Life wasn't so bad. I was doing well in school. I had friends, family love and support.

I'm not saying that every moment of my life was spent down in the dumps. There were times when I felt great. But when the day ended, I just felt empty.

I tried to simply go on with life, not mentioning my unhappy state to many people.

While I was talking with a trusted friend, I put on a faint smile for our little conversation. After talking for a little bit, he looked me in the eyes and said, "Are you doing OK?"

I guess I wasn't doing OK because I broke down. Every empty day came flooding to the surface. I admitted that I hadn't been happy for a while.

Here are a few things that I learned from the conversation that followed my unhappy confession:

We have trials in our lives. For me, and I'm sure many others, emptiness is a trial.

Happiness is a blessing. Sometimes we don't get to have every blessing we want. What we can do is work towards that blessing.

I know that some people think that we should just automatically be blessed with happiness — I was one of those people. While the Lord most definitely wants us to be happy, what would we learn from automatically receiving the cheery blessing?

Some mornings, we will wake up and have a merry demeanor. Other mornings, it won't come so easily. Those days, being happy takes work.

Working to be happy includes starting the day off with a prayer. Instead of asking to be happy, ask for opportunities to find happiness.

I've found that doing acts of service makes your more cheerful. I'm not saying that you need to go and do a grad act of service every morning. Put away dirty dishes, make a bed. Not only will you feel better, but your roommates/loved ones will, too. When I walk into a clean apartment, I almost instantly feel lighter.

It comes back to having a Christ-like attitude and demeanor. By lightening someone else's load, our burdens become easier to bear.

As I said earlier, I have been blessed with a loving family. When I start to slip into a depression of sorts, I look at my family's various blogs. Recently, I have found joy in the smiles, laughs and triumphs of my nieces and nephew.

When I see videos of my niece, Paisley, and my nephew Zander laughing, I feel full of life. they remind me to find joy in everyday life. Hearing my niece, Ayda, sing me a song she learned in nursery makes grey skies disappear. Watching a video of Paisley crawling helps me to remember that we can overcome seemingly small trials every day.

There are still days when I wake up searching for happiness, but now I know where to look.

Project photos

Sitting next to a Mac causes me to waste time.

This is what happens when I get bored and am sitting next to a Mac.
The 'P' stands for Paisley. I'm still thinking of designs for Ayda, Zander and Summer. They just all have cool names. I don't have all of my pictures with me, so this is just me messing around. If you have any ideas or suggestions, please let me know. I want to make designs for each of them.

October love list

I was inspired by my friend Brynn to write an October love list. So here goes:

• pumpkins

• crunchy leaves

• red leaves

• orange leaves

• baking and decorating cookies

• jackets

• dark colored clothing

• curling up in blankets outside

• autumn scented candles

• Halloween

• haunted houses

• corn mazes

• hay stacks

• long sleeve shirts

• light scarves

• ultimate

• soccer

• running

• the color orange

• General Conference

I'm sure there are many more things I love about October.

Abandoned, yet again.

First, Kate Bailey abandons me on Scroll Saturdays. Now, Elyssa has abandoned me.

I do not approve.

Luckily, I have a good assistant that will listen to my ramblings and comments about non-sense articles. However, I can't ask him to participate in making movies or creating comics during free moments.

I do love Scroll, and today wasn't horrid. But it definitely lacked in exciting adventures, singing and impersonating. Where were the Russian accents, I ask you?!

While lamenting my sad state, I wrote a counterpoint to my friend Jeff's point on Dungeons and Dragons. Don't worry, I'll post it later.

This picture accurately portrays my feelings when I realized that Elyssa would not be coming into the office today.

Self-portrait pictures

While I wasn't a huge fan of my self-portrait collage, I loved some of the pictures I took for the project. 

I just love this first picture. I needed one that described my girly side. My good friend Eric helped me out by being my male model. He did such a great job :) This picture was taken on Eric's doorstep.

I feel like this next picture is the main facet of myself. I'm a student, and I love reading. This picture was taken on my parents' front porch. I love sitting out there on nice days. 

Mondays, how I loathe thee.

While most normal people don't care for Mondays without real cause, I have reason to thoroughly abhor them.

I am a copy editor for the university newspaper. This means that I get to read luckluster articles by less-than-mediocre writers. Most the time I have to read the stories twice.

Now it may seem like I absolutely hate my job. On the contrary. I quite enjoy copy editing. However, I don't care for writers (or editors) that don't feel the need to make the changes I have made.

Yes. Arrogant people who think that their mediocre writing is acceptable don't feel the need to make AP or coherency changes. So when I see a story for the second time with the same ridiculous mistakes, I tend to get agitated.

When people (*cough* editors) ask others if certain changes are right, I want to punch them in the face. I am the copy editor; do not ask the managing editor (who is in charge of design) if scroll photography is, in fact, not capitalized and if scroll really is italicized. I marked the changes. I know the style. Just please make the changes.

I know that I am not a perfect copy editor. But seriously, I know attribution styles for our newspaper. I'm paid $8 an hour to edit your pages. Get your money's worth by not questioning attribution style.

It's also snowing outside. On Oct. 5. Perhaps this has influenced my Garfield-esque attitude towards this particular Monday

P.S. I made our opinion editor Elyssa "cry baby" Squires cry.

And the hearts of men shall wax cold

This editorial will appear in the 9.22.2009 issue of Scroll

When we were young, most of us were taught to mind our manners. Every time we wanted something, our parents gently reminded us to say “please.” If we received something, “thank you” was expected to roll off of our tongues.

As we proceeded through life, it was expected that we would add decorum to our please and thank yous.

However, many Americans seemed to have gotten lost somewhere on the road between please and thank you on the way to decorum.

On Sept. 9, President Barack Obama spoke to Congress regarding the need to renovate health care in the United States.

After telling Congress that the reforms on the health care plan would not apply to illegal immigrants, Congressman Joe Wilson, a Republican from South Carolina, yelled, “You lie!”

The shock on Speaker Nancy Pelosi's face said it all—what has happened to decorum in America?

There's nothing wrong with having a different opinion; America was built on differing views. But what happened to waiting until the proper forum for such comments?

“No matter who he is or how much we disagree with his policies, the president should be treated with respect,” said former President Jimmy Carter when interviewed by NBC's “Nightly News.”

Another woefully lost traveler on Civility Road is rapper Kanye West.

At the 2009 Video Music Awards on Sept. 13, country singer Taylor Swift was awarded “Best Female Video.” As Swift started to express her appreciation, Kanye West took the microphone and said, “Beyoncé had one of the best videos of all time.”

Again, the shocked look on Swift's face questioned civility in America.

Fortunately, there are still those who retain some class and decorum.

Later that night, Beyoncé won “Best Video of the Year.” Instead of Beyoncé taking time to bask in the spotlight, she called Swift back up on stage to have the moment that was stolen from her.

Decorum isn't restricted to public outbursts. As college students, we show our professors the “good manners” that our mothers taught us—texting, surfing the Internet, sleeping in class, etc.

When we exhibit these manners, or lack thereof, we are telling professors that what they have to teach us isn't important. We are exhibiting poor decorum. Students might as well stand up in front of the teacher and say, “I'm sorry Brother Warnick, but Brother Bennett had one of the best classes of all time.”

Wake up. Put away the phone. Take notes instead of surfing the Internet.

And remember to say please and thank you.

Drained.

I feel creatively drained.

No inspiring pictures to take.

No inspiring things to write.

Shots from Oregon

Can I just say ...

I have the best job ever. 

     

Alumna, Zombie or Counselor?

So I've been gone for about seven weeks. Some have wondered why the long hiatus. 

Here are a few options:

1. I graduated from college and now have a real job.

2. I died, became a zombie and have just now re-learned to type.

3. I became an efy counselor.

While many think the zombie option would be the best bet, you would be wrong. I have been an efy counselor. 

For those of you who don't know, efy stands for Especially for Youth. It's a  week-long religious camp that is for boys and girls ages 14-18. 

Not only are we trying to create a climate for the teenagers to feel the Spirit, we are trying to show them they can still have fun when following the commandments the Lord has given us. 

Believe me, these kids don't need the help.

I've learned more from these teenagers then I could ever teach them. I know it's been said before, and it's a bit cliché, but the youth of today are the strongest generation yet. 

I've had youth that have medical problems, medical problems in their family and are dealing with death in their families. Yet every day they wake up with a smile on their face, ready to be an example of the believers. (The theme of this year's efy is "Be Thou An Example." How appropriate.)

All of my weeks have brought out special experiences, but Rexburg 5 had an abundance.

First, this group was automatically different than all the others. We had three girl groups and one boy group—46 kids in all. The group name was 'Many Souls' (funny, I know). 

The three other counselors and I were a little worried about unity within our group, but these kids were unified. A few occurrences solidified their bond. 

One of our 34 girls had a seizure during testimony meeting. After we got the kids outside of the room, they immediately hit their knees. While all of the counselors were worrying, the youth knew where to go for help. 

They were also given a testimony of the Lord working miracles through the priesthood. 

One of our boys had an extremely hard life. I'm not sure if he was a member, but had a testimony. One thing he lacked was a set of scriptures. 

The kids gathered money, went to the bookstore and bought him a set of scripture with his name embossed on them. 

I have never cried so much as I did during this week. The strength that the kids have is inspiring. The caring they had for one another after a few days was amazing. 

These kids also have odd senses of humor. I've had girls decide who I'm going to marry, and they blatantly try to get us together. (Picture girls looking up scriptures on celestial marriage, and sharing them during our company gospel study or writing "love notes" from me to my co-counselor and vice-versa.) While sometimes they have been embarrassing, overall they have been caring and funny. 

I love each and every one of the youth I have had the blessing of being over. They are funny, spiritual and just plain amazing.  

 "Many Souls" counselors

 Service activity

 Escorting :)

P.S. Sorry this post is  kind of haphazard. My thoughts are all sorts of mixed up right now :)

Rachelle and Nathan's announcements

I took Rachelle's engagement photos yesterday, and today I made her announcements. (It's two-sided).

My first shoot with kids!

These are just a few pictures from my first photo shoot with kids. It's definitely different. It was a lot of fun, but I was so unsure during the whole thing. For me, the baby was the hardest to shoot. 

More random thoughts from the substitute

After finishing the winter semester, I decided to be a substitute teacher for my old school district. I never thought that I'd be back roaming the halls that were painted with four years of my teenage memories. Though some structural changes have been made, the students inside are very much the same. The only difference is that I am now seeing them through older eyes. 

In high school, I wouldn't have given much thought to others' modesty. But as I look at the girls entering my temporary classrooms, I blush at their choice of clothing. Heck, "ladies of the evening" would blush at their apparel. 

After asking some of my old teachers if my class was that bad, they responded with, "Yes, but you guys still got in trouble for it." Nobody seems to care what the students are wearing anymore. 

Another thing that wouldn't have bothered me during high school is the students' attitude towards homework. They're given nearly an hour to work on homework, and they just sit there and avoid it at all costs. I tried convincing them that it would be beneficial to get it done now so they wouldn't have to do it at home. (My high school self probably would have given me a look of disgust at that moment.) Some replied that they would do it during study period—yeah right. I rarely saw anyone do homework during study hall. 

Then there were the students who decided that the work due at the end of the period wasn't worth their time. They'd rather listen to their iPods. I often think of ripping the headphones our of their ears, smacking them upside the head and telling them to get to work. 

These kids don't know how good they've got it. I wish I could see their faces after their first day of college—what a rude awakening that will be. 

The last thing that bothers me has bothered me since I was in high school and still bothers me in college—public make-out sessions. Seriously, I don't want to see that. I know that you love each other and all, but save it. 

I would like to say that people have matured by the time they're in college, but that's not true. I think it's funny that married students think it's now OK for them to make-out in places of work, (*cough*i-Comm office*cough*) the library and in front of buildings. But to be perfectly frank, it's not.

I've always liked to think I was pretty mature even though I'm not. But after substituting for a few weeks, i have realized that I'm more mature than I was in high school. Some people may be thinking, "You better be, it's been four years." To those people, I'd like them to take a look at a few of the fine people I graduated with. They're exactly the same people they were in high school, except now it's legal for them to drink.  

 

High school Jessica

Older, wiser Jessica