No wonder everyone hates math...

Being born into this world not being able to speak, or walk, or do anything for ourselves, one would think that the most difficult part of our lives would be the mastery of these vital abilities; however, this assumption is horrendously flawed. It would seem that the older we get, the better we are at buttoning shirts and feeding ourselves, but the worse we get at effectively handling problems. Our predicaments slowly morph from the simple, clean cut 2 + 2 = 4 to far more complicated and daunting calculus equations with variables beyond comprehension, imaginary integers, and transcendental numbers representing unrealistic quantities. They get messy. They get hard. They take more time and delicacy to solve and there is sometimes even a possibility for there to be more than one correct answer. Then as we progress and grow, the solutions to these problems do not only become a dividend for just ourselves anymore. Our actions and decisions have a nuclear fall out effect on everyone else in our lives as well. These people, their emotions and well-being become exponents and square rooted divisors which add to the stickiness of the problem, requiring more thought and extra necessary steps, only to still arrive at a quadratically irrational conclusion that leaves some factors unresolved.
Some people are born problem solvers. Lucky them, these mathematicians can look at any problem, weigh the options, determine the best choice with the least collateral damage, and carry out the solution flawlessly. But what about those of us who are better at reading than math? My advice? Close your eyes and circle A). B). C). or D). The nice thing about mathematics is that it is consistent. The fundamental principles we learned back in the 1st grade are still applicable now. 3 x 3 will always be 9. 721,985 ÷ 5 will always be 144, 397. Pi will always be 3.14159265358979323846… piece of cake, or pie rather. As the equations become more complex, all of our previous knowledge extends over into the new to help us form the conclusion, the same way life experiences help us conquer the next life crisis. The more we familiarize ourselves with the intricacies, the easier problems become for us.
So we continue to solve our problems, trying all different sized and shaped pieces to fit into the puzzle until we stumble upon one that fits. Trial and error. In an equation, x can represent an infinity of numbers but there is always one that fits, we just need to have the patience and faith that we'll find it.

'Tis the Season.

The holiday season is a time for many things. A time for reflection and self-evaluation. A time for love, a time for family, a time for joy and merriment, charity, and forgiveness. A time to celebrate the first breath that changed this world forever. A time when we remember Christ in Christmas, "For He is the light, life, and hope of the world." A time when we step back and put things back in perspective. Prioritize. Figure out what is really important and figure out what's not important. There is no point in worrying and fretting about things you cannot control. "Try your best, and then let go of the rest"- words to live by.
This is a time of tender endings, but a wonderful time of beginnings. Find the gladness in the sorrow. Seek out the silver in the gray. Spend time with your family and loved ones. Let them know how precious they are to you and don't forget to tell them why. Ask questions, talk about something meaningful, make memories. Open your eyes and realize what you have. Savor each moment, enjoy each laugh, remember every smile... 'tis the season.

Merry Christmas

"The List"

People at BYU ask the strangest questions.
The questions themselves aren't strange, I suppose it's just my lack of answers that I find strange.
'How many boys have you kissed?' -Well gee, I never thought to keep track like that...
'How many dates have you been on?' -Mmm, it doesn't matter to me, does it really matter to you?
Ones like that are the most common, but then there are some that don't pertain to dating that I still don't have a good answer to.
'Greatest/worst moment of your life'
'Things you have to do before you die.'
Things I have never really thought about... I guess I've always been so focused on the present and never really taken the time to dwell on those kinds of things.
This weekend I had a chance to think about it though. I spent Thanksgiving break with my sister and her husband and we had a good laugh about all the fun times we had as kids. Man, we did some stupid stuff :) but all the reminiscing made me think about what's ahead, too.
So here is a list of the 10 most memorable things in the past, and 10 dreams, goals, and expectations for the future.

1. Snowball fights and skiing with the family and Steve, our neighbor
2. Trip to California all by myself when I was 8
3. Playing bedtime games with Whitney every night... and getting in trouble for it :)
4. Getting baptized
5. Daddy-daughter dates to the theatre
6. Baseball bat to the head on my mom's 40th birthday and my first week in the new school
7. Shenanigans of summer '07 with Stacey ;)
8. Titanic the Musical and choir performance at SWACDA Convention in Kansas City senior year
9. Speech/Debate: tournaments with Cameron and the old crew, State in Corpus Christi, team Doe/Mayer.
10. First month of college

In no particular order....
1. Attain at least a master's degree in psychology
2. Have a family of my own
3. Go scuba diving
4. BROADWAY and shopping in New York
5. Become a counselor
6. Be a member of every PTA and Booster Club my kids are involved in
7. Own a cabin in the mountains
8. Be a grandma
9. Serve a church mission with my husband
10. Live to be 90

My life in a nutshell... hope that answers your questions :)

People.

People are funny.
And of course by 'funny' I mean strange, difficult, hard to read, wonderful, curious, and constantly full of surprises.
There is nothing more beautiful and comforting than the companionship of a friend. There is also nothing more fragile or complicated. Walter Winchell said, "A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out." Yet, at least in my experiences, your friends are usually the firsts to let you down. Why is that? A friendship is far more complicated than just 'give and take.' It takes time, commitment, trust, love, and about a million other things to really make it something worth while. It's about investment. It's about growth. Sometimes, it's about getting knocked down and walked all over. The greatest rewards in life come with the greatest price. It makes me wonder how anyone could fall in love. A friend of mine was recently discussing the profound amount of trust and bravery involved in loving someone and he makes a very valid point. People are so unreliable, so unpredictable. It's a wonder how anyone gets along with anyone. I can't recall even one person in my life who has not disappointed me in some way or another, and as much as it pains me, I'm sure there is not one friend in my life who I have not failed. So why bother? They let you down, you let them down... Why do we continue to bond and make friendships with each other and seek new relationships, and consequently, therefore be finding more and more people to fall short of our expectations? The cycle is infinitely regressive but we never let that stop us from putting ourselves out there on the line in hopes that we will find someone who will be different, someone who will be a true friend. What is a 'true friend' anyway? Someone who will always be loyal and faithful and never thwart us? If such a person ever existed, I assure you they would not being lobbying for a friendship with any of us. So we will have to just stick with what we have, continue to enjoy the good times and suffer through the bad, hopefully learning something along the way. Until the day when we meet our true *best* friend. The one that we can love with all our heart, and more difficultly, let them love us with all of theirs. Maybe then all the frustration, disappointment and hurt will pay off.
People are funny.
The little devils :) but life would surely be boring without them.