Coming home for the summer was a little different this year. For one thing I actually wanted to stay in Utah but expenses outweighed opportunity, so I had to come home! Second, I felt like everyone else was staying and I would miss out on fun and friends, which for a while was true. And third, I felt like I wouldn't have any friends at home to hang out with. Nevertheless, I came home. For the first two months I filled all my time with work, babysitting and family because I didn't want to feel lame because I had free time and nothing to do! However, it all changed when I met a wonderful girl at church! Amber saying hello to me and inviting me to a crape party was one of the biggest blessings of the summer! Since meeting her I have made some wonderful friends, borrowed someones socks, danced like a fool, discovered the wonder of $5 movies, jumped in the Tualatin river, and learned how to throw a Frisbee. I never realized how much one kind person can make a difference.
People like Amber make me want to be the same. I smile and say hello to people I met one time, I try to make people feel welcome, I try to invite people...I know its silly but after seeing how much of a blessing it was for me, I just want to return the favor to others. A warm smile, a gentle greeting, a friendly face.... all these things can completely change how a person feels. They made me willing to try new things on my own. They all helped me to feel comfortable enough to be myself. It all started with one person. Never underestimate your ability to help someone. Never let an opportunity to make a friend pass you by. I once heard someone say, "There is no such thing as a stranger, just friends you haven't met yet".
Until later,
A friend
Showing posts with label summer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label summer. Show all posts
Monday, July 18, 2011
Thursday, July 7, 2011
Reasons I come back to Portland for summer....
Its been quite sometime since I last wrote anything so I figured I should explain why....My summers are not filled with weekend trips to the beach or vacations to far away places, although I sometimes wish they were! My summers are filled with work, working out, and babysitting. Occasionally I sleep or watch a movie...but that's about it....I know I know it sounds ridiculously boring and lame to most people but to me it's completely fine 99.5% of the time. The other .5% of the time I really wish I had something fun to do with friends, who knows maybe if I had something to do I would actually work less....Anyways, here are the reasons why I come home to Portland for the summer....
1. My job is just too convenient! If I was to come back home for a weekend I could have a job if I wanted. It is the biggest blessing in my life since baby lotion was created. And not only is it convenient, it is awesome! I get paid to play with little children, people don't look at me funny if I start acting like a little kid, and it's basically just the best! I also have wonderful friends from work that I love!
2. The families I babysit for are amazing! I primarily babysit for 3 families. They keep me plenty busy and sometimes I babysit for a family as often as 3 times a week! One of my all time favorite families has 5 happy, fun, energetic, loud, active boys. Did I mention that they are all boys!?! I love it! They are adorable. Grant, the oldest, is my little helper. When I ask him to watch the babies for a second so that I can do something else, he is on it! Luke, next in line, is the goof ball! He comes up with some of the wackiest sayings and jokes that I have ever hear! Max, middle child, is very intelligent! If he doesn't understand why something is the way it is, he won't leave me alone until he gets a good answer! And then their are the twins, Leo and Jake. Leo is much more of an independent baby, he will just hang out and do his own thing, on the other hand Jake likes to do everything that his older brothers are doing. He loves to be right where all the action is. We have had so many fun times! A scavenger hunt for buried treasure, making fathers day crafts, watching Hook! (Which happens to be an awesome movie!) and much much more!
3. I suppose my family should count. I love them, I really do! Sometimes they really drive me up the wall though!
4. My gym membership is free! I love working out! However, I don't have a membership to a gym at school because I am a cheap college kid! I would work out 6 days a week if I got my way every week! Sometimes it doesn't happen, but it's wonderful when it does!
5. Last but not least.....It's OREGON! The most beautiful place in the world! I love Oregon! I just wish I had more time to enjoy it, which is why I am going to make a list of things I want to do before the end of summer!
Until later,
working too much
1. My job is just too convenient! If I was to come back home for a weekend I could have a job if I wanted. It is the biggest blessing in my life since baby lotion was created. And not only is it convenient, it is awesome! I get paid to play with little children, people don't look at me funny if I start acting like a little kid, and it's basically just the best! I also have wonderful friends from work that I love!
2. The families I babysit for are amazing! I primarily babysit for 3 families. They keep me plenty busy and sometimes I babysit for a family as often as 3 times a week! One of my all time favorite families has 5 happy, fun, energetic, loud, active boys. Did I mention that they are all boys!?! I love it! They are adorable. Grant, the oldest, is my little helper. When I ask him to watch the babies for a second so that I can do something else, he is on it! Luke, next in line, is the goof ball! He comes up with some of the wackiest sayings and jokes that I have ever hear! Max, middle child, is very intelligent! If he doesn't understand why something is the way it is, he won't leave me alone until he gets a good answer! And then their are the twins, Leo and Jake. Leo is much more of an independent baby, he will just hang out and do his own thing, on the other hand Jake likes to do everything that his older brothers are doing. He loves to be right where all the action is. We have had so many fun times! A scavenger hunt for buried treasure, making fathers day crafts, watching Hook! (Which happens to be an awesome movie!) and much much more!
3. I suppose my family should count. I love them, I really do! Sometimes they really drive me up the wall though!
4. My gym membership is free! I love working out! However, I don't have a membership to a gym at school because I am a cheap college kid! I would work out 6 days a week if I got my way every week! Sometimes it doesn't happen, but it's wonderful when it does!
5. Last but not least.....It's OREGON! The most beautiful place in the world! I love Oregon! I just wish I had more time to enjoy it, which is why I am going to make a list of things I want to do before the end of summer!
Until later,
working too much
Monday, April 25, 2011
Time to smell the roses...
It has been way too long since I last posted something so I figured that it was about time. I am now home from my sophomore year at Brigham Young University! It was a great year! I'm almost done with my GEs and my Minor! Unfortunately that means I still need to do my major....but that is all beside the point! My roommates were awesome and I had an amazing ward! I cannot wait to go back! I will pot on this more later so for now I will get to the point of this post...
This last year I have noticed that I tend to rush from one thing to the next without taking time to enjoy what I am doing at the moment. I often found myself sitting in class counting down the minutes until it was done so that I could go to my next class because that meant I was almost done with classes for the day and I could go to work. (I am convinced that besides my inability to be content with where I am, the joy that I got from being at work and getting things done is unnatural.) Anyways, I would then count down the minutes until I got to go home! After I got home I couldn't wait for the next thing to happen! I was just always looking forward to the next thing that I never really took the time to enjoy where I was.
This small scale example is true on the larger scale as well. I have always been so focused on getting to the next stage of life, expecting everything to be suddenly perfect, that I never appreciate the stage that I am in. Like right now, I am single! Instead of focusing on the fact that I am unable to get a date I should enjoy the freedom that I have and take this opportunity to grow. I need to focus on what I have instead of what I lack. So this summer I am going to do whatever I want to do (probably mostly working and spending time with my family, but still it will be what I want to do). I am going to be content with where I am at in life and just enjoy this time for what it is! I am going to stop and smell the roses because at some point they might be gone and what a waste it would be if I did not enjoy them when I had the chance. I know that I will be given opportunities when I am ready for them and that it will all happen sooner than I realize.
I feel like this has been a little bit of a soap box but it is my blog...and I did title it Word Vomit....so I suppose that it is fitting. It is what it is.
Until later,
Content
This last year I have noticed that I tend to rush from one thing to the next without taking time to enjoy what I am doing at the moment. I often found myself sitting in class counting down the minutes until it was done so that I could go to my next class because that meant I was almost done with classes for the day and I could go to work. (I am convinced that besides my inability to be content with where I am, the joy that I got from being at work and getting things done is unnatural.) Anyways, I would then count down the minutes until I got to go home! After I got home I couldn't wait for the next thing to happen! I was just always looking forward to the next thing that I never really took the time to enjoy where I was.
This small scale example is true on the larger scale as well. I have always been so focused on getting to the next stage of life, expecting everything to be suddenly perfect, that I never appreciate the stage that I am in. Like right now, I am single! Instead of focusing on the fact that I am unable to get a date I should enjoy the freedom that I have and take this opportunity to grow. I need to focus on what I have instead of what I lack. So this summer I am going to do whatever I want to do (probably mostly working and spending time with my family, but still it will be what I want to do). I am going to be content with where I am at in life and just enjoy this time for what it is! I am going to stop and smell the roses because at some point they might be gone and what a waste it would be if I did not enjoy them when I had the chance. I know that I will be given opportunities when I am ready for them and that it will all happen sooner than I realize.
I feel like this has been a little bit of a soap box but it is my blog...and I did title it Word Vomit....so I suppose that it is fitting. It is what it is.
Until later,
Content
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