#commonsense

So I love my current roommates, but sometimes I wonder what is going through their heads. (Like if they just hate me and want to see how agitated they can make me.)

What's funny is that this isn't just the roommates I'm currently living with. It seems that no matter how great of a group I live with (or how not-so-great a group) we always go through these very painful, and cyclical phases of not being on the same page, and getting mad because some body else has a different version of common sense installed in their brains. 

In the past (well ok maybe still a lot in the present...) I just thought that my roommates had been spoiled, that their parents never taught them how to coexist with other people, or that they were just plain dumb. (One time I had a roommate who was confused how the cold air in her room escaped into the rest of the apartment even though her door was closed. I guess she missed the part where the door didn't touch all the way to the ground, and didn't have a sealing material around it. Blew my mind.)

But, as these things happen more and more (overflowing trashcans, air conditioning on with the windows open, bobby pins and hair being left in the shower, people attempting to replace toilet paper but failing and leaving it on the floor by the toilet, refrigerated items being stored on top of the microwave...etc) I come to find that common sense doesn't exist. This isn't to say that everybody is dumb, (although sometimes it is really hard not to call them that) but rather to say that there is nothing common about it. Every single person I've shared housing with has had things that I thought were blatantly wrong and things that they seem to understand. Every single person has a different set of things they were taught (and not taught), and a different set of things they see as "ok."

Maybe one person had a home life where they never had to do dishes, and so they don't understand how to take time to do them and don't really care if they pile up. Another person might have lived in a home where their parents taught them to do the dishes as soon as the meal is over, thus keeping the sink forever clean. Person one would never understand why person two takes so much time to do something person one deems unnecessary. Meanwhile person two would be frustrated that person one leaves dishes in the sink. Who is right? Is it common sense to do the dishes as fast as they get dirty? Or is it unnecessary? That all depends on who you ask, proving that common sense isn't a common thing. 

The list of scenarios could go on and on, as I'm sure my fellow college students could attest. The point is that common sense is actually relative to that person's upbringing, experiences, and beliefs. Everybody has their limits on how messy a place can be and still be considered ok, how much is ok to spend on heat and air conditioning, how many days they will still eat their leftovers, etc. This perspective just makes it easier now for me to live with other people, knowing that they are probably doing something that is acceptable to their code of sense, even if it isn't acceptable in mine. Now I look at them and give them more lee-way and try to understand them before I label their actions stupid  in my mind.

That being said, winter is coming and I hate fighting over the heat. 

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~Birdy

#LifeisaJourney

So today I had a dear friend of mine turn to facebook pleading for advice because he hadn't figured out what he wanted to do with his life yet and he felt he should have everything planned out by now.

Wrong. For starters life doesn't ever have that smooth period our elementary teachers told us about. You know the one where becoming an adult instantly makes you mature, where getting a job is easy for whoever finished college, where life calms down? It's a lie. There are even people with jobs who don't know what their life is doing. There are "old" people at college. There are people who havn't ever gone to college who feel pretty secure in their lifestyles and choices. Most of the time stress about where your life is going is inevitable and it's ok.

Because life isn't a checklist. It's a journey.
It doesn't matter how fast you get a degree, or get a job, or get a house. It might be nice to have those things sooner than later, but it isn't the end of the world or even bad if you don't have those things as fast as you want or as fast as the people around you. What would the point be? College done by 22 check, got a job check, married by 30 check, own house by 28 check, 2 children check, retired by 60 check, died sometime after 80 check... And you have won the game folks! No. It isn't like that.
I went to class with a respectable man with a job and no address. He lived out of his van and he was like 28. He was happy, he had been living like that for three years. He has a great job. Why is he living out of his van? Because he loves to travel and climb. He spends his money on vacation and recreation instead of on a house. He isn't a failure, and he isn't homeless either.
I have multiple friends who havn't started school "on time" and they are just fine. Some took time to serve missions, some to travel, some to work, some to go to the army. They are not behind, they are just different. Just because they are not on the stereotypical path does not mean they are on the wrong path.

Which brings me back to my point. That life isn't about the checklist.
It is about progress, satisfaction, and happiness.
Think about it. Do you really care about the mansion, the 6-figure job, or the degree? When you die, if you could look at your life after it's over, will you really be bumed that you didn't finish college around the same time everybody else did? I highly doubt it. I think instead you would be really upset if you didn't take time to do what you love. I think you would look at all the things that brought you to the place you are now and the places you will yet go and be greatful for the tangents that helped you get to where you ended up being. I think you would regret not progressing, not growing into somebody better and wiser than who you were. Above all else, looking back on life you will regret not being happy and all the things you did to prevent yourself from being happy.

So change your perspective today. Stop worrying about figuring everything out right this second, stop worrying about not being in the same spot as somebody else. Look at yourself holistically- at the journey you are on instead of the exact point you are at now. Make sure you have enough for today and then focus on what is important. Focus on becoming a better, happier person.

~Birdy

#notime #freespirit

Wow, so this week has been a crazy busy week and I have done everything. (Almost literally everything.)

Somehow this week I managed to 1) workout every day 2) do a full 8-9 hours a day at school AND 3) still have time for baking and friends.
I honestly am not sure how that happened. but I did it. I did it all and I feel great.

My teachers (and almost literally the entire world) have told me time and time again that it is essential to take time for leisure, to take time to workout, and to take time for friends. I didn't think I had time for friends, so these past two years of college I have been sacrificing health, exercise, and much needed social time for homework. This year I am astounded at how wrong I was. I don't need naps this year and I don't know why. I don't get burned out so fast and I don't know why. I can focus better for longer making me much more efficient, and again, I don't know why. But I can guess. I'm guessing giving my body exercise, going to bed earlier, waking up earlier, and spending time with friends balance my body. Instead of forcing my body to run one specific type of task all day long until it literally can't focus enough to do it anymore, I give my body a break. I re-energize when I work out and spend time with friends. For some reason this makes me a healthier, happier, more efficient person.

I know, Intuitively it makes no sense. You would think that taking time to do other things would take time away from doing the things you need to do like work and homework. I'm not pretending to understand why taking time away from homework to do healthy things makes school easier, because I really don't get it. But I do know that after this hectic week of managing to do a week and a half of school work (I had to catch up from missing classes last week) and still do all those other things I am sold. I will definitely be taking time each day to workout and spend with friends


Also, not everything I am made to do in life fits exactly what I want. There is this one class (with a great teacher whom I am hoping will not get offended that her class is not my favorite) that just bugs me. It's my business communications class I acknowledge that the information is important, that grammar is important, and that sounding educated is important. But it's all a little too far in my opinion. I'm a recreation major, my life is about relaxing and doing things on a professional yet more towards informal basis. Everything in the class seems to have more rules than necessary, and the mannerism is just stiff. I guess what I'm really trying to say is that professionalism doesn't have to be stiff- full of rules and robot like procedures. There are plenty of successful businessmen/women who know how to relax even when they are doing business. In fact some of the top rated business have the least boring offices like Google, AOL and Red Bull. Google is one of the most respected companies in the world and it has a slide going through it! If your professional self and your personal self aren't nearly the same person you are doing something wrong. Relax.

oh and here is the xkcd comic that perfectly describes how I feel right now about my grammar class:
http://xkcd.com/1576/

~Birdy

#myturningpoint

Hok, so to be honest this was something I wrote for one of my TR classes. But it's pretty in depth about why I'm doing what I'm doing so I wanted to post it (:


My Turning Point
I don't think I've had a turning point so much as I've had just one long journey along this big, wide rode that's taken me towards recreation therapy. This rode has always been pointed towards recreation therapy ever since before I can remember.
I have always had this burning, painful need to help other people. My mother tells me about when I was little and would see people with impairments and express my need to help them. Before I found recreation therapy I was going to have a mansion where I would house and help homeless people to get back on their feet, or be a hairdresser so that I could be the person with whom women talked through their problems. I wanted to visit the jail to bring them cookies and be their friend, I figured an influential friend was a good first step to changing their perspective on life and their attitude towards others. I was going to be a school teacher and inspire the next generation to be better than the ones before them. I've always wanted to change the world, to inspire individuals to be better and thus to make it a better place. I've always believed it was the people who made the difference everywhere and in everything.
I guess I just kept coming up with ways to inspire and help people, but they just kept not working for me. When I entered college I thought I could inspire and help people by being a motivational speaker, but that quickly turned out to be another plan that just wouldn't work. So, I went to my counselor and told him about my dilemma. I asked him if there were any majors left where I could help people, where I could still motivate people to become better. He told me there were two: psychology and recreational therapy. I knew psychology wouldn't be an option because I had a hard time and hated sitting still. As he told me more about recreation therapy I became elated that there was still a way to help, that I could do therapy and help all sorts of people and have tons of fun while doing it. So, I joined and here I am.

#Sundaylove

I love my Dylan. He's my favorite. Ever.
We've known each other for seven years now, we met and dated in high school and broke up not because we couldn't stand each other, but because he was older than me and was just going to be leaving to college. I thought that would mean the end of us and I wasn't ok with the idea of him just leaving me behind. He didn't believe me that once people graduate high school they never see each other again. They never talk to each other again. I guess this time he was right. (And I was... less right...) (: So we got back together about two years ago, neither of us could really move on. I couldn't be with anyone else without constantly thinking about dylan, nobody could hold me without me missing him. Dylan says other women are just the wrong kind of crazy, that I'm the only kind of crazy he wants. Anyway we're together and it's the best. He's the best. So here I am gushing about him.

I remember in high school he would hold me before class. I would just be in his arms and we would cuddle before the bell rang. Sometimes I would talk to other people while he held me, sometimes he would talk to other people while I lay in his arms, relaxed as I could ever be.
I remember when I first saw him again after he graduated, how he hugged me like I was the most precious thing he had ever lost and found again.
I remember him trying to convince me to be his girl again, how wordless and gentle and patient he was. I remember how he wouldn't dare try to kiss me until I kissed him first.
I remember how many times he offered to drop everything and be next to me whenever I started to freak out about anything. (I may or may not have some kind of an anxiety problem...)
I remember how every time I told him my fears he would negate and calm them, even if he himself was incredibly worried about the same thing.
I remember our first semester of long distance relationship. I remember feeling like I needed to see him right now and if I coudn't I would implode. We got to the end of the semester and saw each other without implosion by the way.

I love how strong he is, how he hushes all my fears and gives me hopes and validation that my dreams can happen, how he holds on and endures all his challenges so gracefully even when those around him only see his challenges and his shortcomings. I love his optomism, and I love the humor we share. I love the stupid jokes and the hilarious responses he comes up with to the ridiculous things I say. I love his loyalty, how he never gives up and I love the bond we share. I love Dylan.
Dylan rant over.

Church rant.
I love church. I love my church. I love the prophet and all the apostles that give me genuis advice. (Like telling my children, or in this case my followers, what my significant other means to me. Honestly I started crying halfway through that because of how strongly I felt my own emotions for Dylan. That excercise strengthened my relationship with him and he doesnt even know it yet.)
I love what my church does for me, to me really. Going to church lifts me up- not just when I'm down but lifts me higher when I'm already up. Reading the scriptures, hearing the prophets and feeling the spirit makes me feel calm, loved and reassured. These things help me not only to cope with my life and in whatever challenges I might be going through, but also gives me strength, advice and support when I am handling things just fine, which motivates me to go farther, to achieve more and to be a better person. I guess what I'm really trying to say- and all that really matters-my church makes me feel great.

~Birdy

Shewel

Schhhhhhhhhhooooooooool. school. I do that. I go to school. I go to BYU (Brigham Young University) and btw its awesome. This semester was my first one in my major (cuz im awesome like that and I got into my major;)

Anyway, so as part of my career I have to take this class/certification type dealy thing called a WFR (Wilderness First Responder pronounced woof-er woof woof lol). It's a little bit like an EMT certification and in and of itself has been really great and fun and educational. I'm learning all sorts of ways to help you die slower if you snap your leg and start bleeding out, I'm around awesome people while doing it, and the acting during our scenarios is all great fun. (seriously it's great.) But also, I've had this amazing adventure getting from provo to salt lake every day. (The train ride is 2 hours in case you were wondering.) It just feels like this fantastic trek I make every day, to leave the world of what I'm used to, to leave behind all of my fellow scholars, and to leave the convenience and civilization that is easy for me to hop on this train and spend a long time just traveling. I do lots of things on the train, I meet new people, have the most interesting of conversations, study, crochet, eat, talk on the phone with my super fantastic manfriend (because he is definitely not a little boy), and sometimes I even sleep. I have managed to do almost everything I do at home on this train and it feels interesting. I feel almost enlightened to some degree to know that all I really need right now is a place to sleep at night. A place to keep my food cold sometimes. A place to keep my dirty clothes. A place to put my backpack. It isn't the typical definition of home you think of. Usually a home is your whole world, you eat there, play there, leisure there, study there. It is your everything, not just your bed, storage bin and food supply. I guess the second perspective just makes me feel a little bit more out there, a little bit more adventurous.

And BYU is awesome. my classes are great, my professors and TA's find the most awesome ways to teach concepts. Like in my grammar class to relay the importance of grammar my teacher showed us a weird Al video, and my physics TA welcomed everyone to class with beyonce, T-swift and other pop music. My recreation teachers are just inherently cool. Part of entering the major means taking this class with this professor, his name is raymond and we will get back to him later, and on the first day you get your "TR name." (TR= Therapeutic recreation) So everybody in my major has awesome nicknames we call each other, mine's "Birdy." And just in general BYU is awesome, and there are many more things going on around campus that just get me pumped on the first week. Lots of music, lots of free stuff, lots of enthusiasm. It's all really just wonderful.

That being said I have college things to attend to, and I will write more by Wednesday at the latest, (Why are weekdays capitalized? Honestly they arn't that important.)

~Birdy