According To Kate: This Is What We Like To Call A Recap Of The Past Month Or Two Of My Life

Wow. That was a long title; especially for being so dormant lately. I'm not going to take my typical route of trying to explain why I suck for a good paragraph or two, I'm just gonna start into what has been

a b s o l u t e l y

consuming my life lately...

1) School

Oh hey Southern Utah University! It's good to be back and in business with you! This chick has made her return to the dirty south for her sophomore year of College and it's .... going. Yes, going. That's a perfect word to describe my life as of now. I think it's going in a good direction, actually I know it is. School this year is much different than it was my freshmen year, which is to be expected- I just wish I wouldn't have been so surprised. I should probably start by saying that I am taking a math class... I haven't hung out with numbers for around three years and it shows. I am making my way (downtown) I mean, through it. Sometimes I want to poke my eyeballs out, sometimes I literally yell praises out to the math god's when I get a correct answer, and sometimes I even make facebook status updates about Satan's relationship with math. On the happier and more upbeat side, I am feeling confident in my abilities and challenged, which fuels my desire to be successful. Make sense? Yeah, I don't get it either. Bah!

The bottom line is that school is school, half of me thinks that learning is the most amazing and blessed thing in the world and the other half of me wants to lite my head and books on fire and invite friends over for a marshmallow roast. I try to let the better half of me, the half that is SO unbelievably grateful for my chance and opportunity to learn, win. Most days she walks away with the trophy - and a headache from homework. But she is grateful ... and that's all that matters.

2) The BWH

That's where I live while I'm here in Cedar City. In this little home I have a little college family with the most amazing 6 girls in the entire world. My love for them is real big. Like I said, life has been going, without these ladies for support, humor, and the friendship they have offered me I would probably be stuck in neutral. I have lucked out in the roommate department twice now. I feel like I have known these girls for the majority of my life and I felt that way a week into living with them! It has also been good to be with all my people who don't live in the house. Turns out, I have really awesome friends everywhere I look. I have my own room this go around which is way different from last year when I lived with my best friend. It has been cool having a lot of space for my loads.. and I mean loads of stuff... But I miss having a room-roommate and constantly make of my friends sit in there with me or sleep in my bed. I do love love love my room though, everything came together so well and I spent next to nothing. DIY is the way to go. I went with black and white damask and burnt orange with bright pea-green accents. It's perfect. (One day I will post pictures and share my secrets to making things fab for free, or close to free, because that is the only way to do it as a college student.) Actually, all together my whole living arrangement is perfect. Sure there may be a dish or fifty not done, but I feel at home.

3) Work

Let's not spend a lot of time on this topic. I go when I'm scheduled. I do my job. I leave. I get paid. I remind myself that I am indeed grateful to be working. That's quite enough.

4) Freedom

This consists of times I am not in class, not at work, or when it's the weekend. I LIVE for these moments, even if these moments are only me listening to music and blog stocking. Ok, I have a life and do cool things too, like head even deeper into the south for some boating and cliff jumping, take a hike to Kanarraville falls, attend dances, have wild fires with fun friends, watch football games, go to Vegas for the weekend, zumba and other forms of working out, attend the temple, and of course, small, small, small amounts of retail therapy. These times ... are the good times.

5) The Sister & Best Friend

AKA - Tiff and Mer. All I have to say is thank goodness for technology. And weekends home. And the firm relationships we have built which stay standing even when we are miles apart. It has just been strange adjusting.

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This last summer Tiff and I were both employed at both the Gap and the SSAFC so we got to spend a ton of time together, it was so strange, it's like our first year of college never happened and we were right back in high school having sleepovers all the time and more importantly acting like complete fools all the time. Except we never worked 60 hour weeks, or anything even close to that. I can tell you one thing, without Tiff this last summer there is no way I would still have a pulse. It was not cool going our separate ways, again, but things never change. No matter how old we get or how many miles apart it takes about .43 seconds to act like we are five again. No joke. Miss you Tiff!!!

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Where to even begin with Mer -

Well first off... I fetchin' miss having my best friend as my roommate. Last year was the year of years and there is no way either of us could have gotten through it without the other. It was so hard realizing that this year would not be the same. I've come to realize though, that when something isn't the same it isn't necessarily a bad thing, it's just different. That's exactly what this year is like, just different. I wish to the moon and back that we were still roommies but I know without a doubt that we are both where we need to be. I'm just so grateful that we had the chance to live together when we did! Miss you Mer!

6) Family

In the six or so weeks that I have been away I have had the chance to head north to be with the Beasley people twice. What a blessing. The first time I went home I got to see Nick play some football and attend a missionary homecoming. That whole weekend was a little heck-tick but it was still good to be back. While I was at home my car broke down and I had to leave it there to be fixed. Luckily, Zach was nice enough to let me use his car to head home in and luckily, my parents are my parents and help me in times of trouble, and this was surely a time of trouble. When I went home last weekend I was able to swap my car back, celebrate Kara's birthday, spend quality time with not only the Beasley's- but the grandparents as well, and of course listen to parts of conference. I also got to catch up with friends and neighbors which is always such a delight. While I was home fall had arrived which was pretty neat because fall only lasts about a week in Woodland. The colors were to die for. The entire vacation I kept saying "Literally, I grew up in the most beautiful place on this Earth." I am so grateful I get to go back there to be surrounded by not only beautiful scenery, but beautiful people as well.

7) Internal Conflict

Do I stay at SUU? or do I switch schools?

Do I major in a social science? Or real science?

Prerequisites have prerequisites, wait what? Holy cow, that class is a pre-req - what does that mean the real class is going to look like?

Beef Top Ramen? Or Chicken?

Do I really want to go to OT School? Or go for OT Assistant?

Yeah --- I've been all sorts of confused.

Often...well more than often, ok...everyday, I remind myself -

"One day at a time."

I can't say that life is bad. But I can say that it is hard. Really, really hard. I can't say that life is absolutely amazing. But I can say that I am blessed in more ways than one. Really, really blessed.

Life isn't perfect, obviously. But it isn't imperfect either. It seems to be a balance of good and bad that you have to embrace one day at a time.

♥ Miss Beasley