"Will you still love me when I'm no longer young and BEAUTIFUL?"

So this is blog post is one I've been thinking about for a couple months. Those of you who have been following my adventure blog since May well have seen some lovely pictures of me, my roommates, and other people I came across while in London. What you haven't seen are the horrifically awkward pictures we took. And yes, they are much more entertaining than the cute ones. So the question is- Will you still love us when we're no longer young and beautiful as we are in the below photographs? Enjoy.

 Sometimes Kaley does strange things with her lips

 Sometimes the top of St. Paul's is windy

 Sometimes it's really windy

Sometimes Ivy and I stand really awkwardly next to each other 

 Sometimes Ivy takes pictures in the theatre. You little rebel you

Sometimes a puppet show makes you reevaluate your life priorities

Sometimes it makes the world outside of that boat more beautiful

 Sometimes I must invoke my inner phoenix

 Sometimes I can't help how lovely I am. It's just nature. Nature and this Scotch egg.

 And sometimes I take beautiful selfies on Ivy's phone

 And sometimes Ivy gets creepy with her pasta

 Sometimes Kaitlin shoots her chin during puppet shows

 Sometimes she is a ginger who wants to steal your soul

Sometimes Ivy cannot look at the camera on a smartphone

Sometimes she really cannot do it

Sometimes, seriously where is she looking?

 Sometimes it's early and I don't want Ivy to take pictures of me

 Sometimes Kaitlin just needs to be The Spread Eagle

 Sometimes you gotta do some facial cleansing

 Sometimes you just gotta wear jeans and tennis shoes

 Sometimes you're such a ginge that your face disappears

 Sometimes you become Ivyspeare

 Sometimes group selfies are too pretty for words

 Sometimes you gotta do more selfies on Ivy's phone

 Sometimes you gotta be the creepy tourist on the bus

 Sometimes the puppet show is still a nightmare

 Sometimes my roommates are supermodels 

Sometimes selfies end badly

And sometimes we're just awkward. But awesome. Awkwardly awesome. And Ivy still can't look at the camera.

From London to Provo

Hello! So I've been back in the States for exactly three months which is absolutely mind blowing to me. I cannot believe how quickly the time is going by.

I didn't know what to do with this blog since I don't really have any noteworthy adventures on a daily basis now. So I figure I'll just update it with random ideas and things I've written. I'm an English major so I imagine I'll have an interesting piece to share every now and then.

Today's post is an essay I wrote for the BYU Brimhall Alumni Essay Contest. I have no idea if I'll win but, considering the fact that I started writing it three hours before it was due and the winner gets $1500, I think it was worth my time.

If you want to read my short essay, please keep a few things in mind: the prompt was to incorporate the teachings or writings of former BYU president George H. Brimhall, the Homecoming theme ("A Season for Courage"), and my own personal insights; it is for BYU so it leans a little more to the religious side than your typical essay; and I wrote it in two hours. Please enjoy!

Making Your Own Chocolate Milk

I was two years old when I decided that the carpet in front of my television was the best place to make chocolate milk. I do not mean I made my glass of chocolate milk while sitting in front of the TV. No, I decided to pour the milk and Nesquik powder right onto the floor and stir my ingredients into the fibers of our white carpet.

            It took a lot of courage to tear my two year old eyes away from One Hundred and One Dalmatians, climb onto the countertop to reach the chocolate milk mix, lug the milk jug into the living room, and start creating my chocolaty pond. It would have been so much easier for me (and my mother) if I would have just waited for her to make my beverage. And, honestly, this is where my metaphor starts to fall apart because, yes, I probably should not have made chocolate milk on the carpet simply because I was too impatient to wait for help. And then the doctrine of choice and accountability comes into play and all of a sudden I am the bad guy for displaying initiative and a self-sufficient nature at a very young age. But it all makes sense if we just remember that I did not choose the easy route by making my mother get my drink.

            This year’s Homecoming theme, “A Season for Courage,” points out something that so many young adults struggle with today. For most of us, it is not easy to be brave all the time so we are constantly faced with the choice between what is easy and what it courageous.  

According to a Huffington Post article from June of this year, the average unemployment rate for recent college graduates is 7.9 percent. And half of those who are working have jobs for which their degree is unnecessary. BYU’s church FAQ page says “. . . researchers project that about one-third of recent U.S. LDS marriages may end in divorce.” And it seems like the news stations are only around to report the horrific details of terrorist attacks, natural disasters, and war.  Sometimes it makes me want to drop out, move home, and convince my mom to make me a glass of chocolate milk.

            George H. Brimhall, former president of BYU, would not think much of this decision. He said “It is possible for a person to draw the ills of life so close to their eyes that they entirely shut out the possibility of the entrance of sunshine. You have much to live for. You were intended to perform a mission of usefulness on the earth and it rests with you to see that every prediction that has been made concerning your success is fulfilled—that is a part of your mission.”

            President Brimhall saw very clearly what I and many other young adults struggle with. We were all born with talents and gifts. By hiding them, we would not only let ourselves down; we would also let down the Heavenly Father who gave us our gifts and the people around us who are meant to benefit from our talents. As a child, I never thought the New Testament story of the three servants and their talents made any sense. Why would the one servant hide his talents when he had the opportunity to make more? The answer, of course, is fear. Fear of failure and the allure of lazy inactivity lead us to hide our talents. As a result, we fail in our “mission of usefulness” that President Brimhall believes we are all meant to fulfill.

            Every single person, no matter how old they are, where they live, or how much money they have, should think of their present moment as a season that requires courage. Stepping outside of that warm and cozy comfort zone never gets any easier. The first day of a new job will always be nerve-wracking. Attempting to change a girlfriend into a fiancé will always induce slight nausea. And putting faith in an unseen Heavenly Father for the first time will never be easy. But the more you bravely take that first hesitant step, the bigger your comfort zone becomes and the more likely you are to make your life a mission of usefulness. Never wait for someone else to make your chocolate milk. Go out and get it yourself. 

My farewell to London

First of all, I've been slacking on my blogging. But I've been doing the same stuff with my family that I did during my program so there was nothing new to report. We ate a lot and laughed a lot.

Anyway, I've spent the last few hours watching the Tony awards and subsequently the Olivier awards which somehow led to a lot of random David Tennant YouTube videos. I finally realized it was 1:30 in the morning which meant that my last night in London is technically over. I'll be on a plane in ten hours back to my beloved Las Vegas. It would be an outright lie to say that I'm not overjoyed to be going home. But at the same time, I'm horribly sad because London has become another home for me and I have no idea if or when I'll be back. I'm a walking contradiction: one moment I'm dying to leave and the next I'm willing to do anything to stay. I feel like Gollum/Smeagol arguing with myself.

Rather than do the usual and wailing on for five paragraphs about how amazing my time in London was, how great the city is, and how sad I am to leave, I'm going to list some of the things I observed/learned/experienced during my two months here.

1. I am absolutely not trying to belittle JK Rowling's genius. But the fact is that she did not need to stretch her imagination even a tiny fraction in order to come up with the idea for the Knight Bus. The Knight Bus exists. I've ridden the Knight Bus many times. Every single bus in London is the Knight Bus. These buses go WAY too fast, jerk around WAY too much, and fit into places that they absolutely should not be able to fit into. I am amazed that there aren't deaths every single day; both of people inside and outside the bus.

2. Everyone talks about Cadbury like it's the last word in chocolate. False. Galaxy beats Cadbury  any day of the week. Believe me. I ate a lot of it.

3. Primark is the most ridiculous store in the world. For my American friends, Primark is like a giant, really cheap TJ Maxx. I half expect my purchases to disintegrate before I get home. But the most expensive item I've ever seen in Primark was 20 pounds so the place can be a little intoxicating.

4. Since I was a very small child I have always had a difficult time distinguishing between fantasy and reality when it comes to my books, movies, and television shows. And I'll tell you what- my trips to Leavesden Studios and the Doctor Who Experience in addition to spending two months in Sherlock Holmes' stomping grounds have not helped in that regard. But they have helped in every other regard. I still believe in 398.2!

 5. There are like four trash cans in the whole of England. Seriously, finding a bin is the most impossible task which is frustrating because it forces you to carry your garbage around for days (OK maybe I'm exaggerating but not by much).

6. As rare as bins are, ice is even more difficult to find. And this girl loves herself some ice. I'm truly looking forward to my glorious ice machine at home.

7. People here are much more comfortable with making eye contact with complete strangers than I'm used to. At home when you get caught staring at someone, whether unintentionally or on purpose, you usually change your gaze quickly. Nope. Not here. People stare unashamedly even if you stare back in an attempt to make them feel uncomfortable. FYI- It doesn't work.

8. When an American guy calls you love, it's creepy. When a British guy calls you love, it's acceptable and kind of sweet. Or even shock-inducing. Like when Daniel Radcliffe said it. To me. Daniel Radcliffe called me "love." Just in case anyone forgot.

9. Getting a seat on the tube is like playing a smelly grown-up version of musical chairs. I've almost sat on strangers' laps trying to get a seat.

10. Digestive cookies. First of all, who wants to eat something called a "digestive cookie?" They sound like something you eat with a side of prune juice right? The answer is that everyone does. Everyone wants to eat all the digestive cookies. I'm sure there are no health benefits to these chocolate-coated cookies despite their misleading title. They are, however, delicious. But beware- once you've eaten four sleeves of them in a week (another exaggeration but that's what it felt like) you will hate yourself and never touch them again due to the serious illness you experience.

11. This is somewhat related to the eye contact. People are SO COOL with picking their noses in public here! I have no idea why. I'll spare you the details but I have seen both men and women perform this disgusting act very blatantly in public places.

12. The Evening Standard is free here so nearly everyone reads newspapers. I read the newspapers. And once you are done with your newspaper you leave it on the tube or in the bus or on a public table and someone else will pick it up to read. I like this little sense of community between newspaper readers for some reason. And the coolest part is that, as people have taken to leaving them, the papers are everywhere! But once you get back on the tube or whatever the next morning, they are all gone. I think there are newspaper fairies that collect them overnight.

13. Made in Italy is the absolute best Italian food in the entire world. I don't care that it's not in Italy. It is the best. I had my very last pizza from there for who knows how long last night. Everyone in that restaurant knows who I am and what I'm studying and what I'm going to order. The owner gave me a big hug goodbye. It was more emotional than I care to admit.

14. Maybe it's because I've only seen one show on Broadway but I don't think anywhere in the world can hold a candle to London as far as theatre goes. I have seen some of the most beautiful, heart-wrenching, hilarious, thought-provoking shows here. And then I saw Thriller Live. Regardless of that atrocious mistake, one of the things I'm going to miss most about London is its unbelievable theatre district.

15. I love London. I guess I didn't really learn that on this trip but it was definitely solidified. I love it so much. I felt so welcomed by the people here and I'm so grateful that I was able to completely immerse myself in the culture and feel like a native for a couple months.

I kid you not, they are reporting a story about Las Vegas on the news right now... something about record breaking temperatures. Is it time to go to the airport yet?! I love London so very much but nothing can replace my Vegas. I'll meet the 117 degree weather with a smile and the hope that, one day, I'll be able to visit my other home in London again.