Best Worst Pep Talk Ever

Seriously, this is how I feel. But despite the significant lack of social life and huge influx of all-nighters, I still managed to pick up some dating insight along the way. Therefore, I give you: The best worst pep talk ever.

About 2 weeks ago I called one of my friends for a favor and next thing I know I'm getting a dating pep talk - which is exactly what we all need the week before finals...? I'm not gonna lie, the delivery was terrible, but I was magically able to navigate my way through it and glean some truths. It's honestly been very influential over the past few weeks, and I'm exceptionally grateful for the person who gave it to me. Below you will find excerpts of the talk, immediately followed by my interpretation of each principle. These are direct quotes from an actual phone conversation.

1. "Next thing you know you're realizing another one of God's children doesn't love you" 

Translation: Dating is naturally going to come with rejection. However, rejection is better than never knowing because it is the only way to move forward. Sitting around in fear that someone might not share your feelings is just making you more discouraged, so get up, face your fears and get rejected so you can move on and find the person who will love you.

2. "Put all your eggs in one basket, and the next day you're watching 'em float down the river" - 

Translation: Options are a good thing. Putting too much stock in one situation is basically the express lane to disappointment. Obviously this is not an excuse to play the field, and options should be limited to your emotional capacity - the deeper the commitment, the more "eggs" in the basket. Flirting is the process of collecting baskets. If they stick around, try adding an egg. The process of placing an (note the singularity of the article here) egg in a basket can be likened to dating, and as the commitment to one person grows, slowly remove eggs from other baskets to put into that basket. Otherwise, keep your eggs to yourself until you've moved into the dating phase.

3. "If you breed a thousand rabbits expecting to sell them as food, you'll just end up alone with a lot of rabbits" 

Translation: If you spend your time idealizing a person and the potential for your future happiness, you may end up either a.) psyching yourself out so much that you never even act, or b.) becoming sorely disappointed when the person doesn't live up to your expectations. Therefore, moving quickly towards actual dates gives you the knowledge you need to decide if this relationship is something you want to continue to pursue.

4. "You'll just be sitting on the sidelines watching people who are no braver than you, happily in relationships" 

Translation: Happy relationships don't happen to the pretty/skinny/funny/successful people, they happen to people who are willing to push themselves out of their comfort zones. Love comes from risk. Sometimes it ends in failure - in some of our cases it seems to always end in failure - but if we keep pushing ourselves just a little more each day, in everything that we do, success is inevitable.

Souls Knit as One..

I love people. I love everything about them: good, bad, crazy, spiritual, indifferent....I love it all because I find a piece of myself within each element of each individual. There is nothing more difficult, or more rewarding than seeing a human being as the Savior sees them, no matter how long you've known them. The time and energy and most importantly, the love that that takes to see it is immense, but the end result is what the Lord described in 1 Samuel 18:1 where Jonathan's soul is" knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul."

I love that "...and Jonathan loved him as his own soul."

Whenever I read that scripture, distinct images of friends that I have that love for come to my mind. Tonight I had a chance to spend some time with one of those friends... Our friendship is one of beautiful orchestration, not in the utopian sense of the word, but in the truest sense: where the situations that brought us together were of Divine origin, and though heart-wrenching, testified of a Father's love for His children, evidence that safety nets are placed along our way; for those moments when we simply can't walk the straight and narrow anymore, when we're too bruised and worn down, and when our souls are so tired that we can't possibly carry ourselves anymore....our Heavenly Father, in all His infinite wisdom, has placed someone there to catch us. And it's in these moments, the moments where we are either catching, or being caught, that hearts and souls are eternally bound together. These are moments when we become the Savior's hands, reaching out to our fallen brothers and sisters, following His will.

This may not make much sense, but what I'm trying to say, is that I am grateful for not only the Lord's trust, but the trust of friends, who before this world even began, believed in my ability to catch them when they fall. I'm grateful that I get to be an answer to a prayer, and in the process, learn to love a soul as I love my own.

Music Moment II

Two concerts in one week!? I've completely lost it... or maybe I've found it, I'm not really sure yet.

This time is just as good as the last. I promise :)

1. Allred - There should be a law about how many crush-worthy factors you can package into one person, but since there isn't, it's completely impossible not to fall in love with John Allred. First off, he's not just attractive, he's beautiful, and his voice is so soft and smooth that there's no choice but to close your eyes and sway. Plus he plays his own instruments - the piano and the guitar - and happens to be one of the most genuinely kind people you've ever met. Those of you who live in Salt Lake, he's local, which adds to his sheer awesomeness. Those of you who aren't, it gives you yet another excuse to come visit.

2. He is We - The band I bought the tickets for. My roommate introduced me to them a few months back and I fell in love with her voice. There's something about her sound that is completely honest. However, I fell in love with her acoustic demo album, and her new one is good, but I feel like they've almost beefed it up too much, making it too "poppy." Which would explain her giant following of teenage girls. Anyway, in the words of my friend Eric: "Do you like the sound of angels?" Then download her album.

3. lady danville - Ho. Ly. Crap. I showed up to the concert not having a clue who these guys were, and to be honest, not really caring. But I am officially in love. Thanks to these guys I've realized I like my music like I like my men: quirky and fun. Their music is so simplistic that it allows you to feel a full spectrum of emotion. One song you feel like you're kickin it on the beach enjoying a perfect summer day with your friends, and the next you're driving down a country road, reminiscing of past relationships.

Independently they all have very different voices, but when they launch into the most flawless 3 part harmony you've ever heard, you can't help but swoon even just a little bit. Their music is fun, full of emotion, and blended with so many different inspirations that it would be unjust to box them into a genre. Plus I'm a sucker for any man who plays the drums with his hands.

Download their album ($4.95 on amazon.com), and then spread the word. There was so much awesomeness Jamee licked her own arm to apply their temporary tattoo.

The end. 

Music Moment

Alright, I know I've been Jesus-ing it up for the last couple posts, but we're gonna break and embrace my hippie side for just a moment.

Last night I went to a concert at Kilby Court ( a very small, uncharming, but excellent venue in Salt Lake), and encountered 3 very stellar bands, which I will now introduce you to.

1. Netherfriends - (Cue barefoot, tree-hugging hippie excitement) This guy decided the start a 50 state 50 song project, and I got to be part of his Utah portion. He's basically travelling all 50 states, performing and writing a song in each one. I was doing some research and learned that many other bands (much larger named ones) have attempted this and failed. However, his purpose is not to write a song about each one, but to write a song based on how each state inspires him. Much better I think. Anyway, I fell in love the minute they began setting up and I saw that their equipment consisted of a drum set (the drummer carried the tambourine around his neck), and a milk crate with a large pole sticking out of the middle surrounded by pots & pans, and a cymbal. Awesome.


They were phenomenal. Please check them out. 


2. The Neighbors - Not as hippie-esque. Just amazing. It's a brother/sister duo where the girl plays the bass, the piano, and sings... sometimes all at the same time. The guy drums, plays the keyboard, and sings...again, sometimes all at the same time. Crushes on both of them. Listen to them, buy their stuff. The End.


3. Koo Koo Kanga Roo - A children's group that somehow went main stream and have opened for bands such as Reel Big Fish, and Aquabats. Crazy. The music...is children's music, educational songs put to crappy Electronica. However, the life changing happens because of the live show. These guys are not only freaking hilarious, but awesome performers. They just know how to work a crowd. To describe it to you would not only be difficult, but you'd think I'd recently encountered some heavy drugs, therefore, I will only reveal the most awesome portion of the evening. 


They sang 2 songs back to back. In the first, they taught us Pirate dance moves, and in the second, they taught us Ninja dance moves. After the brief instruction, they asked us to choose which we were (I was, of course a Ninja. Who honestly thinks Pirates are better?) and separated us into our groups. We then had an all out Ninja vs. Pirates dance battle. ......need I say more?

To conclude, this was possibly one of the best Valentine's Days of my life. Thank you Eric Cockayne and friends revolutionizing my world.

Best Ever

Yesterday one of my friends noticed my mood was a little more solemn than usual and due to the environment I thought it best to just throw him a lame excuse about being busy at work. Later on though, I texted him to thank him for noticing and inquiring. To which he responded by asking if there was anything he could do, to let him know. Then, almost randomly, he told me how good of a mother and wife I would be, and how amazing he really thought I was.

I, of course, cried my eyes out...and am still misting a little bit remembering it. For some reason that was exactly what I needed to hear. I've realized that of all the things in life, the only thing I've ever really wanted is to be a loving companion and mother. I feel like the biggest influence I could ever have on the world would be to raise a righteous generation of caring, loving, understanding individuals who love the Lord and doing His work more than anything else. I can judge where I'm at myself, but it's always good to hear from a man (especially one that I respect highly) that I'm headed in the right direction.

Best compliment ever.

It's true. It. Is. True.

In my recent move I acquired a new roommate by the name of Kristine. I met her through a mutual friend, and we were instantaneous friends. She's cool, normal, and generally considered one of the guys....sounds just like me! :)

A brief background of Kristine: she's 23, recently divorced, and hasn't been active in the church since she was about 15. Due to a series of events she decided a couple months ago to try to get back to church...with no real testimony or idea of why. Basically, I was taking a huge chance on being roommates with her, but I felt very impressed that it was something that I needed to do. So I took the leap, and made the move.

Yesterday, church was phenomenal. I haven't felt the Spirit, or received revelation like that in a while. My emotions were very close to the surface and the Spirit was booming the whole time. And it wasn't just me who thought so. After Relief Society quite a few people expressed the same feelings. So when we got home and Kristine said "I'm starting to feel like this whole thing is a lie." I was slightly taken aback. 

I spent the next hour with her in our kitchen discussing the experiences she'd had thus far, what she remembered the Spirit feeling like, how she can feel it again, and comparing my conversion process to what she was currently going through. At the end I actually felt pretty defeated about the whole thing... like I hadn't gotten through at all, and that maybe the doubt was already too deep. So I finished up by just saying "Kristine, I know that you may not know if it's true, but I do. Regardless of how you feel now, you'll know, because this is the Lord's gospel, and He will tell you." She just got really silent and we went off our separate ways.

This morning while I was at work I got a text message from her that said "It's true. It. Is. True." Immediately I felt the familiar joy of the Spirit starting to flood my soul. I texted her back and said "Please tell me we're talking about the Gospel." And of course she was. All day today I've felt like I felt on the mission. There is no better feeling than the one you feel when someone learns for themselves that they are a child of an Eternal Father who loves them perfectly, no matter their mistakes. To know that we're not alone in this life, and we never ever have to make a decision on our own ever again, that there is eternal life after this, a life that we can have with our families...is the most beautiful gift that has ever been given. 

I can't wait to get home so that I can hug her... I've been on the verge of happy tears all day long. I'm so grateful for the Atonement, and what it's done for me. The Savior's love has literally transformed me, and now I have the chance to share it with others. What greater gift is there?