There Is A Green Hill Far Away.

There is a green hill far away,
Without a city wall,
Where the dear Lord was crucified,
Who died to save us all.

We may not know, we cannot tell
What pains He had to bear;
But we believe it was for us
He hung and suffered there.

There was no other good enough,
To pay the price of sin;
He only could unlock the gate
Of Heav'n and let us in.

Oh, dearly, dearly has He loved,
And we must love Him too;
And trust in His redeeming blood,
And try His works to do.


Like many of you, I can't stop thinking about the shooting that happened on Friday and how much grief has come because of it. So many hearts and homes broken. So many tears shed and lives lost.

The idea that someone could take away something so much potential and so much life is unbelievable. I feel my very soul is crying out in despair and grief when I think about the little hands that will never be held again by their parents. Or the little back packs hung at the back of the classroom, never again to be filled with sandwiches or spelling tests. 

In the midst of this massacre there is nothing more comforting than knowing that when they got to heaven those children were greeted by someone who loves them more than life itself. Their Savior died for them so that they could live again one day. He died for all of us. He died for me, he died for you.

He also died for Adam Lanza. Yes. The ill minded young man who destroyed so many lives. The man that so many of us have sent to rot in hell so many times. Heavenly Father loves that young man just as much as he loves the six and seven year olds of Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Heavenly Father greeted Adam Lanza with the same understanding and forgiveness that he will give to you and me. I imagine his eyes overflowing with tears as he embraced one of his precious children who had so cruelly abused the free agency he was given.

I know it's hard to think that such a man could even be worthy of the understanding and forgiveness of our Heavenly Father. But that is why the gospel is so beautiful. Because we are all children of a loving Heavenly Father. And we all have an older brother who "died to save us all." 

It doesn't matter what you've done or where you've been in your life. It doesn't matter how tortured your soul or how tired your heart. Jesus Christ has and always will love you.

Heavenly Father has a plan for every one of his sons and daughters. They will live again one day and so will we through the power of the Atonement and the sacrifice of our Savior Jesus Christ. I hope we can all "try His works to do" and find room in our hearts to be forgiving of those who have done wrong in our world.

xoxo,

ella

Win-Win

“You know, sometimes all you need is 20 seconds of insane courage. Just literally 20 seconds of just embarrassing bravery. And I promise you, something great will come of it.”

LOLZ Guess what Matt Damon. SOMETIMES NOTHING GOOD COMES OF IT.

Yep. Sometimes you put yourself out there and get nothing in return. Hash tag WHAT WAS I THINKING.

You feel awkward, embarrassed, and you feel a whole ton of regret. But, you can't change what has happened. SO... You hate yourself for an hour or so and then YOU GET OVER IT.

Life is full of disappointments, but with out those moments, you wouldn't appreciate all the great things that happen to you.

Things go your way? You're happy? HASH TAG WINNING.

If something doesn't work out the way you planned, you learn something. HASH TAG STILL WINNING.

Life is a win-win situation.

You learn and you lose and you gain something from everything you go through.

Plus, all the awkward and dumb stuff you do make for the best stories right?

So don't get down on yourself if you don't get the job, you don't get the boy or girl, or you look like a total idiot sometimes. 

If worse comes to worse turn on some Ke$ha, go get weird with your best friends, eat tons of gummy candies and dance it all off.

xoxoxo,


ella

 

First Things First

Good morning babez.

I had one of those late nights last night and things got real deep via telephone with one of my best friends Debora Figueroa (18, gorgeous, Argentine and one of the greatest people on the planet). We were talking about boys (are you surprised? You shouldn't be).

We were talking about how sometimes it can be SO HARD sometimes (okay like all of the time) when the person you like doesn't like you back. Don't judge us, you feel the same way too! No matter how many BFF pep talks you have or Pinterest quotes you come across, it's hard to be happy when that guy or girl isn't crushing back. You compare yourself to their crush, to their ex, or to other friends who are happily "in like" with somebody. You tell yourself that you can't be happy or that you'll be #foreveralone (hello most used hash tag ever, you need to STOP).

GOOD NEWS. YOU CAN BE HAPPY WHEN EVER YOU WANT!

Want to know how? Keep reading.

Focus on others. Nobody wants to be with somebody who is complaining about how hard their life is because they don't have a boyf and how much Netflix they watch by themselves. We are all feeling lonely, after a while doesn't it get old feeling sad for yourself? Go cheer somebody else up and soon you'll be smiling too! Pinky swear.

It's what's on the inside that counts. No matter how big your biceps or how long your lashes are, nobody wants to date a crummy person. Focus on developing Christ-like qualities and striving to do better! The more beautiful you are on the inside, the more beautiful you will be on the outside. We all should know that by now.

Don't be so hard on yourself. This is the most important one, for me at least. Perfection isn't going to happen in this life. You can't read your scriptures, say your prayers, get good grades, have a perfect bod and be dating the person from your dreams. Some day that will happen, it's possible. But it's not going to happen over night. Don't be dissapointed in yourself if you don't have all of those things or any of those things at all. Strive towards being your best self and take it day by day, everything else will follow. 

You deserve the best. You deserve to be happy! You deserve to use smiley face emojis to your hearts content. You deserve to jump around your room and do a funny little dance to the beat of your heart for no reason at all. You deserve to sing to your favorite band at the top of your lungs on your way home from work and not care about a thing in the world. You deserve to feel great about yourself. Don't let the lack of a BF/BF let you feel otherwise.


So don't wait around for some boy to magically call you up while eating your weight in yogurt and listening to Pandora on a weekend (guilty). He will come along but you have to be going down that road to begin with.

BE GOLD TO FIND GOLD.

Be the kind of person you want to meet.

Make yourself happy and love yourself FIRST and others will come second. Find yourself first. Have faith in yourself first. And some day someone will come along, and they will be just what you have been waiting for. It probably won't be tomorrow. It might not be this month, it might not even be this winter. But it will happen. AND IT WILL ROCK OKAY?

So keep your heads, hearts, and spirits high. Good things are in store for you!

xoxoxoxo,

ella

Hill Seeker

Life isn't perfect. Life isn't easy. Life isn't fair.
These are things that we hear everyday. People say them like they are bad, but they don't have to be!

The other day my Mom sent me this quote...

Isn't that beautiful? Shout to moms for always knowing what to say and when to say it. Or text it. (sup technology)

LIFE HAPPENS ON THE HILLS.

I love that.

Imagine life without hills. Roller coasters. Mountains. Drives up the canyon. Sledding.

Hills are all around us and all inside each of us.

Don't be afraid of things going wrong or not going perfectly. The hills are what make all the inside jokes and the good journal entries, right?

It's the overtimes, the burnt cookies and the flat tires. It's the buzzer shots and the hair cuts that go totally wrong. It's the awkward conversation with your crush, or the conversation that doesn't happen at all.

It's your sister borrowing your shirt and stretching it out. It's the last half hour in the car where you almost pee your pants. It's the burning in your lungs after a sprint that seemed impossible.

It's the days when you wake up and you wish you could run away from life. It's feeling left out and not included. It's the loss of a friend or family member. It's the broken heart that makes you want to stay in bed for weeks.

All trials big or small are BLESSINGS IN DISGUISE.

Heavenly Father wouldn't let us go through loss or pain if it wasn't to make us stronger and increase our faith. He cares about the big and scary decisions in our lives such as college, where to live, or what career we choose. He also cares about the things that we think nobody else cares about. You know what I'm talking about.



Whether you've lost a football game or an election for the President of the United States, you'll come over your hill. Things will seem better and the dissapointment and sadness will leave.

BE A HILL SEEKER.

Embrace the challenges and everything that life has in store for you. When faced with a challenge tell yourself you can do it, get out of bed and face the day with faith. Know that there's rainbows and down hills and rewards on the other side of the hill.

YOU CAN DO IT.

xoxoxo

ella

The Beauty of Being Alone

The Beauty of Being Alone.

You are probably asking yourself if there is really such a thing. After some personal experience I can tell you that it is. And once you experience it for yourself you will see how beautiful being alone can truly be.

I consider myself some what of a social butterfly. I enjoy parties, lunch dates with my friends, and dressing up on the weekends to go places. But lately I have been more of a social ladybug. (you guys I just made that up, neat huh) Instead of flying from flower to flower or party to party... I've just been floating around. By myself. Perfectly content with staying home, falling asleep in my clothes while downloading music. 

Now I'm sure you are thinking "WTF Ellz this is depressing, get a life." WAIT FOR IT..

I LOVE SPENDING TIME BY MYSELF.

The movies, ice cream, shopping, or walks around the temple. All of these things weren't invented just to be shared with friends. Doing these things by myself is wonderful. Just because you see me alone, doesn't mean that I'm sad. I'm happy with myself. I think it's important for a person to be happy by themselves before they can be happy with someone else.

The other night I wasn't ready to go home so I got in my car and drove to Mapleton, picked a random road and drove up it as far as it would go. I went so far up the mountain that the road I was on turned to rocks and snow and I was pretty positive that I had left Utah and gone into Narnia. I lost track of time and just enjoyed the night with my headphones. If I would have been with a cute boy or a friend it would been nice. But I wasn't. And it was still just as nice.

(Boys, this doesn't mean that I wouldn't LOVE to talk with you/listen to music for hours in the car)

I was at the D.I. last Saturday and needed an opinion on something so I asked the old lady near me. Turns out she didn't speak English so I tried to speak to Spanish to her. I was terrible! But we both ended up laughing and smiling with each other. That wouldn't have happened if I hadn't been alone. 

So next time you don't have plans for the night, don't sit on Twitter and retweet every single #foreveralone tweet on your time line. For several reasons. Take the road less traveled and spend a few hours in nature. Get out and hike or put your feet on the dash and open up your sun roof. Go to Yogurtland and get a cup of fro yo that costs $9. Nobody is going to judge you.

As I was writing this post, I rediscovered this video on my lap top. It's what I'm trying to say, in video form and in the words of a lovely hipster much older than I. Please watch it.



The more time I have spent alone, the more I have appreciated myself. Like, I'm pretty awesome. More importantly, so are you! Take the time to discover just how awesome you are.
Good luck!

XOXOXO,

ella

 Don't forget to go for a drive down a road like this.

 Or this..

Straight Out Of Nowhere

I don't really know how to introduce this post because these words are coming straight out of nowhere. And of course by nowhere I mean the deepest and dearest part of my heart.

If you watched the LDS General Conference this past weekend or you know someone who watched it then you know that they have lowered the age limit for the youth of the church to serve missions. This news is exciting and wonderful and I know will bring forth so many blessings for the world.

Serving a mission has not always been a huge desire for me until this past year when I have had many opportunities to strengthen my testimony. I have become an even happier person and I decided that I couldn't keep this happiness to myself, so I must serve a mission. 

While my testimony has increased, the challenges and trials in the world around me have too. Every day I am told by the world that as a young women that I need to be thinner or have cuter clothes or have a boy on my arm. The world, as beautiful as it is, doesn't know what it was created for. The world doesn't understand what amazing things we were created for. That's why it confuses us with these lies, sometimes makes us feel horrible about ourselves.

After a couple more visits to the temple, a couple sessions of conference, and a couple of heart to hearts with some dear friends I have better understood something..

The world doesn't want us to serve missions, get married in the temple, or to have a family and raise them in the gospel. The world doesn't want us to view ourselves as Heavenly Father views us, as perfect and glorious beings. That's why the world tries so hard to bring us down! The world would love for us to think that we can't live up to our potential, or that our potential isn't cool enough.

Well guess what? Heavenly Father didn't send us down to this world at such a critical time to be plastering ourselves with make up or plastering our minds with thoughts that we aren't good enough. He needs us to rise above the world and to live up to our potentials. He needs us to be happy and grateful for who we are.

So next time you have one of those days where you just want to go lay on your mum's bed and cry that you aren't good enough for that one boy or girl, or you just feel crummy, STOP. Wipe off those tears, put on your crown and go rule the world. Whether it is serving a mission or flying to the moon, live your dreams. Put your trust in Heavenly Father.

Don't let the world get the best of you, give your best to the world.

One of the most important things in this world is gratitude. A while back I had the chance to go and record this Mormon Channel message. Through preparing for it and pondering more about gratitude my life has been changed. I hope as you listen you think more about how you can live with gratitude too!


http://mormonchannel.org/we-will-stand/9-gratitude


xoxoxo

Bells

Good Morning October

Good morning October.

Good morning crunchy leaves underneath my longboard, or underneath our feet on a weekend walk at dusk.

Good morning to warm hearts and warms hands wrapped in mittens, or if you're lucky, another's.

Good morning to cold bleachers on Friday nights shaking from the pressure of our feet or the game below.

Good morning to car windows fogged from hours of talking with friends and lovers or friends becoming lovers.

Good morning to hot chocolate sipped with Mom and Dad in the kitchen or in the chilly parking lot at lunch time.

Good morning to pumpkins flavoring our mouths and filling our stomaches, or garnishing our porches.

Good morning to our necks tangled in collars and scarfs, or by the arms of our loved ones after a long day.


I hope you all enjoy October as much as you think you will. I have a feeling that October is going to live up to our expectations. October brings so many things happy and warm but cold and exciting, all in the same month. Good luck readers!

xoxoxo,

ella

Coming Home

You know that song by Green Day "Wake Me Up When September Ends." Has that writer ever experienced the month of September? UM HI WAKE UP AND ENJOY ONE OF THE BEST MONTHS OF THE YEAR. September brings football season into full swing along with chilly weather and Homecoming Week at school. Life could not be any more enjoyable right now. 

Oh and did I mention that MY FAMILY IS GETTING A HEDGE HOG FOR CHRISTMAS? Kind of irrelevant but really exciting, so get excited you guys.

This past week was Homecoming week. One of my most favorite games of the season. We killed Carbon 56-0! After every victory on the home field, our student section, cheer and drill teams make a tunnel down to our victory bell at the end of the field. We cheer as they lift up a player to ring the victory bell and they light off fireworks. That is one of my favorite parts of the night and it being my senior year I thought I would video it.

For those of you who won't ever experience being a Don, please enjoy my poor quality clip of the ringing of the victory bell.

I love football games more than anything. The highlight of my week is going to every game. Since our region has changed, most of our opponents are about 45 minutes away. Nothing makes me happier than getting dressed up for a game, grabbing some of my best friends and driving to an away game. As much as I enjoy a good BYU/U of U rivalry, or the replacement refs making the NFL exciting.. Nothing will ever replace my love for high school football.

It's crazy to me that it's my senior year and every week I have less and less football games to be at, cheering at the front of the student section. I may or may not get emotional about that. But I know that I'll always being coming home to sit on the bleachers and watches those boys play their hearts out. There is something about watching the sport of football that makes me feel almost a patriotism for my school.

I hope you all enjoy football season this year. I hope our team plays in Rice Eccles again. I hope I lose my voice at the game this Friday. And I hope I'll see my classmates coming home to sit in the bleachers for years to come watching our friends and family play under the lights.

XOXOXOXO,

ella

Time To Shine

Everyone shines.

Some shine brighter than others. And all at different times.

These past couple months I have realized that right now is not my time to shine.

I am not the most popular girl in schoool.

I am not noticed by the cute boy that I like.

I am not a 4.0 student.

I am not the star athlete.

I am not the most valued employee at work.

But. I am something.

I am a friend.

I am a sister.

I am a daughter of God.

I am a mermaid (or at least I like to think I am).

I am myself. And even though a lot of people might not notice my light right now..

It's okay.

I'll keep shining.

Because right now, while I'm in high school is such a sweetly short time compared to my whole life.

I will have a time to shine.

Perhaps once I have graduated and gone off to college.

Perhaps once I am married and have a few kids.

You too will have your time to shine, and one day someone will appreciate you and all you do.

All your days that you have ever felt lonely or un-loved won't matter.

All the days that you felt like nobody appreciated your light will fade away with the shadows and you will have your time to shine.

XOXOXOXO

ella


P.S. MY TOP 5 FAVE SONGS RIGHT NOW...

1. Winter Song; The Head And The Heart
2. I Will Wait; Mumford And Sons
3. We Come Running; Young Blood Hawke

4. Beach Baby; Bon Iver

5. Runaway Love; Justin Bieber

The Mermaid Goes To Mexico

BUENOS DIAS AMIGOS! COMO ESTAS!


That was just a little sample for you of my three years of high school Spanish classes that really did come in handy when I was on my trip. I can tell you that was the first time it hit me that I was using something I learned in school in real life! I had such a great time talking with the families and mostly the children that I met down there. I just thought that I'd do a post on my trip to Mexico since a bunch of you were probably wondering WHAT DA HECK I was actually doing.
& I really really REALLY love Sadie. :)  <<<<< That right there is my sweet friend Sadie who I sometimes like to call Sugar playing on my lap top while I'm deep cleaning my room. I thought I'd keep that there.


Last fall during my junior year I was asked to go to this leadership conference sponsored by the Rotary Club called RYLA. They choose a junior from each school to go and it's just a couple of days up in Heber listening to motivational speakers, doing activties, and learning about opportunities to go on humanitarian trips and foreign exchanges. It doesn't sound like much but oh, it was. I've been to EFYs, girls camps, and student council camps, but I think RYLA was the most impactful experience that I've ever had. It really just motivated me to pursue my dreams of doing humanitarian work and trying to change the world.

 That's how I learned about the trip to Puerto Penasco, Mexico. Organized by the Rotary Club and working with Families Helping Families, it was a a seven day trip that I will never forget. We stayed in Phoenix on our way there and back but while we were in Mexico we stayed at the Las Palmas Resort in Puerto Penasco. (side note, the N in Penasco is supposed to have a squiggly accent over it but I don't know how to do that on my lap top) 


We would go into town every day around 7 am and work on our three different homes until we met our goal for the day. Some days we worked until 6:30 or some days 1:30 in the afternoon. There was four bus loads of us and each day a bus would leave the work site early and go visit a different school. Visitng the school may have been one of the best parts. The children danced and sang for us and we were able to give them toys and supplies. Then we split up into groups to do more activities with the kids. I got to paint their faces and I really think I had more fun than they did. They were just so sweet and full of love. I honestly don't know how to describe this light that they had in them. We had such a hard time leaving the school.


After a long day of work we would go back to our gorgey hotel rooms and relax on the beach, in the hot tub, or sometimes run straight into the ocean. The water was always warm, even at ten at night. The way the sky would blend into the calm water was seriously magical. Star gazing in the ocean? Uh huh. And TONS of sea shells. It was every mermaid's dream. While it was so fun to enjoy the beautiful place we were staying at, a little piece of me felt guilty inside. We were building in this neighborhood where people had absolutely nothing and then we would go back to these nice condos. It definitely made me appreciate my own bed a lot more.


One day I made friends with a mother who would be recieving one of the homes ( I can't remember her name) along with her darling son Garrett. We sat down in one of the houses to eat our lunch and while I quickly dug into my fish tacos (btw fish tacos are my new weakness) I looked over to see her giving a prayer of thanks over her food. Small moments like that really touched me.


Mexico was a wonderful experience. The best part overall was the people. Not only the people that we were serving but the kids who were on the trip. I loved being surrounded by people who have similiar ambitions as me, who to help others and make a difference. It showed me that I have more to be grateful for than I could ever imagine. It showed me that it's the simple things that can bring the most joy. Whether it was sharing a fruit leather or a game of soccer, these kids didn't need much to be happy. I wish that I could be more like them. Their family and their faith are the most important things they have.


Unrelated...
If you have been paying any attention to the news or looked at the sky recently you know that there have been so many fires taking away not only the land, but the homes of so many families. I was out and about yesterday and I couldn't believe how much ash was all over my car, the drive way, and everything else. It gave me such a heavy heart to think that people's homes were in the same condition, if not worse. So my heart and my prayers are with all those affected by these fires. I have been trying to think of something more that I can do to help so if any of you have ideas or are already doing something, please let me know!


Last but not least I hope you are all having the summer of your dreams. For some fabulous advice on what to do with yourself this summer visit http://lexilarsen.wordpress.com/ 


I have found a few new summer loves. To share a few...


- The Vampire Diaries #TeamStefan all the way. If you have Netflix and nothing to do, there you go.


- Yogurtland. I have been there 4 out the past 5 days. It's a fro yo shop across the street from the University Mall for all you Happy Valley goers. If you don't live in Utah County then I hope you can find something close enough. Frozen yogurt is above all else in my book.


- Tumblr. I personally don't keep up on my own very well but if you're ever laying in bed with nothing to do, I suggest creating your own or checking out two of my favorite accounts!


http://thegirlwiththekeys.tumblr.com/


http://bringonthepassion.tumblr.com/


- Thrift store shopping! I have gone twice this week. Sorry not sorry but I love D.I. and Savers. It's so fun to find cool clothes that nobody else will have for a good price! My mom doesn't always approve of what I bring home but, oh well :)


- If you're needing some good beats to jam to on your next road trip or your Sunday afternoon drives..

• I and Love and You, The Avett Brothers
• Anything by M83  
• JUSTIN BIEBER
• To Build a Home, The Cinematic Orchestra
• I Only See You, Benton Paul
• Ships In The Night, Mat Kearney
• Les Miserables Soundtrack (newsflash: they're making a movie)
• Young Blood, Birdy
• Sunshine, Matisyahu
• Hurt Me Tomorrow, K'naan

I assume you've all heard most of them. But those are my favs!


Keep it real lovers! Don't take the whole YOLO thing to seriously and use proper grammar in your tweets and texts!




XOXOXOXOXO


ella

I love people.

The other night, laying in bed after I imagined several sequences with me and Zac Efron walking along the beach... I got thinking about all the wonderful people that are in my life. And I was thinking about what makes them so wonderful. Then I tweeted a few of them. Then I decided to blog about it. Spoiler Alert. If you follow me on twitter then you might recognize a few of these. I can only get so creative so... #SorryNotSorry

I love people that get really excited when they see you! Nothing is sweeter than having someone call out your name or run to say hello to you when you're out and about. Love it.

I love people who know how to accept a compliment. "Oh uh whatever I look so ugly!" Is getting really old. Be polite and just say thank you. As my lovely friend Meg Cabell once said "Just take the dang compliment or I'll take it back!" So true.

I love people that don't try to steal the spotlight from others. Like if somebody scores a goal in soccer and everyone is celebrating, don't be the person that is like "That was sick bro! Even better was that pass I gave you! Oh man!" Ya stop that.

I love people that are gracious. Simple as that. A sincere thank you goes a LONG way in my book. Writing thank you notes? Super classy.

I love people that say that they will do something and they keep their word. People that make things happen! Isn't it wonderful when you actually go to lunch with that random friend you made a promise to?  So let's all make things happen this summer, aiiiight?

I love people who are happy for other people. They don't get envious or jealous when their friends are successful. I promise you the phrase "I'm so proud of you!" will lift your spirits so much more than "Like, I just thought I was gonna make it ya know?" Think about it.

I love people that don't have to be loud or crazy to get your attention. They just radiate from within and that is what draws you to them. The number one person I think of when I say this is my beautiful friend Jamie. She is always serving other people and focusing on others. That's one of the reasons why we all love her, right? She isn't showing off to get attention. She is just herself. She's so awesome.

I love people that look you in the eyes when they talk to you. Especially boys..

I love people that are so amazing and wonderful yet they have no idea. They just go about their business and you can't help but sit there and be like whoah you're an angel. And when you compliment them on it they are just so suprised? I'm sure we can all think of someone.

I love people that engage in conversation with others. At a party they don't just pull out their phones and check Instagram for the 5th time, they go up to someone and talk with them! Notice I said WITH and not TO. There is a difference.

I love people that save you a seat without you asking them to. So nice.

I love people that love a good snow cone. I think it'd be nice to open up a snow cone place that was year round. Indoors, hundreds of flavors, cool chairs from Ikea. Ya dig?

I love people that call you on the phone. Texting is a blast. And by blast I mean it's super lame. But a quick call is so much more FUN than a text. *Cue Call Me Maybe music!! :)

I love people that let you cut in front of them on the road. Or the person that slows down so that you can merge onto the road. Also, people that slow down for pedestrians! It's random and kinda dumb but I was always that nervous person trying to cross the street to the library. My heart goes out to all you tender hearted, bike riding, fifteen year old girls.

I love people that call me El. Some people spell it L, El, or my mamma calls me Elle. Some of you call me Bella or Bella Ella because of my twitter name. I like that too.

I was going to make a list of "I don't love people that..." But that's pretty rude. I think we focus to much on what we hate about people and not enough on the lovelyness inside them. I wish you all the best as we embrace this new season of summer! (If you're still in high school like me, it's only 3 more weeks guys!!!!)
Let's make it the best yet?

XOXOXOXO

ella


Hey also, if you haven't listen to Utah native band IMAGINE DRAGONS then do so now please. Aaaand ladies! As prom season is coming to a close here, modest is hottes okay? Keep it classy.

Try to tell me this didn't make you happy.

I know the mustache jokes are getting old but come on.
That's a good uni right there.

"If I was your boyfriend..."

This video was made by students from Lone Peak High School.

The song is Montana by Youth Lagoon. Idk but I just love it so much.

I love the kid's mustache and his girlfriend's shoes and hair. I love

everything in this video. Check it out.

Things

It has been a long time since I last blogged. To be perfectly honest I was having an extreme lack of inspiration. But then I started going to the gym again and for some reason all the crazy cats at the gym never cease to inspire me. 

 Okay. So, you know how in high school there is that one girl that is freaky good at basketball? And everyone just knows that ballin it up is her "thing". And there's that supa cute kid that can play the piano and sing and when he gets up on stage for the talent show you know it's about to get real because performing is his "thing". So everyone just has their "thing" that they are really good at, ya know? Well, I don't really think have one... And that kinda bums me out sometimes. 

I've been decent at sports, I'm some what artistic, I get pretty good grades. But, I have never excelled in one area in particular. In fact I haven't made the cut for three different sports teams, three years in a row of never making student council (but I was like really WEIRD in junior high so now that I look back on it, I probably wouldn't have voted for me either...) and applied for several jobs that I haven't been hired for. The list could go on.


I don't tell you those things so you'll feel bad for me. I share them with you so I can tell you THIS:

"You can't be the best at everything. You might not be the best at anything. But you can be your best self. And that is enough." 

Really? Yes. It sounds like something your mom might tell you five thousand times over but it is so true! This year when I didn't make the basketball team, I thought that all hope was lost for me. But really it turned out to be the biggest blessing in disguise! I now have a job that I love and I know that I didn't make the team for a reason. Yeah a huge part of the reason was that I didn't come to any opens gyms and I was slow as a turtle at the time, but that is besides the point. So I beg you all to just be your best self and I promise that everything else will fall into place! :)

Something else that has really struck me lately is how BLESSED I am. Especially when it comes to friends. I have the truest friends in the world. Literally I am surrounded by angels in my life, and most of them probably don't realize how much they mean to me. If you are reading this, then you are my friend and I love you :) For realz you guys.

I hope that you all remember that the most important things in life are not things. And if you are feeling lame because you don't have a "thing" don't worry because you fill find it eventually! Do what you love, love what you do. Remember to smile at everybody and tell people how much you appreciate them.


xoxoxoxoxo
<3 <3


ella



I'm dying to find headbands like this and wear them this summer!



by the contents of her purse

People say that you can tell alot about a woman by the contents of her purse. Well, if you looked in my purse, I'm not sure what'd you would be able to tell about me. It's pretty boring. I have lotion, headphones, my book of lists, pens/pencils, For the Strength of Youth Pamphlet (durrr), my wallet, and some bracelets and rings (incase I don't have time to accessorize before school). But really that doesn't say much about me. Since you are taking the time out of your day to read ma blog, I figured I'd tell you some things about me that you might not know just from looking at me, or in my purse. Also, looking in a girls purse without asking is a big NO NO.


I'm 16 so I did 16 things about myself. Cute huh!


1. I'm obsessed with making lists. Lists of things I want to do, places I want to eat, and other things that I think about. Everytime I get tired in seminary, I make a list. But of course it should be somewhat inviting of the spirit so I always just make a list of things that I want in my future husband! :) :) :) :) Yeah I know, it's like I'm 12 years old or something...


2. One of my worst fears in life is hitting an animal with my car. Or killing somebody with my car. Because I once totaled my car and ended up in a field and I was THIS CLOSE to hitting a horse (I LOVE HORSES) and I don't even wanna think about what I'd do if I hit an animal or a person!


3. I'm a fool when it comes to dancing. I danced for ten years and then stopped but I still love to get my groove on every day. Seriously don't be surprised if you look over and see me dancing at some point in the day. I've once strained my neck and pulled a muscle in my arm at a stomp, but I don't regret it.


4. I used to live in Salt Lake City and I lived in my dream home practically. We had this massive yard with tons of trees, ivy growing in places, a raspberry patch, a huge driveway. I could go on for a really long time...


5. Roadtrip? I'm totally down! I love being in the car, I love driving cars, I love seeing other people driving, I love stopping at gas stations. Yeah, it's cray. I love it so much! My favorite place to road trip? St. George (Promised Land) because it's only 3 hours away. It's perfect!


6. I have a very strange obsession with Amelia Earheart. I would elaborate more on this but I actually don't even know that much about her... So I should probably get on that. Hmmm... 


7. Writing letters is one of my favorite things! I love writing random notes and letters to people and either giving it to them in person or mailing it to them. I have a best friend named Alyssa who lives in Salt Lake and we write eachother sometimes. The person I write to the most is my dear uncle Wade who is in prison in Oregon. I write him about every month! And seriously ten minutes ago my sister brought me a letter from him. YAY. So if you're ever feeling lonely, let me know and we will write eachother. No, I'm not writing a missionary... yet ;)


8. I'm going to change the world. I know that every teenage girl is like "Ohmigosh I'm going to be the next Oprah and I'm going to eat organic and I'm going to adopt every baby in the world." But for reals, I'm determined to have a positive impact on this world! I am currently getting ready to go to Puerto Venasco, Mexico in June and build houses! Super exciting!


9. When I talk to people, I try my best to look them straight in the eyes. Well unless you're a super cute then I might get nervous and look around at something. When I do this I better remember what they say and the conversation just seems more sincere to both people. Take a swing at it if you don't do this already okay!


10. Another thing that I absolutely adore is BABY HUSKIES :) :) Good heavens they are the cutest domestic creatures to roam this good earth. Dang. Yeah they're super cute. End of story.


11. When I was in the 7th grade I wrote a poem about 9-11 and entered it in a poetry contest and won! They were going to publish it, but I didn't turn the paperwork in ontime so it never happened. I've always been really sad about that...


12. My favorite thing to do? Make people happy. Whether it is giving somebody a ride, taking them to lunch, getting them ready for a dance, or even just smiling at them, I LOVE seeing people feel good about themselves. When I focuse on other people and their happiness I find that it's not hard for me to be happy! Try it sometime okay?


13. Every night before I go to bed I french braid my hair. It just feels good to have my hair like that but there is no way I'm wearing it like that in public.


14. My dream job (it changes sometimes) is to work for National Geographic as a journalist. I would get to travel around the world, connect with a lot of different people, and experience different cultures. Plus, I could most likely wear my hair in french braids and nobody would ever really care because I'd be in the jungle or something.


15. Since we are talking about dreams, my number one goal is to get married in the temple. Nothing less, no expceptions, no settling for this cowgirl! #together4ever


16. I think that it'd be super amazing to make a mural. When I grow up, I am going to paint murals ALL OVER the place. On my garage door, in my shower, on the ceilings. I wouldn't go to crazy but seriously all you need is a couple buckets of paint and wallaaaa!!!!


I hope that you have been absolutely fascinated by learning more about me. It's been a true pleasure. I also hope that you've all had a wonderful day. I feel like people just give themselves a free pass to have a bad day, JUST because it's Monday. Or it's Saturday so you have to work more, nope can't be happy today. Or it's Wednesday and it's right in the middle so I for sure can't be happy today. People always have something to complain about, unless it's Friday or something. BE HAPPY OKAY???? There is something wonderful about every day, go and find it!


xoxoxoxoxoxo


ella




p.s. My new jamzzz? Brokenhearted by Karmin and What Makes You Beautiful by One Direction :) so good. oh and Mumford & Sons has been treating me real well these days.

This is me and some beautiful friends in St. Geezy this past weekend!
I'm dying because I didn't buy that hat, but I'm getting it next time I go down!

Classic teenage Mormon girl type of list... there is a lot of these.

I totally have summer fever right now and I'm
dying for this swim suit :)