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