Pain Hurts

It's amazing to me just how easily our bodies can be broken. A week ago, when I went to the stunt clinic here at BYU, I pulled a muscle in my upper leg. I didn't really do anything for a week afterwards. I didn't do anything to make it heal, but I also didn't overly use it at all. Then on Monday, I went to my first tumbling class and it was awesome! I almost have a standing tuck and roundoff back on my own without a spot after only one lesson! (those are standing back flip and roundoff-backflip). Of course, doing these things re-injured my leg. The next day, I could barely stretch out at all. My splits are back to where they were when I was first learning how to do the splits at like age 7. They were absolutely terrible and it really got me frustrated. I have little under a month to prepare for try outs and now I am injured and can't do anything. Finally, which I should have done a week ago, I went to my awesomely amazing trainer (aka my Grandpa) and asked for help. He told me that I most likely have a high hamstring pull which means the muscles that connect my leg to the lower part of my pelvis have been overly worked and pulled. Treatment is heat, slow stretching, and rest.... Great... Now I have to take it easy during the month that I was planning on woking really hard to increase my flexibility and tumbling abilities. I've gone backwards rather than forwards.

All of this has made me realize just how fragile our bodies our. We have been entrusted with amazing bodies that can be used to do so many things. Most people have very few problems with their bodies. Yet it is so easy for us to cut ourselves, break a bone, pull a muscle, or get sick. We should be grateful of bodies that function properly. There are so many people who have been given bodies that do not function properly. We should be grateful for the bodies we have been given and seek to help those who cannot do everything for themselves.

Anyways, so I am in healing mode and keep hoping that my body will get better as fast as possible!

But they will pass...

So I know that there have been a lot of people struggling this second semester of college. For some reason, things just got immensely harder and I am definitely a part of this group. I have missed home and my family way more than I expected to. School has been a challenge. My self confidence has decreased immensely since senior year of high school. I think many people are realizing, life isn't all that easy! But we can make it. Take advantage of every little thing that goes right. Even if it is simply the weather was nice, or someone held open a door for you, a smile from a stranger, a dollar on the ground, or a compliment from a friend. These are the things we should hold on to. Because life is too hard to forget about the good things. This song has a great message and the video is pretty powerful. It's called These Times by SafetySuit. I love this song because it is all about how life is hard and we struggle to get through it but there are others out there struggling too that we can take courage from. And in the end, the hard times will pass and we will be stronger for it. I encourage all of you to look for the good things in your lives and write them down so when you are struggling to find hope in your life, you can look back and remember the good times.

Strange Happenings in the Park

For my History of Creativity Class, we always have a creative portion with each test where we have to include some sort of creative element mixed with the historical figures we learned about in that section. It can be kind of tedious but this was the most recent creative portion we had to do.

Go to Blackboard under Course Documents and Music and listen to the Beethoven Fifth Symphony two themes piece. Identify a historical character from the class subjects who you associate with each of the themes. Then, write a short story that describes the way in which these two characters interact and come to a resolution.

So here is my short story. Hope you like! 

Strange Happenings in the Park

You know that place? Everyone knows that place. The place where all the old guys who have nothing to do go to the park and sit around waiting for someone to join them in a game of chess? Have you ever stopped to watch these old men? They aren’t ordinary old men. If you pay enough attention, which no one actually does, you’ll learn a few things. I recall one time at one of these places, passing by two men who looked to be about 50 or so. What initially caught my eye was their clothing. They were dressed in old European style jackets and pants. One was more subdued in his appearance, as if trying to appear less wealthy. He wore the new black styled suit from the 1790s but lost a bit of the grandeur of the cut and trim to appear more homely to the eye. The other wore the typical three-piece suit from the 1700s that included the coat, waistcoat and breeches. His were an ivory green with gold lining that blended in with the green field behind him. I had never seen such a thing before so I decided I would be a creep and people-watch for a few minutes. I sat down about 5 yards away, held up the day’s newspaper and listened to their conversation. Both spoke with very foreign accents; one French, the other clearly English. But it was what they spoke of that had me so intrigued.

“Shall we play a game of chess Maximilien? The weather is nice out and it would be good of us to enjoy the sun while we’re still somewhat young” said the first.

“Alright, John, if you insist. Although, be prepared, for my strategy always wins” said the second, whom I assumed to be Maximilien.

They sat there for about 10 minutes and I was about to leave when things finally started to happen. I sat back down and listened to the end of their game.

“I’m bored. I don’t want to play this game any more,” Maximilien decreed.

“That’s just because you are losing. Maybe if you try a different strategy, you would do better,” replied John.

“Oh my goodness, what is that over yonder?” Maximilien points behind John. As John turns around Maximilien takes one of John’s pieces off the board and puts it with the others he has already removed. John turns back around and seems to have noticed nothing for he then plays his next move. I catch a glance at the board to see where they are in the game and notice a couple of strange things. First off, Maximilien has left his king wide open, with no source of protection against any possible attack from John. Second, it appears that Maximilien is only using pawns as his means of removing John’s pieces. What kind of strategy is that? John seems to notice because he soon speaks up.

“Is there a particular reason you are using your weakest players to attack rather than working together with your combined forces in an attempt to get my king?” asks John.

“Any institution which does not suppose the people good, and the magistrate corruptible, is evil. Only these common pieces are good enough to be of any use to me. The noble, more privileged pieces do not deserve to have more and therefore are of no use to me,” replied Maximilien in a rather-of-fact kind of tone.

“Well then would you like me to go easier on you so there is a more fair game?”

“Of course not! How dare you John Locke! Pity is treason!” shouted Maximilien, his words echoing across the park.

“Well what is the point of playing chess if you won’t take advantage of each players’ unique characteristics and have them work together to get across the board?”

“The king must die so the country may live. I am willing to sacrifice my king in order for my pawns to have their glory and reward. Are you?”

“No, that would defeat the purpose of the game, since the whole point is to take the other’s king. You can’t rewrite the rules to suit your own needs. Why don’t you use groups of each piece to surround and take advantage of the opponent?” asked John.

At that point, another man, dressed in similar attire as Maximilien, but with a older American accent passed by. “Worked for us!” this extra man said.

“Thanks for the input Thomas,” John said with a sigh.

John was obviously getting tired of these back and forth games so he took advantage of his strategy and beat Maximilien.

“Not fair, want to play again?”

“Only if you will let me teach you my strategy which means including all of the players and having each participate in coordination with the other, no one piece singled out as better than the rest, in order to get my king” John replied.

“Alright, but this better work”

After about five minutes Maximilien stood up and shouted, “I won! Ha ha! I beat you John Locke! Too bad you couldn’t have taught me your techniques back in 1792. They may have been really useful to my life back then.”

“My teachings were out there, Maximilien Robespierre. You just didn’t take the time to understand them. But late is better than never.”

And with that, the two men got up and left the park reminiscing of old times until they faded in the distance.

Had I really just witnessed this? Was that who I think it was?

Nah, couldn’t have been.

But maybe…..

Characters:

1.     Maximilien Robespierre

2.     John Locke

3.     Brief interruption by Thomas Jefferson

4.     Narrator

Setting:

1.     Modern-day park

Conflict:

1.     Robespierre is relentless in his current strategy

2.     Locke is willing to use all the pieces

3.     Locke shows Robespierre that his way is better

4.     Robespierre “sees the light”

5.     They walk off together happy to have finally agreed on a common principle

Victory!

I did it! I made myself go to the cheer stunt clinic today from 8-12. And I managed to convince myself all week that I was excited. This morning I got nervous again but when I showed up, I sat with some other girls who, like me, hadn't done cheer in a while and didn't know anyone else there. So we bonded and got to know each other. I didn't feel quite so alone. The BYU also showed us their Nationals routine and it looked awesome! Anyways, the clinic was a lot of fun. I truly realized how much I missed it. Surprisingly, I was able to keep up with the all the stunts. My biggest problem was flexibility. But that is something I can work on by myself. So now the hard decisions comes. Do I try out for the team? I'm not quite ready for it in my skills so I would have to take some lessons or something for the next month for tumbling and make sure I get REALLY flexible if I want my chances to make the team to go up. So now I have to decide and I have no idea where to start...

I am grateful that my Grandpa and I got the chance to talk and because of him, I had been working for the last month to be able to come today. While talking to my mom on the phone afterwards, she could tell just from my voice, that I was happier and peppier than I have been all year. So I am glad I got the chance to relive some of my favorite things. (If you haven't read that post, click here) Anyways, I'll keep you guys in the loop. And if any of you wanna watch, my Nationals Competition routine is on my facebook. I'm trying to upload it on here but I can't get the video. When I do, you can watch it here.

To try and follow me, I am the flyer (one who goes in the air) for the middle back group at the very beginning. I do a twist basket. Then I come to the very middle and do jumps, I then travel to the left of the screen and tumble across to the right. Then I fly for the elite stunt that is on the left in the middle. I am then the tumbler on the far left of the screen and then go to another stunt at the same spot as the elite. We then move to the pyramid where I am the flyer for the side of the left pyramid (group farthest left). Finally, I travel to the front left and do the dance on the ground. Thanks!

This is our team in the pyramid. I am in the stunt on the far left with hair partly over my face... :D

PS Doing cheer after a year of not is REALLY hard on your body. Let's just say... I'm in pain! lol

Random Happenings

So something really cool happened to me today. It was laundry day for Emily and I. So during our two hour break between classes, we took our laundry four stories down the stairs to the machines, and started the wash. We came back up four stories, hung out in our room for 45 min, then walked back down 4 stories to move our laundry to the dryer. I went to one of washers that I had used (I was using two at a time to make it shorter) when I saw a note on top of the washer. It said, "if your laundry was in washer #5, I moved it to dryer #11 :D" Now, this may seem like no big deal. Kinda like, "Oh my gosh, she touched my clothes and moved them around?" BUT... it was actually pretty thoughtful of whom ever this was. Because by doing this, they paid for one of my dry cycles. So I didn't have to pay for it because they already started it for me. Even though 20 cents isn't the end of the world, it was still a nice thought and brightened my day.

We also watched a rocket smash apart an apple in Physics today.
And some of the girls on our floor and I went on an adventure to the storage room in Building 9 (where there seems to be more cute guys than necessary, all congregated at one place). There we took some fake trees and brought them back to our building in preparation for our HUNGER GAMES PARTY!!! I'm not as obsessed as some people I know. But I'm excited simply because it will be fun to just kind of hang out as a floor!

Picture Time!

Just thought I would include some pictures of stuff that's cool and interesting that happened to me the past couple of weeks.

This is a shot of Provo in the distance from Sundance

About a week ago, I was trying to cut apples so I could be healthy and eat a yummy snack. Of course, without a kitchen, I was somewhat improvising. I had a bowl and the fridge as my countertop and a knife that was too sharp for the job at hand. While cutting the apple, the knife slipped and sliced my finger. It was rather painful and is still not completely healed. This is Shanna's nursing skills put to work. I was even so lucky as to have a Batman bandaid! 

Here is my finger the next day after I take of the bandages and let the wound air dry.

Here it is again after my finger has had some time to try out.

So last time I talked about our fish so I thought I would include pictures for you guys to see and understand the story a little better. This is Pinky and The Brain. Pinky is on the left and The Brain is on the right. The Brain is the one who bit the tail of Pinky during the fight. Shanna and Katie have claim to Pinky, Emily and I have The Brain.

Here they are again.

One last time. You can see the divider in the middle that keeps the two from killing each other but they can both see each other and every time they turn around, they try to kill each other and finish their battle form before.

Hope you guys enjoyed it!

Let's Play Ketchup!!!

So, it's been ages since I last posted. But I told myself that I had to post today or else! (or else what, I'm not sure). So this is me playing ketchup (get it?) on my life!

Last Tuesday was Valentines Day. For those of you who know me, Valentines Day is not my favorite holiday. I find it kind of useless. It's all a scam to get people to buy cards and flowers and chocolate. BUT, my family has had a tradition where we come home from school to find candy on our beds from our parents. However, I'm not home. I'm 700+ miles away and was not expecting to get anything, because how could I? Fortunately for me, my mom is a genius. She sent me a package probably two weeks before with stuff I had left home over winter break. In the package was a lunch bag full of stuff and on the outside it said "Do not open till Valentines Day". My mom then told me that my roommate, Emily, had to put the contents of the bag on my pillow while I was out at class. It was tough holding myself back so I wouldn't open the bag early. But I managed and Valentines Day came. I came back from class and my candy and a little stuffed bear was sitting on my bed all spread out the same way my mom would have done it back home. It was nice to fell like, even though I am miles away, I am still connected to my family.

The following weekend was President's Day Weekend. Emily's dad came into town and took Emily and I up to Sundance for two days. There we skied and ate way to much food while we enjoyed the weekend. Unfortunately, my ankle, which is still causing me problems since I fell down the stairs on the way home from church, hurt me more than I was hoping for and there were quite a few times where I had to stop and just wait for the pain to go away. But other than that small inconvenience, the weekend at Sundance was tons of fun and was a good break from daily life in Provo.

There was a day last week where our fire alarm actually went off, like for real, not for a fire drill. I was just sitting down to watch something on my computer when this sharp noise pierced my ears and caused me to jump. There is no way anyone could sleep through the alarm. It is the most painful noise I have ever heard and after a few minutes, I was outside in the cold with the rest of the hall waiting to hear what happened. Our RA Katie came out and told us that someone had burned chocolate. There was no actual fire but the smoke cause the alarms to go off. Who burns chocolate badly enough to make the alarms go off? Really? So because of the chocolate, we were stuck outside, in the cold for an hour waiting for the building to be cleared. The moment we walked in the door, the smell was unbelievable. The burnt chocolate had made its way up to the third floor and everything smelled horrible. We all ran back to our rooms and closed the door just to get away from the awful stench. The rest of the night was pretty uneventful.

So in case you don't know, my roommates and I have fish in our bathroom. (SSSSHHHHH, don't tell). Every time we have a cleaning check, the fish have to hide in a drawer of some sort until  the check is over. Hopefully our fish aren't traumatically disturbed from the movement into a dark space... This last cleaning check, my roommates and I were talking about the fish and Shanna walks up and says "You know, I had them fight each other when we first got them!" Shanna hadn't been with us when we picked out the fish but she saw them when we got back and took it upon herself to test the theory that male beta fish fight each other. She removed the divider between the two tanks, and the fish attacked. Luckily, the fish designated as mine and Emily's (the Brain part of Pinky and the Brain, which is their names) bit the tail of Pinky and our fish won the brief battle. Shanna didn't expect the fish to actually eat each other so she freaked out and grabbed the lid of a container to try to separate them. In this fiasco, Brain ended up on the countertop, out of water, and Shanna was rushing to get the divider back into the tank so Brain could go back in. Let's just say, this explains why Pinky and the Brain are constantly banging the divider between them with their heads in order to try and get at the other. They have a fight to finish! And who knows, perhaps at the end of the semester, we may let them duke it out for the All Around Beta Fish Champion!

I am now all caught up. And hopefully, it will only be a few days before I blog on here again!