Happy Birthday President Dester!

So, it's one of my most favorite person's birthday today. His name is President Dester. He's pretty great, so here's some birthday wishes for him!

Happy Birthday President Dester! :)

I Hate Goodbyes.

Another school year has passed. Credits have been earned and classes have been passed (hopefully). Friendships have been forged and relationships have been created. But this year was different. Something about it made it unlike any school year I've ever endured. As I reflect on the past eight months that I've spent at Snow College, I try and pinpoint what was different than other years.

Maybe it was the town I lived in. I mean, Ephraim is a beautiful, small town with a safe and secure feeling that's hard to find in other college towns. I spent many a late night walking around campus breathing in the fresh air and looking at the stars.

Maybe it was the adventures. From hiking in Capitol Reef with my Literature of the Outdoors class, to taking pictures in the autumn foliage in Maple Canyon with Callie and Brianna, to drives up Fairview Canyon with Weston, only fall into the snow and almost lose a flip flop, to singing around a campfire with the greatest ward ever to exist, to impromptu snowball fights with my Mountain View besties, to walks down Main Street with Laura, and much more.

Maybe it was the hardships I faced. The passing of Marissa Watkins brought me closer to the friends I had. Tough times at school made me grow closer to my best friend and sister, Callie. Bouts of sadness and anxiety made me come to love my Heavenly Father and the comfort He brings me.

Maybe it was the friends I've made. Let me tell you, I've never had a better group of friends in my life, ever. The people I've met have been warm, friendly, kind, accepting, funny, outgoing, adventurous, happy, optimistic, trusting, honest, sarcastic, and simply amazing. 

Maybe it was D, all of the above. I often look at my life as a puzzle made up of thousands of puzzle pieces that I get from everything I've done in life and from everyone I've met. If you know me, you've contributed a puzzle piece to my gigantic puzzle. Thank you for everything you've done.

So I'd like to thank the following individuals that I've associated with at Snow College for changing my life:

Dain Christensen, Marissa Watkins, Callie Roberts, Rachel Staheli, Tessa Bradford, Samm Boldrin, Amber North, Camille Densley, Laura Sorensen, Janelle Clark, Chelsey Powell, Jill Hammond, Taylor Anderson, Chelsea Crowther, Jessican Groo, Heidi Luscher, Weston Allinson, Yosuke Tsuda, Bradie Shelton, Brittany Attanasio, Sage Griffin, Bekah Nelson, Becca Allen, Kacia Jacobson, Brianna Packard, Mariah Dawe, James Marsh, Shelby Patterson, Martha Beh, Taysen Barben, Brooke Bradley, Jason Hill, Lindsey Zea, Hayden Worwood, Kylee Hone, Gentry Wilson, Chaelyne Cook, Kim Marsden, Kylee Morse, Colton Purcell, Joe Fishietau, Ciara Ruesch, Tiffany Rasmussen, Emily Goates, Trevor Brimley, Christian Willardson, Chris Dodge, Tyler Clark, Kailey Doty, Adam Smith, Jessica Johnson, Caleb Swallow, Nick Wells, Kade Flake, Josie McBride, Michael Southwick, Alenia Robertson, Chelsea Herrin, Kirsten Winther, Vanessa Moses, Adaire Provost, Ally Anderson, Scott Mason, Nicole Bradley, Nathan White, Paul Davis, James Davis, Holly Troskie, Andrea Cox, Tyler Olsen, Shantae Maddocks, Bethany Farley, Kim Van Duker, Cassidy Bailey, Jon Daisson, Shaleese White, Caleb Coleman, Karlissa Bradley, Chloe Palmer, Dannika McBride, Bryce Stephenson, Kallie McCullough, Mellaina Adams, Morgan Thompson, Sam Thomson, Jessica Harris, Brianna Wright, Kenny Fong, Lindsey Nicholes, Kieran Meeks, Ashlee Hess, Devin Mitchell, Kayla Huff, Brianna Anderson, Katrina Bowen, Hailee Zeeman, Emily Christensen, Chris Jenkins, Heather Reynolds, Kaylyn Sly, Bishop Eddie Hanson, Taylor Holden, Jade Barben, Greg Boothe, Chad Carter, Nathan Sutterfield, Lorenzo Garza, Alyssa Shewell, Tori Turner, and many others (sorry if I missed you! There's so many of you!).

I love you all very much! I hate saying goodbye, but I know that someday we'll see each other again.

Thank you all for changing my life. I am who I am today because of you!

Love,
Drew

We Can't Do It Alone.

We truly need God in our lives. We cannot do anything alone.

May we all have even a little faith in our loving God.

Winking Attacks.

It has been yet another long day in the day of a college student, so I feel the need to share some lessons learned. Here we go.

If you want people to notice you, get a haircut. It's the easiest thing to compliment someone on.

Getting someone to talk is as easy as mentioning something they love.

Bald people are funny. 

Today felt like yesterday. It was almost exactly the same.

When you understand Calculus, you feel like you can rule the world.

I'm not cleaning my apartment anymore. Unless it's my mess, I refuse to clean it. 

I love drawing buildings, especially the cute old ones.

You never know how much you appreciate something until you draw it.

Brains aren't exactly VCRs...more like hyper-sonic BluRay players on steroids.

Some teachers just rock. Seriously. They may be old and strange, but that makes them even better.

There exists in life people whose entire purpose is to annoy me. Or so it seems...

I have friends who I enjoy being around, but make me feel conflicted about myself later on.

Why do English teachers always tell you different ways of writing? I should only need one.

Having three bloody noses in 9 hours is not fun, especially when one occurs at 2:30 am.

I think I'm gonna make cookies tonight...maybe.

Maybe is a very subjective word.

Bones is a super interesting show. Dain might have gotten me hooked...

If I winked as much as I did in real life, I would probably be arrested for harassment.

Everyone is getting into a relationship. Holy cow.

Life is wonderful. Have I ever mentioned that?

I love you all! Keep being stellar!

[Insert Emotion Here]

I know this isn't the place for my emotional rants, but there are just a few things that I feel the need to say.

1. I miss my cousin, Laura. Whenever I was having a down day, I could go and say hi to her and she'd fill my heart with warm laughter and smiles. When she was having a down day, we could hug each other and cry. If she reads this, I want her to know that I love her and think about her constantly and wish her the best at home!

2. Once high school ended, I've became distanced from some of my closest friends. When you don't spend time with someone, it's amazing how quickly the gap of friendship widens. I miss these friends even though I realize I've made tons more at school. You can never replace someone you love.

3. I love being busy. With my recent self diagnosis of slight to moderate clinical depression, I've found that keeping myself busy stops my mind from wandering and starting to feel down on myself. It's a great blessing (even though to most people, 20 credit hours is not their cup of tea).

4. I think I want to be a landscape architect. That combines the best of both worlds in my case. As I continue my studies, I'm definitely going to look into that.

5. I love life, especially right now. College is great. Ephraim is the best. Knowledge is amazing. It's just so spectacular!

I challenge you all to love everyone, no matter their circumstances. Everyone needs to know that they are loved.

I love you all so so much! Keep being stellar!

Burning Marshmallows.

This post seems to be coming from another time or another place. For who would be burning marshmallows in the winter? That usually happens around a campfire on chilly summer nights and half the time it only happens because someone isn't paying attention to their marshmallow and it catches on fire.

Well it did happen. Tonight for Family Home Evening, our ward built marshmallow castles. We stabbed big and small marshmallows with toothpicks and shoved them together in a hope that we could make a shape that somewhat resembled a castle. Our objective was to make the most indestructible towers that could withstand even the most brutal attacks. Little did we know how brutal they might be.

As we headed to the parking lot with our castles in hand, we were pitted against another castle armed with a pair of dice and instructions. If you rolled a 1, you would stick a cotton ball in the other person's castle. If you rolled a 2, 5, or 6, you would hold a lighter to the opponent's castle for a maximum of 15 seconds. If you rolled a 3 or 4, you would take out one of the toothpicks that held together the castle. The war was on.

As we aimed to destroy the other team's castle, we soon discovered that the only truly menacing weapon was the lighter. As it became apparent that no one would win due to the significant amount of marshmallows each castle contained, we decided to just burn both castles as much as we could. So we stuffed cotton balls everywhere and lit them all. Soon both castles were in flames and the smell of burning marshmallows was in the air.

It was great fun. I learned that even though it's cold outside, there is still great fun to be had!

I love you all! Keep being stellar.

Wrong Time for Me.

The year is 2013.

It should really be 1930.

Why? Because I don't belong in 2013. I don't belong with all this technology, governmental corruption, and instant gratification seeking. I'm not someone who drives around to see the sites. I walk on my own two feet and live on what I can provide myself with and what I can survive on. I should have been born at the time when letters were written instead of emails sent. I should have lived when there was no computers or TVs, only books and God's beautiful world to learn from.

There is something about the past that fascinates me. People cared about what they made and what they did. They were respectful and kind. No one is like that today. People don't care what others say, only that they get in their say when they want to. We are so obsessed with money and time that we don't live in the moment.

I don't want to ramble so I won't. I guess I've got to learn to love the time I live in. I will make 2013 worth it to live in.

I love you all! Keep being stellar!

Boo Ya.

I'm pretty sure I passed my first Calculus test of the semester.

Not only did I pass, but I got an A! 93.8% is pretty dang good.

I'm happy. I mean, who wouldn't be?

I love you all! Keep being stellar!

Walk It Out.

Do you ever have those days when you have no motivation to do anything? When you sit on the couch and think to yourself, "Why don't I have a life?" Well, that was today. After I got all my homework done (Calculus...woot) I sat on the couch and was lazy for an hour, and may I tell you that sitting down staring at a computer screen for a few hours is torture! I felt like I was gaining pounds and increasing my risk for a heart attack by the second! Gross...

So I decided to take a walk. I had already taken a walk earlier in the day, but I figured since it was dark, it was time for another experience. So I bundled up and put on my raincoat and ventured out into the rain. I am super glad I did.

I hardly met a single person on my entire walk. Campus was completely empty and dark. The rain fell and embellished the silence of the night. The bell tower rang out on the hour and added an eerieness to the calm scene. I let the rain fall on my face and I splashed in puddles. On my walk back to the apartment, I spotted a gentle stream of water running next to the snowbank. I pulled out my camera and snagged this picture.

There's a certain beauty to the rain. It's like everything is being given a gigantic shower. If only the water was a little warmer.

I love you all! Keep being stellar!

And a special shout out to my cousin Michelle, who recently had a new baby boy, Packer. Best wishes and congratulations!

Love.

Falling in love with another person is overrated.

This is what I love. 

Nature is my true and forever love.

Stay With Me.

Stay with me until I fall asleep,

Stay with me.

Kiss it all better,

I'm not ready to go.

Stay with me until I fall asleep,

Stay with me.

Strength.

Am I strong enough?

"You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, 'I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.'" -Eleanor Roosevelt

I can do anything. ANYTHING.

God will give me the strength. I know it.

25,000 Pennies.

Imagine going to the bank and saying, "I need 25,000 pennies. I'm making a counter."

When I eat bananas, I always smear some on the inside of my pants.

So guess.

Truth is truth, even if you choose not to believe it.

Who makes up these games? Old people.

Laura, you're just a sticky person. "Help! I'm stuck to everything!"

You should start a quote wall. Just imagine peoples' concern when you suddenly laugh at a wall.

Hey! We play Rummikub! Does that mean we're old?

The time is now.

Hold your horses. Because even horses need to be held once in a while.

Clap your hands and say, "I believe!" Hey, it worked!

I'm pretty sure I love my cousin, Laura. Thanks for such a great night cuz! I love you to pieces!

Just like I love you all! Keep being stellar.

Arise.

It's 12:30 as I'm writing this line. Why am I up so late, or perhaps, why am I up so early? Well, I just got back from one of the best stomps I've ever been to. The music was clean, the people were kind, and the atmosphere was just plain fun. I'll never experience another stomp like an institute dance.

As this week draws to a close, I want to share a personal experience that I've had and a lesson I've learned.

The Lord works in mysterious ways, but He always has a purpose.

Over the Christmas break I devoted some of my time to practicing the music for the upcoming spring musical. I spent hours on the piano making sure I was prepared to accompany some of the best singers on campus. When my first day came to work, I was nervous and a little scared. I wanted to impress people. As the director walked in, it took her a while to realize who I was. She told me soon after that she didn't need me anymore because the were going to use to tracks to rehearse. I was a little shocked and upset that I didn't get to do something I was excited and prepared for. I walked out with a heavy heart and songs that hadn't been played.

The next day came and I got a call from my roommate that he needed someone to accompany him for his audition for the institute choir, Arise. I rushed to the institute and we practiced his number. My sister also came in and asked if I could play for her as well. I couldn't refuse and the next thing I know I'm in the audition room playing "On My Own" while my sister sang. After she was done, one of the panel members leaned over and asked, "Are you auditioning too?" I told her that I wasn't. She told me that I should definitely try out. As I walked out of the room, I was prompted by several other people to audition for the choir. A few minutes before I accompanied my roommate, I decided that I would indeed try out. I chose two hymns that I enjoyed and walked in to sing. As I sang, I knew that I was supposed to be there. I was supposed to sing praises to my Lord and devote my time to uplift others. After the auditions were done, I stepped out and  knew that I could do it.

Today before Friday Forum, we checked the list to see if we made it. I heard my name called and smiling faces looking up at me. I had made it! My roommate and my sister both made it too! I was thrilled and I realized that I was so excited to sing. The Lord had made a way for me to do what He wanted me to do.

For some reason I wasn't meant to accompany the musical. I was meant to sing in a choir full of kind people who would become my friends and be excellent examples to me. I was meant to Arise.

The Lord has touched my life as He will surely touch yours.

I love you all. Keep being stellar.

Back in the Swing of Things.

Ah...back at school. This next semester is going to be such a grand one, I can feel it. I'm all excited to learn some psychology, calculus, and hone in my drawing skills. Gonna be great.

In lieu of the new year I felt the need to update you on a few things in my life.
-I got a job playing the piano for the school musical. I will be accompanying the cast at all rehearsals and I'm very excited. For those who are curious, the musical is "The Drowsy Chaperone."
-I've been sustained to be my YSA ward's executive secretary in the bishopric. I feel honored to hold such a calling and I only hope I can do my best to serve the Lord.
-I've officially declared myself an architecture major. Let's hope it lasts!
-My mission papers have begun, but since my availability date is far away I cannot yet submit them. A few more months and I should have my mission call.

That's all I can think of for now. I'll keep you posted on any breaking news as it unfolds.

Remember: To love another person is to see the face of God.

I love you all! Keep being stellar!

I ♥ You.

I truly do.

Dancing Justly.

My post title for this evening was originally entitled, "Just Dance," but as that is too common and highly revealing, I decided to switch the words around just a tad (idea courtesy of Yoda). So now you have to think about what comes next. ...... Done thinking? Good, 'cause I'm moving on.

Over the past ten days I have become a beast at Just Dance 4. I have spent an agglomeration of time (too much to admit) becoming an epic dancer, or so I think. My goal today was to gain all of the high scores to each of the songs and as of 4:00 today, I am proud to announce that I am one short. BUT, that's still pretty impressive, I must say. The most impressive fact is that I got over 11,000 points on two songs. Good luck beating those scores!

Okay, now I sound quite haughty. Forgive me for my ignorance and for my tangential nonsense.

I've thought back a lot on my Winter Break as it draws to a close over the next few days and I've realized that I am ready to live on my own. I don't rely on others anymore and it isn't hard for me to take care of myself. In fact, it's almost easier to take care of myself when I'm on my own. I find life to be more productive and beneficial when I don't have everything handed to me on a silver platter. That being said, I'm excited to head back to my home in Ephraim where I will work, go to school, and live my life. Don't get me wrong, I love being with my family, but it is about time to go.

I don't have much else to say tonight. Be prepared for an upcoming Lessons Learned post in the next few days!

I love you all. Keep being stellar!

{Exordium}

Another new year. Another year of resolutions. Another 365 days of adventures. Another 8,765.81 history-making hours. Another 525,949 minutes used or wasted. Another 31,556,900 seconds that could change your life forever.

Daunting, eh? Just think what our lives would be like if we used every one of those 525,949 minutes in 2013 to better the world. Even if you took out 8 hours or 480 minutes a day for sleep, or 172,800 minutes a year, you would still have 353,149 minutes to better the world. Let's say that you don't want to spend all of your day serving others because there are other things to do. So in that case, let's take half of those minutes and devote them to those other things, such as eating, driving, cleaning, etc. You now have 176,574.5 minutes to give to better the world. Wait what's that? You work too? Oh, well then let's divide that number by two and give you 88,287.25 minutes a year to give to the world. Sounds like a big number still? Well then, let's shrink it down. 88,287.25 minutes = 1471.45 hours = 61.310416667 days = 8.7586309524 weeks = 2.0143482924 months = 0.1678623577 of a year. That means that if you spent a whopping 4 hours a day doing service, you've only spent about 17% of your year helping others. Wow. What was the other 83% spent doing? Watching TV? Playing video games? Checking Facebook?

Now I'm not saying that we should devote that much time to helping others all the time. Goodness gracious that would get extremely exhausting and we would be forgetting our own life in the process. But think of this: if you or me, as an individual, spent one hour a week helping others, whether it be through scattered acts of service or through one big act, we could contribute about 52 hours of service a year. As of 2011, it is estimated that there are 6,973,739,433 people living on the earth. If each person spent this simple 1 hour a week for the entire year helping other people, our globe would be putting together over 363,872,289,265 hours of service a year!. These billions of hours of service translate to over 41,510,400 years of service done in one year.

That is absolutely mind blowing. As a society and as a world, we can do mighty and great things that defy time. Can you imagine how the world would change? I'll leave that to you to imagine.

So I ask you this: how will you be spending your new year? Small acts of kindness can reach great distances. Let us gather together to make this world a better place in 2013.

2013 is my exordium.

I love you all. Keep being stellar.

P.S. I did all of this math, so if you find an error, please let me know! Thanks.

Midlife Crisis at 18.

After reading my post title you may be in utter shock and disbelief or perhaps you're in a state of pure confusion. Before anyone gets seriously injured, let me explain.

As a college student my job is to start finding what I enjoy doing and start deciding what I want to do with my life. Up to this point I had a firm desire to become an architect. I was to design grand edifices and contribute to the vast network of architecture. I was to plan and build the houses of friends and family. I was to become the best of the best in building design. But then I hit a bump.

This bump of which I refer to is also known as Literature of the Outdoors in my mind. In this spectacular class I realized that I hated the anthropogenic world in which we live even more than I originally thought. I grew to despise the crowded freeways and endless world of concrete and steel that surround us. I learned to dislike the overindulgence of technology that we humans are so inclined to participate in. As I grew and came to know myself better through the words of Henry David Thoreau and Ed Abbey, it suddenly clicked. My current career path conflicts with my dislikes.

How do I continue to go down the road that will make me a hypocrite? How do I build something that I'm not certain I'm happy putting on the pure face of Mother Earth? 

Well, it's quite grand how the human mind works, because I've come up with a solution. Yes ladies and gents I've decided that I am to become a writer! I will grace the world with my eloquent words and pepper the endless library of literature with my thoughts. I will become the next Walt Whitman or Robert Frost.

Then I hit a wall. There isn't much money in the world of writing. No one reads books anymore. People instantly turn their heads at the sight of a lot of words with no pictures. Mankind is all about instant gratification now and writing doesn't appeal to the masses. So becoming a writer would be very hard and I would easily be overtaken by more superior writers than myself. So I say, "No Joe," to writing.

But who knows? Maybe I'll be a small-home-building-transcendentalist-writer-who-lives-in-rural-Utah-and-loves-nature when I grow up. Until that day, I'll take life one step at a time.

Love you all! Keep being stellar!

Best Cousins Ever.

I'm pretty sure I have the best cousins ever. We had a hang out day today and it couldn't have been more fun.

As we were playing outside in the snow, Jayden suggested that we head over to the nearby freeway overpass and go sledding down the hill there. We grabbed the sleds and walked the mile or so to our new adventure.

When we arrived we immediately jumped on our sleds. The air was filled with screams and hollers as we flew down the hill at lightning speed. We laughed at each other as we occasionally caught an edge and landed in a flurry of snow at the bottom. As we kept sledding we slowly increased our height on the hill. As our legs became tired I suggested that we form a train for our last and final stunt. We headed to the highest hill and grabbed each others' legs. "Three, two, one!" we shouted.

We headed down the hill at breakneck speed, but there was a slight problem: Jackson couldn't put his legs in the sled. As we barrelled down the hill, his feet hit the powdery snow and sprayed us with cold fluff. Our eyes became blinded and soon we felt the sleds turning sideways. Almost immediately the sleds caught the edge and we were shoved into the snow. We tumbled over each other and faceplanted in the snow. We laughed and laughed as we saw the snow on each others' faces.

This picture was taken shortly after our epic wipeout. What a great adventure it was!

Have a wonderful weekend! Keep being stellar.