On Mondays and my good life

"I know today is Monday and you assume it’s going to suck, but according to statistics, there will be over 5,000 weddings; 10,000 childbirths; and 42 million hugs occurring today throughout the United States. Also today, there will be at least 4 people that will win the multimillion dollar lotteries; 600 people will get promotions at work . . . There will also be 600 dogs adopted; 35,000 balloons sold; and 800,000 skittles eaten. Plus, the words “I love you” will be said over 9 million times. So again, I know today is Monday and you assume it’s going to suck, but just smile, because according to statistics, it should actually be a really nice day."

I've not been able to find the source of that quote but it's a good one. All in all, Mondays are not overly terrible. Sometimes it really is just easier to blame the day of the week. Shifting blame is something that comes quite naturally to us. I figure shifting the blame to it being Monday is better than shifting the blame to an actual person, you know?

But Mondays aside, life is good. Yesterday I got to catch up with Jordan as he changed the strings on my ukulele in exchange for dinner. (My ukulele sounds absolutely fantastic now.) We honestly had not seen each other or really talked in a month. A whole month. (If you told me in July that I would go a whole month without genuinely talking to Jordan I would not have believed you.) When he looked at me and wholeheartedly asked, "Anna, how have you been?" I had to stop for a moment to collect my thoughts. My mind first went to a week not so long ago that Jeffrey absolutely made my life easier/improved it by 10,000% but by and large, I've been great. There are good times and bad times but the times are still quite good even when they're bad. 

"The way I see it, every life is a pile of good things and bad things. The good things don't always soften the bad things, but vice-versa, the bad things don't necessarily spoil the good things and make them unimportant."

That's a brilliant quote from Doctor Who and definitely sums up college life, and I'm assuming life in general. If I think about just my last two weeks the pile of good things is definitely bigger than the pile of bad things.

Friday I made dinner with Brooke and then I stayed up too late talking with Peter, Kirk and Kyle.

Saturday I did a little homework, went to work, bought groceries and hung out with a bunch of friends. One of the boys said I smelled really good so that was a nice compliment. And Ben said I looked nice with my hair pulled back. I can't really remember the last time I got compliments like those so that made my so-so day undoubtedly awesome.

Sunday we all got an extra hour of sleep, I got a lot of homework done, I made dinner & Jordan came over (as previously mentioned.) Jordan also gave me ice cream. Much later on, Peter, Kirk and Kyle all came over to try the stew I'd made for dinner. And for the second time in three days I stayed up too late talking; this time it was only with Kirk and Kyle, though.

And today was made great because Kyle let me come over for homemade pumpkin pie. My love for pie, especially of the pumpkin variety, knows no bounds. I thanked him profusely but I doubt he really understands how much I really appreciated it. 

But now it's time to get back to my homework. I've got some planning to do for my pitch for the bridal guide . . . Yes, I am writing a "how-to" article for one of BYU's bridal guides. And no, I have absolutely no experience with weddings/wedding planning. I'll let you know how this all turns out.

Last YouTube video I watched: Parks and Rec theme for piano

A home of sorts

Since May there has been a serious increase in the number of my freshman friends returning from their missions. Sometimes it feels like every other day another one returns home. I can't help but smile as I see their names change on Facebook with the loss of the title "Elder." I can't help but smile as they make their first posts, proclaiming in some way, "I'M BACK," posts which are inevitably followed by a plethora of welcome back comments and likes from friends and family.

What I'm most excited about though is seeing those guys on campus again. Everywhere I went freshman year I felt like I was always running into someone I knew. The last two years I hardly saw people I knew on campus; this past year that might have had something to do with the fact that I spent nearly all my time in a single building. There was always something so comforting about knowing people on campus and being able to talk with them for even a brief moment. After freshman year literally half the people I knew were suddenly gone. But this next school year hopefully I'll get those little campus moments once again.

Recently my friend Katie wrote a blog post about enjoying time w/ her family before she leaves for a year and a half to Hong Kong. Her post started off with this:

Do you ever have those moments when something is so beautiful that you can't breathe? When your heart is so full and fit to burst that there actually isn't enough room in your chest for air? When you ache with longing, and you aren't quite sure why, but your white-hot joy is tinged with just a shade of grief? When you are reminded of something that feels more like home than anything you've ever experienced, but you can't quite put your finger on what it is? 

Katie is quite the wordsmith, something I've always known but appreciated so much more when I read that. She managed to put into words a few different emotions that are often so hard to explain, especially the emotions directly related to what "home" is. As I saw my friends come home while I was in Utah for spring term I experienced a different version of home. Walking and talking with Jordan was incredibly familiar; we didn't skip a beat. Watching Matthew interact with his old roommates and talking with him one-on-one was so comforting; in so many ways little had changed. But in so many ways a lot had changed as well. We're all different but also the same. Two years changed us but I also think it made us realize even more so how "home" is not the place but the people.

And while those freshman friends make college feel like home, there are plenty of people I met while they were gone that make me feel at home. The boys of Fiery Passion. The girls across the hall in apartment #2. Carson & Kaitlin from Italian. Mckenna. Jeff, and sometimes even his crazy roommates. James, Brooke's husband of almost one year(!) And most recently Cameron for starting Doctor Who night.

In about a year or so I won't be a college student anymore. It's probable that I won't reside in Utah, nor will many of my friends who made it into a home at all, but that's okay. Utah itself isn't all that special. Utah is special because of the people I met and learned to love, people I will always continue to know and love. Without those people Utah would mean nothing to me. The great thing about having met people from all over the United States is the fact that home is wherever we happen to meet again.

I'd also like to mention that this my 300th post on this blog. Incredible. Three hundred posts, some more intricate and thought-provoking than others, that's for sure. I'm not sure if I'll get to 300 more but you never know.

Last YouTube video I watched: Meyers Leonard Highlight Mix

On top of the world

Last night I went to this pretty tiny music venue, the kind you find in all college towns, to see a band called Imagine Dragons. They're from Vegas but for years have been playing shows in Provo; they've been playing here since at least 2009. It was the first place they kind of got big, so there's basically a cult following. All the shows they play sell out. And for good reason.

Imagine Dragons is hard to describe. I don't know exactly what genre they fall into. I suppose rock but they're also kind of indie, plus there's some synth involved so it gets kind of electronica sounding at times. I suppose the easiest way to describe it is just alternative but that does not do them justice whatsoever. Basically, it's awesome. Their song Radioactive kind of shows the intense stuff they do. But On Top of the World is way more chill and just happy sounding. And then there's America which is just totally different from basically anything else they do.

The band's newest EP came out probably just over a month ago now. It's called Continued Silence. I'm pretty sure they played all of the songs off the EP plus a few old ones. And we got TWO encore songs, so that was fantastic. They really have a soft spot for Provo because of how supportive everyone in the city has been of them over the years. The lead singer, Dan, even said after they played one song that they can always refuse doing just one more song to places like Boston and Chicago, but they can never refuse Provo. I'm pretty sure all the songs they played I knew perfectly or most of, so that was awesome since I haven't listened to a ton of their early stuff.

Because of how small the venue is, the band is seriously just right in front of you. You can see their every facial expression perfectly even if you're in the back-middle part of the room. Everything about them is personal and the venue made it even more so. Dan said over and over again how he felt so much love that night and how even if we all go home sick, because he had a cold and then asked who else was sick a good handful of other people were too, it will be a cold made up of so much love. It was an absolute dream. Every song was filled with incredible emotion and it seriously seemed like everyone there knew all the words to every song. We were all there to support Imagine Dragons in one of the only ways we can, which is to sing at the top of our lungs and dance a little bit. It was probably the best concert experience I've ever had. It felt like the epitome of being a college student: ditching homework to go see some band in a tiny little room downtown with some amazing friends and just letting go of everything going on in life besides the music. That is exactly what it felt like. The semester has been quite busy and I have been, by and large, really responsible. It was great to let go of all the other stuff going on and just be enjoying life.

The best part of this show, however, was not just seeing the band but seeing them with my friends. Lorraine and I met up w/ two guys from our freshman year. One of them we hadn't seen in two years and the other we've only seen on campus every now and then. It was great to be around them. One of them, Will, has been a huge Imagine Dragons fan for a long time now and he was so excited, like a little kid really, that it made everything more exciting for the rest of us. He was also super sweet and let us stand in front of him so we could see better.

I remember the first Imagine Dragons song I ever heard; it's called I Need A Minute. They didn't play it last night but that was fine by me. They played basically every other song I love by them so it all evened out. Everything about the concert was perfect, I swear. There are some bands that just do not sound good live but Imagine Dragons seriously sounds better live than they do recorded.

To put it simply, it was a pleasure to pay $12 to see Imagine Dragons play. I would, and probably will, do it over and over again. They're playing in Salt Lake in May, so that's going to be wonderful.

Last YouTube video I watched: It's Time

Oh, and what made it even better was that the opening band, Chasing Kings, was actually not bad. And when no one was playing the Head and the Heart was playing over the speakers. Totally a magical night.

Time flies when you're having fun

Or if you have YouTube at your fingertips. Or if you're spending time w/ one of your best friends from sophomore year. It's even worse if the combination is both of those things.

This afternoon I spent 3 hours in my friend's basement of a house apartment. We didn't even do anything. We just sat and talked for 3 whole hours, except it felt much shorter than that. He's one of those people I can spend time with and it never seems like anything. Last year there were multiple times when I went to his apartment with the intent of staying 5 or 10 minutes. I ended up staying for 30 or more.

Today was no different. From 4:30 to 7:30 we just sat on the janky old couches from the 70s. Those are the best times, when nothing is really happening but somehow so much is happening.

Yeah, even though I've seen friends throughout the week and spent time with a lot of them, today was one of a few times since being back that I have genuinely felt like Provo was home once again.

Last YouTube video I watched: What is LOVE