From perfect to not to perfect again

I spent all summer longing to return to Utah not for the school or because I missed the mountains or because I was sick of Wisconsin (on the contrary, I will never not love being in Wisconsin), but because the people I've met and continue to meet are all amazing. I made plans, both daydreamed and real. I hoped for the best and practiced a lot of patience.

Then I came back to Utah and things were, quite honestly, perfect. Everything worked out better than I had ever imagined. I was living a dream. For about two weeks my life was golden. I never expected to return and feel as if my life was turning into everything I had ever thought I wanted it to be, but that's what happened.

And then it no longer was.

But here's the thing: it wasn't perfect anymore, but things were still incredibly great; things still are incredibly great. I've already learned a lot, both about myself and about life, in the first two weeks of school, though not much of it actually pertains to school itself. The most important things I've learned and continue to learn?

-It's okay and sometimes completely warranted to be brutally honest with people.

-I'm worth more than the amount of time it takes to write out a text message and anyone who thinks otherwise? Well, they can go ask Trent and Jeff what they think of texting when real talking is what's needed. (Here's a little secret: Trent's not cool with it. At all. And Jeff is just full of disappointment.)

-Sleep is not really all that necessary when you're a single college kid.

Wednesday night I didn't get back to my apartment until after 7. I didn't eat dinner until 9. I didn't go to bed until nearly 1:30 when I should have and could have been asleep by 12:30.

Yesterday I woke up less than an hour before my 9:30 class. I didn't get back to my apartment until after 9. I went to bed earlier than I did on Wednesday but probably not by much.

But I wouldn't trade any of that for anything.

It's all in the spirit of being a single college kid. On Sunday I was talking w/ my friend Cameron about relationships and friends and just being single. He vehemently defended his right to be single, even though he's seriously dating someone. It isn't so much single life he loves but more so the carefree nature of being a college student in general. He's got roommates he loves and doesn't have to "schedule" spending time with them, which is something I cherish as well. I'm not opposed to this single collegiate life by any means, but it was just interesting to hear someone else's perspective on a life that is both similar and terribly different than my own. It just so happened that Wednesday and Thursday turned into the kind of days that epitomize my collegiate life.

On Wednesday I was on campus only until 5 since my evening class got out early; it's supposed to end at 6:30. Walking home I ran into a girl from home who just got back from her mission. Since it's been a year and a half we talked for almost an hour.

Then I booked it over to Mckenna's since she was opening her mission call! She's going to the Czech/Slovak mission. It's going to be quite the adventure. I'm excited to add yet another person to my list of people I've written letters to.

By the time I got home from Mckenna's, I had to finish a couple assignments that took way longer than they should have. And suddenly it was 9 and I had not eaten since 10 in the morning. I made a legitimate stir-fry and hunkered down to finish the rest of my homework before Becca's friend Karina came to spend the night. At that point we went to watch a couple episodes of Doctor Who w/ boys from the ward.

Upon our arrival back at our apartment, Becca, Karina and I ended up talking for a good long while before I decided I needed sleep more than social interaction.

And then suddenly it was already time to get up. Even though I still felt like I could sleep for another hour, I started getting ready for the day. It was a chill day for me clothing-wise. I mean, every day is chill clothing-wise but yesterday especially. The day was full of classes and work. On Thursdays I work till close which is not that bad really but just slightly uneventful once 7 passes.

Becca and I then went on a little night run. The plan was to go just over a mile because Becca doesn't run much (read: ever) so off we went. It was a beautiful night for it. (Only 145 more miles to go!) Eventually Becca got really thirsty and we were super close to Jeff's house so the only solution was to stop. I'll use any excuse to see Jeff and his roommates so I was more than happy. Long story short, we ended up staying for over two hours and hypothetically planned around 3 different food runs that never actually happened.

So what was perfect just a few weeks ago completely transformed into a new kind of perfect. It's funny how life works out like that. I still have lots of plans for this semester, both daydreamed and real once again, but they've shifted a bit. Some are the same. Others are completely different. I'm still hoping for the best and my patience is always being used.

Life isn't everything I thought I wanted it to be. I'm pretty sure it's better.

Last YouTube video I watched: Spaghetti Symphony

The Dating Fascination

What is it with talking about dating that makes people so annoyed and intrigued at the exact same time? I don't think most people go a single day without at least mentioning dating and/or marriage. And I'm probs not exempt from this. As ridiculous and hilarious and awesome as dating is, no one really seems to understand it. One might think a simple formula for dating exists, I like to believe it does, but somehow it gets confounded in every which way.

I'm a pretty honest and straight-forward person. It's not like if I'm interested in a guy I'm going to straight up tell him, "Hey, I would legitimately consider dating you and entering into a relationship beyond platonic friendship. How do you like them apples?" Yeah, that won't be happening. I'm not that honest. But I am the kind of person who won't play "games," like when girls act interested in other guys to make the guy they are really interested in jealous . . . What's that about? Does that actually work? I can't imagine it yields great results. If a guy I had interest in were to (attempt) to make me jealous, well, that would be the end of my interest. A little more honesty would go a long way, and to me honesty is basically the only formula for dating you need. It's served me quite well thus far.

Despite the intense fascination with dating and figuring out how to discover if someone is interested in you, people sure do have a round about way of dealing with things. While it has been deemed "normal" for the guy to ask the girl out on the first date, whenever girls ask guys out on dates, people seem to label that girl as too "forward." Or it's seen as a "just friends" date. Don't get me wrong, I love a good date w/ a good friend that you know will never lead to anything, but why is it that girls asking guys they are interested in on dates gets such a bad reputation? I would think that with all the time we spend talking and contemplating the art and practice of dating, we might be a little better at it. Of course, there are some people that seem to have got it all figured out. And yet they cannot often explain, at least very well, how it happened, how things worked out.

I suppose the fascination with dating is just that: fascinating. People love to fall in love. And others love to know why and how. It's a neat experience. (You probably haven't heard love referred to as neat before . . . You're welcome.)

Here's a quote by Oscar Wilde I've absolutely loved since reading it for the first time this summer.

We can have in life but one great experience at best, and the secret of life is to reproduce that experience as often as possible.

So it's not specifically about love, at least I don't think it's supposed to be. Nevertheless, it applies. I've always read it with the concept of love in mind. That one great experience, realizing you do love and are loved, is a big deal. We all have those moments at times. Sometimes we just realize how much people care about us and how much people need us. Those are great moments and we could all use a few more of them.

In conclusion, go on more dates. Crack the dating fascination code. I'll let you know if I make any progress myself.

Last YouTube video I watched: Show Me Where Ya Noms At