It keeps going and going and going and going and going and.....

This is what I need right now. I just need to a breather, just a few seconds, to reflect on this year. Time won't stop slipping through my fingers. I just need a little break to think about the new creature I've become in the last 12 months of living. Because, as much as it surprises me to say this, I have become a new creature. My experiences this year have changed me in unbelievable ways. But the slippery nature of time prevents me from recognizing these changes. Ugh. More thoughts to come. At least I know one thing will never change - my love for Sunday walks.




















God should've made life with a pause button.

And that's what Jenny thinks.

Have you changed the world? Would you like to?

The answer is yes. Even if you don't think you have changed the world, you have.

But that's not my point.

I was thinking. Christ changed the world. My most important is the calling to be Christ's hands. When we take the sacrament, we take Christ's name upon us. As I magnify my calling, I have the power to change the world as Christ did - our Savior and Son of God. As I take the sacrament, I act in his stead. Christ cannot be on this earth physically, but we can be his substitute and change the world like He could. I fully accept the calling. I can change the world in ways I do not comprehend. Christ instills power in me to do so.

That is so empowering and motivating to me.
And that's what Jenny thinks.

I got it made

I am so blessed. But this week, I am particularly grateful for 2 things.

1. Avery Anne Barrett - Okay. I know she doesn't have a middle name, but it just makes the flow so much nicer. Middle name or no middle name, she's still my best friend. We are so similar and so different and I love it. I don't know how I could ever live without her. We share our fears, joys, worries, embarrassing moments, plates, colds, silverware, EVERYTHING. I am so lucky to have her. I still believe the lie my mom told me - that Avery and I were twins separated at birth.

2. Singing - I love singing so much. SO MUCH. I am so blessed to have this talent - the talent to express emotion in the purest, most natural form. There is no explanation for how I feel when I sing. All I know is that when I sing, I feel. I feel everything. And I think feeling is so beautiful. It makes me feel alive. I think Georgia O'Keeffe said it best when she said,

"Singing to me has always seemed the most perfect means of expression. It is so spontaneous. After singing, I think violin. Since I cannot sing, I paint."

How lucky am I? I can sing and I have the greatest roommate ever.

And that's what Jenny thinks.

Out Loud

All of the knowledge inside your mind, heart, and soul is confirmed as undeniable truth when you say it out loud. An awesome experience today told me so.

And that's what Jenny thinks.

10,000 Lakes

One of my new favorite songs is 10,000 lakes by Ryan Shupe. My favorite line is this:

"Give me eyes to see. To perceive, to believe, to imagine the possibility. The possibilities."

We are all guilty of complaining about our unknown futures. Don't deny it. But there is no reason to complain, really. There are thousands, millions of possibilities. Each of them better than the next. Every day has possibilities that we can't even imagine. We are blessed with the freedom to choose - to choose which possibility becomes reality. What God has in store for each of us is an astounding mystery that I can't wait to discover.

So, please, please, give me eyes to see, to perceive, to believe, to imagine the possibilities.

And that's what Jenny thinks.

Suckers

Life is like a sucker.
It tastes good. Every lick, every moment leaves you wanting more.
Sugar dances on your tongue to your divine enjoyment.
But.....
It's hard. No matter how many times you lick a sucker, it's still hard. Delicious, but hard.
That's how I feel about life as of late. Yesterday, God gave me so many beautiful reminders that I really needed - I'm smart, beautiful, capable of making decisions, and just me. Just as I was beginning to think myself, "Self, Great day! I am so happy, I should get some icecream," God kindly interrupted my happy-icecream-thoughts with reminders that life is still hard.
Life is like a sucker.

And that's what Jenny thinks.

Little do they know

Walking on campus, Puccini's La Boheme blasting in my ears. Students clamor around me. Little do they know that I am enraptured in a passionate duet of High C's and Italian accents. Little do they know I'M EXPERIENCING MAGIC, HERE!!!!

I never really use headphones that often. Actually, I am often disgusted at my generation's tendency to be constantly "plugged in." But after my musical experiences today, I think it is safe to say that you might see my head confined between those two little buds more often. Those earbuds carried me from my busy world to a magical place where all of the music was mine. I would like to repeat this experience as often as possible, thank you very much. I shall call it music-magic and it shall be mine and I shall call it my music-magic.

And that's what Jenny thinks.