Are We There Yet?

Friday: The sixth day of the week, following Thursday.

Well it's Friday.
FINALLY.
This is my favorite day of the week.
What a relief it is to hear the last bell at 2:15 ring and I know that I have a whole weekend to relax.
Or do homework.
Or both?
Friday is what keeps me going through the week.
It's what motivates me to get up at 5:45 every  morning.
It's what gets me through a hard homework assignment, or a bad day at school, or worries about the future.
It's the light at the end of the tunnel.
It's the sun coming up tomorrow (or at the end of the week.)

Just a little review of the big week I had:
Monday after a long break, specifically after a long break that includes my birthday, is always hard to adjust to.  School was, well, school.  We finally started rehearsing Hamlet during class.  I am really excited about that. Then I had work and I watched My Fair Lady with my favorite elderly couple. Couldn't help but sing a long.  We had Family Home Evening when I got home. I can't remember what it was about.  (SORRY MOM.)

Tuesday was Evening of Excellence.  I was able to talk about a project I had finished. (Because I finally finished my first project. YES.) I may or may not have sluffed third and fourth period to write a song.  But the important is, that I wrote it.  I'm pretty proud of it too. I only have six more projects to do. In six months.  Perfect.

//The spirit was really strong as the Young Women sang "I Will Live It."
I wish I could describe the feeling I felt while singing it.  It felt so true.  I love the line, "He is counting on me to arise and shine." And the line, "It's more than just something I read, the gospel of Christ is a part of my life, I am acting on the things that the Savior has taught me." I know that I need to live the gospel in my life.  I know that the Lord needs me to shine with the beautiful knowledge I have been blessed with. I hope people can see that.  My desire to serve a mission grew even more while singing this.  I want to bring this gospel to others so they can live it.  And so they can be blessed with it too.//

Wednesday my grandmother took me, my twin, my mom, my aunt, and my great uncle to The Met Opera.  Now I am a theater kind of girl, but I was really worried.  I thought it would be boring and I was sure I'd fall asleep.  That sounds horrible, but it's the truth.  Surprisingly, I really enjoyed it.  We saw "The Tempest" which is really modern. In fact, the composer was the director in the pit. (Spoiler alert. We didn't actually go to New York City to see the Met Opera.  Instead, we saw the broadcast of the actual Opera in a movie theater. It was just as good.  Plus we were able to see close ups that the real audience couldn't.) I also found at my Great Uncle Florin was a drama teacher for twenty-five years.  Well glad someone finally told me.  Goodness.

I had Hamlet rehearsal after school on Thursday.  And we're coming up with really cool tech ideas. I also sang at the Live Nativity last night.  Jacob, Chad, Mike, and I sang songs from seven-thirty to nine.  It was cold, exhausting, but really fun.  After that, my mother helped me finish my essays for BYU. I am so relieved that they are done.

And then that brings us to Friday. To this lovely, lovely day.
I woke up at four o'clock this morning to write my book report. Bad idea.
We never really do anything in photo.
So I slept.
And it felt so good.
Definitely going to bed early tonight.
Today also ends the infamous month of "No Shave November." I am proud and slightly embarrassed to admit that I did it this year.  And dang, my legs are Very. Unattractively. Hairy.

For your viewing pleasure:

Really though, who wouldn't want to date this?

I am happy to say that tomorrow I will have beautiful, smooth, shaven legs again. Thank goodness.

And that's about it for today.  

It's been fun.

Here's a few of my recent instagram pics. (This will hopefully distract from my hairy leg.)

Have a lovely Friday. 

♥ Bekah

My Dad

Father: A man who exercises paternal care over other persons.  A male parent.

This entry goes out to my dad.
He is the best.
Literally.
Tonight I was feeling really overwhelmed
With life.
With college applications.
With a ridiculously messy room.
With lack of sleep.
With homework.
With a personal progress project in progress. (Say that five times fast.)
With a desire to prepare for my Patriarchal Blessing that I am receiving next week.
With the crazy little brain of mine.
In the midst of all this, my father decided to help me.
He led me to my room (as though I was eight years old, again.)
While I was crying.
And helped me clean my room.
He helped me make different piles of clothes, papers, shoes, and trash.
I LOVE HIM.
My room is now clean.
And my feeling of desperate anxiety has passed.
I can breathe again.
For the time being at least.
Tonight I am thankful for the incredible, amazing, spiritual, inspired man that I am lucky enough to call father.

And this lovely creature ^^^is him.

(What is not to love?)

Thanks daddy.

I love you.

Love, Bekah

Birthday Girl

Birthday:The day of a person's birth.

Today is my eighteenth birthday. 
(Wow, I never thought I'd get to this point in my life.)
Crazy.
Unreal.
EXCITING.
I feel so old, and yet so young.  Life as I know it is ending, and yet it is just beginning.  To document this journey in my life, I've decided to start this little blog of mine.  Just for funsies.
I'm starting it on the first day as an eighteen year old: as an adult: as a person able to by dried ice.  I don't know where I'm going to end up in life. But I do know one thing: that I want to remember how I got there.
I want to remember the things that made me laugh.
That made me cry.
That made me pray.
That gave me faith.
That made me smile.
That gave me strength.
That changed me.
That made me who I am.
And if this silly little blog of mine can help me remember even one of those things, then I'll be happy.

So my birthday? Well, it has been AMAZING.  I'm not going to lie, I was actually dreading the birthday party part of my birthday this year.  I didn't know what to do for it, or who to invite.  I mostly felt like staying at home and reading a good book or editing pictures or writing a song or something else introverted, but then my mom said I should go ice skating.  And I was like, "What the heck. Why not?" So I picked up my home phone the old fashioned way (my cell was dead, you see) and I called some friends up.  And you know what's crazy? Most of them said yes! So then we went ice skating today.  For my eighteenth birthday.  And I had a really enjoyable time. I actually forgot how much I enjoy ice skating.  I went for my eighth birthday then for my thirteenth or fourteenth birthday and then for my eighteenth.  You might say it's kind of a tradition for me.
(I'll know a man is really serious about me when he takes me ice skating and holds my hand and tries to catch me when I fall.)
Then we came home and Sierra, my cousin, and I took pictures of me with my eighteen balloons.  (I REALLY wanted eighteen balloons for my birthday, but my dad didn't want to buy them for me. I begged and begged this morning until he finally agreed to let me go buy some for myself if I bought eggs too. So I took my cousins and little brother and sister and bought eighteen colorful balloons.) I LOVE THEM. Here's my favorite two pictures:

(Do you like my new polka dot sweater?? My mommy bought if for me. She's the best.)

So that was definitely a highlight of my birthday. Then I created this lovely little blog and had Cafe Rio for dinner.  It was the first birthday dinner where we haven't gone to Timpiniaki (is that how you spell it?) but you know, it wasn't even that bad.  Just different.  And I LOVE Cafe Rio, so I wasn't complaining.  While my steak burrito was digesting, I opened my presents from the fam bam. (Other than my twin, the other five siblings are ten and under, so most of the presents are home made or re-gifted.) Nick, the ten year old gave me a paper that says, "Kisses" on top with a box under it.  Apparently he kissed the paper so whenever I get lonely, just put my cheek against it and it's like he's kissing me. GENIUS.  Then Nathan (the four year old) gave me a very special walking duck.  The only problem is that one of the legs is broken, so after winding the duck, it awkwardly stumbles in a circle.  He's very thoughtful.  And Samantha gave me a hug.  (But a very special one!) My wonderful parents gave me earrings that say "Dream" on them because I'm, well, a dreamer.  They also gave me a certain amount of money for clothes, camera equipment, books, etc. BEST PARENTS EVER.  Then over chocolate cake and mint ice cream, we played the "no smiling" game where my dad can literally make anyone smile.  It's ridiculous.  And hilarious. I haven't laughed that hard in a really, really long time.

Today I've been really grateful for all the truly amazing people in my life.  My friends (facebook, neighborhood, and school who are so so thoughtful), my family who continue to bless and strengthen me in this journey called life, and God who gives me infinite blessings, makes it possible for me to get through day to day trials, and helps me see who I really am: a Beautiful Daughter of God.

Well, I hope I don't make all of my posts this long or else I'm going to write a novel before long.  But that would be okay too, I guess.
Have a lovely_____(Fill in the blank to whenever you're reading this.)

(I really wanted to find a way to tie in my title "The Way I Am" to the end of each post, but I couldn't think of any for this one.) Oh well, I guess that's just the way I am.

Love this silly little birthday girl, Bekah.