2 in 1

Thanksgiving Week


Yesterday, I walked outside my apartment into a surprise winter wonderland with 6 inches of snow. My intitial thoughts were, "Great, so much for doing my hair today . . . now I have to get all the snow out of my car . . .poop." After saying these things in my mind, I took a double look at the snow and thought that instead of thinking of all the things that can go wrong, why not think about those that are good and better. I felt momentarily happy that I had made this change in attitude and so I went out into the BEAUTIFULLY untouched snow. I started to think of how pretty and pure it looked. I decided that school is really taking a toll on me this semester, but I was happy for a great thanksgiving week I had with my family. It was a BLESSING and it made me the HAPPIEST girl alive. I miss them very much and I will see them again in 3 weeks - can they go by any faster please! I cried when they left but when I was hugging my dad he said, "You can do it! Finish up strong, I believe you can do it." I'm so thankful for their amazing support and love, they keep me going when it seems like I can't keep going by myself. I LOVE them very, very much. I know this post is a bit overdue but I just want to say thank you to everyone that has touched my life in one way or another (even those who don't read my blog) - you are angels!


Ryanne, Meags, and Laura: It was great to see you!! Thanks for your example and influence :)


Picture with most of the family:

Reminiscing: BYU-IDAHO

This is exactly how I remember it.
Covered with WHITE SNOW and a COLD BREEZE. 
As I thought about the great memories I also thought about many other things such as my daily schedule, etc. So, enjoy :)

The day usually began walking out my apartment door out to the below-freezing weather, where I took a deep breath and felt my nostrils instantly freeze. My hands were already cold and I knew that I needed to bring my mittens. As usual, I for one had been too lazy to walk 1 mile to the store to get a pair and two, I wouldn't have put them on anyways. As I started the walk downhill, I kept looking down wherever I stepped to see if there was any ice I might slip in. Knowing me and my very embarrassing moments, even a leaf would do the trick and trip me. Instead, I just left my feet slide down the slippery slope of snow. My walk to class was a record time of 5 min or across the street - so much for bundling up. My day would usually end at 12, where I walked home and sat in chair and worked on homework until 4ish (I was a very studious student then  . . .). Mandy and I would then meet in the library: 2nd floor and all the way to the back left corner. The 2nd floor was considered the "most studious people" one and I felt nerdy, but I didn't mind it since my best friend was in there with me. After studying for a few hours on some Econ and Business, we would head out the library door and talk about how bad our breath smelled and that we looked like we have been hit by trains, pooped by animals, dropped by airplanes, etc . . . the list does indeed go on. We laughed all the home, shivering in the freezing cold but happy to be home. At 9, religiously, we would head down to the gym to work out - Heather, Megan , Mandy and I.  . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Yep, that was my first year of college and if there is one thing that I miss the most is the amazing friendships I made that year - ones that will never fade. I remember going to APX parties and thinking we were so old. I remember going cow tipping just to find that we couldn't tip a cow (what?!?). I remember going as group of 10 girls running towards the gate when there were 10 seconds left of our curfew. I remember falling in the snow a trillion times. I remember the smiling faces of the random students across campus. I remember the dunes, the HUMMER, and the truck. I remember going Latin dancing. I remember getting frozen yogurt at Mill Hollow. I remember going to DJ Matt's house parties where we almost broke the floor. I remember ding-dong ditching houses and almost getting caught if it wasn't for my amazing adrenaline and jumping action into the truck's bed. I remember my first boyfriend, haha. I remember pancake girls that lived in front. I remember making chin movies and random videos at 3'o clock in the morning on a Friday night. I remember eating wheat thins :). Getting a random strip of purple in my hair. NO shopping (nearest mall: 40 min). I remember losing weight (it was a freshman 15 but on negative terms) because I was so homesick. I remember being obnoxious and not caring because "WHAT NOW" I was a freshman, could do it and could easily get away with it. I remember late night chats with Mandy and making rain noises (our feet could touch the ceiling = rain noises). Snowboarding. Chastity Chasing. etc. etc. etc.  

 . . . . . . . . .

and the list goes on

 . . . . . . . . . 

BYU-I Lamprecht Hall 307

First dinner :) We were sooo young!

To wrap it up, my BYU-I experience was a GREAT one. Actually no, an AMAZING one! 

much love

Women of Influence

Throughout the course of my life, there have been women who have made a difference in my life. From friends to family, they have all touched my life in some way or another. This last past weeks have been filled with experiences that have made me realize the amazing women who surrounded me. Since there has been a lack of men/dating/all that stuff . . .  I have realized that the friends that I am surrounded by is enough to make me happy, uplift me, and most importantly inspire me. These women help me understand, directly and indirectly, what true happiness, service, and love means. I am not sure that all of you are  reading this, but know that you are angels in my life; individuals who lift my spirit everyday. I hope you know that I love you girls and mean a lot to me. Thank you for being there, thank you for listening to me, and thank you for your example and love. Here's to you! :)

Hailey :)

Blanca (Mom)

Mom 

Lindita

Annie (aka Chachita/Anita/Ignacias/etc.)

Tia Ivonne :)

 Mandy (aka Manuella)

 Meagan, Ryanne, and Laura 

Damayanty

My Rommies: Felicia and Sam

These are truly beautiful women/girls. I love them dearly. And, these are not all of them, I could keep adding pictures . . . and all of them are just as special to me :)

Much love!

Impulsive

Before you start reading: Don't fast forward to see the picture :)

Friday morning I woke up doing the usual: dragging myself of the bed and into the bathroom, change for school, and finally get ready for school. I was staring in the mirror trying to find a way to change my look. I was unsuccessful and headed for the kitchen for breakfast. I finished and I didn't have a plan for my hair still - who thinks about that anyways? Well, apparently I do, but as I stood in the mirror doing that same "pooff" (as some call it), I said to myself "This is so boring - I do my hair the same way everyday and I want something different." And what does Joyce do next? Yes, you guessed right, she goes to her room grabs a comb and fine scissors. I think it all happened too fast. I started to trim a large amount of my hair. I had only 20 minutes until class but I didn't mind being late, I wanted to finish what I had started. I finished and the final product was done. I couldn't recognize myself at first because I looked a bit different so I headed for the kitchen where Sam was sitting. I said, "Sam, I did something really impulsive!" and I showed her what I had done. I was very happy and it was kinda of a self-booster for the day. I felt successful (at least that I didn't do a horrible job at it). Now, here is the product of my impulsive act: 

Hope you like it friends!!

much love

Oh, What a Night

 . . .and this is how I felt today . . .

I have come to the realization, as of tonight, that I absolutely LOVE to ride a bike. Let me explain how this came about. First, I have been meaning and wanting (really bad) to ride a bike since I have been with Linda. It seems like such a fun hobbie for an early Saturday morning, but I never really had the guts to do it by myself - yes, I am that shy. Well, tonight was a "oh what a night" kinda night. I was able to attend the Recapturing Beauty seminar talk by the inspiring Stephanie Nielson (known for Mormon message on beauty when she was in a plane crash). It was truly beautiful to hear her speak tonight, and exactly what I needed to hear at this time in my life. I feel that we sometimes get so caught up in ourselves and our flaws that we forget about our many strengths, our inner beauties and potentials. I know this may sound weird but I feel that we are all, to a certain point, extremely judgmental of ourselves and others. In one of my favorite classes now I have learned that how we perceive others is a refection of how we perceive ouselves. Our judgement towards other are a reflection of ourselves. Think about that - cause I do every time I'm making a judgement in my head. Something I realized I need to work on.I would also appropriately add Pres. Monson's beautiful talk in Relief Society Conference. I think too much about others thoughts towards me, but tonight I realized that that will not change, but that I am able to deal with it in a way that is comfortable for me, slowly but surely. Not that I don't want to change but it's such a long process to change a thought process that has been with you for so long. Personally, I can say that Heavenly Father loves me and is aware of me, my strengths and weakness. 

On this note, I will add that while sitting in the bench with the great company of Linda and Ryan, I felt like riding a bike because I was confident I could do it, even though I said the opposite out loud. So, Linda decided to let me use her bike so that I didn't have to walk home (she is way nice and considerate) and I took off. At first I was skeptical that I couldn't do it which physically affected the way I rode the bike. As I followed behind Linda and Ryan (such a hilarious sight) I decided to take off to my house. After crossing several cars and realizing that I probably looked ridiculous - it didn't matter. The wind was so cold but I loved how it numbed my skin and blew my hair out of my face. Something so simple seemed a lot more that night (called me a cheeseball, it's ok, I would too). I felt confident. I felt like I could do it and I did it. This is a huge, giant step for me. Did I look weird? check. Did I care? um no. I was doing what I wanted to do. Therefore, I chose the picture not because of Miley Cyrus, but because of her face and posture - as if she had discovered something great, just like I did tonight. A hit of self-doubt in the posture but realizing the joy of it in her eyes. And this is exactly how I felt tonight. 

The End

Meanwhile, I found this song earlier this week and absolutely loved it. Hope you do too.

I imagined making a contemporary routine with two girls dressed the same and a mirror in the middle. One would be on the self-conscious (sad, insecure, shy) side of the mirror, the other would be on the side that would show who she really was inside (she wanted to be care-free, happy, joyful). At the beginning they would dance to their emotions but slowly they the self-conscious one would realize she could not live through this her entire life so she decided to change her attitude but not herself. You can see them both merging by the way they perform the moves. In the end, she is satisfied with her realization and decision to live her desire. They become one. Well, in my mind it played out a lot more beautifully than it actually sounds here, haha. 

Best wishes and much love friends!