***DISCLAIMER: I started this post yesterday, on Randy’s actual birthday. So while it’s being posted a day late, it was written on the actual day. That is all***

So I feel like I post about Randy a lot….but this month has been crazy with Valentine’s Day and him being gone for a month and now his birthday…so he gets a lot of blog time. Sorry, next month I’ll cool it down. But I figure most people read this blog to hear about Randy anyway….so it’s fine;)

Anyway. Today my best friend turns 19 years old. He’s off in the MTC, getting ready to teach the people in Fukuoka, Japan the Gospel. And while I miss him and wish I could spend his birthday with him, I wouldn’t want him to be anywhere else. He loves this Gospel and he has such a strong testimony of it, it would be so selfish of me to want him to be anywhere else. Yesterday we had a sort of birthday party for him with a bunch of our BYU friends, which was really fun.

The reality is is that Randy Low is one of the most amazing people I know, and I’m really lucky to have gotten to be his friend for the past few years. So thank you Randy, for being the best friend in the world. For having my back, for caring about me and my friends, for always listening, for being crazy with me, for fighting with me, for laughing and crying with me. For everything. Happy birthday Elder Low!

So today I got to go see one of my very best friends give her farewell talk. Sister Henson is going to do amazing this in Paris for the next 18 months, and I must say that I’m a very lucky person to know her. Hailee is such an example to me in so many ways. She has strengthened my testimony more than she, or any one else, can possibly know. I often find myself in situations, thinking how Hailee would handle it. And the result is always to be kind, gentle, and fair. Hailee will be an amazing missionary not only because she will represent the Savior, but because she will emulate him. She is one of the most Christ like people I know, and will be a wonderful missionary.

So Hai, thank you for the long, late night conversations, the random texts just to see how I’m doing, the devotion and loyalty you have to me and our friendship, the beautiful poems and notes and pictures you gave me just because, the secrets we’ve shared, the nights we spent talking in a room full of people, the trips to the temple, the drive just to come say happy birthday, the testimonies that you’ve shared with me, the many times you drove all the way to my house just because, the way you encouraged me to go for my goals, the many pictures you have taken for me, the support you have shown me in coming to SO MANY of my shows and performances, the deep talks about anything and everything, and for just being the person you are. I am sure that you and I were close before this life, and I have been so lucky to have you as a friend in this one.

I’m going to miss this girl like crazy, and those people in France better get ready. Sister Hailee Jane Henson is coming for ’em.

I love you Hailee Jane, write me lots, and don’t ever forget that I’m here cheering you on!!

Valentine’s Day. What a wonderful day of the year. So commence with sappy V-Day post that most of you will probably skim, at most. Oh well. This is for posterity:)

So yesterday I got a letter from a special guy, and was able to look at one part of it PLUS an SD card ON Valentine’s Day. So naturally, we all stayed up until midnight. Which was a good choice, in my opinion. It was totally worth it. It’s hard not having my best friend here, but I am so proud of him and the things he’s accomplishing. He wrote the sweetest things, said the sweetest things, I got pictures among other things…all in all, a great gift.

Then I went to sleep, woke up, and had 8 text messages from our very best guy friends that all said Happy Valentine’s Day! Then I went to the kitchen to find Rebecca had made muffins and Rachel had made sugar cookies:) My roomies are the best:)  My mom gave me a bag of yummy candy to enjoy which was so sweet of her:) And then….the cherry on the top of my great Valentine’s Day….our guy friends. Our guy friends are literally so sweet, especially Dillon. Sitting in our living room is a big red bag labeled for the Fat Five (questions on what that is, contact me directly;)) Inside was a teddy bear for us to cuddle with, a bottle of Martinelli’s to celebrate the day with, a heart shaped box of chocolate for each of us, some Diet Dr. Pepper (it is our staple), brownie mix that won’t get baked because we just eat the batter, frosting because it is our morning wake up medicine, and an individual letter for each of us. May I just say, my friends seriously rock.

Now I get to drive Alli to the airport with Rach, watch a bunch of friends open their mission calls, then make sugar cookies while watching chick flicks with the Robed Five (again if you’d like an explanation, contact me;))

So here’s to love. The love I have for my family and all they do for me, the love that I have for my roommates who lift me up, the love I have for my girlfriends who literally keep me sane and happy, the love I have for the guys that make me feel special, the love I have for BYU, the love I have for chocolate, the love I have for the Gospel, the love I have for basically everyone who I’ve met and whose touched my life and especially the love I have for that one boy whose 5 weeks down, 99 to go:) Happy Valentine’s Day everyone!

Sometimes the days are hard the nights are long. Sometimes I don’t do as well on a test as I would like. Sometimes when I have high expectations, I get disappointed. Sometimes I trust too easily. Sometimes I get frustrated with people that I shouldn’t. Sometimes I’m not as nice as I should be.

But sometimes, even on the hardest days when I’m the most disappointed and angry, I have to remember that it’s been 1 year 6 months. So here’s to you.

So as of yesterday, Randy has officially been on a mission for one month! Pretty exciting stuff! He’s got 5 weeks left in the MTC and is really loving it. He says Japanese is hard, and some days he is good at it and other days he’s not, but it’s coming. He loves his companion, and is struggling with his district because the other missionaries aren’t as interested in learning and studying as they are with messing around, but he’s learning how to work on it! He’s had a few awesome experiences, and if you want to read more about them, check out this link.

Things are going great here at school, busy as always, but so much fun! I love my group of friends and I love my ward, things are just great.

Also…small shout out to the people who’ve been helping me get through the past few weeks. There’s been some major ups and downs, and I love knowing I have great people to count on, family and friends. Happy Sunday!

I had the chance to go back home to see Davis High’s One Act Festival. Let me tell ya, these performers are wonderful. I loved getting to see the people that I’ve grown close to, direct and act again. It was especially wonderful to see my sister act. She was amazing. She gave so much and I could feel the emotion. It was really powerful. Just a great performance, great friends to share it with (Spencer:)) and  even though it was hard not being there to make inside jokes and cry with my very best friend, it was a great day.

Also. If you ever see a baby turtle….name it Sancho.

I’m going to apologize in advance, this is probably going to be a semi-religious post. So if you’re not in the mood for that today, just skip this:)

One of my best friends loves Ghandi. Like, she’s obsessed with Ghandi. And I often hear the quote, “Be the change you want to see in the world.” I always just thought, “Yeah, that’s nice.” Today I finally started to get it. Yesterday was not a great day for me, for many reasons. But early in the morning, while having a deeply spiritual talk with Alli, I realized that so many people around me ARE the change that I want to see in the world, and that I should start doing that too.

So thank you to Alli for sitting and listening to me rant, and always having the best spiritual talks with me. Thank you to my sweet mom for ALWAYS giving the best advice and always being ready to talk. Thanks to Sam for a text that totally made my day, thanks to Jon for helping me way more than he needed to, thanks to my amazing friends here who always lift me up. Thanks to my amazing FHE brothers and my other brothers who make me feel happy and important. To the girls in my Relief Society who make me feel like I can do anything, and make me want to be better. And a special thanks to my best friend who always makes time for me, always says the perfect thing, and makes me feel so supported even when he’s so busy.

I know I’m not the best at being the change I want to see in the world, but it’s something I’m going to work on. Starting with not complaining about the snow, and being supportive of everyone I love.

On a side note, these things happened:

The nicest waitress in existence served us unlimited soup and breadsticks at THE Olive Garden 

I love BYU. I love the classes, the campus, where I live, my professors, the huge library. But mostly I love the people I’ve gotten to know. I haven’t blogged in quite a while, so here’s the update.

I got to spend the weekend with my family (which was awesome, they’re honestly the best,) go to a few farewells of good friends, spent time at Gabe’s cabin with all my friends playing games and talking and eating lots of peanut butter M&M’s, all in all it was an awesome long weekend.

So back to my original thought. Heading back to school was no fun, and I wasn’t having the best week. But multiple times, things would happen that made me happy. Most of these things included my amazing friends at BYU.

• I got a really good parking spot. And I didn’t think I was going to get one.
• Kurtis played the accordion, Lincoln played his guitar/his mandolin, Jack played his violin, Dillion dressed all hipster to play his guitar, and the rest of us sang along to all the crazy stuff they played. Basically one of the best jam sessions ever.
• Rach, Lau, Sar, and Al made me spaghetti at midnight when I was having a really awful day.
• We talked about Bernini in Humanities. If you don’t know who he is, shame on you. Click here to find out about him and see his amazing sculptures. My favorite is The Rape of Proserpina.
• For my media writing class I get to do SO MUCH WRITING about things that I actually like! And my teacher works for KSL and really knows what he’s talking about, which is awesome.
• I found my other glove!
• Our apartment is CLEAN.
• Randy is having a great time in the MTC.
• My Book of Mormon class is so great, and my teacher always teaches exactly what I need.
• There is always plenty of candy.

I was sitting around tonight, unsure of what to blog about, when my best friends demanded I blog about them. So I’m sure you’re going to be sick of hearing about them, but here it goes.

Right now we are sitting on two mattresses laying on the couch and chairs making a huge bed. Sleepover? Every weekend? Yes please. So here’s a shout-out to the girls who have helped me get through the past week and a half, and the first semester of college. And will get me through the rest of college. To Rachel who always helps me look pretty, always tells me it’s ok to cry, always makes sure I know where the party is, and always makes me feel like she needs me. To Sarah who tries to care even when it’s hard for her, who always calms me down, who always helps me see the big picture, and who cares about how I feel more than anything. To Alli who lets me cry to her, who always wants the very best for me, who is always so sweet and loyal, who helps put things in perspective for me, and who is my little guardian angel. To Lauren who really loves to listen to me, who helps me not care what others think, who reminds me how lucky I am, and who understands and lets me know. To Kathryn who is the best mother ever, who always checks on how I’m doing, who makes sassy jokes at me, and who loves to make me happy.

There are so many other friends that I should write about, but it’s really early and I’m very tired.

Lastly, Elder Low is doing great! He is loving the MTC and has thrown himself in to the Gospel wholeheartedly. If anyone reading this would like to send me a Facebook message so I can send him a big package on his birthday full of friendly letters, that would be great! More updates to come!