GRE and Goodbyes

 10 August - 16 August 2020

Howdy friends and family. What a week.

Monday

I picked up my friend Becca and we went ice skating. I got to show her some of the things I've been learning, though at one point I did take a fall and bruised up my knee... I have also been drinking lots of herbal tea because I'm afraid I'm starting to not feel super well. I've pretty much had a constant headache and have felt super thirsty no matter how much water I drink for the past few days.

Tuesday

I studied a bit during the day, and then drove Becca and her husband Peter to Alyssa's wedding reception. She was a former companion of both of us. On the way there, Becca was kind enough to quiz me on vocabulary words. We got to see a couple of people from our mission at the reception, and they had dairy and gluten-free pies/cheesecakes! I love Alyssa's family :). We drove home with enough time for me to head to bed and get enough sleep before taking the GRE.

Wednesday

Wow, I only really felt nervous this morning! I hadn't felt nervous all week, which was a huge miracle so that I could enjoy my time doing other fun activities. But I'm so glad I signed up to take my exam in the morning so I could get it over with first thing. I had reserved a room on the first floor of the library and put up sticky notes around to tell people to be quiet because I was taking the GRE. It worked well for the most part. I could occasionally hear someone faintly singing but it didn't detract much from the test. The first math section was harder than I anticipated, but the rest of the exam went pretty much as expected, and the score I received reflected the scores I'd gotten previously on the practice exams, save a few points lower in the math and a few points higher in the verbal. I also feel confident about the writing section, though I won't get my scores back from that for a couple weeks. Afterwards, I took myself out to lunch at Costa Vida to celebrate. I had a doctor's appointment that afternoon. In order to relax that evening, I water colored another figure skating image.

Thursday

I took it really easy today. I had to start moving things out of my bedroom because the management is having the walls and carpet in the bedrooms redone. I decided to go home during the two week break between semesters so I don't have to be there while all that is happening. I also watched Ant Man for the first time! I am so not a fan of movies with cussing and bad language!! And lots of violence. And stealing. So basically, I didn't really love the movie. 

Friday

I finished cleaning out my room, and I was able to fit most of my stuff in my car! Then I worked for an hour and dropped off a present for Matt's birthday with Whitney and a bunch of other friends. I stayed for a bit but then went home to finish packing and cleaning. I finished around 10pm but then decided that I didn't want to go to bed because maybe if I stayed up late then I could sleep on the plane the next morning. So I watched another movie.

Saturday

Whitney picked me up in the morning and drove me to the airport. She was in her PJs. She gave me a hug goodbye. Well, I didn't sleep on the plane ride home, but I sat next to a cool girl and we just talked the whole way. She was AMAZING at just asking question after question to get to know me. And I only felt a little bit sick when the plane descended and landed. The girl even gave me some gluten-free beef jerky. So kind! Mom picked me up and took me shopping, then we went home. Of course, Lucy gave me a huge hug, followed by other family members. I played my first game of chess after Lucy taught me the rules, and I actually beat her! But she has improved a lot since then. I did Lucy's toes and hair before going to bed.

Sunday

Unfortunately, I just wasn't feeling all that great when I woke up so I didn't want to go to church and risk getting anyone else sick. I slept in, then did Lucy's makeup and ate breakfast, then went back to bed. We were able to have the sacrament and CFM lesson at home when the family got back, which I really enjoyed. We also had our neighbor Amir over for dinner and a lesson with the sister missionaries. They had to teach over Zoom though. It was so cool to be a member present at a lesson and to see the importance of fellow-shipping someone. I'm so proud of my family for the missionary work they are doing!!

I can't end without expressing my gratitude to my Savior and Heavenly Father for blessing me with such amazing opportunities--and for such faithful and wonderful family and friends.

Much love,

Emily Burnham