I am slowly becoming adjusted to my crazy busy schedule and had a much better week. Plus it helps that God dropped a couple of tender mercies throughout my week!
Monday
I woke up and found a notification on my phone that someone had logged into my email--and it wasn't me! So after a panicked start to my day, I was able to study my scriptures and then exercise for a bit. I had English this morning, and the teacher handed out the game cards today. Ironically, my group is the leader group--the one group I absolutely hoped we would not get! That means that we will have to do a lot more work than the other groups, which is kind of a bummer. Afterwards, I went home for a quick lunch, then went back to campus for my Psychology of Religion class. Today we got put into groups of a different religion that we will have to present on in a couple of weeks. I picked Buddhism and have a pretty great group, which is always a blessing! Afterwards, I went home and drove down to the library to return some books. Then I went home to work on homework, but I wasn't feeling good and it was hard to focus. That afternoon, I biked down to my research class in the Taylor building. I am actually very excited about this course because we will be able to see videos of couples in therapy and have a unique opportunity to see what it is actually like and decide if that is what we truly want to do. Ordinarily FERPA laws prohibit you from watching therapy sessions. Straight afterwards, I biked over to my music class. I actually am really enjoying it and think I am slowly improving, even though I know I have a lot to work on. Afterwards I biked home for a quick dinner before attending our ward-combined family home evening. We played a bishopric trivia game, and while it was not the most organized, it was still fun. Miranda said she saw one of the guys at my table scoping me out, but I don't believe it. She's always saying things like that but nothing ever comes of it.
Tuesday
I don't know why it takes me so long to get ready in the mornings, but at least I am consistently exercising and studying my scriptures first thing in the morning. It has helped a lot. I went to my Intro to Social Psychology class, and it was a little bit boring because it was everything that I had already read in the textbook. Afterwards, I quickly ran home to watch the devotional from my laptop while making lunch. I couldn't go in person because I had to go to a training meeting at the MTC at noon, and I wouldn't have had time to attend the devotional in person. However, they announced that our dear prophet will be speaking next Tuesday at the devotional, and you better bet that I'm going to be there! After the devotional ended, I quickly finished up some work business as an online TA and then went down to the MTC to work for five hours (four of which were spent in my small little cubicle). I was so tired by the end of my shift and very hungry too, so I went home and ate food. Then I had a lot of reading to finish before Institute, but I didn't finish all of it, so I had to continue working on it afterwards. I have not been motivated to do my homework yet, as if I am still in denial that school has started. That is pretty bad attitude perception to have, considering it is already in the middle of week 2 of school!
Wednesday
I had a really good day. I tried to get ready quickly this morning so I could finish my reading assignments for my psychology of religion class. I then attended my English class. I was able to work on multiple things during the class because the teacher is rather long-winded and likes to talk a lot about random things. After class, I went to study from my GRE book for a bit while waiting to meet up with a group from class. It was raining today! The weather was actually quite cold. I ate my lunch and then met with my Psychology of Religion group. We are planning on attending a Buddhist service this Sunday, and I realized that since Stake Conference is in the later afternoon, I won't be able to go to my church. I guess I will just have to tell the bishop that I'm converting to Buddhism. We took a quiz over chapters 1 and 2 in our psychology of religion class and I did not do well on the first quiz. I forgot what made each religion unique and totally mix them all around. But I did get a perfect score on the second quiz. After class I went home and worked on homework and did some laundry. Then I went back to campus to attend a workshop for a writing contest. First place will receive $3,000! I don't know how I will do, but I figure it is worth a shot to try. I left from there to go to my vocal performance class, and on the way there, I ran into a guy from my freshman ward, Spencer Ashworth. It was fun being able to say hi to him. Also, I found someone to go to the BYU spectacular with! My roommate ended up not being able to come with me, but one of the girls in my singing class wants to go with me and bought the ticket extra ticket I had. I cannot tell if my singing is getting better or worse, haha. I went home and ate a quick dinner after class and then headed to the Springville Museum of Art. We would receive extra credit credit for attending, and I was glad that I did because it was enjoyable and I got a lot of free cards afterwards! We made relief prints out of Styrofoam. It was very easy and quite enjoyable.
Thursday
Wow, Thursdays must be the busiest day of my whole week! Well, maybe it was just today in particular. I went to class, ate lunch, then went to work until 5pm. I left from there to go shopping because I had some things I needed to get that couldn't be put off much longer, but it required me driving to a Walmart that was further away. Ugh. Let me tell ya--I got home at 8pm. Literally THREE hours! It took forever, and then I ate dinner and had to stay up finishing my art assignments for tomorrow, despite having to arise early for my custodial job. Blah.
Friday
Work wasn't too bad. I found some food, which is always a bonus, and got leftover popcorn from the game. Then I went to art class and had such an enjoyable time! I don't always know what the teacher's expectations are, but I have a really fun time! We presented our projects and then went outside to blow HUGE bubbles. I'm not quite sure what the point of it was, but it was SO FUN! I literally felt like a little kid again. It was very stress relieving, and she gave us all her secret bubble recipe that she has perfected! After class, I went to the BYU bookstore to get a book, then went home and talked with my mom, who convinced me to reach out to Spencer on Facebook and suggest we should catch up sometime. So I did. Then I studied my scriptures and got ready to go down to work my TA office hour at the Harman building. It ended up taking longer than I thought because I had a situation to deal with... somehow I got hired to work for the Psychology department even though I am actually working for the Continuing Education people. So I've been doing work for them, but then attending meetings for the other job and getting paid at a lower rate through the wrong department! I had to get all that sorted out--get myself fired from the other job so I could be hired for the right department and let them know how much I worked so I could make sure to get my extra money. Anyways, yeah, so I got all that worked out and then went to the ice rink to skate for a bit. Later that evening, Whitney came over and we watched the new Netflix original movie that came out, "Tall Girl." We didn't have time to finish it, but I saw enough to be disappointed with the bad acting and cheesiness of it.
Saturday
Aye, this morning was a bit of a train wreck. So, I had planned on attending the 10am session at the temple. Somehow I ended up at the 10:40am session because I was just running so behind! Then I didn't have time to do homework before leaving for work, and I couldn't find my ID card, so I had to get pulled over by the MTC security and fill out some paperwork. Then when I parked underground, I realized I couldn't get into the building to the elevator without my card and nobody was around to let me in! So I had to walk up and around, making me 10 minutes late! I was so frustrated. But the missionaries who taught me today were so kind and understanding. I still have a lot to work and improve on, but at least this time around I can tell that the missionaries truly think I am a nonmember! After work, I had to do homework up until stake conference, and then after stake conference.
Sunday
I had the most interesting Sunday ever! I went to church with Becca Strong since I would be missing Stake Conference. I ran into some people I knew from my ward last semester, which was cool! I went home and ate a quick lunch before heading off to pick up my classmate to attend the Buddhist service. It was definitely a unique experience. We sat on mats on the floor with booty cushions and did a guided meditation. There were different chants to recite and songs to sing, and then the guy in charge told a story about how they can make elephant poop into paper. They also burned incense and had tea for people to drink. Everyone was really friendly. I got home just in time for our Come, Follow Me study group. Three guys and three other girls attended, which is really good! Better than the previous week :). Soon after everyone left, Spencer showed up to watch the devotional, and Miranda stayed to watch it with us, which I was so grateful for because it helped break my awkwardness. After the devotional, she left and Spencer and I sat across from each other on the couches and talked. The conversation flowed fairly well, and he asked about my mission, and then I asked about his and asked him to show me pictures. Tahiti is such a beautiful place! Just before he left, he asked me out on a double date for Thursday evening, which was super exciting!
Before I sign off, I just want to testify that we can learn the most about God and about ourselves through the way we deal with the trials in our lives. Trials are the times to apply the gospel principles we are studying and trying to emulate. They are the test of mortality, and through Jesus Christ, we can overcome every single one and come out the better for it. I received unexpected blessings this week from the trials I went through--losing one thing only to find another thing I'd previously been searching for, etc.
Much love,
Emily Burnham
