RS Broadcast. :)

I WANT OREOS ALL THE TIME.

also, I love my mom and my sisters.

I love my whole family. :)

life?

life is good. :)

this kid likes Oreos. :)

Today I was sitting there,

feeling a little beat up.

wasted.

a bit worthless.

and then I had this thought:

I'm a FISO.

Do you know how cool that is?? Do you know what that means??

I'm a FISO!

In Samoan, the way you ask for someone's name is:

"O ai lou igoa?"

Directly translated, it means:

"Who your name?

or,

"Who is your name?"

Because your name is more than a word.

It's your family.

Your ancestors.

Where you're from.

Something along those lines.

And the 'o' in the word 'lou'

means that you are inseparably connected with your name.

Inseparably connected to what your name stands for.

So I'm a Fiso.

What does that mean?

It means that I am a part of one of the strongest forces I've ever known.

We strive for excellence.

We love those around us.

We don't just try,

we succeed.

We are united.

I am a Fiso.

I am strong.

I make an impact on the lives of those around me.

I put others before myself.

I know what's important

and I do what needs to be done.

I am a Fiso.

Inseparably and eternally connected to the ones I love most.

Lo'u 'aiga.

My family. :)

 Now that was a cool moment when I realized all of this.

And now I've realized this:

that if being a Fiso means so much,

how cool is it

that I am also

a daughter of God?
Some food for thought.

:)

life?

life is good. :)

MESS UP MY KITCHEN AND DIE.

SOMETIMES,

I just want to curl up on my couch

with a big-screen tv

(you're like, "it's 2013. isn't that standard?"
and I be like, "uh, you ain't seen my ghetto tv.")

and watch Duck Dynasty.

with Enoch.

and Jamba Juice.

and Cafe Rio.

[pork salad, black beans, everything on it, no guac]
[two tomatillo sauces]

 but sometimes I'm a college student

with a RIDICULOUSLY messy living room

and not enough time

and a ghetto tv

and I'm not at the end of my rope yet

so as to justify buying food

when I already have food in my fridge,

for which I am grateful.

but I just spent good time cleaning my kitchen

[thank you to Michelle and Kristen for lending a hand]

so don't you touch that.

seriously, don't touch it

or I will end you.

But guess what?

It's still a great day to be alive. :)

life?

life is good. :)

You know what's cool about graffiti walls? You can paint over them. :)

And I chose to paint over that last post. Was there some good stuff in it? yes. Could it have helped someone else? ...potentially. And for that reason, it was hard to delete it. But mostly, it was for me, and it dealt with something that I want to let go of. So it's gone. The lessons I learned that were expressed in that last post are valuable and will probably come up later, but in a different context for a different situation.

but really. Who reads this thing anyway? ;)

haha I know some of you do. And I thank you for admiring my personal graffiti wall. :)

When I started writing this post, I wanted to post about this kid that I've had somewhat of an unhealthy attachment to for a couple years (no, I never stalked him! It wasn't anything like that. I just liked him forEVER and it wasn't reciprocated, which caused many tears). For the record, I now know what he thinks about me, and after learning this, I have been able to really let go of him. And I feel good. :) You want details? Come talk to me. I don't mind. But that's not what I want to focus on right now.

I want to talk about life. :)

Life is good! Really, it is! I'm not talking about my life specifically, though I'm surrounded by the freakin best people on a freakin gorgeous planet where we have AMPLE opportunities to live and love life. :) No I'm talking about life in general. Life. is. so. good. :) Even when life is hard, life can still be good! How? One answer does not fit all, but here's what I've learned while I've been living this life.

1: Count Your Blessings.
Even on the crappiest days, you can still find reasons to smile if you look for them. God does not go a single day without giving you at least ONE reminder that He loves you. For me? I just have to look out of a window. This Earth that He created for me and my family and friends is beautiful. Absolutely gorgeous. I look at my family. They are the best of the best! For real! I have so many people in my family and they are all such amazing examples to me, they lift me when I'm down, they lift me higher when I'm up, we make each other laugh, we share things we love with one another, we support each other in EVERYTHING (in an athletically, musically, and otherwise talented family of 10 kids, 4 spouses, and 4.5 grandkids, that's a LOT of stuff to be supportive of, and we still do it!), and we LIKE being around one another! I look at my friends. They are all amazing. ABSOLUTELY amazing. I can't be with my family 100% of the time, so I'm glad I have angels for friends who always make me smile and feel good about everything. I look at the gifts God has given me. Piano, guitar, ukulele, running, lighting uP any kind of dance floor, painting nails, typography, learning languages... They all enrich my life so much. I look at my car. I look at the stars. Oh do I look at the stars... :) Secretly, I think that a super awesome date would be to go stargazing... but that sounds hopeless romantic-ish and I would NEVER leak that onto a blog... ;) Look at all of the small things in life that make you happy! Find more! Be open to new things! There is always a reason to smile if you look for it. :)

I just found this video that fits nicely with this thought:

Open your eyes and be grateful for the blessings you have been given. :)

2: Understand That Hard Times Make You Stronger.
This life is our time to be refined in the refiner's fire. Hard times come. But really, if you stay close to your Savior, Jesus Christ, and you keep the commandments, YOU WILL OVERCOME EVERYTHING. Everything! Absolutely everything! And you will be grateful for these trials! Philippians 4:13 says, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." I know with all of my heart that this is truth. When we team up with our Savior, we make up the perfect team, and we ARE strengthened. We can do ALL things.

3: Serve Others
There are so many reasons why serving others brings us happiness that I don't even know them all! For one thing, knowing that we have truly helped someone else fills us with sustaining joy. For another, focusing on others gives more substance to our souls. Spencer W. Kimball said, "The more we serve our fellowmen in appropriate ways, the more substance there is to our souls. We become more significant individuals as we serve others. We become more substantive as we serve others—indeed, it is easier to "find" ourselves because there is so much more of us to find!" Also, as we focus on the needs of others, we spend less time dwelling on our own problems and our our own needs. Service allows us to replace selfish focus with selfless love. It is seriously like filling a hole. It's FULFILLING. It's like trying to get full on Jolly Ranchers versus getting full on REAL, GOOD food from your mother's kitchen! You feel the substantial, fulfilling joy that comes from selflessly serving others, and you get to see how sweet life can be. You feel more self worth because you feel like you are making a difference. You feel needed. You feel important. You feel more loved. You do! :) One of the best antidotes for times when I'm beating myself down is meaningful service. Sounds counter-intuitive at first, but really, we are put here together to lift each other up, so when we lose ourselves in this, the Lord's work, we find ourselves (Matt. 10:39).

4: Believe In Miracles.
President Thomas S. Monson said, "When we are on the Lord's errand, we are entitled to the Lord's help." When we are living life the way we should be, when we are working hard to do the Lord's work, when we are studying our scriptures daily, praying daily, serving others, and otherwise doing all we can to do what God would have us do, God does help us. I have seen it happen in my own life. I was in a poor financial situation when I ended up with a new car that I didn't have to pay for that gets WAY better gas mileage than what I was getting before. I have seen miracles happen in my family. I promise you, miracles. do. happen. "Inasmuch as ye keep my commandments, ye shall prosper in the land." -Book of Mormon (countless times)


You guys,
life is good.
choose to be happy. :)

And I know I've said this a hundred times already, but

life?

life is good. :)