Friday, January 20, 2012

Never grow up, Not me.

Well, I've made a decision.
I'm not going to grow up. Peter Pan has led me to this decision, and I'm sticking to it. One of my all-time favorite quotes that I have been recently reminded of goes a little like this...

If growing up means it would be beneath my dignity to climb a tree, I'll NEVER GROW UP, Never grow up, never grow uuUUP! Not me! 

And since I turned eighteen, it's like the whole world has all of a sudden realized that I'm now a grown-up. Just the other day, I climbed a tree and a hobo yelled at me to stop acting like a child.

Just kidding. That totally did not happen, but I'm feeling like all of these colleges are looking at me and saying,

"Umm... get out of that high school. Stop acting like a baby."

or

"Stop driving your super cute, fun car. Cute, fun teenagers drive cars like that, not grown-ups like you!"

or, worst of all...

"Put that blankie away."


This is my blankie. It's my best friend, so unless you wanna get jumped, don't make fun of it.


It has a few minor bumps and bruises.

Well, as you can see, I'm having withdrawals. Childhood withdrawals. I turned eighteen ten days ago. I'm now in the double-digit days of adulthood. I hate the double-digit days of adulthood. However, my birthday was rather fun. My friends surprised me with...

Zupas
Power Tumbling
A surprise party in the auditorium... sorta
Pedicures
A dance party
A trip to the movies
Zupas...again
and
A pink cake containing no gluten, food coloring, chocolate, soy, or anything yummy. 
(that's cause between the three of us, Maddie and Jayme and I cannot eat any of the same foods... except for that nasty... I mean delicious... cake.)

Phew.
Did I tell you I'm a grown-up??
WAAAH!!! 
That was me being a baby. Do you remember the days of babyhood? Weren't they splendid? 
Moving on.

It's really late, I'm really tired and basically what I wanted to say was...

I'm having a really difficult time deciding where to go, what to do, when to do it and why my childhood has so suddenly flashed before my eyes. I thought I was going to go to Weber, but I took a tour of BYU Idaho the other day....

K. Stop. I know what you're thinking about BYU Idaho. I think it also.

But, I just got this really EXTREMELY loud voice in my head, screaming at me and telling me that I should consider going to BYU Idaho. I think I will call that voice the spirit (unless I'm schizophrenic) and I think I will apply to BYU Idaho. Which I actually already did. Today. 

So if any of you out there are going to BYU Idaho anytime soon and are looking for a roommate who sleeps with a blankie and only requires chocolate milk to function, gimme a call. 

I think that's all I have to say at this moment in time.


If you want to be happy, be.
-May May 














Saturday, January 7, 2012

Don't be a Penelope.

You know those people?
Oh, you don't? Okay here's an example:

You: "Hey, so today I went skiing."
Them: "Oh, fun! I don't know if you know this, but I am super duper good at skiing. I've been skiing since I was five years old and I go pretty much every winter. I know you probably don't have money for this, but I get a season pass every year, so basically it's just probably obvious that I love skiing more than you."
You: "Oh, cool. I actually, just... wanted to tell you about my first time skiing, but since you felt the need to one-up me, I'm just gonna go tell someone else."

Ya know.
THOSE people. They're everywhere. Sometimes I fear that I am one of those people.
But my first new years resolution is this:

Don't be one of those people.

Done. 
It can go both ways though, sometimes it goes a little like this:

You: "So, my dog died yesterday and I'm pretty sad about it."
Them: "Oh... I totally know how you feel. When my (close relative or friend) died, it was so hard. I was crying for days- I don't think I'll ever be the same. It's okay though, cause I'll get over it even though I'm probably extremely emotionally scarred for the rest of my life, and your problem just doesn't compare cause everyone knows that losing a (close relative or friend) is ten times worse than losing a dog, but anyways... I'm sorry, anything I can do? I'm totally here for you." 

There is a huge difference between sympathy and empathy, people. And better yet, there is a huge difference between good, normal, effective empathy and dumb empathy that makes everyone else feel bad about themselves. 

AND

There is a huge difference between sharing tidbits about your life that add to a conversation, and one-upping, excessively. I know several one-uppers and over-empathizers. They're called Teenagers. We all do it, but I just hope we can strive harder this year to:

A) Be more sincere when helping others with problems, and congratulating others on their successes and experiences.
B) Stop being obsessed with ourselves and how much we have done, or how much we have suffered, etc.
C) Not be idiots. 

It's annoying, not helpful and in the end makes anyone feel unimportant. 
Now, if you are reading this post and thinking to yourself:
"Umm.. I remember telling Maren how much I loved Tinkerbell once, and she TOTALLY tried to one-up me and tell me that she loved Tinkerbell more than me..."
Or any experience like that.
I apologize.
Sincerely. 
I do not want to be one of those people, and I hope all of you will try not to be as well. 

Please just watch this video, cause it explains perfectly what I am trying to convey in a less bossy, manipulative way :)

Just click on the picture, I apologize for the advertisement, but I promise the video is worth it!


Anyways, don't be a Penelope. Nobody likes a Penelope.
Love you all.


If you want to be happy, be.
-May May 



Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Monkey Face

Kayson thinks I'm funny.




Tell me he isn't the cutest baby alive.

I've got nursing on the brain. My state test is one week from today! Oh, and guess what else is one week from today...

MY 18th BIRTHDAY!!!!
WAHOOOO!
YAAAAAYYYYYY!!!!!!!

So don't forget it.
That's all for now.


If you want to be happy, be.
-May May 

Monday, January 2, 2012

Well... that happened.

Well, this year has been a mighty fun one. I don't really know how to TELL you everything I've done for the last 365 days. That would be annoying. So I decided to show you in this brief overview. Again, this only represents about... 25 days out of the 365. Do not be alarmed when you notice a day is missing. 



Acting Up went on tour. We won many awards, including the Sweepstakes award! (That means you're just plain the best). I also got first place with my solo. It was astonishing.



The worst graduation of my life happened. I said goodbye to 90% of my best friends. But it's okay, cause now they're grown ups. And most of them are on missions. And by the way, what I remember most about PHS graduation this year was Mckenna Austin's amazing performance. I literally was crying. And then I had creepy Mckenna withdrawal dreams. Don't worry, she knows. 


Me and Meg went to Vegas. This also represents the many days I have spent in Vegas this year (that's where my daddy lives). I'm really learning to love the area, and warmth... the lack of ice on the roads... 
I've also gotten to know my new step mom, Tracy, this year. She's a beautiful woman. My dad, although he lives five hours away, is still my dad. And I love him most :) 




I wen to Prom (with Wesley and Brodee... don't worry, they were separate occasions!), Morp with Nicholas, Homecoming with Zachary, Halloween with Ben (not pictured- previous blog post!) and Christmas with Hunter (same as Halloween!). I LOVE school dances. I've always liked them, but this year has been especially lovely in the dance category. Thanks, boys! 


This year, I became acquainted with the Guertin family. Honestly, each and every one of them has changed my life incredibly. Shannon has become my sister and has been there for me through times of trial and sadness, as well as Adam and baby Kayson. Nicholas and I dated this year and boy was it been a roller coaster, but we have helped each other through possibly the hardest things we would face, and I will always be grateful that I met him. 


This year I was in Titanic, Aida and Children of Eden. All of which were excellent experiences. In Titanic I learned to live every moment to the fullest and dream big. In Aida, I learned that dedication to the people you love is most important. And Children of Eden taught me that God loves everyone, we are all his children, and history is golden. 



I saw Taylor Swift. Enough said.



Always have been.

Always will be.


My best best friends, Maddie and Jayme and I are still best best friends. Cause that's just how it works. Oh, and this year we got a webcam :) that's our treasure. Beware: the next 500 posts on this blog may just be MM&J mumbling and... stuff. So get ready. But really, this year the three of us have gone to several dances together, been in two shows together, cried and laughed and took naps together... and of course ate together. That's just what we do, and we'll probably be doing it when we're 90. 


This year, my mommy got engaged to Rainer. This is us. She's getting married in April, and I can't wait to be the wedding singer. Rainer is a wonderful guy who will totally be everything my mother needs in life. I'm very very VERY happy for them. And I love my mommy forever and ever :) 



This year, we've done a lot of really fun family activities. From monthly birthday parties to camping, to spending time with my two nephews who live with me. I've learned that my family is the best family out there. I'm sorry if you think yours is better, because they're not. Having Paulo and Andre around this year has been the time of my life. The one downside is that Hunter (my big brother) and I stay up almost every night talking, and my mom repeatedly comes in and gets grumpy at us for staying up late. I love him though (he makes fun of my blog, so he better appreciate this shout out to his amazing brotherly-ness). 

In other 2011 news:
I became drama president this year.
I got accepted to Weber State University this year.
Maddie became allergic to everything.
Ellie and Hunter aren't freshmen anymore.
I quit working at Cinemark.
I started nursing classes.
Old people became really special to me.
They killed Osama.
I went to Di'neyland a lot.
My dad remodeled his house.
I got a "Barbara-Ann" sticker on my car!
A lot of my friends left for missions.
I don't have mono!
I learned how to mow the lawn.
11/11/11 11:11
I met David Archuleta.
Did I say they killed Osama?

This was supposed to be a somewhat serious post, but it's clearly 3:44 AM, so I will post my new years resolutions another day. Since you're all so interested to know. 
2011, thank you for giving me the hardest, funnest and most life-changing year of my life. You will always be remembered. 


Remember how I said I loved my nieces and nephews? :) 
They apparently grew up without me noticing. 





If you want to be happy, be.
-May May