Little Wonders

So the last time I posted on here, I just started my last semester of high school. I'm done now. I'm not even going to try to come up with excuses for my slacking. 

If you want music to accompany this blog post, I would suggest Little Wonders by Rob Thomas. Click here.

First of all, I would just like to point out that I am the biggest wimp on the face of this planet. I am sitting next to my fireplace in my huge, puffy, winter coat (complete with a furry hood) because I am SO cold and I just want to have an Arizona winter.

Anyways... I am DONE with high school. What a great feeling! My high school experience was nothing like I had thought it would be. Back when I was just a youngin' and thought I was a big deal because I had just promoted from 8th grade, I was thinking that my high school experience would be like Gabriella's experience in High School Musical. Unfortunately it was more like this: work, work, cry, work, work, and cry more. Okay, that's a bit dramatic. But really, high school was not my favorite. People used to say that the high school years were "the best years of your life." I remember hearing that and clearly thinking, "if this is the best it's going to get, the rest of my life is going to suck!" Okay, that's a bit dramatic too. I did have some great experiences and have grown so much in the past four years, but I'm glad that part of my life is completed. "Shall we...reminisce?" (If you know where that line is from, I seriously love you. More than you'll ever know.)


*Disclaimer: I know you guys don't really care about every detail I put on this blog. (Like my schedule and my teachers...) It's fine. This blog is mostly just for me so I can look back on it later.  So if you want to just look at the pictures, that's totally cool. 

Freshman Year: 2009-2010. Mountain Ridge High School.

Oh dear. So much awkward in so little time.


Schedule:
1. Seminary: Brother Merrell
2. Biology: Mr. Logan
3. Algebra 1-2: Mr. Tutt
4. Spanish 1-2: I cannot for the life of me remember her name...
5. Language Arts 1-2 H: Ms. Aspaas
6. Theatre 1-2: Mrs. Nardone

I was first introduced to the loveliness of high schoolers by attending the homecoming dance:

There's little me, slouching on the end.

This was quite an eye-opening experience. We had dinner at [pictured boy's] house and headed to ASU West for the dance. My little Mormon friends and I were so excited to dance around and have fun. The innocent bubble that I had been contained in for so long suddenly exploded when I saw an overload of grinding, making out, sweating, etc. So what did us little Mormon girls do? We called up our ride and had them take us to go see Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs at the movie theatre. It ended up being a lot of fun. :) 

Oh how I miss the spirit weeks at Ridge! They were so so fun. 

Ashley, Me, Tessa

Danielle, Me, Tessa, Naomi

In November of my Freshman year I was having a really rough time with a couple of different things. I decided to get my patriarchal blessing at this difficult time in my life and I am SO glad I did. It helped me so much throughout my time in high school.

These next photos show a glimpse of just some of the awkwardness that I mentioned at the beginning:

Ashley, Alec, Me, Tessa

Me, Alec, Ashley

So my friend Ashley was Freshman Class President and that meant she could go to prom (and take her cousin and me with her)... so that was that! Haha. 

Sophomore Year: Mountain Ridge High School. 2010-2011. 

1. World History: Ms. Torkelson

2. Seminary: Brother Merrell

3. Geometry: Mr. Girnius

4. Earth Science: Mr. Huston

5. Language Arts 3-4 H: Ms. Yip

6. Spanish 3-4: Mr. Jones

I can't even begin to explain how difficult this year was for me. At least the beginning of the year. First of all, I didn't know anyone in my lunch. And when I say anyone, I mean anyone. ALL of my friends had a different lunch. That may seem so very insignificant, but it was one of the hardest things to go through. I felt like the new girl, but the hard thing about it was I wasn't the new girl. I felt SO alone. My sweet aunt helped me out by taking me out to lunch every week so I didn't have to feel uncomfortable at school. 

Another thing I struggled with my sophomore year was that I had to come to the realization that things change and people change. I was so unhappy with my circumstances and I just wanted things to be better. 

BUT, of course there were happy times in between all of my struggles! And the year did get way better as it went on. 

Mr. Jones' Spanish 3-4 Class

Me & Darian looking off into the distance. ? Haha

Christy, Me, and Brooklynn

I am so grateful for these girls! Me, Waverly, Jasmine, and Negine

Sophomore year was when I started doing all-star cheer! It was the greatest thing I could have done that year. I SO wish I could be on that team again. I miss it. 

I turned 16 that year and I was SO excited to start dating. Maybe a little too excited...Haha. So this was Prom 2011:

Me, Garrett, Dayna, (who's on a mission now!) and Tanner

So that was Prom. I won't get into the details, but it was fun.

Thennnnn...

 When it seemed that everything was going my way, my parents sat me down one morning to go over the coming summer's plans. They said, "This summer you have a trip to Oklahoma, Girls Camp, EFY...and a move to Indiana." I was in complete shock. Arizona was all I knew. I had lived there my entire life. My life completely changed in an instant. 

It was so hard. 

At the end of my sophomore year, my mom and I flew out to Indiana to go house hunting. We ended up finding a house on that trip, but that's when it started getting really hard because it was becoming real.

The goodbyes were hard, but I knew that Indiana was the place where Heavenly Father wanted me and my family to be. If you want to know more about that summer, you can click here. If you want to know more about the actual move, click here.

Junior Year: [Un-named] High School. 2011-2012.

First semester:

--Seminary: Sister Cluff & Sister Mangus-- 

1. Peer Tutoring

2. Chemistry: Mr. Richardson

3. AP US History: Ms. Chandler

4. Spanish 3 (aka 5-6): Ms. Gunderson 

5. English 11: Mr. Young

6. Study Hall

7. Algebra 2 (aka 3-4): Mr. Clark

Second semester:

--Seminary--

1. Algebra 2: Mr. 

2. Computer Apps: Mr. May

3. AP US History: Ms. Chandler

4. Spanish 3: Ms. Gunderson 

5. English: Mr. Young

6. Chemistry: Ms. Chattin

7. Peer Tutoring

This year was definitely the most challenging as far as academics go. The education in Indiana is much more strenuous than in Arizona and it was THE most difficult thing to get adjusted to. My school is one of the top ten high schools in the state and is nationally ranked...which to be honest was just more inconvenient more than it was helpful. Haha. (and SEVEN periods by the way. 7:40-2:55) But now I'm glad that I made the adjustment because I feel much better prepared for college now. 

Alina, Me, Drew, and Josh!

 We went to countless Indiana Pacers games my junior year. It was so much fun! One of our friends worked for them so we always had the greatest seats. 

I watched so many beautiful sunsets.

I also had fun at Mormon Prom with my friend Heath!

My love of bows is not even describable. 

So that was my junior year! I was really excited when it was over. Haha.

Senior semester: [Un-named] High School. 2012.

--Seminary: Sister Cluff and Sister Gorge--

1. Senior Foods: Mrs. Ziemba

2. Classical Literature: Ms. Armstrong

3. ACP Composition: Mrs. Shipley

4. Economics: Mr. Steckler

5. Study Hall: Ms. Cole

6. Peer Tutoring

7. AP Government

I honestly don't even know what to say about this semester. Haha. It went by really fast. Actually, that's  the biggest lie I've ever told. It was SO slow! Haha. I guess just looking back it went by fast. But when it was actually happening, I could not wait to get out of there! There were a couple of times when I wrote in my journal saying, "I HONESTLY don't know if I can make it through the semester." So obviously, you have learned just by reading this one blog post that I can be a little dramatic. But really, I was so ready to be done. I had Senioritis x100000. It was pretty bad. Here's some pictures:

 Emily, Me, and Taryn

My 18th birthday! It was a horrible day. Haha but it made me extra grateful for my family. 

I had quite a few good teachers this semester! Mr. Steckler (below) was always entertaining. Here he was demonstrating his handstand push ups. A few days after that, he sang Frank Sinatra for us. 

I got my senior pictures done:

Me and my friend Emily twinning one day:

What I am most grateful for and what I will miss most about my time at my school in Indiana:

Pictured: Me, AJ, and Jai

I can't even explain how much I love these kids! This was my peer tutoring class at school. Basically we just hung out with and helped out the special needs class at school.

This is Roxi:

She was such a blessing to me this year. She shows so much love to everyone. Well, mostly everyone annnnd most of the time. Haha. I seriously love her so much! This semester, as part of my Peer Tutoring class, I was able to take her to Ceramics class every day and help her with her art projects. She always gave me hugs and I danced with her every day. There were even a few instances where the bell would ring for me to go to my next class and she literally would not let me go. She would end up getting in trouble for it and the teachers would have to write me passes to my next class...haha but she made me feel so loved. And for that, I am SO grateful. 

On my last day, Roxi kept saying, "Miss Lauren stay high school?"

I kept having to tell her no. But I said I would come visit her! She then would say, "Miss Lauren stay high school all day?" :( 

"Roxanna cry! Miss Lauren cry! " 

It made me so sad! She and all of those other kids in that class are one of the only things that make me sad that I graduated. I love them so much.

SO! That was my high school experience. It was good, for the most part. But I'm glad to be moving on to the next part of my life. 

The HARDEST and BEST summer ever.

First of all, I am SO behind!!! Sorry about that. Anyways,  blogging takes SO MUCH TIME. I didn't realize how many pictures I had to post. Since I have already been on the computer for so long and I'm getting really sick of it, I'm going to let the pictures do most of the talking. :) But basically there were two main parts of my summer. Arizona, and my nannying job. Then there's some miscellaneous stuff in between.

Part 1

ARIZONA :)

I LOVE THIS PLACE :)

Mesa Arizona Temple

I love the desert. So much.

Mountain Ridge High School. Good times, good times...

DBacks! Suuuuch a good game. 

Ben and Brooklynn

Haunted house. I suggest that you never visit. Ever.

I was just crying a little bit because Ben dragged me out of the car and carried me into the house.

Born and raised :)

My wonderful cousin Troy got married!

I forgot how much the Arizona sun hurts. 

What up Steve.

Mutual with the Arrowhead Ranch Ward :')

SO EXCITED!

Mountains are one of my favorite things ever.

So many boys under one roof.

The group :)

Met my cousin's baby Griffin for the first time. :) I LOVE HIM!!!

Love them! :)

There are no words...

"I'm captivated by you baby like a firework show."

:)

Saying goodbye until January :(

SO BEAUTIFUL.

Clouds are my favorite.

Annnnd we're back.

Indiana is seriously so beautiful.

I'm so proud of this picture.

Part 2

Nanny, Gym, Sleep, Repeat.

Charli and Cooper! :)

Let's all just ignore my face and focus on how cute Charli is.

We were trying to be cool. It worked for Cooper, but for me? Not so much.

:)

One thing I learned from this whole experience is this...

Mothers of the world, you all ROCK.

One huge accomplishment of mine this summer was I started eating healthy and going to the gym! I'm so proud of myself.

The Color Run!

So fun :)

I lovelovelove Chicago.

I wrote in my journal just about every day this summer. I'm super proud of myself.

So that was my summer. Then school started. Ahh! I can't believe I'm a senior! That is so weird to me. Seniors always seemed and looked so old to me. I still look like a baby. And what's even weirder is that this is my last semester since I'll be graduating in December! So crazy. Here is part of my journal entry from the night before school started:

"Wow. I can't believe summer is over. That's seriously crazy. It's been a good one. Arizona was amazing, girls camp was so incredible, and nannying was a great experience. So many things have changed. I have grown so much this summer. I've bettered myself. I've found myself! I am more confident than I have been in a really really long time. I'm grateful for all of my trials and experiences that I had this summer that have made me a better person."

So basically, it was seriously one of the best summers EVER. Ahhh I'm just so happy and so grateful.

A few weeks after school started, I said goodbye to one of the greatest friends I have ever had. It was sad.

Then Brooklynn and Nate came to visit!!! :) It was so fun to have them here.

Chicaaaaago!

Willis Tower.

I'm on top of the world, eyyy.

The Bean!

This might possibly be the best picture I have ever taken. Brooklynn's face...hahaha

See ya later :(

So that was my summer [plus Labor Day weekend!] :)

As of right now, I'm just trying really hard to "enjoy the here and the now" because before I know it, I'll be finished with high school and headed off to college. It's crazy how fast time goes by. Thanks for reading all of this. I'm impressed.

Just a few things to brighten your day...