My Final Story Story...

So I find myself once again working on an article for a news writing class. This time around though, I am writing the post to hopefully help cultivate my ideas as to what exactly my article will be on. As this article is my final story, and worth a good deal of points, I decided it should be a good story.

When I originally began thinking about a topic for my article I wanted to do something pertinent to me; something I could relate to. So I started thinking... and the one big thing in my life that for some reason I always think about is my lack of a serious relationship. Then I thought, "Hey, I have four roommates that are all getting married, what have I done wrong?" This cultivated a little more and eventually, with the help of my TA Bonnie, I decided I would write on the "stresses and challenges students face while trying to find their eternal companion while still focusing on school." Kinda lame, I know. My real teacher thought so too, and suggested that I find some sort of "trend story" to help my story along.

This now leads me to the good part. I have come across several articles on the internet dealing with the unspoken, though not in all cases, power struggle between men and women. Some of the articles focused on reasons why women are suspicious of relationships, and others on how women, well I guess men too, can always be on guard for trouble in their marriages. I found it interesting that some of the articles went back to women always taking extra precautions to be sure she wouldn't be left empty handed in the end...if and when there was one.

I think women, in many ways, still have the mind set that men are able to do anything to them and control their life if they wanted to. Now granted, there are many, many of my fellow gender that are of a completely different opinion, but I am just speaking (er, well writing) about what I have observed and how I feel personally. I think that we are often skeptical about men having "hidden agendas" in relationships and are skeptical about how honest they are always being. I know that is a fear I try to keep locked in the back of my mind.

I have often times found myself worrying about what it would be like to be in a serious relationship and what kind of power struggle I would have. And I think going along with that I worry about how two completely different people with completely different brains can find a balance between love, and friendship, and seriousness, and so many other things that will last through all time and eternity.

Whenever I think about finding that special someone and getting married, I always get this nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach. I hope with all my heart that one day I will find that someone that will always love me and treasure me... but even with all that hope there are those "what ifs...". I know that there have got to be other women, oh and I am sure there are men as well, that have those same thoughts.

I know that I have gone back and forth and all around and that this post probably does not make any sense. But I feel that it has done a good job of fulfilling it's purpose: which was to help me get all my scattered thoughts down and decide what I wanted to write my article on.

And with that I have come to a conclusion, I think. I am becoming more confident in this idea as I go along, so I hope it turns out well. What are the fears of young people in regards to getting married and what kind of an affect does it have on relationships? I feel like that is kinda broad, but I also feel that it leaves a lot of room for potential.

Well, wish me luck, and I am sure I will be back in a couple weeks to let you know how the story ended...

A Tuesday Night in the WILK

It has been ages since I have written! And with that I am pretty sure I have lost the few readers I possibly ever had. But, here I am again and we'll see how long my posting lasts this time around.

This semester I am in a couple different news writing classes, and for one of them we were asked to go on a "road trip" and then blog about it. So for my road trip I ventured all the way over the the Wilkinson Student Center and entered the wonderful world of BYU dance club night. When I say club, I mean a student club with a president and other officers.



So I started off my night in the main ballroom with the Swing Kids club. I didn't stay long and dance there, but I did talk to the president and get a good quote or two for my story.

After the Swing Kids I watched Club Style, the hip-hop club, for a little while. They had an awesome routine to "4 Minutes" by Madonna and Justin Timberlake that they were dancing to. That was a lot of fun. A little later the more experienced dancers were doing a routine to another song that had some awesome moves in it.

When Club Style was done, the Country Dance Club came in. For this club I actually stayed and dance for a good while. I took a country-western dance class semester and loved it, so I felt a little at-home. I learned some awesome new moves and met some fun people.

After getting all nasty and sweaty country dancing, I left there to go check out the last couple clubs that were meeting. I first found the Salsa Club, and let me tell you, them kids can dance! There were some fantastic salsa dancers that I really enjoyed watching. With our racially diverse campus there were a lot of true-blood Latinos there that really added some spice to their salsa... bad joke, I know.

Back in the main ballroom the Social Dance Club members were doing some gorgeous Waltz dancing. They weren't dressed up or anything, yet they still looked so elegant.

As I was leaving, I stumbled upon a group hidden back in another room: the Breakdance club. Those kids were doing some awesome breakdancing moves. A couple guys even had helmets that they were using to practice spinning on their heads. There were a lot of people there that looked like they were just having fun learning new moves and perfecting the ones they do know.

All-in-all I really enjoyed the night. If you happen to be walking around BYU on a Tuesday night you should stop by the WILK and take a look at some of the great dancers BYU has to offer.

blah... school.

Well I have made it through the first couple of weeks of classes, and am finally to my first midterm. AHH!! Not going to lie, I am pretty darn scared for it. It is for my Anatomy class and there is so much we need to know. I have been trying to study like crazy, but unfortunately I have not been doing as well as I would like. Having five roommates makes it really hard to find quiet time at home. But if I can get through this first exam without bombing it too bad, I will be satisfied. Until then I will be studying my hiney off.

In other news relating to school, I withdrew from my TMA 101 (theater) class yesterday. I was really enjoying the class, but realized it was going to take up too much time that I need to be able to spend on my other classes. It took me awhile to make the final decision, but I made it and it is done. I just can't let myself regret it. I may end up having to take that class or another one similar to it down the line, but for now I am not. So this means that I have to do extra well in my classes that I still have to make it worth me dropping TMA.

And with that I am going to finish off here and get back to studying. Wishing the best to you all!!

Amy

CADAVERS... Day 1

Yes. I had my first day in the Anatomy lab with the cadavers. Man oh man, that was an interesting experience. At first I was nervous that I was going to get a little whoozie, but things actually turned out all right. It was really weird to actually see them in the real-life. We have pictures in our textbooks and lab manuals, but they don't really do the real deal justice.

For the sake of all those that have 'weak' stomachs (a.k.a. whoosies!), I won't go into too much detail. But honestly it isn't AS bad as you would think. Honestly. There is no skin on the cadavers so they do not really look life-like. Think about it, the only time you see bodies are when they are covered in skin, so if you took that away, it wouldn't be completely recognizable. Granted it is still in the same shape and structure and what not, but it really isn't the same. And what more, if you were really to see these cadavers and body parts and whatnot, you would be so enthralled with how intricate and amazing our bodies are, that you wouldn't have brain space to get grossed out. Seriously.

We were only looking at the upper torso, upper extremities and the face, and I am already overwhelmed with how amazingly everything comes together and functions. Did you know you have like 15ish different muscles just in your forearm along?!?! Ya, ridiculous. Everyday that I go into class I become more and more amazed with the human body. I was discussing with some girls in my class today about how there are people that do not believe in a higher being, of any kind. All I have to say to them is study the human body and then come talk to me again. Seriously, anatomy would be a really good missionary tool. There is no way that a body as intricate and intense as ours just 'evolved' from some organism. It is too perfectly constructed. The human body is truly a testimony to me that God really does exist. There is no way after studying, even as little as I have, the human body that someone could say He does not exist.

So there you have my first day with cadavers 1078 and 1079. (okay so really I don't remember what numbers they are) I hope you enjoyed the post, even if you are a little sick now. Till next time! AMY

Home At Last!

Well folks, I am back in the states!

Sad news is, I have been here over a month now and am just barely getting around to blogging about it. But fortunately for you, my English 150 teacher here at BYU is giving me extra credit for blogging. Naturally there is a little more to it than that, but you will still be hearing from me more regularly now.

Like I said, I am in Engl 150 along with a couple more interested classes. I took a brave step this semester and registered for Anatomy. So far in lab we have just been working with skulls and bones and what not, but at 7am on Wednesday, we will begin working with the actual cadavers. I am not going to lie, I am a little nervous for that! I like to tell myself I can handle that type of thing (blood, nasty pictures, whatnot) but I am now being put to the real test. And don't you worry, I will let you know how that goes.

Other than Engl and Anatomy, another unusual class (for me, at least) that I have is a beginning theater class. When I registered, I thought I was signing up for an easy class were we would read some plays and discuss them in class. No, no. It is three weeks into class and I have already gotten on stage twice, have learned how to critic plays, and have in fact, written my own play. Yes, you read correctly. I wrote a play. It is entitled 'An Angel Named Samantha', and that is all that there really is to say about it. Unless of course, by some twist of luck it is chosen to be produced and preformed in class this semester. In that case there might be some more details.

Anywho... I am also taking a German course (naturally) and a Book of Mormon Religion class (also, naturally).


Well, folks that is it for today. I hope you enjoyed reading all about my classes. And thankfully my play didn't have to be about my own life, otherwise that would of been pretty dull.

I wish you all a great week and hope you check back for future updates!

PEACE!!

Humorous Happenings

Well hello all!! I haven't done anything huge in awhile so I've kind of neglected my blog. And for that I am terribly sorry. I decided though, that it is time to document a couple of happenings just because they are kinda funny, and I don't want to forget the fine points. So here I go:

As I think I've mentioned in a previous post, I make a bi-weekly trip to Heidelberg for Institute and FHE. Well last Monday Mallorie and I were sitting on the street car and having a jolly old time gossiping and talking, in English. We didn't think we were being too loud, but then out of nowhere this lady sitting behind us turns around, gives us a dirty look and then says, in German, "mi mi he he all the way from Bad Duerkheim mi me la la.... something something something." Now you have to picture this in your mind to find the true humor: some old German lady, trying to mimic our fantastic American gossip voices, saying something nasty about us, and having no idea we both speak German and knew what she said. Anyways, Mallorie and I thought it was hilarious and just kinda sat there trying not to laugh too hard. We decided to finish the trip off with a quiet game of 'Go Fish' that requires minimal talking (okay not really, but whatever). Mallorie's evil side shined through though and she shuffled those cards with all the muster, and noise, she could. Yes, we've become little American-German Devil Children.

Last night I had my first experience of a true German (adult) birthday party. Imagine you live in the middle a huge-wining community and you get invited to a birthday party. Now, naturally the host is going to have a ton of wine (we'll say approx 10 cases or so), but you also need to bring a gift. So what better than a couple bottles, or heck a whole case, of wine from your little home-village? And yes, that is precisely what everyone brought. We could seriously set up a liquor stand out front with all this wine we have. It is so insane. I personally don't see how one can taste so different from all the others, but I guess I'm the odd-one-out in this community. All-in-all it was a fun party though. Christine (the mom) had me make a couple American deserts but I don't think they were too big of a hit. American deserts just can't really hold a candle to German pastries and chocolates. I am a proud enough American to admit that. I enjoyed the deserts though (brownies, chocolate rice krispie treats, and a berry cobbler thing), and have even been able to eat the within limit. I gave myself a pat on the back, yes. We're going to be eating chili and chips for the next month I think.

I must now head of to Church. I'm going to go to the German ward in Heidelberg, and then stay for a monthly YSA Sacrament Meeting we have. After that Seline (the African AuPair) and I get to kick it walking-style home from the next town over. Wahoo!! I hope you have a fantastic Sabbath as well and we'll talk again soon.... Amy

To London and beyond!

March 20, 2008

So here I sit on a rickety old train headed towards Mannheim. I survived my solo trip to London with no major bumps or bruises. But to sat it was smooth sailing would be handing out too much credit. Like I said in my last entry, it was rainy and cold whether… the entire time. Luckily there were a few bright things that happened to help me not hate the rain quite so much.

When I went to drop off my luggage at the hostel on Sunday morning, the kind people let me go ahead and check-in. I got all settled in, relaxed a little, got ready, then headed out to be brave in huge, rainy London. My plan was to walk around for few hours, okay like five, then head to church. But after about on hour of freezing my Rastafarian Nae-naes off, I opted for plan B… free museums.

When the time arrived, I headed across the street for Church, only to find out that they had Stake Conference earlier that morning. There were a couple out-of-towners there though, and I ended up meeting to American girls that let me wonder around with them for a few hours. That was a lot more exciting than sitting by myself. I also found out about FHE and hit that up on Monday night. After parting with the sisters, I decided to head back to the hostel and kick it there. This is when it gets good…

While I was waiting in the reception area to get on the internet I overheard two girls asking about getting a power adapter. After they decided not to buy one at the outrageous price the hostel was selling them for, I had my moment of bravery and offered the girls mine. This led to that and at breakfast the next morning they invited me to do some sightseeing with them. Of course I jumped at the offer and an hour later I was standing in front of Madame Tussads. That my friends, was this awesome gallery/exhibit thing full of exact wax replicas of some of the worlds most famous (and infamous) people. And when I say exact, I mean exact. I was scared to touch some of them for fear that they would be real people. Creepy. Anyways, that was a lot of fun. The girls, Sandra and Tina, and I spent the rest of the day doing who knows what. I do know though, that it was a really fun day.

Tuesday… Well this day began again with breakfast and deciding to go on a free walking tour of London with the girls and their new male friend that joined up with us (I can’t remember his name, so obviously he left a huge impression on me, huh). That tour began at The Duke of Wellington’s monument and Arch thing. From there we went to Buckingham Palace, and were able to see the Changing of the Guards. That was cool, but not as impressive as it always sounds. We then went and messed with some of the guards. That of course, was enjoyable. And yes, I was a typical tourist and got a picture. Let’s see, what else did we see? Um… Westminster Abbey, of course. Houses of Parliament and Big Ben. Trafalgar square, think Mary Poppins and pigeons. I think from the tour, those are the places of note. After the tour we went to a little pub and got some Fish and Chips. I won’t lie, I wasn’t very impressed. But I think we just choose a bad place to get them. Plus, I’m not a big fish fan.

That night was the big night! We went and got free makeovers before heading to see LION KING!! That was such an awesome play. I loved all of it. The costumes were the most fantastic things I have seen. And their voices, hello! And I have to mention the dancing. It was all fabulous. So we didn’t have reservations or tickets, but for only like 12ish pounds, we were able to get in. Now, for that price the only tickets we could get were Standing Tickets, but it was still awesome. I would have enjoyed sitting down after such a long day, but the play made it all worth it.

Well, Wednesday was not nearly as eventful as Tuesday, but still a lot of fun. Wednesday morning we headed out to do a little more sightseeing, hitting up the big places we didn’t see on the tour. We saw the London Eye (if you don’t know what that is, you definitely need to look it up. Fantastic), St. Paul’s Cathedral, Tower Bridge, Tower of London, Globe Theater, and then a couple other things. After that we went to the Northern side of London and hit up the shopping in Camden Place. Man, I am telling you, if you want some good flea market shopping, and just little shops, that is the place to go. I was really wishing I had more to spend on shopping. Oh well, it was still fun to look.

After Camden Place we headed back to the hostel for the day. The girls were flying out that afternoon and had to head to the Airport. I was so glad that I was able to meet them. They were so much fun and made my trip so much more enjoyable. Hopefully I’ll be able to go visit them down in Vienna sometime.

Well, after they left I went and freshened up for my dinner with a fantastic-looking Australian. Oops, did I forget to mention meeting Steve. Hehe. We met Steve one morning at breakfast and invited him to go see the sights with us. Unfortunately he turned us down, but the next day he agreed to go to dinner with me after the girls left town. I actually thought he stood me up, but he eventually came through and we went and ate at a little pub. It was delicious! And it was a lot of fun to just sit and talk with him. I think I kinda have a thing for Australians now! Hehe. But really.

The next morning I just walked around by Hyde Park a little more and killed time before I had to head back to the Airport for my flight. As it was STILL freezing outside, I went into a couple of the museums right around there. Man, London knows how to put some pretty cool stuff on display, I’m telling ya.

March 25, 2008

The rest of the week and weekend were really good and went by really fast. I stayed with the Senior Missionary couple on Thursday night when I got back into Heidelberg. Then I spent Friday night and Saturday and Sunday with a friend of mine and her family. It was a really nice Easter weekend, and a perfect ending to my vacation.

Now I am sitting back in my bedroom having just cleaned the house. I’m ready to get back into the routine of work and craziness. I know this post is really long, but I hope it wasn’t too boring and you were able to stick with me. I’m going to put up some pictures to illustrate some of the things I talked about, so I hope that helps to perk up the stories.

Thank you and peace…