First Week of School? Check and Done.

Hey everyone!

It's that time of year again, and I hope school is treating you well so far! :)

Well, I survived my first week at least, and I hope you can say the same thing. I mean, it's school, so it hasn't been all kicks and giggles, but I survived it. That counts for something right??
Anyway, first week of my sophomore year at college. I am taking ALL medical and science classes so I can get into my program this Spring, and so I feel like this semester is going to be brutal all ready.....:/
Okay, this will sounds really nerdy, but I had a goal to have a social life this semester-you know, hang out with friends, date cute boys, go to parties, that sort of thing. Last year was my first year at college, and let's be honest (lesbihonest if you're into Pitch Perfect), I didn't do much outside of studying my guts out and going to school, maybe finding time to sleep in between giant assignments. That's just how I roll. I don't procrastinate, I get things done if it kills me (and I do them right!), and I don't take time for social things if I know I have homework waiting at home for me. SO ANYWAY. My goal was to have a social life this year, and not just stay home and study 24/7 in my free time. However, as I get more into my classes, even just the first week, I feel that hope for a social life slowly going down the drain......This semester may make me more of an introvert than ever. :/
Ok, so enough about that. I'll keep you updated on how that goal goes-if I have any cute dates, friend outings, or something else to do besides homework in the near future. ;)
Well, we all know the first week of school is stressful and tiring, and I am WORN out now that it's finally the weekend, but still, it went relatively well. I got to all of my classes on time, in the right classroom, on the right day, and managed to stay ahead of the few homework assignments I was given.
Besides being in school full time, I also work full time, at an information desk on campus and the other night, I had a somewhat awkward situation occur. A very attractive kid came up to the desk to get his student ID card and bus pass, and I helped him out, casually noting to my boss and coworkers that I found him attractive. BAD IDEA. Never tell your coworkers you think someone's attractive. Needless to say, they gave him my number, much to my embarrassment, and that was that. Or so I thought.......
I saw that same attractive kid, in my honors class the next day, and much to my dismay, he recognized me. "Hey! You're that girl who was at the info desk the other day when I came to get my card!"
"Uhhh......yeah......" Can you say AWKWARD?
Yeah, anyway, the first week of school is over, and it went surprisingly well, besides all of the slow-walking students I got stuck behind on campus,

And the boring lectures I had to sit through, 

And the awkward run in with a certain attractive boy. 

ANYWAY. I hope the next week of school goes well for all of you, and that you don't have any awkward situations like I did.....however, if you do, I would love to hear about them. ;) 

I mean, awkward situation ARE my speciality. 

Cheers, school nerds! :) 

I don't know what my emotions are doing! My brain is crying! SCHOOL IS STARTING!

AHGHHGHGHHGHGHGH!!!!! GAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!

Okay, sorry about that. It's just school starts tomorrow and I don't know how to feel about it! So many conflicting emotions, people!

I mean, let's be honest, on the one hand, I'm super duper stoked to go back to school. I've been sitting at home recovering from surgery, so I'm ready to get back out there, do things, and meet new people. I am also a nerd and I am slightly excited (just slightly....okay, really excited!) about all of my medical classes I have lined up for this semester. 

HOWEVER. On the other hand, I am freaking out about another school year! School means awkward encounters while trying to make new friends, homework and hours of studying with no social life, and let's face it, comparing yourself to every other girl on campus. Face it, girls, it's what we do, and I KNOW I do it! I look at all the other girls every day and think, "Wow, she's gorgeous. I look like a potato." Or, "Well, she certainly pulls off the exact outfit I have hanging in my closet much better than I ever could. I mean, she has boobs and long legs and nice hair and that dress looks amazing on her! Yup, that one's going to charity as soon as I get home. No way I can ever compare to Barbie over here." 

Oh, and I ALWAYS worry about making new friends at the beginning of the school year. I mean, you show up to class and it's like, "Oh gosh, I feel so awkward, I don't know anyone. This is going to be just like lunch in middle school where I had to sit all alone by the trash cans! And I can't......I just can't even......how to.....socialize....?" Yup. Been there, done that, my friends. 

It's fine. I understand all about the mixed emotions when faced with a new school year-the jitters, the excitement, the hesitation-but let's be honest, college is a WHOLE lot better than high school in that regard. There's still insecurities and doubts, but once you're in college, you just do your own thing. You do whatever stirs your chili, floats your boat, blows your bubbles. College is all about finding yourself, and as long as I can keep that in mind, and not focus TOO much on the girl in my English class who has the exact same sweater on as me and looks like a flipping model, then I'll be just fine this school year. 

Besides, who wants to be a model in a dress or sweater when I can rock scrubs like no one else? 

JAIL BREAK

Thursday, I had my first day out on the town since my surgery! (one week of being stuck inside. YUCK.) I was tired when I got back home, but it was all so worth it! Totally threw away my eating healthy for a delicious lunch with my beautiful mom at Cafe Rio, but hey, what's life without a few Cafe Rio salads? ;)

YUM. It's totally okay to be jealous.

Changing of the Roommates

So....the end of this week has ben kind of hard for me. :/

One of my best friends and roommates, Molly, moved out of our apartment on Wednesday. We have been living together for a year while we attended university, and it was hard to see her go. She has been one of my best friends-always willing to go on adventures and late night walmart runs with me, draw with chalk on the driveway when we're bored, and tease our boy housemates. 

I am going to miss her companionship and presence dearly, but now that she has graduated with her degree in social work (woo hoo!!) she has to move on to bigger and better things in life-like serving an LDS mission in the upcoming months. :) 

I am so happy for her to move onto greater dreams, and I will always love her dearly. She did, however, before she left, leave me a present to come back to in my room. When I finally got back to college town after being at my parents' house recovering for two weeks, I found two brown wrapped parcels on my desk, from none other than darling Molly. Inside, wrapped neatly, were these: 

 A coloring book and crayons. Now, disclaimer: I LOVE to color. Whether it be with chalk (which is one of my favorites) or colored pencils and crayons in a coloring book, or simply sketching something myself and then coloring it, I love it all. Sooooo......you can imagine my reaction when I opened Molly's gift. And if you simply can't imagine it, it went something like this: 

(Although, as you can tell from my pictures, I am not black.....or a man. ;) Just wanted to clarify that for you. My reaction, however, was scarily close to this.)

Anyway, Molly moved out, and I have two new girl roomies moving into my apartment/house with me this weekend. Making new friends! Fun! :) Hopefully it all goes well. I could never replace Molly though. 

So, this post is in tribute to one of the greatest friends/roomies/coadventurers I ever had. 

I love you, Molly Lou! :) 

Scars, literal or figurative, are AWESOME.

Hey, so it's no secret that I have a lot of scars. Literally and figuratively. I have had a TON of huge surgeries, lately and in the not so distant past, which have scarred me up pretty literally, and have also had to deal with some bad relationships, tough times, and deep water which have all contributed to my figurative scars. HOWEVER. I saw this quote and thought someone had literally written it for me! (Sorry for all the "literally" usage in this passage.....) So read on, my dear followers, and remember that your scars (literal and figurative) make you even more beautiful!! :)

Surgery for the Medical Student....

Had some surgery done last week! I am doing SO much better and am on the mend! I'd better be, because school starts Monday and I CANNOT wait!! :) (However, this sitting around is really messing with my exercise routine. Darn you, bed rest!)

100 Calorie Greek Yogurt? Um....YES PLEASE!

Just a shout-out for one of my favorite low calorie foods in the WHOLE WORLD! I actually just ate this for breakfast this morning, and I love how light the yogurt is and how full and great I feel after eating! :) It's DEFINITELY a staple in my healthy eating routine!

Exercise, Eat Healthy, and Drink Water? I can do that!! (I Think......)

Hey guys! :)

So, just a short little post on what I've been up to the past few weeks. Two weeks ago, I really got into healthy eating and exercising. I mean, I had been doing all of that a little bit before, but let's be honest, who truly watches what they eat and how much they exercise during the summer? Yeah, that's not top priority for me. The beach and fun rank MUCH higher than that. ;)
However, since the new school year is about to start, I decided that I had better get back into a healthy routine, so I can keep up my healthy body all school year long! :) I started by making two calendars for myself: one to schedule out two weeks of healthy meals ahead of time so I knew what I needed to buy the next time I went grocery shopping, and one to schedule what exercises and routines I wanted to do which days of the week. (If I don't really schedule myself like this, I lose motivation and get busy, but do whatever works for you!)
I started in on week one by eating less junk food and sugar, more raw veggies and fruits, and drinking more water. Water is healthier for you than ANYTHING, and I have issues with drinking enough of it, so that was one of my main goals. :) To make drinking water more interesting for myself, I began to use fun and healthy things to spice it up a little. I have a favorite 22 ounce water bottle that I take EVERYWHERE with me, I don't go anywhere without it, and so I started adding healthy additions to my "plain" water to make me want to drink more of it, and more often. Two of my favorite water flavorers, were Dasani Drops and Mint, Strawberry, and Lemon. Both of these end up costing about the same price, once you buy all of the materials, so it was good to have both to switch it up a bit! :)
Dasani water drops have no calories, no sugar, and pretty much nothing bad in them! They're good to just add a spritz of flavor to your water, without making it taste like kool aid or some other sports drink. You can buy them at any Walmart, or probably most food stores, and I prefer the Kiwi-Strawberry flavor the best, but feel free to try them all! :)
Even better than the Dasani Drops though, was the natural flavored water recipe I started to use. I bought a lemon, some strawberries, and a bunch of mint from my local grocery store and put them to good use! About 7 cut strawberries, half a lemon quartered, and a sprig of mint would fill my water bottle right up for the whole day. I just had to keep refilling it while I was at work, or working out, or doing homework! :) I drank more water than I ever had (about 84 ounces, or 4 water bottles a day) and felt SO much better for doing so! I also lost about three pounds, putting me back at my goal weight, just by eating healthier, drinking more, and exercising for 45 minutes every day! More than weighing less, feeling better was a great side effect of my new routine, and I hope I can keep this up during the busy days of school ahead! Wish me luck!! :)
(For a copy of my meal schedule or exercise schedule, leave me a comment or contact me and I'll post it for you!)

Medicine is NOT just for Men!

How I feel when people tell me medicine is a field for men and becoming a doctor is a "man's job:"

Oh, and also this: 

I mean, come on people! REALLY??

Late Night Conclusions

Hey kids! :)

So, it's late at night, and I TOTALLY can't sleep. Isn't that just the worst feeling ever? I mean, I've been laying in bed for like two hours, tossing and turning, and my brain won't shut down. Seriously. I want to go to sleep, I'm tired, but my brain keeps bringing up crazy things to think about! Darn you, brain......:/
Anyway, I was thinking about the future, and what it holds for me. The future is a scary thing right? It's your life, it's what you're going to be doing, it's who you're going to marry, where you're going to live, how you're going to feel in five years, and you don't know anything about it. Not one. single. thing. That's just a bit freaky if you ask me.
So, obviously, it's late at night, I can't sleep, and my brain is like, "Yo girl! Let's think about all the uncertain things that could happen in the next five years!" Great. Thank you, scumbag brain.
Now, as I lay in bed, in the dark, thinking, I thought of something. Why do we worry? Seriously. It's a legitimate question. I mean, we, as humans, worry about SO many things, that it's exhausting.  At least, I know I do! We worry about relationships, and schooling, and jobs, and money, and the world we live in, and how we're going to prepare for the future. And we also micromanage. Don't deny it. You know we do. We try to control every little thing in the history of ever. We even try to control things that are obviously out of our control, and then just get frustrated when we CAN'T control the uncontrollable. And frankly, all of this worrying, and controlling, and micromanaging, is wearing us down.....it's wearing ME down. So, once again, as I lay in bed tonight, looking up at my dark ceiling, I asked myself that question: Why do we worry? Why do I worry?
If I were asking a philosopher, or psychologist, or human behaviorist this question, they would most likely tell me that "human beings worry because it is part of their nature. It is something they just can't control." However, I am not asking them. I'm asking you, and myself, this question. So answer me this: Why do we worry? Why do we worry about our futures, and our past, and even our present, when we have a God watching over us? A God who loves us so much, he's willing to worry about all of that FOR us?
That's right. That's the conclusion my restless night brought me to. Why do I worry, when I KNOW there is a loving Father in Heaven watching out for me? The future isn't unknown, or scary, or uncertain to him. He can see exactly what I'll be doing five years from now. He knows exactly what I've done in my past, what I'll do right now, in my present, and what I'll eventually achieve in my future. So WHY? Why do I worry when he has a plan all laid out for me, and there's nothing to worry about? Why am I giving myself headaches over the unknown future, when it's already all planned out and mapped by one who knows me even better than myself?
Why worry?
I know I always will, just a bit, regardless of this conclusion, because hey, let's be honest, that's just who I am. I'm a worrier. ;) But, now I can rest a little bit easier, knowing that there's a God above who holds my future in his hands....and it is very KNOWN to him. :)

She's Almost 20, LDS, not married, and not on a mission?! Can she DO that???

Hello readers of the blog! :)

This is my first post, so I thought I would start by sharing a little background with all of you. I am an almost 20 year old college student, who is not married yet. Ok, so I know that's crazy to think about. Trust me, it's been weird for me at times as well! I'm almost 20, LDS, I graduated high school more than a year and a half ago, and I'm SINGLE?? WHAT IS WRONG HERE?!
Now, for all of you guys who aren't LDS, or don't live in Utah, this may seem perfectly fine to you. I'm barely out of my teenage years, and obviously WAY too young still to be thinking about marriage right? Right. However, here in Utah, in the LDS community, girls graduate high school, find an awesome return missionary to date, and get married. Bam, just like that. It's just what we do here. May seem strange, but it's how it happens. I'm not saying there is anything, at all, wrong with getting married after high school. Hey, honey, if you find that right guy right after graduation, decide you love him, and he proposes, why wait? You shouldn't. Marriage is obviously what you are supposed to be doing, so go for it. :)
All right. Back to MY story, what we were talking about first here. Now, I never thought I would be one of those girls that graduated and got married a few months after she turned 19. I mean, come on. Marriage is hard work, it takes a lot of effort, it's not always butterflies and rainbows, and to be honest, I wanted to focus my skills on something other than marriage after I graduated from high school. I've always had a dream to go to medical school. It's just something I want to do. I LOVE medicine, and anything dealing with the human body, so I figured doctor, MD, was the way to go in my schooling. I'm a little nerdy in my love of medicine actually. I could talk about it 24/7 and have to remind myself sometimes that normal humans don't talk about urine tests or what they dissected that day around the dinner table. It's just not normal conversation for everyone. Frequently I find I remind myself to dial back the nerd a little bit, and save it for anatomy class, where I know my peers will appreciate "how large that liver on my cadaver was in lab this morning." ;)
Anyway, detours and medicine aside, when I graduated high school, I wasn't worried about being single. Frankly, I wasn't that interested in guys, and I had medical school to prepare for-which required high grades, lots of studying, and no social life whatsoever.
However, a year into college, and I've begun to notice my lack of a guy a little more now. I mean, it's hard to ignore the fact that you're single when you get on FaceBook every day and see a new announcement that one of your high school "friends" is engaged or getting married. And for awhile, that really bothered me. Don't get me wrong, I was super happy for everyone who had found there "Mr. Right" and "Prince Charming" and were settling down, but it seemed to put the pressure on me. I begun to notice that people asked me more and more if I was "dating anyone" or "in a relationship." Of course, they asked out of sheer innocent interest, and didn't mean to offend me in anyway, yet I took it as pressure, as if they were silently saying, "When are YOU going to get engaged, Jessica? Where's your Prince Charming and shiny new ring?"
Girls, if you're reading this, I want to tell you something I learned just a little while ago. Something it took me a long time and a lot of gritting of teeth through "are you dating anyone?" questions to learn.
Being single is OK.
Yup, you read that right. Read it again, one more time for emphasis. Ok, got it? Good.
Being LDS, and almost 20, and SINGLE, is totally fine! There is NOTHING wrong with you. You are an amazing and beautiful and talented young woman, who just needs a little more time than everyone else. And trust me, FaceBook is not the world. Everyone you see getting married, and engaged, and having babies, they're awesome, and that's what they are supposed to be doing right now, but it does not mean that you are "the last single girl on earth and I'm never going to find 'the one!'" You will find your Prince Charming. And it's going to be perfect, and you're going to get married, and get to post it on FaceBook and show everyone how happy you are.
So yes, I am an almost 20 year old college student, who is LDS, and single, with marriage not really in sight at this moment, but that's totally ok. I have dreams, and ambitions, and when I find my Mr. Right, that will be fabulous. But I'm not putting pressure on myself to get married right now like I was before.
I used to look at the engagement and wedding notifications on my FaceBook wall, and think "When will that be me? Why am I not in a serious relationship? What's wrong with me?" But I don't do that anymore. Because I learned something very important about myself and marriage: I need to experience my own life, and put myself completely all together, and find out who I REALLY am, before I can give all of that to another person. And when I do all of that, then I will be ready to get married, and be ready to say yes to my Prince Charming, and and change my "single" relationship status on FaceBook. ;)
Until then, my relationship status is going to stay "single." And that is totally, and perfectly, okay. :)