Bring Your Own Sunshine

i'm Marci- i love life. coming back to school has been so wonderful. i left my fantastic summer with high hopes about this year in Provo. so far it's been better than imagined. the drive to Provo was surprisingly enjoyable.

no, it wasn't the miraculous views...

or the great car treats that made the drive superb.

 in fact, i can't even pin point why it was great. maybe it was the crying over the song "Hey Soul Sister" because it reminded me of my niece and nephew that did it and then laughing at myself for my ridiculous behavior with my mother. or was it summarizing the whole movie "Phantom of the Opera" to my mom as the soundtrack played that did it?  i surprisingly stayed awake for 13 of the 14 hours of driving (unfortunate for my mother). we had some entertaining conversations. i made up new games like the waving game. did you know that waving to people in other cars will either make them very uncomfortable or make them crack a smile? it's quite an entertaining activity in which to participate. when it took an hour and a half to get to Provo from Salt Lake i knew i was back in the good ole' college state i've grown so fond of.

moving in to my new apartment (just across the street from campus) was as easy as pie (to eat it that is, because some pies just aren't that easy to bake). having my mom and oldest sister with me made it so much easier... they're good deciders. i had my room completely set up and perfect with in 24 hours of arriving in Provo- now that's what i'm talking about. though parting with ma was hard i was quite enthused to be surrounded by people my age who are so ready to learn and have fun!

at first living in my apt was a tad lonely and i was a little bit down on life but luckily i had plenty to do that week before school started and wasn't able to dwell on the negative. with in the first week i perfected the apt, changed my major, got a job, made necessary purchases, found my favorite spot on campus (where i now sit to contemplate life at least twice a week) and got back into the swing of things. with the extra time on my hands i was also able to think about my life and i discovered many choices that i have the ability to make which i hadn't fully realized prior in life. the biggest choice that struck me is the fact that we can ALWAYS choose our attitude. my decision about this has made the past few weeks quite blissful. recently i have realized how blessed i am. first off came my major-wildlife and wild land conservation; i feel completely at peace with it and am excited on a daily basis about things i learn in class. because of this major i also don't have to take any more chemistry and am able to study biology on a lot more macromolecular scale. it's so perfect. then came my job which, in fact, came quite easily. i said a prayer before job hunting, talked to some professors and the fourth professor had the funding to hire me. i am a research technician and get paid to do biology. how perfect is that? other things i often think about are how lucky i am to have my family, to live on this beautiful earth and to have the opportunity to have been accepted to BYU.

so all in all, we have a choice. we can choose to hate- but what good does it do? why do we choose to fill ourselves with feelings that are so uncomfortable to bear? why don't we choose to be excited about how green the grass is today or about what our professor is teaching in class? i have experienced first hand that this makes life more colorful, more exciting, more happy and it makes you more inviting as a person. just do it. make the little adjustments that go a long way in life and change your attitude. bring your own sunshine.

i'm Marci and i love life.

Wow what a summer!

i'm Marci- i love spontaneity. it adds unexpected excitement to life. it causes more memories to be made and new experiences to be had. at the beginning of summer 2010 i thought i would be home for all four months only leaving for one week for a family vacation. after being home for a few weeks and not feeling like i was making any progress with my life i decided i needed to do something different. one day, while talking to my sister on the phone she told me that i could come to NYC for the month and babysit for part of my summer income. at first i was not so sure but after some convincing (how dumb am i- having to be convinced to live in NYC for a month) i realized that it would be just the right change for me. of course, convincing the parents was a little more difficult luckily in the end they agreed to it. so a month into summer i left to the biggest city in the nation in hopes that i would make money and knowing that i would make many memories.

soon after arrival i was bombarded with possible activities and opportunities that i knew most people aren't lucky enough to consider. by the second day i was figuring out the bus system on my own praying i had it right and on the fourth i was riding the subway by myself dreading the outcome of any mistakes i'd make. fortunately it's a lot easier than people make it out to be.

the first week i took up the opportunity to be in the all famous Coney Island "Mermaid Parade." because Karley had other engagements i participated in the parade with a group of her friends who i did not know but grew to love. you can't share an experience like the Mermaid Parade and just forget those you shared it with.

this trip provided me with many other amazing experiences like:

walking across the Brooklyn bridge

rockin a mechanical bull

spending priceless time with my 2 yr old nephew, Xander

spending 4th of July weekend on Fire Island; and island with no roads or vehicles aside from emergency vehicles

and makin some mulaaaaaa!

i am so grateful Karley and Al provided me with this opportunity- i gained so much in many areas of life from it. 

two short weeks after making my way back home and working a little at the Lake Chelan Winery i had to leave to California for my brother's wedding; another event that was not planned at the beginning of the summer. In fact, the wedding was being considered to occur in December and then was moved to August and then again to July. Luckily Zack was marrying my close friend from college (yes i did set them up). Before attending the wedding we went to Disneyland and that was just a hoot. The wedding turned out to be perfectly beautiful and all eight siblings were able to attend! it was wonderful. 

the day after the wedding we left for Oregon where we stayed in a beach house (not all of us were there) for a week. it was a very relaxing week.

after Oregon i was able to stay home for three weeks and in that time i worked, went to the lake, attended a wedding reception and enjoyed a few more days with family.

i was also able to snap a couple of pictures of my beautiful home before i left for college.

this summer was full of spontaneity and fun. i think living life planned all the time causes people to miss out on random and lovely opportunities. though planning and structure is important, make sure you take a leap of faith and participate in something of which you're not sure of the outcome. a lot of times it will take you furthur than following your plans. 

i'm Marci and i love spontaneity.