I'm pretty happy to be me

     Friday might just be one of my most favorite words in the world.  There's nothing much like the feeling that comes from knowing you've got two full days to unwind before it's back to the grind.  Walking back from class today I realized I'm going to need that whole unwinding part much more than after a normal week - and not because I'm stressed or buried in assignments.  It's the opposite in fact; so many fantastic things happened this week!  The weekend is going to seem low-key in comparison. Just a few adventures I had:

I got my contract signed and set in stone for housing next year. I think we nabbed the best place in all of Provo, no lie. I can't wait to live in an apartment. And to room with two completely awesome friends from back home. Next year is going to be a blast to say the least. 

I needed some change so I did a lil' rearranging in my room.

I love Skype. And my family. And my brother's hair in this picture haha.

Some friends and I had a crazy party at Melinda's apartment. We played a
hilarious game of Psychiatrist...

played some KumCha and What If & Then, and made up some pretty
entertaining dares with the Dice Game (this is Tawni going in to a
random apartment to sit down and watch TV).

I lalalove packages. Especially from a best friend. My entire MONTH gets better.

 I'm pretty spoiled. [: Thank you, David. 

Tasha and I didn't feel like going to the Cannon for dinner one
night and realized we were both really in the mood for pizza. A Papa John's one
block away from our dorm is never a bad thing. And neither is
eating said pizza while watching old Office episodes.

Only the best runs include views like this. I love living so close to the temple.
I sat here for awhile, despite the 28 degree temperature, and just thought
about how blessed I am to be member of the Church. I love the temple!

The possibilities entertainment-wise are endless when your roommate has a car.

I went on a super fun date with a guy I recently met.
Feelin' all snazzy beforehand.

We grabbed some ice cream at Coldstone, had a MarioKart tournament, which he won,

and then played some racquetball, which he also won. The only thing I beat him at was the Padiddle game during the driving parts of the date. Works for me. It was such a fun night!

Crop circles in the snow. No biggy. If I was an alien driving a UFO, I'd visit

the Y on the daily. Who wouldn't?

And now, the piéce de résistance of the week (I've always wanted to use that
in a sentence). The most hyped regular season college basketball game in the history of BYU.
The day before, Tasha and I got two of the 5, 000 highly sought-after wristbands that were being given out to guarantee us a seat at the game. We had to be in line at 4 o'clock on game day, so when my last class let out at 3:50, I booked it to meet Tasha at the Marriott and... we waited and waited and waited.  The line wrapped around three sides of the Marriott. Insane!

At 6pm we were let in to the building. It was total chaos. People were running

for the best seats possible. We nabbed seats on the 22nd row, which we were pretty psyched about. 

We Jimmer-fied our faces. Oh yeah.
TJ Fredette rapped for us... it was interesting.

Two hours later, it was game time. The student section was a total white out. Represent!

It was the most incredible game ever and I'm sure everyone in the stadium would agree. The atmosphere was INSANE. Nobody in the student section sat down or stopped screaming/chanting/singing for the entire game. And SDSU was really good. It was so tense.

Heyyyy Jimmer [:

For the entire game, the two scores were like within six or seven points of each other. In the last 4 minutes, we finally pulled away and the reality that we were going to WIN the game set in. I have videos of the crowd's reaction but I'm too lazy to upload them right now... just take this picture for an example instead. 

 

Yeah. A tad bit excited.

So, undefeated #4 San Diego State, how does that score feel to ya?

The game ended and the Marriott Center basically just exploded. People

stormed the court and everyone was just going mental. The pictures don't give it justice at all.

It. was. awesome.

You ring that victory bell, boys [:

Everyone on campus is still on a high from that night!

In short, I love BYU. I am so blessed to be here! I'm starting to really feel like I'm meant to be here. To tie it all up, here's a quote from a talk by Elder Holland that my amazing Book of Mormon teacher emailed out to us just the other day. It hit me like a ton of bricks. I love it. A new favorite for sure:

"Beware of the temptation to retreat from a good thing. If it was right when you prayed about it and trusted it and lived for it, it is right now. Don't give up when the pressure mounts. Certainly don't give in to that being who is bent on the destruction of your happiness. He wants [you] to be miserable like unto himself. Face your doubts. Master your fears. Cast not away therefore your confidence. Stay the course and see the beauty of life unfold for you." 

I'm not gonna go all diary-ish about why this quote means so much to me, but I feel like it was said directly to me! I needed to hear that so badly. It's perfect. I am meant to be here. I love it here and I know that it's only going to get better. I'm a happy girl. I love my life. But at the same time a relaxing weekend couldn't have come at a better time. [: