Too Cool For School? Not Likely.

School started today!!!  For some of you that's good, and for some, it's torture.  To be quite honest with y'all, I loved it today!  Partly because we didn't have to do any real work in classes and all, but mostly because I'M A SENIOR!  I also got to see all my friends that I didn't see all Summer long.  It really was great.  I mean I was pretty busy until the end of July, then I did nothing with my life.  It was good to see people, and actually get ready for once in my life..(:  

Before school started though, I was super bitter about it.  I mean, some of my best friends graduated last year, and I didn't want to make new friends.   I got to school, and seriously, like I recognized maybe 5 people in the first 5 minutes.  There were so many new little Squashmores!!!  It was crazy!  I went to my classes, and there weren't really any of my friends that I usually talk to in hardly any of them.  That forced me to get out of my comfort zone and talk to more people!  I met some pretty cool kids, and I even get to be in my most favorite Seminary teacher's class!!!  His name is Brother Sharp, and he was my first Seminary teacher when I was in 9th grade.  I think it was fate or something, because when I went to see who my teacher was, I wasn't on any of the lists.  So he asked the lady at the front desk if I could just be in his class and she said yes!  Definitely a highlight of my day.  

Even though some of my classes are going to be really hard..I'm thinkin this year will be a good one! 
Now I'm going to go on a nice little bike ride before it gets too dark outside!  Goodnight loves! (:

     brookelle(:

FAVORITE SONGS RIGHT NOW 

• We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together- Taylor Swift #sorrynotsorry
•  Helena Beat- Foster The People

Originality

ORIGINALITY:  ability to think or express oneself in an independent and individual manner; creative ability.  

Good evening fellow bloggerzz!  This past weekend, I saw the wonderful and amazing KATY PERRY MOVIE!  I loved it.  I wasn't a huge fan of Katy Perry before I saw the movie, but now you could say I'm a fan.  It could just be a stage, but I'll take it!  
One of the many wise words of wisdom she said in her movie made me so happy!  I can't remember exactly how she said it, but she basically said that people would tell her that nobody wanted to hear the songs she wrote, or that she wasn't writing or performing the right material.  She said if people tell you that kind of thing, then you're doing it right.  That made me think of another quote I've heard, "You're not doing it right until someone says you're doing it wrong."
I love it!  If everyone agrees with what you're saying, or what you're doing..are you really doing anything worthwhile?

I just wish everyone had the desire to be their own person.  One of my biggest pet peeves is when I see people totally morphing into what everyone else is.  We were all made different for a reason!  Life would be so boring if everyone was the same.  And I'm totally not saying that you can't use other people's ideas.  I use ideas that others have come up with all the time!  I'm just saying, don't make that who you are.  Just be yourself.  I have learned that you're never going to be able to please everybody, so may as well do what you really want to do.  BE WHO YOU WANT TO BE.  

Goodnight Loves!!!
                               brooke(:  

 Check out this SICK piano cover for Katy Perry's E.T. 
P.S. The left hand is amazing in this.  



FAVORITE SONGS AT THE MOMENT

• Forever and Always (Piano version) - good ol' T-Swizzle
• Hummingbird Heartbeat- Katy Perry
• Only You (Imogen Heap mix) -Joshua Radin

• Resting Hour- Green River Ordinance     
• Cute Without The "E" (Cut From The Team)- Taking Back Sunday

I Was Once A Pioneer!

This past week I went on Pioneer Trek!  It was SUCH a great experience.  Last Summer, I went on one with my old stake, then since I moved, I got to go again! (:  I wasn't as excited about it before, but all the experiences I had were so truly amazing.  Here are some highlights of my trek! 

Day 1, Monday, July 30

Monday morning, I had the "opportunity" to wake up at about 4:15AM so that I was ready and at the church by 5:30!  Lucky me, right?  We left the church to head for Wyoming on buses, and let me just say there were some pretty loud people on my bus..but hey!  At least they were having fun..!  We took a rest stop about 4 hours into the drive at the Little America in Wyoming.  We got the strangest looks from people!  We were all in our pioneer clothes and bonnets.  Some people were even secretly taking pictures of us.  I couldn't help but laugh!
We had been driving for 8 hours when we finally got to the Martin Center.  We watched a movie about the pioneers who had walked on that trail and we heard some pioneer stories.  Time to start walking!  We walked with our handcarts for around 3 miles which wasn't bad at all.  It was cloudy and sprinkled a little, so we weren't too hot.  We set up camp and ate dinner!  I was especially excited for this first night, because we got to learn to square dance!  My group was SO MUCH FUN.  Almost everyone got into it, which made it even better.  
Afterwards, we had a family home evening with out trek families.  We had a little lesson about the pioneers, and our Ma told us a story about a pioneer woman whose husband was so unwell that he couldn't walk.  He told her to leave him and to just go along without him, but she wouldn't.  She told him to get in the handcart, and she pulled him the rest of the way through the freezing blizzards, and 18 inches of snow.  That, my friends, is courage.  After the lesson we played a family game!  It was actually really funny.  One person had to stand at the front with a blindfold on, (We used our bonnets) and hold a stick out in front of them.  Next, someone would walk up, hold onto the stick, and make a snorting noise.  The person with the blindfold on had to try to guess who the snort came from.  Needless to say, there were some strange noises coming from everyone!  Then we got to eat brownies.  Woopty woop!  Time for bed!  

Day 2, Tuesday, July 31

5:30AM..WAKEY WAKEY! Yes.  We got to wake up this early everyday!  We ate breakfast and packed up all our stuff and took down the tents.  We trekked with the handcarts for 2.4 miles, then walked without our handcarts up to Dan Jones Cove, and Martin's Cove.  It was SO HOT.  Then we had lunch with our wards, which was great!  After lunch, we got to go see these amazing statues of 4 men that carried people across the Sweetwater River.  When the Martin handcart company made their trek to Salt Lake City, they left late.  Which meant they had to trek through 18+ inches of snow, and the temperatures were below freezing most of the time.  When they came to the river, it was terrifying.  The pioneers didn't have the proper nutrition to keep their bodies warm, and going into the river meant death for most of them.   2 men and 2 teenage boys from a rescue party started pulling the handcarts across the river.  The river was so cold, there were several inches of ice in it, with ice chunks floating everywhere.  The river was waist deep in some places.  These men carried children, women, and weaker men across the river multiple times.  They were in the water almost all day long.  There were some serious after effects on these men from performing this completely selfless service for these pioneers.  The only way to describe these men is that they were truly Christlike.  They possessed the Charity, the pure love of Christ, to carry these pioneers through the Sweetwater River.  After we heard these stories, some members of the rescue party that came along trek with us carried whoever wanted to be carried across the river.  We got to pull our handcart across as well, with a couple members of our family in it.  It was one of the biggest spiritual experiences I had on this trek.  We were properly equipped with 2 pair of sturdy shoes, we didn't have to cross it in life threatening circumstances.  These pioneers sacrificed everything for this gospel.  I admire that so much.  
 About 2 miles later, we arrived back to the Martin Center, and the buses took us over to the Willie Center.  For dinner, they said we were going to eat Flour Rations.  (what the pioneers ate).  We really only had to try a little bit before getting sloppy joes for dinner.  Since the pioneers were trekking through such awful circumstances, they didn't have any way of getting proper food along the way.  By the time they were in Wyoming, each member of each family was only able to eat 4 oz. of flour the entire day.  Sometimes, fathers would give their share of daily rations to their wives or children.  Once again, they sacrificed for the ones they loved, and the gospel, even to the point of sacrificing their own lives.  

Day 3, Wednesday, August 1

This was my very favorite day of the whole pioneer trek.  We got to hike Rocky Ridge!  14.8 miles!  It was also the day of the Women's Pull.  The boys in our family were so amazing.  They didn't want us pulling the handcart until the Women's Pull, so they took it around 3ish miles by themselves.  The missionaries there came along the trek on horses with us, and informed us that we wouldn't be doing the Women's Pull up the usual spot, and that we would be doing it up the actual Rocky Ridge instead.  Which was steeper, but a little shorter.  When we were about to start, they had all the boys hike up before us without the handcarts.  One of the sister missionaries told us how many pioneer women had to hike alone with their children and without their husbands; when their husbands would pass away, or when they would be called to go away from their families.  It all became very real to me how courageous these women were.  We had 4 girls in my family, and our Ma.  Some of the leaders and girls sang As Sisters In Zion and I felt the spirit so strong!  The sister missionary talked about how angels would help us, but we had to be giving it all we had, and we had to do our very best to get the help.  I was in the back of the handcart pushing with another girl in my family, and the other 3 were pulling up front.  We got up the first hill with little struggle.  It was pretty hot, but we could do it.  We walked for a while going up and down hills, then we came to the top of a hill close to the end and saw it.  Rocky Ridge was pretty steep.  Once we came to the hill, we had to push our complete hardest!  Every time I thought about letting up, I remembered what the sister missionary had said; we had to give it all we had to get help.  We got to the rocks, which were really big!  One of the rocks even caused our handcart to start falling backwards, but with the help of every individual girl in my family, we got through it.  We worked together, and suddenly a girl came on the other side and helped push it a little ways.  When she left, another came to help.  These were our angels.  We got it to the top, sweaty and tired, but I couldn't help but run down the hill to help the other handcarts.  The spirit was so strong, and I know some of the pioneer women were with us, assisting us push our carts to the top.  That experience changed me.  The  boys in our family were eager to pull the handcart, but I just wanted to keep pushing!  So I did.  I got to know some of the people in my family better for the next 6 miles.  They were all so amazing.  We took a break at a patch of grass, and they made an announcement.  Since the beginning of the trek, some of the families had a baby doll that symbolized a member of their family.  The announcement was that the baby had passed away, and they had to leave it on the side of the trail.  I just imagined these pioneer mothers having to keep moving along, leaving their babies on the side of the path covered in snow, because the ground was too hard to dig a hole.  These pioneers were amazing!  The next 4 miles felt like forever.  The road was so long, and I kept thinking we had to be coming up on camp soon.  We took a rest, and it was still about 2 miles away.  We were so close!  We walked and walked and walked and walked..when finally we saw an American Flag around a corner.  We could see our camp!  The tents were already set up as well!  What an amazing sight to see!  We had finally arrived.  Later that night, we had a testimony meeting with the whole stake and I head some amazing testimonies.  We had a little meeting with our family afterwards, where I bore my testimony. 

 There is no way this Gospel isn't true.  These 2 handcart companies suffered through all of the freezing temperatures, the blizzards, the deaths of family members, to get to Salt Lake City for this gospel.  It also hit me how selfless our ancestors were!  They went all that way, not only for themselves, and their families, but for me.  For their descendants who would be able to grow up in this gospel!  Who would be able to be sealed to their families, and partake of the ordinances that were only available there at the time.  I truly love them for that.  They suffered through the worst of conditions, and sacrificed their own lives for others.  I know the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the only completely true church on this earth.  My Heavenly Father Loves me, and every single person in this world.  I love this gospel.  And I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.  

  Yours truly, Brookelle (: 

TOP SONGS AT THE MOMENT

• Demons- Imagine Dragons
• I Will Follow You Into The Dark- Death Cab For Cutie
• If It's The Beaches- The Avett Brothers
• Lovesick Fool- The Cab  
• My Kind of Perfect- David Archuleta 

Masks

Shel Silverstein is one of my all time favorite poets!  My two favorites are The Giving Tree, and Masks.  I decided to write down MY(meaning what I THINK.  You might not agree. (: That's fine! ) interpretation on Masks.  (I love finding meaning in EVERYTHING. Especially music and poems.  I think people under appreciate poetry so much.  I think it's absolutely beautiful.)  ANYWAYS... here is the poem!  

MASKS

She had blue skin,
And so did he.
He kept it hid
And so did she.
They searched for blue
Their whole life through,
Then passed right by-
And never knew.

 I've read this SO many times and I love it more every time!  It's crazy to me how often this must happen in everyday life!  Think of all the people we miss out on meeting, or the experiences we might miss, if we keep our true selves hidden from the rest of the world.  I wonder how many times this has happened to me; how often I miss out on something that could have changed my life! 

The blue skin in the poem could represent someone's hobby, or something they really have a passion for, that might not be the "social norm".  It could honestly be anything you want it to be!  The line, They searched for blue their whole life through, is kind of ironic to me.  How could they expect to find "blue" when they are hiding it themselves.  If you really enjoy rock collecting, you're probably not going to know if someone enjoys it, too, unless you ask them about it.  You never know how alike you are to a person, unless you let your true self shine!  Don't hide your talents or your passions.  Even if what you are passionate about is kind of somewhat embarrassing! Don't worry about it!  Everyone is amazing.  We're all different, but that's what makes the world go round.  Living would be pretty boring if every single person liked the exact same things, and dressed the exact same way, said the exact same words, did the exact same things... I'm getting bored just TYPING it!  Just remember to always be yourself.  You never know what blessings and experiences it will bring.
Love yourself.  

Much love,
  Brookelle  <3

FAVORITE SONGS AT THE MOMENT

• When I'm With You- JJ Heller
• Ho Hey- The Lumineers (My 3 year old sister sings it to me all the time.)
• Ballad of Love and Hate- The Avett Brothers (I'm going to be doing an interpretation on this song in a later post! STAY TUNED!)
• Eyes Wide Open- Gotye
• Fire- Augustana
• Each Coming Night- Iron And Wine

Life's Little Things

Life if full of little things that make us smile.  With help from some friends, I came up with a pretty long list of little things that make people smile!  Hopefully they'll make you smile, too.  

• Fried chicken on the 4th of July
• Fireworks

• Finding a good book- I'm definitely a book worm, and getting into a book is one of the best feelings in the world. 
• Birthday wishes- not just the Facebook "Happy Birthday!", I mean when someone goes out of their way, to send you a text, or call you and sing happy birthday!  
• Swings
• Cute little kids..basically anything they do, but especially their laughter.  It's so contagious!  
• Snow on Christmas Eve
• Reaching into your pants pocket and finding money!  
• Weddings- How could you not smile at 2 people being madly in love??
• Looking through old photo albums
• Rain- dancing in it, puddle jumping, walks..basically anything in the rain is amazing.
• Singing
• Midnight premieres- Being one of the first to see a movie, I've been dying to see definitely puts a smile on my face!
•  Funny signs- (see bottom of post)
• Cake batter ice cream with Sprinkles!
• Kittens, puppies..basically anything in baby form is adorable!  
• Piggy banks
• Some good fish and chips
• Taking a hot bath after a stressful day...feels SO GOOD!
• Score music from intense movies...such as: Glory Road, Remember the Titans, Pirates of the Caribbean..etc.
• Spending time with family!  Cousins, aunts, uncles, brothers, sisters.    
• Poetry
• Bubbles
• Knock knock jokes and puns- So corny but ya gotta love em!
• Hugs
• A nice mullet... BOYS: THIS DOES NOT MEAN YOU SHOULD GO GROW A MULLET.  I've only seen probably 3 nice mullets in my lifetime. 
• Old couples holding hands in public.  PRESH!
• Learning to Waltz
• Bike rides and picnics
• Not Straightening my hair
• Mexican food.  I know what you're thinking, NOT CAFE RIO, although, that makes me smile as well..I'm talking about REAL authentic Mexican food.  In Mexico.  Oh it's amazing. 
• Taking a nap in a hammock
• Anything from the 90's..especially the show Boy Meets World.  It definitely makes ME smile. 
• Having a pen pal
• Protein shakes after you work out
• Fireflies.  I SO wish we had them in Utah. 
• Accomplishment
• A song that describes exactly how you feel.  I would have to say, The Avett Brothers, Mumford and Sons, and good old T-Swizzle have a song for everything..It's great. 
• Ferris Wheels at the Carnival
• Christmas lights 
• Meeting a new friend
• Catching up with an old friend
• Camp fires
• Traveling somewhere new.  My favorite place I've gone would have to be Washington..I LOVE IT. It's so beautiful.
• Lemonade on a sunny day, I prefer peach flavored. 
• Stargazing 
• Trick-Or-Treaters.  Handing out candy on Halloween is the best. 
• Temples
• Dream Catchers
•  All of this world's natural beauties- sunsets, sunrises, rainbows, clouds, beaches, rivers, mountains, flowers, trees, the moon, stars..
• Giving a gift to someone
• Journaling..and after a while, reading what you wrote a year ago.  
• Pillow pets
• Smelly good stuff..like lotion..or fresh cookies cooking in the oven.  
• Photo bombing random stranger's pictures! You're never going to see them again, so may as well!
• Rodeos.  Now I'm no cowgirl or anything, but the atmosphere is so much fun. 
• Comics in the newspaper
• Boat rides
• Knowing every word to an old song that comes on the radio.  
• Piano 
• Disney fairy tales
• Collages
• Putting your headphones in and escaping into your own world
• Hitting all green lights on your way home
• Concerts..music is beautiful. 

• Making someone else smile

 

Funny sign me and my friends saw. (:

LDS Salt Lake Temple

Dream Catcher picture I took.  Not edited!

As you can see, there are SO many things in this world to smile about.  When you are having a bad day, and all you want to do is frown, think of something that made you smile.  We are so blessed!  All of us!  Some are blessed in different ways than others, but we all have something to be thankful for.  

 

Yours Truly, Brookelle


 

RAIN

Lately, there have been quite a few fires here in Utah.  It's been so dry and the fires are spreading like..well..wildfire.  Everyday on the news, I would see updates on fires that had been going on, as well as new fires that started up.  The crazy thing to me, is that they believe most of these fires are started by people!  Seriously? It just confuses me.  I don't understand how some people can be so careless.  I know they were probably accidents, but still.  So many people had to evacuate their homes, and so many lost all their possessions and homes in the fires.  I can't imagine how horrible that would feel.  It just goes to show how blessed we really are.  

All over Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, I have seen so many posts about how we all need to pray for rain.  I'm pretty positive that almost everyone did.  I know I did.  Early on July 5th, the rain came down!  It came down in Spanish Fork for quite a while, and as I was driving in the car with my mom and sister, I got goosebumps just thinking about how Heavenly Father always answers our prayers in one way or another.  Even though it took some time for the rain to come, it came.  The fires are still going, but I feel like it slowed them down, and gave us all hope.  Everyone keep praying for the families who have lost loved ones and homes in the fires.  We truly are blessed. 

Coincidence?

This past year has been pretty difficult for me.  My junior year has been the hardest trying to keep caught up with school work, but also with my friend situation.  I found out who I can really trust, which was pretty hard.  People change, and ya know, change can be good.  I moved out of my AMAZING ward in November, and that was killer.  I honestly didn't know what to do.  Even though I still saw my ward friends at school, it was just different.  I went from a ward that had at least 20 laurels, to one with about 5 active laurels.  I didn't really know what to think!  For the past 8 months, I didn't have the best attitude about it.  I was pretty mad that things couldn't be the way they used to be!  Okay.  Now that I'm done with my sob story..let me get to the point.  Things happen.  And sometimes they really suck.  But once I changed my attitude about everything, my life seemed SO much brighter!  

Why do crappy things happen??

I have come to find, this past month, that Everything happens for a reason.  I lost some pretty close friends, but I gained some even better friendships in the long run.  I have gotten to know people this year, that I probably wouldn't have even thought about talking to, had I been in my old group of friends.  I decided to do choir at my school, and I ended up making Chamber Singers and Concert Choir for next year!  Once I looked past the cruddy stuff that had been going on, I saw so many new opportunities!!!  Last week, I went to girls camp.  Honestly, I was really scared to go, because I didn't know the girls very well, and I didn't know how to act.  My mom "gave me the choice" to go or not, but OBVIOUSLY I chose to go..I mean I didn't want to sit around at home getting guilt trips from my mom about how I should have gone..you get my point.  Anyways..I went.  At first it was a little awkward, but by the end of the week, I made some friendships that should last forever.  I didn't realize what I had, because I had been so focused on what I used to have.  I wish I could go back and change my attitude, but at the same time, I learned so much from the mistakes I made.  When I look back on everything in my life that has happened, I realize, that without the small things that happened to me, my life would be completely different.  Everything you do impacts your life, whether it's big or small.  Sounds like a lot of pressure, huh.  Just remember what one of my childhood idols, Hannah Montana, once said, "Life's what you make it."  Don't worry about what you can't change, just be you, and look at the blessings that we all have!  

Yours truly, brooke