When is it going to end?

So next week is the last week of the semester and I'm not ready. I have 3 major papers due next week. I have a guitar final next Wednesday and then finals the following week. Oh and I just got back from Oregon yesterday. Not to mention I had a 3 hour layover in Reno. I don't like airports now. I think the next 3 weeks I am going to live off caffeine and sugar to get through each day. On December 15th I am going to wake up with no homework or finals to worry about and I will be so happy!! Then it's off to San Diego for the bowl game and then Oregon for Christmas! I'm just trying to look toward the end so I get through this. I am going t go crazy but that's okay I am in college it's acceptable. So I am off now to study and write my papers. Oh life is crazy but I'm trying to love every second of it. 

A Day of Thanks

So today is Thanksgiving. I can blog about how American's do not really know about the true Thanksgiving and how we believe in such myths but I rather not. I rather blog about what I am thankful for and Why I am thankful.

I am currently home in good old Salem Oregon with my wonderful family. I arrived in Portland from Salt Lake City on Monday night. The past two days have been just relaxing and enjoying each other company. I was able Tuesday afternoon to meet me baby nephew Jared! He is the cutest little baby in the world! I was so happy to finally meet him in person. Skype and pictures are not the same. 

At the moment I am waiting for dinner to be ready so I can gobble down all the yummy food! This year like many years int he past we will be having the missionaries from my parents branch over for dinner. Along with them my grandfather should be here but he must still be traveling. My family as well are expecting my aunt and uncle who are probably flying into Portland as I type this. Then tomorrow, well I will just leave at that....

Today a lot of people talk about what they are thankful for because it is Thanksgiving. I just want to say that today should not be the only day out of the year to express how thankful we are for our many blessings. So now the question is what I am thankful for? Oh the list can go on and on. One thing that I am thankful for is the restored gospel of Jesus Christ. Through the restored gospel I am able to be blessed with so many things. I am thankful for my eternal family. I am thankful I have been given the opportunity to go to a school and for those people who has provided that opportunity financially for me. I am thankful for my friends especially at school who have helped in ways they may not even know. The list can go on and on so how about I do one....

• Jesus Christ
• The restored Gospel
• Family
• The Atonement 
• An education
• Friends
• A roof over me head- in Utah and in Salem
• The Priesthood power
• Food
• My cozy bed
• My Shoes
• My warm coats
• Music
• Airplanes - they get me home to my family:)
• Running water
• Books
• My car
• Trials 
• My saxophone
• The ability to touch, smell, hear, and taste
• Movies
• TV
• Love
• Warm gloves
• a washer and dryer
• Marching Band

(I think I will keep on adding when I recognize more things)

Lets not forget all our "little" blessings and take President Eyring's counsel, "It is a challenge to count our blessings because we have a tendency to take good things for granted." 
Oh and Happy Thanksgiving!

Cold, Football, Marching Band

So I can now say I have marched snow, ice and in below freezing weather. Saturday was the last home football game and I was very happy it was the only game that was in such cold weather. I layered so much under my uniform but I think that wasn’t enough. At our practice field it wasn’t cleared as well as the football field. When we practice Pre Game it would have been very interesting to watch from above because it was horrible. We all focused on trying not to slip and fall instead of where we were going. Oh not to mention it was so cold that steam was coming out of my mouthpiece after I took it out of my mouth. It was a fun evening you can say. Luckily it did not snow until the end of the game. By the time I left the stadium it was snowing constantly. 

But good news…..the football team is going to the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego next month!! I’m so stoked! We’re going to be heading down there of course to cheer on the team. My parents said they wanted to go but also to spend time with Magy who as well wants to see me. At this point I’m really looking forward to the bowl game because that means it’s Christmas break and the semester will be over! But oh boy there is a lot to before then. I have 3 papers to write and not to mention studying for finals. It’s going to be a very long and stressful 4 weeks. 

On a happy note I’m going home on Monday to Oregon! I can’t wait to see my nephew and the rest of my family. Right now that’s the only that is keeping me going. Also at this moment I have very little sleep. I finished a paper at 3:30 in the morning and woke around 9. I am not in the mood to do anything right now but I’m at school of course. Later tonight you can find me on the couch passed.  

Life thus far

I have been working on a blog post for a while but it's not ready to be reveled. So what has been new you may ask? Obama is reelected!!! That's what's new! As an Obama supporter I am very happy that he will be the president of the United States for another four years. After it was announced that he received more than 270 electoral votes people were going crazy on facebook either very happy or disappointed. I attended an election party at school and I thought that Obama supporters would only be a small minority at this event but I was rather shocked. When Obama won Oregon, my home state, I was going crazy. Then when they announced he was reelected I went even more crazy. Obama won Ohio, Colorado, and Nevada which were 3 states that were a tossup. I do have to say that both Romney and Obama ran a really good campaign. Romney's speech later in the evening I thought was really good. Today the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints released a statement about the election results. They congratulated President Obama winning the election and asked members to now come together and pray for the president and other nation leaders. Once again another example the LDS church does not take sides but rather encourages it's members to be political aware. 

At school today people were "mourning" the loss of Romney. Seriously? It's not the end of the world. So the United States is not getting a Mormon President it's okay. President Obama is going to continue to help our country grow, well that's my opinion. I was just happy I was able to vote this year. I voted as an Oregonian and a proud one as a matter of fact! My vote of course would not have mattered in Utah at all. It's so red here and I don't mean the mountains. I miss my blue, liberal state. 

So as you can tell in the picture I was overwhelmed with excitement of the election results. Okay enough about last night events. 

School has been crazy, stressful and basically making me want to ripe my hair off (get the picture). In exactly two weeks I will be home with my family and that's what I am looking forward too. I also get to see my nephew Jared! I am one happy tia! After Thanksgiving everything is going to go by so fast. Two weeks of school and then finals! Not to mention California!

Oh the last home football game is this Saturday! I am so sad that the marching band season is coming to an end:( I have had so many fun memories this season but I am looking forward to more free time next semester. This season definitely topped last season! We performed James Bond! It was a blast and I am already excited about next season but a much needed break is good. 

Well my fellow readers it's time for me to leave you until next time. Look for next post which is a very important concern/topic to me. And remember as Fredrick Douglass once said, "If there is no struggle, there is no progress." 

Midterms=sklfjsldkfj

So I haven’t written anything since last’s weeks post about me supporting Obama. I just hope I didn’t offend anyone. I just wanted to let the cyber would know what I thought. 
Maybe you’re wondering if I have died yet from midterms, homework and school. The answer is not yet! I have two more midterms total for the semester. I’m taking one today and I have another one sometime next week. It’s crazy to think that tomorrow is the last day of October and then we will head into November. This semester has really gone by fast. 

Good news I will be going home to Oregon for Thanksgiving! I am so happy and I can’t wait! I have countdown on my computer too. I’m really looking forward to seeing my family and especially my nephew Jared who was born last month! Also my mom’s food which I have been wanting since I got here to Utah. 

Although I am looking more to Christmas break because that would probably include California but only if the football team wins one more game which they need for the bowl game. This year we have a 3 week Christmas break which I’m rally stoked about. The last day of finals is December 14th and the first day of winter semester is the January 7th. 

On Sunday night I stayed up until midnight to register for winter semester classes. I almost got all the classes I wanted. I am on the waitlist for the second class of American Humanities which I do want but at the same time I don’t. Next semester I’m actually starting classes for my minor which is music. I should probably go to the school of music and declare it. Private lessons are going to make me broke next semester. I hope to find a job though. On Mondays and Wednesdays I don’t have any classes until wither 5 or 6 in the evening and on Fridays I don’t have any classes which is good because I have open blocks to work. I have goals for next semester that I want to achieve and I post them during winter break. Maybe posting them for the cyber world to see might motivate me to actually do them. 

Anyways I have to finish studying for a midterm that I need to take today. And remember my friends as Thoreau once said, "Never look back unless you are planning to go that way."

A Mormon voting for Obama

So election day is coming up soon. Actually two weeks from today it will be November 6th. Crazy to think how fast it has come up. Since I spoken openly about my political views, more like came to realize where I political stand, I have been given a lot of crap. I support Barack Obama to be reelected to be the president of the United States. Does that mean I am Democrat? But I'm a Mormon? Yes I am Mormon Democrat. Going to school here at BYU where is it very conservative I have been told I am a horrible person, I should support Mitt Romney because he's Mormon too, and Obama has done no good for country. 

First of all I am not a horrible person. I just see things differently than the majority of my peers. I have lived a differently life than most people here at BYU and I take those experiences and try to apply them to my political stance. Also being part of a specific political party does not make a person good or bad. I was once told that the Bible is more conservative. I replied with you can't put a man's label on the word of God. 

Secondly just because I am Mormon and so is Mitt Romney does mean I have to support him. He is a politician  that's it. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints does not: "Endorse, promote or oppose political parties, candidates or platforms,...Attempt to direct its members as to which candidate or party they should give their votes to," The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints does: "Encourage its members to play a role as responsible citizens in their communities, including becoming informed about issues and voting in elections, Expect its members to engage in the political process in an informed and civil manner, respecting the fact that members of the Church come from a variety of backgrounds and experiences and may have differences of opinion in partisan political matters...." So as a Mormon I am encouraged to be politically involved, informed, and vote. The LDS church does not support a specific political party or candidate. So there just because Romney and I attend the same church does not mean I have to vote for him.

Thirdly President Barack Obama has done many things for our country over the past four years. If you haven't seen it then your blind and you need to read more and pay attention to the country you live in. Healthcare, it affects us all. With Obamacare students like me can still be on their parents health insurance until they are 26 years old. I'm sorry but for me that's a big deal especially going to school out of state and away from my parents. Oh and people say the unemployment rate has not gone down? Well it has in a very slow rate and yes that is progress. You can't expect the economy to be fixed very quickly, it's a slow process. Immigration you may be wondering? Well I come an immigrant family so I take this very seriously. Immigration is a very serious issue and the answer is not self deportation like Romney has talked about. President Obama announced a policy that will not allow young immigrants to be deported due to their parents choices. He supports the DREAM Act which will allow young immigrants to gain residency after they graduate college or serve in the military. Don't get me started about what he has done for high education. Pell grants have increased and that has affected me so much! Some Americans are not able to afford a college education alone but have the same desire to get an education as someone who can. He as has encouraged many young Americans to go out and go to college to be educated. 

Maybe some people won't understand why I support Barack Obama but I just wanted to let people know why I am voting for him in two weeks. The United States needs a president who will consider not only who voted for him but everyone in the country. And please don't go around saying if any Mormons support Barack Obama they are horrible people, don't have a strong testimony of the gospel or they're going to hell. As me for I already feel like an outsider here in Utah for being Mexican I don't want to feel even more different due to my political views. Also don't tell me that I should vote for Mitt Romney because I made that decision a long time ago. 

Just have to take my own advice

Yesterday I went visiting teaching and my companion shared a scripture from Mosiah and I think it's Mosiah 16:9 and it reads "He is the light and the life of the world, yea, a light that is endless, that can never be darkened; yea, and also a life which is endless, that there can be no more death." We then talked about how we can be a light in the world. We said we could say hello more often and look out for our fellow men. On a personal aspect we could look past the bad and negative things in our life and looked toward the positive and good things. I'm the one who said that too and now I have to take my own advice. 

Sometimes in our lives we get hurt and it can be hard to just forget or get over it. Recently I have felt like this. Instead of feeling sad and mad I'm just going to see the positive in my life. I have to look past it. 

I also have to thank the people in my life who are there for me when I go through crap. This morning my roommate made me breakfast and made my lunch because I mess basically. Last night she heard me complain until I feel asleep. Sometimes we don't understand how blessed we are until we go through trials. Maybe this as well is a lesson for me to remember to be thankful everyday for all the blessings God has given me. Oh I almost forgot about something else! Parking is crazy at school and I was telling my roommate as I was driving into the parking lot that I just wanted to find a spot fast if not I would cry because of last night and parking. She told she would pray to find a parking spot easily. Well the first row I turned into there was a spot! She then proceeded to pray to thank God for answer her prayer. God answers even the littlest of prayers! 

Well that is enough of a ramble for me today. I'm going to keep my chin up and look toward the positive things in my life. As some would say "Everything is going to be alright maybe not today but eventually."