2016

As 2016 comes to a close, I have pondered and tried to figure out what I learned the most. This year was amazing. I was able to travel the most I ever have--from London to throughout England and Scotland and Paris, to New York City. I made new friends, creating relationships and having experiences I shall never forget. I learned a lot, and I will treasure my Travel Journal with the lists of the lessons I learned at each place.

Overall, I think back to a line in a blessing given before I left for London, a few days before I was to leave, as I was terrified I wouldn't be able to go when I broke my foot. Much of what was said didn't make much sense, but Oh! There was so much that was said to prepare me for not only the study abroad, but the rest of the year.  It was so beautiful and it was filled with revelation and wonder, I feel this line seems to well-conclude this year, "Everything we expect ends up being different, and far better and greater than we can fathom, as we remain obedient and serve by doing the greatest good we can." (Close quote.)

I learned in London how to give back a little more, paying it forward, as I was able to miraculously travel around England, Paris, and Scotland with hardly any pain. Fast forward to a few months later, I faced one of the hardest, most trying times of my life. Surely, this counsel, Everything we expect ends up being different...was as true as it could be. I had dreams that I felt were crushed. I felt so alone and confused and hurt, with little motivation to do the things I knew I needed to do. However, I remained obedient by doing the things I knew I had to do to take care of my health. And, more than anything, I knew that one of the only ways I could fully heal was to extend my care and help to others. So, I took the baby steps, and before I knew it I was submerged into what I hadn't seen myself doing--helping coordinate the university's food drive, extending myself through an online internship to people who were suffering, planning more service events for next year...

Sure, at times I felt I was going overboard and it took some time to figure out the right pace. After seeing the service rendered, it felt rewarding to see others have their basic needs met. I felt I was helping hasten the Lord's work. The pain was still there inside me, and I realized it would take time to heal, but these experiences shaped me to have more open eyes and a more open heart, with a drive and willingness to go to work to help Heavenly Father's sons and daughters.

I know the certificates make us look like we were showing off, but it's the only one I have of all of the Food Drive Team. Not to mention they were for goofy things--such as mine for "Most likely to jump in a pile of leaves."

"Everything ends up being different, and far better..." I still cannot fully concur to this, as I haven't seen all the ways things are "far better," than they were before, as I felt I had it all before, but then lost it. Yet, I can say this--I most likely wouldn't have been involved in what I was doing had I not been through that very tough experience. As I have been assured things will be "far better," this is where faith comes in, as I have had to hold onto it. As President Monson once declared to the world, "The future is as bright as your faith."

I also discovered this became a year of healing--from experiences in my past and as hardships happened, all with the hospital tune-up at the beginning of the year to the opportunities that lied ahead. The Lord was so merciful to provide the experiences and people in my life to help me feel set free, living a rich life. I felt He wanted me to live each day to its fullest, and while doing so, I was transformed a little more. The Atonement has become more real, as I have come closer to the Savior. Healing has come through having fun (and many spontaneous dance parties), serving others and being moved to show even more compassion and reach out to my fullest capacity, from my experiences in the hospital to breaking one of my metatarsals in my foot, and going through the Holocaust exhibit in London and the 9/11 Memorial Museum in New York City. I can say that from all that I saw, witnessed, and felt, I did the greatest good I could, and I am determined to continue to do so. And then, as I continue in faith, I know that things will be "Far greater than I can fathom."

2016--you were SO great and good to me. I am so thankful for all the Lord provided!!

9/11 Memorial Museum

There are some places that are not only filled with observances, but experiences.

Some even pierce you at your core.

You wonder, empathize, mourn, and are somehow changed for good.

I sure wanted to visit the 9/11 Memorial Museum, and am beyond glad I did.

What exactly is there? It's a large museum--several floors--filled with artifacts from the terrorist attack--all from pieces and large structures of the building and firetrucks and ambulances that were once filled with people that rushed to rescue strangers. You are taken through the timeline of what happened--minute by minute, with how still life was at first and then leading to each horror. Personal accounts and news reports blaring all over. You could go in rooms to listen to actual messages and phone calls to loved ones as they saw their fate. There were stories of those who passed in order to save others, as they were declared heroes--from men and women to a police dog. Their uniforms, badges, personal items were carefully placed in displays. 

You see the recorded horror and remember/learn about this tragedy. And yet, you can feel the power of these people. Your Adam's apple swells and you fight back tears,  feeling influenced by the benevolence these individuals had shown. You can feel how a nation came together at this time. You see the great courage and sacrifice they gave. 

(Sorry, we were not allowed to take many photos in this exhibit.)

This was a mosaic of all different shades of blue to represent the color of the sky earlier that morning.

Near the end of the experience, after soaking it all in for about two hours, feeling emotionally weighed down, I hoped there would be something uplifting at the end. Surely enough, and the part that must have hit me the hardest, was when I entered the large room filled with videos and news reports of how the nation came together. Healing was required for everyone, and strangers reached out to one another to offer compassion, empathy, and service. Posters and videos were all over for these service offerings for anyone--even from free cups of coffee at cafe's, massages, food, and any source of comfort. Many people flooded chapels for religious services, searching for meaning in life and help from God. Nobody cared what each other's religion was--there was acceptance and compassion shown. Hand-written and hand-drawn cards were displayed from children, which were given to victims who fought for their lives at hospitals. You could hear the testimonials of how this nation became united and changed--forever.

Through this experience, I then understood why they say, "Never forget 9/11." It's so easy to forget the bravery of those who lost their lives or almost lost them, with how many fought for theirs and others' lives. It's easy to forget the love shown, how we all came together, reaching out no matter each other's differences. We were all brothers and sisters, depending on the same God and each other. Let's please never forget.

Ground Zero--where one of the towers once stood (There was another for the other tower too.)

NYC Days 3-4

Day 3

That Monday in NYC had to be one of the best.

First of all, my wish to visit the 9/11 Memorial Museum finally came true. I will tell you more about it in the next post.

After the 9/11 Memorial Museum, I had to hurry out--it was time to head to the NBC Studios to see Jimmy Fallon!!! It was amazing how we were able to get tickets (which were free)--even if it was just for the Monologue rehearsal! We got in line as one of the first, since we landed with priority seating tickets. We waited around for a while, then were led to the waiting room, where we waited some more. We then had a studio member get us pumped so we'd all be laughing as hard as possible to help Jimmy feed off of our energy. 

It was hard to believe what was happening as we entered his studio--set up the way you always see it, with the NYC backdrop, the blue curtain ahead, and the jazz band off to the side. We sat only a few rows back, right behind the camera in the center. There was Jimmy himself. We must have looked like kids with huge grins on our faces, all giddy with excitement. The rehearsal seemed to go by very quickly within its half hour span, but we laughed a good amount. It was an awesome experience!!

P.S. for anyone who doesn't know me super well, my hands always seem to be purple.

Once Jimmy Fallon was done, our whole group all headed over to the Wicked Lottery to try to win tickets. Emily had wanted to go so bad with Stevey, so we did all we could to get them tickets. We entered our names and if any of us were selected (there would be 13 people), then we would get 2 tickets each. After coming back an hour later, 3 of our names were drawn! Some of the guys already had tickets to School of Rock, so our party of 6 headed to the show! It was my 3rd time seeing it (2nd this year), but I didn't mind seeing it again and was happy to stick with the group. It was as amazing as ever and I was glad everyone who didn't see it finally could!

After Wicked, we headed to the Rockefeller Tower to go to the top! I was unsure about its expensive cost, but I will say it was one of the best experiences for the trip! The elevator rushed us to the top with flashing lights above, and once we got to the top, there was a small museum about its history we hurried through (because let's be honest--we just wanted the view.) And certainly, the view was incredible!! Seeing all the lights across the city in every direction was breath taking!!

This was Dan, who had to be one of the kindest security guards. He took our pictures for us. I decided to give him one of the "Love to Breathe" tokens and explained its significance to him. He loved it!

I cannot forget...one of our fun, spontaneous times was when we found this motion-censored, light-changing room at the top. Since we wanted it to keep changing colors, we decided to have a dance party right there and then!! People shook their heads as we were being kids, but deep inside they were probably jealous of the fun we were having. ;) 

The night ended with my health hitting rock bottom, and it was painful, but I couldn't help but think of what a great day it had been!!

Day 4

Our final day in New York was...an adventure. We mostly packed in the morning, and some went to the MET art museum, while the rest of us headed to Brooklyn Bridge. The architecture with how long it's held up was fascinating. We had fun taking pictures and having a good time there.

These 2 hooligans in our group are fun and darling :)

The problem was...we thought our flight was at 5:35 instead of 5:05. We thought we'd be fine being home by 2, and when we headed back from Brooklyn Bridge, we faced train delays and realized we hadn't left on time. We ran to our Air B&B to meet up with everyone, but then waited a bit to have Travis's travel arrangements figured out, since he'd be on a different flight. We hauled our luggage to the train station, intending to be at a stop where an Uber car would pick us up, to then find the train didn't bring us very far. We got stuck in horrible NYC traffic and there we were in our Uber car, laughing hysterically at what was happening, in disbelief--we were missing our flight.

And surely we did, but Southwest Airlines was so gracious. They allowed us to get on the next flight through standby with no charge or penalty. We checked our luggage on, went through security pretty smoothly (my equipment took a few extra minutes as always), and then went straight onto the plane for the next flight.

I was reminded how good God is. Sure, we didn't make the wisest choices that day, but he allowed us to get home safely!! (And remember how I had my last final to take--I didn't want to miss it!)

I know someday I will be able to tell this story to my children, and maybe grandchildren, adding it to "the crazy things mom/grandma did." It sure made a good story. 

Another funny story for your amusement: On the plane, I asked for a whole water, and no, they don't give it out in bottles--they give it out in blue cans. By the time I stepped off the plane in Salt Lake, I was so physically drained and dizzy I literally could not walk in a straight line. To make matters better, for some reason I still had the blue can in my hand. I must have looked like I drank too much, even though it was only water.

NYC was incredible. So fun. So spontaneous and also transformative.(Now read the next post about the 9/11 Memorial Museum.)

Day 2 in NYC!

Day 2 in New York City:

We woke up early and hurried to get ready and were out the door by about 8:00 or 8:15 for church. (I've learned that traveling to church in large cities seems to take 45 minutes-1 hour.) I cannot tell you how tired I was, but I was ready to go! Once we got there, we saw what was unique about this church site--it's in the same building as the temple! We eventually all met up at sacrament meeting and took up some good space in a couple rows :D Another fun fact--we attended the singles ward, and Emily also came with us--imagine a 8-month year old pregnant woman attending the singles ward!! We all wondered what reactions guys would give if she took off her ring and pretended to flirt with them, definitely looking pregnant haha! Church itself was good--they had a musical program--accompanied by an organist who went full out. Afterwards they had a linger longer where they fed us the copy cat recipe for Cafe Rio. Everyone was very friendly!!

After church, a few went to try for the Wicked lottery while the rest of us headed back to our Air B&B. I was once again able to complete a full treatment while everyone else took naps, after which I squeezed in a 20 minute nap, which felt glorious!!  (A lot of traveling with missing treatments and little sleep can take a toll on my energy, health, and moodiness ha.) Once we were all changed and rested we headed over to Central Park. Since it is about 6 miles wide, we saw a small portion of it, but it was neat to be there. 

One of the best moments was when Kim said, "There's Buddy the Elf," and I thought she was playing around so I went along with it. And then out of the corner of my eye, there was Buddy! 

We all asked to get a picture with him, and then we had him sing for us. What are the odds we actually ran into a guy who went around dressed as him, filming scenes from Elf? It was too funny!

As we began leaving Central Park, it began to snow! It had to be the most magical snowfall, as it lightly came down. We then passed through a darling little Christmas market, and then met up with everyone once again at Times Square. The snow came down a little more as we carried on through the busy streets, as the Christmas spirit was in the air.

The shops had some fun trinkets, like these marionettes 

I had always wanted to see the church's ads in person at Times Square!! Here's to this year's "Light the World" campaign!

New York pizza at Times Square!! I couldn't go wrong with a basic Margherita! 

We all then went to "Juniorls", which was a famous New York Cheesecake shop. It thought it was good, but got more hype than it should have. The jelly topping was a little weird, as it was straight-up gelatin instead of the syrup pie-filling type of topping. Many in our group didn't like it.

After Times Square, we made our way over to Rockefeller Plaza. Everything about Rockefeller had to be my favorite fun activities, especially at Christmas time!! It was all so magical!! We saw the large Christmas tree and ice rink, with all the lights, including the light show that was displayed. 

After sticking around Rockefeller Plaza for a bit, we then went inside St Patrick's Cathedral. I was excited to walk through, as I gained a greater appreciation for cathedrals while in Europe, as it intrigues me to see how other Christians want to show their devotion and high respects to God. It was stunning, and had to be the closest feel to the cathedrals I walked through while in Europe. It sure made me miss Paris!! (But I still enjoyed where I was at in the moment.) :) 

After another packed day, we were all very tired once again, and ready to just chill at our Air B&B. We decided to watch a movie, which ended up being Finding Dory since it was Nate and Travis's first time seeing it. We got some good laughs in and it was nice to hang out after a couple long days. I was once again glad to sleep that night (at about 3 AM) but felt dreamy about the successful, wonderful day we had!! 

New York City!! (Day 1)

Where do I begin?

NYC must have been one of the best experiences of my life! This had to be one of the craziest decisions I made (read my previous post about how it was during finals week) but as I mentioned, it was worth it. We were offered roundtrip flight tickets for $150 from Southwest since they messed up on Stevey's most recent flight, so he and Emily got all of us together! There were 11 of us, and we all stayed in one tiny Air B&B--with one bathroom. Somehow we all made it work. In order to best tell it out, i will tell the trip day-by day by splitting it up into different posts so it's easier to read.

We left Friday afternoon from Salt Lake City with a layover in Denver, and then arrived at the New Jersey Airport late that night. We traveled to our place with Uber, grabbed some groceries and all settled in, so not much happened.

Day 1
We first headed over to the Staten Island Ferry Station, since the boat ride to pass by the Statue of Liberty was free (and tickets to go directly to the statue were sold out for a while.) It had to be one of the most freezing days of my life. The ice cold wind was overwhelming, and I felt like I was trudging through a pool of ice water all day, but we still managed to have a good time.

Outside our Air B&B in Queens and about to hit the city!

Don't mind me as my hair is all over my face

Did I mention it was windy?

Our group! (except for Tommy who must have been inside.)

After Staten Island we headed to the financial district, where the stock exchange is over on Wall Street. They also had a golden bull that was supposed to bring you good luck if you touched it.

Oh, and I cannot forget the dozens of Santa's we saw walking in groups all around the city. 

(Apparently it's a thing for adults to dress up as Santa, drinking all day and wandering around until they pass out.)

After the financial district, we made our way over to the Ground Zero memorial that was outside. It was bewildering to see where the two towers once stood. You could feel how sacred it was, as many lost their lives there. I desperately wanted to go to the museum as well, and I am so glad I was able to a few days later, as it was one of the most life-changing places I have ever been to. I will talk more about that later--and it will probably have its own post.

Where one of the towers once stood, with individual's names engraved on the surrounding platform around the fountain.

After this, we wandered around the streets of New York looking for a good place to eat since we were starving (and freezing). We made it to "the Meatball shop" which claimed to be in Little Italy but was way outside of it and was not Italian food. However, it was still really good! It was small and had a cozy, modern feel to its atmosphere. It felt good to have a warm healthy meal!! I had beef meatballs with a cheesy parmesan sauce on top of vegetable sides.

It felt good to feed my (what people may consider) "different" healthy food cravings.

After the Meatball Shop, we went through China Town, but didn't find too much to do.

After that, about half of us went to our place to nap (while I did my treatment--trust me when I say I was exhausted by this point) while most of the guys checked out 5th Avenue. Next (after I LAYERED more than I have ever done before--I'm talking 3 pairs of pants and more layers), we all met up at Times Square, which was amazing!! The lights hit you left and right as soon as you arrive. I know that people don't like it when tourists stand and gawk at it all for a bit, but we couldn't help it!!

Trust me when I say the pictures do not serve justice!!

That's the church's "Light the World" video playing behind us!

Times Square was amazing!! Now, as you would guess from walking more and being out in the freezing cold, we were once again very hungry. Emily and Stevey found a Groupon for $240 worth of food for only $130--which was good as we all split it up and paid for our own meals--at a sit down Italian restaurant called "Luna Piena". Not all of us wanted to go at first because it was getting late and we didn't want to travel much more, but I am not exaggerating when I say it was THE BEST Italian Restaurant I've ever been to!!! (It made Olive Garden taste like it was stale food from the dollar store, and the other guys got pizza earlier and they sure missed out.) I've never had Italian food that would melt in your mouth with the most delicately rich flavors. We got calamari and a meat platter for appetizers, and then we all sampled each others. I had the BEST fettuccine alfredo I have EVER had!! (again, as good as Olive Garden's is, it made it taste like it would have been stale food from the dollar store, which I never thought would be possible.) We couldn't stop talking about it afterwards. I literally almost cried when my left-overs were gone.

The best fettuccine alfredo I've ever had!!

We were sure exhausted by the time we got home, but it was a good, successful first day in New York!!