The end is near.

Last few weeks of the semester = major stress. I have a 12 page paper to write, a portfolio to put together, three news articles to send in, flex points to finish, stats homework to do, finals to study for, French everything, an internship to apply for, and the list goes on. I'm sure everyone has their own lists comparable to mine. It's madness.

Here is a list of things I've seen lately that give me hope we'll make it through. And just hope for the human race/future in general.

• An old couple sitting on the overpass trying to get semi trucks to honk for them... and succeeding.
• A student and a man with autism singing Christmas carols in the PE building.
• The date December 15. It's coming no matter what grade I get in French poetry!
• People with broken legs zooming around on scooters. Are crutches not cool anymore or...?
• This video.
• Compliments. This does not include being honked at while you're crossing the street. At least roll down your window and yell something incomprehensible. 
• An old woman telling a girl "I love you" simply because they shared a short conversation on a Sunday morning.
• "Let go of the past and go for the future. Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you imagined." - Henry David Thoreau
• This song.
• Asian Star. Maybe if I graduate college, I'll be able to afford eating there without being forced to go during happy hour or with my parents' money.
• The preview for "Warm Bodies." Actually, maybe it's creepy that this gives me hope for the future. Let's change it to the preview for "Star Trek Into Darkness" even though the preview for that hasn't come out yet.

Okay, I'm done since I'm just rambling now and fresh out of uplifting quotes/videos. Happy finals, and may the odds be ever in your favor.

PS. This one isn't that uplifting, but if you want to laugh/cry yourself to sleep tonight, watch this video.

Weeks.

Sometimes you have a really good week, then a pretty normal week, then a very bad week. And you start wondering why every week can't be like the first week and why this semester has been pretty much the hardest four months of your life and why bad things happen to good people. And it makes you very sad and you spend four hours watching Modern Family and ignoring the homework you should be doing because life is hard and nothing's really worth it anyway.

But then the time comes when you have to take a step back and realize that really, you're just focusing on the bad things that have happened like a messed-up ignition and a flat tire (not a great time for my car) or how it was raining at the parade that you didn't even really want to go to (Rain on my parade? Irony anyone?) or how hard school is and how much you hate doing homework. And you think to yourself, what about all the good things that have happened this week?

• Good things like Tyler A. giving me six free tickets to the Twilight premiere and even though it's probably the lamest movie in existence, it was two hours of rolling-on-the-floor laughter that I quite frankly enjoyed.

• Like Pratt and Scott volunteering to change my tire even though they could easily have just gone home and I could have called AAA or something.

• Good things like Tyler C. bringing me a gallon of cookies-and-cream ice cream in the middle of the night even though he lives halfway across town.

• Like my friends asking me for relationship advice even though, let's be honest, I'm the last person they should be asking. But I enjoy it.

• Like the people who will sit and listen to me rant for hours and days about life and attempt to give me advice even though it won't help, but it's still good to talk.

• Good things like Phil giving me a Maggie Moo's gift card for no reason at all even though he really could just keep it for himself.

• Like how even though it was raining on the parade, the sun eventually came out and a rainbow spread across the sky and the cutest little kids were there and it was actually super fun.

• Good things like going to two parties in one weekend and making new friends even though the semester's almost over and I could have easily just stayed home and watched more Modern Family.

So, looking back, maybe it really wasn't that bad of a week after all. Maybe it's the less-than-good times in life that show us what we are really capable of. (For instance, the fact that I managed to write two news articles on my phone while sitting at Big-O tires for two hours. Or the fact that I ran 5 miles without stopping when the farthest I have ever run is 3... maybe I should be in a bad mood more often.)

Times like these happen I guess. There will be weeks when you feel like you're back in middle school or at BYU (or a combination) and weeks when it feels like no one else in the world possesses common sense. But then those weeks are over. And there are tons of other, better weeks to look forward to.

One week can change your whole future, if you let it. Or it can just be a week.

Karen and karaoke.

The place I live is called Crashpad 35. Once in a while it's called "Crack" pad 35 when we get crazy off of salt and potatoes (french fries) and have dance parties at midnight until someone falls off the counter and face plants into the carpet. But usually it's just Crashpad 35.

Crashpad 35 is known for many things. Sometimes it's a French café when we decide to make crepes on a weeknight. Sometimes it's a gym when the window is open and you hear Mumford & Sons blasting and girls screaming "Karen, no! My arms!" (Karen is the name we coined for our robotic personal trainer on the Nike Fitness app. We don't like her because she makes us do hard things.) Sometimes it's a psychiatric office when we have long deep chats about life late into the night. Sometimes it's a home for our very large FHE family.

This weekend, it was a karaoke bar (if you use the term "bar" very loosely) on Saturday night as we held the first of many Karaoke Saturdays to come. Food was consumed, reputations were upheld (or ruined), and embarrassing photographs were taken. Enjoy. And keep your eyes peeled and ears open for the next Karaoke Saturday at Crashpad 35, cause it'll be epic.

Running, dancing, and more running.

October is the best month of the whole year, in my opinion. Leaves crunching underfoot, chilly mornings and warm afternoons, haunted houses and apple cider.

Obviously, judging from my last post, it's been an eventful month. But aside from stressing about my future, I've done a lot of fun things too! Many of which I would recommend that you put on your schedule for next October.

1. Zombie 5Ks. Marissa and I were so pumped when we heard these things exist. Basically you sign up and get chased by zombies for five kilometers. We did one in Sandy that included a huge horde of zombies, fireworks, and free glowsticks, and then I just couldn't resist signing up for another one the next weekend with Ammaron. The second one was a gigantic obstacle course where we had to crawl through tunnels, climb ropes, and shoot walkers with paintball guns. I know you're jealous.

2. Haunted houses. I love haunted houses but I have very few friends that do. I try to make a habit of going to Nightmare on 13th every year and it's usually like pulling teeth trying to get anyone to come with me. Luckily I have some cool friends that I was able to coerce into coming with me this year. Keeping with the theme of zombies, the last third of the haunted house was full of them. Terrifying.

3. Dance parties. They never get old. DJ Marcus Wing was our BFF this month since we went to the ever-popular Hallofunkaween in northern Utah and then saw him again at the Scream at SUU. Just make sure you clear some room when Gangnam Style comes on.

4. Red Bull Rampage. This has nothing to do with October or Halloween, but I went to it and it was sweet. It's the biggest freestyle mountain biking in the world and happens in Virgin, Utah, just an hour away from Cedar City! I was reporting on it, so I talked to some riders and took one semi-cool picture.

5. Perks of Being a Wallflower. Amazing book/movie. Watch it/read it.

Throw in a couple episodes of the Walking Dead, some really good food, and great company, and you have the recipe for a solid October. I've enjoyed it. A lot.

PS. Thank you all for your words of encouragement about my last post, both on Facebook and in person. It means a lot to me and I'm pretty sure I know some of the best people out there! Love you guys.

An announcement.

Hi everyone. This is a post in the category of "time to get personal with Shannon." Welcome.

As many of you know, the past few weeks have been a rough time in my life, and the only advice I have received from anyone has been: "It's a choice between two good things." Incredibly helpful. So, I was left on my own to make this decision, and it has not been easy.

I haven't talked much about my religion, and unless you have visited my "About the author" page you might not even know that I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, more commonly known as Mormons. I wish I could explain more about it but that might take a while, so if you're interested, click here to learn more.

I'm sure even if you don't know anything about my church, you have probably at least seen our missionaries. They are either young men in suits and ties or young women in skirts, both wearing black name tags and knocking on doors all over the world. Previous to this story, the men were encouraged to serve missions at age 19, and the women were allowed to at age 21 if they so desired. A few weeks ago, however, the church changed this to age 18 for young men and age 19 for young women.

I'm 19. This is where I had to make a choice.

As soon as this announcement was made, girls all over the world began crying, rejoicing, and texting their church leaders to start their mission papers. I was down in my little town of Cedar City, Utah saying, "This is crazy! This is awesome!" over and over again. I knew this announcement could completely change the next 18 months of my life, if not the entire course of my future.

Just a few weeks prior to all of this, I had been stressing hardcore about my major and what I want to do with my life. I had finally almost come to the conclusion I want and had about the next two years of school and opportunities planned out. Then, all of a sudden: "Oh yeah, or you could go on a mission." Cue explosions. Commence crisis.

As I saw it at the time, I had two choices: go on a mission and finish school later, or finish school now and maybe go on a mission later. I spent a week thinking, praying, meditating, reading, biking, hiking, going to the temple, and overall driving myself crazy over this decision. Finally, I had made a choice: I was going to go.

So, the next day I set up an interview with my bishop, the next day after that I made doctor and dentist appointments, and the next day after that I started filling out the papers. Then, for whatever reason, I put this all on the back-burner and decided not to think about it for a few days.

The next weekend I started wondering again. Had I rushed into this decision? Is this what I should be doing right now? Is it what I want to be doing right now? And that's when I realized there was a third choice: don't even make a decision yet.

I went to the doctor the next day and was stabbed with five needles after being told I am only five foot two and three quarters instead of five three, which was traumatizing. Then I went to the dentist and they told me I need to get my wisdom teeth out even though I am 100% positive that I went through that lovely experience last December. (I reminded them of this, don't worry, and they said, "Oh, JK!")

And after all this, I decided that my decision would be to not make a decision until I'm ready.

Which means I may have faced my deathly fear of needles for nothing.

Anyway, thanks for reading, if you've made it this far. A lot of people have been asking me what I'm doing, so here it is: I'm staying where I am for now. And if I do decide to go on a mission, it will be when the time is right for me, and I know then there will be no doubt in my mind.

Over and out.

Songs to ease a troubled mind.

If you're anything like me, the last few weeks (months) have been wildly stressful. Here are some songs I've been turning to for solace.

1. Whatever Will Be - Vanessa Hudgens
We all need a little advice sometimes from Baby V!

2. Times Like These - Jack Johnson
What will be will be. And so it goes.

3. Flower - Amos Lee
This is way up there on my list of favorite songs. It's also my ringtone. Just saying.

4. Hold On - Alabama Shakes
If this is not one of the coolest bands out there, I don't know who is. Her voice..!

5. Who You Gonna Turn To - Trevor Hall
And finally, the song that just might have all the answers.

It's the little things.

Rain when the sun is shining. Bare feet on hardwood floors. Snowflakes flying toward the windshield. Sunrises. Freshly washed hair. The smell of Christmas. City lights in December. Warm skin in the summer. Leaves crunching under boots. Crooked smiles. Eyes crinkled from laughter. Watermelon seeds. Loosely held hands. Blanket forts. Secret tree houses. Glow in the dark stars. Getting a letter in the mail. A good book on a stormy day. A brand new pencil. The sound of the ocean. Mowing the lawn. Running without purpose. Rolling down a hill. Swing-sets under the stars. A good view. Forehead kisses. Cookies and cream ice cream. Coloring a picture.

Butterflies in your stomach. Climbing a mountain without a path. Bike rides at sunset in the autumn. Pinky promises. Goosebumps. Apple cider. Star gazing and cloud watching and day dreaming. The hope the future holds. Changing plans. Singing hymns. Talking to yourself. Long showers. College campuses. Dewdrops on flowers. Poetry. Sun dresses. Corn mazes and pumpkin patches. Fruit trees. Clouds that hug the hilltops. Comfy slippers and classic movies. Unexpected eye contact. Shared secrets. Deep conversations. Sushi. The smell of a new book. Old fashioned newspapers. New friendships. Setting goals.

The stories that old people tell. Getting a ride when you thought you had to walk. River rafting. Paragliding. A huge dog that still likes to cuddle. Listening to music while cooking. Fresh chocolate chip cookies. Reading glasses. Polka dots. Movies that make you cry. Reunions. Children's cereal. A cup of tea. Missing someone. Framed photographs. Sunroofs. Bird silhouettes. Dust dancing in the sunlight. Afternoon naps. An inspiring quote. An unexpected phone call from an old friend. Bulletin boards. A thoughtful note. A lit fireplace on Christmas Eve. Harry Potter. Cliff jumping. Fishtail braids. Not procrastinating. Libraries. Inspiration and intuition.

We live in such a beautiful world.