Day 2: Tralee, Dingle, Muckross House, Ross Castle, Kilarney

I think a part of me has always known that I would love the British Isles. Today, we were driving from Tralee (a tiny city we spent the night in last night) to Dingle and I had a moment of overwhelming joy, contentment, and peace. The bright blue ocean was on my right, and the quaint rolling hills of farmland were on my left. I was listening “Sweet Baby James” by James Taylor and I started thinking of my sweet Grammy. It seemed to me that she would absolutely love this beautiful country. It dawned on me that it actually is the country of her heritage—and also mine—and so it makes sense that I would love it so much. Tears swelled up in my eyes—I don’t know if this was from missing her, from wishing we could experience this moment together, or just from the overwhelming beauty of scenery. Regardless, it filled my heart with peace that stayed with me for the rest of the day.

Today, we spent a lot of time on the bus. I think I’m not as adjusted to the time change as I thought I was yesterday. There were moments today where physically couldn’t keep my eyes open on the bus and I found myself asleep before I realized it. The main sights we visited today were the Muckross House and Ross Castle. The Muckross House is an old house that has been owned by rich families for hundreds of years. Queen Victoria visited the house back in the 1800’s so it’s a very lavish and fancy house. It reminded me almost exactly of the house in Downton Abbey—the fancy staircase, the lavish dining room, plain servants quarters—it was kind of awesome. I almost loved the gardens around the house more though.

We also went to Ross Castle. It’s an ancient castle that’s been restored with original furniture. I have to say, I wasn’t that impressed. It was cool to walk around in, but it wasn’t my favorite part of the day. What really caught my eye today was the bright colors throughout Ireland. They love to use bright colors on their houses, on their boats, on their storefronts…it’s very picturesque. 

We ended the day by walking up to the ruins of an old Abbey and graveyard near our hostel. The sun was setting, so it made for a beautiful scene. The abbey doesn’t have any sort of restoration, and so it really feels ancient. There were tombstones in there from the 1700’s, and even more that were unreadable, so I wouldn’t be surprised if they were older than that. I feel like my mind can’t even comprehend how old these places are. I am so in love with Ireland that I can’t even handle it!

Day One: Bunratty Castle

Today, we went to this beautiful old Irish castle...our frist real destination in Ireland. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so here comes my flood of pictures. Plus, I'm way too tired to write.

Needless to say, I am in love with Ireland. 

Arrived in IRELAND!

We arrived in Ireland four hours ago, and it is even more beautiful than I imagined. The last few days has been an entire whirlwind of events. My friends made my last few days there absolutely amazing, and I miss them already. That being said, I am so happy to be in Ireland to start out this trip and there's no other place in the world I'd rather be right now! Until Saturday night, I was under the impression in my head that my flight was leaving Sunday morning at 11. It wasn't until I texted Sarah (my ride to the airport) on Saturday night saying "Ok, I'll see you tomorrow morning at 8:30!" that I was corrected otherwise. She responded saying, "Don't you mean Monday morning?" So I checked my ticket (which I should have done a long time ago) and it dawned on me that I still had one more day in Provo. Yes, just call me the girl who cried wolf...on accident.

Fast forward to Monday morning...the actual time of our flight. We get to the airport and discover that our flight has been delayed by two hours. So I called and said my goodbyes to my sisters and mom and also enjoyed some airport Cafe Rio with Sarah. Finally, we got on our flight to JFK. 

Because our flight was delayed, we ended up having to really hurry to catch our connecting flight in JFK to Shannon, Ireland. The flight to JFK was uneventful...Sarah and I had an extra seat in our row which was really nice. We stretched out and slept a bit. I caught up on my reading for our ward's summer Book of Mormon challenge (I've struggled this last week to stay on top of that). I started to try to read my required book for my book report in London, but sleep got the best of me. It took forever to get off that flight, so once we were off, we ran to our gate in the JFK airport. Holy crud...that airport is HUGE and CROWDED. We had to take a bus to get to our gate for our next flight. We were worried about cutting it too close, but we ended up getting there about 15 minutes before boarding. Here I am... on the threshold to the plane that took us to Ireland!

We seriously lucked out on our flight to Ireland. We sat in the emergency exit row, which meant we had very spacious leg room. And, again, there was an extra seat. So we had plenty of room. We loved having our own personal TV's, blankets, and pillows. It was the first time I've ever gotten meals on a flight...both breakfast and dinner! Not the best food I've ever had, but it was free, so no complaints. I tried to force myself to sleep and try to adjust to the time change...and I think  I was semi-successful. I only got about 2 hours of sleep on the flight but that's been enough to sustain me since we got here. We arrived in Ireland at 9 AM, and since then we've been hanging out with our group in a hotel waiting for the last three people to arrive and join us. It's now 1 PM here (6 AM at home) and we're about to head to a castle and then to our hostel. As soon as I saw Ireland from my plan window, I was awed by the beauty of the landscape here. It really is full of green fields, trees, rivers and ponds, and scattered with cattle and sheep. I've hardly seen Ireland yet, but I already know I'm in love. It's going to be a great six weeks. :)

My Testimony.

Today was fast and testimony meeting at church. 

In every single BYU ward I've ever been in, there's always been a rush of students on fast sundays that run up to bear their testimony. This makes testimony meetings a great spiritual feast, but it also makes it hard for everyone who wants to to bear their testimony. Today, my ward's meeting ran over with testimonies, and I didn't get a chance to get up like I would have liked. So, I promised myself that I would write down my testimony today for myself, my Heavenly Father, and maybe for a few others who might come across this blog.

I believe in God. My entire life is based upon my belief in a God who knows, loves, cares for, and calls me his daughter. As I look back on my life, and I see his hand in every answered prayer, inspired decision, precious friendship, and opportunity I've ever had. Because of this, I have no doubt in my mind that he will guide my future as he has my past. I know that just twenty short years ago, I was with him waiting to come to this earthly experience, and I look forward to seeing him again someday.

I believe in a restored gospel. Logically speaking, it seems ridiculous that a 14-year-old farm boy is responsible for restoring the Lord's gospel again upon the earth. But it did happen. And it is true. I believe in Joseph Smith and in the gospel he restored with all of my heart. I am thankful to be born into a family that believed in and taught me principles of the gospel, such as faith, repentance, baptism, and other eternal truths that have created a framework for my life.

I believe in family. I am a lucky girl to have such an amazing family. I love both of my parents, my four siblings, their spouses, and each of my 10 nieces and nephews with all my heart. I am so glad that I came at the tail end of our family so that I could watch to each of my sibling's amazing examples and that I could grow close with their children. They make me excited and eager to one day have a family of my own.

I believe in tithing. This semester, I've been working two jobs, I've applied for every scholarship possible, and I've done my best to pay my own way through school and for my study abroad. I'm constantly stressed about money, but I know that as I pay an honest tithing and fast offering, the Lord with recognize my efforts and bless me with success and financial stability. I haven't received much yet, but I know that the Lord is aware of my sacrifices and he will make things work for my future.

I believe in the future. I don't know what my future holds. I don't know what job I'll have, who I'm going to marry, or what things will be like 10 years from now. I do know that as I keep my feet planted in the gospel, that things will always come together and will work out. I trust my Heavenly Father with all my heart, and I know that he knows what's ahead.

There's so many more things I could write about, but I'll save them for another Sunday. For now, just know this girl is overflowing with happiness, gratitude, faith, and excitement for the future.

Food for Thought.

I'm not usually one to quote Marilyn Monroe, but this time I am. This describes my day exactly. 

Opposition.

"For it must needs be that there be opposition in all things."

-2nd Nephi 2:11

Today, I walked out to my car in -5 degree weather to go to work. My poor old car seemed to express my exasperations about the cold weather with its loud grumbles and stiff frozen windows. As I drove with my knees to avoid touching the steering wheel with my hands (you'd be surprised by how well I can do this), my mind wandered to the days last summer when I would lay out next to the pool in the sun for hours with my roommates. I longed for those days, and I longed for the sun to warm my cold bones.

With this simple wandering of my mind, I began to ponder about how there really is opposition in all things. Because there were 100+ degree days last summer, there are now -0 degree weather days this winter. For every moment of darkness we experience, there is an equal moment of light coming. 

From here, my mind wandered to one of the very few lessons from my Freshman Book of Mormon class that I actually remember. I remember learning that life has equal amounts of highs and lows. My teacher drew a drawing similar to this on the board:  

For every high we have in life, whether great or small, we will (or already have had) an equally opposite low. As much as it hurts to have those hard moments, they are necessary because they are the only way we can truly enjoy the good moments. 

For this reason, I'm grateful for lonely moments, painfully long nights of studying, times when I struggle financially, sickness, confusion, despair, and sadness. Im grateful for opposition, because it is what gives me the assurance that there are equally positive experiences just down the road. 

Best. Year. Ever.

Today, I came to the realization that 2013 is going to be the best year of my life. Why?

1. Matt & Kim AND Passion Pit concert in March. 
2. I'm going to HAWAII at the end of April with some of my favorite people in the world. 
3. My very best friends will start getting home from their missions this summer. 
4. I'm spending my summer in ENGLAND, IRELAND, SCOTLAND, and WALES. 
5. I start my journalism program in the Fall. 

Could my life get any better? I don't think so. I'm one lucky, happy, and extremely blessed girl. 

Did you know that prayers are answered?

You know that awful moment: you've lost something important, and you have no idea where to find it. You're kicking yourself for not remembering where you put it, and now you need it.

This happened to me today. I lost my social security card, and I needed it for tax documents at my new job. I knew I knew it was here in Provo because I had to have it when I started my secretary job on campus a year ago. But where I put it after that...I had no idea. I tried to rack my brain to remember where I would have put it, and I came up with nothing. So I did a quick search through my stuff...and still nothing. So I said a prayer, and hoped that Heavenly Father would help me find it.

So, I went back through my stuff again, and in my two hours of searching, I found:

-A letter from my sister, Emily, from when I was 8.
-A letter from my brother, Spencer, from when he was on his mission.
-A letter from my mother with advice for dating.
-A birthday card from my Grandma who recently passed away.
-All of the letters I've received from missionaries in the last two years.
-A copy of my father's blessing from my first semester at BYU.
-A $40 check I had forgotten about.
-The original copy of my patriarchal blessing.

And, after finally coming across all of these things, I finally found my social security card wrapped in a letter from my mom.

After running around my apartment with joy and relief that I had finally found it, I immediately thought about how often Heavenly Father prolongs an answer to prayers so that we can learn and discover things along the way. As much as I needed to find my social security card for my new job today, Heavenly Father also knew that I also needed to come across all of those other things to address the other needs I have in my life right now.


Today, this girl is extra thankful for prayer.

(Notice anything different?)

Thankful.

Do you ever have moments when you are overwhelmed with gratitude for the simple things in your life? 

Moments when you have no specific reason to be so excited about life...

But you can't help but be happy? 

Tonight, I experienced this feeling. All of my worries, my schooling demands, and my fears were left behind for the moment and I was overcome with a sense of gratitude. After leaving my ever-so-uplifting religion class, I had a great conversation with an old friend. We talked about our past experiences, what we learned, and what we hope for in our futures. This made me so happy and uplifted my spirit. While walking home, I looked up at the pitch black sky, filled with beautiful white stars. I started grinning to myself and began thinking of all that I am grateful for:

My life. 

To be at BYU. 

To be learning from some of the best professors in the world. 

To be settled into a major that I love.

My family. 

My testimony. 

My wonderful roommates.

The temple.

My new ward. 

My FHE family.

My testimony.

My faith in my future. 

To be where I'm at.

To be learning what I am.

And to be growing into the woman Heavenly Father expects me to become.