Voices

SO, my first semester is pretty much over, except for my Political Science exam in the morning which I am actively procrastinating studying for. I was just thinking today how much I have learned this semester in the majority of my classes and I how I feel a lot closer to Heavenly Father then I did before. As I was thinking of this, I remembered this post that I wrote a month or two ago, but never posted. I figured now was a good time to share it since this semester has come to an end, so here it is...


Hello friends! I just wanted to share a really cool experience that I just had in one of my classes. First off, let me just say that I love BYU! Truly, it's such an amazing place and I love it more and more every day. Okay, no I'm in a Voice Phonetics and Diction class. It is a class that technically I don't need to be taking since I changed my major, but I just decided to keep it because I figured it would be a good class that I could learn from. At first, things were a little different and I wasn't really enjoying it, but then there would be good days. Today was an absolutely fantastic day. This morning, while walking to campus, I was saying a prayer to myself because I'm a failure and forgot to kneel down and say one before I left. Anyway, I prayed to really feel the spirit with me today because there were some things going on today that I knew I would need a little bit more spiritual guidance and help. Immediately I felt the spirit and that was awesome and I went off to my 8AM Book of Mormon class. I love that class too and my professor, who is hilarious. That's just back story, so I go to my voice class at 11 and I walk in knowing we are working on our poem performances. We got into groups and started working. I was in a group and our professor was leading our group. This class is a lot about releasing tension, breathing, and just letting go of things to allow our voices to reach their max potential, so we were all supposed to get up in front of our group and recite our poem and allow the other group members to show us where our tension was and to help us release it. We had done this on Monday, but not quite like this. This professor is simply amazing. Person after person, she was able to identify where they hold their tension and why. The reasons ranged from not feeling you're good enough to just hearing the negative instead of the positive. Each person, she would tell them where the tension was and why it was there and it was completely true on every account, which lead to a few tears and positive reinforcement. My professor just kept saying how much she BELIEVED in each person she was working with and how amazing they were and how they are capable and it was completely sincere. There was never a moment that I thought she was just saying these things because she had to. She was saying them because she meant them and she wanted each person to know she was there for them! I didn't even get to go and I was completely overwhelmed with the spirit and a new love and appreciation for each person in that group, as well as my professor! It was simply amazing! It's hard to even describe how I felt or even what happened, but it was something I really needed. She said that we were meant to be where we are and with the particular people we are with and I know that is 100% true. I have never been able to feel anything like that in any of my classes and I am so looking forward to the rest of what this class has in store to teach me. I have learned a lot about myself from this class, which I really didn't think would happen. I could not be more thankful to go to a university that doesn't just allow it's students to move forward secularly, but spiritually. It's absolutely amazing and I KNOW without a doubt that this is where I am supposed to be and that makes me happy. Really and truly happy.

That class seriously did change me and the way that I view myself and others. It sounds cheesy, but I was really able to find my "voice" in this class. It was exactly the class I needed for this first semester at BYU and I am so happy I got to take it, along with all my classes... well, except Political Science which I could have easily done without. Anyway, this place has been good for me and I am happy that I get to stick around here and learn so many new things for the next couple years! For now though, I am going to enjoy not doing any school work for the next two weeks... after my last final tomorrow, of course!

-M. Philly

Different than I imagined...

Whoa... I can't believe that my first semester of BYU is almost over. I will be done with my classes this week and then it will be time for finals! It's crazy!!! These past few months have gone by so fast. I never could have imagined how much my life would change in just these few months. Guys, for real... Things have turned out a lot differently than I thought. I had made so many plans and had so many ideas of what my life was going to be like here, but those were not the plans that were meant for me, I guess. One of the only things that I did plan on happening that has happened is that I am happy... SO happy. SOSOSOSOSOSO HAPPY! Sorry to get a little carried away, but there is no other way I could express it right now. I always knew I was going to be happy here, but I figured I would find happiness in different ways than I have.

Before I came out here I figured that I would have a roommate or two that would not like me or would be grumpy just because of all the horror stories I had heard about roommates from people, but my roommates have been one of the biggest sources of happiness if my life. I cannot say enough how amazing my roommates are. They have become some of my best friends. We all get along and we sit around telling stories about our days or our lives. We are always laughing. There have been many nights that involved me laying on the floor of my bedroom, laughing until I cry or I am literally in pain from laughing so hard. We have gone on quite a few adventures, which are always fun and exciting. They listen to me and they love me despite my craziness. I am always excited to come home everyday and see their smiling faces. I love them so very much and I could not have imagined having such perfect roommates to make my experience here even better.

This is only 3 of the 5 roommates I have, but I just love this picture.

School has actually been a source of joy in my life, too. Sure, it's still school and there are plenty of things that I don't enjoy about it like homework and projects and papers, but I have learned so much from my classes this semester. The only class that I really don't enjoy is Political Science, but really... who would enjoy that class. I call it my nap class because that is all I do. Anyway, I have really come to love the rest of my classes. I have been able to learn so much. I have learned a ton more about the Book of Mormon in my Book of Mormon class and my teacher is super fantastic and interesting. I have learned more about theatre and acting that have helped me to better my talents. I have learned so much about myself, my voice, and how I live my life. All my professors are amazing and I cannot express how thankful I am to be at a university that creates an environment that allows the Spirit to be present. I have learned so much more here than I could have at any other university. I freaking love BYU, end of story.

I have made some pretty good friends here too who have made me really happy. We have people at our apartment a lot and we always have a good time. We have gone on many fun adventures, some of which I will never forget... for many reasons. My ward has been so fantastic, too. My testimony has been strengthened a lot because of my ward. I have also made friends in most of my classes, too. They make my classes much more entertaining and even give me more insight in classes. They all make me very happy and cheer me up when I am down just by being themselves. I am very thankful for them all.

This is my Family Home Evening family and they are so fantastic. :)

I have learned so much about myself and what my weaknesses are and what my strengths are. I have gone through some interesting experiences. There have been bad days and hard weeks. There have been moments where I wish I could have gone home and cry to my mom, but those feelings passed and usually pretty quickly. I had a hard couple weeks when a lot of things came crashing down on me and things ended and I was a little down, but I learned a lot about myself in those weeks. I was able to get over things and move on. I gained a lot more confidence in myself and I just realized that I am kinda really awesome and that I can do anything I want to do because I am capable. My testimony was strengthened and I have been so much happier since then because of all those reasons above. I have learned that things don't always turn out the way you plan, but they always turn out the way they are supposed to. I believe that with all my heart.

Overall, I am just so dang happy and I am loving my life. I have honestly never been this happy and I have so many people to thank for that. Only a couple weeks until I get to go home and I am so excited to see my family and my friends, who I have missed very much and I get to snuggle with my sweet little nephews, who are the cutest things ever. Oh, those precious little boys!! Anyway, that is all for now. Thanks for being you! :)

-M. Philly

What's up, Utah?!

Hey guys! I wrote this post a week ago and failed to post it, so here it is... just a little late.

Hey guess what guys?! I'M AT BYU!!! Pretty exciting, I know. I have been told by a few people that I haven't updated them on what's going on. Really I didn't think people were all that interested, but since people are then I am willing to share how my first couple weeks have been here in Provo.

Well, I moved into my apartment on Thursday (August 28, if you want dates) and that was a lot easier than I expected. I was really scared, to be honest. I couldn't eat and I felt sick because I was so nervous. First off, I met my roommates the night before when I dropped my stuff off before going to see some more family. Let me just tell you, they are the bomb.com. There is no doubt in my mind that Heavenly Father made sure I was in the perfect apartment. It's only been 2 weeks and I have already danced in the kitchen, done “parkour” in the parking lot, and even sung Hannah Montana, all things I would only do in front of people I am comfortable with. It is pretty great. I really like my apartment and the whole complex. I definitely picked the right place. (Go me!) My ward is really great and can I just say that being in a Singles Ward is amazing! It is so much more reverent and the hymns sound so good because all these young people have good voices. It's pretty crazy! The whole living situation is great and it is such a comfort to call it my new home.

Now school is another whole thing. To say it has been overwhelming would be a bit of an UNDERstatement. I am just now getting to the point where I can get to my classes without having to look up the room number and looking at the campus map on my phone to get to the correct building. Yeah, I had to do that my first week, no lie. I only had to turn around two or three times and I have not tripped, fallen, or run into anyone... yet. (I am sure my time will come soon. I pretty much just jinxed myself right there. OH well!) My first week was a bit much for a transfer student from little ole' Roxboro. In that first week I managed to move to a new state with all new people, start school, question my major, drop two classes, add a new class, and change my major, all of which were not stressful at all. I can proudly say that I did all of that without shedding a tear. I thought that was a bit of an accomplishment. With a little help from my mother, sisters, my roommates, and my patriarchal blessing, things are good now. Everything has been figured out and I am beginning to really enjoy some of my classes. I legit got to take a nap in one of my theatre classes the other day! Yeah, my professor said it was okay and even good if we fell asleep! (We were doing some relaxation exercises, so sleeping was acceptable... amazing.) My major is now just Theatre Arts Studies compared to Pre-Acting and I am happy with that for now. Knowing me, I'm bound to change my mind sometime along the way, but not for a good while. I really love that some of my classes begin with a prayer and spiritual aspects are brought into almost everything we learn. That makes me feel so much more comfortable and just makes me happy! I also love hearing the choir singing hymns while I do homework, or hear them being sung in different languages in another building. Now it's not like that everywhere. They were playing some dubstep on the quad the other day, no joke. My mom said it right, there is no place quite like BYU and I am really loving it.

As for the social and adventure aspect, I am a failure. JUST kidding! I have done a pretty good amount of new things in the past couple weeks. I hiked up to the Y, which I see every single day and I love it, and that was pretty much death. Seriously, the altitude difference is killer you guys. I felt like a bit of a wimp because of how much I struggled. I also hiked up to a little waterfall with some people. Went to my first college “party,” which is not ANYTHING you would suspect. We seriously went to another apartment and had ice cream... total rager! Had Hot Tub Monday, which is just my roommates and myself chilling in the hot tube at like 9:30 on Monday nights. This week we had lots of people join us and I swam in our freaking cold pool in like 50 degree weather, and I loved it! (I seriously did.) We went to a rooftop concert this past weekend, which was pretty cool. I have even gone on a date, so I think I can say I have been pretty social and adventurous in the past weeks. I still have a lot of improving to do when it comes to just putting myself out there and meeting and talking to new people, but I have time... plenty of it.

All in all, things are great. I have only had one little hour long spout of homesickness talking to my mom on the phone, but other than that I have been good. I am finally getting to the point where I can stop freaking out, relax, and just enjoy myself. Well, that is all for now! I will have to post pictures of my apartment and such once I actually put pictures up in my room and decorate. I'll get to that... one day! Anyway, I will keep you updated! :D

- M. Philly

FAQs

Hey everyone! I apologize for the plainness of the page. I will just say it's "under construction." Well, it's been a year since I posted and what a year it has been. A lot of things have happened and a lot of things have changed for me. It's pretty crazy what a year can do for a person! I have had a bunch of people basically asking me the same questions about what's going on, so I thought HEY, why don't I just answer some of these questions on here!! Plus, a few people have told me I should give a little update, so I thought, great idea peeps!

1. What have you been up to these days?!
Well, I graduated Piedmont Community College back in May with an Associates of Arts and I am going to Brigham Young University in the Fall! Go Cougars!!!! I am working at Electronic Solutions and Carver Agency Insurance for the summer. Both jobs are fantastic and I am quite enjoying them!

2. Brigham Young... Where is that? Why there? What are you studying? When do you leave?
It's in Provo, Utah. I used to say that I didn't want to be like every other Mormon and go out out west for school, but after much thought and prayer, I realized BYU was the place I wanted and I needed to be. Thankfully, Heavenly Father felt the same way! I am going to study Acting, which I am very excited about. I was going to go for Communications just because people told me a Theatre degree would be stupid, but I decided not to listen to other people and study what I really love and I am very happy with that decision. I am leaving August 21. (40 days, but who's counting?!)

3. That is pretty far from home. How do you feel about that? Do you know where you are living? Roomates?
Far from home? It's only about 2,000 miles away! It is kinda the point though. I have lived in Roxboro my whole life, so I am excited to get away... far away. I love Roxboro and of course I am going to miss being in the South, but it will be nice to be somewhere new. I'm actually not too worried about getting homesick. I mean, I am going to miss all my friends and my family... a lot, but I have family and friends out in Utah and Idaho, so if I do get homesick I have people out there for me. Overall, I am stoked... a little nervous, but stoked! I am living in an apartment off campus with 5 other girls, who I will not know until the day I move in. That is a little scary, but I have faith that they are going to be awesome and that they will love the fact that I'm from the South! (Counting on that actually!)

4. What are you going to do without your best friend?!
I don't like to think about that. Every time I bring up leaving to her, she says "You're not leaving." I keep telling her to just come with me, but she won't do it. I am going to miss her a whole freaking lot, but I will be back at Christmas and we will talk all the time. I keep joking with her that she is going to forget all about me as soon as I leave, but I know that's not true. I will miss her, but we can survive being 2,000 miles away for a while, I just know it. Ereline for LIFE! :)

5. You are going to keep us updated on all your adventures, right?!
I sure hope so. I plan to post about what's going on and let you guys know that I am alive and well. Sorry to be the stereotypical Mormon girl with a blog... actually, I'm not sorry. I enjoy it, so I will post as much as I can.

Well, I think that is about all the questions I can think of that people have been asking me a lot. I hope I did not bore you and that you are feeling like you know me a little better. Anyway, that is all for now! Thanks for reading and have a fantastic day or night. :)

-M.Philly