Meanwhile, In The Life of Maddie...

SHALOM!! Okay, it's been a while since my last post. But please, don't stone me yet. You can cut me some slack, right?? Life gets pretty busy when you're in your last semester of college, have five simultaneous huge group projects, and are trying to find an adult job that will fit both what you're about to graduate in and make the people you went to high school with super jealous at the same time. Trust me. It's exhausting.

Okay, so I did it! I graduated! Can you believe it?! When I look back on the three years I spent at Utah State it goes through my mind like a time-lapse. Everything in fast motion, and I pretty much only pick out the really great moments. I love it. The only problem is, I'm past the point in my life where I have someone else telling me what my next move should be. Middle school - high school - college - ???? What?! Help a sister out!! I once heard a friend's dad say that in life we are asked to make the biggest decisions of our life with the least amount of experience or knowledge. Amen to that, random dad... amen to that.

So, what did I do?! Where did I end up?!! I'm sure the suspense is killing you. Well, I decided that getting two degrees in three years deserves one last summer of fun and freedom before I have to start real life... sue me!! So, I'm back in Jackson. And yes, it's a party. I've been here since literally the day after graduation, and I haven't looked back. But now it's been a month and a half and I feel like Summer is going to be over tomorrow. I know it's not true, but sometimes my mind is a wacko. So, I'm officially all in on the inevitable: JOB HUNTING.

If there's one thing I've learned in looking for jobs, it's that they aren't joking when they call it a "hunt." I feel like I have to constantly be on the prowl for the perfect job. And everyone else who has the same degrees and qualifications as me is also there with me. Basically the trick is to be able to spot the job before anyone else does, and go in for the kill. Except there's kind of a problem with that. See, I'm not a huge fan of killing... which I like to think of as a positive trait...... But I'm doing it! I'm on the prowl. Aaaaaand I don't feel like stretching this metaphor out any more, so I'll just leave it at this -- I'm looking for a job. If anyone has any hookups and feels like helping an enthusiastic recent grad, let me know!! I'd love to hear any advice or connections anyone has to offer!!

Well, enough about me. Granted, this is MY blog, so maybe a little more about me wouldn't hurt....
One more exciting moment of life was the opportunity I had this past week to go on a trip with my family!! We drove (yes. drove) through Oregon and Washington to visit a lot of my dad's family. Plus there were outlet malls. Aaaaaaaaaand when there's a good deal, I have a hard time passing it up, okay!? Plus the week happened to fall during my birthday, so I was able to celebrate with family, which was wonderful. LOOK OUT!! I'm officially legal, so you know what that means--- uh...well...I can get into some sick concerts that just happen to be at bars!! Woohoo!! All jokes aside, though, I had a great time with great people! Shoutout to my parentals for taking us!!

Whew! Okay, that's about everything that has happened since my last post, condensed into a few paragraphs! One of my new goals is to post regularly -- aka weekly. Okay, I know I say that every time, but I'm serious this time. So check back in!!

Okay. BYE!!

The First Day of My Life

SHALOM!! Wow, it's been a loooong time since I last had time/prioritized writing on the ol' blog. It mostly just makes me sad because the last time I wrote I was still in Jackson... ah. I could use a sunrise paddleboard sesh right about now...too bad the whole town is covered in SNOW now! BOO! I hate the cold... except when I'm trying to be optimistic or when it's Christmas day.

So, I decided after seeing tons of old friends this joyous Thanksgiving weekend I should probably update the masses (yes, I'm egotistical and hope that masses of people read my blog that I write on about every six months or so... sue me!) on my life!!

This week is dead week. And that's exactly how I feel... mostly just tired of being stressed. I knew this would be my hardest semester, and I proved myself COMPLETELY right. The great news is that if all goes well the next two weeks shouldn't be too terrible, which is always great! Plus, we play BYU in the Spectrum on Tuesday and I might just cry tears of joy when we beat them. (Again, optimism) And after finals next week, I'm headed back to Idahome*.

Once January hits, I'll be headed straight back to work for my last semester! WHAT?! Craziness!! I think I'm still in denial about being old enough to graduate high school, let alone college! But I am really truly excited for what is next in my life... I'm hoping whatever it is pays well and let's me have fun. The dream job would be working in sports marketing. (So if I sign on with the Celtics, I'll let ya know!) But if I don't end up with that, just marketing and promotions in general would be fun, I think. I would love to work for a company like Patagonia or North Face and work with outdoors equipment businesses/companies (partially because I love the atmosphere of companies like that and also partly because I would hopefully get a discount).

For right now, I'm just job hunting and trying to figure out what I want to do next. The best part about it all is that it's up in the air right now. This time next year I could be in Switzerland for all I know! Woah, that would be cool. All I know is that once May hits, it'll be the first day of the rest of my life. Except it doesn't have to be. I might end up in a job I hate, find another one and love it. Or, I could find my dream job right out of college. Or I could find a decent job that pays me to go to grad school. Who knows! That's the beauty of it! Okay, enough with my free living rant...

Ultimately, I'm not sure where I'll end up... I'm hoping to have a better idea of that by the end of this year, or a few months into next, but if all else fails I know I always have a sweet twin bed and a fat beagle to go back to in Poky. ;)

THAT'S IT! That's my life right now. And now I'm gonna watch some Gilmore Girls and hit the hay. Finance comes bright and early tomorrow!

-Maddie

*I pretty much only use this word ironically. However, today in the car as I was riding back to Logan, I realized my children will probably make fun of me for being part of the generation that invented this phrase...well, among other things.

And to go with the theme and title, everyone should listen to this song. It's stellar.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ztGPYPArAyE

Can't I Just Stay Here Forever?

Well, it's official... I only have SIX more days to fill my soul with the beauty of Jackson, Wyoming. I can't believe I've been here for almost three months--the time has flown by! Aaaaand I really don't want to leave. I figured it would be a great summer in a fun tourist town, but I didn't realize everything that I would gain in coming here... wonderful friends, great adventures, and of course, the most important thing--CHACOS. Hahaha.

But seriously, I am so blessed to have had this opportunity. I'm so grateful for the people I have been surrounded with that have made my summer WONDERFUL. My roommates are hilarious, the job was great, and believe it or not the tourists were awesome! It has been incredible to be in a place that is so full of life and happiness. I really am so lucky and truly blessed.

But now I have to face reality--school. LAME. Who goes to school?! I'll head back to Logan for my *fingers crossed* last year of my undergrad at USU. Which still freaks me out, but whatever. As much as I hate to leave Jackson, I could really use some Aggie ice cream and a chance to see my man Chuckie play in the stadium, so I guess I'll live. Although I may need Thai Plate to open a restaurant in Logan...

So if you couldn't already tell, I'm basically just bragging about how wonderful my summer has been. It really has been the best summer of my life, and I hope to be able to keep everything I have experienced and felt here in my heart forever. Okay, that sounds really cliche, but it's true... Don't judge me.

 Until next time, you stay classy, Jackson.
(Aaaaand here's some pictures of my adventures!)

                                                             
                                                                    Jenny Lake Hike

                                                               
                                                                   Paddleboarding

                                                                        Fourth of July

                                                                      Tourist Pictures!

                                                                      Sunrise Trip

                                                         Cliff Jumping at Phelps Lake

                                                                   Rafting the Snake River

                                                               

                                                             Paddling the Oxbow

                                                                  Hike to Phelps

                                                                   Slide Lake Selfie

What's up, Jackson Hole?!

WOOHOO! So, I am officially in Jackson. It's been crazy this past month, and I've loved every second of it!! So, I figured since I haven't had time to post in a while I would give an overview of everything that has happened lately.

First, I'm done with school for the summer!! AGH! It feels great!! After five, yeah, five finals I was exhausted and ready to take a break from classes for a while. However, I'm looking forward to next semester. I'm still planning on finishing everything up within the next two semesters so that I can graduate next May, which still freaks me out, but I'll get over it. Along with 18 credits in the fall, I will be serving as the Publicist on the Public Relations and Marketing Committee for USUSA, and I have a job as the Leadership Conference Coordinator for Partners in Business at USU. I'm thrilled to be able to work with both of these organizations and I know that my schedule will be packed!!

In even more exciting news, I'm all moved in and have started working here in Jackson, Wyoming. I love it! All of my roommates are hilarious and wonderful and the rest of my co-workers are stellar as well. We also have a great YSA branch here in town, and we have activities all the time, which is sweet.

Other than working and doing a few assignments in order to get internship credits for the job, I have been trying to check off some items from my summer bucket list, which is always an adventure! Mostly I just can't believe I'm living in such a gorgeous place. The Tetons are just around the corner, and they are B-E-A-UTIFUL! The wildlife are roaming around, and I am so excited for it to just be a little bit warmer. And if anyone wants to come visit me here (*wink wink*) we could definitely find something adventurous to do... even if we get lost for 45 minutes trying to find a warm springs...

ADVENTURE IS OUT THERE!! And I'm working on trying to find it all this summer. Plus, out here in the beautiful mountain air, it's so much easier to realize that there's infinity beyond the long work days and crazy school schedules. If you just take ten seconds to take a deep breath and think about all the beauty around you, the stress tends to just melt away.

Until next time...

-Maddie

Making My Dreams Come True

So, the other night, my roommate Jame and I decided to completely vent about how we don't know what we are going to do with our lives. It was awful. I have no idea why we thought that spending an hour and a half negatively bashing on ourselves was a good idea. But the next day, I decided that the things around me aren't gonna cause me to fail. I made a conscious effort to make the things I want to accomplish in my life happen. Because I can take charge of that. So I did!

I talked to my adviser today and am planning on graduating next May. WHAT? It's crazy!! In a year, I'll be graduating with  bachelor's degrees in both in Business Administration and Marketing. Geez. I have also applied to be on the Public Relations and Marketing Committee for USUSA in the fall, and working on trying to get a marketing internship with Utah State Athletics. All of these opportunities became available because I looked for them. It doesn't seem that difficult, but it really makes a difference.

I really want to use my marketing degree to work in public relations after I graduate. I'm hoping I can gain some experience while I'm still in school to boost my resume in that regard. Other than that, I'm mostly just hoping I can get a good enough paying job to take care of everything I need to. Although I'm still pretty freaked out by the idea of just going out into the big scary world all alone, but I know it has to happen sometime, so why not now?!

In other news, I only have like three weeks left until school is out for summer!! Time flies, but I am soooo ready to pack my bags and move to Jackson! Aaaand that's all the time I have. I'm pretty sure there's never really a time when I'm not busy, but it's great! I wouldn't want it any other way.

Spring Break

Wow. So, SPRING IS HERE!!!! Ah. The sun is shining and it's getting warmer, which is fantastic after a Cache Valley winter! So, a few weeks ago, we finally had a break from school and headed off for spring break!! With a theme of YOLO (Yes. It was fantastic) we first headed down to Riverton to Jame's house the night before we actually left on the trip. The group included me (the life of the party), my roommates Jame and Amber, Jame's boyfriend (and master planner) Todd, and a couple of his friends, Jens and Mark. We spent Sunday night at Jame's house and then early Monday morning, we packed up the suburban and headed down to southern Utah. Four hours later, we made it to our campsite. It was off of the Leeds exit, about fifteen minutes from St. George, called Red Cliffs campsite. It was B-E-A-utiful!! Red rocks all around! Here's a picture!!

We set up camp, and then headed to explore the trails around the campsite. There was a really awesome trail where we trudged through streams and up rocks. It was super pretty!! Here's a picture from the hike...

After the hike, we headed back to camp and just hung out by the campfire. In typical T4 style, we ended up playing "What are the Odds," which is a dare game. Although there were some great dares, one of my personal favorites was one where a couple of the guys got liquid from glow sticks sprayed on them and had to run through the other camp sites screaming, "HELP! There's aliens in the canyon and this is their blood!" It was hilarious. Aaaaaand picture!

So! The next day, we woke up early (again!) And headed about forty minutes to Zions National Park for the day!! The first thing we did was hike Angel's Landing!! Well... I mean, most of us hiked it. Haha. I made it up to the first lookout point, and when I kept going about halfway to the very top, I had to stop. Besides the fact that it was ridiculously high up and I had about a foot of room to walk on while holding a chain, there were so many people going up and down the mountain that I was constantly on the edge. I was fine with just hanging out at the first lookout!! But here's a picture from about halfway up to the first lookout!

After we hiked Angel's Landing, we hiked to both of the Emerald Pools as well. After that, we were starving and exhausted, so we went into town to eat at this awesome italian food truck!! The food was fantastic!! And it tasted even better because we were so hungry. We headed back to camp, played some games, and headed to bed. 

The next day, we went to Black Rock in St. George to go rock climbing!! It was so beautiful outside and the climbing was great! There were even some desert lizards that decided to climb the rocks with us. Haha. 

After getting sufficiently sunburned, and climbing for most of the day, we decided it was finally time to get back in the car for a couple hours and head to LASSSSS VEGASSSS!!!!! We stayed at the Silver Seven and had a great time!! We walked around the strip and watched some free shows and street groups. Plus, our hotel had a pool! And an actual bed, which was nice after sleeping on the ground for a few days. 

We left Vegas the next day, and headed back to Riverton!! After six hours of driving, we finally made it! WHew!! But it was fantastic!! And after that, I got back into a car with my parents, and headed to Wyoming! Good thing I'm so photogenic. 

We were going to Jackson Hole because that's where I'll be working over the summer, and I wanted to get some paperwork done as well as see the store. It was great, the people seem awesome there, and I'm so excited to be able to be there for the summer!!! However, spring in Wyoming is a little different than spring in Vegas... brrrr!!! 

After we left Jackson, it was finally time to head back to Pocatello. We got some super great Thai food, slept, and then it was an early morning to go back to Logan for a mission farewell. Geez!! But really, it was an AMAZING week with hilarious people!! I'm so glad we got to go and make some great memories!! 

#YOLO

The Power of Music (And Jurassic Park)

It started out like a regular Tuesday. I got to sleep in since I don't have class till noon, which is always great! Classes were good, we paid our bills, and I came home to do homework.

But what happened next was momentous!! Terrible, but then momentous!!

I was doing homework, of course. Operations management. We are talking about quality control and errors and all that wonderful stuff! And the homework isn't hard most of the time, but I happened to miss the lecture that the professor explained the material at... curse sicknesses causing lack of sleep. So, basically I was in the dark with this homework. Luckily, there are only three problems. Plus, I started listening to a Spotify playlist of the 100 best movie soundtracks of all time, which added to it all. I started off slowly, but after texting a friend, I got it figured out. Boom. 1/3 of the way done. I attempted number two, but was totally in the dark. Skip. Onto question three. And that one was easy. Hooray! I feel so smart. Hahaha. And here goes figuring out the last problem!

All I knew was the final answer. The teacher was nice enough to provide that, so I wasn't completely blind. But I still had a hard time. I tried different methods to no avail... It was now an hour later...seriously??!! UGH! But I was determined. Suddenly, one of the best movie songs of all time comes on: the Jurassic Park theme song. Man...that song packs emotion like sardines in a can. (Seriously, go listen to it right now). Before the song came on, I was ready to give up, but that song gave me one more ounce of hope to keep trying. I tested my last attempt out as the song progressed, and then it happened... I realized I was on the right track and as the song's volume increased, so did the speed of my writing. Furiously writing, I got more and more hopeful that the right answer was right at my fingertips. Suddenly, as I realized that I had figured out this homework problem that was probably not that difficult, but seemed hard to me, I got the answer!! YES!! I did it!! And at that exact instance, the climax of the song burst into my ears, creating a mixture of happiness and accomplishment similar to that of hearing the national anthem at the Olympics. I raised my arms in triumph, and felt like a rockstar. Now that is a way to end a Tuesday.

Now, I understand describing the story doesn't do any kind of justice to what actually happened...but the feeling I got when I figured out that problem and heard that song erupt into my mind, that was a victory. And celebrating small victories is the key to happiness. So that was my small victory. And to you, it may seem small, but to me, it's just one of those reminders in a sea of stress, meetings, events, and decisions, that there is, in fact, infinity beyond this.