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.

Birthday, Salt Lake, Sickness, and Mattress Forts

Well, it's been an exciting two weeks! We started off last weekend by heading down to Salt Lake for Amber's birthday celebration!! We hit up City Creek, a cute little cupcake shop, Trader Joe's, Temple Square, and finally the Cheesecake Factory. It was a great adventure and a fun way to celebrate Amber's transition out of her teens. Hahaha. Aaaanyways, this last week was pretty busy. Besides the fact that I got sick, which I'm still not over, I had my first round of exams for two of my classes, along with a paper for another class due. It was pretty busy, but good to get done! I'm hoping this week's assignments aren't too crazy.

This weekend has been pretty fantastic, though!! Yesterday instead of doing homework, we decided to put our mattresses on the stairs and make a slide ending in a pile of blankets and pillows. It was one of the best decisions I have made since I've been at college... hahaha. Good ol' wholesome recreational activity! Although our mattresses might have gotten a tiny bit bent, I think it was worth it.

Tonight, we went over to a member of the bishopric's house for a Super Bowl party! Although I really don't like either of the teams that played, I was pretty annoyed that the Seahawks won, but oh well! We had tons of delicious food. I'm pretty sure I'll have a food baby for like a week! And now it's time for yet another week! But it's already February. It's crazy how time flies. My next mission is trying to figure out what I'm going to do over the summer! Yikes! But the chaos is great! And I know that whatever I end up doing will be exactly what I'm supposed to be doing!

Until next time, I always remember, there's infinity beyond this.