Happy Thought: Alpackas!

Heading to the Riverwoods on Friday after class, I expected it to be the same usual trip where I spent money I didn't have and bought things I didn't need.  And yes, this did still happen BUT a little surprise distracted me before my mind filled with regret at what I had just bought.  My roommate and I stopped in Bath and Body Works to visit a friend who was working there and as we stood there talking, my eyes quickly glanced out the glass doors and rested upon what I thought was a llama.  A LLAMA!  I had never seen one in real life before then.  Suddenly, I found myself getting a little too excited;  I may have even jumped up and down at first.  I know, a little immature...I couldn't stand there talking for much longer when all I wanted to do was pet the llama.  A couple minutes later, I was timidly walking up to the animals.  I saw the sign next to them, saying they were actually alpackas, not llamas.  Good thing I knew before I started talking to the owners, that could have been embarrassing.  I quickly made 2 new friends in Rocky and Max.  We bonded quickly.  I ran my hands through their incredibly soft wool? fur? outer layer? (whatever it's called)  and I fell in love.  I wanted so badly to take them home with me.  They would make great pets but my roommate disagreed...At least she let me give them a hug and was kind enough to document this momentous occassion :)  By far, this was my favorite trip to the Riverwoods.  I mean how many people can say they've pet an alpacka?

Intro Paragraph for Place Essay

 

“Moooooom!  I finished my song!  Can I please go play now!?”

“Alyssa, you can’t just practice your song once.  I said thirty minutes.  Show me you can practice 20 more minutes, then you can go outside.”

“But I don’t wanna!”

“You’ll thank me for it one day.”

            I began plunking away at the piano keys again, realizing there was no way out of it.  Looking out the window to my left, I could see freedom.  My brother and sisters were raking up the fallen autumn leaves in our front yard.  But before shoving them into the large plastic garbage bag, each would take a turn running and jumping into the giant pile of leaves.  And I was stuck in the fancy living room with no dirt, leaves, or fun, practicing the piano.  None of my siblings or I liked the living room.  It was filled with the nice furniture with a weird dark maroon carpet covering the ground.  The only reasons we went in there was for our forced half hour piano practice or when our parents attempted to gather us all for family home evening.  All of us would much rather be playing outside in the yellowing, prickly grass.

Happy Thought: Film Scores

I can't remember a time when music was not a part of my life.  At the age of 5, my mom began teaching me how to play the piano even though my tiny fingers could barely reach the different keys.  On Sundays as my mom prepared the dinner, she would put on classical music in the background.  As a young girl, I didn't enjoy classical music at all.  I didn't like playing it or listening to it.  I continued to play piano until I had reached the deal with my mom to be able to play 10 hymns, then quit.  However my younger sister continued on to become an incredible piano player.  As I got older and went to her piano concerts, my feelings towards this style of music began to change.  It became relaxing and enjoyable and if I was ever stressed or couldn't sleep, I would turn on the same music that I hated as a child.  As much as I grew to love the classical style, my favorite became film scores.  They have such a powerful role in the movies, and you can't help but feel what the music is trying to portray.  Whether its an intense action seen from Mission Impossible or a tender scene from Titanic, these scores resonate within me.  Every night as I sit down to do my homework, I automatically turn on my film score Pandora station before retrieving my books/notes from my backpack.  Many times I get frustrated when I don't understand a particular problem or when I try to comprehend the new German vocabulary for the week but when those moments arise, I sit back close my eyes and let the beauty of film scores fill my mind until I can open my eyes and try again.

Happy Thought: General Conference

General Conference weekends are probably my favorite weekends of the year.  It is an incredible feeling to forget about worries of the world and sit down for 4 hours a day to listen to modern day revelation.  No matter what problems I'm dealing with or what concerns I have, I always receive answers.  This General Conference was even more special because I was able to go to the conference center in Salt Lake.  I was amazed at the masses of people all gathering at the doors of the conference center, a feeling of excitement tangible in the air.  Weaving in and out of the crowds, we finally found our seats and I sat back in awe as I looked at the stand.  People around us whispered in reverent excitement until all of a sudden, everyone began to stand.  Immediately a reverence settled in the room as President Monson walked onto the stand.  It was such a powerful moment.  It was once again confirmed to me that President Monson is a prophet of God who receives revelation directly from Heavenly Father to help guide us through our mortal experience.  As each speaker got up, I was able to hear something I needed to hear from each talk.  Then at the halfway hymn, everyone in the conference center stood and sang.  It was amazing to look around and see all these saints gathered together, unified in one purpose.  And to think that millions of church members across the world were doing the same thing.  I love general conference!

Happy Thought: Cleaning

Inhaling deeply, I smile as the faint lemony odor fills my nose.  It's one of my favorite smells.  I know it may be a little weird to enjoy the scent of fruity Clorox but it is just so great.  Cleaning the kitchen is one of my favorite ways to relax.  Seriously.  Taking a another deep breath, my eyes scan the current destruction.  I start clearing off the table that's covered in grocery store ads from days before, random spoons and forks, and of course the school books that lay cluttered on top.  Whew!  I can finally see the awkward coloring of our tan/brown table.  I open the lid of my weapon of choice:  Clorox Wipes.  I scrub the table until my arm begins to burn.  Maybe this is a sign that I should go work out instead of cleaning.  Nah!  I refocus on the counters.  Why does every counter surface seem to be covered??  I try to rearrange my roommates' food into areas so you can see at least a little of the counters.  Again, I whip out some Clorox Wipes and wipe off the residue that seems to build up in a short amount of time.  Then the worst of it all.  The sink full of dirty dishes with old food caked on.  For this I need a little reinforcement.  Turning on my country Pandora station, I get to work.  In no time, the sink is sparkling and all dishes are placed into the dishwasher ready for the rinse cycle.  I look around at the now spotless kitchen and once again inhale deeply and smile before moving on to conquer the bathroom.