Baptism

Question numero 2 in this magic jar asks "Who baptized you? Who was there? Did other children get baptized that day? What else about your baptism?" Well this was 11 years ago, so I'll try to remember the goods. On Saturday March 30, 2002 I was baptized into the church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. There are a few things I remember for sure about this day that don't really have anything to do with my baptism but I'll share them anyways. 1. My mom fixed my hair in a "spider-web" way, so after I got out of the water it wasn't going to be a pain. 2. Up until my baptism time I got to wear basically my favorite outfit, my pink capris and my pink and white plaid shirt (stylish, let me tell ya) and 3. We went to Park Discovery with my cousins but I had to leave early to get ready for my baptism (I cried cause I had to go). When the actual baptism time came around I was super stoked! I got to wear my pretty new dress and a lot of my family had come to see me. I was baptized by my dad. I honestly can't remember all of my family that was there! I do remember that all my siblings were there, my parents, Grandma and Grandpa Groves, Grandma and Grandpa Harris (4 out of the 6 grandparents!), my aunt Suzie and her family, my aunt Angie, but for the life of me I can't remember the difference between who came for my baptism and for my siblings! Other kids DID get baptized that day, do I know who they are? No, I have NO recollection of this. What else about my baptism? Hmmm. I know I loved the feeling I had afterwards, I remember being so happy. Also I remember we had taco's at my house after. Sadly that sums it up. But let it be known that I did love being baptized, glad I did it!

What's the name of the game?

The first question I pulled out of my magical jar was "Do you have a middle name? If so, who were you named after and what does it represent?" Well I do have a middle name, but I also have a first name which has a meaning so I will answer it for ALL my names! First off, my middle name is Rachel, it's simple yet elegant. Why was Rachel chosen as my middle name? Well if I remember correctly my parents used to teach a primary class and there was a girl in the class who was adorable, my parents adored her. And I'm pretty sure that's where Rachel comes from. I like the reason for my first name though so that's why I'll tell it. My mom was always reading us books as kids (Guess that's why we're so smart, eh?) and  my older sister Jess loved reading the book series "Madeline" by Ludwig Bemelmans so my parents took the non-french(?) version of the name and kept it for me. Okay so it's not the COOLEST reason for names, but they suffice. Also I feel like I have a special connection with the Madeline books. An educated woman always has a connection to books. Here's a picture for reference.

Write Here, Write Now

Today I was going through some old young women hand outs and found a jar with probably 50 or so cut out journal prompts to write about. I remember this lesson because I thought it was really cool that Sister Bonzo had gone out of her way to make us all these cute little jars. But I realized I hadn't even used mine yet.

On the jar it says "Preserve your memories-seal them up well. What you forget, you can never retell. But a journal that's kept fresh on the shelf will help someone through rough times- maybe even yourself!" Obviously I'm horrible at writing in a journal. Blogging is as close as I get to it, and as you can tell I'm not so hot at that either... SO I figured why not try to do all of the promptings before I leave on my mission? I mean when I come back I won't be a different person BUT I will hopefully be a little  more mature, with a more mature perspective on life and all that jazz. Also that gives me a reason to blog, I feel like half the things I have to share no one even cares about, but at least with this hopefully someone in the future (if not the present) will care. So what I'll end up doing is posting the question as the post title and just go into detail from there, good? Great!

If you think you're the best, you obviously are not the best.

Yesterday me and Allie were talking about her prom (we had just went and bought her dress, and were talking about all the things she needed to do before the Prom Royalty assembly this upcoming Wednesday.) I had asked her who her friends were going with and all that fun stuff, when she told me about a boy in one of her classes, he was asking her who he should ask and she gave him a list of names. One girl she suggested is smart, pretty, basically anything a guy would like, his response "I can't go with her! She went with [insert "nerdy" kid's name here] to homecoming. I would get the reputation of liking girls who dated guys like that". Guys like that. Guys like that?! Are you freaking kidding me? My lanta, I heard this and my blood just started boiling! I could not believe that people actually said things like that. And then the wheels started turning in my head, I thought about this all day today, because it hurt me to know that people thought like that. It automatically brought me to my senior year, I had been on a date with someone who may had been classified as one of the "nerdiest" guys in my grade, but I didn't care. I was actually so excited for it, I told Seth that I was going whether he liked it or not because I loved this kid so much. I honestly did, but a few days before he told me I didn't have to go with him if I didn't want to, he didn't want me to go with him because I felt bad for him. My heart seriously hurt. I honestly didn't understand why he would say that, until today. Today I really realized that people are vicious. You don't run around in the same circles and you basically have no worth. That is honestly the way people think. That is ridiculous. Stop raising your children to be hateful, prejudice pieces of crap. I never noticed it because when you're at the top of the food chain you are so ignorant to those that aren't. I have been working so hard on this though, if I have made you feel like you are less than you are I am so sorry. We are all children of God and deserve to be treated as so. I don't care what color you are, what you're good at, who you're friends with, if you treat me well, I will try to do the same to you. Nobody is perfect, we all have flaws, we make decisions we are proud of, and ones we aren't proud of.  I know this is all so random, but I am literally typing it as it comes to my head. But overall this message is for me to rant, but if you feel offended by it it obviously means that you need to work on something.. He who is offended has got some changing to do. Bahaha great quote. That I just made up.

On an unrelated topic I have 2 stories from work I'd like to share. These are funny.. ish.
First one, I was at work by myself and we had a small rush come in, the last lady I helped said "How much are you getting paid?"
"Minimum wage, like 7.25 I think"
I kid you not, she said this "Oh honey, with that face and that body you could be strippin' for twice that much. At least" haha seriously. What the?
Second one, a regular customer came in, he looked up at the speaker and said "Hey this song reminds me of you" I looked at him puzzled and said "Oh yeah, why?" He said the first time he heard it I was making his sandwich and now everytime he hears it he thinks of me. And smiled in like a creepy flirty way. This guy comes in almost everytime I work and now he's admitting his creepiness. Also this was the song. But whatevs, what girl isn't flattered by someone thinking of them when a love song comes on? Just me? Okay..  So I give you the song, "Can't take my eyes off of you" By Lady Antebellum, for listening purposes, obvi.

Also this is a weird lyric video, but whatevs. I just love this song.

Welp, that's all I got for you comrades. Until next time.

Decision to serve a mission.

I know once I make it publicly known that I'm going on a mission a lot of people will want to know what changed my mind from "Hey RM's come to Mama!" to "I am so ready to serve a full time mission!" because I know I seemed very set in my ways. But what better way to tell everyone without having to tell them all a million times? Exactly. So if you are curious to the happenings that led to me wanting to serve a mission keep reading on. If not, I really don't blame you, I know I can be a bore.


       In October of 2012 (this past year) President Thomas S. Monson made an announcement in the LDS General Conference saying that the mission age for women had been moved from 21 to 19 and the  young men from 19 to 18. I heard this news and I was shocked! Let's face it, my 19th birthday was coming up in the next few months and suddenly I had to start thinking if a mission was for me? Man, I had NEVER wanted to serve a mission. All throughout my life in church or with family people would ask "Are you going on a mission someday?" and all the boys would always respond "YES!" and even some of the girls, but  for me I really could care less. I never thought that it would be anything I would be interested in. But when they made that announcement I had a gut feeling, the Spirit prompting me that I should go. Like I said, it was never in my plan to serve a mission, and I'm a stubborn girl, so I just suppressed my feelings. I always knew deep down that I should go so when people would say "So you putting your papers in?" or "So Maddie, you going on a mission?" I would always respond really sassy and say something like "Just because the age requirement changed doesn't mean that my desire to go on a mission has" or "Girls aren't required to go on a mission, it's a personal choice" because I didn't want anyone to influence me or my decision to go.


         I was so annoyed with people pressuring me that I posted a status on facebook basically telling people to stop bugging me about going, "I am so proud of all of my friends going on missions, girls and boys, but I am not a horrible person because I personally choose not to serve. It's a choice not a requirement, I'm still a worthy young woman who makes good choices in life. Plus, who are all the RM's gonna date if all the ladies are gone? That's right boys, come to mama!"  I wanted people to stop pressuring me. I mean I did the math, all the girls my age, the year older than me and the ones already preparing for missions would be gone. Most of the worthy girls anyways, so my chances of finding a top notch, hottie status RM were pretty good. And if I at least found someone to date  I could use "Well I'm dating this guy and it's getting pretty serious.." as an excuse to not serve a mission. Don't mess with the Lord. He knows what he wants.



         Meanwhile I was still getting prompted, in the back of my mind "Go on a mission" just kept coming to me. And I did something that I regret. I wanted to stop getting the prompting, so I stopped praying, reading my scriptures, paying my tithing, and just paying attention to God's hand in my life. And it worked. I lost the Holy Ghost for a little while. Things got hard.  I found myself having no motivation, I realized I hated my major. I did not want to take drawing classes for the rest of my college career because I hate drawing and refuse to do it in my spare time, even if it means getting better. I signed up for Graphic Design for crap's sake,, let me touch a computer! My friends were all finding promising things for their future and they were keeping busy. I hated my job, I've worked there for almost 3 years and I feel like nothing has come of it. Things were getting hard at home as well. I felt like anything I said would break all ice and make tension all around.  My dating plan was failing. I went on lots of dates and I had guys like me. But I didn't want to date the guys that wanted to date me and the ones I wanted to date made it abundantly clear they did not want anything to do with me. So here I am. Stuck in the crossroads wondering what I should do with my life. Staying in the same place, not really anywhere to go from here. And this went on for a few months, I was almost depressed, but being the stubborn person I am I refused to ask for any help.



             One day while I came to the parking lot after school to find that someone had written "SLUT" on my car, this made me very upset, considering the fact that I hadn't even kissed a guy while in my college experience, let alone do anything to be considered a slut. That day I didn't feel like I was nothing, I was nothing. After holding in my tears all day, after work I went home and just cried. I had a pity party for myself.


      Then I started thinking about who I am and what I represented. Who I am and who people thought I were were two different things. So I just broke down in prayer, pouring my heart out and asking the Lord for help because I was so lost in the world. In that moment I got a strong prompting to read my Patriarchal Blessing and I stumbled upon a few phrases I had never noticed before " Go forth and be one who shall speak out unto other of those truths which have come unto you...", "Yea, to be a missionary force. And you as an individual, shall join in that force with strength." Man, I thought I couldn't be producing more tears, but after reading that I cried probably more than I have in my whole life. It was then that I knew that I had to serve a mission, without a doubt, how could I turn down such divine revelation? I fasted and prayed about it and was told, yes, this is indeed what I need to do. So I told my parents, and I've slowly made my way through family and friends since then. And tonight, I have an interview with the bishop to start the process, I don't think I've ever been more excited and nervous at the same time.



       I know that Heavenly Father would do anything to get all of his children back to him someday. I am just glad that not only can I be a member missionary but soon I will be a full time missionary, bringing lost sheep unto the fold. I could not be more grateful for the age change in missionaries, I like to think that the Lord was thinking with me in mind when he sent that revelation to the prophet. I am so glad to be humbled through my trials so I can learn to better myself for the future. I'm thankful for you, person reading this, because you have probably made an impact on me one way or another in my life.



     I know that this was kind of a long post, but I appreciate everyone who stuck with me until the end to read my story, if you have any questions about me or my mission you can comment here, message me on facebook, ask me in person, ect. If you are interested in the Church Of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints or are just curious and want to learn more you can visit  mormon,org , Remember, if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all. :)

Getting back in the blogging game.

Here we are. Back to the start. You would be surprised how many times I've started a blog (this blog) and literally erased all of my posts because they were outdated or I thought of how lame I looked. Sadly no one even reads this, so what difference does it make? Exactly. But of course that's how my thought process works.. Well keeping it up to date and keeping it fresh is what I am going to try to do in this blog. I am going to try and make it a regular thing to write in here because I know eventually I will look back and regret not documenting my life. So prepare yourself. The blogging is coming, and like indoor plumbing, it's gonna be big.