May.
May was a blur of chicken soft tacos and encouraging pinterest quotes.
And ridiculous amounts of cake pops.
It was a time of much ice cream.
I had a difficult time digging myself out of the rut I was in, but fortunately, I knew exactly where to turn. I kept my scriptures close by, and as I slowly climbed out of the rut (with a whole lot of help), I grew stronger.
My best friend came to visit me, and I planned a trip to see him as soon as I possibly could.
June.
I needed an escape, so I left. I scheduled off work, and headed out of the state with plans of kissing every single boy I met along the way. It was going to be a fun trip.
Somewhere along the way, I realized that I didn't want to kiss anyone for a while. Except some cute babies.
I stayed with my best friend Dylan. We went on adventures involving exciting voyages across the "sea" in ye olde canoe and trips to get horchata and bean burritos in the middle of the night.
And listened to some fantastic music.
(Yellowcard)
By far, my favorite part of the trip were the moments when we turned up the music, rolled the windows down, and sang our hearts out just like we used to do. I don't have a single picture from the night I spent star-gazing with my best friends Dylan and Rylea, but something about it was magical.
It was a much needed vacation, and I came back ready to conquer the world. Boys were the least of my concern. All I needed were my scriptures and a good group of friends. I arrived home on a Monday. Just in time to make it to my very first FHE in the single's ward.
I felt awkward at the activity until Josh Davidson recognized me and invited me to dinner with their group of friends. I felt loved & accepted by a group of kids that I didn't even know. It was wonderful.
July.
I made friends. I stopped being anti-social and started making plans. Fun plans.
I started that whole dating process again. Dinner. Movies. Fireworks. You name it. I now have a little stash of awkward first date stories.
I drank out of this cup:
I got a new job.
I quit my old one.
I went back to Vegas to babysit, and some cute boys came to bring me home.
I even convinced one of them to kiss my friend while we were there. (ooh la la)
I checked kissing while watching fireworks and on a rooftop off my bucket list. At the same time.
August.
I needed to go down to Salt Lake for some reason or another, so I somehow managed to convince this kid Allen to hop in my ridiculously hot car and drive there with me so I didn't have to drive alone. We had a few extra minutes, so I suggested we go exploring. We tried to take pictures, and as you can see, they turned out REALLY well.
I'd go 1 - 2 - 3! And his eyes would automatically shut. (Not that mine were much more open)
On our way back, we yelled over the roaring of the 70 mph wind rushing through my windows. My car was lacking air-conditioning. We didn't have a choice.
He complained about how he was never going to find a worthwhile girl, and I complained about how I was frustrated with boys.
(oh, irony. I love you.)
At some point, we discussed how we were both friend-zoned. MORE than friend-zoned, he added. "More like SISTER zoned."
Later, I found out that I got a scholarship, meaning I didn't have to pay for school. I cheered. I cried. I registered for classes.
I dragged Allen along to explore my campus, and my car broke down. You can see how happy I am about it in this picture.
While we were waiting for the tow truck to show up, we talked. We discovered that my front seats were perfect for taking naps. We played Uno.
We "made out".
It was great fun.
...
On the first day of school, I found my cousin Hayli at my grandparent's house. She came with me to class, and then I took her to Ogden so she could go on a date.
My buddy Allen (The one that "sister zoned" me) showed up to hang out with me in Ogden while she was on her date.
I'm not sure what it was, but something changed that day. Not in a hit-you-in-the-face kind of way, but in the subtle thought in the back of your mind kind of way.
My friend Taylor had a nice way of putting it:
Dinner, a random piano, and an extreme amount of arcade tickets later, I knew I was in trouble.
