Dear Me

My awesome blogfriend Katie (girl crush, anyone?) started a project called Dear Me wherein "women write letters of advice to younger versions of themselves at crucial points in their personal histories". Genius.

Check out the first wave of letters posted here, then keep coming back for more. It'll make you laugh. It'll make you cry. It'll make you seriously ponder what advice you would give to yourself.

You can see my letter to me over at Dear Me but in case some of you are super lazy I'll post my letter here because you all know how I love talking about me. And what's better than me writing a letter to me?

---

Dear Creek,

Feels weird trying to give you advice as I'm pretty sure I'm the one who should be taking advice from you.

You're leaving for college in the morning. I know tonight feels like the end of life as you know it but I promise you (I PROMISE!) it only gets better from here. It sounds crazy now but pretty soon you will forget almost everyone from high school and the thing about it is... you won't even feel sad about it. Why? Because you are going to meet some amazing people and experience some amazing things.

It is sad to think about all the friends and acquaintances you will never see again and this will be a reoccurring theme as life goes on and you move from chapter to chapter. And even though life won't always turn out the way you'd hoped it would, you will always be blessed with great friends wherever you go and they will make every experience richer by their presence. Some will cross your path for only a short time and others will stay with you for life but rest assured, one constant in your life is fabulous friendships.

You are such a good person. It amazes me. As disappointing as it may sound, I wish I were half as good as you are. So, trust that you are good. Trust that you are great. One of the greatest days of your life is when you realize that you are great just the way you are. Forcing yourself to like Dave Matthews Band (at least more than you would on your own) just for the approval of a boy will one day seem just as absurd as confessing to the boy you like that you are a mega fan of Backstreet Boys (and seeing them in concert will, indeed, be one of the best nights of your life).

Which leads me to the next thing I must tell you. You aren't always going to make great decisions. There will be a lot of things you will be able to look back on and regret but you know what? Don't. Don't regret anything. Like the fact that your mantra in college will be "C's for degrees!" and you will heartily adhere to it? You won't have to regret that because college will be damn fun and the social and emotional education you get there will be worth more than a 4.0gpa any day. Be La Belle Dame Sans Regrets!

Now, having said that, pay attention to the most important piece of advice I will give you: Never underestimate yourself. Don't put limits on yourself. It'll take a lot of fear and a lot of difficult situations (ie training for a marathon) before you realize it but you are capable of WAY more than you give yourself credit for. You can do anything! It's amazing what dedication and consistent hard work will accomplish.

So there you have it. Go forward. Be brave. Be amazing. You already are. It's just time for you to believe it for yourself. Cheers!

xoxo, the 31yr old version of you

Who doesn't love free music?

THIS is yet another reason why I love Coldplay.

more facebook fun

I used to be in this ward that has this bishop that is... well... he's just Bishop Z. To know him is to love him. The best thing about him is his status updates. Full of righteousness, they are.

Today's was not atypical:
Bishop Z is ready to find all the members at the temple!!!
The follow up comment was gold:
will they be hiding?

What's tricky about being friends with your Bishop on Facebook is censorship.

My status today:
Cropstar is warmed up like biscuits... yeah, dance biscuits.
Bishop Z's follow up comment:
Hey dance biscuit where is the party?
My desired follow up comment:
In my pants.

i got my hair did... it didn't do like that before

I've been threatening to do it for years. I couldn't come up with 5 good reasons not to do it. So...

I took some before pictures.

And then The Other One chopped off my locks. Doesn't it look like she's enjoying it a little too much?

And then I cried. Lit'rally.

15 inches. Gone.

This is why I should never let my hair air dry without product in it. Hello, 80's!

I usually love when people play with my hair but not like this.

The Other One did her magic and made me down right sassy.
Sometimes when your friend does your hair after hours at the salon she makes you clean up your own hair. And then you realize that you have had a sh'load of hair and that your friend cut most of it off. I'm still freaking out.

garage + glow sticks =

I'll make you one too.

2nd time's a charm

St George Marathon 2009
HERE I COME!!

This year I will actually make it to the start line
...and hopefully the finish line.

Not sure how I manage to draw for every running lotto I enter.
But, I'm glad I do.

Look forward to lots of running posts.
Official training starts on 6.1.09

Anyone else running it?

DO(n't qu)IT

Lately, this idea of giving up plagues my mind.

I mean, really.
What's so bad about giving up?

If you give it your best, if you give it your all, if you give it the old college try, when is it ok to say "I give up"?

Is it wrong to abandon hope?
Is it so wrong to forsake goals you've been unable to achieve?
Is it wrong to want to end the heartbreak of unfulfilled dreams?
When can you say, "enough is enough"?

Maybe I don't really want a "real" job again.
Maybe being single for life isn't so bad.
Maybe I can be fat and happy.

I throw my arms in the air and exclaim "I give!"

But, then. There it is. That little voice in my head that says silly things like, "Just hang on", "Someday soon", "You can do this", "This won't last forever", "You will be loved", "Anything is possible".

And the crazy thing about it all is that little voice speaks louder than any other and I'm foolish enough to listen to her.