Purple nailpolish.

Cory always paints her nails pretty colors. I miss lots of things about living with her, but I particularly miss nail-painting parties. JD just doesn't get it. . . but he did let me buy some pretty purple-y, eh, more lavender-ish nail polish last week at Smith's. My collection now includes 4 shades of pink and. . .purple. Monochromatic, no? The point is my nails have been polished purple for a whole week now and they still make me smile. I'm not too hard to please.

I spent this last weekend training to be a ropes course facilitator and learning how to lead and process group treatments. I was up at CLAS Ropes all day Friday and Saturday, conquering fears, strategizing in group games, building my repertoire of initiative activities, tying knots, belaying classmates up rock walls, eating pizza, enjoying the weather, and loving my life. At a PALS retreat to a ropes course in high school, I remember thinking: "How does one go about doing this for a living? This has got to be the coolest job." Little did I know, a few years down the road, I'd stumble upon a major so perfectly matched for me I'd sometimes have to pinch myself.

Honestly? I have the best teachers- they are men of God who give selflessly to serve others and bring joy to the people they meet. They believe in the power of wholesome recreation and have taught me through their words and actions what it means to live fully and help others find meaning and satisfaction in their existence. The purpose of therapeutic recreation is to improve quality of life. Even if I never get to work as a certified TR specialist, I will be better for the time I've spent at BYU, learning at the feet of inspiring men.

During the closing session of Saturday training, the leader suggested a simple way to find happiness. He told us to note good things that have happened to us, for us, and because of us. Just wanted to jot a few of those things down.

To me: My work schedule got re-arranged and now I get to sleep in on Tuesdays and Thursdays! Yay!

For me: My cute friends from church came over to visit and brought me some yummy sugar cookies last night.

Because of me: I thought it might be helpful to some of my classmates to share our religion notes over a GoogleDoc. I typed up my notes and sent a link, inviting others to add and discuss as they pleased. A few days after I opened the Doc, I overheard a girl in the library chatting with her friend about how overwhelming things were for her and how grateful she was someone had opened a GoogleDoc in her religion class because it was a huge help. Later in the week, I recognized her in the back of the room. Made me feel good :)

Today was a stressful day, but then I looked down and my purple nails were a sweet reminder what a magnificent blessing it is just to be alive.