30 to 30

....the final countdown...

my second decade: 1993-2003

10 - I remember Mrs. Whitney getting mad at my friend for talking while I was talking, too.  Mrs. Whitney said I could talk and work and she couldn't.  Good day.  The next day, I had to carry the puke bucket for the aforementioned girl on our way to the office.  I said something really bad at the end of this school year to another girl.
11 - The bad thing I said came true and that girl wasn't in fifth grade.  This year, I learned that I wasn't as smart as I thought I was.  Mrs. Scalise pushed me harder than anyone had before.
12 - My grandma passed away.  I still try to think that I can remember her or knew her like I wished and that she knew me and loved me.  If only my memory could reach back a little better....
13 - Junior High was awkward and not a really great time.  I could have been a little more diligent with my school work.  I had my first boyfriend who gave me a big Valentine's balloon with a stuffed animal and chocolates inside of it.  We only lasted a couple of weeks.  Apparently, if you're going out with someone, you should exchange phone numbers or at least eat lunch together.
14 - I responded to a request for letters to the General Young Women's Presidency.  Bishop Shaw said they called him and wanted to meet me.  My parents drove me to Payson where I was interviewed and filmed for a video used in the General Young Women's Meeting.  That night, I sat in the Tabernacle with my mom and sisters during the meeting.  When the video was used my face was broadcast on the round ceiling of the Tabernacle and across the world via satellite.  My dad had to watch the broadcast from the Assembly Hall next door.
15 - Fifteen seemed like a good year.  I liked it.  I really loved young women's the whole time I was involved.  They filled in, especially, when some friends from school told me I couldn't hang around with them anymore.  The 3rd Ward Young Women's was the best experience of my teenage years.
16 - If junior high was unpleasant, multiply that in high school.  Aunt Maureen passed away.  She was excellent in every way and I will love every memory of her forever. 
17 - Other than school, seventeen was a good year.  Young women's was still excellent and my closest friends were the other Laurels.  I still enjoy those friendships. 
18 - I had a biology test, a full-shift at a new job, a city council meeting, and a birthday party.  I asked not to have anyone other than my immediate family at my birthday because it was going to be such a long day.  I thought about Alleson all day.  I really like her.
19 - It was during my short stint in New Jersey when I turned nineteen.  People I didn't know from my institute class threw me a surprise birthday party.  I learned a lot of things I loved about the Church while I was in New Jersey.  Most of nineteen was spent with Wendy in Salt Lake where I started a new job that day I started college.  I also celebrated a 4.0 GPA after doing 17 credit hours while working 30 hours a week.  My last 4.0.....