Gracias for the bagels and football.

I have already failed! But, I have an excuse. I can't get plugged into wifi on my laptop so I've been limited to updating when I'm on campus and on a school computer.
This weekend has been spectacular. Thanksgiving was a blast; I made it to three different dinners. I was surrounded by new friends and people who have become my family; I loved it. On Friday, I went to the library, finished a paper in less time than I expected and then was picked up by my aunty and her family to go to the Kahuku Red Raiders football game. I have never seen so much community spirit behind a high school team before in my life. It was amazing to see the support that everyone had for those boys on the field. I was honored to be a part of it and to experience what it means to be a "Red Raider for Life". I took pictures but strangely they were all deleted so I'll figure out how to get videos up here. I have been loving my time in Hawaii and everyday I wake up I know that I made the right choice to come out here. Also, I got an AMAZING box of stuff from my family today - protein bars, TIME magazine, and bagels! I loved it. I spoke to my oldest sister yesterday and she told me about her plan to write a children's book series; she asked me to be her editor. I am so excited to be given this opportunity to work with her and I know that we will learn a lot through the process. I am grateful for my family and for the person they have helped me to become.

Hawaii: A Reemergence of Passion

After a lot of time, thinking, more time, and pondering I have decided to start blogging, again. This always happens to me. I begin a journal, I leave it. I find it in a corner underneath my bed, re-read the posts, laugh a little and think "why did I ever stop?" I know why I stopped. Too little time and too little to talk about. It is not that interesting things do not happen during my day but the quickness in which they leave my memory. I need to be more grateful for the many beautiful things around me. But, here I am again. Almost a full year - to the date - from my last blog entry. I am trying a couple of things differently this time. 1) I will commit to this. 2) I will buy a camera so that my not-so-boring days can be captured in another type of memory besides my own. 3) I will write in this, dare I say it, every day! Mormons are notorious for their journal-keeping and scrapbooking. I am terrible at scrapbooking and less than adequate at journal-keeping and I will try my best. Truly, this reemergence of blogging passion has come after I realized how big this blogosphere is especially with people in my Church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We have been urged by the leaders of the Church to prepare ourselves for the digital age and to bring the Gospel along with us. Mormons, or Latter-day Saints, are making quite a public comeback lately; new commercials, presidential candidates, movies, and the sort. We are coming upon a new era in which members of the Church can maintain and display their individuality while promoting the Church and the values that they, myself, and almost 3 million other people consider our faith. Although we are spread throughout the world, we 3 million strong are bracing ourselves for a new frontier. We may not be trekking across the plains but we are travailing through a new world and we are doing it together.
I am a Mormon, a Latter-day Saint. I believe in God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost. I read the Book of Mormon and can testify of its truth. I also read the Old Testament, the New Testament, the Doctrine & Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price and find them just as important. I find comfort in knowing that I am a daughter of God and that we are all of his children trying to get through this mortal existence as best as we can. I believe in an eternity with the ones I love from the past, present, and the future. I know that true doctrine is still given today. I love the Lord and I love this Gospel. http://mormon.org/people/