Squirrels, chipmunks, and ducks

I realized that it's been a week since I last posted. I know. Shocking. Could it be that I actually have a...life?! I know. Shocking. I was walking home from institute with my friend Erika Tenney when I had the sudden realization about this. So I asked her what I should do a post about. Her reply: "Squirrels, chipmunks, and ducks. But mostly chipmunks and ducks." Instead, I think...I'm going to blog about Erika, if you guys don't mind.

Ok. Here's the deal. There's LOTS I could be telling you about. Like how I have a job now. How I thought I would be roommateless for the week (but then Whitney showed up last night. I like not being the only one in the apartment). How I saw Harry Potter yesterday for freeeeee! How I've had an obsession with the song Lollipop by Mika. But, instead, I just really want to ramble on about Erika.

Anyone who knows me well knows that I'm...awkward. (According to McKenna I'm not shy. Just awkward.) So making friends isn't something that I feel like comes...naturally to me. Not that I'm like anit-social, but it often times takes a wee bit for me to get close to somebody. Something about Erika just...clicked. For example. She came over to the apartment one night - there were a few other people over too. My roommates invited her to running with them the next morning. I somehow got roped into running also. So, we went running. When we got back, everyone left to go to work and stuff, except me and Erika. She ended up staying for like an hour and we just...talked. (remember how I never do that? Not normal.)

So. let me tell you a bit about Erika. She's a little bit crazy. That's ok. I am too. She's silly. She makes me laugh SO much. She's easy to talk to. She's one of the sweetest girls I know. She thinks about others. She's a little self-conscious at  times, which makes me want to just shake that nonsense out of her and tell her how amazing she is. And she has a brother that just got off his mission and plays the piano...

Why am I telling you all of this? Well...I had an experience last night. I for some reason was just feeling...crappy. Blue. Glum. For no reason. Usually there's a reason. I usually I can shake it. But I couldn't. I hate that feeling. I just didn't know what to do. But then Erika did the most simple thing ever. She was at the apartment next door and came to invite me to hang out with them. Just...super simple. Smallest of gestures. Wasn't that hard. But...it changed my night. When I went back home to go to bed, I had a realization.

There's a reason why I liked Erika right off the bat. She is so close to the Savior. She exemplifies Him.  For whatever reason, the Lord felt it necessary to cause our paths to cross, and it makes me feel so lucky to be able to cross paths with an amazing daughter of God like her. And there's so many other people like her up here. I'm so grateful to Heavenly Father for putting me up here at this time, for leading me, for allowing me to meet so many amazing people in such a short amount of time. It's been a life changing month. Yes. It's been a month and 6 days since I've been up here...crazy. But, yes. Literally life changing. For the better! And a lot of that has to do with the people around me.

So, moral of the story: not just that Erika is amazing, but you are amazing. I'm sure Erika isn't like "Let's see if I can make Beth think I'm AWESOME!" No. She's being herself, and that is how she is making a difference in my life - and in the world. So, just be you, my friends. You never know just who you are impacting simply by being yourself.

Man. I am SO lucky. I'm just loving life right now. Yes, there's stress and frustrations...but it's still great. Love it.