Week 2 of SEPARATION- My first Day of School

Sooooo...

I started school yesterday.. At the University of Utah. that school is abnormally LARGE and I don't see how on earth they find it appropriate to continuously build MORE to it. I decided to wear sweat pants and jogging shoes and a cute top because I figured I'd be walking a few miles that day from class to class. I had no sleep the night before school- as always. I kept waking up in the middle of the night thinking I was running late. Finally I wake up, get ready and go to school. I left 40 minutes earlier than I was supposed to, thinking that I could use that time to find my classroom but instead, I was using that time to FIND MY SCHOOL!! Its still SUPER hard getting around Utah so I rely on my only valid source of reliable information- My GPS. Unfortunately my GPS decided to take some kind of early vacation without prior notice so I'm circling throughout town looking for any sign of the U. I got sooooo frustrated trying to find the Institute parking lot and on top of that, my GPS froze and I ended up going the wrong direction in a one-way street.

Finally I managed to find school campus, and I just parked at the first open space I could find. A nearby Professor pointed me out to the building I was supposed to have class at. Luckily I made it to class EXACTLY on time, and my Professor even brought donuts for the entire class!!

Right now I'm taking a General Psychology class, Professional Writing, Health Psychology and Family Studies at the University of Utah.

After my first 3 classes, I decided to go buy my books. They were around $600 for all of them (YUCK) and I carried the heavy load across campus by myself to where I THOUGHT I was parked. I looked around- no sign of my car.

I walked to the next nearby parking lot, which was HUGE also, and looked around. Still no sign of my car.

For a school that has 54,000 students, you'd think they'd give their parking lots NAMES of something, or at Least have the decency to line up all their parking lots. Instead, I was walking AROUND THE ENTIRE CAMPUS looking for a little white Dodge Neon with a Hollywood bumper sticker. How I longed for relief of my super heavy load at that time.. But there was no help. Every time I asked someone, they'd tell me they couldn't help and they didn't know where I parked either. This was sooooooo frustrating for me, and after TWO HOURS of looking around the school and sitting down to pout Twice, I FINALLY found it. I completely missed the beginning of the first day of one of my classes, and I was so sweaty and sore that I just threw my books in the trunk and went home. (of course, my GPS was still on vacation so I got lost on my way home and ended up stopping all lanes of traffic in an intersection when I tried making a 4 point U-turn on a yellow light and got one of my tires stuck in a ditch..

Yes, that was my adventure of the day.. It was Horrible.

But wait- it gets better-

My Wonderful new boyfriend (GUESS WHAT?? I HAVE A BOYFRIEND NOW!!!) Randy took me out that night on a date and made up for my terrible day. It turned out he had a bad day also, and it was nice for both of us to take a break from all responsibility and just enjoy ourselves. We went to Sundance Ski Resort and rode the ski-lifts up the mountain to watch the stars and full moon. It was scary to be up so high, yet peaceful and serene. I really enjoyed myself and I'm sure he did too. A little bit about Randy- he's 23, he works with his father in a pipe company and he's an AMAZING photographer. You can find his works at http://www.randymajor.me/home.html He has an amazing personality and he's super fun to be around. He's a gentleman and I feel safe around him. I'm grateful to have met him and I'm glad that I can have him as a close friend also to talk to anytime. In a sense he fills the gap of having no twin here with me. I'll keep everyone posted on my adventures again this week!!

WEEK 1 OF "FREEDOM"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHH!!!!! GET ME OUTTA HERE!!!!! I can't take this!! Its soooooooo FRUSTRATING trying to get used to the streets out here!! They all have numbers and letters, like, going South on 400 East?! Who does that?? Its impossible!! Ughh and not to mention how frustrating it is trying to get classes in order, find a way to get to school, find a job and get mentally prepared for a whole new year! Ughhh when does it end?

Ahh, the Honeymoon stage, as we see it.. Sighhhhhh here's how it all started..

Last Friday night I threw the most AMAZING going away party ever. It was kinda weird.. me, throwing MY OWN going away party.. but it was HUUGE!! I got over 100 friends there, and they all had a blast, and in the end, me and a few people jumped in the pool with all our clothes on. That was Amazing!! and as everyone was gathered around the table singing "Happy Going Away To You," I stared deep into the lit candles on the cake I had before me and thought, ya know, I'm happy here. I have TONS of friends, a great job, a place to stay, money in my bank, parents who care about me-- all is well. I didn't need to make a wish as I blew out the candles. It was simply everything I've ever wanted at that very moment.

AT THE SAME TIME, part of me wanted to explore.. I wanted to see what it was like living outside of my comfort zone. I wanted to claim my own life and learn what its like actually being on my own. Its always been easy to make friends because I have a twin and I wanted to see what it was like for *individuals* to make their way through life, and the opportunity came. Its only a year that I'll be out here- so why not come? So after a LONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNG drive all the way to Salt Lake City, Utah with my parents leading the way in their car, I came here. Salt Lake City. As some people put it, the Mormon capital of the world?? I highly doubt that though.. California has more LDS people than Utah. They're just spread out more.

Whelp, I'm all moved in and unpacked and everything. My room was SOOOO plain when I first came, but I added a few "Corri touches" to it and it's a little more bearable.. ;) I'm all set with school supplies and clothes for about a month or until it starts getting cold. I have 5 friends so far- all of which are my SUPER NICE roommates- Messah, Lilly, Isabel, Jenna and Sarah, who doesn't live here but comes over a lot. I'm glad to be able to hang out with them a lot and have fun. Soooooooo happy to not be a loner.. well, compared to how many friends I had before, I'm kind of a loner now.. But that'll change hopefully when I go to my new ward for the first time on Sunday.. I've met my home teachers and they're SUPER cool and super cute so I can't wait to see what the ward is like!! I'll let everyone know how that goes =) Take care everyone and BE HAPPY!!!

I JUST GOT ADOPTED!!!!!!!!

GREETINGS, FOLLOWERS!!

So, just in case you didn't get the news, KARRI AND I WERE RECENTLY ADOPTED into the Best Family in the Entire World!!!!! =D Our new names are Corri & Karri Pierce Lauritzen. It's gonna be a pain trying to change all our legal documents including license, banking, school information, etc. Ughhhhhhhhhhhhh... but on the good note though, we finally have and belong to a Family.

A little bit about the Lauritzens:

Verne and Donna Lauritzen live in Riverside, CA. They are a wonderful couple who celebrate life with their 9 other children, 7 boys and 2 girls. They have around 17-19 grandkids, all of which LOVELOVELOVE me and Karri. Verne works in Riverside county as a chief of staff for a guy names Jeff Stone.. I think he's a VIP cuz his name is Jeff Stone.. (Kinda sounds like the name of a wrestler though.. Haa) Donna is a home maker, and she's a pro at what she does. I call them Mom and Dad. They were always so nice to us.. They actually knew Karri and I when we were babies, and when we lived in a foster home near them, they took us to Seminary with their kids. Our foster parent at the time REALLY hated Mormons so she would be very harsh and would not support anything we wanted to participate in, such as Church on Sundays, Girl's camp and social activities. One day as the Lauritzens were bringing us home from Church, they asked us if we wanted to come stay with them, and even if we wanted to be adopted. We were like, "What? You- take US in? Really? Someone who wants US?? You want US to be a part of YOUR family??" We didn't feel worthy because they were such a happy wonderful shining example of a family that we admired and we felt so insignificant and unspecial to be part of what seemed like a "Perfect family." Feeling that it could be right and that only God Himself could arrange such a miraculous union, we said YES and never looked back. After a year and a half of staying with the Lauritzens, we realized how Amazing they were to us and that this family could be Eternal so we got adopted to them and we will be sealed soon and yes, we DID live Happily Ever After. But that's not the end of our story.

What I like about Dad:

*He's a great Father. The best Father-figure I've EVER seen. He supports me in all the good things I do, and always gives fatherly advice whenever I need it. He is very supportive of my dreams and he came to all my school plays, my high school graduation, and fashion show. He's the best Dad I've ever had (and trust me, I've had MANY FATHERS).

*Dad has a very strong Faith and Testimony. He lives what he believes and acts upon Inspiration. He's a former Bishop and he is well respected in Church as well as at work. I look up to him and am grateful that he loves Mom and supports her and their family of 13 now.

*He is HILARIOUS!!!! He is quick with jokes, always has funny comebacks and I love to see him whenever he's frustrated about something. He does this little grunt that anyone around who hears can't help but to laugh at. He's good at making friends with ANYONE.

What I like about Mom:

*Her Christ-like examples in EVERYTHING she does. Mom is patient, kind, caring, diligent, gentle, humble, and the list goes on and on and on..

*Her love. One thing that REALLY fascinates me about Donna that other foster parents just did not do was love me. I know she loves me. Other foster parents denied my membership in their family. They did not take me to their family activities and did not allow any bonding with them at all. Whenever I was sick or in pain or suffering, they stayed as far away from me as they can- as if I was some kind of monster, some contagious germ that they wanted nothing to do with. I was just a kid!! They never gave parental advice or expressed appreciation to me at all. Only standards, rules, expectations and consequences if I did not agree. Donna was COMPLETELY OPPOSITE. She cared for and about me. She is the most SELFLESS person I've ever met. She took good care of me and always made sure I was happy.

*Her patience. Mom's had so many experiences in her life that, if I were her, I would have exploded. She's patient with children, she's patient with friends and associates. She's diligent in her callings and she's a wonderful Relief Society President and Visiting-teacher. I wish I could be like her in so many ways.

*Her Faith. If it was not for Mom, I don't know where I would be Spiritually. Mom always enforced daily Family Scripture Study, being on time for Church, regular Temple attendance and FHE. She made sure that we were taken care of Spiritually and physically.

I TRULY BELIEVE that the world is a better place because Verne and Donna fell in love one day and got married. So much good has came of that, so many good people, so many good things have happened and it only gets BETTER!!!

I love my new family!!!!!!!