Fantastic Fall

*Gasping for breath* Hi everyone! Corri here! I'm.. *gasp again* outta breath because.. *inhale, exhale* I was running around barefoot outside.. in excitement and joy because I SEE SNOW!!!! =D


...REAL snow!!! Not the fake clods of bubbly gick they heave through the air at all the upscale shopping malls in Los Angeles! =D This is sooooooooo exciting!!! I ran like a bloodhound after pork to the front door, flung it open and BEHOLD!!!! ...It just looked like rain cuz it was dark outside. Well I don't wanna bore you so I'll tell you what really happened..


I felt it and I caught a few snowballs on my hand and felt the burrrrrnnn!!!! Then I proceeded to scream a loud squeal of delight to make the neighbors aware of my discovery. And THENNN, (I'm not done) I skipped merrily and lolligagged around my front yard and jumped from the porch to the driveway *getting lots of air* with my mouth wide open in hopes that I'd catch a few of these magically scrumptious clumps of sweet cream dreampuffs in my mouth!!! My neighbors may have seemed unresponsive at this special moment in my life where I experienced REAL SNOW, or they may not have shown any interest in my amazement and astonishment, but deep down inside, I bet a happy tear fell out of each of their eyes as they recalled their very first sight of REAL SNOW.. :)


LOL okay so all that didn't really happen the way I put it.. I didn't mention the part where I licked my car windows to see if my tongue would freeze and get stuck to it..(oh wait, I wouldn't do that!! That's why! Silly me..)




It's sooooooooooo weird to see snow-- in OCTOBER!!! When I think of snow I usually think of Christmas! and presents! .. and spending Winter break with family and friends!!! Not the fact that it's not even Halloween yet and I'm walking to school in 35 flippin' degree weather, not having ANY warm clothes that I dare wear in this wet damp weather.. shivering to my very soul, wishing that I was under California sunshine.. I was only dreaming of a white Christmas..


I need to practice a little more responsibility here.. this morning I woke up to find that I had a MIDTERM today that I had not studied AT ALL for... Oh mannn I didn't know what to do- what Do you do in that situation? Especially when you realize you have no time whatsoever to even study for it!! Luckily, I have a twin sister who IS responsible (no she didn't fly up here in a plane and take the test for me.. wouldda been nice though.. ahemm) and I remembered her intelligent words:


"Do your own homework!!!"


uh, not those words..



"That sweater looks better on me!!!"



Hmmm, not that either..

"You stole my face!!!"

Errrr not quite...

Hmmm what did she say? Must've been important.. Hm, oh well.. Have a nice day followers! Bye!!!!

Oh wait I remember now!!!!

Karri told me that she had used an online website called quizlet.com that allowed her to create online flashcards and quizzes and fun games that helped her study for and pass SO MANY tests! Without a moment to lose, I quickly signed up for the (free) website and BAM! I went to class feelin' like a total Super Star!!! I'm positive I ACED that test! Thanks Karri.. uh, I mean Corri.. after all, you stole MY face. :)

Happy Halloween everyone!!!!!

I LOVE MY LIFE!!!!!

This one will be short but I just wanna say that I'm on Fall Break for school and it's already Friday and even though I haven't gone out and went skydiving like I had planned, I went on 2 dates, ran around in circles, helped a bunch of people out anonymously, went to the Temple and the Family History Center and found a few names of my ancestors, skipped with a guy in a Wal-Mart, rolled down a 50 foot hill TWICE, tipped a nice waiter TWICE AS MUCH as my food cost, rode a horse and carriage through the city, ETC!!!! I'm having a lot of fun out here. I miss my friends and family in California and I really wish I could share the joys of life with them out here!!!

Hey, where ya going? I'm not done yet..

I HAVE AN AWESOME FAMILY, great friends, a fun job, (I won't mention school but I'm GLAD that it's paid for and I'll try to work harder on it) a place to live, an Amazing church to go to, and a pink digital camera now!!!!

I've also been informed by many people that I am their Role Model and that they look up to me. Followers, Fans, Family and Friends- I WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN. =)

I will be posting videos about My Wonderful Young Life here because it's just as fun as writing!!!



I just wanna say that Life is GREAT and I am BLESSED!!!! =D


HERE'S A LINK TO MY SECOND VIDEO IN CASE IT DOESN'T SHOW UP:

"Corri's Adventures in Temple Square!"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SEl5H8hwLw&feature=youtube_gdata

57 days on my own now.. How am I you ask??

Hmmm.. Lemme think. I'm sitting at home at 2am, wide awake, eating leftover brownies (They're actually Really good). I probably should be sleeping right now but I'm not tired. It may be because of the sugar overload, it may be much more than that. Like, stress.. or anxiety.. My stomach is grumbling..

A bunch of people just left my house. We had a movie night and I made lots of treats. It was nice.. I like my friends and roommates here a lot. They're simply- Amazing.

I should feel EXTREMELY upset, sad, and heart broken at this same time right now because of a recent experience that I had- I fell a victim to internet fraud. I work online doing promoting. I made a lot of new friends along the way, especially this one guy who I became good friends with but never met him. Eventually I found out that he "didn't exist." It was a fraud. It was a guy going around making TONS of online profiles, a fake family, false pictures-- living a lie basically. I had no idea. Everything about him was believable and sounded so true and he seemed like an Amazing person- but I found out that it was an online solicitor, and could have been very dangerous. People asked me why the heck I am soooo nice and caring and naive? And why do I let people take my kindness for weakness and use me? And how, after I've been cheated so many times, why don't I put up walls and block everyone and everything that comes in sight and just completely shut down??

Earlier today I had a serious conversation with one of my roommates earlier and she asked me why I am always so happy, and how do I deal with stress and emotions; and howcome I never cry.

Its true that I'm not a cryer. No, seriously. I just don't. I don't get mad, I don't cry, I don't get angry. It's not my "persona" if that makes any sense. I actually forgot how to. It's kinda strange..

Growing up in foster care, I was always reprimanded for crying. The foster parents and older foster siblings would tell me that "Crying does not take the pain away" and that "It won't make your parents come back and get you." Unfortunately I believed them. I did not like how people acted when I saw them angry and so I decided to completely shut away those two emotions and for years, I've never found any valid reasons to display those feelings. It doesn't seem like much, but since then, I've created ways of taking out my emotions on "things" rather than people. At a very young age I learned that expressing emotions like fear, anger, sadness, etc. is pointless. Later on in life as I avoided most negative emotional expressions, I somehow forgot how to. I realized that everyone has a right to be mad or upset, but never to be cruel.

What I would do was write. I would write in my journal, online, in books or on my computer. I would write poetry expressing how I felt; I would write songs, short stories and letters to people that were never sent. It always made me feel better knowing that all of my frustration was taken out on a piece of paper or a document that can then be hid, torn or someday made public. If you type in my name on helium.com you can find a few poems and stories that I wrote about random people and things.. They may seem recently added but trust me, I wrote most of them lonnnnnnnnng ago when I was a scrawny little kid in the "system."

I also drew. I would draw pictures that were very symbolic and store them away from the world's eyes. I would sometimes be so upset that I would stay awake overnight trying to finish collages that I was drawing. I would always draw with a black pen on white paper and all my frustration was again taken out on something.

My old therapist saw some of the pictures and the poems and she was very impressed. She told me that it was "natural" for humans to display emotions, but it was a good and healthy idea for me personally to handle them the way I do. This may not be the smartest idea of taking out emotions, but it worked for me. Everyone who sees me knows that I'm generally a happy person. I'm very genuine and honest and I have absolutely NO ill intent. I do not desire to be a bad or a mean person at all. I love people and I love making new friends. I think that maybe more of us should try this-- to ensure that no one else gets hurt along the way or from seeing our bad reactions.

-I hate seeing children suffer because they have angry parents who can't express their frustration without yelling at each other or hurting someone.
-I hate when I see people laughing at other people or hating them just because of the clothing they're wearing, or their accents, or the color of their skin.
-I hate when I see people lying, or cheating, or stealing, or cursing, or talking bad about someone.

These things are simply "mean" and no one likes to get hurt, no one likes to feel bad, no one likes to cry. As humans, we all like being happy. We all like smiling. We all like feeling accepted and loved. THAT'S what I want to share with others. THAT'S what I want people around me to feel- happiness, joy, acceptance- no matter what they look like or what they do or how they act. I've experienced both acceptance and rejection and I prefer acceptance.

It's not like I haven't learned from this experience though- I have. I am a lot more cautious and aware when I talk to people that I'm not familiar with, but I never have and never will ignore or reject an opportunity that I have to be a friend or serve someone. I don't care that they do the same with me, I don't care that I do not get paid to do good works- I only care that others are taken care of because we are all children of God- brothers and sisters, and we all have similar needs.

Followers, take this time, take any opportunity that comes to be a friend and help someone out. It may not mean a lot to you, or you may not feel that it means a lot to them, but it does. The entire world could change for good by one person's small act of kindness. Trust me, it passes on, it's exchanged, it's given and taken each day. If we all simply "cared" about others as we care about ourselves, there would be no room in the world for loneliness, sadness, anger or hatred. I honestly believe that one smile could bring about world peace.

Here's a video that I put together of our reunion when Karri came last weekend. If it doesn't show up, here's the link to it on youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/user/calicorricutie1#p/a/u/0/7jRArhZ_gBM

Enjoy!

After 45 days... I GOT TO SEE MY TWIN!!!

Yes, after a lonnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng 45 whoppin' days here in Salt Lake City, Utah; after having gone from class to class, dance to dance, church, work, studying, sleeping, DREAMING without a twin, I was reluctant to have her here with me this last weekend. Let me remind you all that this has been the LONGEST time we've ever been separated in our LIVES. Yes there was communication via cell phone, text messaging, Skype, email, etc., but it's just not the same when you're missing someone who has always been by your side since birth.

At first, I didn't know what to think. What if I had gained a bunch of weight since our separation and Karri comes and I automatically become classified as the "fat twin"? What if her hair has grown longer than mine? What if she was non-social due to the fact that she hasn't seen me in so long? What if I've become a boring person or too independent and wouldn't want to be around her?? All these questions kept running through my mind, but then I realized, she's my twin. She will always be like me, no matter what we do or where we go.

Seeing Karri pull up in my Mom's car was one of the most memorable experiences I've ever had out here. I was so excited to see her, yet all my worries melted as she got out of the car. I realized that she still looked and acted just like me, and that she was just as happy to see me as I was to see her.

Karri stayed with me for the weekend, and she got to meet my roommates. I was by spending time with her that I realized how non-social I've been out here on my own. My roommates even noticed how much happier I was, how playful and goofy I acted when I was with my twin. We had a blast dancing, cooking, playing, goofing off and laughing together.

Karri left early this morning and I already miss her, but she's going back to her life and responsibilities in Pasadena, CA and I'm staying here in Salt Lake and will continue with my life and responsibilities here in Salt Lake, UT.

I know it's going to be hard to stay out here for a year, but that was my plan and I'm not backing down. I needed this. I needed to see, to feel, to learn what it's like to be an individual. I feel that this will greatly effect how I talk, think, act, live, learn, etc. and I know that there's many other reasons why I'm here in Salt Lake that I haven't figured out yet. I usually don't know why I move somewhere- and at times life gets sooooo hard but something good always comes out of each experience. Like foster care, this too is my temporary home and I'm going to take what good I can get out of it to support my quest to find happiness and independence.

P.S: I am sooooooooo grateful that my Mom and Dad could come too!!! I absolutely LOVE them soooooo much and enjoy any opportunity I have to spend time with them. I am so grateful to have been adopted and I am proud to be a Lauritzen. =)

The advice I offer today is for myself as well all my fans and followers, "Stay strong. Good will come- it always does." Thanks for following me, and keep checking my blog- I'll be writing more!