SCOOOORRRRRRRRE!!!!

First off, I owe a GINORMOUS **THANK YOU** to my roommates Amber and Liz. I almost died TWICE and both times, they saved me!! OMG so I was skipping along Merrily throughout my room after a long progressive day, looking forward to showering and pondering what Sweet dreams of hot guys and ice cream I'd have that night when all of a sudden, a MONSTER jumped out and revealed itself to me!! Little did I realize about 5 seconds beforehand that this could be MY LAST DAY. (Dun dun DUNNNNN!!!!!) But the brave Lizette stepped out of her zone and BRUTALLY MASSACRED THE BEAST!!! It thought it could escape- it thought it could run away using all the strength it possessed in its 8 legs, but the little freaky demonic pestilence was wrong. Loyal Liz outsmarted the creature on my behalf and I praised her as she defeated it. THE NEXT DAY, today, I was on my way into the kitchen for a midnight snack, when all of a sudden, the BEAST was BACK!!! It thought it was slick- the traitor thought it could come back to life and disguise itself on the wall like a camouflage coat in the forest but it was No Match against the the Amazing Almighty Amber!!! After a gruesome battle and the sacrifice of one of her dearly beloved flip flops, revenge was sweeter than my jelly toast. I am now content as we have won the battle and defeated our ultimate enemy.. and I hereby proclaim, as I smear the legs of one creature and the guts of the other onto a banner and raise it high above my bedroom door and I pronounce: "SPIDERS, YE BE WARNED."

..Whelp, other than that, I've had a FABULOUS week so far!! I've been on the lookout for a place to stay in Utah, and I finally found one today! I'll be housing in a big 2-story house with 5 girls (I get my own room) who I hear are WONDERFUL!! LOL we seem to even have friends in common even though we have never met each other yet. I like how this world seems to get smaller and smaller the more people you know.. Haa..

So this week I'm going to focus more on better budgeting. I always think- being a college student, where do you draw the line between successful or failing? Should I have a certain amount of money saved up or should I be in debt? Luckily I have absolutely NO DEBT WHATSOEVER so far.. and I'm doing well. It's not easy to save- its easy to spend, I think. Its SO easy once you're on your own and you got a little savings and you think you OWN THE WORLD... and the next thing you know, you can't decide between NEEDS and WANTS and you end up dipping into your savings account more and more and more until you notice it disintegrates and then you realize that you were just OWNED!!! ..Maybe that's just me.. Well, I would never get THAT bad at it.. LOL I have learned a few GREAT things at YMO (If you don't know what YMO is, read my earlier blogs) about budgeting and money management and I plan on using them. It is easy to believe that everyone out there is out to get me sometimes.. That all people want is money. Ugh it gets pretty intense- anything you want or need or even the Thought of having something *costs*. Kinda like car and health insurance. I've had my own car and health insurance since I first started driving, and have been paying hundreds and thousands of dollars just to have the "Title." Just to say "Hey! I'm covered." But I have never really used them for anything. I'm super healthy and I may be a crazy driver, but I'm SAFE. I've never gotten into any accidents that were purposely my fault. *knock on wood* Well I guess I'll be glad if an indecent does happen in the future that's uncalled for- I'll be glad to have "just the Title" of insurance so that I'm covered.

I think that's enough blabbing for one night.. Keep following me! You know why you should? Cuz I'm Simon and Simon Says "FOLLOW ME!!!" Take care y'all!

Weeks 3-4 have gone by so fast...

...but have been been Enchanting, Enticing and Entertaining to me. Last week I woke up with the worse care of the flu I've ever experienced in my entire life and I thought I was gonna die. ***I SAW the Light*** It was beckoning for me to come unto it- it was Soooooooo bright!! ..lingering over my very head like a ghost when I noticed that it was just my cellular device, which had EVIDENTLY crept under my face as I slept and left a huge imprint on my cheek. Who knows who I was talking to last before I fell asleep.. LOL hopefully I was only talking, and not breathing heavily over someone's voicemail recording..

So this last weekend I wanted to do something FUN all by myself, without having to wait up on anyone or to take anyone with me. Thursday night was YSA Temple night, of course, and I had a blast as I always do. On Friday I drove to the hidden city of Yorba Linda which I did not know existed until I drove there that night.. There was a dance there at a community center and I had a blast, but what was MORE FUN was after the dance, I took a few friends to the park behind the building and we played on the playground. ITS ALWAYS FUN TO GROW "DOWN" EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE AND RELIVE YOUR CHILDHOOD ADVENTURES... I ran down the hill, through the obstacle course and playground, then got on the swings. We closed our eyes and jumped off the swings and LANDED ON THE MOON!! The moon was an amazing place- there are playgrounds on the moon- tunnels and caves that lead to extraterrestrial civilizations.. One can only see them if he or she closes one eye, spins around in a circle then whistles 3 times. We glimmered and shimmered and got drenched by some sprinklers that sprayed billions of tiny stars out onto us that as we ran through them.. we also had to avoid getting captured by astronauts and funny looking dogs that wore eyeglasses and fake moustaches as they walked their barking pet human aliens. Everything looked so real- as if we were in a parallel identical planet that deemed Mother Earth as its role model..

I ended up getting home at 4:19am that next morning. Time flies when you're having fun!

On Saturday (after having 4 hours of sleep the night before) I had to wake up extra early to help clean my Church building as I had volunteered.. I then went to a pool party at a friend's house and was SOOOO WORN OUT afterwards that I crashed as soon as I got home! An hour later I woke up and got ready for a date with a guy named Rudd. Yes, me.. date. I do that kinda stuff. Rudd is doing some kind of project where he asks out 16 girls on dates and gets to know them, interviews them, and then writes something special about each one on his blog. So I'll proceed to do the same thing for him (because he'll probably read this). Rudd is a great guy- very friendly, humorous, and very much a gentlemen. He wears his Testimony as I like to say- you can see it in his eyes that he has great faith and is very knowledgeable and passionate about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He works in the Temple and also works at a party rental store (If anyone needs party supplies or floats) *Ladies, he's single* ;) I met Rudd at a dance I believe, in a competition. I guess I was having too much fun to really notice him but I won the competition hands down *not to brag or anything, ahemm* and I remember going to the back and trying to teach him how to "jerk." Thats all I remember.. I should have been more considerate then, knowing that he'd ask me out later. I know so many people that sometimes it gets hard to depict those I do know verses those I do know and I just am nice and welcoming to EVERYONE as if they're my Best Friend. =) Anyways the date was a lot of fun. We went to Wendy's and got frosties and then to the Observatory to look at stars and telescopes. I don't think I was fully myself that night- I usually am a HUUUUGE talker, goofball, super hyper, crazy and simply loud person, but that night, I just wasn't that way. I was almost content. I was worn out from a busy day, but as I talked to this guy I realized something fascinating that I'd never seen before. We had so much in common! This was not one of those "You like anchovies on your ice cream? SO DO I!!!!" moments.. It was more like, things he said were Exact things and deep thoughts that had crossed my mind at times and it really amazed me. It was a little creepy, but more-so cool. I don't think I wouldda realized that if I were to keep blabbing away about myself and my life's experiences.. It was so nice being able to learn so much about another individual and in a sense, it taught me how to be a better listener and to have "serious time" every once in a while.

I somehow picture trillions of spirit children in Heaven, all sitting together in the pre-existence, listening closely as Heavenly Father is teaching us all what Earth-life would be like. I imagine I'm sitting next to Rudd, with Karri on the other side. Heavenly Father then hands all of His children presents. We open ours up, which are huge boxes, and inside of these, there are blessings- including gifts, talents, perspectives, opinions, traits and characteristics that we will bring down with us to Earth when we go. Mine and Karri's blessings are IDENTICAL. Somehow, as we are rejoicing because of our gifts, Karri and Rudd accidentally bump into each other and some of their gifts, talents and perspectives fall to the floor. As they scramble to pick things up and claim their individual blessings, a few may have gotten mixed up. Just sayin...

OK ya this does sound kinda weird, but I promise it'll make sense. If not, then it may be used for pure entertainment only and reader, I'm sorry to have wasted your precious "facebooking" time. Well, here's an example. Ever since I was 17, I've ALWAYS said to myself that my dream job would be to work in the Temple someday, All the time. I think that would be TOTALLY AMAZING. I don't hear too many others talk about having similar dreams.. Lol but last night as we walked around the observatory, Rudd randomly blurted out that "his dream job would be to work in the Temple all the time." I tried so hard not to yell out "No way!! Me too!!" because it would obviously look like I'm retarded in one way or another.. So I thought nothing of it until later when we somehow got in a conversation about babies and children. As he was talking, I started thinking of how precious babies are to me. They must come directly from Heaven! I thought about how I've always admired their innocence and how I felt that a baby can sense spirituality in a person, and how I'd love to one day ask them what heaven was like because I'm sure they remember it but just cannot express it. Ya know, I kinda think that that's why babies cry when they're born- because they're separated from God and Heaven as a spirit. Think about it- they're also drawn to light.. They are calm whenever they sense spirituality in soft music, etc. Its totally believable!! I'm convinced that they know much more of Heaven than we "adults" do. Where I was going with this, was the fact that my date completely said everything I was thinking at that point.. Coincidentally.. Word for word. We also have VERY similar dreams and aspirations in life- both want to be TV show hosts for a talk show and both thought highly of child psychology and communication.

I don't know if I'll ever see the guy again- maybe at a dance or randomly before I leave for Utah, but I learned a lot from our conversations. I think that we're more of friends than we realize now and I'm sure we'll cross paths again in life.. I'm grateful to have taken the time to make a new friend. He also told me what he admired about his parents most- about how loving, service-oriented and charitable his mother was, and about how wonderful and responsible his father was, and how they work together to support the needs of their children. I love asking friends what they think of their parents- I listen for the qualities that they admire most about their parents and all of them have to do with being selfless and living the Gospel. I want to be just like that when I grow up.. (I always say that.. it's not literal of course)

I want to be the friend I've always wanted.. the mother I've always wanted.. The girl who people look to for advice and for a good influence. I feel that the world is in desperate need of considerate and selfless people, and I want to be a living example of the change I want to see in the world. Ya know?

Thank you for reading my blog and hearing of the wonderful adventures of my weekend!! Stay tuned for the next Amazing blog! Whelp, I gotta go floss my bird's teeth.. Hahaha peace out!

Weeks 1-2 of EMANCIPATION

Hey! Guess what? I'm alive!!! =D

Sorryyyyyyyyyyyyy I know its been FOREVER since I last wrote a blog.. Hopefully I haven't lost any followers and blogging isn't totally outdated since the last time I went on.. I've been super busy with finishing up school and Summer work, but life can't be better! So here's the Latest Greatest news of whats going on in my Wonderful Young Life!!

1) I graduated YMO- Yes, it is hard to believe. I'm grateful for YMO and all of its guidance in my life. Everything I learned there was necessary and useful to me in all aspects of life. There were SO MANY times that I complained about their service and their constant nagging and urging me to save save Saaaaave money, do things in advance so I can enjoy free time, work ALL THE TIME, budget, save more, and do better in school. I will admit as an alumni, it was not easy to get though this!! But I did. There were so many times that I said to myself that I can just take my savings and take off- hit the road and live wherever I wanted and not have to deal with Them anymore. Wow what little did I know a few months ago!! ..I'm glad that I was able to remain patient with my mentors, case manager, therapist and youth advocates, even unto graduating the program. The director, Thomas Lee, took me and my mentors and a few other YMO youth to a nice high end restaurant to celebrate my graduation . It was nice to see everyone there collectively happy for me (Yes. That moment it was all about ME and I loved it! Karri hasn't graduated yet, so they did not recognize her efforts, even though she came along) and the many compliments they gave me-- I wouldn't have stop them if my life depended on it. I'm glad to have a good head on my shoulders and I'm glad that I am able to make healthy life decisions- its very rewarding and its nice to have so many people that are happy for me. Especially since I'm an adult now and there's no one to hand me a cookie and tell me "good job" anymore- all I can do is be good and make good choices and hope for verbal recognition at times. Even if I did not get that, its always nice to know that there are MANY people out there who love me and want the best for me, regardless if they tell me or not.

2) I passed all my classes with Exceptionally good grades- that was NOT easy. This entire last year it was a struggle to stay awake in such boring classes- I took Communication Theory, Public Administration and American Childhood (which was interesting actually.) I had no clue whatsoever if I was going to survive that last quarter- it was challenging and my classmates were not making it any better by getting upset whenever I asked too many questions in class. School seems to keep getting harder and harder as I progress, and the only thing that was keeping me motivated for the last few years were mentors online who sent me weekly emails to remind me to be my Best and do my Best. This was Tina Raheem and Mary Imler of the Orphan Foundation of America. They are my guardian angels, I know it. With their motivation and inspiration, I managed to pull off a B, an A- and another A-. Whoop whoop!!

3) I SEPARATED from my twin- No its not the type of separation that makes people think of an argument that instigated it. I needed this- I am 21 years old and in Desperate need of learning how to be an individual!! Its not easy now, but it was a little harder when we first split up. I figured it was a good idea to move to a nearby (but separate) location before pursuing the BIG move to Utah, as I have planned. I have about a month left before that happens, of which I will be blogging every step of the way!

At first, the whole "move" thing was awful. I have new roommates and I automatically Expected them to share, be as organized as I am, to like the same things as me and to just click with me, since it was so easy to do with my Twin. Whole 'nother story there, haha. I have learned to be compatible with them for the most part, but at times it is still difficult because I forget that they do not know me that well. I am a neat person as far as housing goes and there are times when I get anxiety because my Twin's not there and it puts me into mega OCD modes and I start cleaning and detailing every aspect of the house. I like to make my weaknesses work to my advantage, and this is clearly one great example of this. I do need to work on my interpersonal and intrapersonal skills more and realize that people cannot read my mind. Luckily I do have many opportunities to bond with my new roommates, and its easy because they're such nice girls. I feel that its healthy and necessary to stay sane in life that an individual has some sort of personal bond or close relationship with SOMEONE. My twin is still in the picture- we hang out all the time, but a lot of times whenever we're not together, I often have to step back and realize that I have wonderful friends among me who are caring and who would love to talk and be a Sister influence anytime. It was so easy to always be with my twin, to a point where there was no challenge at all. Its great- we were so close that I did not even have to speak at times and she would already know what I was thinking about. We never fought and it was so easy to always be happy because she, as a companion was always in the same mood as I was. I've learned to toss my angry or upset emotion out the door since I've been so blessed in life. Growing up as a twin, we were unstoppable, and I understand that even though we are separated for a short period, we will always be the best of friends and our bond can never break. I still need to learn to be more considerate of others and not fall into the habit of thinking that life will never be as good as it was with my twin. It may not actually, but along the way there are many valuable lessons in life that I must learn while I am "emancipated."

Although these are only 3 major changes in my life, there are and will be many more, so keep in tune and I will be writing more often! Remember kids, NEVER let anything allow you to be unhappy!! I once heard that ONE MINUTE of being upset, angry, mad or disappointed is 60 WHOLE SECONDS of lost happy time. =D Take care folks, and my next blog will be up soon!!

Twincerely, Corri

www.karriandcorri.webs.com