i cannot live without books.

some favorites (and the top three are on my list to read next)

this past summer my family and i visited thomas jefferson's home, monticello. it was beautiful and really amazing to learn about. jefferson lived such a fascinating life. on our tour, we went through jefferson's library and our tour guide told us about how, during a time of great financial difficulty, jefferson had to sell his huge collection of books. almost immediately afterwards he just started buying books again in large quantities. in a letter to john adams, jefferson simply explained, "i cannot live without books."

i wholeheartedly agree.

i really, really miss reading while i'm so busy with work and school. my roommates and i were talking last night about some of our favorite books and the books that we read as children. it made me so nostalgic and almost homesick in a way. i feel like the books i've read have completely shaped me as a person. i feel sad when i think about people who don't like to read. reading is such a rich and beautiful and multi-faceted experience. when you read a book, you're transported to another place and you meet people and have experiences that you would never have otherwise, and the great part is that you can share these experiences with other readers. when you read a book, it becomes a part of you. it touches your soul and your heart and your mind and alters the lens through which you see the world. i think that reading a good book is one of the most enriching experiences in the world.

i'm going to set a personal goal for next semester to make time to read. it's an important thing for me, and i think i feel so much happier and more like myself when i make reading a part of my everyday life. time management can be really difficult for me, but i'm going to make this happen. and you can bet when i go home for christmas i will be reading my brains out. (does that even make sense?)

basically this says it exactly: "real luxury is time and opportunity to read for pleasure." -jane brody

here's to books!

massive catch-up post numba 2.

remember that time i was doing a 30 day challenge? cool.

day 17 - someone you would want to switch lives with for one day and why

kristen wiig. she is so so so fantastic and being on snl is something i have always thought would be THE COOLEST THING EVER.

day 18 - plans/dreams/goals you have

summer bucket list:

it's still in the works...

-wawa and cream valley asap when i get home

-super special secret photoshoot in new york city

lauren, i'll tell you when i get home! be excited.

-go to the met and find pieces i've studied in art history

-reread the entire harry potter series

-chaperone youth conference in my stake

-see harry potter and the deathly hallows part 2 at midnight or on opening day

-philly cheesesteaks and the art museum

-beach trips as much as possible

-may day with becca and the wanlass fam

-lauren, wanna camp in the backyard one night like old times??

-make one new recipe per week

-tie-dye sesh with lauren

-get back in shape....ahhh the good old days before the cannon center

day 19 - nicknames you have and why you have them

i never used to have very many nicknames, but since there are five girls in my ward here named emily/ee, i got quite a few of them this year.

everyone in my fam has always called me em, and cat calls me emmy a lot. the girls in my hall always call me vandy or sometimes vans or vander. caro occassionally calls me more ridiculous things...like darth vander or baby v. [which always makes me think of the intro tothis song. ahaha.] and sometimes she sings the aaron carter song "i want candy" but changes the words so it's "i want vandy." it's pretty great.

day 20 - someone you love

my little sister, lauren.

she is always so happy and positive. she makes me laugh every day. she's such a great friend to everyone she knows. plus she's adorable and super stylin.

day 21 - a picture of something that makes you happy

hey cat and liz...remember how all the greatest drawings and games of MASH happen on plane rides? we're def playing MASH on our flight on thursday. just you wait.

day 22 - what makes you different from everyone else

okay this is random because i feel like there are actually lots of things that make me different from others, but one thing i never realized about myself until i came to college is my memory for movie quotes. that's so random, but it's what i'm best known for in my hall. i can quote almost any movie or youtube video i've ever seen and i remember the quotes and i'm pretty good at the impressions or accents and the girls in my hall never get over it. they think it's so impressive and their reactions are what i think is so funny. they force me to quote movies all the time and they make me act out all the quotes on the quote wall in our hall. i don't mind though. i love quoting movies. liz and i basically speak in movie quotes.

day 23 - something you crave for a lot

ice cream. curse you, byu creamery/taylor hall vending machines. it's a love/hate relationship.

day 24 - your last five facebook statuses

[looking back at them, i realized about 50% of my facebook statuses from the past several months are byu basketball-related. this makes me proud.]

finals schminals.

being done with classes would be exciting if it didn't mean now i get to study for my six final exams.

jimmer, i love you forever.

florida's about to get jimmered. ELITE EIGHT, BABY.

[if only...]

is in the library. the closing music tonight is none other than friday by rebecca black. ahahahahaha

day 25 - what one would find in your bag

cell phone, keys, money, id card, lip gloss and chapstick, sunglasses, pink ipod nano, and sunscreen.

day 26 - what you think about your friends

i love and miss my friends from back home. as for my friends from freshman year here at byu, i'm so happy and grateful i got to know them. i'm going to miss them so much and i can't wait for our movie nights and reunions all the time in the fall. i feel like i've adopted everyone's different catchphrases, i'm going to miss all their quotes on our quote wall, and i love different things about each of them. i know that they have each really helped my testimony grow and i can definitely see their influences in my life. i love them all a whole lot.

day 27 - why you are doing this 30 day challenge

some friends of mine did it, and i thought it would be fun.

day 28 - a picture of you from last year and now, how have you changed since then?

i feel like i've changed a lot since i came to college. i'm much more independent, i think i've gained a greater desire to be positive in my attitude and thinking, i definitely have a stronger testimony, and i think i've learned a lot about being a friend.

day 29 - what you have learned in this past month

i'm really great at 30 day challenges...

day 30 - your favorite song

i can never pick one favorite, but these are two of my faves.

day one.

a recent picture of you and 15 interesting facts about yourself

1. i got bangs yesterday, which means i've crossed 2 items off my birthday list so far.

2. i quote movies like it's my job. just ask the girls in my hall. or my sisters.

3. peanut butter with oreos is my favorite snack. yup. like on the parent trap.

4. sometimes i can't stop listening to kanye west.

5. as a child i would go through phases of super-obsession about certain topics. like elephants, the titanic, frogs, the ancient egyptian culture, astronomy, the pioneers, and more.... it's embarrassing. and hilarious.

6. i love drawing. i used to sketch every day, a habit i'm trying to get back into.

7. i am currently listening to the newsies soundtrack. this is not unusual for me.

8. when i was younger, my parents taught me to answer the phone by saying "hello, may i help you?" which was, as a child, endearing, but i did it for years and years until i realized it was extremely dorky sometime in middle school.

9. i'm dying to go to europe and see all the art i've studied for years.

10. these words by natasha bedingfield is probably my jam of all time.

11. my newest obsessions: the buried life and kid history.

12. i work on a farm. it's misery but i get free produce and a hefty paycheck.

13. i really miss being able to bake and cook and i'm excited to live in an apartment next year.

14. i'm just a big dork in about a million ways. exhibit a: i spend almost every night in the library.

15. i love to laugh. even though people make fun of my real true laugh because it sounds a little bit like i'm choking.