I'm Geeky and I Know It

Hey y'all! As those who saw me blow up Instagram know, I attended Comic Con this weekend!

It was a ton of fun, and this little video is here to show just how much fun, but beyond the panels and geeky merchandise and cosplays, there were a couple more important points I wanted to talk about in this blog post.

Point 1: Love What You Love

I am a total geek. I love Sherlock, Marvel, Star Trek, Disney, Harry Potter, and more. And I have a right to enjoy what I love. Too often, I think we look down on certain interests people have while approving of others. But why is that?

What makes us think we can tell someone that the thing they love isn't worth loving?

If you  love Rubik's cubes and own fifteen different ones and can solve them all behind your back, that is awesome! If you know every detail about a certain movie franchise, down to the heights of the actors and habits of the cinematographers, cool! If you love to read and spend your free time curled up with a book you've read a hundred times, great!

If something you love isn't what the majority of people love, that is totally fine! Everyone has a right to find happiness wherever they see fit.

(I love this quote even more because Simon Pegg from Star Trek said it)

So don't be ashamed of your special edition DVDs that make a picture on the spines when they're all lined up. Swing your customized light saber like you mean it. Rock your thirty five Disney tee shirts like you're on a runway.

Don't let the opinions of others hold you back from enjoying something you find value in.

Point 2: The Choice of Modesty

As you hopefully know by now, I'm a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. One of the many things I believe God has asked me as His daughter to do is to dress modestly. This is something I've tried to do, granted, with some slip-ups, my whole life. I won't lie and say I've never wanted to wear something immodest or that I've always dressed perfectly modestly.

But I know that dressing modestly is one way I can show respect for myself and for my Heavenly Father who gave me this body as a gift in which to house my spirit.

Modesty is definitely a choice. It's a choice I've struggled with sometimes in the past, but one I've reaffirmed since coming to college. I want to obey my Heavenly Father's will and show my respect and love for Him and myself, and one way I can do that is through the way I dress.

Everyone has the right to make their own choices, but my choice is modesty.

Comic Con offers a wide range of cosplayers dressed as everything from Slave Leia to Gandalf, and I knew before I went that I was going to see quite a few cosplays that would be quite different than those that would abide by the standards of modesty outlined by my church. I thought about which cosplays I wanted to do, and decided on Vanellope Von Schweetz from Wreck-it-Ralph and a USO girl from Captain America.

Vanellope's outfit was totally modest, but I made the decision to alter the USO girl outfit to fit the standards of modesty I have a testimony of. And I am so happy I did!

I was completely comfortable all day, and I was proud of myself for proving that I didn't have to compromise my standards for any situation, including cosplaying at Comic Con.

Never give up something you believe in.

"Fitting in" isn't worth it.

1 Peter 2:9  But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light

To anyone who has ever had to hold fast to what they believe against the popular tide, we salute you.

My Bite Out of the Big Apple

As was announced earlier, I went to New York City to audition to be a performer with Disney Cruise Lines. I attended two auditions: a character audition and a dancer audition. It was an incredible experience that I will explain mostly in pictures!

Mom and I arrived Sunday evening and of course our first stop (besides our hotel) was Times Square. We'd been to New York before (thank goodness, because there was simply not enough time to do a lot of touristy things), but it was still fun to see the lights and everything!

 

The Disney Store!!! This is the only picture I took because I was too dazzled by the pixie dust, but they had all these Tangled lanterns along the ceiling on the way to the second floor!

M&Ms world, of course! 

(We may have had a movie night during which a despicable amount of M&Ms were consumed)

The next morning we got up nice and early to get to auditions! I met some amazing people there and became fast friends with quite a few!

 My audition numbers for each audition!

Kairisa and I met right at the beginning and hung out all day! She's awesome!

 Kairisa, Chloe, Josh (who was on the Voice, btw, no big deal), Fiona, and Brooke!

Audra, Emily (who's from Austin, too! Small world!), Kairisa, and Sammy! We played Heads Up during down time before Dance auditions started.

I attended two auditions, both for Disney Cruise Line. The first was a Character audition and the second was a Dancer audition. In each we were taught a very short dance piece or ballet combo and showed it to the judges in small groups. Both were neat experiences, and even though I got cut pretty early on for both auditions, I know I'll just keep coming back!

One of the wonderful girls I met at auditions, Paulina, told us about Broadway Dance Center, where you can pay per class for walk ins, and showed Kairisa and I the way. I took a Musical Theatre dance class from Lane Napper (you can see me in the back for like a second haha) and it was soooo fun! It was fast, sassy, and difficult enough to push me! I loved it so much!

For our second (and last) night, Mama and I ate at Hard Rock and checked out the enormous Toys R Us before crashing early (after another M&M filled movie night) so we could wake up at 4 am to catch our flight home!

This experience was such an incredible one, and I am so happy that I made the leap and went after my dreams! No one said I would get them right away, but I know that every step closer makes them more of a reality!

And I am so grateful for this woman right here (and my Daddy!) for being so supportive of me through this whole thing. Not many parents, when their child comes up and says "I want to go to New York in a month for a long shot audition to possibly be at sea for nine months." would say "Okay, here I got plane tickets and a hotel booked! And I'm coming with you to be there for you every step of the way!"

My parents have been my biggest supporters since day 1, and words cannot express how much they mean to me or how grateful I am for the fun couple of days I had with my Mama in New York!

Start chasing your dreams now! You might not reach them right away, but every step you take will be worth it! Believe in yourself and have the confidence to go after what you want in life!

And say thank you to the ones who support you no matter how close or far you are from your goals!

Hold a tiara for me, Disney! I'll be back again soon!

God's Creations

This past three day weekend, I was able to go down to Southern Utah 

with my family to experience Arches National Park and Goblin Valley State Park.

I had been to Arches before, but not for about 12 or 13 years, 

and I don't think I've ever been to Goblin Valley.

And let me tell you, it was breathtaking:

I got into a conversation with my cousin Brianne about how gorgeous and incredible it all was, and how to us, it manifested the truth of God and His hand in the Creation of this world.

Maybe some of you would look at rock formations and think about science: weathering and erosion and all that.

And I would agree with you.

But there is something divine inside me that flutters when I see the beauty of this world.

I know there are a lot of opinions out there on the Creation and Evolution and the Big Bang and all kinds of other theories, and I won't spend too much time here preaching my exact beliefs on how this earth came to be about (although if you want to know, read Genesis 1-3). 

Instead, I will spend this time celebrating our world the way I see it:

 as a place filled with God-touched wonder and beauty.

I look around and I see life.

I see trees sighing as a gentle breeze whisks away their morning dewdrops.

I see a rushing river that chases the light of the dying sun.

I see a mountain stretching skyward, its face changing with the seasons.

I see a sky so vast and heavenly, I feel closer to God just by looking at it.

And I see God's children - as much a part of this beautiful world as the rocks and trees and sky.

There is a hymn that expresses better than I can the marveling feeling I get when I view God's creations, and a woman I respect for many reasons, her voice being one of the least of them, sings it amazingly. Please enjoy, and I hope you feel that flutter of divine creation within you as you do so.

God's creations are beautiful. They are awe-inspiring, divinely touched, and part of His incredible Plan of Happiness.

And you are one of His beautiful, awe-inspiring, divinely touched creations.

 

So take a moment to go outside and appreciate all of the wonderful creations God has blessed us with.

And then look in the mirror and celebrate one more.