i guess it's about time, eh?

well... it's been over 10 months since i've done an actual blog post- so i figure it's just about time for an update, eh? that, or i just want michelle to get off my back... just kidding... kind of. :-)
i really don't even know where to start. that's partly why i haven't blogged because it's kinda overwhelming when i think about everything that's happened since the last post but i guess i'll just roll w/ it and do what i do best... ramble.
Last time i updated this i was at BYU in Provo, Utah. I really love Utah and Provo is one of the prettiest places I've ever been. However, BYU wasn't really my thing. It's a great school--but not really for me. It's very competitive, HUGE, and semi-impersonal. So after some prayer and fasting I decided to transfer to BYU-Idaho in Rexburg. I've been here for a little over three weeks and i am LOVING it. I am convinced that there is no better place on earth...for me at this point in my life. It is a completely different experience for me than BYU. A lot of that probably has to do with my roommate situation. I don't want to be negative about my roommates last year, but it wasn't a great experience for me. Yet, I don't regret the decision I made to go there last year--I learned a lot about myself and how to live with people... and not just people but 5 other girls. I really don't like drama so that took a lot of getting used to. I learned a lot about finding the line between brushing things off and being a doormat... ANYway, this year is much different. I am living with some of the greatest people I've ever met. I learn from these girls every day how to be a better daughter of God. We've developed a great balance between laughing and being goofy and also trying to grow with each other in terms of our spirituality. It's funny- some nights we stay up really late having really great, deep discussions. And other nights we just crack up for hours. Like last night, I wasn't feeling too good so I just kinda stayed in my room for a while and went to the bathroom at like 2am and my roommates Cherstin and Mallory were in there getting ready for bed- so the three of us ended up just sitting on the floor of the bathroom for an hour just making up weird scenarios and cracking up so hard that our abs hurt today. Needless to say, it's a much better situation than last year in so many aspects. Classes are also much different. At BYU my smallest class was probably about 200 students, so the professors never really knew who I was, nor did most of the people in the class. Now, my biggest class is probably 40 students... and all my professors know me by name and I could probably tell you the names of everyone in all my classes. Also, we're encouraged here to speak up in class so it's much more of a discussion and we all kind of teach each other... so it's much less competitive and more like we're all in this together and we all have the same goals. The unity of this campus is amazing.
What else... I reckon i'll go through my class schedule.
I've got New Testament which is probably my most demanding class, but definitely the most inspiring and worthwhile. Then there's weight lifting which is way fun but a little intimidating cause everyone in there is way buff and i'm a pansy... but i'm working to change that. I've got CIT 140 (Computer Information Technology) where I'm basically just working in Excel learning buttloads about spreadsheets and all that... it's fun. Then onto Writing Communications which is pretty straightforward... I'm writing a lot and i'm working on a feature story that may not only be published in "The Scroll" (BYU-I's paper) but also "The Post Register" which is the paper for Idaho Falls... so wish me luck on that. Then there's Public Speaking, which is really intimidating to me because I have trouble thinking on the spot...so i guess it's good for me to be in that class. This week we're having our impromptu speeches, where Br. Skinner will give us a random object and we have 30 seconds to prepare a 5 minutes speech on it that has to be complete w/ an intro (including a thesis statement), our 3 main points, and a conclusion... doesn't sound like a big deal, i know, but i'm freaking out a little bit about it. Next week we have our informative speeches where we have to describe how to do something and the topic is due this tuesday so if you have any ideas about that...your input is MUCH appreciated. being in that class will also be good for me i think for another reason... which i'll go into here in a little bit. lastly i have visual media, which other than new testament is my favorite class. I have it once a week--Thursdays from 7-10pm. Now, if you know me at all you should be able to tell why going to that class at that time would be a real problem for me. You guessed it, the office just started up this past week-on thursday nights. and the office is kind of my life-it's actually a little depressing how obsessive i get over that show. it's more than a show though... my roommate izzy actually the other day said to me, "megan, you love the office...but has the office ever loved you back?" and it was like the most hurtful thing anyone has ever said to me, haha. so yeah, going to that class is a real sacrifice... but i reckon education is more important than the office (that's a hard thing to admit). so i watched the new episode on friday when it came online, but the internet here is sooo ridiculously slow that it took me literally 4 hours to watch because every 10 seconds it would stop and reload. but it was still worth it. anyway, back to visual media. that professor cracks me up. he has this dry sense of humor that is just hilarious to me... so oftentimes he'll say something and I won't be able to stop laughing, but no one else is, so they all just turn and stare at me... it's great. the class itself though is great... all about graphic design and that kinda thing. I'm thinking that may be a field I'll want to go into. I don't think I really want to do advertising because I'm not a big fan of pushing products onto people that they don't really need. But I'd love to design magazines or logos or that kinda thing. We'll see... It's weird to think how much I have ahead me. I'm excited and nervous to see where my life is going to take me.

I kind of a had a bit of a shocker today. Like I said, I wasn't feeling too good last night and that extended through today as well. So I woke up at like 9 and wasn't really tired any more but I didn't feel like getting out of bed so I just laid there until about 11 wrhen I decided it was probably about time for me to get ready for the day (church starts at 1). Right when I got up to take a shower I got a call from Steven, the executive secretary in the ward asking me if I could meet with the bishop in 20 minutes... I rushed and got ready and ran over to the Smith building. I guess none of that's really important to the story. Man, I'm sorry I ramble so much about stuff that's not important whatsoever. Anyway... to cut to the chase. I was issued a calling. Now, in such a big ward there are a lot of callings that are issued that don't involve much effort. I don't want to undermine any callings because all are important...but i thought i was going to get something like what i had last year... where there was one activity that I had to bring food to. And honestly that was the extent of the calling. That's not the case this semester... I am... a gospel doctrine teacher! It was such a shock to me. I am terrified and excited. Terrified because, like I mentioned before... I have a hard time thinking on the spot and while I may have a thought or a feeling, it's often difficult for me to put that thought or feeling into words that would adequately express it...if that makes sense. Also, I'll be teaching a bunch of returned missionaries who obviously have a lot more experience and knowledge than me. I'm excited though to really delve into the scriptures (book of mormon to be specific) and learn more and really rely on the Spirit to say something that will be of meaning to those I'll be teaching. Anyway, any prayers or insights that ya'll have in my behalf would be GREATLY appreciated. I feel completely unqualified for this calling- but I know that (s)he whom the Lord calls, (s)he will He also qualify.
still scary though...

moving on- i am an aunt for the 7th time!!!!!!! i am so excited for the birth little david andrew and i CANNOT wait to see him come christmas. I miss all my neices/nephews so much and while I'm glad to be here making my own way, I am really sad that I'm missing them grow up. It'll be so great to see everyone at christmas. It'll be a full house, that's for sure. We could do a remake of Full House, and perhaps make it a little less cheesy.

anyway, i'll write more later and perhaps post some pictures of the roommates and such. life is good... and I pray you can say the same.

I hope this blog finds ya'll happy and well. Whoever you are, I love you.