Book 8.

Have a Little Faith, by Mitch Albom.

"'Mitch,' he said, 'faith is about doing. You are how you act, not just how you believe."

"He had a way of looking you in the eye and making you feel the world had stopped and you were all that was in it. Maybe this was his gift to the job. Or maybe it was the job's gift to him."

"When you come to the end, that's where God begins."

"Happiness in a tablet. This is our world. Prozac. Paxil. Xanax. Billions are spent to advertise such drugs. And billions more are spent purchasing them. You don't even need a specific trauma; just 'general depression' or 'anxiety,' as if sadness were as treatable as the common cold. I knew depression was real, and in many cases required medical attention. I also knew we overused the word. Much of what we called 'depression' was really dissaatisfaction... If pills could help, pills were taken. But pills were not going to change the fundamental problem in the construction. Wanting what you can't have. Looking for self-worth in the mirror. Layering work on top of work and still wondering why you weren't satisfied - before working some more."

There are tons of other good quotes in this book too, these are just a few I like a lot. This guy is the same guy who wrote Tuesday With Morrie. This book is about a man who has left his religion behind, but one day is asked by his pastor if he will give his eulogy at his funeral. Mitch decides he needs to get to know his pastor better as a person before he gives his eulogy. Over the next eight years after he is asked to do this, he grows to love and appreciate this man. This was a great book and really made me reflect on life. It was really really neat, posing great questions about God and life and such. I would definitely recommend this book, it was very touching.

Book 7.

Downtown Owl, by Chuck Klosterman.

This book... Let's see. I really really like how the author writes. There were sooo many different literary techniques and different writing styles in this book, and it was really neat and fun to see those different kinds of writing. But overall, this book swore SOOO much. I wouldn't recommend it just because of how much it swears. But yes, it was really cool how the author used so many different types of writing. My two favorite chapters were 1. A chapter where it was a conversation between two people and it went like this: what she said.... what she really meant... what he said... what he really meant... it was so funny, and so true! 2. A chapter where the teacher asks each of the students to think about the book they are reading and then it says: what was really on each student's mind... and proceeds to list off what each of the 27 students were thinking about, none of which was the book. It was so funny. Interesting book, but I wouldn't recommend it.

I'll be out of my mind, and you'll be out of ideas pretty soon.

My two summer goals:

1. Earn enough money to go back to school and to study abroad in France.
2. Catch up in my journal.

Why only two goals might you ask?

Theses two tasks are HUGE feats in themselves. First off, I have about $700 in my bank account right now. What does this mean? Yes. $4480 in tuition needed. Not to mention I need a place to live and food to eat. Add $1785 in rent, $225 in utilities, and $675 for food. Fun budget = $0.00. Total amount needed, $7165. And that is just for school. France is another $5000 itself.

So, how will this happen might you ask? It is clearly impossible to earn $14000 in one summer. Luckily I have awesome parents and grandparents who are willing to pay one semester of tuition for me and $200 a month towards my life. So that takes out a good amount, leaving only $3525 to be earned. Plus, Rebbie is amazing and is going to help me get this grant winter sememster which will give me $4000 to pay for tuition first and second semesters. So cross your fingers I can stand living in the library and survive 3 chem classes and get my GPA up stinkin .1... Yeah, a measly .1 away from getting the grant right now. Boooooo.

So... with that help, I simple will need to early $4525. Which entails 625 hours of work at Smoothie King, my current employment at $7.25 an hour, which means working 48 hours a week for the next 12 weeks of summer. Clearly this isn't going to happen, so pray hard that I will be able to get registered as a pharmacy tech please!!

But yes. My mind is set. I'm going to do it. I'm going to live, study, breathe, speak, do everything french for a month and a half. In FRANCE. Once I put my mind to this one, nothing is going to stop me. I've already dreamt about it a handful a times. And after all, a dream is a wish your heart makes, and I've been wishing on stars that this wish will come true.

Secondly, my journal. Ever since the 10th grade, Mrs. Westover inspired me to keep a journal. Therefore I have my whole high school rollercoaster in 4 journals. It is great. Unfortunately, August 14th, 2009 was my last journal entry. I fell apart. College got to me and I didn't write ONCE my freshmen year. I'm ashamed to say the least. But I did write down what I did almost every day, so it is my goal to use my brilliant, cough cough, memory to recapture my freshmen year for posterity, but mostly for myself years down the road.

So, with theses two enormous tasks to accomplish, this summer is going to be full of hard work, that's for certain.

And I knew that you meant it.

Me: "I have to floss my teeth tonight! Then I'll have done it three days in a row!!"
Mom: "Great! Only 18 more days til it becomes a habit!"

So it takes 21 days to form a habit.

The following are habits I want to form this summer:

1. Morning prayers daily
2. Flossing every day
3. Washing my face every night
4. Do something thoughtful for someone every day
5. Say I love you to family more frequently
6. Running daily!

The following are habits I want to 100% solidify this summer:

1. Say meaningful nighttime prayers DAILY
2. STUDY scriptures every day
3. Keep in touch with friends
4. Not judge people EVER
5. Share my testimony when I have the opportunity

21 days here I come.

Sing me to sleep tonight, sweet Juliet.

My addiction and guilty pleasure these days is Family Search Indexing. I find it so calming and methodical, so fun to decipher the names, and heck, it's even worthwhile! I've now indexed 1047 names since the beginning of the summer, so in a month. Hooray! It is so much fun, you should try it sometime!

"Family history, I am doing it, my family history..."

I always get sooooo bored on the topic of family history and genealogy during church and such, but I never get bored doing indexing! It is a fun and simple way for me to get involved in family history, which I know is very important for me to do!

Book 6.

The Map Thief, by Heather Terrell.

I definitely liked this book the most of all the one's I've read so far this summer. It was a book seeking to find an answer to a real life mystery through fiction. It was really interesting, and very likely actually. This author helped me really feel the emotions of the main characters, the book felt very real. It was really neat! I would recommend this book.

Book 5.

Say You're One of Them, by Uwem Akpan

This book was really really depressing. It was five short stories put together, each told in the point of view of a child. Each child lived in different, but each dismal, circumstances in different countries in Africa. Each of the stories ended in the death of the child, or someone very close to the child. It was very very sad. The saddest part is I know these things really do happen in Africa.