Don't make mistakes.

In 2008, I drank iced coffee.

Have you ever been judged for past mistakes?  It's just great.  It really makes me feel as though my efforts to change myself into someone better are being noticed.  Am I being too bitter?  Sorry.  You should probably judge me for that, too.

We've already established that I go to one of the BYU schools, and so you can assume correctly that I'm a member of the Mormon church.  I love this church, and all that it stands for.  I believe with every fiber of my being that the gospel and doctrines that it proclaims are true.  One of the best things about this church is that we believe in the redemption of our sins.  We believe that no matter what the sin, no matter how big or small, that our Heavenly Father will forgive us if we show Him that we are sorry and make the decision to change.

So, in 2008, I drank iced coffee [which, by the standards of my Church, was a mistake]. Since then, I have realized that it was wrong.  I have decided that I won't do that anymore.  However, there's a story that I like to tell, about a time when my friend and I were so hyped up on caffeine from iced coffee that our friend could hear us playing a game in our 3rd floor apartment from across the street and a building over.  Just because the story is funny doesn't mean that my actions are justified.  I know that.  But just because my actions were a mistake doesn't make the story any less funny.  At least, I don't think so.

I've been judged before.  I've done a lot of stupid things.  But for every single one of those mistakes, I've felt horrible and made the active decision to stop, to change myself, to want to be better.

But some people don't see that.  Some people don't know about:

life lesson #5
The difference between making a mistake and feeling guilty about it is that you can't feel guilty if the mistake helped you become a better person in the long-run.  Feeling guilty is just a waste of time and energy.  Remorse and immediate action are a much more efficient way to deal with mistakes.

So go ahead and search for perfection, Andrew.  I'd much rather experience all the elements of this life, good and bad.

Don't assume that used paperbacks are the cheapest textbooks you can get.

Philosophical Journey by William F. Lawhead
new - $118.00
used - $88.50
e-book - $47.75 !!!

So, maybe I had to ask four different people at my university's bookstore how to find this book, and maybe it had since been made unavailable as an e-book... but that doesn't mean I didn't save forty dollars and seventy-five cents anyway!

All you need is a little confidence in whether or not the book actually is available as an e-book [even when they're records don't agree with you] and a little persistence when they try to pawn you off on the next guy... over and over again.

life lesson #4
When all else fails, tell them you'll just get it cheaper from Amazon.com. That gets them moving. Every time.

Don't fall without laying a pillow down first, just in case no one's there to catch you.

Humans of the male variety: 2
Me: 0

Why is it that every time I want a relationship I only get half of one? Seriously. Just half. Like after a couple of weeks I turn into chopped liver...

I will accept part of the blame for that last one. I guess I did sort of con Zan into being my boyfriend. But that one had a good YEAR of work put into it. I deserved one lousy month of commitment.

This new one though, it's not making very much sense. I really do feel like chopped liver. The kind they put into dog food.

life lesson #3
When he tells you that other girls are texting him, take his phone and snap it in two. That will not only stop his inbox from filling up, but it will show him that you mean business. Or he'll run away screaming... in which case you're probably better off anyway.

Don't let your friends be door-to-door salesmen.

Las Vegas to Mesa via:
- I-40 E... 359 mi.
- US 93 S... 309 mi.*
- US 95 S and I-10 E... 356 mi.

Sometimes it's hard enough to like a person who lives in South East Idaho when you call Las Vegas, NV "home sweet home." But what makes it worse is when said person drives straight through your home town on his way to spend the week after Christmas knocking on doors in Arizona. I'm not complaining. Really. I actually just saw him on his way back to the North. But what I don't understand is why so many boys go out selling pest control or security systems or satellite television. Most of them don't even like it.

Thankfully, I've only had two close friends waste away their time pounding the pavement. And they've both since repented, deciding that it's just not the job for them.

And in regards to this boy, well, it won't be too long before I see him back at school. Within the next couple days we'll both be freezing like popsicles in Rexburg. I've never be more excited to go back ;) It's just too bad that more people don't know about:

life lesson #2
When they tell you it will be fun and you'll make a boat load of money in three months, what they really mean is, "It won't be the worst experience you'll ever have, and I'm going to make a lot of money off of you."

* These don't seem like very significant distances, I could have driven there in seven hours. But I didn't have a car, and my mother's always been very anti-felony during the holidays.

Don't put cashmere in the washing machine.

40% wool
35% viscose*
20% cotton
5% cashmere

Hand wash cold.
Do not bleach.
Reshape and lay flat to dry.
Warm iron if needed.

Apparently, they're serious about these things. I always thought they were just suggestions... you know, in case you had extra time on your hands for taking special care in the laundry room. But no. I just spent the last 20 minutes carefully peeling my new sweater apart. Because when you put a 5% cashmere sweater in the washing machine with the rest of the clothes you brought home from your junior year of college it becomes instant velcro. The entire thing just fused together. That's not something they teach you in the English department. I think you have to major in textiles, or Home and Family Studies. Yeah, something like one of those. Not Professional Writing.

Let me introduce myself. My name is Sydney. I'm 22 years and 9 days old. I'm about to start my ninth semester at Brigham Young University-Idaho. [Yes, it's going to take me an extra year to get my bachelor's degree, but I'm not complaining and you shouldn't judge.] I'm an English major, with an emphasis in Professional Writing. I'm also studying Architecture and Philosophy. One day I might explain that a bit better. But not today.

Today is the first day of what I'm hoping will be an exponentially better year than the last one. Last year sucked. Just ask my friends. But I did learn a few important things about life and about myself. And so, this year I'm going to learn things, too. I'm going to pay close attention to the little things that life teaches us everyday, that we so often overlook. Things like:

life lesson #1
When your mother offers to do your laundry, let her. She knows that doing what the tag says is vital to the life-span of your wardrobe.


* I didn't know what viscose was, so I looked it up, and I'm pretty sure it's just a fancy name for rayon. Because I don't think that my sweater is made of 35% cellophane.