Beauty and the Beast

When I was young, Beauty and the Beast was my favourite story.

Belle was how I imagined a grown-up me to look. 

She was kind but she didn't fit in with those around her.

She wore blue which was my favourite colour.

And she loved to read and found solace in books, as I too did.

Belle seemed perfect to me.

And her prince?

The Beast was just the right person for her, I mean he gave her a whole library!

But Belle had to learn to love him.

And that.
That was a defining idea in my childhood, one that shaped me.

I, like Belle, could love anyone if put in the right circumstances.

 I was certain that Belle could even love Gaston if she tried. 

As I grew older I was aware of the people around me, and aware of the adult relationships in my life.

I watched how aunts and uncles, cousins and family friends acted in their relationships with their spouses and mentally took notes. 

I questioned everyone on their stories of how they ended up together.

I watched how they treated each other.

Then I would mentally gather all this data I had collected to find the "perfect story".

By comparing their story of how they fell in love with how they now treated each other I found that the best marriages started with friendship.

The couples that seemed the happiest were those where they had began as friends and eventually realized there was something more there. 

From there I took it upon myself to try and foster friendships with the boys I knew. 

Even if they were mostly dumb I was willing to look past that to try and develop these friendships.
Not that I was looking for love at such a young age, 

but I was investing time in learning how to be friends with boys, so that someday I would be friends with the right boy and we would fall in love.

That all sounds very calculated, but this is coming from the girl who found her heroes in Belle, Hermione and Matilda, so such actions are to be expected.

As I grew older, I realized that the boys were just getting dumber.

Not every boy, but at the time the majority seemed to be. 

So I gave up my pursuits for a while. 

And focused on me and my plans for a mission.

But as I become college-aged I took stock of my life one day and realized that my best friends were of the opposite gender.
Not that I didn't have plenty of girl friends, but just as prominent in my life were my male friends.

And I realized that my philosophies have changed in the past ten years.

I still believe that the best relationships spring forth out of friendship and the person I will marry someday should be the person I consider my best friend. 

I still believe that you can love anyone if given the opportunity.

And I still believe that Belle is one of the very best princesses.

But I have realized there is so much more to be gained from friendships with guys than simply an investment of time in deciding if I could love so and so, or becoming better at being friends with guys in preparation for the future.

My friendships with these young men have taught me so much.

I have been able to see first-hand what a worthy Melchizedek Priesthood holder looks like in a young adult.
I have seen,

Sensitivity

Compassion

Christlike Love

Service

Clean and Mature Humour

Charity 

Forgiveness

Scholarship

Integrity

Ambition

Priesthood

And love from these young men I have associated with.
Far from the immaturity I saw in the boys of my youth, I now see these young men as 

Sons of a Loving Heavenly Father,

 a title they have always had and deserve to be known as. 

And though I am not in love with any of them, there is a purpose in these friendships. 

These young men bring me closer to my Saviour through their examples. 

(That previous sentence sounded quite pretentious. I would just like to clarify that there are many reasons to be friends with guys besides simply trying to fall in love with them. I was just referring back to my thoughts concerning this matter as a 10 year old, when I felt that by 20 I would be so very old and would be leaving a doting boyfriend behind as I left on a mission.)

So to the young men reading this, I just want to say thank you.

And to the young women reading this, I would encourage you to step out of the sisterhood bubble and become friends with some of the amazing young men in your YSA, your class or your neighbourhood. 

You will be amazed at how great life is with guy friends by your side. 

As one with Allergies

Hi.

It is 3 am here and I am wide awake.

Have I been up partying all night?

Have I awaken early to get a head start on the day?

Nope.

I woke up because I needed another dose of allergy medication so I could continue to sleep.

And now here I am writing on my computer.

While I am home awaiting a mission call,

(for more info into what that is and what that means follow these links:)

http://sisteratwood.blogspot.ca/

https://www.mormon.org/missionaries

I am working at the local Dairy Queen.

It is nothing fancy but it is a job and I don't mind it.

But while I was working at the Drive-thru today someone riding a horse placed an order and came through the drive thru.

Now I live in a small town and such things are not uncommon.

And I get sometimes you just really need an ice cream cone when you are out for a ride.

But when I realized a horse was coming through the drive thru it sent me running to the other end of the store.

Why? 

Because I am allergic to horses. 

(Side note: I am allergic to all animal dander, not just horses, much to my chagrin as an animal lover)

Luckily I had allergy medication in my bag with me, but I still have spent the day with:

Red, swollen, watery, itchy eyes

Runny Nose

Itchy red skin

Sneezing 

Nasal Congestion

Which would have been 10X worse without medication, but the symptoms are still there. 

And I did not touch the horse at all.

I did not interact with it or its rider.

I was in a different area of the store when it came through.

Yet the dander in the air and the fact my coworker had interacted with the rider caused me to suffer from an allergic reaction all day.

Now this post is in no way trying to shame whoever rode their horse through drive thru.

It was simply an experience that prompted a blog post.

Because it isn't just horses.

If someone comes through drive thru with an animal in their vehicle

I will end up sick the rest of the day.

If they are holding their dog in one hand and their money in the other, 

after that money gets passed to me I have to go scrub down like I am going into surgery, 

in an attempt to prevent the inevitable allergic reaction. 

If a coworker has animal dander on their clothes I react.

Basically to live a life without allergic reactions I need to be medicated with antihistamines everyday.

(Me after work today, with makeup to cover up my face, still enjoying life)

Which got me to thinking and to realizing,

It doesn't matter where I work, I will always have this problem.

I could dedicate the time to finding a job where none of the employees have pets,

but who's to say that would be a job I would even like, 

or that customers wouldn't have pets I would react to?

Or maybe all pets could be banned.

After all they do that with peanut butter in schools these days.

(Just to clarify I get peanut allergies; I am one of the whatever percentage of people who went from epi-pen allergic to peanuts, to having grown out of that allergy, so please don't feel I am disrespecting or making light of a serious life-threatening allergy)

But pets bring joy into people's lives.

Seeing eye dogs.

Therapy dogs.

Companionship.

Animals are great and I love them too. 

Which makes dealing with my allergies more acceptable.

I sit here with swollen eyes,

A tissue box next to me,

To tell you that as the minority I accept my life.

I don't expect everyone else to change so I am more comfortable.

I don't expect everyone else to change so I can live without medication.

I don't expect everyone else to change so my quality of living can increase.

I understand I am the minority.

Does it suck sometimes?

Yes.

Have I missed field trips at school because of fear of allergy attacks?
Yes.

Have I missed youth activities because of allergies?
Yes.

Have I missed parties and outings with friends because of potential allergic reactions?
Yes.

But have I also continued having a good life in spite of allergies?
You better believe it.

There are a lot of issues going on right now in the world.

Where the minority is crying out for the same rights and quality of life as the majority.

And I get that.

But sometimes you've got to look at the big picture and realize;

Sometimes you just have to accept your life as it is.

And go to the zoo highly drugged on antihistamines. 

Continue babysitting for a family that has a dog because you love the kid so much.

(My employer's adorable dog chilling with me)

Pet the baby lamb that comes to your fifth grade class because it is too adorable not to.

Go over to friends houses who have pets even if you will regret it five minutes in.

Always hang out with friends at your house or at a third location because of the point made above.

Pet all the puppies in the pet store with your friends.

Get a dog that you adore only to have your immune system eventually break down to the point where you break out in hives as soon as you go into your backyard where your dog lives causing you to have to give her up. 

(This was my dog the day we gave her up)

Am I not sleeping right now because of allergies?

Yes.

But is that okay?

Ya it is.

All you animal lovers out there-

Keep doing you.

And know this swollen-eyed, rash covered weirdo petting your pet, with your permission of course,

Is jealous of your ability to own a pet.

Don't take it for granted.

And enjoy being in the majority on this one.

School Sick?

Have you ever been homesick for a place that isn't your home?

I need to preface this post by clarifying something.

I AM SO HAPPY.

I love being at home.

I absolutely adore being with my family right now. 

I miss them when I'm gone.

And it is so good coming home from work and seeing them every day.

I am so happy to be working right now.

Both of my jobs are a blessing.

Working at DQ is familar and comfortable.

I know what I'm doing and I'm good at it. 

And my other job. 

Honestly, God answers prayers.

I told Heavenly Father I needed another job to earn enough for my mission.

I needed to not be making minimum wage.

I needed something slower than Dairy Queen.

I wanted it to be somewhere where I could help people more.

And the perfect job ended up falling into my lap.

I work with a 4 year old boy as a respite worker.

And I love it.

I also feel this sense of complete peace at being home. 

I don't want to be at SVU right now.

I don't want to be taking classes.

And as much as I love being an RA and DSO.

And as much as I love all of my friends.

And the campus.

And the warm weather.

I know I need to be home right now and that is so good.

But I still miss SVU.

The past few days have been hard as I've watched people return to school.

So here is a list of what I miss:

I miss Squad.

Squad is my lifelong best friends.

Believe me when I say they've seen me at my worst.

But they've also seen me at my best. 

And though our numbers keep receding as semesters go on.

(Sad picture without me)

I know we will always be there for each other.

I miss the RA's.

I loved being a Resident Advisor.

These crazy people mean so much to me. 

And shoutout to Reva and Cody-the best HRA's ever.

I miss soccer.

I MISS MY TEAM.

I miss Coaching Staff.

I miss Coaching Staff adventures.

I miss Coach.

I miss Facetiming home.

Not that really being with them isn't better but I still miss it.

I miss all of the SVU Student Activities.

And Institute Activities.

And even the dances.

I miss Sheetz Runs with friends. 

Because Sheetz is more than a gas station.

It's a lifestyle.

I miss my friends.

And our RA chats that turned into life chats.

I miss my room.

I just miss SVU ok?

And I promise I'll come back ;)

But until then follow me on my new blog

sisteratwood.blogspot.com