Philadelphia & Washington, DC

March 24, 2020

I’m currently on day 10 of social distancing, reminiscing on my trip to Philly and DC pre-pandemic pandemonium. We came home on Tuesday, and by Thursday the NBA, NHL, MLB, and MLS announced the postponement of the upcoming season, the borders were closed, museums closed and public tours were discontinued for the time being, so our timing could not have been more perfect.

The highlight of the trip (for me, at least): the whole 10 minutes I spent in the National Gallery juuusst before it closed!

Christ Church, where George Washington and Betsy Ross worshipped. Benjamin Franklin is buried in the adjacent cemetery.

Ran up the Rocky steps! (Fun fact: Justin Bieber was at this exact spot minutes before we got there. We barely missed him. One more lonely girl.)

Still swooning over the train station in DC

Pro tip: Don’t get the orange blossom flavor, it tastes like sunscreen.

Paid tribute to MY queens, Jackie O. and Nancy Reagan at the Museum of American History

The views from the Lincoln Memorial cannot be beat.

Vietnam Memorial. Though it may just look like a wall, every aspect of it has purpose and symbolism.

George and Martha Washington’s Mount Vernon. The key to Bastille (the French prison that was stormed, sparking the French Revolution) hangs in the home as a gift from Lafayette to Washington.

View from the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier

The cherry blossom trees were just starting to bloom at Arlington. They are so beautiful!

We got a tour of the Capitol Building and saw the hallway the presidents walk through on their way to their inauguration. Maybe I’ll be there one day.

The Apotheosis of Washington in the Capitol rotunda. Read up on the meaning and symbolism!

In my element at the National Gallery of Art and trying to take in everything before they kicked me out for closing

I came specifically to see this, Thomas Cole’s *Voyage of Life.*

Touring The White House (which has a red room, a green room, a blue room, a china room and, most importantly, a soccer field.)

The MET

August 1, 2019

Fire, ca. 1750-40
by Jean-Pierre Defrance

Boiserie from the Hôtel de Cabris, Grasse, ca. 1774

The Virgin from an Annunciation, ca. 1390

Amor Caritas, 1880-98
by Augustus Saint-Gaudens

Diana, 1893-94
by Augustus Saint-Gaudens

Basket of Flowers, 1848-49
by Eugène Delacroix

The Little Fourteen-Year-Old Dancer, 1922
by Edgar Degas

Chrysanthemums in the Garden at Petit-Gennevilliers, 1893
by Gustave Caillebotte

The Daughters of Catulle Mendès, Huguette, Claudine, Helyonne, 1888
by Auguste Renoir

The Manneporte (Ètretat), 1883
by Claude Monet

Washington Crossing the Delaware, 1851
by Emanuel Leutze

Ernesta (Child with Nurse), 1894
by Cecilia Beaux

Cape Coast, Ghana

June 30, 2019

The post you are currently reading is my 4th attempt at conveying the many ways in which three weeks in Ghana impacted me.

Who would have thought that an impulse decision made on a leap of faith would be so significant and completely alter the course of my life.

In all honesty, I didn’t choose Ghana for my HEFY expedition. Although I wanted to go on a trip with HEFY, it didn’t seem logical to spend my last summer at home in a third-world country when I should be studying for the ACT and prepping for senior year and university admissions and adulthood. But sitting in sacrament meeting one rainy Sunday, I thought, “just go”. So I got registered, waitlisted, and left the rest completely up to fate.

It would be 4 weeks before I learned that I would be serving in Cape Coast, Ghana, and I cried because I really felt that was where I was meant to be.

And thus began my love affair with the country and people of Ghana.

Three things learned in three weeks:

Gratitude

The first weekend hit me with a wave of homesickness and anxiety to the point that I spent the second night in Ghana on the bathroom floor vomiting (and having no contact with family and friends made it that much worse).I thought for sure I would be sent home. But thanks to a heartfelt priesthood blessing and the support of my group (truly the greatest group, I lucked out!), I stayed. I’m so grateful I was able to overcome that and carry out the service I had intended to do.

I learned quickly that you really do have to be grateful for what you have. I couldn’t think about the comforts and luxuries I enjoyed at home, because it only intensified the homesickness. I couldn’t think about my warm shower, I had to learn to be grateful to have running water at all (even though it was cold and unclean and I had to shower with a bucket). I learned to be grateful for electricity, even though the rooms were so dimly lit, because there were so many that didn’t even have that. I learned to be grateful for the food, even though the meals were so foreign and some unfavorable, because there were so many who struggled to get even one meal a day. I learned to be grateful for somewhat warm, hose-tasting water, because clean, purified water was a rarity in the area.

When you take the time to recognize it , there is SO much to be grateful for, regardless of however messy the circumstances may be.

“And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions”

— Mosiah 24:14

Building a Foundation

As the first group to tackle this project, we were tasked with building the foundation. We left the site everyday completely exhausted and sore and fatigued from the physical labor. We dug deep to make trenches and exerted so much energy to mix and pour concrete, only to have our hard work leveled out and covered up.

It reminded me of that primary song about the wise man building his house upon a rock. Building your house on a rock isn’t as easy and straightforward as that song makes it seem. You really have to dig deep. You have to dig away the dirt of sins and distractions and temptations until you get to the solid bedrock, and then you can build from there. It’s not a one-time thing or something you can accomplish overnight. It takes strength and endurance and faith and lots of time spent digging and working for it.

It was hard for me to come to terms with the fact that no one would ever actually see the work we had done, and to many, it may look like we did absolutely nothing since it would all eventually just be covered up. But that foundation is the most important part. Without it, nothing else matters, because everything else would fall apart.

It made me wonder. What was my foundation? What was I building my life and my testimony on?

At the end of the day, if we don’t have a firm foundation built on Christ, nothing else matters, because without it, everything else falls apart.

“And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.”

— Helaman 5:12

The Light of Christ

There’s one thing that I will always remember about Ghana, and that’s the light. It’s hard to explain it if you haven’t felt it.

In a place where people have so little, they give so much, and there’s so much light in them.

One lady brought us coconuts on the worksite, which to us just looked like a kind gesture, but to her was a sacrifice. That was her livelihood.

The owner of the restauraunt we visited heard about the service we were doing and didn’t charge us for our meal.

One man came to work with us on the worksite every afternoon, unpaid and usually without shoes because his flip flips had holes in them.

“But behold, that which is of God inviteth and enticeth to do good continually; wherefore, every thing which inviteth and enticeth to do good, and to love God, and to serve him, is inspired of God.”

— Moroni 7:13

I learned so much about love, kindness, sacrifice, and dedication in the three weeks I was there. The kindest, most hard-working people I’ve ever known are in Cape Coast, Ghana, and I’ll forever remember them.

So medaase, Ghana. I love you.

Women in Ghana carry everything on their heads.

The all-girls cement mixing team. The boys could neverrrr

This is Zuri. She called me Mother Ry, but with her accent it sounded more like “MuddaWy”. She was always by my side. Even at the worksite, she would climb into a wheelbarrow next to where I was laying bricks and watch until I was done and we could play again. I miss her so, so much.

This is Olivia. The first thing she said to me was, “You are beautiful!” She always came to hang with us at the worksite when her school got out for the day.

Remember when I said they carry EVERYTHING on their heads?

February 14-18: Valentine's Day and Las Vegas

February 21, 2019

I’m a lover of all holidays, but Valentine’s Day is really up there on the list of my favorites! I love all the pink and red that pop up around this time of year, and I’m all for spreading a little extra love in this world.

Valentine’s Day was pretty lowkey this year. It landed on a Thursday and sadly Valentines is not a holiday that we get off school (We don’t even pass out valentines anymore! Being a high schooler is no fun haha).

An anonymous boy in my student government class gave all the girls a valentine. I still don’t know who it was, but it was the sweetest gesture and it made my day!

I ended up going out for pizza and pasta with my family that night and watching Return to Me (such a cute movie!!), so overall it was a great February 14th.

That next Friday I drove to Las Vegas for the weekend to watch my cousin perform at her national cheer competition.

She did a phenomenal job and I’m so proud of her! It was so fun watching her do what she loves and has worked so hard at.

The rest of the weekend consisted of shopping, dinner at Joe’s (THE best!!!) and meeting up with some good friends. Nothing super exciting, but it was a weekend I’ll always remember.

Disney Cruise in the Caribbean

February 8, 2019

For Christmas 2018, we decided to go on a cruise instead of getting presents. Those are the kind of gifts I prefer, because you get an experience and an opportunity to make memories. I think that’s better than anything you could ever get under a tree.

We went on a Disney cruise to the Caribbean, and it was SO nice- the ports, the excursions, the service, all of it! Disney set the standard high, and I don’t think I’ll ever go on another cruise line. We were never bored on the ship. There was so much to do! Plus, there was free soft serve ice cream and Mickey bars! One night, all the adults went to a show and my siblings and cousins and I stayed in the suite to watch a movie. Boone and my cousin Ross wanted to order Mickey bars, but no one else wanted any, so I told them to call room service but only ask for 2 or 3. Next thing I know, Boone is on the phone, ‘Hi, can I get 7 Mickey bars?” It’s a really good thing our suite had a freezer!

Day 1: Tortola, British Virgin Islands

The first day we spent in the British Virgin Islands. We woke up early and watched the sunrise on the deck and it was beyond pretty. We hardly spent any time on the island of Tortola because we took a boat ride out to Virgin Gorda to visit The Baths there. The Baths are believed to have anti-aging properties, so many people would go there to bathe (hence the name). There’s a high chance that your face masks contain minerals from these Baths. You have to trudge through knee deep water and scale slippery boulders and I WOULD NOT recommend bring along an expensive camera. I almost dropped it in the water many times.

Day 2: Basseterre, St. Kitts

St. Kitts was one of my favorite parts of the cruise! We went zip lining through the rainforest with our tour guides Whip Cream and Sugar Daddy. Much love for them. St. Kitts had the prettiest views. You could see the island of Nevis from where we were zip lining and it was breathtaking!

Day 3: At Sea

We had to travel from St. Kitts down to Curacao, so we had a whole day on the ship. But it was much needed after all the physically exhausting activities we did in the first two ports. That night was Pirate Night where they do a big show/dance party on the top deck, complete with an appearance from Mickey and a full on fireworks show! Watching fireworks in the middle of the Caribbean sea is a moment I’ll never forget.

Day 4: Willemstad, Curacao

It was a busy day, starting in the Hato Caves and then heading to a fisherman’s beach to snorkel and swim with turtles! The smell was awful, but the beach is really pretty once you get past that. Swimming with the turtles was surreal! and holy cow, the water in Curacao is the prettiest shade of blue!

Playa Porto Mari. Much nicer than the fisherman’s beach, but it was a Dutch vacation hotspot. Very European- straight down to the old men in Speedos and cigar smoking.

Day 5: Oranjestad, Aruba

The final port. Aruba is a lot like Curacao, but less exciting for me. I was still drained from the snorkeling the day before in Curacao and didn’t do much in Aruba besides chill at the beach. I did ride in the banana boat, which got WILD!

A wonderful, wonderful trip. I was so sad to leave it, but so thankful for all the memories created and amazing people I met.

The Golden Mickeys. Think Golden Globes, but better.

We appreciate color coordinated outfits.

Arizona

May 1, 2018

Sooo

Kylie and I went to Arizona.

It was great, but it didn’t start so great. When we fly, we only fly Southwest. I mean, who would pass up free wifi AND free snacks and drinks?! But roundtrip on Southwest came out to be almost $300, so we ended up booking through Allegiant. I was skeptical about it, but I told myself it would be ok. The flight was only an hour tops.

WELLL….

At 7:00, we were lined up to board the plane, and we were SO excited. Then they came on the intercom and told us that our flight was DELAYED until 10:45!!!! We were so disappointed and so sad! We found seats near an outlet and lived off Dr. Pepper, Sour Patch Kids and vines for a few hours.

We didn’t take off until a little after 11:00. That flight felt like it went by so fast, and good thing too! We were so tired! We touched down in Arizona at midnight, but didn’t get to the house until 1:00 in the morning and we had to be up early for a leadership conference.

I didn’t really want to go to the conference. I thought there would be lots of nerdy people there, but everyone was WAY COOL, and I’m glad I went. It covered so many aspects from choices and goal-setting to starting a business to finances. Pretty much anything you can think of. 10/10 recommend. (If you’re interested, you can find more information here)

After the conference, Kylie and I went house hunting cause she’s moving to AZ, too!!!(jk, but I wish). In Vegas all the houses look exactly the same. I guess the architects and builders started running out of ideas?? It was fun walking around my own neighborhood in Arizona looking at all the cute houses. Lots of people there own horses, too, which is so foreign to me, but also so awesome!

On Sunday, we went to church. I lucked out with THE BEST ward! Everyone was so friendly and welcoming! I was beyond nervous to go because I knew absolutely NO ONE. One of the young women leaders said, “Oh my goodness, hi! We’re so happy to have you!!” and I seriously almost cried happy tears!

We had a combined young men/young women lesson and we talked a little about perfection. Perfection is a tricky thing. It’s something that I’ve tried so hard to achieve, but I’ve always fallen short and I find myself getting frustrated over it often. Our leader defined it in a way that I hadn’t ever heard before, but really liked. She said that perfection is striving to be better today than you were yesterday. It’s okay to fail and fall short, but you have to get right back up again and work harder.

"If you make a mistake, don’t give up on yourself. Your Heavenly Father loves you and wants you to seek His help and keep trying."