7 rules of life.

1. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.

2. What others think of you is non of your business.

3. Time heals almost everything, give it time.

4. Don't compare your life to others and don't judge them. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

5. Stop thinking too much, it's alright not to know the answers. They will come to you when you least expect it.

6. No one is in charge of your happiness, except you.

7. Smile. You dont own all the problems in the world.

7 rules to live by and your life will be much better.
Trust me;

I'm doing those exact things.

Attitude of Gratitude

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

I am so very blessed. I have so much to be grateful for that I can't even make a list! But for the most part, I am so grateful for my family. They do so much for me and they really do mean so much to me. I am so grateful for the siblings I have, even though we give each other a hard time most of the time, they are the best. I'm grateful for the parents that I have and how much they do for me.

I am so grateful for my friends. I take some of them for granted sometimes, but they really do mean the world to me. I'd be lost without them.

I am so grateful for Shawn. For his willingness to serve our Lord and for all his hard work out there. He is touching so many lives out there and I look up to him in so many ways. I am grateful for his love and our relationship. How strong it is to withstand anything and get stronger every single day. He really is the best man out there and I dont deserve him. He's amazing and I'm so lucky to have him.

I am grateful for an amazing job. For the people that I work with and for being my second family. I really do have the best managers out there and it's great to have a job that I look forward to going into every day. Especially for black friday ;)

I am so grateful for this gospel. For a loving Heavenly Father that does love me unconditionally. For the plan of salvation and eternal families that I get to see my Grandma and Grandpa again someday. and that I get to be with my loved ones forever. I am grateful for the Atonement. and I'm grateful for my Heavenly Father and Savior that always listens to me and is here for me.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone and have a wonderful day!

Surrender

"When it comes to love, you need not fall but rather surrender. 

Surrender to the idea that you must love yourself before you can love another. 

You must absolutely trust yourself before you can absolutely trust another. 

And most importantly you must be able to accept your flaws 

before you can accept the flaws of another."

And thats what these 2 years have done for me.

I've learned so much about myself. 

And I am growing into that person I always wanted to be.

I'm far from perfect,

but I'm bettering myself every single day.

and I'm happy!

I'm happy where things are in my life.

I've learned to love myself.

I've learned to trust myself.

and I've accepted my flaws.

I

3 years.

3 years ago today, this is what happened:

It was after school, I still remember what I was wearing. Jeans, a white long sleeve shirt with wings on the back. (so in style.. not). I made sure my hair and make up looked perfect. I kept walking around the house just waiting. Finally the doorbell rang. I couldn't act like I was anxious right? So I just sat in the family room until someone else answered the door and then I'd wait a second so it seemed like I haven't been ready all day.

I heard my dad answer the door. and then I heard his voice: "Hey, is Emily here?" my dad then responded. "Yeah, come on in!"

I started walking to the door and as I turned the corner, my heart stopped. Is THE Shawn Larkin really standing in my doorway right now? I acted like I really wasn't surprised, atleast I tried to. He looked so cute standing there. In his tight jeans, his plaid blue and white shirt. 'Tall, dark, and handsome'.

We then walked to my family room. A million thoughts were running through my head. I had a friend of mine ''warn me'' about Shawn. "He's too shy. He's too picky. He doesn't talk. He wont take you on a date. He never laughs. He has no emotion. You'll just get walked all over".

Is that kind of guy really welcomed into my life?

I thought I'd give him a chance.

We sat on my couch just talking, figuring out what to do. I only had an hour and half before I had to go to dance and he was going to a concert with one of his buds.
My mom then walked in and handed us five dollars and said, "Go get a frosty. and bring Tyson back some fries". (Tyson is my little brother).

So, we walked outside and good ghondi he had the sexiest looking truck. I remember trying to get into that big thing and then the smell. Black Ice car freshener. Yum :)

We started driving to Wendy's. And we were talking the whole time. It felt.. Normal. It felt like I've known him my whole life. Again, the things my friend was telling me came back to mind.. but everything she said just wasn't adding up. Maybe she was just trying to scare me? Yes. She was definitely trying to scare me. Shawn was a great guy. IS a great guy!

We got to Wendy's and I remember standing in line and all we could do was laugh. He was instantly my best friend. It was like we've been together forever.

We sat down. Had frosty's and then had to go back to my house. As we were driving home, it was no longer me judging him, or comparing him to the things my friend said. It was me judging myself. I felt like he was so out of my league and so perfect. There is no way he'd ever want to see me again.

"Hey Em, when can I take you out on a real date?"-Shawn.

I remember those words so well. Of course I responded with a "Very soon I hope" and got out of his truck. I walked inside just telling myself there was no way he'd ever consider me. And as I entered my house, I got a text from him telling me I looked very pretty.

The whole night, he texted me. Even at his concert. As silly as that might sound, it meant a lot to me. Because Mr. Perfect wanted to talk to me.

And from that day forward, it was the best 3 years of my life. A lot of ups and downs. High school drama. Figuring out who we are apart and together. Falling in love. Giving him to the Lord for two years.

I wouldn't trade a day for the world.

11/11 will always be close to my heart.

My motto.

Hey everyone!

Wow, have I been slacking or what on this blog??
Sorry, I've been so busy lately.

But wow, time flies! Especially when you're having fun and staying busy of course. Its amazing how much I've grown the past 17 months. I don't even remember the girl I used to be before Shawn left, but if he were here, he'd for sure love the girl I've become. I feel like I've just grown up. I work almost every day, go to school, I just feel like an adult now. Can I just stay a kid for a while? First year I could actually vote and I didn't even do that! So maybe that'll help with staying young ;) But if Obama wins, I'm moving to Chile. #teamromney.

Its been a crazy couple weeks I'd say. A lot has been going on, but in the middle of all the hectic, he never ceases to amaze me. Last week, unexpectedly, I got a package. Just to tell me he's been thinking about me. Just some random socks, earrings, letters, pictures. He spoils me! It means a lot to me that during the craziness of the mission, he finds time to love me.

I've learned to much lately. Who my true friends are, who I can count on, what matters most in life, the gospel being the center of my life, how much my family means to me, how important missionary work is, getting my priorities straight, setting goals and meeting them, where I want to be in 10 years. I really do feel like I'm finally growing up. Its bittersweet for sure. Every day that passes I'm growing and every day that passes is a day closer to seeing his handsome face again. I never, in a million years, thought that waiting for a missionary would be so hard and so challenging and throw me so many curve balls. But its thru the hard times and the curve balls, that I grow and learn to appreciate so much. I haven't had a real boyfriend for 17 months. Some days, it's hard to remember "Shawn & Emily''. His voice, his looks, his laugh. The little things. I look at pictures and just think, "Is he real? We were really together? Have I made him up? Is he imaginary?" hahaha but I guess thats what time and space does to ya. But every day I hold onto those words, "I will wait for you". Its hard. Its hard everyday. but in the end, it'll be so worth it. Because no matter what, I'll be happy. We'll be happy.

So I'll continue to fight and I'll continue to live my life and have so much fun.
I'll continue to do what makes me happy.
I'll be the Emily that he expects me to be, who my family expects me to be, and who the Lord expects me to be.

"The only person you should be comparing yourself to, is the person you were yesterday. Always be a better person".

Thats my motto right now.

And I'm going to do that :)