A New Beginning

It's been six weeks today that I started on the road of beginning a new life. It feels like it's been forever. But I've done just that and started over. I decided to move back up to Rexburg instead of commuting back and forth to school from Mom and Dad's house. So I live at the Ridge again next to the Rexburg Temple. I love it up here. I'll be moving to a different apartment in that complex in the fall with my old roommates Julia, Sydney, and Kayla. (Katie, it won't be the same without you!) But I'm really excited to be back living with old friends. For now, I've been very happy with my current roommates and with the way things are going. I didn't think it was possible to be happy again, but here I am! Happy, healthy, and ready to take on the world.

My roommates have been a lot of fun, and constantly remind me what it's like to be fresher out of high school. I have five second-semester freshman roommates. At first I thought it was going to be horrible, but I was too quick to judge. I've really enjoyed being their roommate. I only have a couple of roommate pictures, but I will post more as I get them.

Alexa, Megan, and I at Olive Garden for Alexa's birthday

Aubrey, Alexa, and Megan on Alexa's birthday

Dalton, Adam (friends in our ward), Alexa, Megan, and I at Olive Garden

Aubrey is 19 and from Temecula, California (southern California). Aubrey is one of those people that no matter what she says you find yourself laughing hysterically. She is absolutely hilarious without even trying. She looks a lot like Molly Shannon so sometimes we make her do impressions from SNL and other Molly Shannon shows. Aubrey is a HUGE "Friends" fan just like I am so we have a lot of fun discussing the show and how much love we have for it. It's also nice to have somebody to understand the "Friends" quotes I say every now and again when Amber's not around. ("Hi, I'm Chandler. I make jokes when I'm uncomfortable.") She is incredibly outgoing and loves to dance. Aubrey has a great way of making sure everyone is included, and she's not afraid to be herself. Another thing that's awesome about Aubrey is how good she is at shopping. She has a ton of clothes and found most of them on sale or clearance. She has tons of pieces she found for under $10, it's amazing.

"You just have to go through the racks. Don't be a loser and lose patience,"

she says. Well said. She's my shopping hero! I love that girl!

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Alexa is 19 and is also from Temecula, California. She is an awesome singer and taught voice lessons while she was home. She is dating a guy named Eddie who lives in Provo and he's probably one of the nicest guys I've ever met. She's a lucky girl! Alexa is such a sweetheart and is very considerate of other people. We've recently gotten her started on watching the seasons of "Friends" from the very beginning and so far she's loved it. Alexa drives a blue Toyota Tundra, and the horn whistles like you would when you thought somebody was hot or something. It's great! She's always speaking very positively about people and has given me some great advice when I've needed it the most.

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Megan is 19 and from Mesa, Arizona. She, Alexa, and Aubrey knew each other from last summer semester when they all lived at Tuscany Place here in town. They didn't live together but they became good friends. Megan is also very fashionable and is an awesome interior decorator. Her room is absolutely adorable in black and lime green. She must get it from her mom, who decorated our entire living room and kitchen the first weekend we lived here. Thanks, Mom Nielson! Megan likes to constantly be doing something, even if it means just going outside and walking around for a while to enjoy the sunshine.

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Becca is 18 and from Des Moines, Iowa. She likes going running and eating my cookies. Don't those two complement each other? :) Becca works at Lexington Law Firm here in town, which makes she and I the only two with jobs in our apartment. One of the first things I noticed about Becca when I met her was her taste in music. The only thing I ever hear her listening to is oldies or classic rock. The best! Becca really likes the show "One Tree Hill," and you can find her at the Ridge lounge every Monday night at 8:00 watching it because we can't seem to pick up that channel on our tv. I love Becca!

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The last roommate I have is Ashley. She's 18 and from Washington state. Ashley and Becca lived together last summer in the dorms. Ashley likes to go running and shopping. When not doing homework, Ashley can be found in class or eating Reese's peanut butter cup ice cream. On the weekends she likes to travel to Boise to see her boyfriend. Ashley and I have gotten along really well from the start, it is very easy for us to carry on long conversations. Her dad was recently put into the bishopric back home so her parents flew her home for a few days to be with family. What a fun opportunity!

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So those are my roommates and a little bit about them. I love these girls, and I'm already beginning to realize why I was supposed to live up here in Rexburg this semester. It was incredibly scary moving back up to Rexburg and having to start all over with a lot of things. But I'm already seeing the blessings and understanding my purpose of being here. I love my roommates. We have so much fun together, and I'm excited for the days to come and the experiences that will make us even closer.

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And since it is Thursday, I will add my "Thankful Thursday" to this post:

1) I'm thankful for awesome roommates and the blessings that have come from being part of this apartment and part of my ward.

2) I'm thankful for the knowledge I am gaining by being in college and I'm thankful for the ability to attend college.