Charlotte to the Russe!

Hello Friends! So if y'all didn't know...I love my job. I really do. I seriously feel so blessed to have it. We get dozens of applications every day and I am so lucky! I feel even more lucky after this morning. Why you may ask? We had a Holiday meeting this morning...at 7...in the blessed a.m. It was dang early, especially after having been there til 11 last night. But, the doughnuts and OJ made it bearable. I was kinda dreading this coming season because it gets so crazy and I feel like I live at the store. However, after this meeting I am SOOOO excited!! I feel like I know better about what I am doing since I've been there over a year now and we have some fun things to keep us going that our managers told us about. Such as:

1. Holiday Game! We got split up in to teams and the managers are going to give us "x amount" of points when they see us doing things that help in shop lifting or customer service or keeping the store clean....etc. It is mostly to help with loss prevention..aka...shop lifters. So one team is called "Oh no you didn't!" and my team is called "You betta not!" We get a gift card if our team wins!

2. St. Jude's fund. Every season Charlotte Russe raises money for the St. Jude Children's Hospital. The chain as a whole wants to raise over $500,000 for the hospital. That's huge! So I hope we can do that because it's for such a great cause! They sent us pictures and stories to y'know...tug at our heart strings and it worked!

We are pumped to ask people for donations at the registers. And we as employees have been asked to raise at least $50. So don't be alarmed if I ask you for some cash. And if you saw these pictures and heard these stories you will be pulling out your wallets! :] Plus if I raise the most I get a prize. And if our store raises the most in our region our store manager, Brooke, gets TO GO to St. Jude's!! She wants to SO bad, so we're gonna try our hardest to send her!

3. I got a promotion! I am no longer an associate, but I am now the counter supervisor! Hoorah for me! With that comes more responsibility and a raise. Double hoorah! Basically I specialize in the registers...knowing how to add on items at the cash wrap, return procedures, overriding things, etc. I'm not quite as cool as a manager, but I have more to do. I am excited about it! I am also the shoe specialist so I help the associates be more effective in the shoe selling techniques. Emily, one of my managers, and I redid the whole shoe room and it looks awesome! Very proud of it!

The meeting was just to tell us all about how the Holiday season is going to run and get us pumped for it! Black Friday is just around the corner! It's going to be a busy time, but it's such a fun day! We get tacos, a free shirt to wear, and the shift flies by since it's so crazy! But even after that friday the store will always be busy! The mall starts to stay open til 10 on weekdays and 11 on weekends...which is kinda death since we're there til midnight or 1 cleaning up the store! But oh well...what can ya do?!

And how did we end our meeting? No better way then to pick out an outfit and strut down the runway! Ha! I love Charlotte Russe!

Winter.

Well folks...winter is here. It really is.

Snow is in the mountains.
Frost and ice is all over Neil in the morning.
I can see my breathe.
If I walked out with wet hair I could break it off like an icicle.
I can't feel my hands.
I fall all over the place on campus [and sometimes bringing innocent passerbys with me.]
And it is extremely difficult to get out of bed in the morning!

"I admit that in the past I've been a nasty"...ha, line from The Little Mermaid.
But really...I always complain about how much I hate winter.
Every winter I close to hate my life and wish every day that BYU was on HHI.
But I am going to turn over a new [frozen] leaf.
I am going to enjoy winter.
Now...with that said that doesn't mean I won't be able to have my moments where I cry from being so cold I can't think or I complain how it's April and still snowing BUT...
I am going to enjoy myself.

I am going to go tubing and ice skating and sledding and have snowball fights and make snowman and snow angels and make ice cream from the snow [clean snow] and drink hot chocolate multiple times a week and all while looking stylish!
I will admit...winter clothes are my favorite kind of clothes! I do not like being cold, but I think winter clothing is so great! I love how much you can do!! Scarves, mittens, hats, boots, jackets, sweaters, eatmuffs! The amount of accessorizing, mix and matching, and layering is unlimited. Oh I love it!

So that's it folks...I am going to have a better attitude about having to live in this Narnia.
Wish me luck in this endeavor cause some days it's gonna be dang hard to control my resentment for the cold.
Hopefully this 5th winter of mine will be better than the previous 4!
Peace out and Happy Winter!

i have sisters.

When sisters stand shoulder to shoulder, who stands a chance against us? ~Pam Brown

So tonight I really should have been in bed over an hour ago. But alas....Facebook and Blogspot were invented so here I am. It's been a rough few weeks. I won't lie. School is drowning me, work is busy, boys are dumb, but mostly...my future is uncertain. And as much as I try to say I'm ok and I don't worry about it...I do. I worry about what is going to happen to me all the time. I really don't like not knowing where I will be a year from now. Anyways, I've been having one of those weeks where my worrisome nature gets the best of me when I'm by myself and have time to think. But tonight I went to my sister's blog and in her latest blog [which was not about me] there was a link to the blogs she had written about me. The one at the bottom of the page was written over a year ago on the day I broke off my engagement...hands down the worst day of my life. I did not follow Krista's blog then so I had never seen it before. But wow...it made my week. The compliments and kind things she shared lifted my spirits like none other. I think that's why God gave us sisters. Sisters have a certain element that no other relationship has. So thanks, Kris. Thanks a lot. My week will now go smoother because I know how much I am loved, appreciated, and looked up to.

I MET NIENIE!

Ok...so I am a total dork, but I am SOOOOOO excited I met her! Who is NieNie you ask? Well, if you don't know who she is, then you are missing out! She is one of the most incredible people in this world. Her life is amazing. Her name, NieNie, comes from her real name: stephaNIE NIElson. She became famous in the blogging world sometime ago because she just has a way with words and telling about her life, which sometimes seems too perfect. Who has that amazing of a husband? I mean, really? She always calls her husband "Mr. Nielson" and they have a love like in the movies. And they have 4 kids, who are all cute as a button. Nie loves her life. And she shares that zest for life with the bloggers. Anyways, last summer NieNie and Mr. Nielson were in a small plane crash, from which Mr. Nielson had to pull NieNie from the rubble. He was burned on about 30% of his body and NieNie was burned about 75% of her body. She was in a coma for 2 months. She pulled through though and is now trying to live life as normal as possible. It is very difficult sometimes. She obviously cannot do all the things she used to because her skin is so sensitive and hurts almost constantly. She has also had to get used to how she looks now. She was beautiful before and if you know her you still think she's gorgeous, even though she struggles with her image. She has most recently been on Oprah to talk about her experience and you better believe McKell and I were on the couch watching!

Anyway, Whitney and I talk about her all the time while working at Magleby's. Mr. Nielson came in a few weeks ago, which was most exciting. But, this week the real deal came in! When I saw her walking towards the door I about wet myself. Oh my gosh. The moment has come! I have wanted to meet her, but how the heck does that happen? Yes, she lives in Provo, but who knows where her house is and I most certainly am not going to stalk her even if I did know where her house was. And now here she was...walking towards me. She was wearing the same J Crewe cardigan sweater she wore while on Oprah and her hair was done cute. Her 2 little boys followed behind. She was meeting a friend for breakfast so she said hi to her and then came on walking to the register. She smiled and asked what was good to eat and what would be easy for her little boys to share. She got french toast for both her and her boys. I was so nervous the entire time. I have taken hundreds, no probably thousands, of people's orders at Magleby's, but this was the most epic yet! We have to ask for their name because we call their name out when their food is ready. But duh...i KNEW her name! I didn't need to ask. So like the dork I am I said, "Stephanie, right?" Her fairy like eyes lit up, she smiled, and said, "yes!" I can't believe I said this, but I said, "I'm sorry. That's probably weird I know that. And I feel like such a fool, but I feel like I'm meeting a celebrity." She just laughed and said, "oh you're too sweet. I am no celebrity." Oh NieNie...to me you are. haha. From there I swiped her card and we chatted for a few moments before she went to sit with her children and friends. I could not keep my eyes off of her though! I wanted to just stare at her and just watch how she is. She's positively angelic.

Whitney came in about 30 mins later. When she walked in I motioned her over and said "look at who is here...in the orange sweater!!" I shared and let Whitney have some interaction with her, so she got to give NieNie a to-go box. haha. It was a sad moment when NieNie left Magleby's. I felt like a better person from just being in the same room with her and watching her strength with my own 2 eyes. Read her blog. Seriously. Go back to the very beginning and read it. You'll be hooked and fall in love with her. I know I am.

nieniedialogues.blogspot.com

Man's Best Friend

Once upon a time there was a little girl named Kaycie. Kaycie was born 6 years after the previous child so because of that age gap, Heavenly Father knew she would need a companion when her older sisters had to go to school or had to go do "older" things like such sisters do. So at the ripe old age of 2, a 4th sister was brought in to the mix. A precious, adorable, pure bred, golden retriever puppy. Because of the family business she was named Matey. Ahoy. It was love at first sight for Kaycie and Matey. Maybe because they were both so small. Maybe because they both had golden hair. Maybe because they got along well. Whatever it was...they were destined to be best friends since the first day she was brought in to the Maurer household.


From then on Kaycie and Matey did everything together. Wherever Kaycie was, Matey was and vice versa. They played house together. They read books together. They ate the cat's food together. [it's true.] And they slept together because Kaycie had really cool parents who let the dog in the bed.


Since Kaycie was homeschooled from Kindergarten until 3rd grade, they were still able to spend lots of time together at home. Kaycie couldn't really use the excuse "my dog ate my homework" to the teacher cause A] the teacher was her mother and B] Matey didn't care for paper...unless there was candy or chocolate underneath. Like the one time Kaycie left her HUGE Halloween candy bag next to the couch when the family went to church and when they came back there were colorful wrappers all over the house and Matey pooped a variety of colors for a week. That statement "chocolate kills dogs" is not true.


There was also a time when Kaycie decided to cut Matey's hair. What had actually happened was Kaycie fell asleep laying on Matey's stomach with gum in her mouth. Kaycie had done that once before and got gum in her own hair. Her mother told her to never again fall asleep with gum, and since she had, she was too scared to tell her mom. So Kaycie took matters in to her own hands and played hairdresser. It did not turn out well. Mama Maurer was not happy, but at least she never knew about the gum...maybe. Until now.


Matey was always a happy dog. Always. Unless she saw another dog. Then all bets were off. She hated other dogs. She loved all humans. The family joke was: "If a robber came in the middle of the night, we would never know...unless he brought a dog with him." All jokes aside though, Matey was very protective of the family. Even when she thought other family members were threatening. Karly would play "superman" with Kaycie and lift her up on her feet. Kaycie would scream and laugh and scream, but sometimes Matey thought Karly was hurting Kaycie and would get very upset.


One thing that set Matey apart was her lack of brains. Not that she was stupid...but she was not your average dog. She flunked obedience school. Not just got a bad grade, but she completely failed out. When it was time for "stay", all the other dogs stayed in their spot while Matey happily bounded towards Mama Maurer. She was not one to be left behind. She hated when the family went anywhere and did not take her. Which is why she got brought to Grandma and Granddad's almost every Sunday for family dinner. She would stick her head out of the window on the 15 min drive and let her tongue flap in the wind. The guard at the neighborhood had treats for her and everyone loved her. Everyone.


Matey was not much of a retriever either. We're not quite sure where that "pure bred" blood went. We'd throw the ball and she would bring it back acting like she wanted to give it to you, but no. Just as you'd reach for it she would run away with a smile on her face. It'd take forever to get the tennis ball or squeaky newspaper [her favorite toys] to throw it again. It mostly became a game of "keep away" and running. Which was fine. The Maurer family was used to it. Another one of Matey's favorite games was going in circles, around and around the coffee table with Daddy. She would either run right behind him or run in opposite ways to sneak past him so he couldn't grab her squeaky. It was always quite the entertainment for the rest of the family. Matey was also famous for putting multiple tennis balls in her mouth at one time. The most she got in at one time was 4. One in very back, 2 in the cheeks, and one in the very front. Then she would bark. Obviously muffled, it always brought the family down in belly laughs. This is not Matey, but it looked something like this:


There are too many stories to tell about Miss Matey Maurer. She was the best dog in the world and she happened to stumble upon the right family that needed her in their lives. When Kaycie was a Junior in high school and 17 years old, Matey died. Matey almost passed away a few times in previous years, but she kept fighting because she loved her family too much to go. When she finally left this earth she was 15 years old and in her best friend's arms. Kaycie cried for weeks...and sometimes still cries today.


Dear Matey, I miss you. I miss you lots. It's been almost 6 years since you died, but it still makes me sad to think about you being gone. I miss you sneezing on me. I miss hearing you drink out of the toilet. I miss eating bologna and mustard with you. I miss the click of her nails on the wood floor. I miss rubbing the super soft hair behind your ears. I miss taking you on walks...or rather you taking me on walks. I miss you hogging the entire backseat in the car. I miss sharing popsicles with you. I miss laying on your tummy while I read. I miss jumping on the trampoline with you. I miss hitting you with the front door when we came home since you were always right there waiting. I miss watching your face when we fed you bananas, grapes, or lettuce. I miss you laying right in the middle of the hallway so you could see the bedroom doors of all family members in the night. I miss your bark and I miss your cry. I miss your friendship and I miss you just being there. You're the best dog in the world and I'll see you on the other side. I love you Matey.

d.a.d.

i have learned a lot about my co-workers in the last week.

co-workers at Magleby's that is...
i have known Tara for 3 years and Whitney for 1 year.
and little did i know until recently that their fathers had passed away.
Tara's dad died when she was 13 and Whitney's about 2 years ago. [i think that's right.]
wow.
that's all i could say was wow.
i was floored.

i just assumed this whole time whenever they would say "my mom" instead of "my parents" that their parents had split up.
it was amazing to me how they are now.
i mean...i know you can't mope around your whole life feeling like your life couldn't get any worse.
but it made me feel very ungrateful.
i don't think twice about being able to talk to my daddy.
i can do it whenever i want.
when i am home, i can sit in his lap.
when i am away, i can call him and listen to his voice.
i need to tell my daddy [and mama] that i love them more often.
i need to call them more.
i need to say thank you more.
i don't know if Tara or Whitney read this, but if you do...y'all are amazing and i really admire your strength.

and to my parents...i love y'all.
that's all i have to say.

Glee

Glee (n): open delight or pleasure; exultant joy; exultation.

That is exactly what the show does to me! I want to tell everyone about it!
If you don't watch this tv show, you should.
Glee is about the the glee club at William McKinley high school and the struggles and triumphs they go through with trying to stay sponsored at the school, defining themselves, and their own personal lives.
The characters crack me up! I have fallen in love with them.
My favorite characters are Rachel [lead girl] and the guidance counselor, Emma Pillsbury.
Rachel has an amazzzzing voice! She was on Broadway before the show started. I could listen to her sing all the day long!
It's kinda quirky sometimes, but the songs and the people make the show so worthwhile!
Here are some clips to just brighten your day! [youtube only has a few unfortunately!]

Seriously one of my all time favs on the show! Their cover of "Take a Bow" originally done by Rihanna.


Hello! No Air!


I could only find the shortened version, but the end is the best part. Oh well. It's still great!


Seriously awesome.


I laughed. hard. and long.


My other favs include: Halo/Walkin on Sunshine Mashup, Keep Holding On, Maybe This Time [feat. Kristen Chenoweth], Alone [feat. Kristen Chenoweth], & of course Don't Stop Believing!

i think Charlotte is a great friend.

So I have 2 jobs. I have worked at the restaurant Magleby's Fresh for over 3 years now. I am entering my 4th school year at "the fresh." And i really do love it. I have great co-workers, my General Manager is chill, I get free food on my shift and discounts when i'm not working, I get to see LDS celebs like David Osmond, Harvey Unga, & Susan W. Tanner [among others], and it gives me extra brownie points with people [mostly because they want to use me to get cheaper french toast.] Almost a year ago I decided I needed to get a 2nd job if I was going to pay more of my bills and not worry about money as much. So Heavenly Father led me to the right place at the right time...Charlotte Russe.

Now I have loved Charlotte since I was a freshman. There wasn't a store near me on the east coast so I discovered it when i came out for school. I fell in love with their products! Whenever I had extra money to spare i would go to Charlotte 90% of the time. So Charlotte was where I applied. It was right before Thanksgiving so thankfully they were about to hire on more people for the Holiday season. I still remember walking on campus between classes and getting a phone call from one of my managers, Tiffanee, to ask if I could come in that day for an interview. I was so nervous! Karly was actually in town and took me over to the mall. My interview went well and shortly after Tiff called and offered me the job. My first day of training was the day before Thanksgiving and my first real day was yes...black Friday! I was scared out of my mind...I didn't know what I was doing! I've only ever worked on boats, in a restaurant, or performing. So if I could've dressed up as a mermaid to offer customers a stuffed breadstick on a sunset cruise I would've been set. But no....retail is a new kind of beast. It's a new kind of fun though. I got the hang of it pretty quickly. Before I left for Christmas break I felt comfortable enough.

I returned 2 weeks later after the break and really got in to it. Thankfully they asked me to stay after the Holiday season and I became a regular member of the staff. I fell in love with my managers: Janelle [store manager], Amy, Tiffanee, Crystal, & Emily. I looked forward to work mostly so I could hang out with them! Janelle would always schedule me and Christina on Friday nights so we could have pretzel fridays! If we beat the amount we made on that same day the previous year she would buy us pretzels from PretzelMaker. We would be selling machines so she'd have to pay up! Janelle was also great because she would sing to us in the headsets...always a pleasure. Amy is just straight up. She will be a snot if she needs to be and it cracks me up! She's so great though and we have the best time dancing at the registers together. Tiffy is the cutest thing. Ever. I admire her a lot and she and I had many talks where she gave me a spiritual boost when I needed it during my hard times. Crystal and Emily are fabulous too and I seriously love working with them.

Janelle, Tiffanee, & Amy

Now for some technical terms. ADS [Average Dollar Sale] UPT [Units Per Transaction] LY [Last Year] We have the goals of keeping our ADS at $30, UPT at a 4, and we always want to do better than LY. What our ADS and UPT are for those hours reflect those working...both managers and associates. If we're doing our job as in telling people about the promotions, adding on items in the fitting rooms and at the register, and just showing interest in the customers then our ADS is usually higher. It is the most exciting thing when our ADS and UPT are so high! And the opposite effect is not quite as fun. But I can still remember the day we got the reports in and under associates with the highest ADS in the region was my name! Kaycie - Store 320! YES! That is motivation enough to work hard to get your name on there again and again, week after week!

However, I think the real reason I enjoy this job so much is not getting my name on a report, but just loving fashion. I really do love it. It brings me joy. I love getting shipment in and seeing what the latest is. But my seriously favorite thing in the world is when people want me to shop for them! OH MY GOSH I LOVE IT! It is the greatest thing when someone walks in and says, "I don't know what I want. Can you help me?" Oh gracious...can I ever?! So from there I get to pick out all these outfits for the body shape and what their personality is. And the most rewarding thing is when they walk out of the fitting room and they love what they have on. They feel confident with their appearance. Like I'm smiling just thinking about it! And then the best is when they don't care how much money they're going to spend and they walk out of there with a new wardrobe that I personally picked out! Now there are definitely the days where I think if I have to do any more "go-backs" [putting clothes back from the fitting rooms] I'm going to throw up or if people can't learn to pick up the clothes they clearly just dropped and didn't bother to pick up I will just chuck it at them but...that's ok because...

I have a love affair with Charlotte. I've falling hard. And I'm never falling out of love.

As I Have Loved You.

So Sunday was a great church day. The talks were awesome. The people had good comments. The Spirit was there. But I just felt so much love and appreciation for my life and all the good that it has in it. Sometimes I can only think about the things that I struggle with or wish I had, but on Sunday I got to take a step back and look at the things I do have and the things I am so blessed to enjoy. Here are some of the things I got to think about and appreciate for having in my life:

My Amazing Parents.
My Beautiful Sisters & Studly Brother-in-Law.
My Island Home.
My Friends.
My legs so that I can dance.
My voice so that I can sing.
My hands so that I can play piano.
My 2 Jobs.
The college education I am getting at BYU.
My 4Runner, Neil. [even if he gets a temper from time to time.]
My Wardrobe.
My Bed.

Just those few things I listed a lot of people do not have...even here at BYU. Not everyone has parents that are still in love. Not everyone has siblings they are best friends with. Not everyone can go home to an island for Christmas vacation. Not everyone has the incredible friends I do. Not everyone can dance, sing, or play the piano. Not everyone has one job, let alone 2. Not everyone has a car or more clothes than they know what to do with. As I sat in Sacrament Meeting literally thinking all of these thoughts I became so grateful to my Heavenly Father. Yeah the last year was a struggle and there were definitely times where I would've traded the list above to make it all go away, but it didn't. Heavenly Father knew that I could handle those trials in my life. I am flattered that he knew I could take it. I am awed that he gave me that responsibility to shape me as a person. I could not have gone through it without the love I felt from Him though! I felt more love as a divine daughter of God last year than I have in my entire life combined.

I also became a lot more grateful for the Atonement of Jesus Christ and just how universal it is. I think sometimes we think of the power of that sacrifice only extending to us when we've done wrong in the eyes of God. But I didn't need the Atonement for that purpose. Not that I'm perfect and never have a need for repentance, but I needed it for something different. I needed it for comfort. I needed it for direction. I needed it for peace. I needed it for purpose. I needed it to draw closer to my Savior. The closing song in Sacrament Meeting was "Love One Another." The words read: "As I have loved you, love one another. This new commandment, love one another. By this shall men know ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." That's it...the song is so short and I've heard it countless times in my life. But it really hit me on Sunday. The Savior loves us so much and I am grateful for the experiences in my life that helped me feel that love ten fold.

...Love One Another.

Club Style saved my life.

My friend, Tyrone, really provoked a huge thought process in my mind last week. So because of that trigger...here is the corresponding blog. [if you get to the end of this blog you will hear what Tyrone had to say to me. sorry this is long.] Club Style is the hip hop dance club on campus that I have been a part of since I was a freshman. I auditioned in January of 2006 and made it on the performing team. From then on my life would never be the same. Friendships were made, bonds were formed, and memories were created that semester that changed my BYU experience. The President that year was Laurel Matsuda. She is an amazing person and you can see that through her dancing and her personality. I was terrified of her at first because let's face it...I was a little freshman and she was a cool, older senior. She would never want to talk to me or be my friend because I just wasn't at her level. Boy, was I wrong. She welcomed me every week and bit by bit I became less and less "scared" of her and then I treasured every time we had together and we became great friends. I still love hearing about her life and I wish I could see her more. Other people were responsible for making that first year incredible for me like Shellie, Char, Austin, Claudy, Tyrone, Brian, & Steph. These were the people I looked up to, the people I laughed with, the people I called my "best friends."

Sophomore year [06-07] was drastically different than freshman year. Laurel graduated and passed the torch on to Lindsay Egbert. Lindsay made Claudy & me the VP's and Club Style took a whole new turn for me. From then on I would no longer just go to practice and dance. Now I had responsibility and now I had a lot more to do than just learn choreography. I loved it though. I loved contributing to the mechanics of the club and getting to know people in a different light. Lindsay offered some great new choreography and the club continuted to grow in number. We gained great talent that year like Ashley and Danielle. I felt like Club Style was really beginning to gain campus recognition and it felt good to be a part of that.Junior year [07-08] was drastically different once again, but in a good way. Lindsay could no longer be the Prez due to intense nursing school studying. So the mantel got transferred to yours truly. I was terrified slash honored slash excited slash terrified once more. I suddenly realized that the fate of the club now rested in my hands. It was my job to make sure the club continued every week. It was my job to make sure we were out there among the student body. It was my job to make sure people were happy and taken care of and having fun at practice every week. It was my job to create choreography and it was my job to make 07-08 the best year of Club Style yet. That's a lot to worry about...especially when it's all volunteer hours. :) Thankfully, I had Austin, Shellie, Char and others who were so willing to help with the needs of the club so that it didn't all fall on my shoulders. It was a fun year, at least in my opinion. We had fun choreography and we once again gained new talent. Char headed up club activities like the tumbling gym, Thanksgiving dinner, and pizza nights. Our end of the year showcase was the biggest it ever was. We had it in the Varsity Theater and had 400 people in attendance. We had an opening act, an intermission act, and lots of dances full of choreography by all the talented people in the club. We had club track suits for the first time and our performing group got really tight. I would say it was a successful year. I didn't even scratch the surface of all I wanted to do, but I figured I would have the next year.

Then it came to Senior year [08-09]. Usually you're only the President for one year, but I decided I wanted to take what I had learned from the previous year and apply it to the next year to seriously make the club awesome! However, some unexpected life events happened the summer before my senior year. I was engaged. I was seriously engaged and I was seriously in love. More than I've ever been in my entire life and have still yet to experience again. However, the Lord had other plans in mind, which I'm ok with. I wasn't for a long time and I fought it, but I'm ok with it now. Anyway, I'll spare you the details, but basically my fiance didn't want to live up to the Priesthood responsibilities, get married in the temple, or raise a family in an LDS home or lifestyle. Those of you that know me well, know that that ain't gonna happen. From that day on he and I wanted total opposite families. He still loved me and wanted to marry me, but didn't want my religion. But what he didn't get was he loved me so much because of my faith. My faith has made me who I am. So I had to make a choice: the man I was head over heels in love with or Heavenly Father's plan of happiness. I chose happiness. It was the hardest, yet easiest, decision of my life. Funny how those two can be so closely related. That all came down right before the school year started. So on top of school, jobs, running a club, and church callings...I had to put the pieces of my life back together at the same time. There were a few things that helped in that process including my family [support system to the max], the scriptures [got way close to them], President Hinckley [yes I know...he'd passed through the veil many months previous], friends, my new roommate, Leah, [angel sent from heaven, that one], and honest to goodness...Club Style. Club Style gave me drive. Club Style gave my life meaning. Club Style made me feel needed. Club Style boosted my self esteem when I felt like it had dropped below bottom. Club Style made me feel loved and appreciated. Club Style helped me feel closer to God. Those people in the club will never know how much of an impact they had coming every week, smiling, saying thank you, telling me they loved my choreography, etc...Now I will say that my personal life did get in the way sometimes. There were weeks I wasn't all there or focused. I was literally fighting the biggest internal battle of my life. There wasn't a night that went by from August 08-April 09 that I didn't cry into my pillow wondering why I had to go through that. Wondering when I was going to fall out of love. Wondering why Heavenly Father had chosen me to have this trial. Why? Why? Why? Because of those preoccupations I wasn't always in the game as far as the club went, so to those in the club last year...I do apologize! However, much good came from last year. Thankfully I had Ashley & Shellie to help me as well as Austin, Char, Tyrone, & McKell. Those people will never know what a blessing from heaven they were. The club as a whole did really well. Our showcase was a success, we got another slew of tracksuits, and many fun, laughing moments were had.Well...now I've passed on the President torch. Tyrone Hatch is now the President. Four years ago I could've put money on it that at some point he would be. I must say, I shed many tears knowing I wouldn't be the President anymore. It had become my life for 2 years. I put a lot of time and energy into the club, but at the same time I felt like I didn't accomplish everything I had wanted to. However, if there was any person I would want to pass it on to, it would be Tyrone. Tyrone is an incredible person. He is creative, fun, easy going, friendly, a leader, energetic, and he'll be able to take this club to a whole 'nother level that I could only dream about. Tyrone sent me a text the other day that said, "Club Style saved my life." I was confused at first, so I asked him to explain his statement. The next day we chatted on the phone for a few minutes and he told me what he meant by that. Basically he said after our first practice for the school year he was overwhelmed with the amount of people that came and he realized he was part of something bigger than himself. This club is about more than just dancing. It is about narrowing the student body. It is about helping people feel a part of something. It is about making someone's BYU experience a greater one. He said Club Style has made his time at BYU. Then he so graciously thanked me for keeping up the club while he was on his mission and that he's grateful for the opportunity to be a part of it again. I had to give the thanks back though. Without Tyrone I probably wouldn't have stuck with it my freshman year. The first few weeks Tyrone was really the only one to say hi to me or smile at me when I walked in. Tyrone kept me coming back and he didn't even know. There are many people I owe, including him. I can only hope that I have done the same for someone else.So I know this post is super long and if you've made it this far...you're awesome. I'm getting off my soap box now, but I just wanted y'all to know that Club Style saved my life. It literally did. Maybe not in a physical sense, but definitely in an emotional sense. Not many people know the deep deep chambers of my heart and just how much of a struggle it was to get out of bed every day last year to face the world. But here I am. I made it out on top and I couldn't be happier now! I can't imagine my life without that trial...I really can't. I'm so grateful and I never thought I'd say that, but I am. And I can't imagine my life without Club Style. My life was never the same after January 10th, 2006...

Club Style changed my life.