Best Friend

When I was a little kid, my brother would tell me I wasn't pretty just to make me cry.

It worked.

He would also hit me on the head and steal my things and all the normal brother stuff. I reacted like the little diva I was and would scream and tattle on him and basically display my utter wimpy-ness.

Sometime between now and 12 years ago, this harassment stopped. 

Sometime between now and 7 years ago, we actually became FRIENDS. It was weird at first. We would talk about all kinds of random stuff and go places together. We still had the occasional stupid argument, though.



For the last few years, Taylor has been my best friend in the whole world. It's kinda crazy how much I love him. We can talk and laugh and cry and goof off and eat food and talk more and look up Youtube videos and laugh. I laugh more with him than with anyone else I know. He teaches me something almost every time I see him. He's so wise, smart, clever, hilarious, cool, and interesting.

There is a big problem having a brother this cool.

I know how it feels to always to be excited and happy to see someone with whom I'll have effortless conversation, constant laughter, the ability to talk about important spiritual and emotional things, get advice about anything. I will NEVER ever hear a dirty joke or malicious gossip, he won't be ignoring things I say because of a video game, and is always telling me how wonderful and beautiful and fun to be around I am. 



This has given me high standards for guys. When I meet someone who makes me as happy as my brother does, I'll know I've found someone I can spend eternity with.

Thanks, Taylor, for everything.

This Is Becca's Brain On Drugs

I hate Coke, Pepsi and Dr. Pepper, I've never had Mountain Dew; soda in general is NOT my favorite. Because of this, I VERY rarely consume caffeine.

Probably the highest level of caffeine intake I've ever experienced is a few sips of Monster when a friend is drinking some.

Rockstar was free at work yesterday. I had a few late nights in Rexburg. You can see this isn't headed good places.

I wasn't tired anymore, that's for sure.

There are 240 milligrams of caffeine in one of these cans (There's 95 milligrams in one cup of coffee). Work was a lot easier to handle, to say the least. The caffeine really started to hit me on the phone with my brother after work. I started giggling for basically no reason and he was definitely confused. Working out was boring and I was jittery. In the car on the way to my sister's work, Taylor told me I shouldn't drink energy drinks anymore. Me? I was having a blast. I changed topics literally every 10 seconds and laughed at almost everything. I was excited, loud, and overall a little loopy.

At the restaurant my hands were shaking but I could tell that this little adventure was ending. I calmed down, ate a (delicious) dinner and too much bread (as always..dang free bread!) and drove home without doing anything crazy.

My conclusion:

I don't plan on becoming one of those people that drinks 2 energy drinks a day (I know SO MANY of these people). But because of this fun experiment, I now know that I can use caffeine as a back up plan for things like the drudgery of an early morning after a very late night, cramming for a test, working when I'm completely exhausted..I'll retain my high sensitivity to the drug and be able to fully utilize the benefits of liquid stimulants.

Party on.

#CaffeineVirgin

Provo Probs

To Those Who Abide in the Lovely City of Provo, Utah
This is a great city in which to live. However, there are a few hazards you should look out for:

1. BYU Couples

Characteristics of BYU couples:
Always wearing BYU apparel of some kind--hats, sweatshirt, lanyards, bags, etc. (See below photo)
Gaze into each other's eyes ALL THE TIME. (See below photo)
Rub noses in public and kiss. All the time.
NEVER stop holding hands. 
(NOTE: THIS IS NOT PHOTOSHOPPED. I took this picture while I was at work, where I am lucky enough to see a large number of these specimens)

Safety precautions to be taken: Walk around with your eyes closed, or better yet, stay indoors at all times.

2. Icy sidewalks

It seems like nobody salts the sidewalks in Provo. This results in some awkward looking walking. Or you can be a crazy person and GO JOGGING AT 10PM ON ICE. Because that's perfectly safe. *rolls eyes* I have no idea why or how people do this on slick ice without dying.

Safety precautions to be taken: Wear good boots. Bring around a portable hairdryer and melt everything as you walk. Or, better yet, stay indoors at all times.

3. Mormons EVERYWHERE.

Don't get me wrong--Mormons are great (I happen to be one). But there is a ridiculously large number of Mormons in Provo. I mean, they DID settle the state of Utah so it's understandable that there's a remnant, and there is a huge Mormon university (BYU) in Provo, but still. Lots of these Mormons running around. Talking about Primary lessons and their home teachers in the grocery store and elders wandering through Walgreens. It's a whole other world out here. People would think you were crazy if you were anywhere but Mormonville.

Safety precautions to be taken: Go to the activities they invite you to--free casserole and Jello! Who could say no? If that doesn't work: Can't beat 'em? Join 'em. I like being part of the huge Mormon family. BUT, if you don't join, that's good too. But to all my fellow Mormons: NON MEMBERS ARE CHILDREN OF GOD TOO. Just cuz they're not baptized doesn't mean they're evil. Love them and treat them how they should be treated.

Good luck, Provo-ites.

Would You Rather...

According to some psychologists, there 9 types of intelligence. Howard Gardner wrote a book called "Frames of Mind" that outlined several different ramifications for each type of intelligence: 

Musical–rhythmic & harmonic, Visual–spatial, Verbal–linguistic, Logical–mathematical, Bodily–kinesthetic, Interpersonal, Intrapersonal, Naturalistic, Existential.

I just took a quiz and got Linguistic-Verbal Intelligence:

Good at explaining things to others
Able to use humor when telling stories
Strong abililtiy to listen and remember spoken information
Understands both the literal and figurative meaning of words
Able to use language in many different ways, such as to entertain, to persuade and to inform
Strong grammar skills

The reason I bring up the 9 types of intelligence is because of a conversation I was having with a friend of mine. We were discussing a few relationships we have--both romantic and platonic--and how complicated people make things. I told her I just wanted to start nursing school already--I know it'll be stressful and crazy and I'll probably cry.  

A lot.

But the thing is, I like an academic challenge. The stress of school can be managed. Yeah, it's super tough. It'll feel endless. I'll want to give up. But I'll be able to see the end, know what I have to do, know the rules, expectations, and I can always just ask my teachers, fellow students, and others for advice and there will almost always be a right answer, a correct method, and a box I can check off at the end of the day.

This is what I told Emily: "I'd rather study the biological hormonal differences between males and females than actually experience the difference myself."

The reason for this because people's mental processes are more difficult for me to maneuver than their physiological ones. It's easy for me to tell you that decision making occurs mainly in the prefrontal cortex, speech is understood in Wernicke's area, and emotions are found mainly in the frontal lobe. But I can't tell you why you decided to be angry at something your roommate said to you.

I discovered something about myself a few years ago--there are two things that bring me both stress and happiness.

School and relationships.

The feeling of Oh my gosh I have a paper to write and I have no idea how to start is about as uncomfortable as I like this boy and don't want to be too obvious but he probably likes my roommate so I'm not gonna compete. Dang it. 

And on the flip side: Yay I got an A on this essay! and He asked me on a date! 

Obviously there are varying degrees, but you get the point. 

The nice thing about academics is that I can control it. I study harder, read with more focus, pay better attention in class, I get an improved grade. With people, I can only control my half of any interaction. Which can be difficult sometimes.

#PeopleProbs