Why I'm Always Reppin

Happy Rep the Y Friday! Hope all of y'all are appropriately clad in navy or royal BYU Blue and revving up for the game tomorrow!
Speaking of reppin', I really love the 2016 and 2017 Game Day t-shirts. For those of you who haven't seen them, the 2016 ones say "Reppin the Y" and the newer ones say "Always Reppin".

When I was first introduced to the word "reppin" in 2016, the blonde part of me thought it was pronounced "Re-pin"... as in, like, a Relief Society Pinterest page gone rabid? I was really confused.
Eventually, after I figured out how to actually pronounce the word, the idea of Reppin' the Y grew on me. It's a catchy, simple phrase that effectively captures all the emotions that BYU fans feel during the heat of a game.
I've also thought about the phrase, "Always Reppin". The slogan implies that true fans don't have to be clad in BYU gear to represent their school; their very way of life is representation enough.
So, how can a Cougar be "Always Reppin?"
It's hard to give an answer to that question without thinking of examples of students and alumni who are always Reppin'. So, over the next little while, I'll use Rep the Y Friday as an opportunity to highlight people who have defined what Always Reppin means for a BYU Cougar.
In the meantime, dear BYU Cougars, don't just wear blue; bleed it.

Why I Love Football (now)

So BYU football season is practically upon us... and boy, am I excited! 

Before I explain why, I need to give you a vision of the kind of sports enthusiast before BYU. 

...the kind who says, oh, I played basketball once. It was nice. I think I shot a touchd- err, basket. 

Sports just wasn't my thing. I was terrible at pretty much every sport I tried, and frankly, I didn't enjoy competitive sports. I cared more about making sure everyone stayed happy than winning. Which is fine, unless you're supposed to be playing offense in basically any sport. 

I wasn't a big sports watcher either. I loved watching volleyball and went to many BYU and high school volleyball games, but other than that, sports never interested me. I got mildly into football my senior year, but I went mostly to support one of my best friends in marching band than to actually watch the players. I would literally bring homework or a book and sit alone on the top bleachers of the stadium until the marching band would perform at half-time.

And yet... college changed me (You're probably thinking that's clique. Thank you, I try)

I LOVE BYU SPORTS!!! 

My freshman year, I bought a ROC student card and went to almost every BYU football game. The scene was similar to my high school football years: I usually went by myself and brought homework; however, I took time to watch the players and the marching band. Somehow, along the way, BYU Football stole my heart. 

There's just something about the energy that pulses through LaVell Edwards stadium right before a game. Students, clad in identical royal blue "Always Reppin" t-shirts. Greasy, expensive popcorn, pizza, and Cougartails from concessions. The BYU marching band playing "Popcorn Popping" and The Imperial Death March and the Fight Song. Apostles in the crowd with cheering crowds in the audience. T-shirt guns. Mountain sunsets. Frozen fingers. Painted faces. Flipping Cougarettes. 

And the BYU football players, full of enough talent, determination, and heart and soul to fill a stadium. 

Sure, BYU doesn't always win, but football games are always a win for me. 

So please, go to at LEAST one BYU Football game during your time at BYU. You won't regret it, and your fellow BYU Cougs will be happy for the support. 

P.S.: Here was my first football game! It was an away game at University of Utah, so we watched the game in the lobby of the boy's dorm. I provided the Cheez-its and my friends provided the cheers. 

Breakfast for Slightly Less Lazy People

Since I posted one of my mom's recipes, I now feel obligated to post one of my dad's, considering my parents make up like 50% of my readership. This recipe requires slightly more effort than mom's, but requires much less brain power, so I assume that means it evens out to be quite doable for a college student.
My dad has always LOVED cereal. He cannot live without his bowl of Grape Nuts or Granola in the morning. Recently, however, my mom's been trying to phase cereal out of our diet. It's apparently expensive, full of sugar, and has too many preservatives. Honestly, I can't complain about this latest development because now my mom COOKS homemade breakfast. Mmmmm
But my dad's usually out of the house early, and he prefers to eat cereal for breakfast. Since my mom has stopped buying as much cereal, his solution is homemade granola!
The recipe is simple: just a 1-1-1 ratio of three ingredients.

Homemade Granola
1 cup of oats
1 tablespoon of oil (We use coconut oil because it adds flavor and is healthy and there's nothing else in the house, but you can use other oils)
1 tablespoon of some sort of sugar (We used Very Dark Maple syrup, which was DELICIOUS! Honey also works, or just any generic syrup you'd put on top of pancakes)

1.) Preheat oven to 350
2.) Combine ingredients
3.) Spread on to a baking sheet, preferably one with a lip so you don't make a mess all over the kitchen
4.) Cook for 12 minutes
5.) Take out of oven.

There you have it! Oats are cheap and filling, thus a great addition to any college breakfast. Go ahead and try it out!

Breakfast for Lazy People

Did somebody say breakfast?

Breakfast has always been an important part of my day. My family is the kind of family that CANNOT live without breakfast. My childhood mornings consisted of Frosted Mini-Wheats, Cheerios, and Life, and in my high school years, I graduated to Multi-Grain Cheerios and Grape Nuts. Regardless of where we are, what time it is when we wake up, or how much we ate for dinner the day previously, my family ALWAYS eats breakfast. So when college came around and most of my friends started skipping breakfast in favor of ten extra minutes of sleep, I rebelled. I would rather sacrifice some extra snoozes for a hearty bowl of Grape Nuts, thank you very much. 

Since breakfast is such an important part of my day, I've been working on learning some breakfast recipes that are quick, easy, and fairly healthy. One of my new favorites is my mom's Oatmeal in a Jar recipe (my mom probably got it off the Internet somewhere, but whatever.  I don't think the Internet Police will prosecute me). The nice thing about this recipe is that it's so versatile. It's one of those recipes you absolutely, positively cannot mess up (thank goodness. I have enough cooking issues as it is). It requires no cooking, no baking, no mincing, and even no toasting! It's almost as easy as the "just as water" Top Ramen you were probably previously eating for breakfast. 

You could also try adding chopped nuts, sliced apples, chocolate chips, brown sugar, strawberries, raspberries, or whatever else your heart desires. Get crazy. 

Blueberry Banana Oatmeal

1/2 cup oats 

1/2 cup milk 

1/2 cup blueberries

1/3 cup sliced bananas

1 tsp vanilla 

1 tsp chia seeds (if you're feeling hippie. You can drop it if you want) 

A mason jar, or maybe just an empty spaghetti sauce jar. Or even a Styrofoam cup, that works too

1.) Put all that stuff in a jar.

2.) Put jar in Fridge overnight 

3.) Eat 

OR 

Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal 

1/2 cup oats

1/2 cup sliced bananas

14 cup peanut butter 

1 cup milk 

1/2 tsp vanilla 

1 tsp cinnamon 

1 tbsp honey

1 tsp chia seeds 

A mason jar, or maybe just an empty spaghetti sauce jar. Or even a Styrofoam cup, that works too

1.) Insert into jar

2.) Put jar in Fridge overnight

3.) Eat 

I was going to add a picture of my creation, but the pic made my oatmeal look like so disgusting I decided against it. 

Good luck putting your ingredients in your jars! <3

Ultimate Friends

So I watched my sixth grade end-of-the-year elementary ensemble video today with my little sister. WOW. Talk about throwback! I forgot how incredibly high my voice was back then. It's a little scary. I'm surprised I never broke any glass with my squeals.

Yeah...Wow. Baby me was pretty adorable.
I'll admit, I got pretty involved in watching the video. I might've sang along. I might've yelled at the TV screen. I might've cringed at the "oohs" we were singing. And I also might've cried...
My favorite part, however, was listening to my final speech. I was chosen to give a little speech on "what ensemble means to me" during the awards ceremony of the concert (yes, I even watched that part. So sue me). I was captivated by my little whiny voice proclaiming how much an elementary singing group had meant to me. I loved recognizing the definitive Kaila flavor my writing had even then. My favorite line could've been pulled off of a page of my blog: "I met so many new friends when I went to Ensemble. Of course, Mr. Dennis is the ultimate friend, always ready to crack a joke or make us all smile."
The phrase "ultimate friend" really got me thinking about how much my teachers have meant in my life. I can still remember every single teacher I've had since Kindergarten, and I can point to where certain habits, interests, jokes, and sayings have come from.
Seriously. My teacher's voices still haunt me.
When I'm running, literally running, late for 8 am class, and I'm running past weird looks and stares, I hear Mr. Dennis's voice in my head: "Better to be thirty minutes early than one minute late".
When I'm curled up in a ball on my bed, one sentence away from giving up, and I yell at the world "I can't do this anymore!" I get slapped back into action by Mrs. Holcomb's voice telling me, "Can't is not an option". So I get up and write one more sentence, then one more paragraph, then on and on until the essay's done.
When my friends ask me, "Where's it at?", I reflexively respond with "10 cents. Don't end a sentence with a preposition", and I answer their confused looks with "it's alright, Mrs. Sweick will buy us a pizza party with the money." Sure, no one gets it, but I do.
When I hear someone mispronounce the word "potable", I smile and remember Mrs. Smith's inside joke with us about how even news casters screw up the word, but we never would.
Over and over again, I hear their voices in my head.
That's why I think my little sixth grade self was spot-on when she called Mr. D an "ultimate friend". My teachers have truly proven to be friends through the thick and thin. They have seen students instead of statistics, seen potentials instead of points, seen futures instead of failures. They are the people that make my #collegeprobs possible, for are they are the people that helped me get into college in the first place. They got me into BYU, and their voices in my head will help keep me there.
So pro tip high schoolers: be thankful for your teachers. They do more than any of us will ever know.

The Power of Positivity

If I was rich, I'd hire some upstart grad student to fill my posts with scientific evidence so I could actually prove that every once in a while, I'm spot on with my life advice.
But I'm not rich, and I'm fresh out of upstart grad students anyway... sooooo this is my "no sources, no in-text citations, and no expert advice" blog post. Proceed with caution You have been warned.
From my own personal experience, I believe that I have learned a lot about the power of positivity in life. I've always been a perpetual optimist, and over the years, my optimism has morphed from a juvenile refusal to acknowledge evil in the world to a more mature (but probably still stupid) belief that despite the evil in the world, there are still so many reasons to be happy and hopeful. This semester, however, has stretched my optimism to the limit.
It's easy to be optimistic about the futures of gas prices when you don't have a car or a license. It's easy to tell a friend to cheer up when you don't have to deal with what she's going through. Basically, it's easy to be optimistic when you are detached from a situation. But when your challenges get upfront and personal, that's when things get difficult. Suddenly, your optimism and happiness becomes a daily fight instead of a reflex. Doubt, despair, and just plain complaints threaten to overtake all of your bright hopes and dreams. This is when positive thinking gets hard, but this is also when it gets important.
When life gets hard, I've found that I need optimism in my life. Often, my challenges are unchangeable. I can't get rid of term papers, I can't force people to do what I want them to do, and I can't make the Cannon Center serve Mahi Mahi tacos on days when I'm not working. The more I complain about these types of things, the more miserable I get. As President Holland says,
"No misfortune is so bad that whining about it won’t make it worse."
Even though we all know this in our heads, the application of said knowledge isn't always smooth sailing. For example, sometimes, I justify negative thinking by saying that it's pushing me to achieve more, that somehow by thinking "gosh Kai, you're a disaster" I'll become better. The opposite is actually true. Negative thinking is discouraging: it robs me of my motivation and effectiveness. Although it seems obvious, we so often forget that there is nothing positive about negative thinking.
Now that doesn't mean you can't have bad days. That's stupid. Everyone has bad days, bad weeks, and bad months. And sometimes complaining to someone about our problems can actually help cleanse negativity out of our systems. But letting negative thoughts stick around in our brains can only amount to heaps of discouragement, distress, and depression.
So today, start small. Counter your fears with some faith, replace your discouragement with determination. Your circumstances won't change, but your life will.

The Scoop on the Freshmen Fifteen

I've gotten this question a lot from my high school friends: Is the freshmen fifteen real? *insert edgy, scary music*

My best answer? It depends. *insert groans from Ambeajaf at my vague and unsatisfactory answer*

I remember when I was preparing for the trek up to BYU, it seemed like EVERYONE had a piece of advice to give me. Some people wanted to set me up with their grand-nephew, some people advised me against getting a job my first year, some people just had miscellaneous advice as to how to properly cook Top Ramen. Pretty much everyone, however, had advice about the freshmen fifteen. They'd tell me, eat lots of BYU Creamery ice cream, you're going to gain the freshmen fifteen anyway! Or, make sure you expect to gain the Freshmen Fifteen by the end of your first semester, it's going to happen regardless of how much you try. Whenever people would say stuff like this, I'd always laugh, but in my head, I'd also be mildly concerned. Were they expecting that I'd return home a rolling ball of fat, like Matt Meese from Studio C on a bacon cleanse? 

Despite all my joking on this subject, the Freshmen Fifteen was a real concern for me. I was raised by a health nut who taught me how food affects my body, and I was scared of being unable to control what I put in my body as I had before. I would constantly be at the mercy of what the Cannon Center was serving for dinner.
Honestly, it's still something I worry about, but now I worry more about meeting my personal health goals than avoiding the freshmen fifteen. The Freshmen Fifteen is more fiction than fact. Some people do gain weight their freshmen year, but others actually lose weight from walking around campus every day. Other people's weight fluctuates frequently, depending on the time of year or the busyness of school, while still other people's stagnates. It honestly depends on the person's previous history and lifestyle.
My point is, don't worry about it. It's way more important to be healthy than to be skinny. If you are healthy and happy, then that's what matters, even if college does mean you put on a couple extra pounds. You will learn soon enough that NOBODY CARES. Everyone is in the same situation, and there are few college students who have time to judge you for your extra weight when they themselves probably went to school in their pajamas and are living off of Hot Pockets. So don't stress.
That being said, if eating healthy is important to you, then there are ways to make that happen, even if you have to eat at the school cafeteria every day (I'll blog more about ways you can adjust your eating habits to living alone later). The same thing also applies to working out. If you love exercise and are worried about having enough time to do it college, just know that if it's important to you, you can find a way to fit it into your schedule. You can take a yoga or Zumba class, join an intramural sports team, or find a running buddy with someone in your dorm. There's always an option. Know your goals, then be flexible and creative in achieving your goals, and you can make anything happen.

Remember, your worth isn't made up of the number of laps you run at the gym or the number of chocolate chip cookies you eat. It isn't made up of numbers at all. It comes from something deeper, something diviner, something that isn't changed by choices. It just comes from being you.

So next time you are weighed down by weight, take time to count your many blessings instead. You'll soon find your mental scales tipping towards living a happier life. 

Pro Tip #5: Don't Lose Your Wallet

Really. Just don't.
This is like the sixth time I've lost my wallet this year. As this is BYU, it is usually returned to me or handed in to the Wilkinson Center Lost and Found within twenty-four hours of my losing it. I'm lucky enough that most BYUians are too nice to jack my wallet. I think I'm more at risk for someone trying to slip $5 into my wallet than someone of trying to slip $5 out. Alas, it seems that this time, my wallet may be gone for good. (Although I am still holding out hope that BYU tv's Random Acts of Kindness show actually found my wallet and will return it to me shortly with $200 and a note that says "You are the bestest" or something like that).
Unfortunately, it's not just my wallet that I lose on the daily. About a week ago, my phone fell out of my pocket on my walk to work, and I had to use find my iPhone to trace my phone back to the hands of some random dude who had picked it up. I lose my pencils all the time, usually during the exact moment my professors say "You need to write this down, it's going to be on the test". And most recently, I've been in the process of losing my mind. And my marbles? As my friend Ian would say, I can't lose those, because that would imply I had some in the first place.
Besides losing things, I also tend to get myself lost. Just this morning I was lost in the JSB, of all places, trying to find my way to the professor's office. There was also the time I got lost trying to walk home from the Provo tracks. Or the time I got lost at Knotts. Twice. (Three times? I'll have to get that fact checked). And that one time I tried to hike the Y. And- you get the point.
Side Note: I have never lost my keys, never locked myself out of my room, and never forgotten to take my keys with me when I leave. I have no idea why. My roommate can provide a testimonial if you don't believe me (although frankly, I hardly believe it myself). 
Anyways, yeah. This is day four without my wallet *gasps for air*. Since my ID card was in my wallet, I haven't been able to use my meal plan to eat except at the Cannon Center (where thankfully, they take the ID card on my phone). I've also been trying to avoid hanging out with people (which isn't that hard at the moment because I don't have a kajillion friends) because I'm afraid that they'll want to purchase something I can't afford. Because I currently can afford nada.
The upside of this ordeal (yes, there is an upside. There is always an upside) is that I've stopped my late night trips to the vending machine for fishy crackers! And I've stopped pouring my money into overpriced but delicious Caribbean Passion smoothies from Jamba Juice.
So pro tip of the day: Don't lose your wallet. If you do, you will quickly find yourself on the most bizarre combination of weight loss program and savings schedule that you could imagine. Believe me, you don't want that. Life is so much better when your pocket holds an empty wallet, your right hand holds a PB 'N Jealous, your left hand holds a fistful of fishy crackers, and the clock on your computer reads a solid one in the morning.

I Looked In the Window and What Did I See? My Popcorn Burning...

I am about to divulge the recipe for the most amazing, mouth-watering, nutritious and delicious dinner you will ever eat as a college student. Prepare to be amazed!

Serving Size: 3
Serving Size Reality: 1 (how pathetic)

Ingredients:
1 starving college kid
1 bag of microwave popcorn
1 microwave

Method:
1.) Remove plastic wrapping from bag. Bonus points if you rap while doing this.
2.) This is a hard step! Walk to the microwave. This might require you to leave your dorm, but the energy expended in completely this step pays off with the final product.
3.) Open microwave.
4.) Throw bag into microwave
5.) Spend a full minute trying to figure out how the microwave works
6.) Cook on high for 2 minutes 30 seconds
7.) Smell the air to make sure it doesn't burn
8.) When finished, hobble back to room with bag
9.) Eat and enjoy! Pairs great with water (Dasani or Arrowhead are both acceptable)

A Thousand Years (Not the Christina Perry Song)

So two Sundays ago, my stake president (aka the leader of the church in the little area that I live), gave me some great advice that I think everyone can benefit from.

One thing a lot of people hate about college is how much it can change from year to year. In high school, every year was pretty much the same for me: same friends, same lunch spot underneath the same spider-dropping tree, same AP teachers, and same extracurriculars. The sameness from year to year was part of what made high school so amazing. Tuesdays meant Showtime rehearsal from 3-5 pm, 30 something people twirling, traipsing, and tripping through music and dance. Wednesdays meant Mutual with Marsha at 7 pm (Mormon Standard time), either at the stake center or the Walnut Building. Monday mornings meant walking from seminary to school with the Mormon kids, then spending an hour or two in the library doing homework and just chilling. Most weeks were the same, most weeks were predictable, and I loved it. It was honestly the traditions and routines that helped keep me sane throughout high school. 

Then BAM! Cooooollllleeeeegggggeeeeee

College is weird because it's impossible for any semester to be similar to another. There's constantly this huge turnover of people at college. People quit school, go home for the summer, switch schools, take gap years, go on missions, study abroad, go on humanitarian trips to the Philippines, take internships in Africa, whatever. The friends you make one semester could very easily be gone the next. Moreover, even if you are lucky enough to make friends that will stick around, it's likely that you will all finish school at different times, depending on you and your friends' majors and careers. And, if you go to a big school like I do, if people move to different housing locations, you may never see them again if you don't make a conscious effort to seek the out.
All of this can equal some serious frustrations. Like, why even bother to make friends if you'll be friendless again in three months? What's the point? 

What I was challenged to do on Sunday, however, was this: "act upon this land as if for years". That little phrase comes from Doctrine and Covenants 51:16-17. If you want to read the whole thing, go here. Although this advice was originally directed to a group of early Mormon pioneers, it applies to us college kids too. We may have only four years, four months, or four weeks in a class, dorm, or ward, but we can choose to make the most out of the time we have. We can make friends, learn new things, build relationships, and make a difference. It's our choice. If we cram our mental calendars with finalities, what meaning is there to our lives? We live a life full of endings but very few beginnings. We spend our lives waiting for what comes next but then never really living life.
So my advice? Put down roots wherever you go. Pretend like you'll be wherever you are right now for another decade, and see how that changes the way you think and live.
You might even get some good friends out of it.

Pro Tip #4: I Like my Friends Extra Toasty Sometimes

So I've been rethinking my life. That's always fun...

Spring semester for me has meant going back to square one. I feel like I'm a brand spankin' new freshman all over again: I once again essentially don't know a single soul on a campus, I've been thrust into a new dorm and new ward, and my life is a disaster (#storyofmylife). I'll admit that last week was pretty rough, but this week seems to have sunshine in the forecast (not literally, it rained today RIGHT AFTER I TOOK OFF MY RAIN BOOTS, but that's another story haha)

Anyways, my friend-making process lately has been pretty sloppy. It's like I've been walking down the aisles of the BYU Creamery looking for prepackaged best friends. I've mentally been like: Oh, your sugar content is too high, I need more salt in a relationship. Or, your jokes are too funny, I need something with way more cheese. Or, oh, you have 17 grams of protein? I think that's too much "pro" and "teen" for me to handle. 

The thing is, in having set expectations for what kind of friends I've been expecting to make, I've been missing out. It's like when I went to the BYU Creamery the other day. I wanted to buy a nice, normal, original flavored box of Cheez-its. Is that too much to ask? Apparently, because they didn't have the original flavor. They had the snack mix combo, the white cheddar, the hot 'n spicy mix, the extra toasty (what the even goodness does that even mean?!) and like four other flavors, none of them were normal.
So what were my options?

I could pay like $4 to try a new Cheez-it flavor, or I could storm out of the Creamery empty handed, cranky, and still hungry. 

Needless to say, I marched home with a box of Extra Toasties under my arm, and they were a quarter of the way gone before my key was in the dorm. 

I assume you've caught on by now that I'm using Cheez-its as a metaphor for life (apologies for the cheesiness of this analogy). Like Cheez-its, people come in all kinds of flavors, colors, and sizes. But unlike Cheez-its, people and especially FRIENDS don't come in prepackaged, neatly sealed, ready-to-eat boxes. People are so much fresher and so much better than that. By expecting to make friends with certain kinds of people, I've been limiting myself to metaphorical original Cheez-its. I've also managed to make myself quite lonely and mopey. But as I've sought to be friendly to everyone, I've started to form friendships with the extra toasties and hot 'n spicys on BYU campus. People who are genuinely sweet with a not a grain of salt in their bodies, people who are actually, legitimately funny, and people who leave me feeling filled with love at 17 grams of perfect proteen. With each new flavor I try, I find myself being lifted up from my hole of self pity into a whole new hope: that someday soon, I'll have some new best friends to call my own. 

And the best part? They're not 1,650 calories a box. 

Pro Tip #3: Don't Abandon Your Laundry to the Mercies of Humanity

So funny story (great way to premise a conversation, right?)
A week or two ago I did some laundry. In Helaman Halls, there are washers and dryers in the basements of all the dorms, and they cost like $0.75 in Cougar Cash, the money which you can get loaded on your BYU ID, to run. Annnywaaay, I did my laundry and, like the typical mess I am, I totally forgot to take it out of the dryer when it was done. When I finally remembered a day or two later that I had left my stuff down there, it was gone. I think someone took it all to lost and found, but I've been too lazy to check. Unfortunately, however, my only towel was in that load of laundry, so I have been drip drying in the shower for the past week. Quite pleasant!
I guess the moral of the story is be smart when doing your laundry. Don't do your laundry when it's super busy: you're likely to forget that it's down there and infuriate someone else whose trying to do their laundry (@me). Tons of people do their laundry on Mondays and Saturdays, so maybe try doing your laundry at a weird time and day, like 3:45 on Wednesdays or something. Also, if you attempt to do laundry at a busy time, chances are the dryers will get backed up and you'll have to wait forever to finish your load.
Also, try and always pick up your laundry on time. Because of said above problem, desperate people will sometimes remove finished loads of laundry and stuff them in random corners for you to try and find later. Your life will be so much easier and your laundry so much cleaner if you move your laundry to the dryers promptly and remove your clothes from the dryers lickety-split fast.
Finally, have something to carry your laundry in. I really liked what my roommate used last semester. She had like this giant white mesh and wire basket with three sections. That way, she could sort her laundry be colors or store her clean and dirty laundry in different places. I, on the other hand, didn't have a laundry bag to use because I cut up my bag for use in a last-minute art project last semester (long story). So instead, I use a 5 gallon Home Depot bucket that I took on pioneer trek, and it works just fine. Just slightly hard to fit everything I have to clean into it.
I suppose, at some point I'm going to have to look in the lost and found for my laundry... I just really don't want to. *sigh*.
Also, Bonus Pro Tip! *insert jazz hands here* I really love using the washing machine pod soap. If you've never seen these things before, they're like plastic-encased balls of soap for a load of laundry. They're super easy to use and transport, and I would definitely recommend getting some. I picked up a Gain Flings 72 pack at the beginning of Freshmen Year, and I'm still using it.

Cannon Center Creations

So as a Helaman Halls resident, I've grown accustomed to eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner at the Cannon Center. (For those of you who don't know, the Cannon Center is basically the BYU cafeteria). Overall, I love the Cannon Center! It's fairly good, especially for cafeteria food, and it has a lot of options available; however, eating there every single day can get a little old. Us freshmen thus have to turn our culinary creativity on to ensure that our meals don't become monotonous. Here are some great Cannon Center hacks that can help you keep your dining experience interesting:
 
1.) The Y App is a necessity for your freshmen year. With it, you can access the Cannon Center's menu every day of the week, and you can also see the nutritional facts of anything they serve. So if nothing looks appetizing, you can go get dinner somewhere else. Or you can plan your schedule around the chicken quesadilla day at the grill (they are soooo good!)
2.) The Cannon Center does build-your-own burgers and mini pizzas on the off-hours of the day (usually from around 2:30-4). Super good!
3.) You can ask for basically anything at the stations. Like sometimes, a station will have Chinese food for lunch, and I'll go up and ask for two scoops of rice and then make a killer burrito out of it. And other times, I'll go to grill and ask for a basket of sweet potato fries to pair with whatever else I'm eating. This is good for all you picky eaters out there.
4.) There is a microwave in the Cannon Center!!! It's in the Grainery, by the cereal. I've seen people heat up chocolate chip cookies and apple pie in it... Mmmmm.
5.) Panini Bar! In the Euro station, there's a panini maker you can make use of. Just go over to the salad bar, create your panini, then ask one of the workers at the Euro to press it for you. Deliciousness!
6.) For special occasions, you can do waffles and ice cream for Sunday dinners. We did this for my friend's birthday, and it was a ton of fun! Every Sunday, they have BYU Creamery ice cream, and they have waffle irons available at all hours of the day. It's a SUPER yummy, tasty treat!
7.) The SALAD BAR! Honestly, the salad bar is waaaaay too underrated. It's got all kinds of secrets people don't know about because they never eat salad. For example, the salad bar often has gummy worms and goldfish out for the yogurt and salad bar respectively, but I'll often just go get a bowl full of Goldfish. The salad bar also usually has pico de Gallo, guac, and chips. There's nothing stopping you from putting guacamole on your bacon burger or ranch on your pizza. I've also made super yummy spinach berry salads using the berries from the yogurt bar. And my day is made whenever the salad bar has mozzarella cheese out because I usually top off my tomato and basil soup or chicken and white bean chili with some fresh mozzarella. Definitely, definitely use the salad bar.
8.) The salad bar also has ice cream bars! It's in one of the little areas that usually holds plates and bowls, but instead of holding plates and bowls, it holds ice cream. A pleasant surprise!
9.) Also at Grainery, there's a bunch of random stuff that's fun to eat. There's crunchy and creamery peanut butter, jelly, and bread, so you can make a PB&J sandwich for lunch. There's also a pump for caramel and hot fudge. Think of the possibilities of that! Fudge covered chocolate chip cookies... caramel sauce on your cheesecake... homemade caramel apples... toasted peanut butter banana sandwiches... the possibilities are endless.
10.) Breakfast at the Cannon Center is honestly the best meal they serve. They have a made-to-order omelet bar that's super good! They also make these amazing blueberry scones... soooo good. My personal favorite thing to eat is oatmeal or cream of wheat with raspberries, blueberries, and granola mixed in. Maybe I'm biased because I love breakfast foods, but my advice is to never skip breakfast at the Cannon.
So there you have it! There's honestly sooooo many more hacks I've heard of; this is just a little flavor of what eating at the Cannon Center is like. Feel free to comment below with your own favorite Cannon Center Creations!
Gosh, now I'm starving from thinking about all this food. Thanks guys. I'm going to head to the Cannon Center for dinner:)

My MOA Cafe

So I'm about to get my hard-core fan girl on... brace yourself for this. *buckles on helmet* *cracks knuckles* *rolls shoulders* K, you ready now?
The MOA Cafe is legitimately the BEST FOOD ON CAMPUS! Oh. My. Gosh. I discovered it last week randomly. My friend Bresciana was going and invited me to come along, and I'm so glad that she did! The MOA is a high-end soup, salad, and sandwich place. Since my roots are planted in Southern California, I've always been a bit of a health nut, and this place is particularly satisfying because it feels *relatively* light, refreshing, and healthy. My absolute favorite menu item they have there is the very berry salad: raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, candied almonds, and a sweet vinaigrette are combined to make me very, very happy. I also LOVE the Fontina Cheese Panini, and I hear that the chilled raspberry soup is also a work of art.
Here's the Very Berry Salad and the Panini I was talking about:

The location is also absolutely, perfectly gorgeous! It's in the top floor of the BYU Museum of Art (which is also the awesomest place ever, but I will talk about that later). The cafe has floor-to-ceiling windows that look out on Y Mountain, and on a rainy day, when the fog rolls in from off the mountains, it gives you the sensation that you're floating in the air on the tops of trees. The eating area itself is very homey and cozy, the perfect place for a date.
The only downside is the place is a little pricey... it's about $10 for a soup and salad or sandwich and salad. But I think it's definitely worth it, especially if it's covered by the MEAL PLAN!!!
So yeah. More information about the MOA can be found here. Just please go at least once; you won't regret it!

BYU Blue Line

So, I recently discovered this, amazing, glorious, life-changing place on BYU campus called the Blue Line. It's in the bottom floor of the Tanner Building (which, if you're directional-ly challenged, is at the top of freshmen hill). I am literally so disappointed that I didn't discover this place earlier! It's got sub-style sandwiches, like the Monte Christo and the Cubano. It's also got this little wanna-be Cafe Rio place, complete with burritos, Taco Tuesdays, quesadillas, and salads. There's even a little make-your-own hot dog stand and a small market area with dark chocolate peanut butter, chips, and fresh fruit for sale.
But the best part... drum roll please... is the PB&J sandwiches! OH BOY THEY'RE SO GOOD! You can put anything you want on them. They have white chocolate, dark chocolate, and natural peanut butter, and you can add on bananas, apples, cinnamon, chocolate chips, and whatever else you want. My current favorite creation is a toasted dark chocolate peanut butter, apple, banana, and cinnamon sandwich. Slay me, it's so good.
The location is also pretty great. For those of you living in Helaman, it's super close and a super convenient place to stop for lunch on your way home from classes. Plus, the Tanner Building itself is simply GORGEOUS! If you've ever been to the Kennedy Center in Boston, it's like that. It's got this airy, atrium feel to it,  and I always feel like I'm gaining brain cells just rubbing shoulders with all the smart people who study there. It's also just really pretty; it's naturally well-light, open, and decorated with the national flags of hundreds of countries. Sooooo it's the perfect place to eat a toasted dark chocolate peanut butter banana sandwich.
If you want to find out more information or see their hours, click here. Seriously go there. Please. And then send me a selfie of whatever you order so I can get properly inspired for the next time I go.

How to Survive Finals 101

So first off: disclaimer. I'm not sure if I even survived finals this semester... I think I might have disintegrated and then been put back together by equal parts Cheez-its, Chisholm (my roommate), and chocolate. So my advice might not be the best... but too bad, y'all are going to get it anyway.
My first piece of advice is that two weeks before the end of finals, force yourself to write down everything you have due until the end of semester. It's slightly painful to do... but it will *hopefully* prevent you from writing a 10 page paper in two days. (Not that I speak from experience or anything...). After writing out everything you have left to do, you can prioritize your assignments and papers. It will also allow you to see what finals you have for each class, when and where you have to take them, and what you should study. Trust me, you will breathe easier knowing that you have everything under control. Or, at the very minimum, you will reduce your stress asphyxiation to a moderate choking sensation. *insert thumbs up emoji here*
You also need to plan some time to relax during finals week. If not, you'll go certifiably crazy. My friends and I hiked the Y the Saturday or two before finals, and that proved to be a great stress relief.
The combination of nature, moderately deathly exercise, and crazy friends made for a wonderful couple hours. The week leading up to finals, I also had a girl's night with my friends, complete with Pride and Prejudice, BYU Creamery ice cream, and more Cheez-its. It was another wonderful stress relief in the middle of a crazy week. Whatever you like to do, do it. Go for a hike. Hike your way up freshmen hill to the Blue Line. Line up for a Divine Comedy show. Show off your musical talents in the basement of your hall. Whatever you love to do, do it.
Also, always remember what matters most, and put that first. Okay, okay, I know that's cliche, but it's TRUE (as most cliche sayings are). Take a trip to the temple (there's two within walking distance, y'all have no excuse), wipe the dust off your scriptures, wear down the fabric of your jeans while on your knees, and call your mom and tell you you love her. You'll feel greater peace and happiness in your life, and you will just feel like less of a disaster in general.
Finally, DON'T FORGET TO EAT!!! And *try* not to just completely destroy your regular eating habits. I made the mistake of doing this... I frequently skipped breakfast, skipped lunch, ate dinner at weird hours, and binged on *ahem* exorbitant amounts Cheez-Its.... Listen up people, these were poor life decisions!!! They made me feel hungry and cranky, and I always felt worse knowing that I had been eating so unhealthily. When I get a good, solid breakfast, a satisfying lunch, and a healthy dinner, I feel more grounded and life is just better.
There's tons of other advice I have, which shall be forthcoming... in time *insert evil laugh* I just want to say, good luck on finals, my dear freshmen, and know that you CAN do this! Remember one trashy test grade or one *or five cough* sloppily written papers don't define you. And neither do the number of BYU Creamery ice cream scoops you binge eat (although that'd be nice... I'd be worth a lot because I've eaten so many).
Go slay your finals, or as my friend Sami would say, go "Get 'em Janet!"

Pro Tip: Check the Weather

So last week, Utah was FINALLY starting to get some nice weather. The whole campus has just felt like spring; with finals nearing, engagements happening left and right, and popcorn popping on the apricots trees, it has just seemed like spring is finally arriving.
And then yesterday happened...
Being the typical Southern Californian, I pulled out my shorts, slippers, and t-shirts the minute I felt the Sun on my face. On Saturday, I was dressed in what I thought was appropriate spring gear; a three-quarter length shirt, gray shorts, cheap slippers, and a side braid. For most of the day, this was actually a smart outfit choice (I do occassionally make smart life decisions). The day was nice; not too warm, not too hot, just perfectly in between.
Later in the day, however, my friends and I were heading home after attending a poetry slam in the Wilk. We opened the Wilk's double doors to exit, only to be assaulted by a barrage of frigid rain. Although I had had the foresight to bring a jacket to the event, I had not had the foresight to bring a jacket with a HOOD. My friends were in the same boat. We took refuge in the JKB, hoping maybe the rain would abate. After about ten minutes, we again attempted our journey home, only to discover that it was now SNOWING. We had no choice but to brave the weather in slippers and shorts.
Don't get me wrong, I loved the snow! I just love it so, so much more when my feet are snuggled in fur tipped, double laced North Face boots and my face is covered in a beanie and a hood.
The funny part of this whole story is that my sister had texted me had told me that it was supposed to snow on the weekend. She dutifully checks the weather every day to see what my day will be like here in Utah. If only I had listened to her careful warning... or at least bothered to check the weather myself.
So Pro Tip: Always, always, ALWAYS check the weather. For all you know you could get snow in July or heat waves in December (or more likely: both on the same day!)