"the hard is what makes it great."

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School is all about your attitude. If you expect to be miserable in a class you will be. If you expect to love a class you will. If you expect to get a bad grade you will. If you expect to do well you will. Obviously more goes into than just thinking, “oh I think I’ll get an A in that class…” You have to be willing to put forth the work because being successful will always require some amount of work. The trick is to want to do that work. The way to do that is your attitude. If you decide that you are going to love something and that you really do want to understand that subject on a deeper level then it won't seem like such a burden when you do all of your reading and homework. It can even become FUN, believe it or not. During the worst parts of classes you can see a bright side to it and it makes it much less unpleasant. For instance, I'm taking a business writing class and the whole first month is grammar... BLEH! I have always hated grammar. It doesn't come naturally to me at all. (But really who DOES it come naturally to, there are exceptions for EVERY rule!!! So confusing....) I started thinking about how horrible it was going to be, but then I remembered how that always makes things worse. So, I told myself all of the advantages of learning grammar. Like on my blog here, I could actually use correct grammar instead of just writing it the way I thought looked best. Once I started thinking of it that way I actually felt a little excited for grammar. 

If there is one thing I've learned, it's that knowledge is empowering. Any knowledge you can get is useful, if only for something good to talk about or being able to relate to more people. My grammar unit will actually empower me to be a more effective and powerful writer. (You can't deny that's empowering.) 

I was watching "A League of Their Own" the other day and this line really stuck out to me and I think it fits perfectly in with school and anything else in life that is hard. "It's supposed to be hard. If it wasn't hard then everyone would do it. The hard is what makes it great." School is hard. Heck! Life is hard, but that's what makes it great. There something about accomplishing hard things that brings incredible joy and satisfaction. When I heard this quote it made me think of all of my greatest moments and accomplishments, and I realized that they all came from something that was hard. The hard really is what makes it great and if we remember that then our attitudes will change towards hard things and then you can enjoy them even throughout the hard. 

my big, little brothers

I always knew that I had amazing little brothers, but I didn't fully realize just how blessed I am to have them until I came to college. I have now had several roommates tell me, after I told them something one of them has done for me, that their brothers would never do or say something like that for them... I was kind of blown away. But, it's made me observe them more closely and appreciate how incredibly good they are. So I thought I would pay them a little tribute today because really, they're great.

David William

Yes, he's a weirdy. But a loveable weirdy.

Dave and his unicycle.

• He's hilarious. He has all of these weird little phrases that, honestly, can be obnoxious but they're very endearing and soon enough you find yourself saying them too because they're dang catchy. ex: "YATAH", "This is my worst day!", "Aren't we all?", etc.

• He is an expert unicycler... weird, I know. He is all about getting into random things, but the cool thing is that he really does get into it. He is now a super good unicycler! He actually looks pretty legit while he's doing it too.

• He has excellent taste in clothing. David pretty much always looks good. He's a perfectionist and this shows in the way he dresses. Plus, he's always a good one to run an outfit by to get a boy's perspective. 

• He's always willing to talk to me on the phone, no matter what time of day or night. I have literally used and abused this... I get scared often and usually it's late at night so therefore I give Dave a call. He has talked me through some of my most ridiculous nighttime fears. I was also feeling really sick one morning (we're talking EARLY morning) and I couldn't get a hold of my parents so I called David. He talked to me even though I could tell he was really tired and it helped me calm down a lot (I was kind of freaking out because I hate throwing up... surprise, surprise.)

The term "little" just doesn't seem right now...

• He is very free with his complements. I can't even tell you how many times David has walked in the room and said something like, "wow Ann, you look good!" and then he goes beyond that and gives me details of why he thinks I look good so I know that it's genuine. 

• He talks me through my boy problems. I remember one time I was feeling really insecure about calling a boy that I was interested in, so of course I call David. Let me add that he was hanging out with his friends when I called and asked them all to be quite in the car so he could talk to me. Then he proceeded to listen to my illogical worryings and tell me that I shouldn't ever worry because I was beautiful and fun and any boy in his right mind would love to hang out with me. (I know, he's a little biased.)

• He is a spiritual powerhouse! He is very diligent about his scripture study and astounds me with his knowledge of things that seem way above what a 17 year old should understand.

Matthew Jerry

Yes Matty unicycles too.

• He has a very tender heart and a smile that heals. If you are having a bad day just tell Matty. He'll give you "the Matty look" and a big hug. It's impossible to not feel better after that.



Yeah he's not so little either.

• Matty is totally a ladies man. I'm one of those nosey sisters who always asks who he's texting and 9 times out of 10 it's a female. Figures. 

• Matty is selfless. He is always willing to do what no one wants to do, to sit where no one wants to sit, etc. 

• He is incredibly talented musically. He has a passion for music. Every time I come home he has a whole new list of songs to show me that he's found and I must say that he has good taste too. He's also the most fun to share new music with too. He shares your excitement which makes it all the more fun.

• He is SOO smart. It's kind of unreal. This boy knows so much and he is just good at school. It can be frustrating to have your little brother know more than you do sometimes.

• He knows tons of random facts and he spouts them off whenever they are relevant. I don't know where he gets these from, but he seems to remember everything he hears. 

• Matthew is an amazing runner. He has really stuck with cross country and it's impressive how well he does.

·Basically I have the best little brothers ever. Not to mention some of the best looking little brothers too. I'm so thankful for everything that they do for me and that they teach me through their examples. Love you Dave and Matty!