2012 in a nutshell

once upon a time about a year ago (or maybe it was exactly a year ago), I was reminiscing about how the last year had flown by so freaking fast. so, a great idea crossed my mind, that I would grab my journal (Emma, you would understand this), and write down the key happenings of each month. so after writing it all down, I decided to take what was in the journal and blog about it. so, because I've been sick ever since Christmas was over, I've been in bed a lot, coughing my brains out and sneezing out my eyeballs and losing my voice. somehow I managed to stay at the party last night. but once again, a year later, I have been reminiscing about this year and how it had flown by so freaking fast. 2012 has been a pretty adventurous year, the biggest I've lived through. a good 4 1/2 months, or 1/3 of the year was spent in Japan. another good 4 1/2 months was spent preparing for it. not easy stuff there. and a good 3 months was spent re-adjusting to the States. (it didn't take that long.) so, I've learned so many things this year that I'll never regret! i learned how to be grateful for all you have, not needing more, and not taking everything for granted. I learned how to survive in a foreign country. (pretty much sums that part up.) I have gotten so much closer to my little brothers. I've learned who my friends are, who will support me, and how to be a better friend myself. I survived junior high okay. I've learned how to survive high school as a freshman and get perfect grades. (that statement was a lie.) let's look at 2012, one month at a time.

JANUARY- I turned 14 and had an awesome party with all my awesome friends! I started a new semester and got pretty decent grades for the last semester. I met a lot of 7th graders that month because I had electives with them, and looking back, they had it easier.

FEBRUARY- no matter what, February is always my least favorite month. crappy weather, tons of homework, and Valentine's Day, my least favorite holiday. (must I even explain?) so I thought this picture of me snogging a giraffe was quite appropriate, as he was the closest thing to a Valentine that I could get. and this picture was actually taken in February, on one of my adventures with Callie. but that was a rare occasion- I found out that I had made Seussical the Musical,so I was booked with stupid rehearsals each week.

MARCH- I don't think I ever stopped singing. Not because I had play practice everyday (which I did), because I only sang in 4 songs, but because McCall and I were in Centennial Idol! because it began in March, we sang on different days, so our friends could vote for both of us to make it fair. funny how that all worked out. other things.... The Hunger Games came to the theaters! such a great movie. 

APRIL- General Conference, my cousin Savannah's baptism that I had been asked to play piano at like 5 minutes before it actually started (a little disorganization there), going to the temple with Raquel and other adventures, Easter celebrations, One Direction Infection, more Centennial Idol, and Seussical pretty much summed up the month of April. Rachel and I obviously didn't take it very seriously. I mean, I was a Who in Who-ville. how serious can you get? not very. 

MAY- Big Going Away party for Japan. Packing for Japan. Flying on an airplane to Japan. Arriving in Japan. Utterly terrifying month. we had some major adjusting to do, so we saved all the super cool stuff for later on and went to like 100 museums and the Imperial Gardens. I was literally in shock for the entire month of May. Living in a foreign country can be pretty scary, especially the first few weeks.

JUNE- June was a lot better than May, despite a few emotional breakdowns here and there. (I was homesick, okay? don't judge!) but this was when we started to really do stuff. we went to Sendai, where the earthquake was. it's amazing what a years difference can make. the city looked as good as new! the biggest highlight was our trip to Kyoto and Nagoya, where we saw many shrines and temples and learned about the history of Japan. we ran into a few geisha and samurai while we were there. after being here a month, I had gotten the Asian Peace Sign pose down pretty well, as you can tell. we also ate several interesting foods, such as octopus, raw fish, calamari, sesame ice cream... not too tasty.

JULY- Terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad month, if you could tell by the gross looking picture of Wes eating something disgusting and me looking disgusted. for one thing, it was so bloody hot, we were all sweating profusely. the AC didn't do much help. everyone in our ward had gone back to the States so it was very lonely. but the worst thing that happened was Wesley getting sick and going to the hospital. And that's all I'm gonna say about July.

AUGUST- things got much better and a lot of stuff happened. beware of the long post. Olympics, Kamakura, Yokohama, Monkey Park, and Youth Conference and hiking Mt. Fuji is what we did. I made tons of friends and had the time of my life hiking it with my mommy! what a painful, awesome experience. all my friends came back from the states to start school, so I wasn't as lonely anymore! however, in Provo, all my friends started school while I was crying at the top of Mt. Fuji, so that meant homeschooling, which meant death. can I just say, never do homeschooling. it sucks. also, There are 2 kinds of fools in this world: those who never hike Fuji, and those who hike it twice. some words of wisdom here.

SEPTEMBER- (okay, I lied. this one is longer than August). let's get this over with. Girls Camp! Hokkaido! Hakone! Tokyo Disney! Shopping! Early Morning Seminary! Friends! Went home! School! More friends! Homework! Missed all my Tokyo friends, but happy to see my Provo friends. k there that was quick.

OCTOBER- Possibly my favorite month that wasn't spent in Japan. I just love everything about it. General Conference and the new missionary ages, we're kind of settling in school and getting used to it and making more friends, Halloween falls at the end of the month, the weather is still pretty nice, and football, football, football. I went to tons of games with my friends, and we won every single one of them. Go Thunderbirds! 

NOVEMBER- My parents went to Hawaii and left us with our grandparents, and it snowed. I was stuck at a football game with no gloves or handwarmers all the way in Salt Lake, but the best part was that we won the semi-finals. the next week, my parents come back, it doesn't snow, and Timpview wins state champs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! no big deal. okay, that's kinda a big deal. for Thanksgiving, we went down to Phoenix to see our adorable cousins. the end of the month I had my dance concert, which I admit, I was pretty sad when it was over. 

 DECEMBER- obviously, football season ended, and basketball season began. I went to one Timpview game with my friends, I went to the BYU vs. Utah one with my family, and the Jazz game with Wesley and Dad. both Timpview and BYU won, but the Jazz lost. (why don't we have Jimmer?) It snowed a ton, and we ended up having a white Christmas after all! I've been pretty sick for like the whole month with a cold, so it's been kind of miserable. but last night I was able to get out of the house and go to the multi-stake youth dance! perhaps the best part was seeing 2 of my best friends who I hadn't seen in forever. Emma (the tall blonde Aussie with curly hair) just moved back to Provo from Maine, and I have missed her more than I can explain! So glad she is back!!!!!!!! I knew that Emma would be there, but if things couldn't get any better, my friend Rachel (the tall brunette with perfect silky hair) from California came and surprised me! she left for California before I left for Japan, so I hadn't seen her for even longer. I was so happy to see both of them! we partied until after midnight.

as for new years resolutions, mine are to get only A's and B's, get a Learner's Permit and pass on the first try, serve people, get on the Timpview Tennis Team, maybe try out for cheer but that's probably a no-go, and to be a happier, more positive, and (yes, I'm actually saying this) quieter person. I live out loud, and sometimes it would be better to not have all the attention. so I'll work on that.

HAPPY NEW YEARS!!!!!!