I am a Human Development and Family Studies Major

There.

I said it.

And I didn't qualify it.

Every single time someone asks me the inevitable college get to know you question I get a little nervous.  The second I say "Human Development" I get "the look".  I know that look, because I used to give that look.  It's the look that says "What in the world do you expect to do with that major?  Get your MRS degree and then start popping out babies and be a stay at home mom?  What if something happens and you have to provide for your family?  You can't provide for a family with that degree!" And like I said, I used to give "that look" too.  I remember going on a campus tour at BYU and passing the building that they said is where all the family and consumer sciences classes are.  I scoffed and thought to myself "Yeah, all the girls who are counting on getting married, dropping out of college, and being taken care of the rest of their lives. Ha."  Yeah, I was a little judgmental when I was seventeen.  Just a little bit. But I could be because I knew everything back then. I digress.  A few years, a little experience, and a lot of prayers later here I am trying to come to terms with my major.  I always feel like I have to defend what I am studying and why I am studying it.  My answer is almost always "My major is Human Development it's the program that will help me become a Child Life Specialist which is kind of like a play therapist at a hospital." It's a long and awkward explanation. But after that long explanation everyone is pretty much like "Ok, so you actually have a plan for your life." But at the same time I get tired of explaining myself and my life plans in the first five minutes of meeting someone.  And there is a part of me that thinks that I shouldn't have to explain myself and my choice of major to the world.

I was thinking about this today.  I was also thinking about the classes I'm taking and how they relate to families.   I was listening to the Mormon Channel program about families. I realized that this is my way to help families.  It is something that I have control over that will be helping families.  The family is under attack. This is how I can help the family. I realized that I don't have to explain or defend myself and my major and I don't have to feel like I'm pursuing a major that isn't really a good major.  It is an excellent major.  I am glad to be a Human Development and Family Studies Major.

I Love The 20's, 30's, 40's, and 50's.

Sometimes I wish that I could just go through time just at the age of 20.  It really is a perfect age.  You're still young but not so young that no one takes you seriously or you have serious restrictions in your freedoms.  Your old enough to be responsible but young enough that you can get away with one or two irresponsible things every once in a while.  Your young enough to fall in love but old enough to not have to deal with the commitment.  And of course your young and as pretty as your ever gonna be and you can still play around with fashions.  Your young enough to have your whole life ahead of you but old enough to have lived a little.  I just think that twenty is a great age.  And I wish that I could go back in time and be 20 years old in different decades.  These next four decades are my absolute favorites that I wish I could go back in time and visit.

The Roaring Twenties:

Oh to be a flapper!  I love 20's jazz music, I mean really, you can't get any better than Louis Armstrong!  And the 20's fashion was beautiful!  And it helps that the men dressed up nice too! From Prohabition to the new slang (the 20's were the bees knees!) the 20's were an unforgettable decade that I would love to experience.

The 1930's:

Big bands, swing dancing, and the fashion.  They may have been in the middle of the Great Depression, but that didn't mean that people didn't dress up back then.  And can you beat Benny Goodman, Count Bassie, Tommy Dorsey, or any of the other big band leaders?  I submit that you cannot!

The 1940s:
Frank Sinatra.

Need I say more?

Granted WWII was also a very trying time for our country, but the thing about trying times is that they make us better people.  They also had super cute clothes in the 1940s and again, the men were gentlemen, which rocks my socks!

The 1950s:

I love the 50s because they uniquely bring together the innocence of a generation that has gone through an econmic depression and then a war and are now ready to start life fresh and anew with the rebelliousness of rock 'n' roll.  Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Chuck Berry were rockin' around the clock.  You can't beat the innocence of I Love Lucy and Leave It To Beaver.  I love the poodle skirts and 50's dresses.  So beautiful.

My favorite part of all four decades is that the men were actually men back then.  They weren't afraid of commitment, they did silly little things like take the girls on dates, they dressed up, and they were gentlemen.  Men of today should take a page out of their predecessors book.  Just saying.

Super Saturday!

It's Saturday and I like to go to my roomies "castle" house (think Northanger Abby style, with dungeons filled with dead bodies and everything!) and play with roomies and friends!

Rain On Your Wedding Day

I know that rain on a wedding day is supposed to be a bad thing, but I kinda almost wish that when I get married, whenever that is, that it would be on a rainy day. 

Think about it.

 Rain is kinda romantic.

"There's something about the way the street looks when it's just rained . . . I don't know why, But with you I'd dance in a storm in my best dress." - "Fearless" by Taylor Swift

"The way you move is like a fallen rainstorm . . . Drop everything now, Meet me in the pouring rain, Kiss me on the sidewalk, Take away the pain, 'Cause I see sparks fly whenever you smile." "Sparks Fly" by Taylor Swift

"'Cause I'm singing in the rain, just singing in the rain, What a glorious feeling, I'm happy again.  I'm laughing at clouds so dark up above, I'm singing, singing in the rain. . . You can stand under my umbrella. . . . It's raining, raining, Oh baby, It's raining, raining." "Singing in the Rain/Umbrella" by Glee

Seriously romantic.

But maybe that's just my day dreaming.

(Did I ever mention that I love Taylor Swift music?) 

:)

My Dear Husband,

It's true, I'm not married, yet, but I have seen cute letters to future husbands here and I thought I would try it, especially because she won't be writing letters to a future husband anymore.  :)

Dear Husband,

I hope you know I'm a hopeless romantic. 

I love rainstorms, I think they are so romantic.  If I ever text you this "Drop everything now. Meet me in the pouring rain, Kiss me on the sidewalk, Take away the pain." and it's raining, please do just that.  I know it's corney, but it's also cute (in my opinion) and that will make me so happy. (And yes that is from a Taylor Swift song.  Have I mentioned I'm a hopeless romantic?)

I love little kid movies like The Lion King and Tangled and Up and How to Train Your Dragon and Finding Nemo.  We will be watching those on a regular basis.  (I'll let you off the hook for my favorite chick flicks like Pride and Prejudice and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. I may even let you off the hook for my cute but really old classic movies.  Maybe.)

I like to sing and dance.  I sing really loudly and badly and I dance really silly.  I hope you will sing and dance and make a fool out of yourself with me.

Sometimes I'm really sarcastic and I don't like being wrong.  I apologize in advance.

I love food, I love to cook, but I hate doing the dishes.  I hope you like to eat and do dishes.  :)

Sometimes I just have to have ice cream.  It's not a want, it's a need.

That's All!

Love,

You're darling future wife!

:)

So I'm having some thoughts... that I would like to share with you...

I want to eat these pears!  (Just kidding)

I consider myself to be a country girl.  Now I know some in my family would laugh at this statement because I didn't grow up in Small Town, USA or Smaller Town, USA :) I've lived in the "suburbs" (I guess you'd call them that?) my whole life; I'm not a huge fan of the great out doors (I can stand it in small increments); I'm kind of allergic to Small Town, USA; I don't own any animals; and I've only been to one demolition derby in my entire life.  But I love visiting Small Town, USA; I LOVE country music (it's the music that I feel closest describes my life); I'm currently living in a small town,  and my roots are very country.  So while I'm probably more of a "wannabe country girl" I am a country girl nonetheless (in my own eyes at least). 

When I transfer to the U of U I will be moving to a big city (at least it's what I consider a big city, I mean SLC is no NY or DC but it's probably the biggest city in Utah, I guess it's all realitive right?)  I don't exactly consider myself a city girl, but I've got this crazy idea in my head that maybe it would be fun to live somewhere like New York or Washington DC or London or Boston.  I realized that this is going to be my chance to see how much I like "city life."  I absolutely LOVED the week I spent in Washington DC about two years ago.  I felt so legit getting on and off the metro, surrounded by business men and women getting off places like the Pentagon or George Washington University.  I picked up on the vibe of the metro, you don't talk to anyone, you listen to your ipod and type away on your laptop or read the newspaper.  I loved walking around the city.  But actually living in a big city and visiting a big city are two entirely different things. So we'll see.  Maybe I'm more of a city girl than I think.  I'm definitely not the high fashion, high matientince city girl, but maybe I could actually live there.   Only time will tell.

Guess Who Officially Got Accepted to the U?

That's right  . . .

ME!!!!!

You're looking at one of the newest Utes!!  :)

I'm transfering in the fall.

Salt Lake City won't know what hit it!  :)



Random Thoughts with Kelsi :)

First off, I want to give a shout out to my cousin Chelsey Garfield who just got engaged to an amazing young man!!  Congrats Chelsey!!  I'm super excited for you!!  :)

I have been blessed to have the most amazing people in my life!! You all know who you are, and if you don't, I haven't been doing my job to let you know how much you influence my life for good.  I just wanted to take a second and say thank you to everyone who has blessed my life!!  I don't know why I get to associate with such absolutely amazing people, but I'm glad I do!!  You all make me want to be a better person!!

You may or may not know this but I am a little bit of a hypochondriac sometimes.  A couple of nights ago I had this dream that my ear started bleeding in the middle of class and I didn't notice.  My teacher noticed and pointed it out to me.  So I completely freaked out.  I decided that I needed lab work to know why my ear was bleeding.  So my teacher whips out the paperwork to get lab work done.  I'm already in the hospital (convient right?)  and I run down to where they do the labs.  But then I freak out and realize I don't have my insurance card, so I call my parents to bring it.  They get there within five minutes and then they get mad at me for not having the lab work already done, even though I couldn't because I didn't have the insurance card.  So then I get the lab work done and the results come back within like five seconds.  They tell me that I had an ice cream overdose.  I hadn't been eating enough protein, so my body couldn't process all of the ice cream I had eaten.  And then I woke up.  I had a stomach ache and pretty much convinced myself that day that it must be a sign that I'm lactose intolerant.  Totally ruined the ice cream sundae bar at the cafeteria!!  And lately I've just been convincing myself that I have all of these random diseases.  Even saying that I'm a hypochondriac is something that a hypochondriac would do!!  It's pretty funny!!  :)