I Might be Persuaded to Become the Early Bird

Ever since high school, I've loved sleeping late.  Nothing is better than waking up Saturday morning with no alarm to snooze or classes to go to.  Growing up, I was always nagged by my mom about the benefits of waking up early, that "the early bird gets the worm."  I always followed with a "whatever, Mom."

But, as always, she might have actually been right.  I woke up early (okay, like 7am) this week because I had conferences that started early and lots of homework to do.  And I learned how much more productive I can be earlier in the morning.  By 10am this week I was amazed by how many to-do's I had already been able to cross off and how accomplished I felt.

I don't know if this is a long-term thing I can keep up.  It's been really great to get so much done, but at the same time by napping time has increased a little and I haven't time for breakfast.  And I love breakfast.  I'm thinking I can take a day or two per week and wake up earlier and use the extra time really productively.  I've also been thinking about using that time to work out more?  But also not sure I have enough energy for the mornings to work out.

Staying up in the News

This year I'm part of the Model United Nations team at BYU and as part of class, we're required to read the NY Times every day so we can discuss current events during class.  I've been doing it since the beginning of the semester and I've loved feeling so up-to-date with things happening around the world.  It's a good conversation starter, and a nice fall-back for boring Friday-night dates.

They have free copies of the Times at the Kennedy Center every day (shameless advertising plug here for the Kennedy Center!)  and a great website (theskimm.com) that sends short emails every morning with summaries of the days' news.

One of the many funny faces of Hillary yesterday at the Benghazi hearing

I've learned how powerful it is to be aware of events happening around the world and how that knowledge can be used in so many different situations.  It pays to stay current!

"...and happy people just don't kill their husbands."

There's a great scene in the movie Legally Blonde where the ditsy blonde Elle Woods (who also happens to be a prestigious lawyer) is trying to figure out as part of her prosecution case who killed a man.  Everyone thinks it's the wife, who is a fitness instructor, but Elle knows it's not her that killed her husband.  Her reasoning- "I just don't think that Brooke could've done this. Exercise gives you endorphins. Endorphins make you happy. Happy people just don't shoot their husbands, they just don't."

I learned this week that endorphins really are important.  Elle Woods was totally right.  Exercising makes the world of a difference.  I've started running a couple of a times a week to get rid of stress and it has worked so well.  I come home feeling overwhelmed and tired but then after running, I have enough energy to do anything!  

So I hope I can keep running.  I always do this, make a goal to start running, and then it slowly begins to be less and less of a priority until I stop doing it.  But I have a strict schedule and really cute shoes, so hopefully it sticks this time.

{Insert Here} A Cheesy Pinterest Quote About Listening

There have been so many times that I should've listened to someone and didn't.  Times where I could have given a conversation more attention but was distracted by something else (usually my phone).

But this week, I put my phone down, was interested in what someone was saying, and tried to listen.
I know it's obvious, but it worked.  Not only did I feel better about my friendship with this person, but it meant a lot to them.  He loved that I would sit and listen and empathize with him.  I learned that people like people that will be interested in them.  People also like people that are excited about things they're excited about.

I know, this shouldn't be a mind-blowing concept, but it was.

Relationships with other people mean a lot to me.  I want to keep the friends I have and become better friends with them.  Sometimes we get busy, and it's easy to let those friendships slip.  But it doesn't take long to take time to listen.  And it does wonders.

What did I take away from this?  I need to be more invested in actually listening to people.  Listening is more that nodding or agreeing, but it's engaging and commenting and feeling for the other person.  

World Peace Maybe Achieved Through Ice Cream

At this point in the week, I'm not really sure what I've learned.  I'm not even sure what day of the week it is.  Oh, I've just been told it's Thursday.  But okay, it's been a crazy busy week.  Assignments, papers, a couple tests (is it even time for midterms yet?!), and finding time to sleep in between all of this.  I took my last test last night and celebrated with lots and lots of ice cream (really feeling the sugar hangover this morning) once I got home.

I learned that any dashed hopes or bad days or complete exhaustion can be solved by eating ice cream.  Halfway through binge-eating a half gallon, I realized that I didn't feel as stressed or hopeless about life!  It might be the best (and cheapest) kind of therapy.

So what am I going to do about this?  I think I'll buy ice cream more often!  After any test, I'm going to reward myself:).  Maybe by the end of the year, I'll be able to get through all the different flavors at the creamery.