During the teenage years, it is inevitable that every boy and every girl will have feelings for someone of the opposite gender that are stronger than the normal feelings of friendship. Yes, it could be love. But generally it's just a crush. Every one has them, but some people take crushes and dating a step too far.

I think that the purpose of high school is to have fun. Dating is fun. But in order to have the best time while dating in high school, I believe that you should not steady date. When you date only one person while you're young, it limits the range of people you get to know. If you only get to know one guy really well, then you won't know what type of qualities other guys might posses. It limits your knowledge and experience.

Dating allows you to find the type of qualities you are looking for in a guy and it allows you to learn more about yourself and your likes and dislikes. "Steady dating IS courtship, and surely the beginning of courtship ought to be delayed until you have emerged from your teens. "**

When you are dating one person for a long time, it may create a feeling of obligation towards them. I am only sixteen, and I don't want to feel that kind of obligation for one person yet. I'd rather just have fun and live life to the fullest. Without steady dating.

Someday my prince will come

I love watching Disney films, especially the ones with princesses. Princesses are so cool. I don't know why I think they're so cool. My favorite princess is probably Snow White. Yeah, I'm a Disney purist.

Snow White was (as many other princesses were) raised in poor conditions. She grew up with a wicked step-mother, who was this evil sorceress as well. Snow White always had to do all the chores, and her guardian was very rude to her. I mean, Snow White's step-mother was so vain that she wanted to kill Snow White so she could be the fairest woman of all. That's harsh.

However, Snow White did not let this get her down. I'm sure she had her depressed moments, but for the most part Snow White tried to be optimistic and happy. Even when she had to work she would sing songs about being happy while you work. When the wicked Queen's huntsman tried to kill Snow White in the woods, she didn't get hostile, she just ran on to find a new life.

Snow White was always optimistic about every situation she was put in. When she found the dwarfs house, she cleaned it and cooked for them, just to be nice. Snow White is such a nice person, and that's what makes her such a good princess. She deserves the title of princess. That is why Snow White is my favorite Disney movie. She is the epitome of princess.

No fear have ye of evil curses, says you? Har...

Everyone is afraid of something. Fear is totally normal. But for some reason, sometimes it kinda feels like fear is something to be ashamed of. When I was younger, I was afraid of the dark. Actually, I still have a little fear of the dark, I admit. Growing up though, I never wanted to tell my friends I was afraid of the dark because I thought they would laugh at me or something.

I think one of the reasons why it's hard for us to admit our fears is because fear comes across as a weakness. Fallibility is part of human nature, but everyone tries to cover up their imperfections. "We all lead such elaborate lives". People put up a facade to hide behind. Sometimes the person you know is a different person than who they really are. The fear of being ridiculed can stop people from admitting their fears.

It's important to try and get over our fears. If we can learn to be open about things we are afraid of, our friends can help us and be more mindful of our fears. It's also a lot less stressful when you are open, honest, and don't have to hide behind a false personality. Besides, we're all in the same boat. Everyone has fears, whether they be of evil curses or the dark.

Secretly....

What is it about secrets that makes them so hard to keep? If someone tells you something, even if it's completely mundane and boring, but then tells you that it's a secret, it's all of a sudden fun and exciting. I know a secret! Oh my goodness!

Every Christmas, my family and I draw pixie pals. We all vow not to tell each other who we have, because it's just more exciting to find out on Christmas day, right? Of course right. But alas, every year, one of my sisters spills the beans. Once one person tells who they have, the rest is fairly simple to figure out. Thus, the secret is ruined. But it was still fun to have that little secret, for a time.

It's not just my little sisters who have trouble keeping secrets though. My grandpa has a hard time keeping secrets as well. Usually, the secrets are about good things, and my grandpa is such a jovial guy, he wants to see people happy and having fun. Therefore, he finds it conducive to everyone else's well being if he just tells the secret. We have a good time teasing my grandpa about secrets he can't ever keep.

Having a secret gives one a sense of empowerment. When you know something no one else knows, it's makes you feel like you have the upper hand. When you know something no one else does, it definitely gives you an advantage.

Some secrets are meant to be kept. Some secrets just should not be told. But there are some secrets that are just so fun and happy you have to tell someone! Secrets are exciting.

Don't tell anyone though...it's a secret.

Superhero Nuns

Over the summer, I was in Sound of Music, and I played a nun. Honestly, I wasn't very excited. I mean...a nun? That's a little weird. Have you seen the clothes they wear? It was such a different experience for me, and I was a little bored with that show. Luckily, one of my good friends Kiersten was in the show with me, and together we came up with ways to amuse ourselves. With some imagination and a little bit of skill, we formed a superhero organization. We also created a hill-hair salon. That was fun too.

Even if you are placed in the most boring of circumstances, when you have friends there with you, everything seems a little less-boring and more fun. Friends do more than just make things fun, though-they can cheer you up, and they even influence the decisions you make and what kind of a person you'll become. That's kinda scary. That's why it's important that we choose friends who will lift us up, instead of bring us down. I think friends are great, and I love my friends. :)

Making life a perpetual spree!

Winter is my favorite time of the year. I love the snow, and I love the holidays that come during the winter. It's not just the holidays themselves, like getting presents and eating. No, that's not what I get so excited about. My favorite part of the holidays is just the feeling that tags along. You know, all that "peace on earth, good will to man" stuff. But it's true-with the holidays comes a sense of peace and good will.

Around Thanksgiving and Christmas, there's s new feel in the air. It's almost as if it gets snowed down along with the snowflakes. I feel like Ebeneezer Scrooge after he drinks the milk of life. It's a giddy happiness and excitement, a feeling that I'm not always a hostess of. "I like life, life likes me, life and I fairly fully agree. " I guess I should try to be like that all year long, instead of just at Christmas.

Another thing that makes me happy at Christmas is memories. I'm really into recalling funny things that have happened or good things we've done. The memories of Christmas are especially sweet, I don't know why. During the holidays we spend a lot more time with our extended family, and that always creates fun times and good memories we like to recall.

Anyway, I'm glad it's winter again. I always look forward to this time of year. I'm so excited to watch all of our Christmas movies again, listen to the music, and spend more time with my family. Hooray for the holidays!

That I can tell you in one word...tradition!

Why do I enjoy doing community theater? It's not like I'm really into acting. It's fun, but there are other things that interest me more. And yet, every time I get a chance I get involved. There are many possible reasons to this, but the reason why I think I like theater so much is because it's in my blood.

I have been around the theater for my whole life. Every time my grandpa does a show we always go see it to support him. We even help with auditions, attend some rehearsals, and help build the set. Being so involved with a show makes it much easier to love the show once you see it, and when you love one show you go on loving them all.

As a family we share many memories of being in shows. Growing up, my older cousins and I were always in summer plays together. As my cousins started getting too busy for the theater, my little sisters started being in shows. We go to the rehearsals together and just have so much fun. It's a tradition for my grandpa to do a summer play at the SCERA, and it's a tradition for us to support him with that show, whether it means helping him with the set or actually being in the show.

I guess the reason why I enjoy community theater basically comes down to love. I love my family, and the theater represents the time that we are able to spend together. It might seem stressful at the time, but we have so many good memories when we get the chance to look back.

Stiches of wisdom

What is the point of wisdom teeth? For most people, as soon as their wisdom teeth start growing in, their dentist says, "Take them out!" Why do they even bother coming in? I think it's time that humans evolved out of wisdom teeth. Back when cavemen roamed the earth, wisdom teeth might have been a good thing. Since they didn't really have any good dental hygiene, their teeth must have been decaying and falling out alot. So, I guess it was good for them to have an extra set of teeth growing in during their teenage years. Now, though, there's really no reason for those extra teeth.

As for those teeth providing us with wisdom...they do, I suppose. Oh, you can't have the wisdom from your wisdom teeth if you just let them grow in. No, to gain the full amount of wisdom you need to have them removed. What good are those teeth doing for you if you just let them grow in? No good.

Before I got my wisdom teeth removed last Friday, I was so afraid of pain. Flu shots freaked me out. Needless to say, I was pretty scared to go in and have this procedure of oral surgery done. I was worried about the IV, the stiches, and, of course, the post-operative pain. After I got all of this done, I realized that it's no big deal. I now have wisdom stemming from my newly found knowledge that shots and stuff aren't that bad.

My mom recently scheduled a time for my family to go in and get our flu shots. My little sisters are a little bit scared, but me? No way. Come on, a flu shot? Please. I just got my wisdom teeth out. And that was great! Now let's go get protected from the flu...

Hi, my name is Natalie...

....and I'm a 100 Board addict. Every day, as soon as I have a chance to get online, I go straight to the board. I read through all the questions whether there are only 17 or 45 that day. I'm not even a BYU student, so why do I care so much about lots of the questions that are submitted on the board? A lot of them don't have anything to do with me. They're fun to read, I guess...but why?

Before my brother left for the Czech Republic, he went to BYU for a couple semesters. While at BYU, he discovered the 100 hour board. He thought it was a really cool way to get questions answered, so he showed it to me one day. I thought it was pretty cool, but I didn't think too much about it. I read it a couple of times a month maybe, but I wasn't really into the board yet. But as soon as my brother left...

...I started to miss him. That's pretty normal. But to ease my feelings of loss, I started to read the board. It made me feel closer to him, in a way. So I would read the board occasionally. Then, when my brother's friend revealed that she was a writer for the board, I had to start reading it alot more to try and figure out which writer she was (I didn't figure it out, I made her tell me, but still...). After I figured it out, I just couldn't stop reading the board.

Then I decided that it was time to register. So, I registered, and started asking questions. And my obsession has grown from there...I can't stop reading the board. And that's why.

Happy Halloween

Why are haunted houses so scary? They're not, really. It's all fake, and we know that...so how come everytime my little sisters and I go past the "spooky house" or go through a real haunted house we get so scared?

For our ward carnival, they did a spook alley. Ok, I'm sixteen, and my little sister is thirteen, but when we walked through that dark maze together, we got scared. But it's not just the creepy masks that are scary, it's the people jumping out at you, taking you by surprise.

When I took my eleven year old sister and all her friends past the spooky house, they wanted to get out of the car. So, I let them get out and walk around looking at the scary ghosts and the other creepy mannequins. When the harmless little scarecrow jumped out and started chasing them and coming after me, he scared more than just crows. But we knew he was fake, so why did we get so scared?

I think the initial surprise really does scare you, and then after that you realize (however subconciously) that being scared is fun. So you continue to let these things scare you, even though they aren't scary when it comes right down to it. They aren't even real. But that's okay. It's fun to be scared.

Lance's love life

My friend Lance has no love life. There's nothing wrong with this, but the other day we decided we need to figure out why he has no love life. The main reasons for Lance's lack of love are:

• Lance is afraid
• Lance needs help understanding girls

Lance is afraid. Not exactly afraid of girls, but he's afraid of being rejected. There's a girl who comes into work everyday and asks to use the phone. Let's call her Kate. Lance likes Kate, but all he will say to her is, "Sure, you can use the phone", when he should be saying, "Hey, what's your name? I'm Lance. We should go out sometime." If he wasn't so afraid of being rejected, or afraid that people will think he's weird, he could have already been out with the girl and have an established relationship.

Lance needs help understanding girls. The relationships he's been in only last a couple of months before the girl finally breaks it off. If Lance understood girls better, maybe he could realize their intentions before they verbally communicate them to him. There was the one time Lance broke up with a girl because she lacked responsibility, but if he would've taken the time to understand why she was responsible...maybe he could've made their relationship work.

If Lance was more like the characters in the book 'Tess of the d'Ubervilles', he could start learning more about Kate by stalking her (but not in a scary, obsessed way). That would be useful in understanding her, which could lead to the establishment of a better love life for him.

So I'm tall...

Now, I’m not really sure why, but it happens a lot. Complete strangers will stop me and ask, “How tall are you?” I answer their question politely, but it’s almost inevitable that this next question will follow: “Oh, so you play basketball, right?” No! Wrong! I do not play basketball! After I explain very nicely I do not play basketball because I don’t particularly care for it and I’d rather be dancing or playing the piano, a myriad of comments follow. “Oh, you should be playing basketball. How can you be tall and not play basketball? That’s the whole point of being tall!” First of all, I’m not that tall, and why do people think they can tell me I need to be playing basketball? When I say I don’t play, they should just leave it at that….but, really, why don’t I play?

I’ve always known I don’t want to play basketball. But I never knew exactly why. I always thought it was just because I don’t really care for basketball. It wasn’t until I had a conversation with my neighbor that I realized why I don’t play basketball. He asked me if I was a basketball player and I said, “No, I don’t play basketball, I’ve never wanted too.” My dear old friend looked at me for a minute, then patted my arm and said, “Dear, you don’t have to play basketball if you don’t want too. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.” I thought about that for a few years, and then it hit me. I don’t play basketball because people expect that. I’ve never been a rebellious kid, but basketball has been my way of rebelling. Everyone expects tall people (me) to play basketball, so I’m not going too. Ha! I sure hoodwinked you.

Don’t get me wrong, I think basketball is great. I like to watch games, and I even play church ball every winter. But I’m not looking to make a career of it. And I love being tall. It doesn’t bug me when people ask how tall I am, it just bugs me when they try to tell me how I should live my life. There. I said it.
The end.

Winter pajamas

My dad has this pair of pajamas that he wears when it gets cold. All us kids like to make fun of those pajamas, mostly because we're so jealous that our dad has such a stylin' pair of pjs, but we are really mystified as to why he loves those pajamas so much. He's worn them ever since I can remember, but they're still in really good condition.

The Christmas before my dad left on his mission, his sister gave him a sweater. So, that was a couple and a half decades ago. It's cream colored with a maroon stripe across the front. That's what he wears for his pajama top. His pajama bottoms are maroon flannel pants with thin blue and black stripes. I think my mom must've given those to him sometime early on in their marriage.

Last Christmas, we tried to start a new winter pajama tradition by giving my dad some blue flannel pants to replace his red ones. He wore the blue ones a couple times, but then reverted back to wearing the originals. So obviously, we can conclude that my dad does not just wear those pajamas because he lacks other options. There's got to be some underlying reason.

Since he pulls out these special pajamas feel very warm and cozy. They look cozy, and we're all so used to them. Every time we see my dad wearing those pajamas it brings back such good memories of winter, especially Christmas. The pajamas give a sense of warmth and familiarity to not only my dad, but also to us kids. They bring a sense of nostalgia as well, since my dad has had them for such a long time.

It must be getting cold, because my dad has started wearing those pajamas again. It's that time of year. Time for my dad to pull out his winter pajamas. I love the winter.

You are born into a family. You do not join them like you do the Marines!

Spending time with my family is the best. I love getting together and just talking, reminiscing about vacations we've taken together, plays we've been in, or just experiences we've had. I can be myself and I don't have to worry about the consequences when I'm with them. I know that my name is safe in their mouths.

There's a safe feeling with family. Anything I do will be safe in my home and in their hearts. There's also a warm feeling of acceptance. I know that whatever happens there stays there. If I do anything stupid (which is surprisingly frequent), my family doesn't really care. We can have a good laugh about it, but it's not like they're going to use it as blackmail or anything.

We understand each other really well. When I'm with a group of people that really understand me, it's easier to express my feelings. We love talking about things that have happened to us and sharing stories we have of each other. Since I'm the oldest granddaughter, my uncles and my grandpa are always kinda protective of me. It's great.

The memories that we have together as a family are never going to go away, and that's the best thing. Friends change, you grow apart, or they move away, but with your family, you know that they're always going to be there for you.

You have made thy point!

I like to make a point of going to all the shows my grandpa directs. Sometimes I'll drop in on a few rehearsals first, and track the progress of the cast from auditions to opening night. This evening, I attended the three act that just opened in the little theater at Orem High: Sight Unseen. I thouroughly enjoyed the play due to the script, the cast, and the way it was presented. It made me proud that this year at Orem got off to such a great start. Everyone is still a little shaken about the passing of our beloved friend and drama teacher, but this was a great way to pay respects.

The show Sight Unseen was an unfamiliar one to me. Usually I read a few scripts and help select the three act that will be performed, but this time it was a surprise. The script was intended to be funny and it certainly was. Even though the show was about ghosts (and lets fact it: what's scarier than ghosts?), it was written in a way so it was hilarious to watch. The medieval language the ghosts used and the situations they found themselves in were enough to make you chuckle.

The cast playing the ghosts was one of the best casts I've ever seen perform there in the little theater. Even though they only had a month to pull this show together, they were perfectly poised and made no mistakes. No obvious mistakes, anyway. The actors worked very well together. Being in such close proximity to the actors allows you to see their detailed reaction to everything, and the actors did a very good job of displaying proper reactions.

The costumes, lighting, and the set helped to create the proper feel. You could almost feel as if you were right in Barndsley Manor, and when they lights turned down for the seance you could feel the creepy feeling. The costumes of the ghosts worked along with their medieval language. These three elements combined worked right alongside with the actors and the script itself.

When you have the perfect combination of actors, the right set, and the right script, you can pull off a show that will be unforgettable. A lot of work goes into directing and producing a show, and the best part is taking your final product and putting it on display for all to see.

Grand Attachments

The Grand Canyon: wonder, magnificence, awe; sweat, blood, tears. My sweat, blood, and tears. So why am I so attached to the Grand Canyon?

Prior to leaving for Arizona, I was not a very happy camper. I fought to stay in Utah for all I was worth. The only thing that even slightly interested me was that my best friend, Amanda, was going. But regardless, I did not feel like spending the first week of my summer hiking around in the bottom of a very hot hole.

The hike was long. My backpack was heavy. The company was good, but it was so hot. I was not used to getting up early in the morning, eating MRE's for breakfast, and hiking miles with a load on my back. I was prone to complain. Luckily, I had Amanda. We composed songs, became junior rangers, and made up stories about John Wesley Powell, the man who discovered the Grand Canyon.

During the week we spent in the Grand Canyon, we learned a lot about nature and more about each other. One of the reasons why I feel such a connection with the canyon is because I was able to spend a lot of time with my dad, my brother, and my best friend. To become Junior Rangers, we had to learn many things about animals and different plants, and we also had to learn more about how we could preserve the Grand Canyon and other national monuments. When you learn more about things, you feel closer to them.

Looking back, the thing I remember most about the Grand Canyon is all the fun I had with my family and friends. I don't vividly remember being very uncomfortable, even though I know I was. Good memories temper the bad ones. I can't recall the Grand Canyon without recalling very fond memories from years past, and when I feel good about things that happened in the Grand Canyon, I feel good about the Grand Canyon.

I left behind my sweat, blood, and tears in the Grand Canyon. I also left a piece of my heart behind, and in it's place brought back a piece of the canyon. The canyon and I became one the day I set foot on the Kaibab trail. Oh yeah. I'm a Grand Canyon Chick.

Defying Gravity

I’ve been listening to the "Wicked" soundtrack recently and the song Defying Gravity really stands out in my mind. Now, I’ve never seen the show or read the book so I don’t know for sure what’s going on, but I do know that Elphaba is thinking about becoming wicked in this song.
She mentions that she’s through playing by the rules of someone else’s game, and that something within her has changed. By that she probably means that she doesn’t want to be nice anymore because something happened that has altered her way of thinking. When she says something is not the same within her, that leads us to believe that she has had a negative experience that changed her mind about things.
Elphaba asks Glinda to come with her, but Glinda obviously thinks that Elphie is just having “delusions of grandeur” about how nice being wicked would be. Glinda wishes her luck and tells Elphie that she hopes she’ll be happy, and with that the friends part ways.
In this song, defying gravity is not necessarily a good thing. It’s one of Elphaba’s final descents into wickedness, but defying gravity can be a good thing. It’s important for each of us to defy the gravity in our own lives that’s bringing us down. We need to make our own decisions and not let others influence the way we act. Defying gravity is like overcoming obstacles we each face in our lives. As in the song, there will always be two sides to every story, and we need to decide for ourselves which is the right path for us to follow. Sometimes we'll have to choose a different path than our friends, but it's for our best interest.
The term "defying gravity" implies something hard or almost impossible, and defying gravity certainly is hard, but we can't let anyone or anything bring us down from reaching our full potential.

Defying Gravity lyrics: http://www.stlyrics.com/lyrics/wicked/defyinggravity.htm

On being leggy...

Apparently I'm leggy, leggy meaning either having disproportionately long legs or having attractive legs. Which definition fits me best? Yes, I do have long legs, but they aren't freakishly long. And attractive legs....I think I'm lacking in that category. Am I really leggy? Yes. Just because I want to be and I like that nickname.
but ...since giraffes have long necks, are they necky? And are orangutans army? How about elephants? Would they be considered nosy? Maybe. But maybe not.