the boy who lived.

I love Harry Potter.

So much.

I legitimately feel like he is part of my family - he and Ron and Hermione and McGonagall and Hagrid and all my other friends in the Wizarding World. Re-reading the series this summer has been a delightful experience. I had to take long breaks from reading for EFY, but I've been able to spend MUCH more time reading now that EFY is over and it's just so fun! These books are part of my childhood - basically my whole life, actually - and reading them makes me so happy. Whenever I know I'm going to have time to read I get all happy and excited inside like I'm about to talk to a friend I love dearly or watch my favorite movie with a soft blanket and good treats. Or both. At the same time. Because Harry Potter is my friend and I do indeed love him dearly and it's a treat to read about magic things!

Harry Potter makes me happy. That's all I want to say.

PS DID YOU KNOW THAT PINTEREST HAS ALL THE HARRY POTTER THINGS!?
Oh wait, Pinterest has all the things for all the things. Ever. But especially some great Harry Potter things.

Added Bonus:

truth.


inspiration.


funnies.

dream come true.

Hey there. It's been a while.

For the last 4 months EFY has been my life as I had the absolutely wonderful opportunity to work as an EFY counselor this summer. The job consumed a large amount of my time and energy, though, so I clearly haven't been able to update the bloggy-blog.

But here I am! Basically everything about EFY made me happy and inspired me, so I'm not going to pick out anything specific. (If you want to hear stories, just ask me.) The theme for the year was "Anxiously Engaged." As in D&C 58:27 - "Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness."

 I'm so incredibly grateful for the amazing youth I was able to meet and all my phenomenal co-counselors! I'm so blessed to have such wonderful people in my life. I learned so much about the gospel and about teaching and my testimony was strengthened a whole lot. There is no doubt in my mind that "we were made for greatness; we were created to be anxiously engaged."

But here's where the "dreams come true" part comes in.

Every day last summer while I drove to work I said to myself, "I can't wait to be an EFY counselor next summer!" I didn't even know if I would get the job but I had high hopes and a great desire that had been growing ever since I went to EFY when I was 15 and 16. On this daily drive to Discover I also envied the airplanes and the people inside of them going on adventures...

Well guess where I was on August 2nd!? I was in an airplane, wearing an EFY polo, having just completed my final week of EFY in Redlands, California. Just a few minutes before we landed I looked out the window and saw the Discover building and I realized the irony slash awesomeness of the situation. It was definitely an I-feel-like-I'm-in-a-movie moment. I was just so happy to be where I was and doing what I was doing. It was an amazing feeling.

And now for the pictures of [almost] all my EFY peeps!

Best. Summer. Ever.

Now just 5 weeks till I go back to school!