What I Like

Taken from an 11/25/08 journal entry:

Lately I've been thinking about peer pressure, in order to distract myself from thinking about the pressure on my rib cage.

What makes someone enjoy the things they do? Very often in youth, it's whatever your friends like or whatever you've heard is popular with the "in" crowd. And as one ages and loses touch with pop culture, does that mean real preferences come through?

I know that my brief love affair with Dave Matthews Band was influenced by the kids who were a grade older than me. I'm aware that my husband's obsession with Transformers, while unhealthy now, probably will fade once he reaches grandpa-age.

So, here is a compilation of things that 23 year-old Holly likes now, that I'm pretty sure isn't too influenced by the outside world.

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DISNEYLAND

Though it's been ingrained in me throughout the years, I am still as much in love with this place at 23 as I was as a kid. My first instinct when I get antsy or bored or cabin fevered is to beg Caleb to take me to Disneyland. Out of all of the fun places that are great about southern California, this is the one that calls to me from over 600 miles away. 

 

Kanye West

Though I have a few friends who like him and the radio station I listen to plays his singles, I would say my preference for his music transcends simple peer persuasion. When I'm home alone, I am often listening to his CDs in succession. When I walked to school each morning these last few semesters, I pumped his song "Good Morning" first thing on my iPod. Though I wouldn't say that he and I have had many common experiences, Kanye West's music really speaks to me on an artistic level. 

 

 

 Nostalgia

 I have not always enjoyed looking back on my past. I still don't like to retrace particular footsteps, but for the most part, I love piecing together memories through photos, journals and other pieces of memorabilia. And this doesn't simply apply to my own memories, but is more wide-spread to people I love. I hope to continue to create experiences that I will enjoy remembering in the future.

 

College

I have never really been an education self-starter. Though I was successful through my public education career, the cause was rarely a desire to gain more knowledge but rather to impress my teachers, parents and peers. And because things came easily to me, I didn't really have to put much thought into anything. So, when I got to BYU and didn't have a strict schooling schedule, I completely lost control. The years after that were a mix of "What am I doing with my life" panic and "I'm going to do whatever I want" bravado. And though I went to school intermixedly in that time period, I can honestly say that I did not imagine graduating until this last semester. I worked almost full time, I was going to school full time and making a baby full time. And through all of that sacrifice, I realized that graduating was something I want to do for myself. It may not be soon, but I am going to do it.

 

Goal Setting

This is a picture of our reading worm from summer 2008.  A reading worm consists of body parts that represent books that we've read during the summer, and when certain page amounts are read, one is rewarded with the prize that was agreed upon at the beginning of the summer. Reading a ton of good books is a great goal, but doing this certainly reminds me that I have a lot of other things I want to accomplish in life. I'm not entirely a fantastic goal setter or achiever, but when I do make goals and reach them, I know that I've done it for me and no one else. This reading worm system from my childhood taught me that when goals are reached, good things come out of it (like a trip to the library or ice cream!).

 

My Boys (Added 1/27/09)

Caleb told Jack last week, "You know, it's just starting to feel like having you around is normal." I don't think life will ever feel normal for me again, because I can't believe how lucky I am to have these two guys with me forever. That's something really extraordinary.