General Conference Weekend and Polygamist Dating

Hey y'all!!! It's Conference Weekend!!! My favorite weekend of the year!! Now, I don't know if y'all know much about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, but twice a year, the first weekend of April and October, we gather together and hear from the leaders of our church! It's AMAZING!! I feel like all of my worries and doubts are addressed when I listen to these great men and women who lead us! You can check it out HERE! If you are looking for peace in your life that seems to be out of your grasp. Or if you feel like everything is just not going your way, please check it out, m'kay? I promise you will feel something wonderful and peaceful!

In other news, I have been spending some time with that new guy I was telling you about, James. He's super cute, like in a friend way. He's from Seattle and is working on a Bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering. He's really smart. He hasn't asked me out, and I'm kind of glad because I'm having fun just being friends with him. Plus, I feel like everything happened so fast with Hollander that it's nice to kind of just take things easy. Get to know him as a friend and then we'll see if anything happens later. But seriously, he's adorable. We went to get ice cream the other night and my friend Rachel came with us. James surprised us by paying for both of us and we went to sit together. It was funny watch people watch us. It was a Friday night and the ice cream shop was rather busy as we sat down and started talking between us. I noticed several couples kind of watching us with a curious glance. It dawned on me that they may have thought we were on a date. Like, a guy dating two girls kind of a date. Like, a polygamist date. And I guess it would have looked a little bit funny because I was sitting closer to James than Rachel was, but we were all engaged in the conversation. A couple left and I saw the girl shaking her head and I'm pretty sure she mouthed something like "disgusting" in our direction as she left. I turned to James and asked,

"Um, did you see that lady?"

"Did she just mouth 'disgusting' at us?" He asked.

"I think so! I think she thought we were both on a date with you." I told him.

"Why would people think we were on a date?" Rachel chimed in with.

"Because James bought our ice cream. Oh my gosh. I think people think we're on a polygamist date!" I answered. And then we all started laughing. Instead of being offended or getting upset, we decided to play it up. When we left James made it a point to say a little louder than he normally would,

"So, ladies, I got us tickets for the 7:15 show. We better hurry so we don't miss the previews" and then he took us each by the hand and we left together. It also didn't help that he had driven so we all climbed back into his car and we drove away trying not to die of laughter.

I think this is one of the things I love about Utah. People's assumptions get the best of them, which is remarkable because this place is unlike anywhere else in the world. There is a brightness to the people, a lot of friendliness and eagerness to know you. It's a melting pot of cultures because so many people travel great distances to attend BYU. Heck, I'm one of them! But it's almost like people are looking for the strangest of circumstances when there is often a completely reasonable explanation. Like how James was just being a nice person and not dating two girls at the same time. Because that would be a rather interesting situation.

So, y'all, when you see something you can't quite understand, how about you not go to the craziest explanation. And also, don't call people disgusting for eating ice cream with friends. Because it's not. And that would be weird.

Deets That May Be Helpful

So, I should probably tell y'all a little bit about living in Utah. I  LOVE it here!! I attend Brigham Young University (BYU) but Kyla, Jax and Shelly all go to Utah Valley University (UVU). It's different here than anywhere else, I promise.

 I'm going to try and explain things that someone who hasn't grown up around here might not understand. First of all, I'm a Mormon (the nickname for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints), and if this is a problem then I'd recommend you not continue with this blog because I am very happy with my religion and way of life. I won't dwell on this a lot, but it will come up from time to time given where I live and the culture here.
     As a member of the LDS faith, I don't drink alcohol, I don't smoke or do drugs. I don't swear. I don't sleep around. I live by the guidelines outlined by my church and they can be found here!! I don't watch R rated movies. I do dance!! I LOVE to bake cupcakes!! I like to try my hand at crafty projects I find on Pinterest!!
     I am the oldest of four girls. I love my sisters!! They sometimes drive me crazy, but it's so much fun!! My younger sister Karlee just left for a mission!! She is serving in Long Beach, CA and I miss her so much!! Any ideas on great packages to send her are always appreciated!! Karlee is my best friend, we were going to room together this fall, but she went on a mission instead and I am so excited for her!! It's the opportunity of a lifetime!! I sometimes think about going, but I want to finish my degree first!! I am getting my Bachelor's degree in Family and Consumer Science and I can't wait to get married and be a mom and raise my kids one day!! I am currently searching for my very own Knight in Shining Armor to come along and sweep me off my feet. That's partly why I chose to stay here this summer instead of moving back home for a few months. I kind of wanted to see what it was like when most people aren't in school and stuff. I like it so far, I have great room mates!! My ward (or the congregation I meet with on Sundays) is AMAZING!!! There's a lot more guys than girls, which I am fine with!!

The Roomies

Hey y'all!! So, I just wanted to write a little bit about me and my roomies today! So, my name is Raleigh, as previously mentioned, and I live with my two best friends Shannon and Kyla. And we have three other room mates Katelyn, Shelly, and Jax.

I grew up in North Carolina and decided to come out to BYU after I graduated high school. All of my family is back in NoCo, but that's okay because I LOVE it here! I am getting my degree in Interior Design and also love to bake cupcakes. Pinterest is my current addiction and I can't get enough of it.

I'm SUPER obsessed with the TV show Once Upon A Time and am totally loving all the #captainswan storyline. #sorrynotsorry.

Shannon and Kyla moved in together. Kyla is from California and we three have been roommates for about six months. Shannon is from Idaho, so we sometimes go up to her family's potato farm on the weekends. Yes, they really do grow potatoes!!

Kyla grew up about two hours away from LA and lives, like, right next to the ocean. Okay, not, like RIGHT next to the ocean, but close. Like, a few miles away? I think? Probably. Any way, She is going into nursing and is always studying. I don't think she's been on a date the entire time I've lived with her, but not for a lack of trying! Guys are ALWAYS asking her out. It's super cute. Until she turns them down. And then they're souls are crushed. Poor guys. But that's when Shannon chimes in and cheers them up again.

I don't think I can recall the last time Shannon did NOT have a date on a Friday or Saturday evening. That girl dates all the boys. And can never settle on just one. Shannon is going into psychology and is super great at reading people. It's crazy how well she knows me sometimes. But I love her for it!! She's so so great!!

Jax is probably our most mysterious roommate. Mostly because she's an introvert and doesn't come out and socialize with us very often. But she does come out occasionally and I love talking to her. She is an art history major and wants to work at The Met one day. I think she'll make it there. She's wonderfully amazing. She's super quiet, but if you can get her to open up, she's has the sweetest spirit. And I mean that in the literal sense, not the "sweet spirit" sense. haha.

Katelyn and Shelly are sisters and they do everything together. I think half of their classes are the same. And the other half are always close by. Katelyn is undeclared at the moment but leaning towards Physics. I think she'd do great as a physicist. She's so so smart. Like, unbelievably smart. Love her.

I'm pretty sure Shelly is going into Elementary Education and wants to teach kindergarten. Wouldn't that be, like, the sweetest thing ever? #totesadorbs #teacherslife She's so so so good with kids. She's going to change the world someday, I just know it!!!!

Any way, that's us in a nutshell!!! Can't wait to tell you more about our lives here in Apartment 314!!