It'll Take More Than Just A Breeze To Make Me Fall Overboard

Song: Overboard by Ingrid Michaelson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjplwaIUm-c

Once upon a time there was a girl. This girl never really liked Math. And usually she tried to be open to things and give them a second chance. But it seemed as though Math had taken it too far. For one, Math is the only subject she ever got an A- in during high school. And that was not a pleasant experience. Second, there is Math homework almost every night except the days that you take tests, and those always seem to be rough days even without the homework. The list of reasons for this girl's distaste could go on and on. But i'll narrate one specific bad experience and two good. Saving the good for last :)

This girl had always done well in school. She wasn't one of those super geniuses who you KNOW have computers for brains. She had to work really, really hardat it. But she was determined and gave the full effort and the results made it worth it. Anyways, this girl kept up a 4.0 until the 2nd quarter of her junior year. She was taking concurrent enrollment Math 1050, which is the equivalent of Pre-Calc A. Throughout the whole semester, she had done extremely well. She turned in all of her assignments on time, paid attention in class, and even did the review assignments now and then before chapter tests. This class seemed to go as all her other past classes had gone. Until November came.

Weird things started to happen when teacher began talking about preparing for the Final Exam that would be given right after Christmas Break. Thegirl thought that it would be no big deal, just like the trillions of tests she had taken before. But then the teacher started talking about how it was worth 30% of the final grade and how it would be on your permanent college transcript and something new happened to the girl. She got nervous. And the nerves wouldn't go away. The exam was a month and half away and she already had a bad feeling about it. Well the nerves started to creep into other things. Shots wouldn't fall during Basketball practice. She got bad quiz scores in other classes. Heck, she even tanked a chapter test in Math that she had done extra studying for. These things were definitely out of the ordinary for this girl. So right before Christmas Break she talked to her teacher and he gave the girl a few extra practice exams to get her more prepared. Unlike most kids, she didn't throw her backpack into a dark corner to rot until January 2nd when school started again. She poured her little brains out onto those practice tests. And even when she was working on roofs in Mexico for the last week of the break she was constantly thinking about math problems and wondering if she was really prepared for the exam or not.

During one of the many truck rides while she was in Mexico, a thought came to her. Would it really matter if she did poorly on the test? That meant a bad grade in the class. Did it really matter if she got a bad grade in that class? That would mean the end of her 4.0 GPA that she had worked so hard for. Did it really matter if she didn't have a 4.0? It meant...it meant...what did it really mean? She realized that she was afraid that it would mean she wasn't perfect. And once she thought of it like that, she realized something else. She already knew she wasn't perfect. She already knew that there were more important things than being the best at everything. She realized that success doesn't come from always being at the top of the list. It came from trying. And remembering what things actually mattered. Like focusing on the people that she was serving down in TJ. Or making memories with her family and new friends while they were together. Or just plain trying to be a good person.

Because of all these realizations, she knew that she needed to stop worrying because things would work out how they were supposed to work out whether she was losing sleep over it or not. So for the rest of the week, she just relaxed. And when she got back to school, she honestly knew in her heart that the past week had taught her more than all the math classes she had ever taken. And even though colleges like to focus more on GPA's and ACT's than life changing thought processes and experiences, she was certain that she would rather have the knowledge gained during that week than all the semesters of college that a 4.0 GPA could buy.

So she went into the test knowing that the result of the letters circled and the numbers scribbled in the answer box really weren't that important. Not to say she didn't try her hardest, because she really truly did. Just because it wasn't the most important thing to her anymore didn't mean that keeping a 4.0 wouldn't be nice. Nevertheless, she bombed it. Not just didn't-get-an-A-like-normal. Serious bombage up in there. Like a D+ or something like that. And that was enough to drop her grade from an A to an A-, effectively ending her 4.0 streak. And it was hard on her. She still was more than a little sad to see it go. Even now when she is looking at Index Score matrices as she is applying to college, she still feels a little pang when her finger has to go down the 3.9 column. (Luckily, it still gets to meet up with the 30 ACT row). But she was able to get over it. And it was a learning experience from which she became better, not bitter. And without the experience in Mexico, she wouldn't be able to say that.

Well, that was a lot longer than I meant it to be, so i'll try to sum up the next one for her. That whole experience was with Math 1050. Next semester brought Math 1060 AKA Trigonometry. Armed with her new attitude towards school, the Force chapters covered in her Physics class and the fact that Softball was a lot less pressure than Basketball, the girl did extremely well in 1060. So well that she felt confident enough to make a deal with her mom. If the girl got an A on the Final for 1060, the mom had to take the girl out for Sushi :) Well...

That was a good day :)

And today wasn't half bad either. Even though it wasn't a final exam, it still felt really good when she looked at her AP Statistics grade online and saw that she got 84 out of 80 on the last test she took. It was probably only the second time in her life that something math-related made her smile.

Well, I guess that wasn't all about Math. But you get the point. There are some valuable lessons to be learned from Math class. Its just that they rarely come from the textbook :)

"I don't think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday."

"Drive Friendly."

Well. UEA was yesterday and today. So far today I woke up at Katie's, had some Honey Nut Scooters, sat on her couch for two hours while we talked about everything under the sun and then went home. For now i'm waiting for Mother Dearest to come pick me up for our camping trip we were supposed to be on since about noon. So I figured now is a great time to blog. Not like I have anything else to do, like filling out college applications, studying for a Medical Anatomy & Physiology test, doing a test review for FCHD 1500, finishing the guided reading packet for AP English, or doing 3 assignments for AP Statistics. No, this is a great use of my time. Anywho, today has not been the most eventful. Yesterday, however, was quite the opposite. Here's how it went down.

For the last week, my good friend Katie and I have been trying to decide what kind of nonsense we would engage in for UEA. Amongst the list of possibilities were a road trip to Oregon, a road trip (of sorts) to Paraguay, camping somewhere, sleeping in a car on the side of the road somewhere, and visiting all the LDS temples in Utah.

Nevertheless, we came to an entirely unrelated decision.
Promontory Point, AKA the site of the Golden Spike National Historic Site.

For those of you unfamiliar with this incredibly exciting, promising and overall wondrous historic bit of history, let me give ya a little rundown. In 1863 the first transcontinental railroad was started. One side started near Omaha, NE and the other side began near Sacramento, CA. Many immigrant laborers, railroad ties, iron rails and skipped details later, the two ends met in a little old place we like to call Promontory on May 10, 1869. Apparently, this was a big deal. Anyways, we journeyed on out and had a grand ol' time. We stopped to take pictures and play on freakin' sweet playgrounds along the way. It was nice to have a day without time constraints or responsibilities. Plus, my outfit for the day was pretty exquisite.

If it looks like i'm wearing overalls, its because I am. And if you were wondering, I was NOT wearing the mask all day. Disappointing, I know.

"Use what talents you possess; The woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best."

Get Up, Get Out, Get Away From These Liars

Song: Open Your Eyes
Artist: Snow Patrol

This post is something new for me. A poem. Since I was selected as English Sterling Scholar, I figure its time to write more. So here you go, big bad blogosphere. Tell me what you think ;)

Swings

First it’s the swing from the tree in your yard

After the lemonade stand where no one pays with a card

When the sun is high and your spirits even higher

And even if you did eat the cookie, your brother’s still a liar

Then comes the sunday night swing with your pals

You act like you’re old, but it’s still you and the gals

The worries will fade as soon as you choose

As long as the wood chips don’t get in your shoes

Now it’s the swings at the park with a guy

The only light coming from the starry black sky

He speaks of the future, the present, and past

But all you know is you hope this feeling will last

So while the trees may be trimmed and your friends may move on

Your brain seems to tell you these memories are sure to last long

Though it’s bitter that you must sit in stationary chairs today

It’s still sweet to remember when you could swing life away

Don't Give Away The End, The One Thing That Stays Right

My life in picture form (for the last few days)

Friday (Sterling Scholars announced)

Saturday (Bear Lake for a wicked b-day party)

Sunday (Paint The Street!)

Monday (The first day of Homecoming)

Sometimes having friends as SBO's can be a real perk.

(It says Homecoming is not as cool as Missy Homer)

"Triumph is just try with a little umph."

Almost...

I have some really exciting news. Sadly, I can't share it here yet because I promised myself I'd tell Courtney first. :)

I Think I Like Today. I Think It's Good. It's Something I Can't Get My Head Around.

Let it be known:
I, Merissa Linn Homer, have finished for the first time the Book of Mormon on September 1, 2010. And it feels great :) I started in January, kicked it into high gear in July and now it's done. I just wish that there wasn't school tomorrow so I could start again right now and just read and read and read. For those of you have been concerned about my vital status because of my lack of Facebooking, you will be glad to know that my self-grounding is officially over. The post title is from the song "Good Day" by Angels & Airwaves. Today truly was a good day :)


Oh, and the book is true. All of it. The whole thing. 100%.

"For with God, nothing shall be impossible."

So Long, Sweet Summer

Age Six Racer by Dashboard Confessional. Possibly the greatest summer song of all time.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UblEjqQ0d9c

Fictionist, Making April, Third Eye Blind, Sherwood, Steel Train, Priscilla Ahn, Allred, Vedera, Neon Trees, Relient K, Nick Hexum of 311, and last but not least, Chris Carrabba of Dashboard Confessional.

What do all these fabulous bands have in common? I was graced by their presence this past Saturday Aug 21st at the Candlelight Serenade Acoustic Festival in Lehi. It was an all day event and I LOVED it. The tickets were a little pricey but it was for a really good cause. It was a benefit concert for Child Rescue, which is an organization dedicated to combating child sex slavery and exploitation in North America. I didn't realize this was such a big issue in the US. You can check out www.candlelightserenade.com or www.childrescue.org for more details.

The concert was the bomb. I'd seen Relient K before in May when they came to SLC with Paramore, but I can never get enough of Matt Theissen and his beautiful voice and mad piano skills. All the artists had acoustic sets and it was so neat to hear some of my favorite songs played a little more mellow and in person. When he played Therapy, it was a totally different feel from the album version, but in a good way. SO MUCH TALENT! Anyways, sorry for the sketch picture quality, an iPhone can only do so much from so far away.

It was a different experience for me to see Third Eye Blind. I feel like their music has just been around forever. They have some really excellent songs and the singer was a pretty good entertainer. They played Motorcycle Driveby and I pretty much died from happiness. That song kills me just listening to it normally, much less live, 30 feet away from the band. And of course Semi-Charmed Life was a crowd favorite :)

Christopher Ender Carabba. What a beautiful man. What beautiful music. What beautiful talent. I had tickets to see Dashboard Confessional last November, but the show was cancelled the day before the performance because of some family issues or something. Dashboard is on my top 10 list of favorite bands ever. Possibly top 5. I have every song they've ever released, including EP's. It has taken me forever to get around to going to one of their concerts, but man oh man it was SO worth it. By the time his set came around, it was too dark to get any real pictures, but here goes nothing.

In other news, the 'New Spice' guy from the 'BYU Study Like A Scholar' YouTube video was one of the announcer dudes and I got my picture taken with him! Nice guy and SUPER funny. He said he felt weird that everyone knew who he was, so he was acting like I was the famous one.

In OTHER other news, I got a game-worn BYU football jersey signed by the kicker, Mitch Payne! You guys are probably like, woopdy-doo, a kicker signed a shirt. But this guy was in my brother's ward when my brother went to BYU and Mitch was a really nice, down to earth guy and i've always kind of respected that about him. Not all college football players are like that.

In OTHER OTHER other news, I got to see an old friend, Zack Konecki from my California days. His mom and my mom were in the Stake YW's Presidency together back in the day. We were good pals then, but I haven't seen him in literally a decade. My how things have changed. He has already graduated from high school and is enrolled in classes at a local college, and will have completed his bachelor's degree at BYU Hawaii before he even goes on his mission. What a stud! He's the one that's not a girl. And his mom's the one that's not my mom.

PS here's the New Spice video :)

"It's not about how full of days your life is, but rather how full of life your days are."