Nonsensical Nyssa

For all of you who still check this...I have a new blog. Put your email in the comments and i'll send you an invite. It's going to be private but I want you to be able to see it if you'd like :D

It has been a really really long time since I've updated everyone. I'm at BYU-I for the Spring Semester which goes from April-July. It's really quite amazing how I'm here in the first place, actually. It all started when I got a scholarship and it was split into the winter and spring tracks. (Spring is my off track which means I usually am not here in Rexburg.) That's when I started thinking about staying and taking classes. Then I found out that one of my only electives that I really wanted to take (Thermodynamics II) was only offered during spring semester. I started really considering staying, and then I started dating Enzo. He is an amazing man that has brought me so much happiness. For him, and all those other reasons I decided to see if I'd be able to stay and take classes. (Mostly I had to see if I could get money for tuition.) And then miracles happened. I got enough money, I registered for classes, and I am really glad I did. Since I was staying here for Spring, the bishop asked me to be Relief Society President. I am very humbled at this calling, and know that Heavenly Father needed me to serve. I hope to learn all that God wants me to as I serve him. So, that's a quick update. I am very happy! I know that people have been placed in my life that I need to learn from and also that I can help.

So, I have to apologize first for being very MIA. School has gotten so crazy. I am really enjoying my statistics class and my circuits class. On Tuesday in circuits we will be soldering. It is super hard to solder, I practiced yesterday for a bit and am pretty terrible.

It's been really cool to come to Rexburg and see all the things that are different. Now the BYU-I center is complete (it is a lot like the conference center in Salt Lake only smaller)

BYU-I center

heres the conference center

So it's obviously a lot smaller but it is amazing! The choir sounds so beautiful in there. Next week for devotional we get to hear from L. Tom Perry, which is super exciting, and with the BYU-I center, all of the students will be able to be in the same room.

Work has been super fun. Tutoring students rarely feels like a job to me. I absolutely LOVE it. Especially international students, they say the funniest things!

The weather here in Rexburg has been really strange for this time of year. There is still no snow on the ground and this has been the 2nd consecutive day of rain. RAIN, really? In January? it's crazy. I hope it doesn't just all dump on us at once.

I am applying for internships in Calgary for the summer in engineering. There are many companies looking for interns, and I miss Canada so much!

Consensus: Rexburg is definitely the place for me to be right now.

I forgot how much I love learning! I love having something hard to do, and having the satisfaction of doing it well. I love being busy, and being organized. I also love living in a place with so many LDS people. I forgot what that was like.

So here's my synopsis of my classes so far:

1) Fluid Mechanics --> this class is calculus, statics, dynamics, and chemistry all rolled into one. It is by far my hardest class, and most time consuming, but I'm liking it so far! My teacher Brother (DR.) Daines worked on rocket engines for Nasa Stenis. So he is literally a rocket scientist! You can tell he loves fluids and everything about them. That makes me really excited.

2) Engineering Statistics --> This is identical, so far, to the stats class I took in high school. the only difference is all of the examples are engineering based, so it's a bit more boring than the other stats class. I like it though, it's nice to have an engineering class I don't feel lost in all the time.

3) Fundamentals of Circuits --> This class is taught by an electrical engineer, at 745 in the morning. I'm hoping it's not all that hard, but it seems really interesting and I'm excited to learn more about electricity and that part of engineering.

4) science foundations-->this is hopefully taking care of my general biology credit. If not I'll be taking it next semester. This is such an easy class, and I have mostly freshman in my class so I feel super old and super smart. But it's interesting. We're learning mostly about the brain and how it perceives light and sound.

5) 2nd half of Old Testament--> I'm excited to be able to feel the spirit in one of my classes (I usually don't in the engineering ones, haha) and to hear from a Jewish prospective. My professor has a degree in Hebrew, so he can understand the old testament better than lots of people. it is pretty exciting.

So all in all it seems like a good semester. My roommates are awesome, and more social than me! So I feel like a hermit holed up in my room constantly reading engineering books, but I am confident that this semester will be a good one! I am excited to see what happens!

As the new year approaches(it's 6 hours away!) I have been thinking about all the things that I've been grateful for this year.

Things I'm grateful for :


-Cars with heaters and winter tires

-toe warmers, toques, gloves
-teaching and meeting new people
-learning to have fun
-seeing miracles
-seeing changes in others


-making lifelong friends
-trying new food
-bug spray
-doctors
-Canadian summers


-fall leaves
-The Book of Mormon
-music
-loving family
-reconnecting with loved ones
-meeting new nieces


-dessert (even though I had to much in 2011)
-running
-airplanes
-money for school
-pianos
-having a job
-the temple


-my life

Even through all of the stress that happened in 2011, I am so much a better person because I lived through it all.

I hope 2012 is just as good or better than 2011!

What are you grateful for this year?

I have loved C.S. Lewis ever since I read The Chronicles of Narnia. I have since read The Screwtape Letters, and it never ceases to amaze me at how much knowledge and insight he had towards Christianity. Last Night I watched the Voyage of the Dawn Treader (the third in the Narnia series). I remembered my favorite part in the book.
Eustace (Edmond and Lucy's cousin) has turned himself into a dragon by his greed. Him being a dragon helps him to see how arrogant and unfriendly he has been to everyone. Eventually he meets Aslan, and is told he must "undress"(Rid himself of the dragon skin) so he can become clean. At first, he can scratch the skin off, like a snake shedding, but he keeps looking like a dragon underneath. Eventually, Eustace realizes that he cannot rid himself of the dragon without the help of Aslan. He allows Aslan to use his lion claws and he cuts very deep--to the very heart of the dragon, and off comes the thickest, scaliest, and roughest skin yet. Underneath, Eustace is a boy again. It makes me think about how our sins, mistakes, and weaknesses sometimes turn us into "dragons". These times help us to become better, learn to love and empathize with others, and to realize that there are consequences to our actions. Hopefully we learn from these times. However, try as we might, we ourselves cannot get rid of the "dragon skin". We need God's help to do so. As He helps us to change, we experience pain. God may slice us to the very heart, but we will become who He wants us to be. We must let Him change us. We must take the pain to overcome our dragonish tendancies.

On another note, but still on the topic of C.S. Lewis, I found this quote that I think is amazing: "A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word, 'darkness' on the walls of his cell." I met many Atheists on my mission who tried, in effect, to diminish God. It seemed like a foolish and insurmountable task to me at the time. I know Heavenly Father is real. I'm grateful for inspired people like C.S. Lewis who can help me more fully understand Him.

My whole life I've heard songs on the radio about love, falling in love, breakups, love at first sight, etc... I thought that these were all just fiction, and real love was different. Now from some experiences I've had in the last couple of weeks I'm starting to think that a lot of the songs were written from real life experiences. Many have resonated a lot with me lately. My favorite romance movie is Pride and Prejudice--the Kiera Knightly one. Last night I rented it from the library and laughed and cried all by myself. Life has it's ups and downs. Sometimes people love you when you don't love them. Sometimes you love someone who doesn't love you. The quest for me is to find someone who will not only love me, but who I can give my whole heart to.

This brings me to one of my fave youtube vids. Hopefully you've seen P&P or it won't make much sense...



How did you fall in love?