The Big Apple has many tastes

It has come to my attention that many great experiences have occurred within the last several weeks, but nothing has been written of it. 

My bad. 

I really don’t know where to start. But here’s a few photos I snapped that will explain some of the things I’ve done. 

This is one of my favorite places to have dessert. Ever. If you ever have had a bad experience with rice pudding, which let's face it..that would be everyone, then I encourage you to try this place. It will change your life.










This is a view from the High Line, a public park built on a historic freight line in lower Manhattan. There are two artists spray painting this mural onto a side of a building. Incredible!







For Memorial Day, the boys and I decided to hit up a Mets game. What an awesome field. It's right next to La Guardia airport, so you get to see the planes take off as they fly overhead.






One evening we toured the World trade Center Memorial. It was a somber experience to say the least. Thoughts of the OKC bombing flooded my mind. You could tell this was a sacred place for many.

This little gem is nestled in the Brooklyn Museum (One of the coolest museums I've been to). They had everything from mummies to feminist art. Let's just say that walking through a feminist art exhibit with one of your BYU professors isn't the most ideal situation you want to be in.












Of course we walked the Brooklyn Bridge. That was a fun night. Once we made it to the Brooklyn side, we noticed this awesome carousel down by the river. As the carousel being one of my favorite rides, I booked it there...only to find out that some 75 year old man was having a birthday party and reserved the whole place to himself. I guess if you're that old, you can do what you want.











One Saturday we found ourselves at Rockaway Beach, about an 1 and a half from where we live. Once we finally got there, the weather was slightly overcast. Boo. But, that didn't stop us from having a little fun!


















On another lovely Saturday, we ventured out to the infamous Coney Island. Except, it's kind of like every other boardwalk. Minus the fact that the first Nathan's Hot Dog stand is here.

Yesterday we hit up the BBQ Block party/ festival at Madison Square Park. It smelt SO GOOD. Ribs, mac n' cheese, potato salad...you name it. Definitely a good choice there.

And last but not least....Central Park. 

I love this place. 

I think New York City surprised me most by the vast amounts of green in and around the hustle and bustle. You can really find peace here. 

Which reminds me of something a dear friend said to me this week. More about this on my next post. 

Taking a bite out of the big apple

So...life in New York. 

I’ve been here for one full week and it feels as if we’ve been living here for a month. I’m going to try and write my experiences and adventures these next few months as I begin life after college living in a closet (basically) and working for free (basically). 

My room. Takes me back to my freshman days. 

I wish I could recall all the hilarious and not so hilarious things that have happened since we’ve been here. 

A few worth mentioning would be:

• Getting a free can of soda from Aladdin the street vendor from Egypt. 
• My co-intern barfing twice at lunch with my boss. (Sorry Whit)
• Asking for a Diet Coke at a restaurant in Little Italy and the waiter replying "Are you from Utah?"
• Ordering a $30 appetizer from that same restaurant without even knowing it. 

By the way, for those of you who do not know, I’m here with about 30 other BYU students/ recent grads interning and we all live in the same building. I roll with about five or six PR kids when exploring the city. 

Continuing on, here are a few of the things I’ve done thus far:

Went to Target in the Bronx. Come on, we know Target is a staple for my survival. 

Times Square. Those guys who try to reel you in to going to a Comedy Show are really annoying. And that is a picture of cheesecake I got from Junior's. GO THERE. 

Koronet Pizza. THE BIGGEST slice of pizza I’ve ever had in my life. And only for $5. 

The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Definitely going to have to come back and explore. I only made it through the first floor!

Doughnut Plant. That one on the left is pistachio glazed. Lord help me. 

We've also been to Chinatown, Little Italy, Rockefeller Plaza, Chelsea Market (LOVE), and probably several other places. I like being able to take my time visiting everything there is to see in New York.

As far as life besides eating and being a tourist, things are going well. I miss my family and friends from Oklahoma and Utah like no other. Realizing I won't be home for the summer is somewhat of a letdown, but I'm determined to make the most of it here in NYC. At church on Sunday, one of the speakers said that when she moved to NYC in her twenties, she wrote a letter to her mother and said, "It looks like everyone took a bite out of the big apple and spit it back out." I'd have to agree with her on that. 

All in all, I can't complain. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I know I'm going to learn and grow so much from it. And seeing this on my way to work everyday is going to help that. 

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints' Manhattan Temple. 

Becoming

One of the things about people that frustrates me most is when a person knows they have potential, and knows they can be better than who they are now, but choose to stay mediocre.

Each of us knows at least one person who’s like this. They are good people. They are usually your friend. They are someone you admire. And yet, what you see in them isn’t what they see. 

You see potential.

Growth.

Greatness.

And you might think for an instant that they see that too. But then they revert to their same old ways. Not wanting to accept more knowledge and power, because with that comes greater responsibility.

It’s just never made sense to me, really. I feel that as humans we intrinsically want to be better, or different, than what we are now. But our carnal, sinful nature keeps us from doing that. And fear. Fear is such a cowardly and yet all too normal emotion we encounter.

For me though, I’d like to believe that even though we live in this broken world there’s opportunity for good. Not only good, but the best. God didn’t send us here to be mediocre. He sent us here so we could one day be like Him. And God isn’t by any means mediocre.

But how do I know that? I know that because I know God. Or I’m trying to get to know Him at least. Because when you know someone, you trust them. And when you trust them, you turn to them.

And when you turn to God, you begin to change. You begin to become something.

Something great. 

Oh yeah....school ended.

Well this is embarrassing.

I have one week left of school, and have only written once this semester. Some exciting and not so exciting things have happened, but let's focus on some of the important ones:

-I was offered the PR position at work and will have my own office on campus.

-I was accepted to the Washington Seminar program through BYU.

-I then withdrew my application after two weeks of being in the program.

-Realizing I'm graduating next April is probably the biggest stress of my life.

So about that Washington Seminar thing....THAT was one of the hardest decisions of my life, thus far. It's a prestigious program, where students intern for a semester in Washington DC. Only 40 students are accepted each semester, and I was accepted for next spring/ summer. It all sounds fine and dandy, right?

Wrong.

When I was notified of my acceptance, it was honestly a complete shock. Hundreds of students applied. Hundreds were turned down. But they chose me. And I only had 24 hours to decide whether or not I would accept it. Let's just say I was one hot mess during those 24 hours.

Everyone said I should do it. The Lord didn't really give a yes or no...at least at that time, but I knew he'd support me either way. I just knew that.

So I accepted. I filled out all of the paperwork, met with the advisors of the program, researched internships and began the application process for each of them. But then something changed.

I had this strong impression that I shouldn't go to DC next summer. Initially, I thought it was just me under a lot of stress. But that weird feeling kept coming back to me every time I worked on my internship applications this past week. So I prayed about it and sent the director of the program a notification of my withdrawal.

Let me tell you....I struggled with that decision. I still am. I'm still not completely sure why I declined the opportunity, but I will say this:

I'm trusting the Lord on this one.

You see, God puts us through trials to help us grow. He has a plan for each of us, and it's up to us to find out what the plan is. Part of figuring out that plan means making tough choices and taking risks.

I know that things will work out. They always do. But for a girl who likes to have a plan mapped out about everything....it's proving to be quite the challenge. I don't know where I'll be next summer. I don't know what I'll be doing. But I do know that with Heavenly Father's help, it'll all work out.