Simply Shelby

I feel somewhat selfish since it's the 24th of November and I haven't publicly been thankful for anything this month. You see all the FaceBook statuses and the Tweets and when you realize that you haven't been doing that you can't decide if that's a blessing or a curse. Sure, it saves everyone from having to constantly know what you're thankful for but it also doesn't help with the fact that 20 years from now I won't remember what I was thankful for in 2013. So without further adieu, here are 13 things of what I am most thankful for in 2013. 1. Family. At the end of the day if you don't have something worth fighting for than there really is nothing worth living for. I am thankful for my parents and their sacrifices, I am thankful for my brothers and their support, I am thankful for my Aunts, Uncles, Grandparents, and cousins who are always there when I need them and who show me loving support daily. 2. Good Health. This year has been a tough one fo...

Sunday is always the day of the week where I can really reflect on my life and where i'm at. It's my favorite day of the week and for that very reason I am extremely lucky. Considering November is halfway over I should probably tell the world about my October. October was an extremely hard month. I woke up one morning with terrible pains on the ride side of my stomach area. I thought that I had just slept on it wrong and that the pain would eventually go away. As the day dragged on the pain got worse and worse and I knew something was up. I woke up the next morning and immediately called the Student Health Center seeing when I could get an appointment. Since their earliest appointment was after lunch I rushed myself to the Urgent Care at the Health Center. I got in, talked with a doctor, and she decided that she thought I had appendicitis and that I should get lab work done immediately. After peeing in the cup (my least favorite thing in the world) and getting my blood drawn (f...

It's 9:30pm. I've never been so exhausted. It's Halloween and I didn't even dress up. Okay, I put on a mask for a couple of pictures but that was about as festive as I have been feeling today. College isn't for the weak. Most days I feel like I'm multitasking my life away and that's not an easy thing to do. On a positive note I ate a ton of treats today. I'm sure I'll/my butt will be feeling it tomorrow. I still haven't felt up to exercising since my kidney infection. It's mostly because of a fear that I'll start feeling crummy again and boy, that kidney infection took a lot out of me. I couldn't bear it happening again. I'll share the kidney infection story when I have more time, or when I decide I'm ready to relive the memories of that awful week again. Well, this is a pointless post, but I felt the need to share just a bit of my life. Love you all.

I can imagine that a lot of people contemplate their lives in places such as a car, the shower, on walks, or anywhere where the sense of being alone overcomes the feeling of belonging. Things happen in our lives that we can't control and that's a heavy burden that makes the world feel like it is hanging on our shoulders. We always hope for the best and we always mentally tell ourselves that when we wake up in the morning that everything will be better. Then you wake up and the reality hits that things are still the same and the things you wished that would change haven't changed at all. Where do you go from here? You may feel lost, you may feel confused, and you may feel angry. You'll hope for someone to confide in and that by telling everything to someone you'll feel better. Then you realize that there really is no one who you can talk to who will understand and the child-like need for a simple hug becomes stronger. I know I'm not the only one who has felt the ...

I've been all sorts of emotional this morning. It's homecoming week in my hometown and that was always my favorite time of the school year. I can remember the memories I made with friends that I hardly speak to now. I remember the laughter and the feeling of being young and lucky. Last night as some kids were going home from float building there was a tragic car accident and one sweet senior passed away. I didn't know that beautiful girl but I know people who did. She was a senior and in one instant everything changed. Others were injured and I can feel the somber mood of my hometown from over 2,000 miles away through the FaceBook posts, the tweets on twitter, and the articles news reporters have shared. The thing about being raised in a small town in the south is that no matter if you know someone or not, when tragedy happens you come together as a community. Teenagers at my old high school gathered this morning in our schools commons area and had a moment of silence follo...

It's 8pm. I've been up since 6:30am. I haven't eaten dinner yet and I have never felt more exhausted in my whole life. My roommates are gone and for 10 minutes or so I will have peace and quiet. Alone time- something I never thought I would crave as much as I do lately. Work has been stressful in more ways than one. 18 credit hours are proving to be a difficult task. My cousin is getting married next week and I'll be doing things "Wedding related" all weekend. I wish I could be excited but with 3 papers due at the beginning of next week I'm not quite sure how I'm going to manage everything on my to-do list. People are lucky if I decide to even do my hair when I wake up in the morning. Sleep is precious because it's the only time my mind doesn't have a million things on it so things like having a good hair day have become less important. Priorities. I should probably mention all my roommates are out doing fun things like institute or the BYU W...

I feel a constant need to be needed in a world where I have the hardest time asking for help. That might not make sense to anyone but me, but that's okay. The hardest part about life for me is accepting things I can't change. There is a line in my favorite hymn that says, "Silently we pray for courage to accept thy will, to listen and obey." I pray on a daily basis for courage to accept Gods will for my life. I pray to know the path I should be on and let myself go and let Him take control. This past Sunday in church one of the lessons was on letting Heavenly Father have control over our lives and that we should be okay when things don't work out the way we want them to. Heavenly Father has a plan for my life and he has a plan for your life. He knows the greatest path for our lives and He loves us enough to guide us in all that we do. He sent his son, Jesus Christ, to die for us so we would never be alone. Christ walked his path completely and utterly alone. He wa...