The Internship That's Not About Bunnies

In nine days I start my internship with the National Council for Adoption. Doing "media relations" and "shadowing their attorney on the Hill"- so basically, I have no idea either. We're just gonna let this thing fly.
Also, in case you were going to ask (again) "So what do you want to do after you graduate?"
my answer is still a vague but promising "Something awesome." Right now I have more important things to figure out. Things like how to work the D.C. metro and where to buy food.

Never having been a pregnant teenager myself, I actually have no experience with adoption. So how FORTUNATE that right before the semester ended I got to help a real-life orphan stay out of the system.

My friends found him underneath a car in the parking lot- named him Dobby and took him in- even though it was finals week and they really didn't have time to deal with a rabbit pooping all over their house. What good souls. Naturally, as soon as fb informed me of this I was at their front door with some carrots.

We tried to take Dobby for a walk (hop?)... the leash was made for a small cat but could also accommodate a rather large bunny. Turns out the reason Dobby is so large may be because he doesn't really like to jump around in the grass but likes very much to sit there and eat it.

Let's be honest: I am not an animal person. But that thing was like a stuffed rabbit, I tell you. It would just lie there in your arms and calmly wiggle its nose.
I was smitten.

Natter the Elementary Education Major.
"Just attach this photo to your resume and anyone will hire you."

Using my "social networking skills" that I bragged about in my application I started a marketing campaign (ie. status update) to save dear Dobby from the animal shelter.
As it happens, another girl I don't know adopted him first. But FOR THE RECORD, I did have a legitimate bunny-lover contact me after the fact.

What this experience has taught me is that successful adoptions can take place as long as you have
a) friends who are looking to 'add one more' to the family, or

b) friends who just can't say no to faces like this.

Congratulations on your new home, Dobby!!

I Spy

with my little eye...

3 water bottles

1 roll of yellow duct tape

7 headbands

2 bottles of lotion

1 can of tomato soup (and a spoon, but it's hiding)

4 tubes of chapstick

2 bottles of nail polish (you know, besides the entire green case full)

1 watch

2 different types of medicine (and 1 unopened medical bill)

And about 19 scattered bobby pins.

I would blame it on finals week, but honestly...

this is just kind of how I roll.

"I Just Want to Party with College Boys"

This past weekend my FAMILIA came to visit on their Spring Break. 

Lindsay and I thought they would be so excited to see us... but pretty soon we figured out it wasn't necessarily us that kept them hanging around.

It was the BoYzZz!

Meg and Jess were quite the hit.

It reminded me of two years ago when Lindsay and Annie came to visit. The freshman boys all loved them and nobody slept for four days straight.
So precious.

Soccer Game!

And every time my family comes to town I make them visit the newsroom. <3

Megan "First Time You've Seen Me With Braces" Simpson

Jessica "I Just Want to Party With College Boys" Thomas

They will make such great weather girls one day.

Mother's sweater on the green screen turned her into Nearly Headless Nick.

Also, every time my family comes into town, they visit the creamery and the bookstore and take leisurely strolls through campus- essentially hitting up all the places that Lindsay and I try to avoid.

Case in Point: This year's highlight was the new stream just south of campus.

"Oh, it's SO pretty! Could you race boats down it?!"

"I have already been on that date three times this year... not counting the ward activity."

But nothing says "I am a good daughter" like getting your bum wet for pictures. So we did.

Reporting live from BYU Campus: Lauren Simpson, ElevenNews. ###

Links for Saturday

• Einstein Bagels, welcome to the corner next to BYU. HOORAY!! Plus if you are on their email list you get free coupons all the time :) Seriously, I can eat blueberry bagels for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
  
  

• Mormon Explorer. This is also for all you travelers who aren't Mormon but totally could be. I love the idea of this so much- like couch surfing but less scary.
  
  

• J.K. Rowling spoke at Harvard's graduation ceremony in 2008 on "The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination." Just in time for graduation. Next time you have twenty minutes to spare, blow it all on this.
  
  

• I read this love letter one month ago and I'm still not over it.
  
  

• This video encompasses both my feelings for David Archuleta and for floral design.
  
  
• This website is for all you color aficionados out there (which now means any woman with a pinterest account.)
  
  
• And let's talk for a minute about Titanic. (movie, not boat.)

When it comes to films, I don't like chick flicks. Or seeing things in 3-D. Or sad endings. And you KNOW it better not be more than 2 1/2 hours long. So according to all logic, I should not want to see this movie in theatres.

But yet...

I do.

P.S. I love hanging with my family and shooting myself in the foot right before finals. Pictures to come.

P.P.S. My second plant never sprouted. Tonight I start writing the paper. I'm thinking it's going to echo the words of Dallin H. Oaks on Timing. Because in the end, sometimes you simply have no say in the matter.

Understanding Same-Gender Attraction panel notes

I was so proud of BYU. It's the first time they've ever been able to host something like this. Hopefully it will continue in the future.

My friends and I got there right at 6 p.m. Probably 15 minutes later, all seats were taken. The forum started 10 minutes early because "there's no sense in waiting for more people to get here." Bodies covered the floor, walls, and teemed in pools outside every entrance to the room, standing near enough so they could just hear what was being said.

6:30 p.m. Half an hour before this thing was supposed to start.

They didn't allow recordings, videos, etc. - but I took copious notes. *
You can visit the BYU USGA (Understanding Same Gender Attraction) page here.  For more information from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on homosexuality, you can read God Loveth His Children.

For now, I'll just give the Reader's Digest version of the panel:
Four students stood and shared their experiences grappling with homosexuality while remaining active in the LDS faith: 2 gay men, 1 gay woman, and 1 bisexual man. One was happily married (to a member of the opposite sex) and has a daughter. Two of them, stereotypically speaking, "looked the part," while I would never have assumed anything unusual about the sexual orientation of the other two based on physical appearance. All were Honor-Code abiding, full-time BYU students.

Some similar themes of their personal narratives included:
- experiences of confusion, frustration and honesty when trying to date members of the opposite sex in high school and college
- for men: the ability to serve an honorable full-time mission without any negative repercussions
- a period of time spent trying to "fix it" as if homosexual predispositions are connected to any lack of worthiness or righteousness; being hyper-diligent and faithful in all spiritual aspects as some kind of bargain for God to remove the burden of homosexuality (which never works)
- a deeper empathy and love for the human population and a stronger testimony of the Atonement and gospel of Jesus Christ
- these strong spiritual convictions (or testimonies) accompanied by an unclear view of the future; ambivalent about how they could reconcile their personal feelings with the doctrines and practices of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in a long-term solution
- a sense of isolation followed by a sense of connectivity when they found people who shared their struggles and experiences, usually via the internet (at least at first)

The anecdotes shared were a mix of the painful and the humorous.
All panelists agreed it is honest and appropriate to come out to people who you are dating, when it gets far enough. My favorite story came from the girl, who said:
"Once I had been dating a guy a few times and it was at the point where I wanted to tell him. So we were going out to dinner and I was nervous, which made him nervous- and it was like oh! the nervousness. So finally I told him... but he was so relieved! He said, “Oh! I was afraid you were going to tell me you were waiting on a missionary.”

(She was full of zingers.) When describing the good to the ugly about roommate relations, she said that some girls felt like she was shoving a liberal, gay agenda down their throats, no matter what she did.
“It’s not like I wake up and I’m like ‘Here’s my agenda... oh wait... Now I’m going to get my gay agenda.”

The team strongly encouraged asking questions to friends who come out, rather than getting your information from the internet. (As Mormons, it's something we all could relate to.) They also provided us with
Bad Questions to Ask
1. When did you choose to become gay? ("Why would anyone CHOOSE this? Especially at BYU?!")
2. So you're gay, but you're not gay gay, right? (Just because you aren't "flaming" does not mean you aren't gay.)
3. Do you think maybe you just haven't found the right girl yet? (or boy, if you're talking to a woman.)
4. Do you think I'm attractive? ("You don't want to know.")
and also, some Good Questions to Ask
1. How long have you known?
2. Has it been hard carrying this as a secret?
3. Have I ever offended you unknowingly?
4. Silence is an option here. You can always be a supportive listener.

A couple points to end on:
As a culture, we are 100x more accepting of gay men than gay women. Why that is, I don't know. But you don't see any lesbians get cast as the "quirky best friend" in movies, like gay men do. So major props to that girl for making the panel 25% female. Way to break down stigmas.

There was a big emphasis throughout the meeting on feelings v. actions. You can't control your feelings. You can control what feelings you act out on. Having homosexual feelings is in no way a sin.

*Literally, I have 8 pages of notes. If you comment with your email address, I will send them to you.

A Snapshot Update

End of the semester weather girl. 

You can see the full segment here- weather starts at 16:35- although I wouldn't recommend it unless you want to count how many times I say "um." (Just know that nothing is scripted and I have people talking in my ear at the same time that I am trying to extrapolate on the 5-day forecast.)
Or you Provo-dwellers, just tune in this Friday to Channel 11 for the noon newscast! Last show!!

General Conference.
was fabulous. I can't wait for the Ensign.
But also...

Elder Archuleta. I'm still not over it.

First visit to CPK... it gets a big A+. Pear and Gorgonzola: delicious. Kelly: beautiful.

And LATER THAT NIGHT...

it was.

Also, Three Things I Have Discovered About Words:

1. There are lots of words that T9 does not recognize. Words I have to teach it, like "omgee" and "velociraptor" and my personal favorite, "homeboy." Because when you try to type it, the first thing that comes up is "homecow."
Kills me every time.

2. You know those random combinations of letters you must enter "to prove you're not a robot?" They are so hard. It always takes me at least two tries. I already have glasses and I am in college- so clearly I'm not blind or illiterate.  I guess I must be part robot.

3. The other day, doing research for a BYU Radio story on handwriting analysis, I took this online test.
Obviously, it's going to be a little faulty. But it was still interesting.

Lauren Simpson, your handwriting reveals that you are an extrovert and spontaneous.
You need a lot of space, unwilling to concentrate or confine your energies on the small details of life. You're quick in your responses and possess spontaneity.

Hack science? Maybe. But also kind of cool.

P.S. My paper about my love-plant is due in one week. And my second seed is giving me nothing.

P.P.S. For everyone involved in the Gosling v. Reynolds debate... one of these two men is a real-life hero.  Just in case we still had a few fence-sitters out there.

Once I Was A Model

for my friend Morgan, who wanted to do a fashion shoot so she could get a couple more shots for her application to BYU's photography program.

               (Super competitive. Go Morg!)

The best part was changing clothes in the orchard by the mental hospital. We were sneaky. No one saw us except for literally 20 deer.
It was the most deer I had ever seen at once in my whole life. I was having a field day.

We tried to get close and personal but they were not having it.

You can't even see them here. Boo!

We took these photos maybe a week ago, but we've all been busy and Morgan was editing her ENGAGEMENT shots- so I never saw them until last night.

Where is this trendy location? Oh, back of my apartment building.

I was feeling out-of-control-stressed with the amount of schoolwork (and work-work) to get done before my FAMILY comes into town this weekend.
             It was late at night, but I got on facebook anyway (bad)
BUT THEN
             I had a billion notifications telling me how pretty I was (WHAT?! awesome.)
That kind of thing just doesn't happen in real life. I felt like it was my birthday.

Thank you Morgan, for having great timing. 

and Thank you also, kind people of Facebookland.