I am smarter than a 5th grader

On July 26, I took The PRAXIS Series test for Elementary Education: Content Knowledge. That night I had a dream that I got my results back and found that I had aced the test. I had a perfect score.
Since then, I've had a whole string of dreams about my results. I dreamed that I opened my scores in front of a whole lot of people anticipating a passing score only to find that I had failed. I had to lie and make up a passing score and pretend I wasn't bummed.
Well, the day finally came. After 4 weeks and 6 days, my results came in the mail. Not only did I pass, but my first dream came true. I got a 200--the highest possible score on the test! I qualified for the Recognition of Excellence, meaning that I scored in the top 15% of all people who have taken the test.
For you skeptics out there, I didn't believe it either. I was certain that they hadn't printed my score or that I was reading the results wrong. You can see the results yourself below.

Local news interview

Eliza and I were stopped on our way out of RA training to be interviewed for a story featured on the local news. Watch College Presidents Ask to Lower Legal Drinking Age from Tuesday night's newscast.

Movin' on up to the East Side

I don't know that I would say this is a deluxe apartment in the sky. It is on the east side of campus, on the third level and nice enough especially for its age.
I got a phone call a few weeks ago from the Resident Manager of the dorms offering me a position as Resident Advisor (RA). (Why does advisor get the red underline? It is spelled correctly.) I moved my stuff over the last couple days. I'm still unpacking.
I'm excited for this opportunity.
I'm excited to learn/develop some valuable skills. I'll be developing skills in communication, advertising, time-management, intervention, problem-solving, etc. All of these can easily be applied to life and my future career.
I'm excited to meet some new people. I go to class with the same 33 other people all day everyday. I like my classmates, but I'll be happy to meet some new people as well. Most of these people will be freshman, but that's fine with me.
I'm excited to live right on campus. This means I will attend more sporting events, spend more time in the library, and likely never miss a rehearsal.
I'm excited to having my housing expenses paid. My room and a meal plan is paid for the school year. I'm sad that I won't get to cook, but I'm glad that I don't have to spend the meal prep and cleanup time. I can spend more time doing the other things I love.
I'm excited to park my car for the most part. Living on campus, I won't have to commute to school any longer. My apprenticeship is only two miles away. I plan on riding my bike every day it's not forecasted to rain.

Soon to reign as favorite child once again

How to tell if you are mom's favorite.
(By the way, my mom is the one that showed me this picture. She said she thought about leaving it on my apartment door anonymously. That would've crushed my world for sure.)

I used to be the favorite child. I held that place in my parents' heart for years and years and years. I knew it and my siblings knew it. I used to be the favorite child until recently.
My older sister got married this year. She is the first child to get married and therefore the closest to providing my mother with her ultimate dream: a grandbaby. I anticipated a temporary shift of power, but I knew that if my sister didn't present a positive pregnancy test fast enough, my mother's hopes would be dashed. I could easily regain all the power and maintain my position as favorite.
Just as things seemed to be heading back to normal, meaning the wedding luster was tarnishing with the absence of baby news, it was time for my little sister to come home from her mission. My brother, the oldest, said the hardest thing about his transition after his mission was not having a room in his parents' house. He got his mission call while living in Florida during the (very extended) process of my family moving to Utah. He came with my mother and sister to complete the move to Utah just weeks before he entered the MTC. We also moved a couple times within the city limits while he was gone. When he got home, his stuff was in boxes in random locations and he didn't have a room to call his own. He didn't want the same thing to happen to our sister.
I had moved home for what was supposed to be short-lived, so I wouldn't have to pay rent while I went on a 5-week vacation to Peru. I didn't move out right away, because I was sick and then it was Christmas. After that it was impossible for me to leave, because I was too well liked.
In the mean time, my brother had moved back home as well. He couldn't help it. He wanted to spend more time with me.
My brother had taken my little sister's room. As my sister's return was fast approaching, it was evident that he wasn't going anywhere. I decided to leave so my brother could take my spot and free up my sister's room. I knew my mother would be sad, so I left in the night. My mother didn't figure it out for two days. That should have been a sign.
My little sister returned home and (rightfully) stole a lot of attention. I anticipated that. She was the youngest and had been gone for 18 months.
What I didn't realize was how much attention was taken from me until I got a call one night at 11pm from my little sister's friend, Jared. He asked why I wasn't partying with the family at my folks' house. My older sister and her husband were there. My brother even stuck around to hang out. Jared had been invited and was the only one to wonder where I was. My mother probably counted more bodies than she birthed and assumed we were all there. I had been forgotten! *Sigh*
These last months have been very difficult. I don't understand how this happened. I was on top! I never anticipated this day. I wasn't at all prepared. I don't understand these feelings; I've never felt them before. I'm not sure how to cope. Maybe I'll ask my siblings how they dealt with being less favored. Or better yet, I'll just make my way back to the top. I'll use my charm and wit to win my parents over once again. I've got what it takes. I'll reign again as favorite soon enough. And when I do, I'll go easy on my brother and sisters. I now know the pain that comes with being less favored.

I love to sing

I sang the musical number for the fireside tonight. Read about my experience here. More specifically here and here (since I posted a few things there today).

Afternoon drive

My mother applied for a job that would place her in a regional position that would require she communicate with the hospitals in Southwestern Utah. She has been to Valley View in Cedar but hadn't been to the hospital in Garfield County. She asked me to go with her to Panguitch to check it out. I had never been to Panguitch, but I told her I'd only go if we could take the scenic route.
We went through Zion National Park, up 89 through Orderville, Glendale, and Hatch to Panguitch. We toured the bite-size hospital and then stopped by her coworkers home in Panguitch. On the way home we took 143 passed Panguitch Lake to Cedar Breaks. We saw quite a bit of deer and were even stopped by hundreds of sheep crossing the road. There was a sheep dog and a shepherd with them.
We admired Cedar Breaks at 10,460 feet. We continued down Cedar Mountain into Cedar City. It got dark just as we entered Cedar City so we took I-15 back to St. George.
I enjoyed the drive so much, that I repeated it with a couple friends a few days later. The only difference was that we stopped at Panguitch Lake for some fishing.
Speaking of fishing, I've been on several fishing trips in the last few weeks. My friend complained, because he didn't catch anything no matter where we went. I didn't either, because I didn't fish. I'm about to change that. My sister's friend, Jared, the one who can lift cheerleaders over his head, is going to teach me how to fish. I'm excited. I anticipate spending most every weekend out fishing. Hopefully, I'll catch a fish or two.

This is Zion National Park. I actually took this picture in December when my aunt and cousins were here from Florida.

Kane County takes patrolling seriously in Orderville. I noticed this Sheriff's vehicle on the first trip with my mother. I looked a little closer when I was driving my friends. My friend insisted the deputy was asleep. I said it was too thin to be a person. We turned around to discover a mannequin in the front seat.
Keep Orderville safe by slowing down, but don't worry about getting pulled over by this particular deputy.
She's hard to see, but she was very pretty.

Panguitch Lake was slow blue. It glimmered in the Southern Utah sunlight. Upon closer inspection, there were a few areas that were green with growth. I suspect those parts were the only parts of the lake that were a decent temperature.

The sheep were busy crossing the street. We had to wait a few minutes for a break in the sheep to drive through.

Cedar Breaks is always a surprise. I never remember how majestic it is until I get there.

This was my view as I peed on the side of the road.

These were some of the Cedar trees that broke so as to reveal the desert painted rock.

This shot is from a recent fishing trip to Kolob Reservoir.