On my Soapbox.

I am going to get on my soapbox for a moment or so- you've been warned. 

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My love for reading began at a young age, and because of this, I was reading classics at a rather young age. Morgan and I tried to read Emma when we were about in third grade, but that, obviously, didn't work so well. However, I first read Pride and Prejudice on my own in about seventh grade. I instantly decided that I needed to find my own Mr. Darcy; that outlook on life never really changed. Occasionally, I would decide that I wanted a Knightly more so than a Darcy, but I was always looking for Austen's ideal romantic.

This being said, I was taunted a bit for my romantic ideals by friends, parents of friends, and even boyfriends. It's not that any of them were ever mean about it, it was just always, "Oh, Emma. So in love with Darcy. The hopeless romantic." As high school drew to an end, it became a bit irritating to me as people began to say, "You're such a hopeless romantic. You will be married right off the bat at BYU." A. Yes, I am a hopeless romantic B. Please don't make that sound like such a bad thing and C. What does that have to do with my being a teenage bride? Nothing. People said this to me constantly and I would just smile and laugh and say, "Ya.... probably not (insert big false grin here)".

Now, two years down the road, I'm not married, and I always just kind of wonder what all those people think. Do they think I had some great feminist awakening inside of me that made me determined to not get married "right off the bat"? Definitely not the case. Do they think that I lost my hopeless romantic side and saw reality and decided marriage wasn't as great as Austen portrays? Nope. Do they think that I just gave up on love? Try again. 

The real fact of the matter is, that rather than loose those hopeless romantic ideals that I've had since first reading P&P, I've learned that they're not just ideals, they are in fact, a possible part of reality. I've found love (even more so than I did in High School, because yes, I do believe I truly loved people in high school) and I decided that I wasn't going to give up on my Mr. Darcy because, why would I do that when I know he's out there? The boys I dated at BYU, specifically Jacob and Garrett, showed me that I can prove all those nay-sayers wrong: the modern Mr. Darcy-MY Mr. Darcy- is not a thing of fiction, and he's worth the wait to find him. There are boys that will still "write you lines", and dance with you, and bring you flowers, and quote you Shakespeare, and tell you that you have, bewitch them mind, body, and soul. 

The other fact of the matter is that being a hopeless romantic does not mean that we expect our men to be perfect. Quite the opposite, in fact. Any great romantic knows that the perfection of Darcy and Bingley and Knightly and Edward Ferrars is that they make mistakes. Neither the heros nor the heroines of Austen's novels fall perfectly in love. There are jilted hearts and mixed up emotions, months of separation and confessions of love that aren't always eloquent and beautiful. Their love is not perfect, and it takes work, and sometimes (as in Marianne's case in S&S) it feels as if your heart will never heal again. 

So yes, I am a hopeless romantic. No, that does not mean that I am out of touch with society, and no, it does not mean that I will get married the second I fall in love with someone. I can fall in love multiple times, and every time, it can be just as real and just as true. Please, just let me be a hopeless romantic. You don't have to believe in romance in the same manner that I do, but I would like to be respected and taken seriously. 

Sincerely, 

An unmarried, BYU Junior, Hopeless Romantic.

An Example.

Today, with his permission, I would like to tell you about Garrett's best friend and one of my really good friends, Spencer.

Spencer met Garrett during their freshman year here at BYU and they have been friends- best friends, actually, since then. Spencer's friendship has meant a lot to Garrett over the past three years, and as I've become friends with Spencer, it has meant to me. In all honesty, he has become such an incredibly example to me. Let me tell you why.

This October, Spencer decided to do something that took an insane amount of courage. He decided to tell the world (literally, since it was on his blog for everyone to see) about his struggles with same-sex attraction. As a member of The LDS church, and a student at BYU this was a huge step because being gay and mormon is, unfortunately, a pretty taboo subject; even though understanding is growing among members in the church, there are still a lot of misconceptions. However, Spencer "came out" and with this coming out has encountered an enormous amount of support and has become a huge support to men at BYU who struggle with the same attractions.

The most amazing thing to me though, is how sure Spencer is of the atonement. I have never met another person who has such great faith in Jesus Christ, His atoning sacrifice, and thus, His ability to comfort in times of trial. Through this, I feel that Spencer has really been able to acquire the gift of charity. Spencer loves EVERY.ONE. He knows that the Lord is on his side and consequently, he is able to extend his hand of friendship to so many people around him and I seriously admire that. I admire how faithful he is and his great desire to do good in the world. I have not a single doubt in my mind that he will be able to do anything and everything that he wants in this life- including a marriage in the temple. I'm grateful that he has shown me the true meaning of charity and has taught me through his example, courage, hope, faith, and above all, love for God's children.

Also, he's really funny and just a great guy. So he has that going for him too. But really, his blog is worth a read if you care to be enlightened and uplifted. I especially love this post.

Love always,
Ems

Spencer's Blog: Here
Garrett's Guest Post: Here

Ode to Technology.

Oh, technology, how I adore you.
I love the way in which you connect me to my man.
I love that I can take you most everywhere;
if only I could make you water-proof I would love you even more.

Oh, technology, thank you for being so amazing
and for reminding me that the world has become quite small
and keeping me connected to my friends across the world
even if you loose connection occasionally.

Oh, technology, my life would be sad without you.
How else would I remember the perfect laugh,
the hair twisting, and the teasing?
You are a fabulous thing, technology.

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Since Garrett is across the country,
I've become really grateful for time spent on Facetime-
especially when his mom or sister join in.
I know I've said it before, but I really love technology.
There are so many amazing ways to be connected to those who mean the most to us
and for me, being connected to those I love is what's most important during the holidays.

Oh, am I excited to get back to Utah and Mr. G.F. Wilkes.

Love always,
Ems

The Best Part

I love Christmas just as much as the next person. This year though, I started to see that I inherited my mother's gene of gift giving fanatic. Mostly because I realized how happy it made me that Garrett was totally surprised by his secret present and that he absolutely loved it.

You see, to get that picture of him with genuine surprise and happiness on his face was possibly the highlight of my Christmas Day. I can't think of a better reward than to see that smile across his face and know that I made him so happy. I fear that he is going to be incredibly spoiled. I just can't help it.

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas! Now on to 2013!

Love always,
Ems

Why I love Books.

I remember when I first read Anne of Green Gables. I was enchanted to no end. I loved Anne. I wanted to be her so bad. I remember begging my mom to find the next couple of books in the series because Anne needed to be in my life. I remember going into my backyard and pretending that I was Anne walking across my invisible picket fence. I decided to refer to my best friends as my kindred spirits when I wrote in my journal. Anne was my hero, and I loved her as a dear friend- I still do.

The first book I remember connecting to however, was Roll of Thunder Hear my Cry. I read it in fourth grade and it moved me. I cannot remember in what way it moved me, but I remember finishing it and feeling different. Last year, I bought it for my own collection just so I could own it. I haven't reread it since my initial read all those years ago but, just remembering the feeling I had in finishing it brings back chills as I remember falling in love with books. 

I love the power of books to create a world, pull you in, and block out all the noise of life- the pain, the sorrow, the craziness and the stress of normal life. Books have the ability to take that all away and a good book makes you stop and analyze your world through its lens to change your own world. I was talking to Garrett the other day and he asked me for my favorite Jane Austen book (aside from Pride & Prejudice because he's already read it). I told him Emma and he proceeded to tell me that he needed another book to read as he headed to Ohio for his Grandma's funeral. He needed an escape, and he was seeking it in a book. I immediately understood how he was feeling and what he was seeking. Only books can remove you from the world in such a way. That is their power and beauty. 

I love books because the teach. 

I love books because they move you. 

I love books because they inspire.

But most of all, 

I love books because they create an escape from reality. 

Love always, 

Ems

The View from Twenty.

I've now been twenty for a grand total of two and a half weeks. Let me tell you, I love it.
Mostly, I love the people who made my birthday magical- yes, magical.
Over the years, I feel like I've always been blessed to have wonderful, wonderful people in my life and that has not changed as I've gone away to college. I've found more and more that the Lord puts amazing people into my life to change my life and make it oh so wonderful. Let's take an examination of my birthday to prove this point.

Garrett. He started off my day full of 20 love notes hidden in my apartment AND at work. He involved my friends and made sure that I got all of them before coming over for the final part of the present- with flowers in hand. He wanted to make sure that I felt special throughout the day, and boy howdy did I. Not only that, but all the little notes that he gave to Sophia to hide at work kinda made Nan begin to start to approve of him. Good work there, Garrett, you sneaky boyfriend. His gift was also extremely thoughtful. He knew I had been looking for the Anastasia soundtrack for ages and so he found it for me! Gotta love a boy who keeps track of the little details of your life.

Next, we have Ms. Sophia Giler. Hi, I love her. Sophia is my work friend who became my real friend that I text almost every day. We love each other. She convinced Nan to let her make a cake for me and then invited Alex over to our office for secret family pictures in order to document my birthday. She is the reason that my roommates and I love Pretty Girl Rock and the reason that I love work so much. The fact that we are working almost all 20 hours together next semester makes me ridiculously happy for our lives. She's been such an amazing friend to me and made sure that I felt the love on my birthday- even if she forgot one of the notes that Garrett had written to me. I still love her.

Last, but most certainly not least, we have my amazing roommates. They took me out to Ihop on my actual birthday and all bought me books and then, on Saturday, they absolutely surprised me by planning a surprise party for me that included all my favorite people, bowling, and ice cream cake. Can a girl ask for much more from her best friends? I don't think so. I adore those girls.


So yes, the view from twenty has been magnificent and I feel incredibly blessed. I'm also incredibly happy to be home with my crazy family- it's funny how much I just want to be around my family now that I don't live at home. I can't wait for a fabulous twentieth year of life and feel very grateful to have made it this far surrounded by so many fabulous people. I am one very lucky girl.

Love always,
Ems

Occasionally, I take Mirror Pictures.

Saturday night, I found myself out on the town with this guy named Garrett--
he's a pretty neat guy. I mean, I like him.
One of the activities we went all out on was our Ikea trip.
I have this strange obsession with Ikea-- I love it more than normal.
I love walking through all the show rooms and looking at all the
weird Swedish books that are on the shelves (because I don't
know if you've ever noticed but all the books are in Swedish)
and pretending like I can read them all-- what a joke.

The best part of the night was that Garrett played along with me
even though he confessed that he felt like he was playing house--
which we were, just grown-up style.
It was probably the most fun I've had in a long time--
and essentially, it made me ridiculously happy.

It's the simple things in life, ain't it?

Love always,
Ems