End and Beginning

Yesterday

• Took my last final... EVER. (And passed!)
• I got a job with Ancestry.com as a Contract Researcher

Today

• Started my new job at Ancestry.com!!!!

Future

• Continue job at Ancestry.com
• Pack for England
• Leave for England
• Arrive in England
• Leave for Spain

My Last Day

I thought it would be fun and a good memory to write about my last day of school in my undergraduate program at BYU.

I woke up at 7 before my alarm went off. I tried to sleep for the next thirty minutes. The alarm finally went off at 7:30 and I proceeded to hit the snooze button several times while I laid there in bed. I may have been freaking out.

In my last class ever at BYU I may have fallen asleep. (Don't judge). I really appreciated what my professor ended the class with. He wanted us to know that we had a professor who believed in God. I love being at BYU for that reason. My professors and peers believe in God. What a blessing.

After class I went to work out of habit. I needed a distraction from the rest of the day. I looked up interview questions and tried to figure out what I may be asked at my interview. I had a job interview at Ancestry.com. Yes, the Ancestry.com. So I did some freaking out about it before hand. 

At the interview I was calm and felt good about what was going on. There was an interview, a test and a second interview. I'm not sure if I got the job yet. But here is to hoping. Everything went really well. Like really well. They called back with some follow up questions and said I was perfect for the job. I need to see if the job would work with my schedule. 

I really wish I could just call my parents. I could really use their calming words of advice. Their encouragement and support. It is hard having them so far away and even farther now that they are in Holland. I have no real way to contact them other than email. Even then the time difference sucks. 

I spent the evening trying not to freak out about the job by finishing the first season of Glee. Yes, I have been hooked by the Glee. Not my favorite show but still fun. 

So that was my day. The end of one chapter and hopefully the beginning of another.

The End

I'm done with my undergraduate classes in a week. A week. To be honest, the idea hasn't really set in yet. This semester has gone so fast. It has been super busy. There have been a few things on my mind as I think about the end.

1) I'm gonna need a hobby. After graduation, I'm gonna have a lot of time on my hands that I'm not gonna know what to do with. I'm taking suggestions for hobbies. Genealogy is out as one because, well, I do that full time. So cooking is a great option, reading books for FUN (what is that?) and sewing a quilt is another option (though I need a sewing machine for that one). I'm kinda excited and yet terrified. I need hobbies!!!

2) I have also had this huge fear confront me. One I've never thought of until this week. How do I keep learning after college? How do I keep up with everything (technology, writing styles etc)? Obviously there is reading to learn. I can also keep writing and practicing. I can always take classes from community colleges or online classes. I'm really going to miss the classroom/lecture setting though. Just a scary thought.

RootsTech Genealogy Conference

Workshops
by Ann Roach: Letting Technology Work for You

Gift of more time
Text to Speech
Naturalsoft - Website and download free version (Mac); If you purchase the full version you can convert it into MP3s. Free version lets you take any website and have it read the content. Called Screen Readers.
Google Translate - Translate and play it for you
Word Lens - App to translate with iPhone
Dragon Speech Recognition Software

Dictation/Speech Recognition

iPhone Apps: Dragon (transcribes), Speak it (reads)
Be aware of surrounding noise and calibration time

OneNote for Mac now exists. Great for organizing notes.
Wave is better than MP3

Names in Stone/Gateway Mapping
Cemeteries need to pay to get their information online. Only 300 cemeteries at present.
YOU can help. Go online and follow the three step process to gather info from cemeteries. Plan out what you are going to do. Go to cemeteries with your clipboard and paper. Put the information on the Internet. Use it as a Eagle Scout Project.

FamilySearch Now and in the Future
Making things available for the world. Connecting all of our knowledge together in one place = FamilySearch


The Expo Center
Oh my goodness!!! This is the best Expo Center I've been to at a Genealogy Conference. Thank you techy people for making this awesome! The Microsoft Playplace with pool tables, massages and Kinects is great. The Internet Café in the middle of the room is so nice. And the glass room for the conference bloggers is intriguing to walk past.

The poster and signs are well put together and really tie the place together. This is great!

Keynote Speaker from Allen County Public Library

The FamilySearch Center

Blogger Center (Media Center)

The Media Café

Old men playing chess in the Play Place

Microsoft Playplace

Clark Planetarium
As part of the conference BrightSolid rented out the Clark Planetarium Thursday evening. I took my sister Erin as my date and we had a blast! They had food including nachos, Philly cheese steak sandwiches and cookies. The food was great! The movies were awesome! The prizes were awesome genealogy things and the music was spot on. It was such a fun environment. It was funny too because Erin and I stuck out like sore thumbs. We were younger than anyone there by far. We got attention from the young planetarium staff as well as the older genealogists and techy people. Super fun!

Cheesecake, Men, and Fries

Friday night Ashlie and I got some friends together and went to a new dessert shop in Alpine Village.

 This place has amazing desserts! You should go! Click here

Saturday, the VanGenderen brothers came down and we all went to the Men's Volleyball game. It was awesome!!!

Images from byucougars.com

Sunday, Ashlie, Erin and I made homemade french fries and pretzels. Both were amazing!!!

Grateful

Over the past few days I have realized how truly blessed I am. Blessed in small and large ways.

I have friends that trust me and come to me with their problems.

My roommates are my closest friends.

I am completing my goals to meet new people.

My family is in good health and safe.

My job is awesome!

I have a great relationship with my extended family.

My ward is full of incredible individuals.

I am happy with who I am and who I am becoming.

Flowers Make Me Happy

The Last Few Weeks of My Life

I spend every Friday in the Family History Library in Salt Lake City doing research for my Capstone Genealogy class. I am proud to tell you all that I'm ahead on hours for that class.

The file cabinets where the Microfilms are kept. I live here

A few weeks ago the girls went out on the town to celebrate Lizzy's Birthday. We went so Sparks Lounge. A alcohol free place of fun-ness. Seriously - It was nice to not feel like I was in Provo for a bit. And these girls are awesome!

Ashlie (my roommate) and Rachelle (my neighbor)

The girls: Me, Hanna, Shalene, Maren, Lizzy, Ashlie and Rachelle.

The cheesecake dessert we got.

Sunday I went for a drive to Utah Lake, one of my favorite places in the winter.

I am in a floral design class at BYU. Yes, that's right. It is awesome. We made bouquets this week in our lab. Here is mine. I LOVE FLOWERS!!! THEY MAKE ME HAPPY!  I was walking around campus with them yesterday and just couldn't stop smiling.

Letting Go

I learned it is ok. It is ok to be upset about things. It is ok to be mad at people who have not treated you as well as they should have.

I have been struggling with actually being mad and upset with people who have hurt me. I have tried to give them the benefit of the doubt. I have made up excuses for them. I have tried and tried to think kindly of them. However, instead of the expected feeling of relief and peace I found that the things they have done to me just ate at me. It was hurting me more to be kind. Last night after having good conversations with a few close friends I finally allowed myself let it all go. I'm not sure what it was. Just a shift in thought I guess.

I am tired of guys using me. I am tired of being lied to. I am tired of being hurt. I am tired of people not caring. I'm tired of people killing my trust.

The moment came when I realized that things people have done to me in the past were not nice. People can just be jerks sometimes. I do forgive them for what they have done but sometimes the pain still remains. The trust has been broken and it is hard to let that go.

After having a good think about that I began to let things go and 'look up'. My friend Laura sent me a link to President Monson's Conference talk from April 2009. It fit perfectly.

Be of Good Cheer

Today, however, I’d like us to turn our thoughts and our attitudes away from the troubles around us and to focus instead on our blessings as members of the Church. The Apostle Paul declared, “God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” ¹

None of us makes it through this life without problems and challenges—and sometimes tragedies and misfortunes. After all, in large part we are here to learn and grow from such events in our lives. We know that there are times when we will suffer, when we will grieve, and when we will be saddened. However, we are told, “Adam fell that men might be; and men are, that they might have joy.” ²

How might we have joy in our lives, despite all that we may face? Again from the scriptures: “Wherefore, be of good cheer, and do not fear, for I the Lord am with you, and will stand by you.” ³

There will be challenges and misfortunes. But be positive. Look forward... and step into the dark.

And I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year: “Give me a light, that I may tread safely into the unknown!” And he replied: “Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the Hand of God. That shall be to you better than [a] light and safer than a known way.” ⁷

-M. Louise Haskins