missing the blue sky

Christmas and Winter

Opportunity

Opportunities. They come and go, sometimes fleetingly, they come at times in just a whisper, and at other times they come knocking and screaming at your door. But always they leave you with a choice. You can accept and pursue, or you can shut your door and continue to live your life as if you had never heard, nor felt, "opportunity knocking". Opportunities allow us to improve upon ourselves, whether the opportunity is good or bad. By choosing to accept and pursue a good opportunity we grow, the same stands for refusing the bad opportunities with which we are presented.

Each day we are constantly presented with various opportunities whether we are aware of them or not. The key is to look and seek for the opportunities that are presented; the doors that are half cracked with the light of improvement and self discovery, shining through to awaken your mind and soul to your own possibilities. However, it is difficult to see that light if we are so focused inward that we pass by the open door. Thus opportunities often lie in helping others, in selfless acts of service, love, and care. When we turn outward and look to help others, we are able to witness opportunities for our own growth, while simultaneously opening the doors for others. So look outward, be aware of those around you, look for those opportunities to grow and share. The doors are opened, all you have to do is step forward and pass the threshold, entering a realm of new possibilities, of Opportunity.

Blue and Gold

SOOC

Happy Halloween

Cross Country, State, and so much more.

So, I've refrained from writing this post for awhile now, mostly because I've still had to sort out all my emotions from that eventful day. This past Wednesday I ran in what may be the last Cross Country race of my high school career, and indeed arguably the most important one.

This past year of cross country has been amazing. Our team was incredibly strong and fast, and we had a bond that I have never quite felt before in our previous teams. I know I express the sentiments of the whole team when I say that we truly became brothers. Each and every one of us cares about every other member of the team, and we each expected and desired the best out of each other. I believe that we got the best out of everyone. We dedicated ourselves from June 8th to October 21st, and we reaped the fruits of our labors. My head swims with the memories of all those six o'clock summer practices, each trail run and each speed work, from Lambs Canyon, to Cottonwood Complex. And it all came to a head on October 21st, the day of the State Championship race. I won't go over the details of the race, because that's not what this post is about, but I will say we took 4th place in 5A and 5th place overall. It is a very admirable accomplishment, and I am very proud of what my team did. So, if any of you saw me after the race you're probably wondering why I was so emotional about it (yes I cried). And I've got to say, it's not regret, the team did wonderfully, and I know I gave it my all that day, there was nothing I could have done that would have made me race better. Rather, I'm sad at the realization that Cross Country is over for me. I dedicated essentially three years of my life to this sport. I ran almost every day for three years, and then all of a sudden... it just ended. I'm still pretty sad about it all, but I am extremely grateful that I had the opportunity to run, and that I was able to run with such a great group of guys. It's been an amazing journey, and I'm sorry it's had to come to an end, but I say to Coach Olsen and the rest of the team, thanks for the ride.

My journey through cross country has been what I would call a journey of discovery. I started Cross Country as a weak runner, I couldn't run 2 miles without stopping. I remember my first day well, I ran our "Del Taco" run, a four mile run with a large hill. Frankly, it was brutal, I don't think I'd ever experienced quite so much physical exertion and exhaustion. But, I wanted to run, don't ask me why, it was just something I had to do. So I kept at it, I trained and ran mile after mile, my eyes always looking forward to what I could become. So I've trained for three years and discovered a little about myself through running. I discovered I can run, I can dedicate myself to something, I can lead, and I can pursue a dream, even through adversity. There's a lot more than that, but those are what I'll share.

Cross country is my passion, and it always will be. I love the feeling of team brotherhood that comes from it, and believe it or not, I love the feeling of being utterly exhausted after a race or hard work out. That sense of accomplishment, of hard work, of growth, I have yet to experience in any other place. So I've finally discovered, that's why I run, to work hard, and to work towards my potential, to become the best I can be. So, as you could probably guess, after the end of the season I feel a little lost. I've lost something that allowed me to lead and be part of a team that I love, and I've lost a piece of me that has been with me for the past three years. Frankly, now I don't know quite where to go with my running, but I do know this, I'm going to run, whether on my own, or for a college. Whatever is, I'm going to run.

Photo Shoot

So I did my first "official" "photo shoot" the other day. My uncle wanted me to try and take some family photos for him. So, the pictures aren't that great, but I learned quite a bit so hopefully next time they'll be better. Here are some of my favorites.

fall to winter rose

So this is kind of a weird style, but I like the mood this photo makes

Fall Leaves

SOOC

Reach for the sky

another tree, sooc, except for an annoying house that was in the corner, it just wouldn't leave the frame.

Fall

sooc

Golden Tree

The only editing on this one was I had to remove a fence somewhere in the picture, but I won't tell you where :)

Quiet

Your mind's racing and it feels as if, were you to relax your focus for just one moment, your brains would come spilling out your ears and you would collapse into a blissful peace and quiet. But you can't let that happen, so you keep repeating, focus, focus, focus, focus, and then you realize you're just repeating something and not focusing on anything, your mind is completely dead but alive. So you lose focus on "focus" and your mind begins to wander. It moves through all kinds of things, physics school math running state region, and all kinds of things, all jumbled up there in that brain of yours making no coherent sense combined with a bunch of random emotions that don't even belong there. Random things from the complexity of the universe to what did I even have for lunch today. Your mind's dead but at the same time it's racing faster than the speed of light, thinking, changing, creating, and destroying all at the same time, and you lay there completely unable to control it, a puppet of your thoughtless thoughtful mind with drool hanging from your mouth and your eyes beginning to shut as your neck slowly gives in to gravity and your head begins to drop. Yet your mind races on. What am I feeling, what am I supposed to be feeling, what's going on, why am I even here, questions, questions, questions, no answers, at least not ones that make sense. Random swirls of color swim inside your mind tantalizing forming the beginnings of any coherent thought, but then it's gone replaced by different swirls, thoughts, emotions. Your focus deepens and yet grows more shallow, thoughts become more random yet more centralized, and slowly... slowly through the haze of thoughts colors emotions comes a single coherent and brilliant realization. I'm tired.

Region

Region... Region was a race with a lot of mixed feelings for me... Here are the results, the Boy's team finished second to American Fork and beat Pleasant Grove by one point. It was a very good accomplishment, and I am very proud of my team. Our JV squad also finished second to American Fork, something that I am very proud of. However, I somehow still feel as if I'm missing something, I'm not exactly satisfied with our performance. The problem is... I don't like second place. Some would think that finishing second to arguably one of the best teams in the state would be a major accomplishment, something to be extremely happy with and proud of, and I am proud of it. But at the same time... I want to win, and I believe that we can do it. Our Captain from last year made a very good point, why do we run a race? It's because there's no guarantee who's going to win it, no matter how good everyone thinks a team is, they can still be beat, anything can happen, that's why we race. So, I leave region with mixed feelings, I feel the accomplishment of finishing second, but at the same time, there's the slightest bitter tinge from a "not quite", so I leave the race determined to work harder, and to push harder, and to look forward to the State meet with high hopes and expectations. It's gonna be good! So leave you with this quote:
“Life’s battles don't always go to the strongest or fastest man,
But sooner or later the man who wins is the fellow who thinks he can.”
-Pre

Soccer

oops...

Moon Halo

Patience

Sometimes things take a while to get going, to happen. The key is to not give up, to keep moving forward, and to keep your eye on the prize. Eventually things will start moving, and in the end you'll realize you wouldn't have had it happen any other way.

I have no idea what to name this

SOOC

Cabin

The Leaf

ok so more black and white, people liked it so I figured I'd try it again...

The Birds

Here are two different edits on the same image, opinions on which one is better are welcome :)

Panorama

This is a panorama I took and the program I used was a demo so it left a water mark thing that would take too much time to edit out properly so the watermark is kind of annoying, but I like the picture. Oh and of course click on it, it's kind of small otherwise :)

9/11

Eight years ago this nation experienced a tragic event of seismic proportions. It shook the nation to its very core and caused sorrow among millions of Americans across the nation. On September 11, 2001, terrorists attacked this nation, the first true attack on American soil since Pearl Harbor. It was a time when the nation drew together in order to confront a common enemy, a time when our nation was forced to remember that there exists threats throughout the world that desire to destroy America and all that it stands for. It was a day that plunged us into a war.
It often seems that people are quick to forget the past, and too quick to ignore the ramifications of the present. Eight years ago the nation drew together and almost unanimously voiced their support for what has become known as the "War on Terror". Yet not soon after, people called for bringing the troops home and abandoning the mission that they had set out on. A mission that had been prompted by the deaths of hundreds of Americans as they plunged to their deaths in a burning tower. Deaths that had awakened America to a realization of the evils and dangers of this world, and drawn attention to the suffering of millions of people throughout Iraq and Afghanistan. Yet it seems we have forgotten. We have forgotten the sacrifice of those firefighters, those soldiers, and the leaders of our nation, as they sought to secure and protect their citizens, as well as better the lives of millions who chafed under the regimes of horrid dictators. We have forgotten the fear and indignation that gripped us after we experienced a terrorist attack on our soil. We have forgotten that there still exists nations where these attacks happen almost daily, where innocent people die at the hands of evil men. Let us not forget. We must remember that evils exist in this world, and that many times each of us have the power to stop those evils, whether they be crazed terrorist attacks or the bullyings that exist all around us. Should we sit passively by and allow those evils to exist and exert their power over those around us? I think not. So let us remember the sacrifices of those who give their lives to stop those evils, and remember our pride and history as a nation. Let us not forget 9/11.

Rock Wall

SOOC

Believe

Believing... Sometimes it's a difficult thing to do. It's strange, sometimes you can't believe the possibility that something amazing could ever happen to you, or that you could conceivably be incredible. But it's possible, it's believable. Every single person is capable of great things, of things beyond what they feel they are capable of. We all have incredible potential, whether it's in tennis, running, music, academics, or any other pursuit. Every single one of us have a gift, something that we can become incredible at if we are willing to put in the time and effort to do so. But first, we have to believe...

The Cave

SOOC

Faucet

Peaches

SOOC

Night

This was out camping and it was pretty pitch black. The light in the sky comes from the city lights in the valley reflecting off the clouds. It's obviously edited to make it a little better. And for the record it's really hard to take pictures with 20 second exposures without a tripod :)

Father Daughter Hike

SOOC

Brain Wash

Storm

Stool

one of my few non nature shots. sooc

More Aspens

sooc

Ant

sooc, can't decide if I want to crop it a little bit though... definitely click on this one, otherwise you'll probably miss the whole point of this picture

Aspens

sooc

Pine Sky

sooc

Dandelion

sooc

If you click on it you can see the detail a little better

Trek

Well I know how most everyone hates reading long blog posts so I'll keep this one relatively short. Trek was an incredible experience one I'm not likely to forget, though I'd gone once before I must say this one was much more memorable. I made new friends and had a great time, but beyond that, as my mom describes it, it was like being in the temple for three days. The spirit was almost thick around some of the areas we visited, particularly Rock Creek, Martin's Cove, and Rocky Ridge. You could feel it permeate the air and fill your body and soul, I would definitely say it is one of the most sacred places on earth. I won't go into any of the details on what I thought about or the things I realized and what not, but suffice it to say that I learned and realized a lot about things, especially myself. It was an amazing experience and frankly, I wish I could be back there right now.



Independence Rock



Pulling the Handcart



Went through a little mud...



The gals of the family on the women's pull



Pulling through the sweetwater



Me and TK playing the face game while waiting in line for the bano :)

Cross Update

I was just thinking that before I head out to Trek I'd give a quick update on how Cross is going, I can't believe how long it's been since I posted about running! Summer Training, one of the things I most look forward to throughout the year. Granted it has involved waking up at 5:30 just about every morning this summer, but it's definitely been worth it! It's awesome to spend time with friends as we push our bodies to the limit on speed days, and sometimes just talk on the easy days. Plus, we do a ton of trail runs, one of the things I most love about running. Our team is also looking good, and most of the time we've had a pretty good showing for our team. We've also got a really solid group of guys, and since we're all around similar times we help push each other through the workouts, and push each other to reach our full potential every time we run. We're all working towards the same goal, and we all demand the best out of ourselves and out of each of our teammates. It's amazing how quickly this summer has gone by, we're already reaching the tail end of our summer training, in fact, our first race is in 19 days, the 22nd. At that point we'll get to see the fruits of our hard summer labors. And then we keep training and racing for that ultimate goal of region and state. It's going to be a very tough season due to the region change. Right now we have 3 of the top 4 schools from last years State Competition in our region. Still, we're looking forward to the challenge, and it's definitely going to be a good season!

...

Have you ever had that feeling when you need to say something, or do something, but you just don't know what that something is? That's been me recently, there's been that nagging little thought at the back of my mind that I can't seem to get a hold of. That thing that's just waiting to slip off the tip of your tongue if you could only get it there. I hope I figure it out quickly, it's getting really annoying, and to top it all off for some reason I think this thought would make for a good blog post! :)

To yield or not to yield, that is the question

Facebook. A craze that has swept the nation, membership ranging anywhere from 8 to 9 year olds to the aged senior. Yet, still I have managed to refrain from joining the so called "social" networking site. However, I am ashamed to say I have recently seriously considered joining. I know it's crazy, thinking of yielding to the pressures that society has created is unthinkable, yet here I sit, thinking... You see the unfortunate truth is there are some advantages to facebook, one that particularly caught my eye was when my sister advertised her blog on her facebook and promptly got 40 page views in one day, a feat I don't think I have yet achieved. Then there's also the added publicity of photos, which I would like feedback on, I like improving on my photography, but that's only possible if people actually tell me if it's good or not, it's hard to be completely objective on your own work. And of course there's the small but obvious benefit, staying in touch with all your friends, close, and not so close, as well as getting a different view into the lives they lead. Those are the advantages. However, there are also several clear disadvantages to be had with facebook, and I'm not talking about the supposed security breaches, although if any of you are wondering my social security number is xxx-xx-xxxx, it's more a matter of time. Facebook, as I have witnessed myself, can turn into somewhat of an obsessive habit causing people to forget eating, bathing, and even how to speak out loud. Obviously it doesn't have to be used obsessively, but there still remains that fact that it can be addictive. I don't want to waste my time on facebook, and the easiest way to keep from doing that is by not having one at all. But again, it can be controlled, the only problem is controlling it. That's the biggest disadvantage, but there are some smaller ones. For instance, my sisters could easily spy on me :), apparently they already do that, how they managed to gain access to so many of my friends on facebook is beyond me, but apparently they enjoy spying on me whenever a picture of me happens to pop up. I don't know, it's weird. :) And yes I was just joking, but not about the spying, that's just not a real reason, again it's mostly about the time. So, To yield or not to yield, that is the question.

Sedulous

So I learned a new word.
Look it up, it's a good one :)

wildflowers, death, The Fray, and the shock of my life

This past Saturday was a busy one, I began the day by waking up around seven o'clock to prepare myself for a day up in the mountains. Now if you know me at all I'm sure you know that I love being outside, particularly in the mountains. I love hiking and camping and all that good stuff, so Saturday I set out to help my good buddy Brad by doing a little service up at Alta where we would be leading wildflower walks for little kids through the basin. Now like I said before I'm an outdoorsy kind of guy, but still it shocked me how many kids actually wanted to go on a 45 minute walk just to look at flowers, sorry but that would definitely have not been my choice of activity when I was a little kid, I mean they're flowers! Anyways we led a few groups on these wildflower walks doing our best to pretend like we knew what we were talking about, in reality we had only learned the names of these flowers a week ago :), consequently we had some parents that knew a lot more than we did, which was kind of embarrassing, still it was a good service project and it was fun to hang with my buddies Brad and Joe, while spending a morning up in the mountain sun and air. After we finished the wildflower walk I headed back home and relaxed for maybe an hour or two, after that it was time to face what I'd been dreading the whole day, my 10 mile run. I really should've woken up earlier, but unfortunately that just wasn't possible, you see I have this disorder that requires that I sleep until at least seven on a Saturday, anyways, I was punished for this disorder by running at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, admittedly one of the stupidest things I've ever done. Ten miles in the heat is not something I would ever recommend. Running on the hot pavement was torture and it took me a loooong time to finish. I'm ashamed to say it but I had to stop for sprinkler breaks and such, it was just too hot. But I survived, slightly redder than before, but alive, barely. Almost immediately after I left to attend The Fray at the USANA ampitheater. It was a way fun concert and I was introduced to a lot of their songs that I'd never heard before, It was a really good concert and I'm glad I got to go there with some of my buds! After that we headed home and as I was driving home after a quick Ice cream break I had the shock of my life! I was driving along minding my own business, not speeding or anything and all of a sudden I looked out my back window and what did I see, the red and blue flashing lights of a police car. Needless to say I quickly gunned the car and made a quick break for it, there was no way I was going to be ticketed and get my license taken away! ha ha not really I pulled over, the whole time thinking that I was in major trouble. Having never been pulled over I didn't know the proper procedure, I rolled down my window and craned my head out of it trying to see if the officer was coming. When we finally came out of his car he came over to me and in a gruff voice said that I had to put both hands on the wheel and that I had to look straight forward because I'd made him nervous by looking out my window. He then proceeded to tell me.... I'd forgotten to turn my headlights on! I quickly turned them on and explained the car I was driving wasn't the one I normally drove and my car turned the lights on automatically. He took the explanation and then proceeded to ask me if I'd been drinking.... Hm not sure why he asked me that, but I answered no and then he let me go, no ticket, he didn't even ask for my license! Needles to say I was shaking for about a half hour afterward... And that was my little adventure, it was quite a day.

A view into my deep and thoughtful self

So I've recently been reading Harry Potter 4 in an attempt to brush up on my Harry Potter background before I go and see the new movie, and in the process I figured out that Harry's fourth year was the same as being in ninth grade. This of course got me thinking about my own ninth grade experience and I realized that it will have been three years since my ninth grade year! It doesn't seem even close to being that long, in fact it seems like I was just in ninth grade, but in reality I will soon be beginning my senior year in high school, a time that in ninth grade seemed so very far away, but time passes quickly. Those three years have blown by extremely quickly, and yet it struck me how much I've changed in those three quick years. I have grown and developed mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. For example three years ago I had not started running, I was slow as dirt and didn't even know there was such a sport as cross country. Now running has become a very integral part of my life and has taught me a lot about myself and about life in general. Furthermore I've also become fairly fast, at least I would like to think so :), and I have been a varsity member of the cross country team for what's now going on three years. So that brings me to my point, my one decision to try out running and join the cross country team has had a very profound impact upon my life, it has allowed me to meet new people and create new friendships that I value highly and would probably have never had otherwise, and it has made me a better stronger person. And so as these deep and philosophical thoughts were going through my head, as I sat there reading a Harry Potter book, I began to think about the future. In just another three very very short years my life will have changed dramatically. I will have graduated from high school, left home, and gone on to experience one semester of college, in a college that will probably not have very many of the friends I have had for the past few years, and some of them since elementary school. Furthermore I will be halfway through serving a mission, all in just three years. It's a sobering thought, and a scary one as well, and it made me realize that the decisions I make each day, such as the decision I made to run cross country, will define in a large part who I will become in the future. I believe the past three years, and the three years to come will be and have been a critical defining point in my life. And so I'll reiterate essentially my point in this post, each decision we make, and each moment we choose to take into our hands or let slip away, will define who we are, and who we will become. It's up to us to make the best of it and to settle for nothing less than our full potential.

Flaming Gorge

This past week I went on my very last official week long scout camp. So last week I pretty much spent my entire week with a bunch of crazy twelve year old scouts, it was... interesting. Actually it was really pretty fun, we spent a ton of time on the boat attempting to learn how to wakeboard, and yes it was attempting, at least for me. I tried every day and on the last day I could've sworn I was in the water for an hour doing successive face plants. I did get out of the water quite a few times but yeah, I stayed up for maybe... 5 seconds each time, so I have learned I am officially not a wakeboarder! :) The other majorly eventful occurrence was our "wilderness survival" night. We were sent out into the "wilderness," actually just an abandoned campground, to stay the night, with nothing but a rather small survival kit. And lady luck was with us that night, it just happened to be the one night of our entire stay that it rained... Unfortunately we had no real means to make a shelter. We weren't allowed to cut branches or anything like that, and there wasn't any loose dead wood around, so we huddled up in our ponchos and emergency blankets for what turned out to be a really long night. We spent close to 7 or 8 hours beneath oak scrub with the rain pouring down on us. I did manage to get around three hours of restless sleep on the cold hard dirt. It was kind of a miserable experience what with being wet, and cold, and wet, but I will admit it is kind of cool to be able to say that I did it. That trip I also got really tan :) I only missed one day of running, and I had a pretty good time hanging out on the boat and playing in the water. If only, if only, those twelve year olds hadn't been there... :)

Signs

So I went mountain biking yesterday with Tanner and Brad. It was the first time I'd really ever done anything like it. It was way fun and way intense! I hope I can do it again sometime soon! I took some quick pictures with my camera phone while I was waiting to pick Brad and Tanner up from their run down the mountain (we took turns driving so we wouldn't have to climb back up the mountain and could just enjoy riding down). They're just some signs that were around where I was parked.