Being the deep thinking college student that I am, I was thinking some deep thoughts this morning before my 10 o'clock nap. This has nothing to do with being in Hawaii, so if that's what you're looking for, please close this page and go read the news or shop or something.

A lot of people are satisfied with mediocrity. We have glamorized being unproductive and we have glamorized self ridicule. It's become funny and normal to talk about how lame we are, or how ugly/dumb/not fashionable/lazy/fat we are. It's become cool to hate things and be negative about everything that we don't like. I'm not saying that we can't think these things; we just shouldn't talk about them so much.

Never settle for mediocrity. You have so much potential, no matter how old you are. You are here to become the best version of yourself that you can be, and laying in bed all day on your computer is not going to help you reach your highest potential. Loafing around on the couch and wishing you were doing something better is not going to make you a better person. Do not settle for anything like that.

I've noticed that I've fallen into this cycle of self depreciating comments and negative thoughts. Not awful and hateful things, but sarcastic negative comments. I don't even notice that I do it, and I've noticed that my friends do it as well. We all talk about how we could never get boyfriends, or how we could never even get boys to like us. We talk about how we don't have any friends and how lame we are. Of course it's all a joke - but we do it so often that now it's starting to make an impression on me. You attract what you put out there, ya know? This is doing nothing for us.

How often do we post about how awful something is, or how much we hate what we're doing? Have you noticed that on social media sites, the majority of the statuses that are posted are negative? Look back and ask yourself, Am I the one posting negative comments? We're either ridiculing ourselves or complaining about what someone else has done. Are you understanding what I'm saying? Posting about every little thing on social media won't make your situation better, and it won't make you any happier. I realize that is what I'm doing right now, but this is my blog and I do what I WANT GOSH DANGIT.

Why isn't it cool to be positive and happy? Why isn't it cool for everyone to just say nice and genuine things all the time? Shouldn't the ONLY things coming out of our mouths be happy and upbeat and a pleasure for everyone to hear? The weirdest thing about being in college and being on your own, is that you can make the conscious decision to hang out with someone or not. You're never forced to be around anyone. You can either see someone all day every day, or you can not see them for a week. How awesome is that? That means that you can surround yourself with whatever you choose to surround yourself with. If you surround yourself with negativity, that's what you'll attract. Tell me, do you enjoy being around others that only ridicule you and others? No, of course not. Don't be that person, either. Don't be the person that constantly criticizes others and has nothing but negative things to say. Be the person that people long to be around. Be the person that when people see you, they only think nice things about you.

I encourage you to love yourself. Love your quirks and your flaws, and your stupid mistakes. Love your hair and your body, even if you think that someone else's is better. The way to love someone else is to love yourself. Wake up really early and go for a walk and just listen to the quiet. Write a list of the things that you love about yourself and keep it in a place you can see it. Wake up in the morning and smile even if you're groaning about waking up. Listen to your favorite music and do your favorite things each day. Just try a little harder each day to be a little better and a little happier. I know I'm going to put forth an effort to be more positive and I know that it will make a difference in each day.

Don't do drugs and don't put any forks in any electrical sockets.
Queen Anne

I wish that I had regularly exciting things that regularly happened to me so that I could regularly tell  you about them on a regular basis. But, it's just more of the same sweet college life.
Friday there was a dance for the Chinese new year, which was a great party blahblahblah. There was a post dance bonfire, which there almost always is, meaning that I got in really late and took a really late shower. Saturday was another beach day - we were literally at the beach from 10:30 am to 5:00 pm. Pretty tough, right? The weirdest thing about being out in the sun so much is that I haven't suffered from any awful sunburns. Yeah, I've been burned, but nothing that's unbearable or that makes me want to cry for 394 hours a day.
Sunday was church, which was ordinary. Then there was a delightful 3 hour nap before visiting teaching, then a fireside.
I'm tellin ya, having a car is the way to go out here. My plan is the following: intern for my dad at his office this summer. Save up a ton o money. Ship the egg over to Hawaii. Have car to drive around and waste gas. Logical, right?

laie point - 5 minutes from campus

view from the point

more point action

i bought a penny board and i really don't know why i did that to myself

a chocolate shake from 7 brothers, aka heaven

underwater cases are the bomb

not much, but still pretty beautiful

hella 

sarah, sam, me, jenelle.

a picture of the gilbert temple that my mom sent me - incredible

sam, me, lindsey - the roommates, minus one

aloha from hawaii my friends.
We're live from Hale 7 on a Thursday afternoon at 1:45, and let me tell you, the campus is a non stop party around this time. It's that time of day where it's just warm enough and just quiet enough for a perfect nap environment. If you listen closely, you can almost hear the shortened breaths of university students that have been pushed to the brink of exhaustion, finally getting their daily nap in before their next class.
As for me, Annie, I have no classes today. My economics class is not held on days that we have an exam, and my Book of Mormon teacher is out of town for the day. SO what have I been doing with all of my free time? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I went to the gym, ate some breakfast, and studied for my exam. And here I am, speaking to you right now from my slightly more comfortable metal bed.
My dear sweet Mother sent me a package and it finally arrived. Hallelujah. Now, you would think that living in Hawaii, you wouldn't have to have any long pants or anything that is kind of warm. This, my friends, is not the case. Yes, it is near 80 degrees here almost every day, but at night it gets chilly enough to wear pants. Did I think of this as I was departing 20 degree weather? No. Of course not. So my momma sent me my pants, and some extra valentines goodies to her dear suffering daughter on the island of Oahu. I would just like to tell you how awesome it is to get mail/package/ANYTHING in my mailbox. I can now kind of understand what missionaries have to go through, although they can't blog about their packages after they receive them. hehe.
PLEASE SEND ME LETTERS - if you'd like my address I'd be more than happy to give it to you.
So I got my package and I'm enjoying my pants and watches that finally made their way over here. If you are planning on coming to Hawaii, please bring pants. Because they keep your hair legs from being seen, and they also prevent bug bites. Seeing as we're not aloud to wear leggings here on campus (dumbest rule in the history of rules), I have very limited options, meaning that I have some nice purple and red bug marks all over my legs. I look as if I have shot up some serious drugs. This is not a lie, I assure you.
I'm trying to think of exciting tales of excitement that I could share, but really nothing comes to mind. There were massive waves on the North Shore yesterday, apparently the biggest that they've seen in decades. 40-50 feet. Unreal. I wanted to go up there SO bad, but not having a car (hint mom and dad) and having classes at weird times is a real inconvenience. I feel that since I don't have a way to get around, I can't really see all the the island has to offer, ya know? Yeah, I could take the bus, but I don't want to do that alone, and it's a pain in the butt. I think this is something that I inherited from my parents. The inability to sit still for long amounts of time. If I choose to continue my education here, (which is very very likely), a car will be in my future. Maybe then I can get a boy to like me, ya feel?
Just kidding. I ain't about that life.
I need to learn to R E L A X.
I'm so used to being on the go 24/7 never stop always have to be doing something have to be on the go and so uptight always have something to do stressing out.
I need to adopt the island philosophy and just chill. I'm working on it, people. Working on it.

Stay sweet and keep the commandments.
-Queen Anne

taken from tumblr but still accurate

happy hump day errybudy.
I'm writing this because a, I haven't written in a bit, and b, I'm trying to avoid homework. Clever, aren't I?
Where to begin..
Friday and Saturday were uneventful. Every weekend, and really almost every evening for that matter, there's a bonfire down at Hukilau beach, which is like a 10 minute walk from campus. They're rad because no one cares at all, and you can totally be yourself. It's sweet.
*I just heard that the waves at the north shore are legendary today - 40-50 feet. Now I'm contemplating ditching class to go up there. WHY
Anyway, we went to a bonfire on Friday night, and it was so chill. That's what Hawaii is all about - chill people and chill vibes. I love it here people.
Saturday, a big group of us went up to Laie falls, which is about a 6 mile roundtrip hike 10 minutes away from campus. It's beautiful, and very very muddy. You follow a gnarly trail up the mountain, and try to get to the falls without falling off of the mountain or dying from heat. The falls vary on the rainfall - they can either be way big or just a trickle. Unfortunately, we received the latter. It wasn't very spectacular, so it felt like the hike was completely worthless. But it really was beautiful, and the views were unreal. It was nice to spend time with some of my closest friends, so in a sense it was worth it.
Post hike, we went to the beach and fried some more. My friends Jenelle and Mariah were with me, and we could hardly move because our feet hurt SO bad. We slept on the beach and were out for a good long time. Saturday night we turned in early, which is very unusual for us.
Sunday I went to my new ward, which was great - and then loafed around as per usual Sunday action. Sunday night, J and M and I went to the Samoan gospel forum, because we joined the Samoan chapter here on campus. It's honestly one of the funnest things I've ever done. And I'm the darkest one there.
OH I HAVE THE BEST NEWS.
I transferred dorms! I was in the older Hale 3, which, as I'm sure you saw, were awful. I'm now in Hale 7, which is a brand spankin new dorm building. It's luxurious. I went from the ghetto to the Hamptons in a few short days. I transferred because I was given the opportunity, and of course I took it. It had nothing to do with my roommate, so don't think that! I have 3 roommates now instead of 1, and they are SO FUNNY. Sam, from Provo. Claire, from California. Lindsey, from Oklahoma. It's so so fun, and it's a constant party. I moved in on Monday, and the fun is only starting.
Other than that, school is school, and I want to just drop out and live on campus with all the perks but none of the schooling.
Guys I have literally gained so much weight since being here. A caf that's open all day with unlimited entries? It's so good and so bad. Will I return as Annie or as a flesh covered bowling ball? Only time will tell.

A property on the way to the falls - No even ask for coconuts

Me and my girl jenelle 

jenelle, me, mariah

on this episode of hot dogs or legs

showing my gangsta side with some ghetto cornrows that jenelle provided

a 6 mile hike for this 

a girl named jenna does henna holla

the unreal acai bowl from seven brothers

seven brothers - the best place to inhale calories

The life of a college student is a hard one. Between going to 2 classes a day and making time for food, what else can I do with my day? (I'm being completely sarcastic)

I have too much time on my hands, but lets remember that it's the beginning of the semester. The homework hasn't started yet and classes are still a little unorganized, meaning that by this time next week, I'll be begging for some free time to go to the beach.

As I said, classes have begun. They started last Monday. Duh. 

My class schedule is not something that I would have picked if I didn't have to. The classes all start at really weird times, meaning that I have a lot of loafing around to do in the dorm room. When I registered, none of the earlier classes were available, much to my despair. This means that on Mondays/Wednesdays/Fridays, my classes start at like 1:20. I then have my art history class that starts at 3:40 and gets out at 5:10. YEAH I KNOW ITS AWFUL. All of my friends are in class that early, meaning that I have nowhere to go and no one to see. I'm too scared to go anywhere by myself, so I'm confined to the campus. I live a hard life, right? Tuesdays and Thursdays are a little better; my first class starts at 9:20 and gets out at 10:50. Then I have Book of Mormon that stars at 12:10 and gets out at 1:10. So I'm done relatively early. Could I be missing the days of UVU when I was done with class by 10 almost every day? Maybe.

Classes have been good so far. I think that my hardest class will be Economics. On the Provo campus, it's the most failed course that they offer. Sounds reassuring doesn't it? The next class that may be difficult is Business, but it's just something that I'll have to power through, ya know? I may have forgotten to mention that I'm currently majoring in marketing. So I have no option but to suffer through it. 

The weather is still unreal. There's sunshine and warmth every day, and we've only had one downpour, if you could even call it that. It rains just long enough to ruin your hair and then it quits. Typical right?
Forgive me for the lack of posting, but really nothing has happened. I've gone to the beach, gotten a tan (sunburn) and gone to class. I can't complain - I'm in paradise. This weekend, some friends and I are planning on renting a car to take up to the north shore and go beach hopping. This is something I'm super excited for, but it also means that I have to drudge through my classes and end the week. Thank goodness it's wednesay. 2 days left.
There's devotionals every Tuesday and a fireside almost every sunday. I have a calling in my new ward, but I attended a different ward this past week so I have no idea what it is. The mystery of it all, ya know?

my good looking friend ammon 

if you think that you'll be watching frozen on your laptop alone in one of the lounges, you are very very wrong.

Seeing as I need to catch up on my posts, I'll write again although I published that last one .98 seconds ago.
Today was the first day of the new ward, and also saying goodbye to my parents. It was a little bit harder than I thought it was going to be, but it turned out to be alright. I said goodbye, came back to shower, then headed off to church with the roommate. We have our church in a chapel inside of a school building. Pretty gnarly right? It was way good - the bishop is incredible and the ward is all really nice. It's all single adults from the surrounding area. It's going to be a great ward, I can already tell. It was testimony meeting, so I went up there and blew them all away with my incredible spirituality. Just kidding, but I really did bear my testimony. Take that satan.
Post church, I changed into my honor code breaking swimsuit and headed to the beach with my friend Jaeden from Canada. He's super super nice, and it was a good time. I didn't even get that sunburned. "Is that a beached whale?" "Nah, that's just Annie in her swimsuit" Actual quote.
Just kidding. No one said that. I'd murder them.
We stayed at the beach for about an hour or so, then came back and chilled. Sundays around here are so relaxed, it's unreal. Nowhere to go, nothing to do - it's awesome.
We had a presidents fireside at 5, which was of course good. He talked about journeys in the scriptures, and how each of us are on our own journey here at the university. He's a rad guy, and his wife is super nice. (Can I get paid now or what?)
There were some good treats after, and then I just hung out with friends. Now I'm back to my good ol' springy metal bed. Home sweet home baby.
I went a whole day without getting in trouble by the RA. Can you believe it?
My writing skills are a little lacking because this is the latest I've stayed up since I've been here, so forgive me.

Don't do drugs - appreciate your soft feather beds while I bounce on this spring box.

Queen Anne

For those of you chumps that were so anxiously awaiting a post yesterday, and possibly the day before and the day before that, forgive me. It was far too psycho to do anything except sleep and complain about not being able to do anything. These past couple days have reminded me just how crazy college start-up is. Only this time, it's 2359 times more difficult/different. UVU was showing up, going to classes, boom you're done. Not here. Here we went through orientations and welcome presentations and dinners and activities and tours and everything in between. It's been incredible, but I also just want to sit on the beach for hours on end, ya feel me?
Where to begin.
I guess I should begin by saying that I finally met my roommate! Her name is Ami (Cynthia) and she's from california. She's super nice, and it's a good roommate combination. She's more reserved and shy than I am, but that's what makes it work! She's half Japanese, and her parents are also super nice. It's going to be a great year!
THURSDAY
The day started off with me walking into my hale and promptly being told by an R A, "Sweetie, your dress is too short." (Which is wasn't, I might add)
I suppose I should tell you about the portion of the honor code that states that all of our shorts and skirts must reach our knees. Some say just too the top, others say 3/4 of the way down. Who knows. This has been SO FRUSTRATING to me, but I obviously have to conform without question. The only skirts that are available out there make me look like a polygamist or a pilgrim. I literally have no problems with any other portion of the honor code, but this will be a challenge. Our swimsuits are also only permitted to be one piece, but we'll just pretend that I actually own a one piece instead of tankinis that cover my belly. Don't even get me started.
Moving onward, Thursday was orientation and the campus tour. The tour was great, although no one in our little group talked. One thing that's interesting about BYU H is that there are people from literally everywhere. The Marshall Islands, Korea, Fiji, Tahiti, South America, exotic Iowa, China, Japan, lush Utah - too many more for me to name. It's definitely more diverse than UVU.
Post campus tour, I went back to the dorm for some rest, only to be called "sweetie" again and have another R A tell me that I was missing an activity. From that point I went to One Stop, which is where new students learned about the programs at the school. We had to go around and get these silly papers signed, which a total pain. But whatever - I survived.
From the one stop station, I met my friend Jenelle, who happens to be from Canada. She's the bomb, but more on that later. SO. After One Stop, we had a little presentation on student life, which frankly I can't remember a single thing about. We watched a rad video, and that's about where my memory stops.
For those of you who aren't aware, the Polynesian Cultural Center is right by the university, meaning that it's mostly staffed by students. It's this incredible park that has exhibits from every south pacific island you could think of. It's actually pretty cool - I encourage you all to take a journey if you ever come to Oahu. Part of our orientation was a tour around the PCC, which lasted about 3 hours. We went to a lot of show, got dumped on by rain in a canoe - everything you could ever ask for. Jenelle and I cracked a lot of jokes and now everyone on campus loves us. What else would you expect?
Part of the tour included the night show, where performers obviously put on a show. There's island dancers and all that great stuff that you would expect. The coolest part of the whole show as the fire dancing, which was super intense. I would probably set my hair on fire and end up burning the whole place down if that was my job. I'm applying for it next week. (Sarcasm)
So we went to the night show, then went home and crashed. Who knew that walking around all day could be exhausting?
FRIDAY
Friday was another full day. It started at 12:30 with an ice cream social, which was just an excuse to eat too much ice cream and hang around with friends that we had already met. The ice cream was of course delicious, so no complaints from me. We went to the "official welcome" after the social, because we didn't feel welcome enough. The president of the Student Body and the president of the University spoke to us, which was really quite awesome. They talked about the honor code and how they might be watching us as we walk to church if they walk by. Interesting, isn't it? So they chatted about everything we should know being university students, and they were really quite nice. After they concluded, we had the academic advisors speak to us about the academic realities of the semesters and how it was being a college student. Fun fact: we're given 9 semesters to complete our degrees, and one of those semesters, if we choose to complete all 9, has to be a summer semester. But they offer a surfing class, so sign me UP. We got our student ID's, then had a little break before we had a new student dinner.
The dinner was good - that's something else. The food here is the BOMB. It's delicious. See ya freshman 15, hello freshman 50. HOLLA. Just kidding. No weight gain for me. I had to leave the dinner early to spend time with my parents, and that was great. I then came back for a student game night, which was good. I got to meet some really cool new people! So yes. Great. And after that....I spent my first night in the dorm. Can you believe it? I did it, guys. I survived my first night in the dorm. Something I won't have to do again! I'll never have another first night in the dorm. Pretty nutty if you ask me. The beds are really minorly uncomfortable, but who doesn't love a nice metal spring in their back at all hours of the night? The night passed and I went back to party with the parents on their last day on the island, which brings us to
SATURDAY
This was my parents final day of being here with me, and it was surreal. We walked on the beach, then went to Sunset beach (about 20 minutes away) and watched a little surfing competition. It was so nice to be able to spend time with my parents before they left. I totally took advantage of them being here. We ate some fresh fruit, went to a secluded cove, and just enjoyed being together. We went to dinner at the turtle bay resort, then had a good dessert and spent the rest of the night being family.

This concludes the 3 day post, stay tuned for more tonight!

Don't do drugs - don't  wear shorts above your knee.

Queen Anne

Well folks, day 3 of many has come and gone. The parental unit and I did a pretty gnarly amount of nothing. Crazy right? Forgive me for the poor quality of this post. First I was watching cute dudes surfing in gnarly videos and now I'm enjoying some Arctic Monkeys singing about knee socks.
Let's see..where to start on my oh so exciting day. Woke up, worked out, walked on the beach, showered - all the really regular activities thus far on the adventure. The best part about working out/walking/doing literally anything here is that it's SO humid - any amount of work produces a lot of sweat, which makes you feel like you've actually accomplished something when you're actually doing nothing. Rad, right?
Before I came, EVERYONE and their sisters were telling me "Go to Waimea Falls! You have to see the falls! Blah blah blah SEE THE FALLS" So, we drove up the north shore to this "great" experience. You start out by turning down this green and oh so pretty driveway. You park, get out, go to admissions. Here at admissions, you get to pay a sweet 15 dollars for a ticket - that's like a nice shirt at Forever 21. I'm a college student here - gotta be resourceful. Admission gets you into the park  (duh) where you walk the 3/4 trail to the falls. Along the way, there's little exhibits about native plants and ancient ruins, which are all pretty cool, although the way to bore me to absolute tears is to talk about plants.
SO you walk and walk, all while getting devoured by invisible bugs from who knows where. You're under these huge and incredible beautiful sprawling trees, which makes the walk shady and mostly cool. The birds are all chatting back and forth, which makes for a pretty interesting soundtrack to your 30 minute walk in paradise. You cross over a couple bridges, stop and get yourself a 5 dollar rock solid ice cream sandwich, and you're there. There's the falls.
Now I was expecting some huge WOW factor incredible amazing take your breath away waterfall. This was not the case. It was just a waterfall. Don't get me wrong - it was absolutely beautiful! But after living so near to bridal veil...it just wasn't doin it for me. I suppose it was more about the journey than the destination on this trek.
So we saw the falls, and I least I can say that I've experienced it.
By the time we were back our place, everyone was partially delirious and exhausted, which clearly called for a nap. An hour and half later, we were all up and running again.
We headed up to the north shore and stopped at a fresh fruit stand because my dad wanted some sweet corn. Only in my family - I am telling you we have got our quirks.
- OH MY LANDS. This fruit stand...
Fresh pineapple? OH be still my soul. The way to my heart is through fresh pineapple. Money and cars are also nice. We bought a bag of fresh cut pineapple and mango for 6 dollars - meaning that someone is laughing all the way to the bank. "Stupid tourists will pay for fruit, what a diabolical plan"
Post euphoric pineapple, we went back to Laie for some college supplies and dinner. We got our supplies and then got some grub at a delicious home town restaurant, which I currently cannot remember the name of. Dinner was great, carbs were consumed, the whole thing.
Post dinner, we went to the dorm to drop off some of the items. We open the door to find...the roomie had moved her stuff in! I still haven't met her, but from the looks of it, she's going to be super nice. I'm hoping that tomorrow will be the big day - the anticipation is killing me!
Tomorrow is a big day - orientation and all that other junk, which means that tomorrow will be full of great stories to tell you all.
 (pictures when I'm not falling off of the cliff of sleep)
Don't do drugs and don't take any wooden nickels.

Queen Anne