things I did this summer.

1. I saw this by the library in town.

Hehehe. I thought people only did this in movies.


2. I started a novel.

Yeah, that's right. I started a novel. It's going great, thanks for asking.

I like writing. Most of the time, I just write to write, which results in multiple abandoned Microsoft Word documents full of exerpts of wannabe-novels that are going nowhere because they have no plot behind them. But THIS TIME I have a plot.

Go me!

However. None of this.

"Ooh, you're writing a novel? What's it about??"

You'll get this.

One does not simply tell people what they write about, or walk into Mordor. Silly goose.

I'll give you the first word, though, just because I'm in a good mood.

The


3. I started the Harry Potter series. Again. For the third time.

I really wanted to read a lot of books this summer. I did, I promise. Unfortunately, that didn't really happen. I thought about reading a lot. But that's all I really did. I thought about it. Every time I picked up a book, I would get bored, and do something else for a while with my time. Finally I just had to face the dreaded truth that I was in a reading slump.

I hate reading slumps.

So then, I did the only thing I thought would help me get out of this lowly state.

I picked up the good ol' Harry Potter books again. This will be my third round.  Because this series is just too awesome to be read just once. Or twice. Hopefully, this will bring me back into the reading world.

 

Snape approves of my decision.

4. I hiked around in intense heat wearing pioneer clothes for a week.

Definitely one of the highlights of my summer.

In our church, every four years we do something called a Pioneer Trek where we dress like pioneers and pack belongings in a 5 gallon bucket and pull handcarts in the local desert for a couple days to reinact a little of what the pioneers crossing the plains had to go through. And that is most definitely a run-on sentence, but I'm leaving it like it is. This year we called our adventure "The Rescue" because prior to the trek we were asked to research a deceased ancestor that we would later perform temple work for.

It was a really special, spiritual experience, something I'll never forget.

Here's a picture of our handcart company. You can feel the heat just looking at it, can't you? Yeah, me too. Don't worry, the watermelon, trees, and sprinklers at the end in Zion were definitely worth it.


5. I brushed up on my Disney Classics.

Why aren't all movies like Disney Classics and The Avengers? I don't know either.

This summer, I watched Beauty and the Beast, Mulan, and Aladdin for the first time in a really long time. I plan to watch Tarzan again with my friend who has been deprived her entire childhood and has not seen it.

I love Disney movies. So much.


6. I took lots and lots and lots of pictures.

Here are a few of my favorites. (All photos (C) Nicole Pederson 2012.) Man, something about just being able to copyright something...just makes you feel all powerful and stuff.

7. I saw the coolest shooting star I will probably ever see in my life.

Out in our backyard in the middle of the night, we went out to watch the most epic meteor shower I've ever seen. They streaked the sky, tons of them.

The biggest one was my favorite. It stretched across the entire sky, and you could see the particles at the tip turn orange from breaking up in the atmosphere. It was so long, Mom said, "Kurt, look at that!" and when he looked up, IT WAS STILL GOIN'. It was gorgeous.

I made some pretty good wishes that night.



My summer has been amazing. But, to quote Isaiah Mustafa,

"Like all great things, this too must end. There's giant oaks that need chain-sawing into yacht boats. Bermuda Triangle mysteries that need solving with huge magnifying glasses. And everyone knows I could use one or twelve medals for winning exotic car throwing competitions. I must ride my jet-ski line into the sunset."

The sunset being a metaphor for high school.

sisters in charity

I just returned home about a week ago from the most amazing week I've had all year: Young Women's Camp. I always just feel so strong and empowered when I come back from camp, and this year was the best yet.

We were divided into cabin groups, and each group represented a YW value, faith, divine nature, individual worth, knowledge, choice & accountability, good works, integrity or virtue. The group I was in was the only group that didn't get one of these values--we got the value of charity. Let me tell you, charity was definitely the theme for our family--I mean group. Did I say family? Well, we were a family. We all grew so close, and we loved and trusted each other so much. Each one of those girls I felt like was one of my sisters.

Mikayla and Mikayla with our Charity Flag

Our theme for this year was "The Warrior Within" and the scripture that went with it was "I can do all things through Christ, which strengtheneth me." (Philippians 4:13) This verse means so much to me now that YW's Camp has helped me truly apply it to my life. Jesus Christ is my brother. He died for me. Even if I was his only sister, he still would have died for me. He gives me strenth, and through him, I can do anything.

The campfire songs, the dancing, the laughing, the Bishop's Day activities...those are all fun. But the real reason why I will remember this YW's Camp year is because my testimony grew so much.

One of the pivotal moments ("aha moments" as we liked to call them) for me was during one of our YCL, Hannah's devotional late at night in our A-Frame cabin. We just started talking about everything, about where we came from, why we're here, where we're going. It was inredible. As we sat gathered around with our flashlights at 11 pm, everything, everything just made sense. You know that feeling? I love that feeling. Everything, for those couple of hours just came together, and for those couple hours, I could see past my worldly problems, I could suddenly see the whole picture.

Hannah then said something I will never forget: she began talking about our life before we came to earth, where we lived with our Father in Heaven. She said, "He held me, when I was a baby. Just like a dad holds his child in his arms, He held me." She had tears streaming down her face as she kept repeating, "He held me." Pretty soon, I was crying too. Because I knew it was true. My Heavenly Father loves me. He probably held me just like Hannah said, and told me that Earth life would be hard, but it I stayed faithful, that I would make it back to Him. I want that so badly. I want to return to Him and have Him smile at me and say, "You did it."

On Friday, testimony meeting day and Bishop's Day, we lit our testimony jars we had made earlier in the week. We each got to decorate a jar, and I put the word "SHINE" on the front of mine, to help me to always remember to hold up my metaphorical light. After testimony meeting, we split from our cabin groups into our Ward groups and had a mini-get-together with our Bishop from our Ward. Each of us went around the circle and said something we can testify of as we held our jars in our hands. The Spirit was so strong.


This year at YW's Camp was incredible. I made so many awesome girls that I feel like I can call my sisters, my testimony grew tremendously. I hope that I will have the courage and faith to stand up for what I know is right, even if I stand alone. Because I cannot have fear if I have faith.

Me and my "Sisters in Charity" in front of our A-Frame Cabin. You guys are incredible.

in which I meet an author and become a superhero

That's right, guys. I'm a superhero. Sort of.

Awesome-Author-Rachel and Me

My aunt Liane's sister, Rachel McClellan, author of an awesome book called Fractured Light came to stay next door to us. As a mutual activity, she came to speak to our Young Women's group about becoming our own superheroes. (Double awesome. Meeting author. Who is also a superhero.)

She started out with this awesome quote by Marianne Williamson:

"We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be?"

She told us that we have this light inside of us that we need to use to help, uplift, and serve others. Our SUPERPOWER. (I know, right?!) In order to use our power for good, we have to be unselfish, not judging, have a desire to serve, and be courageous.

Imagine Superman, she told us, sitting in a diner, eating his enchilada soup. What if he was selfish? What if he judged others? What if he didn't want to help the people outside who were being chased by that giant robot? What if he was too afraid to save them? Would he be a superhero? "Of course not," Rachel said, "He wouldn't be a superhero. He's just a really good looking guy in a cape and tights."

Even Superman, with all of his strength, talents, and abilities, wouldn't be anything if he was selfish, judging, and afraid.

But he is a superhero. And those good qualities, being selfless, courageous, brave, kind...we need to be all those things if we want to become our own superheroes.

Rachel's an author. She knows that people, like characters, have flaws. Nobody's perfect. But we need to be the best that we can be so that we can be the heroes of our own stories.

So guess what, guys? I'm not the only hero around here.

You're a superhero too.