You are NOT your grades.

I have heard that phrase about 87 times in the last week. Almost every professor, T.A., and member of the administration has said it. One professor even went so far as to make us camel shaped sugar cookies to celebrate grades and class rankings coming out for us first year law students. She calls it "hump day." (Camels have humps. Get it?) Rumor has it that they even have a suicide watch for all us law students. Scary, I know. With all the looks of sympathy, I could tell that all the faculty and administration were really worried. They were worried that those who got low grades would go suicidal and those that got great grades would become prideful. I can understand why they were troubled.

This semester I have met some of the most hard working, bright, interesting, and amazing people. Every one of my classmates has an amazing life story and an incredible mind. I have learned so much from them. So what do you do with a group of amazing people? How do you distinguish who is the best and who needs to try a little harder? You grade on a curve and then rank them. It's a cruel system. However, I can see the purpose of it. I can also see how, if one didn't have the proper perspective, it could affect their psyche negatively.

Hence the message . . . YOU ARE NOT YOUR GRADES.

I appreciate the message. It's true. Although grades do measure an aspect of our performance, they do not measure us as a whole. In fact, when you look at the time you spent in that one class getting that grade, it is a very small portion of your life. After all, what makes a person? Letters on a transcript? I think far more important things make us who we are, such as:

How we treat/care for our families

How we treat strangers

How we help others

How we care for ourselves

How we serve our communities

How we make the world more beautiful

How we serve our God

So, remember, you are not your grades. (Whether you are still in school, or not. There are always other ways the world tries to grade us.) You are SO much more than that. You are full of talent, gifts, and promise.

I'm not saying this because I got bad grades. I have a strict don't ask/don't tell policy. But let me say, I didn't fail any classes, and that was what I all I dared to hope for. I am happy with my scores and feel proud of what I accomplished.

Now . . . on to next semester!

Be RESOLVED

2010 is here and with it the usual hopes of a better year and becoming a better person. January 1st means making a list of things I want to do better, things that will make me better. I was on my honeymoon this January 1st, and with adjusting to marriage, moving to a new apartment, and getting back in the grind of law school, my resolutions have been slow forming. No worries. I have all but forgotten them.

For me, resolutions require inspiration. Often inspiration comes from others as resolutions become the topic of conversation. This year, however, New Year resolutions have seemingly gone out of style. People just aren't making resolution like they used to. I have seen all kinds of resolution fill ins. Instead of making actual RESOLUTIONS, people are creating themes for the year. They pick one word that will be the undercurrent for their "growth" this year. OK. If that makes creating a goal easier for you...go for it.

Some I have spoken to have said that they don't believe in resolutions. Why make a list of things to accomplish if I will never accomplish them? Why set myself up to fail? To this I say, if you never try, you have failed already.

This leads me to believe that people don't get what resolutions are. A Resolution = A GOAL. Making resolutions is more than just writing a list of things you want to accomplish. It is making a plan for how you will accomplish it. Unless your resolutions are specific and time bound, of course you are going to fail at them. You haven't give yourself any responsibility to achieve it. You haven't provided the way for you to achieve it.

Now don't be too hard on yourself when making these goals. If your favorite pastime is sitting on the couch watching T.V. and you haven't put on sneakers in 10 years, saying you are going to work out at the gym two hours a day, six days a week is a pretty hard place to start. Maybe that can be your end result, but start with something smaller. It's OK to start slow. How about just making a goal to go on a walk everyday. There, that's more manageable and you are less likely to drop it after two weeks.

True, you don't need the start of a new year to begin setting goals. Heck, I've waited 20 days to put mine down on paper. But let's not say we aren't going to even attempt at being better people; that we aren't even going to address making changes in our lives. For when we stop trying to be better, that is when we become worse. We never stay the same. We are either growing or shrinking, moving forward or back. And unless we continue to progress, our families, our communities, our nation, our world won't progress.

So dust off those ambitions! Break out those aspirations! Make a plan today for who you want to be and how you will get there. I know this is A LOT easier said that done. But we CAN do it! It is in us. As George Elliot said, "It is never too late to be what you might have been."

Wedding Pictures!!

Our photographer, Alyssa Jule Photography, posted a sneak peak of some wedding pictures on her blog. Check them out!

http://www.alyssajulblog.com/2010/01/megan-joe/

Video of our Snowy Wedding Day

My amazing uncle and videographer, Michael Jensen, made this incredible video of our wedding day. As you can tell, it started to snow about three minutes into the picture/video shoot. It was SO cold! By the end my fingers and toes were completely frozen and my dress was soaked. It was worth it, though! I could not have asked for a more beautiful day. Thanks Uncle Mike for capturing our wedding day so beautifully. You're the best!

http://sacramentowedding.blogspot.com/2010/01/let-it-snow-megan-joe.html

I'm getting married in the morning. . .

. . . and I can't wait!!

(P.S. I've always wanted to say that. Gotta love My Fair Lady)

Elder Harris x 2

Big news! Adam has also received his mission call. He will be serving the people in the Hamburg, Germany mission. He leaves April 21st!

So Kyle will be in Phoenix, Arizona and Adam will be in Hamburg, Germany. Can you get any two more different assignments? :)

I am so very proud of my brothers. They have grown to be strong, righteous young men and are so excited to serve the Lord through missionary work. I know that the Lord has prepared them for there they will go and that there are people there that need what they can offer. Watch out Satan, Elders Kyle and Adam Harris are about to shake up your world!!

I had the opportunity to go with Kyle yesterday as he went through the temple for the first time. What a wonderful experience! The spirit of the Lord was SO strong! I am happy for him. And, on a selfish note, I am so excited that he can now attend my temple wedding!!

So many blessings have filled our lives lately. It has really strengthened my testimony in the goodness of God. I have learned that as we wait patiently through the hard times, enduring the best we can, the Lord brings us the blessings when we have learned what we needed to learn. Heavenly Father loves us so much. He is so merciful and good to all His children!

Travel Thoughts

After packing, cleaning, moving boxes, hauling heavy things up a flight of stairs, unpacking, putting furniture together, cleaning some more, and repacking to go to Oregon, we are finally moved in to our new apartment. Hooray! Joe drove from Salem to Provo Thursday in a Budget truck with all our stuff. Thankfully, he made it with no weather problems. Daniel Clark and Val Summers helped us move in. I couldn't be blessed with better friends. Thanks guys! I have to say, I LOVE our place. It's adorable!

Last night we finally made it home to Oregon. Now Christmas can really start. I love airplanes, and get excited every time I fly. I was a bit nervous because I needed to take my wedding dress on the flight and I didn't want any problems with it. Britt Hunsaker told me this story of a girl who checked her wedding dress and it got completely ruined, tire tracks from being run over and all. I was NOT going to let that happen. Luckily, the stewardesses were nice enough to let me have a bin to myself, just for the dress. It all worked out.

I learned something interesting on that flight. Do you know why airplanes always have the cabin lights on bright during the day and then at night they keep them dimmed low? It's because in case of emergency, they want your eyes to be adjusted to the light outside so that you can see. If the plane has an accident at night, they can't have people waiting until their eyes adjust to the darkness to get moving. Interesting eh? Just a little trivia tidbit for you.

By the way, have I told you how AMAZING my brother are?!?!?! It's the first time I've been with them for several months as Kyle has been at BYU Hawaii and Adam at BYU Idaho. We had a great time talking and laughing last night. Honesty, I am so proud of them. They have grown into the most wonderful, righteous young men. Oh, and we have some news at our house.

Kyle got his mission call . . .

. . .

. . . to the Phoenix, Arizona Mission!!

He will be teaching the people in SPANISH!!

WAHOO!!

I am so excited for him!! I know he will be an amazing missionary. Adam has his papers in and we are still waiting for the call, but hope it will come sometime this week. I am so excited for him!!

My heart is full of gratitude for the multitude of blessings that have come into my life. The Lord has been so good to me.

The first semester of law school. . .

. . . is DONE!

Hooray!!

Two down . . .

. . . Two finals to go!

By the way, I go the keys to my new apartment yesterday. You don't know how excited I am to have a place for US. I know this sounds domestic, but can't wait to make it a home.

One down . . .

. . . three finals to go!

This pic came from here.

I woke up this morning at 5am, unable to get back to sleep. I was so nervous! Since attempting to fall back asleep proved useless, I got up, showered, made myself some yummy blueberry pancakes, and studied until it was time to go. When I got to school, the tension was so think. I swear, you could touch it. At least I wasn't the only one nervous! The clock struck 8:30AM and then I sat there for three hours, basically typing everything I knew about contract law. It was a hard test, and I don't know how I did. But it's over. *Sigh*. Hooray!

To celebrate the completion of our first final in law school, the girls and I went out to lunch. I got a turkey sandwich and a salad and it was SO yummy. They restaurant (ZUPAS, one of my favs) always gives you a chocolate covered strawberry. Isn't that nice? I guess they are feeling the Christmas spirit there cuz they've started putting candy cane pieces in the chocolate they dip the strawberries in. WARNING: Candy cane chocolate dipped strawberries DO NOT taste as good as they look! Oh well, it was still a good time with fantastic friends! Then I got to talk to my sweet finance on the phone. Goodness I love him. He always knows how to make me smile and feel better about life. And then Kandis and I decided we needed a Diet Coke with Lime to help us face the rest of the day. I got to drive around in her Mini Cooper. Can I just say, it's the cutest car ever!

Overall, it wasn't as horrible as it could have been and I am feeling better about the whole law school thing. :)

Now on to study property. . .