I can do this!

7 1/2 more weeks left until I complete my first year of college. What a whirlwind ride this year has been! I have had so many emotions this year that I pretty much have felt everything. I know one day, in the end, all of this hard work will pay off. It's hard, but I can do it! On the plus side, 9 more days til Spring Break and 8 more days until I have a brand new baby cousin!!! EEEEEPPPPP!!!!! :)

On the serious side. . .

So I think out of all my friends, I've told about 6 friends what I'm about to tell you. I have a disability. I was diagnosed with Autism when I was just 4 years old. I haven't told anyone this, because I'm afraid of losing friends and I know it sounds dumb, but when i told someone, they told me I was weird and said they didn't want to be a part of my life because they thought it was a contagious disease. I've been afraid to tell anyone but I realize it's who I am and it's who Heavenly Father wanted me to be. I am on the higher part of the spectrum of Autism, but I still have it. I also have a brain disorder called "Asperger's" and it affects my learning and things like that. I have had teachers judge me for it. I have old my two best friends and my 4 other close friends. I have a photo shoot with one of my friends on Thursdays and she is doing it for people who have disabilities and even though mine isn't too noticeable, she asked me if I would be willing to do it for one of her projects and I agreed! I hope this post helps you to understand me a little bit more. Feel free to ask me any questions if you want! :)

I Belong to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints!

I absolutely love Sunday's! I am so grateful and blessed to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints! I truly would be lost without the gospel!! It has blessed me in so many ways I can't even imagine my life without it!! I bore my testimony today for the first time since like May. My heart was racing from the minute I walked into the church building and I waited until the very last minute to bear my testimony, but I'm so glad I did!! I am here for a reason, and although I don't quite know the reason fully yet, I know the Lord knows exactly what my reason is! :) I just love Sunday!!!! :)

It's been awhile. . .

It's been awhile since I've updated the blog! So much has happened! Christmas, New Years, birthdays, starting a new semester, and other random life situations--like being in the hospital.

Last Monday, Jan 30, I went to the Student Health Clinic on campus because I was having breathing problems. The doctor there was so very nice and took as much time with me as I needed! I told him what was going on and what medicine I was taking to see if maybe that was what was causing it. I was NOT planning on making a trip to the hospital that day. The dr said that he wanted to do and EKG and Chest XRAY to make sure I didn't have blood clots because the medicine I was on causes blood clots. Now I'm thinking "Great. As if I haven't had enough medical problems, this happens." I went in for my EKG (they did it at the clinic along with the chest xray) and that came back normal. Chest Xray came back normal. So the next step was to go to the hospital to get blood work done. Check for blood clots, infections, deficiencies, etc. My grandpa came and got me from the health clinic and we headed up to the hospital. We sat there waiting for admissions for a half hour. Then getting all my info took about 20 minutes. Then there were 7 people ahead of me to get blood work done. We sat there for 45 minutes. Finally it was my turn to get blood drawn. Since I've had so many needles and IV's, this was nothing. The lab tech person said that she would call my dr as soon as she got my results. In the meantime, I went to work. About 6 p.m. my dr called. No blood clots! No infection! But I did have low potassium levels and extremely high blood pressure. My blood pressure was 160/112 that morning. So I got put on potassium supplements for 5 days and blood pressure meds for 2 weeks. I started feeling great the next day. But then I got weaker throughout the week. I finally just broke down and started crying because I was so tired and frustrated. That was Wednesday. By Thursday, I was able to go back to work. I am still feeling great! I get tired a lot easier now if I don't eat the proper foods. I'm on a potassium-enriched diet right now and I don't really like vegetables, but I know that if I want to get better, it's the right thing to do. :) I didn't know that potassium levels affected your heart rate, but the doctor said it did. My heart rate has been fine since Thursday! :) I go back to the clinic Friday to check my levels! Hopefully, everything is back to normal! :)

Yesterday, I had my aunt's baby shower! It was such a blast! I think J.J. has more clothes than I do now! ;) I can't wait to meet him!

Work is going great! I am working with the 2-3 year olds right now and they are a handful, but they are so fun! They wear you out as well. They saw the bandage from when I got blood drawn and they just kept asking what happened and were very concerned. I love those kids! :)

I got an A- on my first college paper this week as well! I was pretty proud! One of the highest grades in the class. :)

I don't know what I was thinking taking all my generals in one semester. English, Biology, Biology lab, Sociology, Bowling, and Aerobics. It's been a really rough semester.

Well, that's my life right now! :)