USE YOUR AND

One of my favorite bloggers,

SprinkleOfGlitter

Posted something that has to do with an ad by Gillette Venus.

I will link her blog, her video and Venus' ad below.

It is called 

"Use Your And"

Basically what it is saying is,

That we were told we could be anything, 

But then people put a label on us.

You can only be one of two things.
You can't be pretty and smart.
Or a dancer and a mathematician.

We are "boxed in" by society.

We need to step outside the box.

We are more than just one thing.

We are not just pretty.  

We are also smart.

We are not only one thing.
We do not have to stick to other people's labels of us.

You can be whoever or whatever you want.  

You are more than what people say!

I cried when I watched the video.

It is absolutely beautiful!

And powerful!

It actually reminded me of a song from "Shrek: The Musical"
"Who I'd be"
They lyrics are as follows:

I guess I'd be a hero
With sword and armor clashing
Looking semi dashing
A shield within my grip

Or else I'd be a viking
And live a life of daring
While smelling like a herring
Upon a viking ship

I'd sail away, I'd see the world
I'd reach the farthest reaches
I'd feel the wind, I'd taste the salt and sea
And maybe storm, some beaches
That's who I'd be, that's who I'd be

Or I could be a poet
And write a different story
One that tells of glory
And wipes away the lies

And to the skies I'd throw it
The stars would do the telling
The moon would help with spelling
And night would dot the 'I's

I'd write my verse, recite a joke
With wit and perfect timing
I'd share my heart, confess the things I yearnAnd do it all while rhyming
But we all learn, but we all learn

An ogre always hides
An ogre's fate is known
An ogre always stays
In the dark and all alone

So yes, I'd be a hero
And if my wish were granted
Life would be enchanted
Or so the stories say

Of course I'd be a hero
And I would scale a tower
And save a hung-house flower
And carry her away

But standing guard there'd be a beast
I'd somehow overwhelm it
I'd get the girl, I'd take my breath
And I'd remove my helmet

We'd stand and stare, we'd speak of love
We'd feel the stars ascending
We'd share a kiss, I'd find my destiny

I'd have a hero's ending
A perfect happy ending
That's how it would be
A big bright beautiful world
But not for me

An ogre always hides
An ogre's fate is known
And ogre always stays
In the dark, you're all alone, all alone

So yes, I'd be a hero and if my wish were granted
(And I know he'll appear)
Life would be enchanted or so the stories say
('Cause there are rules and there are strictures)

Of course I'd be a hero and I would scale a tower
(I believe a storybooks I read)
And save a hot-house flower and carry her away
(By candlelight)

A perfect happy ending
That's how it should be

The bold and colored words and phrases are the things I'd like to point out.
The italicized are the words and phrases that make me doubt and fear.
The bolded are the things that inspire me.
Those are things I'd like to be.
Those are the things I am trying to become.
Don't live on the italics!
BE YOUR OWN SELF!
Don't let others tell you who to be.
Find your own Destiny.
Have your own perfect happy ending.
Be your own hero!
It is a big bright beautiful world,
And it's for you!!!

The tower he speaks of could be any obstacles in our way.
So could the beast.
And YOU CAN DEFEAT THEM!
AND FIND YOUR DESTINY!
The learning doesn't have to put you back a step
Or hide you from your Destiny.

Just like the song and the ad from Venus say.
Don't be boxed in by others!
Don't let others label you!
BE YOURSELF!

There are many other songs that can say those same things.
But I'm in love with "Who I'd Be" at the moment,
And that's why I focused on that one particular song.

Anyways:
After I saw the video on "Use Your And"

I knew immediately that I wanted to have a blog post on it, 

And most likely I will do a video on it on my YouTube.

I don't need anyone to tell me what I am and what I can do.

I am who I am AND that is me!

I am me AND that is all that matters!

No one can sort me into one category.

I AM ME

So..

Who am I?

I am a sister AND a daughter AND granddaughter.

I am a friend AND cousin AND niece.

I am a musician AND an actress AND an an artist.

I am a storyteller AND a choral geek/nerd AND a musical geek.

I am a pianist, AND a flutist, AND an oboist, AND a vocalist.

I am a Disnerd AND a Whovian AND a Sherlockian.

I am a potterhead AND many other kinds of nerds.

I am a Benedict Cumberbatch Super Fan!

I am a blogger AND reader.

I am a beauty nerd AND a food lover.

I am an animal lover.

I am a dog lover.

I am an optimist AND a student.

I am a writer and a YouTube lover.

I will be a Disney Cast Member.

I am beautiful AND Smart.

I am a Mormon.

I am human AND more!

AND I am unique.

I AM KESTRA!

WHO ARE YOU?

"TAKE A STAND AND USE YOUR AND"

#UseYourAnd

LOVE,

KM

Check out these websites for more:

Gillette Venus: #UseYourAnd - YouTube

▶ Use Your 'And'! | Sprinkle of Glitter | ad - YouTube

***Sprinkle Of Glitter*** || Beauty | Baby | Lifestyle | UK

lyrics from:
Read more at http://www.songlyrics.com/shrek-the-musical/who-i-d-be-lyrics/#PSfWgLPzFgT8e7AM.99

DREAMS REALLY DO COME TRUE!

After several years of hearing about it

And wanting to do it.

But being scared to.

I made the decision.

I APPLIED FOR THE DISNEY COLLEGE PROGRAM (DCP)!!!!

I applied this first weekend of March 2015.

I was in California for the weekend, visiting my family.

And, something happened, where DCP came up.

"When are you going to do it?"

I don't know...  I'm scared to.

And like always, I listed a whole bunch of reasons for why not to do it.

I'm not going to list all the reasons,

But after a little bit of convincing and thinking,

I decided to apply.

I spent an entire night filling out the application.

(And having several break downs.)

About 2 hours later, I received an email saying 

I was selected to participate in the Web-Based Interview.

I took the WBI the next day

And was immediately selected to schedule a phone interview.

I scheduled it for that upcoming Wednesday at 8:15 AM.

I had class at 10, so I needed to make sure it was a good time.

I woke up at about 6:45 and got ready.

I made myself look great because even though they couldn't seen me, 

I would feel better if I was looking great!

They called at 8:19.

I was freaking out!

Here are some pictures I took before the interview:

Nervous, and clutching Mickey Mouse to calm my nervous.

I always wear this necklace and wore it for courage and Good Luck.

My notes for the interview

I got off the phone, and seriously thought I did terrible!

I didn't know what to think exactly.

They didn't seem to ask me the questions that many people said they ask everyone.

They kind of did, but not entirely.

I was asked to keep my answers shorter because apparently I kept rambling.

However, the interviewer was extremely nice.

Almost a month later, I got an email.

I was in the middle of a class.

My mom was visiting and she wanted to come to my choir class, which was the class before.

She stayed for the next class too.

I got a text from my friend who is doing DCP right now asking if I heard anything yet.

I told her no.

Immediately I went on my email to double check,

And I got an email from WDW.

I reached over and squeezed my mom's hand, though she didn't know why.

I wanted to scream!!

I WAS ACCEPTED!!!!

I pulled some of my friends aside after class and told them and they were thrilled.

I told my family that night.

I thought about it.

And I made the decision to accept it!

I'm so excited!!!!!

I'll be having the time of my life.

And I'll be completing one of my dreams.

I'll be working at Disney!

I got a little nervous, 

Because my best friend, who is serving a mission for the LDS church,

Wanted to do DCP with me, but I felt like it was right for Fall Semester.

I emailed her and let her know, and she said:

KESTRA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I literally screamed when I read that (my companions can witness that). I am so excited for you!!! You have no idea. 

She said some other stuff, but I'm so so so excited that she's excited for me!

I'M THRILLED!

DREAMS REALLY DO COME TRUE!!!

I will be posting more about it as it comes and as I do it, 

But I thought I'd show that Dreams can come true!

If you go after your dreams, and focus on the good of it, and go after them,

your Dreams Will Come True!

More to come!

LOVE,

KM

April 2015 GC

For those who don't know, every 6 months the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints hold a General Conference.  

This weekend was AMAZING! 

It was Easter Sunday!!!!

And it was General Conference!!!!

I'd like to share just a couple of thoughts that I had during the sessions 

(there are 4 regular ones, one priesthood, and last week there was a women's session)

I took 9 pages of notes on my laptop and I will be reading the talks when the come out in the church magazine, The Ensign.

First off, I loved President Eyring's talk.  President Eyring is the First Counselor in the First Presidency of the church.

He focused mainly on fasting and Fast Offerings.  

Three things he said I absolutely loved!

"Pay one dollar for those who are 'truly poor'"

"The glory of the Lord shall be your reward"

"Thou shalt call and the Lord shall answer, thou shalt cry and He shall say,

 'Here I Am.'"

If we focus our lives on the Lord and on those we can serve, we shall be rewarded.

If we plea unto the Lord for help, we will be heard and He will hear us.

A scripture comes to mind:

"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. 

Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid."

John 14:27

He will answer us and we will be given peace.

Now remember that what I took from these talks and quotes may not be what everyone received.

It's just what I felt impressed from them.

The next talk was Sister Linda K. Burton, Relief Society President.

She quoted one of my favorite quotes:

"Thee lift me and I'll lift thee, and we'll ascend together"

Following this she said that more happiness can be received

 if we rejoice in each others successes, 

not just our own.  

How often do we speak kind words to each other?

When was the last time we stopped ourselves from saying something that could be hurtful?

When was the last time we chose to be happy?

I'm just going to briefly mention Elder Dallin H. Oaks talk.

The main thing he said that I adored was:

"DON'T BE PARALYZED BY THE FEAR OF THE FUTURE."

As I stated in my previous post, I have something exciting to share.

It is in regards to my future and I'm so psyched!

But I am going to wait a few days first.

Even though I know it will be amazing!

There are things that I do fear because of it,

but because of this talk, I know that the Lord has His best interests in mind,

and I will be 

PROTECTED

Going along with that feeling of fear, Elder Bednar mentioned Godly fear vs. Worldly fear. 

"Godly fear is a source of peace, assurance and confidence, unlike worldly fears that creates alarm and anxiety."

"Because of Him we will be blessed.... and we won't need to be afraid."

So if I focus my life on God and the Doctrine, my future won't be as intimidating.

I LOVED Elder Andersen (Of The Seventy)'s talk.

I am an art person, so his talk which talked about dance and music really hit me.

He said:

"We see the dance steps with our eyes, but we hear the music with our hearts."

"Our children’s happiness depends on their ability to hear and love the beautiful music of the gospel"

"If our lives are out of tune with the music of the gospel, we need to tune them up."

"If you are not hearing the music of the gospel in your home, please remember these two words: 

KEEP PRACTICING"

Keep Practicing and I will be blessed.  Keep Practicing and my life will be in tune!

Elder Nielson's talk hit a core too because I know a few who have become lost:

"We loved, we watched, and we waited."

"Leave the ninety nine and go after and rescue the one"

"All of us need the Savior’s Atonement to heal us.  All of us are lost and need to be found."

Elder Holland touched on the meaning of Easter Sunday.

He said, "Today, we celebrate the gift of victory, over every fall we have ever experienced, every sorrow we have ever known."

President Uchtdorf also touched on Easter.

He said "On Easter Sunday.. my life changed, your life changed, the destiny of all of God's children changed."

"Living the Gospel faithfully is not a burden."

"Jesus Christ has cleared the way for us to ascend to heights incomprehensible to mortal minds."

It's true.  Without Jesus Christ, and without Easter, our lives would not be the same.  

The gates to heaven are open because of it, so we may return there again, 

And live with our families forever!

Elder Hales:

What can you do to protect religious freedom?

We can become informed.

We can join with others.

We can live our lives to be a good example of what we believe.

We have parts of the religious freedom in our country that we rely on.

Freedom to Believe

Freedom to Share our faith and beliefs

Freedom to Form Religious Organizations

Freedom to Live our faith.

We need to cherish these freedoms and protect them.

"Don't walk, RUN! 

Run to receive the blessings of agency!"

Those were some of the many talks that I loved and cherished from conference.

If you watched conference, what were your favorite talks?

Stay tuned for my Easter blog.

And for my exciting future! <3 <3

LOVE,

KM

My pictures I googled:

https://www.lds.org/topics/easter?lang=eng

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/310466968034494160/

http://wearewomenproject.blogspot.com/2011/09/those-who-save-us.html

http://wrightstuffmusic.com/in-the-classroom/practicing-needs-affirmation

http://thetruth-blog.blogspot.com/2011/02/what-does-bible-tell-us-about-heaven.html

http://pixshark.com/run.htm

Rare Bible Exhibit

Yesterday, my family and I had the great opportunity to go to 

Zions Mercantile at The Shops at Riverwoods in Provo, UT 

in between LDS General Conference sessions.

There they were having a Rare Bible Exhibit.

There were so many bibles from different places and ages around the world,

and only one of them was a replica.

The rest were originals.

There were also other things amongst the bibles, like letters.

Here are some pictures I took:

 It's a little blurry, but if you look in the left hand corner, it says "The Parable of the Vinegar." 

Not "The Parable of the Vineyard." Because of that, it was nicknamed the Vinegar Bible.

This Bible was in King George's castle I believe, and never left it.

As you can see by the little description, this was Marie Antoinette's Bible.

This was a letter of Marie Antoinette, and below you can see her signature.

This was the only replica.  The little card says it is an exact handmade replica of the Gutenberg Bible.  Black is Printed and the Color is hand painted!

 This gun fired the shot "Heard Round The World" at the Battle of Lexington

 These are the hand written lyrics to "My Country Tis of Thee" and signed by the author himself.

This is a first edition Geneva New Testament.

 It was the First Version of the bible brought to America by the Pilgrims.  

Dated 1560.

This bible had all of these family trees printed in it.

This one was the family tree leading to Christ

This one originates with Adam and Eve.

Jacob's tree is listed below.

WINSTON CHURCHILL'S BOOK OF MORMON!!

A letter by Mother Teresa before she got the Noble Peace Prize

Helen Keller's Bible.  It was not in Brail.

This was Joseph Smith's Thumb Bible.  The only one he signed!

I got to hold it!!!

Brigham Young and Wilford Woodruff's Personal Copies of the Doctrine and Covenants.  

The picture below it is Brigham Young's signature!!

J.R.R Tolkien's Bible that he wrote stuff in!

Hyrum Smith's Book of Mormon!

Joseph Smith's own copy of the Book of Mormon

This is actually a case to hold the book in and protect it.

See?

First Edition of Les Miserables!!!!

I had a lot of fun there and hope you enjoy a sneak peak at what I had seen!

My next post will be up either later today or tomorrow.  It will be my thoughts on conference from the past two days!!  One of my favorite times of year!!!

And I will have another one filled with all of my Easter adventures!

And finally later this week, I will share something exciting, but you will just have to wait ;)

HAPPY EASTER!!! I HOPE YOU ENJOY IT!!

I KNOW THAT HE LIVES!

LOVE,

KM