Rule #1 of College: Love your parents, love your friends, love yourself.

There are things that are important in life and things that aren't. Over time, we figure out who and what are important to us and what things are worth fighting for. College has a way of really making you realize the things you have always taken for granted.

• The first is of course your parents. Most of us go through a teenage stage that we don't like recounting. We are simply not nice to our parents during this stage of change in our young immature lives. Usually we are just recovering from this stage as we exit high school and start to figure out exactly what we want to do with the rest of our lives. As we move out and move on to new things, our minds are constantly drawn back to our memories of home and family. As we move into places of our own we start to realize how much of an impact our parents and their habits really had on us. As I moved out into my first apartment, I had many moments where I would step back and think..."Wow, my mom would have done things just like that." or "I never realized why my parents did things this or that way until right now when I am doing them for myself." I gained an insane appreciation for all the sacrifices that I now realize my parents made for me and everything they taught me. I know that I wouldn't be who I am today without them.

• We have all heard the quote, "Choose your friends wisely because you tend to be like them." Let's be honest...the older you get the more and more you realize how extremely true this is. Friends are life. Friends have a way of helping you get through anything. Girls have a power within them. Girls can share a story, give a hug, tell a joke, wipe away a tear. Women are nurturing by nature. As I look back over my many friends I have had in my life, I realize that each of them came to me at exactly the right time. I know they were all sent to me to help me, teach me, and love me so I could get through the things I needed to at that point. Friends cannot be replaced. Many times we move on and our story book of life turns a page to where the old friends are not found but I believe each of them will always have a special place in my heart.

• Sometimes we find ourselves at a point in our journey where the only person who can be any real help is the person we hope we know best. OURSELVES. These are the moments where a little something I like to call soul searching comes in to play. To honestly love ourselves we must get to know ourselves just as we would any other person. I read once that every day you should look at yourself in the mirror and remind yourself of once simple thing. I love you! If each and every day we reaffirm to ourselves our true love for the person we are rather than seeing all the things we wish we could change staring back at us, we as people transform. Remembering to love yourself will bring the self confidence you need to push through the hard times.

These three simple things that make up rule #1 of college can really make a world of difference. During your college years everything begins to move at the speed of light. Things are flying past you. You are trying to learn and keep up with homework. You are trying to work in order to bring home some money to continue to pay the bills. You are meeting new people and getting to know yourself in a whole new way. The only thing to do is hold on tight, take no second for granted, and enjoy the ride!

First Insight from Eat, Pray, Love

I have joined the many readers who are enjoying the book Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. On page 29 of her book she beings talking about wanting things that conflict with each other. She writes, "The great Sufi poet and philosopher Rumi once advised his students to write down the three things they wanted most in life. If any item on the list clashes with any other item, Rumi warned, you are destined for unhappiness. Better to live a life of single-pointed focus, he taugh." This small point really made me think. What this poet says makes perfect sense. There is no way to love one thing and love something else that goes completely against it. How can you strive for a goal as well as another that leads you further from the first thing you wanted. How can you know if everything you are striving for is what you should be striving for? Occassionally in life we find our wants and needs change...are there things in life that never change. Things that we want with our whole soul that never become any different? These questions all crossed my mind almost instantly as I finished reading these few short lines. How do we know? And once we think we know, how can we be sure that we are striving for the things that we should be?

One Four Three

I officially wish I lived in Cedar City. Anyone who knows me realizes how bizarre this sounds coming from me. There are so many reasons that I should hate Cedar. So many things about it that are so opposite of me. Against all odds, I absolutely love Cedar. Let me show you a few of the reasons why.

These girls are my absolute favorite. I cannot believe that I wasn't better friends with them last year. I cannot wait to see what this year has in store for us. All there is to say is ONE FOUR THREE I LA LA LA LOVE YA!

Back to the blogging world...

I am at a turning point in life. A point where so many things could happen and there are so many different roads that I could choose to take. Life is about to get interesting for Kiersten Baum. Here are a few highlights from my summer days that went all too fast.

Hiking with Ciera and Kylee


Eclipse with the girls

Fourth of July was spent with Jostlyn, Kent, and Ashlee

Summer went faster than expected and with fall and school starting an entire new chapter of my life has been opened. I am feeling a lot of emotions about this new period. I am feeling excited, scared, nervous. Mostly excited for what the future holds and ready to take on the world! Stay tuned. More updates to come.