HAILEYANELA

Besides finding out that Luke is a really warm sleeper, I've learned two very important marriage and life-related lessons. 1. Marriage isn't transformative Whoever thought that marriage would suddenly turn you into the *best* version of yourself, is a fool (@ me). Saying "I do" over the altar isn't going to transform you into the person you've always dreamed of being. It hasn't turned me into a healthy eater, someone who exercises 5x a week or into a goal-achieving megastar. It's done quite the opposite. marriage has exposed all my flaws and shortcomings and left me vulnerable. It's peeled back the facade of "having it all together" and revealed that I'm MUCH more selfish and egotistical than I believed. Now more than ever, I'm keenly aware of the parts of myself that need a little bit more fine tuning. 2. Marriage is a TEAM effort Now that we've established my selfish tendencies, you can probably picture how diffi...

Today marks 10 years since my dad died, an entire decade gone in the blink of an eye. I felt the sadness would last forever alongside people's awkward and embarrassed apologies. Yet somewhere along the way the sorrow was replaced with nostalgia and then with reminiscence. So rather than mope over my inevitable loss I complied a list of the top 10 lessons I've learned in the last 10 years. 1. Life isn't all lemons or lemonade. It's in my lowest lows that I swear my life is cruel, that the Fates have it out for me and I'll never know happiness. It's a tart lemon sans sugar and I'm bitterly gritting my teeth. I've had to accept that not every lemon will bear lemonade, & THAT'S OKAY. Without those painful lows I'd never appreciate my greatest highs. Biting the lemon makes the lemonade sweeter. 2. Lonely & Alone Being alone doesn't directly translate to loneliness. Learn to be comfortable without the presence of othe...

SO PUMPED to be spending my fall in Europe, studying abroad and inhaling countless carbs. I'll be traveling with the BYU-I College of Business and Communication to "Experience Europe", network, and search for possible internships. *crossing all my fingers* Prepare yourself for the inevitable insta-overload coming to you September 2016. big thanks to @jakenning for persuading me to apply & Sister Bergstrom for believing that I'll be a (semi) valuable contributor whilst overseas. You guys ROCK. xoxo hails.

Being an adult is hard, and the transition from dependent adolescent to kinda-independent grown-up is one that doesn't come with a freaking handbook.

Here I am 15 days into the new year without a single goal set. There are the usual ones that I've sworn myself to upholding every year: eat healthy, work out more often, regulate my sleep schedule, act like an adult, blah blah blah. They're my go-to goals because, let's be honest, I didn't reach them the year before.

sometimes life gets really stressful really fast, the kind of stressful that has you counting down the hours until you can crawl back into bed. I feel like every time I cross one thing off my to-do list, three more things take its place, and the "catch-up game" is way too real. but sometimes you meet someone like robert.

I've been having growing pains. Not the physical ones, but the ones that are forcing me to stretch  beyond my bubble of familiarity. They're of the emotional sort; pushing me to adapt and become  accustomed to a paradoxical norm. Those pesky pains inflict a hollow, emotional ache that floods my  chest as I longingly look back at still-beating memories. Change and growth are inevitable but I  haven't quite learned how to appreciate the moment. That short moment where everyone is all smiles,  devoid of concern and blissfully unaware of the fact that the happiness will fade. People grow up and  grow apart, and that close-knit fellowship will cease to exist. But in that moment it's alive. It's pulsing  with an energy unseen, an energy that infuses inside jokes, pillow talks, and wordless looks. It's an  energy that dismally dims with time. Oh, but how I miss it. halloween '13. rileigh behind the lens.