Who am I?

A few years ago I wrote a blog post entitled, "Who am I and who do I want to become?" Today during church my bishop asked us who we were. These lessons always get me thinking. I always get caught up in the little day to day things that I forget who I am. I need those reminders every once in awhile to get me back on track. So, here we go.

WHO AM I? 
- I am Emily May Atkinson.
- I am a Daughter, a sister, an aunt, and a friend.
- I am a 5th grade teacher at Cedar Valley Elementary.
- I am in love with sports of all kinds.
- I am a world traveler.
- I am a reader.
- I am a Harry Potter and LotR nerd.
- I am shy, but working on being outgoing.
- I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
- I am a Daughter of my Heavenly Father.
- I AM ENOUGH!

I could probably keep going, but I'm not going too.

This year has been great so far. I have had my fair share of disappointments, but I am trying to always have a positive, outgoing, outlook on life. I am loving teaching my adorable 5th graders. I know I was put in that school and in that class for a reason. They have probably taught me more than I have taught them. I seriously love going to work everyday, even though I am up at the crack of dawn and am at school late. I have no life, but that doesn't bother me. Everything that I do right now is for my kids.

I love my new ward this year. I went in with the mindset to get to know everyone that I could. I have made some wonderful friends that have helped me so much. So far this year has been great. I am working on becoming the exact person that I want to become. It is hard and I falter all the time, but I always try to get back on track. I will get their eventually.

I can't believe that life is moving so quickly. In April I will be graduating and in May I will be completing my first year of teaching. I used to be afraid of growing up and becoming an adult. I'll let you in on a little secret, it isn't as scary as I thought it would be. Yes, there is that uncertainty of the future. Will I find a job next year? Am I ever going to get married? Where am I going to live? I try not to dwell on questions like that all the time. It makes things seem overwhelming. Right now I am just taking life one step at a time. THERE IS JOY IN THE JOURNEY! EMBRACE EVERY LITTLE THING THAT COMES YOUR WAY!

"Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, and be constant in prayer!"

The other day our little town of Lyman Wyoming was hit with some sad news. One of our friends from the valley was in a terrible car accident outside of Laramie Wyoming. I don't want to get into details about the whole thing but you can read about it here. http://www.laramieboomerang.com/articles/2012/07/25/news/doc500f807284c21096399919.txt
Sad huh!

Christy has been my friend for a very long time! She played french horn with me from the time I was in seventh grade (she was in sixth) until I graduated! I sat by her for many years laughing, joking, and having a good time. We were in choir together in middle school and were in plays together in middle and high school. We were both also part of Destination Imagination in middle school (she was on my team). Christy and I even had the same group of friends. Needless to say we were together a lot! She always knew just how to make me laugh and was always there to listen.

Christy is an amazing girl! She was always so positive! I look up to her a great deal! I hate to hear that she is laying in a hospital fighting for her life! It has been touch and go since the accident. She has her good days and her bad. Christy is a fighter! She is one of the strongest girls I know!

I am so lucky that Christy is my friend! Once I graduated we didn't talk as much, but we loved talking and catching up when we could!

For now all I can do is hope and pray that Christy will continue to progress.

I ask anyone who reads this to pray for Christy as well. Pray for the miracle that is needed!

Christy we love you and are all praying for you! Thank you for being such an amazing example to me and to everyone else! You are seriously one of a kind!

"Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about dancing in the rain."
You've got this girl!

Me and Christy! 

The original french horn section! 

Christy, Emily, and Jordan! 

The French Horn Section! Christy, me, Jordan, and Emily! 

This is an auction for her and her family to help with medical bills! It starts on Wednesday of this week and goes until Sunday. You just comment a dollar amount!
Benefit Auction for Christy Ott!

21 things that happened while being 21 years old!

On July 3rd I turned 22. Unfortunately I had to work that day, but my wonderful friends at work threw me a birthday party! It was a lot of fun! When I got home I got "surprised" by my niece, nephew, and dad (It actually wasn't a surprise, Zoe told me the night before that she was going to do that). That night we had a family party and had cake and ice cream and of course presents. It was a wonderful day! 

I thought since it is fairly close to my birthday that I write about 21 things that happened while I was 21. It was a great year! 

1. I finished my second summer at FMC and started my third! 

2. I headed back to Provo to finish my last semester on BYU campus (I still had 2 more semesters after that fall but not on campus). 

3. I won tickets to the BYU vs Utah football game! 

4. My roommate Trisha (Tausha) got married and we threw her a bachelorette party! 

5. Some great friends came home of their mission and we spent quite a bit of time together! 

6. I got hired as a facilitator for my study abroad group. Lots of time spent doing VISAS and other things to get us ready for our semester abroad! 

7. I got to work with a great teacher and friend for the semester in her 1st grade class! 

8. I finally finished my TESOL minor. 

9. It was announced that Star Valley Wyoming was getting a temple! WAHOO!!!!!

10. I had my heart broken big time. 

11. I ran a 5k and decided that I actually liked to run! 

12. I spent hours upon hours in the library, studying and mostly talking to some amazing friends! 

13. My mom got really sick and I spent many hours in the hospital with her. 

14. I went to New Zealand on a study abroad! 

15. I rode on the World's Largest Swing and jumped off the Auckland Sky Tower! 

16. I went to Australia for 4 days! 

17. I got to hang out with some old friends before they left BYU for a new adventure! 

18. I hung out with my best friend and roommate for the next year Marjorie (I missed her while I was in New Zealand!) 

19. My mom finally came home from the hospital after six very long months! 

20. I cut my hair super short! 

21. I got rejected three times for an Elementary Ed internship position and then was finally offered one! I am teaching 5th grade starting in 2 weeks! =) 

All in all being 21 wasn't too bad! I had some ups and some downs, but I wouldn't change it for the world! I definitely learned a lot about myself! 

Here is to an even better year being 22! 

My life as of late.

So life has been crazy and busy. I find that I don't really have time to do most of the things that I want to do! I am working full time as a janitor out at the mine. For the last two summers I worked in the office building cleaning, but recently they decided to move me out to the plant. I now clean in the "outback" as we call it. These are the places I clean; distribution (where the semi-trucks get loaded), bicarb, mono north, mono south, and mono power. I have to walk up over 180 stairs in the process and clean, 3 shower rooms, 9 bathrooms, and a bunch of offices. It isn't that bad. Next week I think my boss is moving me to another area, but who knows.

As many of you know, I applied for an internship to teach Elementary Education. At first I was told that I was not selected. I then interviewed again, still not accepted. Yet another interview, nope still not accepted. At the end of May they called me for another interview and guess what! I WAS ACCEPTED THIS TIME! I am the new 5th grade intern at Cedar Valley Elementary. Now I'm sure you are wondering where this is. It is out in the middle of no where. It is a little farming community on the other side of Eagle Mountain, about a 40 minute drive from Provo where I will be living. I think the only reason they gave me this job was because I grew up on a farm and can relate to these kids. I am really excited but really nervous at the same time.

Other than work I have spent quite a bit of time in Utah. I have gone to see some friends, gone to some weddings, to my nieces dance recital, and many other things! It has been fun but I have put a lot of miles on my poor car. In the last three days alone I have put over 600 miles on it! Yikes!

One of my friends just graduated from the Air Force Academy and has been back in Lyman for the last week! It has been nice to hang out with him and catch up before he heads out on the next adventure, Texas for pilot training! We have gone out to dinner, went to the movie, got ice cream, and hung out with a bunch of people we graduated with at a BBQ. He kept me sane this week (it was a very stressful week in my world.)!

So basically I have been running around like crazy. I work and then I come home and cook and clean! Not that exciting, but it surely keeps me busy!

Here are some pictures of what has been going on!

me and my Zoe! 

We love making silly faces! 

Doesn't Wyoming have Beautiful sunsets! 

This is on the road by my new School, Cedar Valley Elementary! It looks just like Wyoming! 

I love me some Play-doh Ice Cream! 

Another Beautiful Wyoming Sunset! 

Me and the beautiful Kenzie! 

Me and David! I'm slightly bummed that the only picture I have of us was from 4 years ago!
P.S. Why did anyone let me dye my hair brown! Bad Idea!
P.P.S. We look soo young! We need a new pic of us! 

Today is also Fathers Day! I love my Daddy so much! He is amazing and has done so much for me and my mom! We bought him a couple of shirts and I made dinner (well I always make dinner) but I actually MADE dinner! We had pork chops, corn, and mashed potatoes and gravy.

Dinner! Doesn't look half bad! 

P.S. I made that dinner all while looking fine in this outfit! haha! (I just really like this outfit,
so much that I would take a cheesy mirror picture just to show you!)

Me and my Daddy! This is a terrible picture of both of us, but that's alright! I love you DADDY! 

Sydney, Australia

April 8, 2012 

Happy Easter! Today consisted of more packing, fun for me! After I got my suit case packed yet again we headed to the airport and took off for Sydney. This was the best plane ride yet! I had the entire middle row to myself. I spread out across the entire thing and relaxed. Why can’t all plane rides be like this. 

After we landed, we got a cab and headed to our hotel. Can you say Ghetto! It was super sketchy. We went down to the McDonalds next door, used the wifi, got some dinner and headed to bed! We were super exhausted. 

April 9, 2012 

My favorite day by far in Australia. Today we woke up and headed to the Featherdale Wildlife Refuge. It is like a zoo, but a lot of the animals are just wandering around. I was super excited because I wanted to see a kangaroo really bad and guess what! I not only got to see one but I also got to pet it and feed it. I also got to pet a wombat and a koala bear. They are all sooo cute. 

Wombat! 

After the zoo we got on the train and headed into the city. There were a few things that were on my bucket list that I wanted to do here, and guess what. I did them all. It was amazing how beautiful the Sydney harbour bridge and the opera house were. I remember seeing them in the olympics and thinking how amazing they were. Let me tell you, they are even cooler up close. We walked around, ate at a very delicious restaurant and then headed to the opera house to take a tour. 

It was so beautiful inside! I couldn’t believe it! After the tour the lady said, there is a concert tonight and I have tickets for $25 for anyone that would like them! Of course we did! So what did I do that last night (for me at least) in Australia! I went to a Tony Bennett concert in the Sydney Opera House! AHH!HH!!!

What a great end to such an unbelievable trip! 

Cairns Australia!

April 6, 2012 

Today I got to the airport super early. Unfortunately, my carry-on was over weight and they got mad and I ended up having to check one. I was super annoyed but I had an idea that I was going to have to do that. Oh well! 

When we landed in Australia we automatically felt the heat and the humidity. Very different than New Zealand. We all loaded up into a taxi and went to our hotel. It is right on the ocean! How great is that. After checking in getting situated and taking a brief power nap, we headed outside to go to the beach. Unfortunately the beach across the street is off limits! LAME! We decided to sit by the pool instead. The weather was so nice and wonderful! I loved falling asleep out there! 

Tonight we went and got dinner in town. I got this wedges with bacon and cheese over the top. They were AMAZING! Then we went and looked around at this night market. It is really neat. I realized as we were walking that because I had to check my carry-on that I would get another carry-on so of course I am going to buy some more souvenirs. Not a lot but just a few! I have to have something from Australia right! 

April 7, 2012 

Today we went snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef! It was the most amazing thing I have ever seen! I loved it! I saw so many beautiful fish, coral, turtles, and a bunch of other things. It was so great! I didn’t go to far out into the ocean because my mask kept filling up with water and I would panic because there wasn’t a sandy spot to stop and get it out. 

After I swam for awhile I went and laid on the beach. It was so warm and wonderful. I really am going to miss the beach a lot! I wish there was one in Wyoming. After enjoying the sand, I walked back to the boat and had lunch. It was a really lame lunch, but that’s okay I guess. Then we got on this glass bottom boat for a tour of the Reef. While we were on it we saw a shark! That’s right a shark! One of the girls saw one when she was swimming. How scary would that be. I can’t even imagine. I would panic and definitely swim away and not go back in the water! 

I am so glad that I had the opportunity to do that. It was so amazing! This was definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity. 

Tonight we went back to the night market. I bought a few souvenirs. They are cool. I am now done. I can’t buy anything else, unless I find something for my mom. We will see though. Hopefully, my carry-on works this time and I don’t get in trouble, cause if I do then I’m doomed! Doomed I tell you! 

This whole entire trip has been so surreal. I can’t even describe how lucky I am to have done all these wonderful things. I am the luckiest girl ever! 

I’m excited to see how the next few months of my life plays out. I was not given an internship, which is lame, but I am okay with it. There is just something else in store for me. Who knows, maybe it is bigger and better than teaching. Who knows what I will be doing. I am so excited for the next adventures.