Dear Roommates,

This was turned in as a Reflection Essay for my English 2010 class instructed by Liz Leavitt.

Dear Roommates,

            We came into this year not knowing each other at all. Eight strangers that were thrown together by random assortment. Now after nine months of cleaning checks, failed roommate agreement meetings, countless adventures, millions of memories made, laughs to last a life time, fort Fridays, music videos, long drives and of course cleaning the sink at Angie’s, freshman year has come to an end. We are no long strangers, but sisters. We have conquered fears of the unknown, the smells in the hall and disagreements. C101 became our home and now as we pack up to leave we will take the things we have learned with us, the many notes we all exchanged and of course, if it can fit in the car, everything we came here with.

             Coming to USU, I never thought I would grow as much as I have and I don’t mean the freshman fifteen. Even though that may be a factor. I mean academically, spiritually, and socially. I am going to be honest; I would not have made it through the boring lectures of Creative Arts without Cass Kay Gummersall to scroll through Pinterest with. Political Science would have been the death of me if I didn’t have Audge to coach me through my quizzes, telling me I could do it. Getting up for Balancing Work and Family was always a struggle, but waking up and getting ready with Kate made it worth it. Passing the IClicker with Holly made me excited to go to Family Finance. Yoga wasn’t very relaxing with Kate, but it was entertaining. Cass suffered through my ten page pages for English 2010 to make sure I made sense. Biology for an hour and fifteen minutes flew by with Hailey by my side. Each one of you pushed me to be my best. Your examples have made all the difference this year.

            Who would have thought that we would all become such fast friends? I am thankful that we had ten people come in and out of our dorm, and that I can say I have ten new lifelong friends. It is going to be weird sleeping in a room by myself. Not having to wait for the shower. Not having my friends down the hall but being 738 miles away. We talked about how we were five very different people, how we probably wouldn’t have been friends in high school. Boy, am I glad we met in college, because I would have missed out on some of the most genuine, FUNNY, thoughtful, spontaneous, smart, loyal, and crazy people I have ever met. I would not change this year for the world. I would not trade you guys for anything. Not even free tickets to Disneyland or the chance to be a mermaid.

           Though we are all going our separate ways this next year, this is not a goodbye, but a see you later. Once we all return from Dental school or hair school, Ecuador, Carlsbad, Argentina, the U, and wherever Kate gets called, I have no doubt in my mind we will find each other. It has been a crazy ride, but I would not have wanted to ride it with anyone else. I can honestly say I have never laughed so hard, cried so hard, been driven so crazy, eaten so much pizza and cereal, hated a place as much as I hate the marketplace, answered so many questions or had more fun in my life than I did with you guys this year. I have become a different person, a better person because I knew you guys.

          Freshman year has come to a close, I have learned so much about myself and so little from the classroom. I have learned how to better communicate with people, to be myself, live in the present, take nothing for granted, to stay up late because those are the nights you remember NOT the nights you went to bed on time, that there are so many good people in this world, that I have found my people, that life is hard but I can do hard things. I have learned that the best of friends will be there for you no matter what. I have learned that the Sassters of C101 are the coolest people on campus. As we venture out of Logan and change our hashtag from #sassterstakeUSU to #sassterstaketheWORLD, I just want to thank you all for the impact you have made on my life. I love you guys.

Peace & Blessing,

Tay/ Tayliar/ TattleTay/ Silly Spice/ Tay the Bae

Taylor Alexis Peck 

"How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard. " [Winnie the Pooh]

mission on my mind.

Folks, the day has arrived. This Tuesday my papers were submitted. All I can talk/think/dream/ about is my mission. I have finally grown a foot or two. A mission is something I have been preparing for since I can remember, I have always wanted to go. There was never really a question in my mind if I would or wouldn't go.

On October 14, 2014 was when it officially sank in and I went to my Heavenly Father in prayer to know if the decision I had already planned on making was right. I didn't receive an answer the way I thought I would. Which made me realize, I already had my answer. Reading in D&C section 4 reassured me that my desire was righteous. I still thought about my education and the career I wanted. I just didn't know if I could serve a mission and still have a successful education that had been promised to me in blessings. As I prayed and read and talked this out with roommates, a thought popped into my head; how could going on a mission be a bad thing? how could serving the Lord for 18 months and bringing His children to the gospel be a wrong decision? I thought about Dallin H. Oaks conference talk, "Good, Better, Best." I felt a mission could fall under all three. For me, the answer was clear. I knew what I was suppose to do, Heavenly Father was waiting for me to put in the effort to figure it out on my own.

The feeling I got after I wrote down in my journal that I was going on my mission was so peaceful. It was like the feeling you get after you know you are suppose to bare your testimony, so you do and you just feel so happy and your stomach isn't tossing and turning anymore. After my decision was clear everything started to fall into place.

I met with my Bishop on the 9th of December to start my medical papers. He said "I don't see why we cannot open them all right now? If you want..." YES. Over winter break I got my physical and my wisdom teeth out. I returned to Logan and got a TB test, guess what? I'm TB free. Hooray! I got all my medical papers to my Bishop and had my interview with him on the 1st of February. I scheduled my Stake President interview for the 10th.

On Friday, the 13th my call got assigned. It could be at my house any day now... Of I have to wait until the 7th of March to open. I am so excited to serve and have never been more sure about anything in my life. Be looking out for where this future Sister will be serving within the next 19 days. I love this gospel and cannot wait to teach & preach like missionaries do.

holla @ the dj for mini miracles.

This week has definitely been one for the books. Like my journal book. And I'm guessing if you are reading this you care about my life, so here is an update:

I will just let you in on a few "mini miracles" I experienced throughout this week. Cass and I decided to become videographers. We drove up the canyon and recorded everything we did. I realized how thankful I was for good friends this fine day. Friends who I could just blast music, get stuck in the snow, talk to cows and laugh with. The first mini miracle this week is friends. I know my Heavenly Father is aware of me because of the people He has placed into my life.

If you would like to view our MLK festivities here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwKEMSSZcTw

 The second mini miracle this week would be the blessings of the temple. I had the opportunity to take family names to the temple. I love being able to sit and feel of the special spirit that resides there. The temple workers are all so sweet. Being able to escape the world for a little with a close friend was just what I needed. 

Mini Miracle three, I got a TB test. You will all be happy to know I am TB free. woo! This was the last thing I needed in order to submit my mission papers to the bishop. I have scheduled to meet with the bishop on the 1st & the stake president on the 10th. I have never been more excited for something in my whole life. I cannot wait to dedicate 18 months to serving the Lord. I stay up late watching random people open their mission calls. I read my scriptures like it is a plate of my dad's food and I haven't eaten in a week. My hour and a half mission prep class doesn't seem long enough. I can already feel love for the people I am going to serve and I have no idea where that even is yet. The word missionary makes me smile ear to ear. I love this gospel and I want everyone to know what I know. To know why I am so happy. To know that they can be with their families forever. To know that their prayers are answered, that they are children of a loving Heavenly Father. Miracle three is that my online papers are submitted. YAY. 

Miracle four, I got a new roommate! Her name is Hailey and she is seriously awesome. She fit right into our C1O1 family. She came at the right time, we actually had plans this weekend. We had a blast at dinner with Cassidy's dad and playing catch in the hotel pool. The fourth miracle is new friendships. I am happy to say I have a new friend & we all love her.

Miracle number five happened today. In sacrament we were taught about family history and temple work. Sunday school, I went to gospel principles, Cass taught the lesson, it was only our roommates in the class and we had a wonderful bonding experience over the creation. I realized again how blessed I am in the friends department. Relief Society was great as always, we actually talked about mini miracles we noticed throughout our week, which inspired this blog. We also talked about developing our spirituality and recognizing the spirit in our lives. We had the wonderful opportunity to attend a devotional by an apostle of Jesus Christ, Quetin L. Cook, who came to speak to the young single adults of USU. His talk was on choosing the path of righteousness. My favorite part of the devotional was the hymn we sang as a congregation, The spirit was so powerful. I love the feeling I get among so many members of the church. The fifth miracle is Sundays.
These are just a few of the tender mercies or mini miracles I experienced this week. I am way happy and loving second semester even more than the first. I have 5 of the best friends anyone could ever hope to have. I am preparing to serve a mission. I am not dating because boys are gross and I am thinking of changing my major to biology. Well this has been an update by Taylor Alexis Peck. I love you all & hope all is well. Take time this next week to notice the mini miracles in your own lives. You'll be surprised at how many amazing things happened during your week.

There is Joy in the Journey to Perfection.

It has only been a week of this new semester and I have already learned so much. Some of you may not know this but I have decided to serve an LDS mission. This decision has already started to change my life. I have been striving to better myself in regards to scripture study, and let me tell you it has made all the difference so far. I am so happy. Little things that use to bother me are no longer an issue. I have more time to do the things I need to and feel more love for those around me.

This week I have experienced many different instances where I could have let myself get down or upset or revert back to my old ways of holding grudges, but I didn't. I didn't let some dumb boy decide how I was going to feel about myself. I let go of past feelings of jealousy and let an old friend back into my life. These may seem like small decisions, but for me they are huge. 

Moving now in life is essential. Everyone is here to grow. Part of growing is forgiving and forgetting. I always told myself that I could forgive but I didn't have to forget. I would hold on to things that people may have done to hurt me in the past and let that influence the way I thought about them. I know realize, that is not very forgiving. As I have been studying the scriptures more I have come to realize how much energy I have wasted holding grudges and constantly comparing myself to the success of others. Last night in a devotional giving by Brother Randall Ridd, the second counselor in the general young men's presidency, he talked about living with a purpose and with real intent. In the scripture Matthew 5:48 it reads "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." It says to be perfect, but in the footnotes, this kind of perfect means to be complete, finished, or fully developed. I know I am not perfect, but I am taking what life hands me and using those experiences to become whole and to reach my full potential in this life. I am with Tolstoy when he says "There is joy in the journey to perfection." I am all about finding that joy, in fact I have already found pieces of it in my roommates. my mission prep class. texts from my sisters or late night thought texts from a close friend. the scriptures. sacrament meeting. devotionals. snapchat wars. less than live Bachelor nights. coloring books. warm blankets. rain. prayer. little Cesar's pizza. one direction's new CD. giant snowflakes. the institute building. calls from my mom & dad.
I know that through daily scripture study I can continue to find that joy in my life. I cannot wait to serve the Lord for 18 months and be able to dedicate that time to teaching others about the love of God and His amazing gospel. Just something to remember as you go throughout this week:

“Desires dictate our priorities, priorities shape our choices, and choices determine our actions.” -Dallin H. Oaks

new year, new me.

It is now 2O15. Wow. I am happy to report that the year ended better than it started. At the beginning of this year I was still in high school, longing for Hermana Peck to be home, and counting down the days to graduation. This year ended with the Peck clan all back together, five new life long friends, and me living on my own in Utah. The changes have been hard but oh so needed. For like the fifth time I said goodbye to my family (update: it has not gotten easier). But I know that in order for me to grow it is necessary to be away from them. With a new year comes so much relief and hope. It is a clean slate, a fresh start. Goals are set and adjustments are made.It's a new year & therefore a new me.

I have realized that with this new year comes the biggest changes and decisions of my life this far. I have decided to serve a mission for the LDS church for 18 months. I have always longed to serve a mission but now that it is so close, the feelings are setting in. I am more excited then I have ever been but at the same time, scared. This year I will also finish my first year of college and turn 19.

I have no doubt that this year will be one for the books. I can already feel it. I have some of the greatest friends I have ever come across in my 18 years of life and I am finally becoming who I have always wanted to be. Change is no longer a scary and bad thing. It is inspiring. I love meeting new people and trying new things. And 2O15 will be filled with new experiences. Of course with the start of the new year, I have made some resolutions. I know, only 8% of people actually accomplish their "new years resolutions" and this year I plan to be apart of that 8%.

Life is meant to be enjoyed, not just endured. This is my moto for 2k15. I want to enjoy every second of this year, live life to the fullest. I want the people in my life to know how much they mean to me. I want to get out and try everything. I want to be spontaneous & outgoing. I want to be myself.

I have high hopes for this new year. Lots of goals to be completed and people to meet. So, I better get off the computer, get ready for the day, delete Netflix and trivia crack, and start talking to everyone I meet. Happy New Year, everyone! I hope it is filled with love & laughter. lots & lots of laughter. Let 2O15 begin. (I know it started 5 days ago, but hey, I was on break :P)

(this is how pumped I am for the new year! #2K15)