The Cotopaxi Questival

Wow. This weekend has been crazy including getting lost in Idaho, jumping into the Great Salt Lake fully clothed, camping, watching the sunrise, and seeing some pretty sweet environmental art! I'll be sure to write more about this later, but here is a sneak peek!!

Did You Know?

Did you know that I am only 4' 10 3/4"?

Did you know that my favorite color is yellow?

Did you know that I could eat cereal any time of the day and not get tired of it?

Did you know?

What an amazing question that is... One that inspires curiosity and allows you to learn. There's a running joke about Snapple lids and how no matter the flavor or whether it's good or bad at least you learn something with every bottle.

Did you know vultures can fly for 6 hours without flapping their wings?

Did you know a full moon is nine times brighter than a half moon?

Did you know you share your birthday with at least 9 million other people on the world?

Did you know?

I had this question asked to me earlier this week, and it kind of broke me a bit. It was something that made me feel pity and made me think about myself and the type of person I've become. Many people know the relationship my siblings and I have with my dad and that it's not a good one. On Sunday, my mom called me and was talking to me about a lot of things that are going on and how everyone is kind of dealing with them by not dealing with them.

I am naturally a peacemaker. I don't like arguments, and though I can get into them, many times I don't find reason to get angry. It takes a lot to make me mad and I like it better like that. I also trust people very willingly, not caring what others think I should do. That sometimes hurts me when people abuse that trust, but I would rather give someone the benefit of the doubt than immediately put them in a bubble of doubt. Lastly, I have learned how to forgive. I forgive even when others have not apologized. Some people say that makes me a bigger person, but honestly, sometimes saying that you are willing to forgive is the only way you can move on from a situation because the second party is not willing to apologize.

But back to my conversation with my mom. As she was talking about everything that's been going on, she asked me if I called my dad this past week. I told her that I had on Wednesday or Thursday and she was quiet for a minute on the phone. With tears in her voice, she said to me "I know that sometimes you guys don't think your dad cares at all, but he does. He just doesn't know how to show it. Do you want to know what your dad said to me this week?" I begrudgingly said yes and she said, "He was just quiet for a long time and he looked over at me and said 'Did you know Diana is the only one of our kids who calls me?'"

I started crying

I pity my dad, because he doesn't realize how much the things he has said and done affect us.

I pity the fact that my 5 siblings don't want to call because they don't want to forgive him, and they have just cause.

I pity the fact that many times, I call simply because I know that if I don't, I'll feel like I'm going to get in trouble.

I constantly say that everyone has the potential to become so much more, so much better than they are now, and that is myself included. It is so sad to think that of six, I am the only child that is willing to put aside my prejudices and make a two-minute phone call, yet right now maybe that's how things need to be. I have a firm belief that one day, things will be different. I don't know if that day will come on earth or after the great Millennium, but one day, things will be different, and I gladly welcome that day.

Did you know that although he has told me terrible things, I still find a way to love my dad?

Because I do

Diana Laura Peck

What is it Worth?

As the days go by, sometimes I wonder how I do it. How the heck do I work from 5pm to 1:30am every day? How the heck do I manage to always have enough for rent and food and school? How the heck am I taking like 17 credits every semester? How the heck do I somehow manage to have a social life (kind of)? How the heck am I still alive?

Yet none of those things really matter.

Yes, I want a good job. Yes, I want to have great friends to hang out with. Yes, I realize that the choices I am making now will help me to find a better future. However, those are not the things that I find important every day when I wake up.

I am a thinker. One of my strengths is actually intellection. This basically means that I enjoy thinking about things and I can never have nothing on my mind. It helps me think things through when I am making decisions and it keeps me busy at all times, because I always have time to think in my mind. This also means I have an unlimited amount of time to worry, and let me tell you, I worry.

I worry that I won't ever accomplish my career goals. I worry that I will not make enough time for friends. I worry that I will not be able to make it next month. I worry that one of these days, I'm going to crash and it's going to hit me like a million bricks all at once.

But none of those things worry me more than my family.

One person in my family in particular is my best friend in the whole wide world. You may know who I am talking about because I have written about them before. They worry constantly about life and about the things they hear...both out loud and inside their heads. Because when someone tells you that your hair looks weird today, you can brush that off and keep moving forward. But when someone tells you that they can't imagine anyone loving you, that tends to leave a mark. When someone tells you that you are worthless time and time again, that sticks. Because we are human, and we want to be accepted. When we are not accepted, we try harder and harder to change that. And sometimes, no matter how hard you try, some people will never accept you.

Hatred and anger have led people to do some terrible things. Hatred and anger have caused so much sadness and misery. Hatred and anger have caused years of worry.

"How old are you?" is a constant question in my world, to which I often respond "Guess."

What is the usual response? "Probably 22.." "I'm guessing 24." "When I first met you, I thought 25."

"I'm only 19."

Some people will never know the impact they have on others. Sometimes, they know and they don't want to admit that they could have caused a change in someone that defines how they grew up. Sometimes they know and will never accept that it's their fault. Because having to look someone in the eyes and apologize for the years of hatred and anger that aged someone to be older than they are... having to look someone in the eyes and apologize for the hurt inflicted over the countless days... is not worth it.

So let me ask you: What is it worth?

Because I would give every penny in my name to my family. I would fight to the ends of the earth for my family. I would give every last breath I have to my family. I would give every drop of blood in my body to my family. Because they matter more than the world and more than my own life to me.

My family is worth the fight.

"The hammer that breaks glass can also forge steel."

I am a woman of steel, and there is nothing that can tell me otherwise. Why?

 I am a daughter of Heavenly Father, who loves me. And I love him.
And every day, that's what makes everything worth it.

Diana Laura Peck

And the days fly by...

This week had been slow, but oh how the days fly by!

It has been such a good week that I felt the need to document it in this blog because as originally stated, this blog is about my life: all the good, all the bad, and everything in between. So let me tell you about my week.

#1:

Wednesday! I did two good things this day. First off, I went running! It's been a while, but I totally ran a little over two miles to Temple Square and back. I felt super good through the run and the weather was so nice that it just put me in a great mood. Once I had gotten home and showered, I started getting dressed and I went to the temple! When I got there, there were a bunch of youth groups there, so I thought I might only get to do confirmations before I had to leave to go to work, but I ended up staying to do baptisms and I was out of the temple by 4:35 pm. I was able to get to work, change into my uniform, and clock in on time! TEMPLE MAGIC!

#2:

This Thursday two great things happened. The first was that I got to hang out with my cute little nephew, Jace, for like 2 1/2 hours. He is seriously so precious and I love every minute I get with him. He was so teeny tiny when he was first born and he has gotten to cute little normal baby size at this point and he is just darling. I love him so much and honestly he is perfect.

Immediately after he and Nicole left, I started getting ready for something I've wanted to do forever.

WICKED!

This show was seriously everything I wanted it to be and more. It was intense, funny, and just plain awesome on so many levels. It amazes me to see the talent we have on this world and being able to witness it in a production like Wicked was phenomenal. The fact that I got to share this experience with my sister, Tatiana, was even more amazing. We tried going to see Les Miserables in March together, but our schedules just would not cooperate. Nevertheless, we found a way to watch this show together, and as I have already said countless times: it was awesome!

#3:

Now it is Friday and it means today I send out emails :) Always a very happy day. On top of that, I also am starting today at work as a Lead over the West Office Building. While our wonderful Jaclyn is on maternity leave, I'll take over the WOB for a month, then Nikki will take over for a month. Let's see the challenges that are brought to me through this change!

#4:

I have already spoken about this on my blog before, but once again, I am so happy! Ana gets here on SUNDAY! One more day until she will be living with me. OH MY GOSH. I just can't contain my excitement and I'm sure she will be happy here. I hope I can help her with anything she needs!

Diana Laura Peck

Single Digits

9 days.

Then 8 days.

One day after that it will be 7 days.

Then 6 and then 5.

Pretty soon it'll be 4.

Before you know it, 3.

2 days will be left.

Then it will be the big day.

We are single digits away from one of the most exciting days of 2014.

The day Ana moves to Utah.

I know I don't say this a lot, but I absolutely love my little sister. She is such a strong person and someone who I see growing up each and every day. For the last few weeks, I have been talking to everyone who gives me the time of day about the amazing fact that she will be not only moving to Utah in 9 days, but living with me in Utah in 9 days.

We are single digits away from one of the most exciting days of 2014.

Diana Laura Peck

Build Capability

Let me tell you a little bit about the Leadership Pattern.

There is this thing called the golden circle that looks sort of like this:

It basically is a theory saying that in order to inspire change you need to start with WHY rather than WHAT or HOW. Here is an example of a computer company (given by Simon Sinek)...

Many people know WHAT they do: "We make great computers"

Some people know HOW they do it: "We use the best operating systems and we make things easy to use"

But very few people know WHY they do it.

The common computer ad:

"We make great computers that have the best operating systems and are easy to use. Wanna buy one?"

Other companies, such as Apple work from the inside out, so their ad would sound more like this:

"Everything we do, we do to challenge the status quo. We do this by using the best possible operating systems and making our equipment easy to use. We just happen to make great computers... Wanna buy one?"

See the difference?

As I have worked for the Church as a Lead, I have begun to study the Leadership Pattern more and more and it looks like this:

WHY:

To lead like the Savior would, because he is our greatest example and we strive to be more like Him.

HOW:

By acting under the direction of the Spirit and aligning with the brethren, including the Prophet, First Presidency, Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, Presiding Bishopric, etc.

WHAT:

Define direction in all we do.

Counsel together at all times.

Build capability in ourselves and others.

Organize the work in a way that helps us to actually do it.

Accomplish the work that needs to be done.

Render an account to take responsibility for your work.

This pattern has helped to shape my semester and my outlook on a lot of things. I know this is already a long post but let me tell you a story... I have an employee who has extreme social anxiety. He has trouble being around people and hardly ever talks. When I got to the Conference Center, I more or less felt as though I could not approach him because every step you take toward him, he backs up four. So many people saw him and saw only that. They put him in jobs and positions that required the least of his abilities and he was tired of it. He asked me one day why he was never considered for full time employment when he had applied several times and I told him that I didn't know. At that moment though, I knew that I had to do everything in my power to help him get full time. I moved him to a different assignment so that he could learn different processes then I went ahead and put him in the next cart certification class. He was certified so I moved him to the Ride-On Vacuum assignment. When I did that, I spent the following week working side-by-side with him to fully train him on his assignment. He now does it within the required time and perfectly. His last evaluation score was a 96%. He continued to apply for full time and was still not getting anything. Finally, I did the last thing I could think of doing.

I do not put my name on the line very often, but for this employee, I would have given anything to see him succeed. I sent a recommendation to the person in charge of hiring that was about one and a half pages long. The next day, she emailed my supervisor and told her that he started full time the following day. I have never seen him more happy than when we gave him the news.

My supervisor spoke to me later about how I was the reason that he got that full time job, and honestly, I can say that I did have a huge part in it, but more than anything, he put himself in a position to become better. I see so much potential in so many people and they don't realize it because people judge themselves so harshly.

There is this saying about training fleas that talks about how if you put fleas in a jar with a lid and leave them for about five minutes, you can take the lid off and they will only jump as high as the lid was because they were accustomed to jumping only that high. They forgot their potential and capability. If you introduce a new flea into the jar that immediately jumps out, the other fleas will immediately jump out because they are reminded that they can jump higher than the lid. (credit to Josh Noble for telling me that one.)

I have a strong belief that we can do so much more than we think possible. Look at how far you have come already. Look at all the good you have done. Look at what you can possible do and go do it. Build your own capability because sometimes we don't have other fleas to remind us that we can do more. When they aren't there, try jumping out of the jar anyways; you never know what you might achieve.

Diana Laura Peck

Information from:

The Leadership Pattern

Start With Why-Simon Sinek

Alone vs. Lonely...

As I sit in bed at 2:38 AM, I realized that I needed to write something tonight. I'm not sure why, but this day, I've been doing a lot of thinking about life and what I'm doing, and this is my way of sharing today. Time passes slowly. The truth of this statement amazes me when I realize that time passes so quickly. Yet how are both true?

Time passes quickly when you are having a good time.

Yet those moments sometimes make you feel as though the world has stopped just for you.

Time passes quickly when you think about what day it is.

Yet every day feels as though it drags and the year has not moved forward.

Time passes quickly when you are happy.

Yet time is slower than molasses when you are upset.

Recently, I have been kind of in a weird mood and I had no idea why. I was not exactly sad, but not exactly happy. I would go to school, I would go to work, and that was basically life. Little sleep and lots of stuff to do. And I finally figured it out.

Alone is different than Lonely.

Alone. adjective. without anyone or anything else

Lonely. adjective. sad from being apart from other people.

I don't think I am ever alone. I have family, I have friends, and more importantly than anything else, I have my Heavenly Father who watches over me at all times. However, I have felt extremely lonely recently. Here in Salt Lake, I have very few friends and my school and work schedule does not give me much time to see them outside of class. On days that I don't have class, I sleep. When I am not sleeping, I do homework. And when I have a minute to spare, I can think of no one who I want to spend time with.

That last part however is not true. I know exactly who I would text if I could. I know exactly who I would call if they would pick up. I know exactly who I would love to spend a day with if they wanted to be in my company at all. But they don't. And I do not speak of one specific person, but of all of them. My friends. The people who I see in class and nowhere else. The people who I associate with at work and nowhere else.

And here I am at 2:57 AM, lonely.

I wish I knew how to fix it, and I wish I knew what to do, but for the second period of time this year, I feel a bit hopeless.

I am happy. I am doing the things I want to do. I am having great experiences and amazing opportunities.

Yet with no one to share them with, there's not too much of a point now is there?

Diana Laura Peck

Something New...

Well... It's been a while, but I have some new things in my life that I decided to share! It's crazy to think that January has already ended. What a month it's been. So today, I'd like to share the events that rocked my world a bit.

#1:

From September to December, there was a boy who I really liked. We were dating and I was extremely happy about everything going on in my life. On January 1st, it came to an abrupt end. Here's what I've got to say about this experience: it was great. In high school, I never dated anyone, and to be honest, it never bothered me. I got to college and still didn't expect to date anyone, especially because I still have a lot more schooling to do. Then, Allen happened. I didn't expect it and I never imagined that something as simple as having someone who truly cares so much about you could make me so happy. This last month was really hard for me because of the end of this relationship and mostly because it was my first one. It hurt and I was upset and I was holding on to any string that I could.

On Monday, he sent me a letter that I had asked for. It was a hard letter to read, but it was exactly what I needed. I needed closure, and that's what he gave me. From the moment that I accepted the things written in that letter, my outlook completely changed. I can see him now as a friend, and one of my best friends at that, and I'm so much happier with the knowledge that that may be all we ever will be.

#2:
One of the many things that Allen helped me to do was become more involved in the church. He answered my questions, helped me to start praying again, and encouraged me to read the Book of Mormon from cover to cover. This last month, I made it further than I have ever before read, and last week, I finished. This book has brought so much joy to my life and a much stronger testimony in the gospel of Jesus Christ. For that, I will always be grateful.

#3:
My older sister called me a few weeks ago with some bombshell news: she is serving a mission. I am beyond proud of her! This is something that "rocked my world" for two reasons. The first is the fact that she will be leaving for 1 1/2 years. WUT. The second is that this is something that I have been contemplating for many months now. Every time I feel prompted to serve a mission, I feel as though I get yet another sign. My biggest problem is that I don't know if I want to serve. It's scary to think about myself dropping everything for 18 months, and I know it's not really that long, but it's still scary.

It's been a crazy new year, and only two months have gone by, but think about it: two months have already gone by. I am excited and terrified to see what else this new year brings for me and my family. And always, I know there will be something new.

Diana Laura Peck

Time for Change

You know what it's time for?

A dramatic change in my life.

This week has been extremely difficult for me for several reasons, but one of the biggest reasons has been myself. I sometimes feel as though my mind has been invaded by a complete stranger and they decide to pull out every negative thought that may be hidden in the deep crevices of my brain. I have had trouble sleeping, I've been an emotional wreck, and I feel as though I've created more problems in my life than are necessary. Among the many things that have been occurring, I also suddenly realized how much I miss my family.

And you know what I realized today? I need to STOP STRESSING. It is consuming my life, and it's not healthy, so I propose for myself a change. A change in my attitude, a change in my life, and a change in my actions. My dad once told me that if you want to do something, you should write it down, because then you can go back and reference it. It's not just in your mind where it can be easily forgotten. So here goes:

A CHANGE IN ATTITUDE:

I want to be happy. All the time. I know that may not be feasible, but I want to go throughout the day looking for good and not focusing on the bad. Beginning today, I will go to sleep every night after writing down five good things I noticed throughout the day. If anything bad happened, I'll write it down and throw it away.

A CHANGE IN MY LIFE:

Sometimes, it's good to do something different. I've been saying this for a while but have postponed it several times now; however, I will now go through with it. Tomorrow, I'm going to look for a hair salon to donate my hair to Locks of Love. I know that this may seem illogical or random, but it's something I have really wanted to do, it's for a good cause, and it's the Christmas season. It's time for me to make a change in my life, and this is one that I want (and am ready) to make.

A CHANGE IN MY ACTIONS:

I wake up at 11 AM, eat breakfast, and more or less stay lazy until I have to go to work at 5 PM. That stops now. There are three things I want to change about my actions, and here they are:

1. I will begin waking up at a decent hour. Sleeping in is great every once in a while, but I'm crossing into borderline laziness. Tonight, I'll set my alarm and start my morning off with a good attitude.

2. I will exercise. Remember back in the day when I was on track and worked out 5 days a week? Or how about when I decided to start Insanity and worked myself 6 days a week to get into the best shape of my life? I need to start this again, so tomorrow will be Day 1 of exercising 6 days a week. I won't be working out on Sundays, but there is now reason for me not to exercise or go running throughout the week, especially while I'm on break from school.

3. I will go to the temple once a week. Whether I go alone or with friends, I'm making this a priority in my life. I have found that going to the temple brings peace into my life as well as immeasurable happiness. I was able to go last Friday as well as yesterday (Thursday), and I'll begin to do it every week.

I want to be happy, and in order to do so, it's time for change.

Diana Laura Peck

A Twist in the Plot Line

This week was crazy. No sleep, interesting phone calls, boatloads of homework, and the best friends. The week began with an intense essay writing session that went until around 3 in the morning, followed by a stressful trip to school where the printer only printed out the first two pages of my 5 page paper. Thank you college. The next day brought began with an amazing Christmas devotional from my school then a trip to the Salt Lake Temple to do baptisms for the dead with Allen. AMAZING. Another crazy essay writing experience occurred that night, but this time, I was working to combine four 3-5 page essays into one big essay for a group project. The stress was so real. That was turned in all fine and dandy on Wednesday morning, then I went along my day, but didn't go to sleep until around 2:30 AM. My alarm went off on Thursday morning at 6:30 for my 7:40 class and I seriously could not even function. I fell back asleep, missed class, and woke up at 11:30. Since I still had two hours before my next class of the day, I decided to get up, get dressed, and go Christmas gift shopping. I ended up getting a couple of things then going to my Book of Mormon class. That day went on pretty normally, then I went to sleep late and woke up at 7:00 on Friday morning for my various study groups.

Study Group #1: Group Essay. BFF Marcus and I will be meeting at 8:30 at the school to work out some problems in the essay. We worked on that until around 10 when...

Study Group #2: Calculus. I worked with Joseph for a while, trying to figure out Area Between Curves, then he left at 11:00 for class and TJ showed up, so I continued to work on that with him. I went back to...

Study Group #1 to finish up some more stuff then I headed off to Calculus for an hour.

After Calculus, Allen drove me over to the house I'll be renting next semester to check it out, then we went back home because Nancy needed some help taking stuff out of her storage unit. I called my parents to tell them about the house and also to ask my Dad if I could go on a date with Allen. (*GASP*) He said no haha. So, I went to work that night, then woke up bright and early on Saturday for (guess what?) more study groups.

This wonderfulness began with an 8:30 session at the Business College, BUT WAIT: the college doesn't open until 10 on Saturdays. RELOCATE TO STARBUCKS. Get there and Michael is the only one who is there (online) to help with the paper. At 10, Joseph gets there to study for our Calculus test on Monday, then BFF Marcus gets there to help with the paper at around 11. ALLEN CALLS MY DAD AND MY DAD SAYS YES. I ended up leaving Starbucks at around 1:00 to go home, clean around Nancy's, and get ready for a date :)

Had an enjoyable night and I bought two new dresses for $20, then Sunday came before I knew it. Went to sacrament meeting with Kelli, then we went to temple square to take pictures in the snow. After that, we ended up getting in the standby line for the 2013 Christmas Devotional and WE GOT IN. Made a quick trip over to the conference center and it was amazing. We then went to Kelli;s to make brownies and watch The Polar Express, then I went home to do a business assignment then write out my blog. Overall, it has been a hectic week, but I have been fortunate enough to find the blessings that God has given me each and every day.

The things of this week that I am MOST happy about are:

*Going to the temple*

*Telling my dad about Allen*

*Finding a place to live next semester*

*Taking pictures in Temple Square*

*Getting to attend the Christmas Devotional with Kelli*

I hope your week is as hectic and wonderful as mine was!

Keep a Smile

Diana Laura Peck

Another Week...Another Story.

I haven't posted in a while simply because I felt as though there was nothing to post about.

Well, was I wrong!

I was thinking this week about how there is ALWAYS something to say. You might not think it is important, but someone else might! You don't know how how what you say affects other people or prompts them to do something that they might otherwise not have done. Take this story for example:

This week as I was walking to school, I saw a woman walking toward me down the street and she was wearing a super cute shirt. I wanted to tell her what I thought about it, but she was a stranger and so I was ready to walk by without even a second glance. When I was about 5 steps away, I thought "I'm going to do this." So as I was approaching her I said, "I really like your shirt!" She stopped smiled and said, "Thank you so much! It's new and nobody has noticed it. And by the way, I've been looking at you since I got to that last corner and I just wanted to let you know that your outfit is so cute."

Totally made my day, and I brightened hers.

Here's another story for the week... My little sister has a blog called Life Through My Eyes (http://xoxothinkaboutit.blogspot.com) and I always go on there to see what she's written. This last post was about MISSING PEOPLE and how you miss different people in different ways. This is something that I've been thinking about a lot recently because I haven't seen my family for three months, and today I found out that I'm not going home for Christmas.

The next time I see my family will be in April.

This means it will have been a whole 9 months since I last saw them. Now don't get me wrong- I love college and don't wish to be anywhere else, but there is a type of missing that is specially reserved for family and it leaves this sort of emptiness in you that you never realize could be quite as strong as it is.

Seeing my little sister's post about missing made me think about her, and she is seriously someone who never fails to make my day. I told her that I started playing the piano again and she started crying when I began playing her favorite song. I miss her more than anything , and I hope she's ok with waiting a little longer to see me and that she knows that I wish I could see her sooner.

So the gist of this was as I said at the beginning: You never know when you're gonna say something that could change someone's day. If you're wondering whether or not to say something, JUST DO IT. If you're afraid of being embarrassed, DO IT ANYWAY. If someone is going to laugh at you, WHO CARES? It's a lot better to speak your mind than keep it bottle up inside.

So, with that being said, I want to say something:

Thank you.
I wouldn't be who I am if I hadn't met you.

Diana Laura Peck

Another Week of Living...

What a week it has been. I feel as though I've been nothing but busy. Class and homework and work until 9 then more homework and all the while enjoying my college experience. I didn't say this in my last post, but something I've been saying a lot recently is

"I recommend college to everyone. It's great!"

 So, that will probably be seen multiple times through the course of my blog. Get ready for it!

I've been doing a lot better with my Book of Mormon reading this week, and it is starting to become easier for me to simply pick it up and start reading. Today in Sunday School, we learned about being self reliant in

1) Spiritual Things

2) Temporal Things

3) Finances

and how they are mutually inclusive things. With my new job at the West Office Building, I'm working on figuring out my finances, which I will use to fulfill my temporal needs; however, without my spiritual needs being fulfilled, it is harder to effectively balance #2 and #3. It was a great lesson, and I feel that now that I'm reading the BOM for the first time all the way through, I am building my self reliance in spiritual things. I will be more able to rely on my own personal testimony and concentrate on my relationship with my Heavenly Father.

I also watched the Saratov Approach this weekend, and MAN, was that a testimony builder. I recommend it to everyone. It was greatly put together, and one of the most touching and mentally trying experiences that I could imagine.

So what have I learned in this week of living?

*I must build a self reliance in all aspects of my life*

*Sometimes, going to sleep early is more beneficial than staying up to talk to friends*

*Whenever possible, finish homework before Saturday*

*Go through your contacts, find someone who you respect, and send them an email*

*Smile. You never know when someone else is looking at you, and it might make their day*

*Take the time to just enjoy a day of absolute laziness- it does wonders for the heart and mind*

...Keep a Smile...

Diana Laura Peck

My Story...

"My story, like many other stories, starts way, way back." So how did my story start? In real life, it started in Ciudad Obregon, Sonora, Mexico, on May 2, 1995; however, that's not where this story starts. I could say it started when I was 5 and I moved to the United States, but that's a different story. I'm talking about the story that tells people what I'm doing with my life, and when I decided that my life began. I can't tell you a specific date and time of when that happened, but I can definitely say that it was a conscious choice to start living. I once told my basketball coach, 

"To live is one of life's rarest events. Most people just exist."

(Oliver Wilde)

So I've decided to live, not simply exist, in the world that I currently reside in.

Over the last couple of weeks, I've learned a lot about myself and other people. I've found out things that scare me, things I enjoy, things that confuse me, and things I dislike. College is crazy to say the least- it really is an experience that everyone should consider. Late nights, random philosophical homework assignments, amazing writing prompts, strange work hours, and the best people. I can honestly say that life begins...now.

Diana Laura Peck