In the words of Rafiki: "It is time."

My Top Five Signs/Reasons that it's time to grow up:
(Top Five idea stolen from the lovely Saya)

Yes, I believe in signs. Get over it.

Sign/Reason #1: My phone. I killed him. This seems like a stupid thing to put on a list of reasons to grow up, but it really fits on here for me. I've had the same phone for always. His name is Hubert. He's survived two years of Sara and three years (gasp!) of me. No other phone could have done as much. The phone has come to represent my reluctance toward change. I hate change. I know it can be good, but it just kills me. When I have a good thing going, I hate messing it up. But now, with a new phone (that may or may not look exactly like Hubert, anyway) and a fresh outlook, I'm ready to leave. To change. To move on.

Sign/Reason #2: I now sport a much, much shorter and infinitely easier-to-do haircut. It's another thing to do with change. As much as I hate having long hair, the idea of cutting it all off still kind of scares me. But I did it! I survived. And now I am going to be able to spend loads less money on shampoo, and way less time actually doing my hair. This will keep on the better side of my roommates, I think.

Sign/Reason #3: The list of my future roommates arrived this week. I am excited (and terrified) to meet them. There are seven other girls that will be living in my apartment. Seem like a lot? Yeah. But don't worry, there's a bigger chance of finding one I actually like with so many. I have all of their email addresses. I haven't used any of them yet. Would that be weird? Emailing them all out of the blue? They were all smart and have professional sounding email addresses for college. I was not so smart. Wonder what they think of me based on that? Not worth worrying about, I guess. But I am curious. :-)

Sign/Reason #4: Through various forms of good fortune (but mostly my wonderful sister), I now own a large (green!) mixing bowl, a bunch of (green!) plastic dishes, an air-pop-popcorn machine (yay!), a toaster oven, and a super shnazzy crockpot. These things, coupled with the fridge and microwave in my apartment/dorm-hybrid, will make it so I can feed myself! Hooray! Well, partially feed myself. Technically I have a meal plan. That should feed me most of the time. I hope.

Sign/Reason #5: Today (in the middle of writing this, actually), the two most influential women in my life outside of my family stopped by. They brought a gift! A beautiful framed picture of the Logan temple that says "As long as you can see the temple, you are never lost". Along with the amazing picture, they each gave a letter. Oh, boy. If they think I'm ready, then I must be ready. Their faith in me really does make all of the difference. They support my decision, and they've told me that they know I can succeed. If for no other reason, their love and support could motivate me to grow up and accomplish something. Through these wonderful ladies today, the Lord answered my prayer. I've been struggling to know if Utah State really is the right place for me. They carried the answer in the form of a picture. As they gave it to me they said "This is your new temple." I'm going to know that temple well. The Lord's looking out for me. I can do this.

Not only am I ready for this next step in my life, but I'm excited. And terrified. And anxious. And ecstatic. And petrified. But ready.