Thursday, January 7, 2010

Letter to future husband

Dear Mr. Invisible,
I'm pretty sure I haven't met you yet. If I have, I'd be pretty surprised, unless we've just met in passing. My life without you is a pretty happy one. While I'd appreciate you by my side through all the adversities that come my way in this mortal life, I do feel that my goals and actions right now are worthwhile and pleasing to our Heavenly Father which helps me have hope and faith in the future.

Before you came into my life, I had aspirations of becoming some sort of professional writer. I'm sure that I will still make writing a constant hobby while married to you, but right now I hope to make it much more than a hobby. I want to inspire, help, inform and or entertain a vast amount of people with my writing. Whether it is through a novel, a newspaper or magazine article, or a song I hope to reach many through the written word.

I will soon graduate from BYU-Idaho with a BS in Communication. I plan on attending Grad School to further my education and help me achieve my goals.
I love college life and the chance to continually re-invent myself. Many of my friends have found their eternal companions which has forced me to continually gain new friendships.

I was blessed to serve a full time mission in the Mississippi Jackson Mission. This experience blessed my life more than any other, and I hope I instill the the things I gained on my mission in my future rolls as a wife and mother.

I love life. I love expression. I love verbal and written communication. I try my hardest to understand all points of view. I don't always succeed at this, but I do try. I love to laugh and to make others laugh. I love it when people trust me enough to share their feelings, fears, hopes and dreams with me. I also like to cry. I feel like it releases unwanted and unneeded negative energy.

I hope I can remain the person I am today while married to you, except continually learning, growing, and becoming better as we strive to reach our Heavenly Father together.

Love,
Your future wife.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Introduction

These first introductions always send me on an interesting journey. To try and sum up my life, personality and interests in a quick introduction has always been difficult. It's kind of like packing at the end of an 18 month or 2 year mission. How do you pack up memorabilia and souvenirs of 18 months worth of service, testimony, love, and friendship in one suitcase and a carry on? It's basically impossible. But, I suppose I'll give the best possible first introduction I can muster.


I came into the world on December 26, 1984. Because of this birth date, my mom wanted to name me Noel. My dad, on the other hand, did not appreciate the name Noel as much as my mother did, so they struck a compromise by naming me Crystal Noel in hopes that the name Crystal sounded Christmassy, especially when coupled with Noel. I enjoy my name and think it works.

I come from a blended family. What does "blended" mean? I've often wondered why this word is used, because in reality, all families are blended. Each spirit who comes to earth is a unique individual, and then blends themselves with other spirits resulting in a family unit. My family background, however, fits the definition of blended family one can find on google definitions. "A blended (or complex) family denotes a step family in which both new mates have one or more living kids from prior partners."

A few months before I turned 7 years old, my dad began experiencing painful migraines and double vision later resulting in a grand mal seizure. The doctors then diagnosed my dad with a malignant brain tumor and gave him two years to live. My dad passed away a couple months before my 9th birthday, leaving my mom to raise my 2-year-old brother, my 6-year-old sister, and me by herself. A little over two years after my dad's death my mom re-married a man with five children thus making us a part of a blended family.

My first memories of childhood take place in Germany because my dad worked for the military. When the brain tumor diagnosis took place, we moved to Portland, Oregon which is where I call home. I love the constant rain, green and trees of Portland.

Growing up in a blended family was not easy for me, therefore I needed some sort of outlet. This resulted in me saving my baby-sitting money up for a guitar allowing me to put my poetry to music. Writing, playing my guitar, and singing are my favorite pass times, especially when I put them all together.

I'm an extremely passionate person. I really don't feel things on a level, even basis. I'm either really happy or really upset. I'm either excitedly anticipating something, or I'm disappointed. I'm either laughing or crying. Well, that last one might be an exaggeration, but I'm a pretty extreme person. This is sometimes a good thing, and many times it's not. But, I believe it helps in my writing because I can passionately express myself through words. Many of my decisions are made emotionally as apposed to logically. I base a lot of my actions on how I feel. The top 4 subjects I feel passionately about are 1) the Gospel 2) family 3) writing and 4) music. When I can fit writing with the other three subjects, my life is bliss. And that's me in much more than a nutshell.