My Princess Diary: The 2014 Awards

2014 was probably the hardest year of my life physically, mentally, academically, and socially. It was also the best year of my life (but let's face it. Every year is the best year of my life). In honor of the craziness of this year, I am here to present the awards for the best moments of 2014.

Best Breakup

There are so many to choose from! Where do I even start? There's my breakup with my very first real boyfriend on the first day of winter semester. There's my roommate's breakup with the guy she'd been dating for a week who'd already invited her home for Christmas. There's my other roommate's breakup with her boyfriend on the very day another roommate started dating someone (funny how often that happens).

Despite the strong competition, I think the award for Best Breakup has to go to my breakup with live television. The entire time I've been in college I have faithfully followed all of my TV shows. I knew the days of the week according to which show I'd watch on Hulu on a given day. My brief periods of respite were divided up into 20- and 45-minute blocks. Fall of 2014, I was so horrifically busy that I was forced to let go of television. Goodbye, Big Bang Theory. Goodbye, Arrow. Goodbye, Bones. Goodbye, Modern Family. Goodbye, Agents of Shield. I miss you. And I hope we can reconcile in the new year.

(I had fun binge-watching Supernatural and Gilmore girls though!)

Best Breakdown

Another category with strong contenders. Every single one of my roommates had a breakdown at some point this year. Some were on the floor of our living room. Some were in the quiet privacy of our beds. Many of mine were in the shower. 2014 was a really hard year for my apartment, and for me especially. In March of this year, I went to the doctor and started getting treated for depression. Depression is really scary because it changes the way you see yourself and the world. I hated myself for no reason, and even as all my roommates were trying to help me and remind that I was still worthwhile, I was convinced that I didn't deserve to have friends, I didn't deserve to be loved.

So the award for Best Breakdown goes to the one I had in March, when my roommate Heidi heard me sobbing, and forced me to get a blessing and go see a doctor. If she hadn't intervened and taken an interest in my well-being, I don't think I would've ever gone to get help, since I'm ridiculously proud and stubborn. The experience was really hard, but I learned a lot about myself, a lot about what really matters in life, a lot about the importance of friends, and a lot about how the Atonement covers more than sin.

Best Album

Those were kind of depressing, huh? Let's switch gears and move to a happier category. There isn't even a question for this award. By far, the BEST album to come out this year was Taylor Swift's 1989. I love that album so darn much. I know a lot of people disagree with me, and to that I say haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate.

Thanks for being there for me Taylor.

Best Movie

Unlike the last award, this one is insanely hard. This year wasn't the best for movies, but there were several that I just loved. Not surprisingly, they were almost all superhero movies. There were a couple of really good kids' movies too, including How to Train Your Dragon 2, which I saw for my birthday. There were some movies I really wanted to see, but didn't. I guess that's what Redbox is for!

Honestly, I think this one is going to have to be like a 5-way tie. The four superhero movies that I loved (Captain America 2, Thor 2, X-Men: Days of Future Past, and Guardians of the Galaxy) were all equally fabulous. The third Hobbit movie had me bawling like a baby as Billy Boyd sang his last goodbye to us stalwart fans. If I had to choose just one movie from this year to watch again and again and again, it would have to be...X-Men. I wrote a whole blogpost about it, for goodness' sakes! I just loved every minute of it. Especially all the 70s clothes! And anything with Quicksilver.

Hardest Commute

You might think I'm going to give this award to myself and humblebrag about how many hours I had to commute this summer to my big-city newspaper internship, but I'm not going to do that. The real hardest commute was the one undertaken by my roommate Ally, who had to drive to and from Bountiful (a city over an hour away) every day for half the summer to go to her unpaid hospital internship. While I was sleeping on the train, she was navigating horrific traffic and trying to get grumpy patients to swallow ice chips. She became quite the working woman this summer! I'm so proud of her.

Here's her account of the experience:
http://changingtheworldonesmileatatime.blogspot.com/2014/07/500-miles.html

Best Roadtrip

We went on so many adventures this year! My friend group is very adventurous, and we like to go on trips. The contenders for this award are: The March trip to Colorado, the April trip to Idaho, the May trip to St. George, the August trip to San Diego/Las Vegas, and the December trip to Logan. Each trip certainly had its ups and downs. I got heatstroke in St. George, depressed in Idaho, and bronchitis or something similar in Logan. But they were all so freaking fun. I loved spending time with my friends, and watching us all grow and develop. Two of the trips resulted in engagements!

This is a really hard decision. Wow. A really hard decision. I'm actually going to have to go with St. George, even though it may seem like it was a bad experience. I almost fell off a mountain, I threw up in the bathroom of a Thai restaurant, the friend group split in half for a brief amount of time, and I helped the guy I love get engaged to someone else (even though I didn't love him then and I was actually really excited for them). But despite all that, it was still so fun. Twelve of us stayed in my roommate Brenna's boss's condo, and we went hiking in Zion's and the other less pretty park. We swam and went to a nice outdoor reception and had fun planning the engagement and went out to eat and saw the new Spider-man and I finished Way of Kings, which was really exciting for me. So I don't know about anybody else, but I had a good time!

Best Wedding

I have been to my fair share of receptions, and I have devised a rating system to judge their quality. The system is based on five criteria: Location, food, music, interaction between hosts and guests, and decorations.

Now, Mormon weddings don't focus on the party and the reception. But when a couple makes a special effort to celebrate their big day with the people who love them, it's much appreciated.

Using my criteria, I have come to the very unbiased conclusion that Brenna and Josh Woodruff's wedding on December 19th was the best wedding of the year. I'm not just saying that because I was a bridesmaid and one of their best friends and basically the one who got them together. They got married at the Logan temple, and then had a luncheon for friends and family, and then a reception at this pretty little hall called Castle Manor. There was a dance floor, and a grand staircase, and it was very tastefully decorated. They had a receiving line and gave toasts, had a live performer (great job, Cole), a fantastic photographer, and dancing. Even though I was super sick (why am I always sick during the big moments?) and Logan was freezing, it was a wonderful day. We got to watch our friends start the rest of their lives. Congratulations Josh and Brenna. I love you guys.

Our super classy bachelorette party

Introducing, for the last time, the girls of 115

Cutest Baby

Earlier this year, one of my roommates had a baby. It's her story, and it's personal, but it affected all of us roommates. We came together to support our sister, and learned a lot about what matters most in life. One cool thing that happened: she decided to give her baby to the cousin of another roommate, who was looking to adopt. After she moved out to have her baby, another roommate moved in, and we discovered that this new roommate was the cousin of the spouse of the person adopting the baby! Crazy, crazy coincidence...or, you know, small miracle.

Anyway, the baby is one of the cutest I've ever seen. I know that when my roommate has kids she gets to keep, they will be just as beautiful, and even more wonderful because they'll be hers to raise. I'm so proud of her for being strong during this whole process.

Cutest Boyfriend

Mine. Obviously. Like there's even any question.

Best Apartment

Once again, mine. Obviously. These girls. Wow. They've changed my life. They are so fun, and funny, and loving, and full of life. Now that I know them, I can't imagine my life without them. As we grow up and go our separate ways, I hope we can always stay friends. We're saying goodbye to Brenna, who got married, and Morgan, who got an awesome job in St. George. The rest of us are sticking around, and we're getting an addition this semester! My best friend Monica just got home from her mission and will be joining us on The Couch. I'm really quite excited :D

We're very close

So many other things happened that I can't even fit them all in. My internship? Getting a new job? Hanging out in Salt Lake with the girls? All the concerts? All the plays? The movies in the park? Seeing Les Miserables and Wicked performed live for the very first time? Getting to watch my friends graduate? Winning the Harry Potter trivia competition? Comic-Con? Throwing my first bridal shower and bachelorette party? Going to Temple Square with my family? My brother going on a mission? 2014 was hard, but it kind of rocked.

Here's to 2015, the year of...I don't even know what. I'm graduating! This summer I'll be a college graduate. And after that, who knows? For the first time in my life, I don't know where I'll be next year. It's terrifying, but as Rory Gilmore said:

"There are just a lot of things right now in my life that are undecided, and that used to scare me, but now I kind of like the idea that it’s just all kind of…wide open."