i am me and you are you.

hey.
we're all different.
we look different. yes.
we speak different. yep.
we have different styles, different senses of humor,
different pet peeves, different experiences,
and most importantly
different feelings.
and no situation is the same as someone else's.
even though they might be similar.
so?
make your own story.
don't try and make your relationship/friendship the same as someone else's
because frankly it won't work.
because you are not them
you are you.
and they are they.
love where your at.
love who you love.
and let it be natural.

love, laura

top ten of my wednesday.

1. today i went to the park to do homework with tori. yes, outside. i love this sunshine business.

2. today i found my little sister out in our front yard reading Harry Potter.
i wish i was that cute.
and i wish we had grass haha.

3. i came to school today all prepared. yes kids, i did homework yesterday. and won my team 30 extra bonus points in class :) whoop!

4. i went to the temple.
ps. i saw jessica carlson there and her lovely new hair. i'm a big fan.

5. my mama came to watch me sing. :)

6. i watched the other choir sing, and a young man didn't have his bow tie on quite right. it warmed my heart.

7. i saw bre bre.

8. speaking with the seminary teachers and kelle pyne in the hallway. always a treasure :)

9. honey bee.

10. hula.

11. (oops, had to have an 11th) talking to some new friends in first period. about friendships and how they come about.
they are cute.

have a nice day peeps.
be you.
its the best thing to be.

love, laaaaaaaaaaura.

solutions for the cold in feet.

if you didn't know
my little feeties have circulation promlems...
the doc says they are too small for proper blood flow
its kind of a problem.
especially at night time.
normally my remedy is to rub them on others' legs and steal the heat.
usually on those of my family
and more recently mikelle and shelbie (sorry guys)
but unfortunately i don't share rooms with them anymore
and i don't have a husband.
so, i came up with this lovely solution last night.
now my socks don't come off
and the pants make my ankles warm.
works like a charm.

love, laura

the house that built me.

tonight i went to my old house and sat in my driveway.
i miss that house.
not so much that house
but my life that was there.
i miss the way it smelled
and the way the seasons looked outside of its windows.
i miss the long road by it that me and j always promised to take pictures of.
i miss cartwheels down the hill.
i miss the big rock that i used to pretend was my horse.
i miss spying on my crazy neighbor across the street.
i broke my arm on those stairs
and then i slid down them in a sleeping bag.
i threw up on the floors there.
i sat on the counter while my mom made dinner.
i got doorbell ditched by my first crushes.
i read my first book there.
i got my first kiss in the front yard.
i did tricks down the slide with my siblings.
i slept on the tramp.
there was that time i did a front flip on my mom's bed and made a hole in the wall.
i painted my sister's room purple.
yes, i even took my first steps in that beautiful place.
i miss it.
in that house is where the foundations of laura were made.
i'll forever be grateful for it.

now i'm in a new place
i love it very much.
although my childhood was built somewhere else
i'm becoming something better while i'm here.

i think we take our homes for granted.
they are the place we can really run away.
they are the place that you are truly you.

look around your house today and smile.
maybe make a list of memories and shed a tear.

much love, laur

just admit it.

its weird to be a senior
and to look back at your past few years
to close one door
and be forced to open another.
as cliche as it all sounds
i've really learned a lot.
from the girl who was scared of caring about anything
to the girl who cried in an assembly
and doesn't regret it at all.
and its because i've decided to accept who i am
accept where i've been
accept where i'm going
and more importantly,
to accept how i feel about things.
you see, feelings are always ALWAYS valid.
well obviously our reactions to them are not always valid..or necessary.
but everything we feel, we feel for a reason.
and the best thing to do is admit to yourself that your feeling it
and let it run its course.
some feelings don't require action.
and to be honest
some of them shouldn't really be acted upon.
but i'm sick of the fighting it.
i feel so much better admitting to myself that i feel a certain way about someone
than sitting there and trying to talk myself into feeling nothing towards them.
i realize that this approach can mean a lot of days of pain in the future
but if its gonna hurt
(and its gonna hurt)
it might as well hurt with all my heart.
i don't think you'll ever regret loving something with all your heart.

tell me your thoughts.

love, laura

i apologize.

well,
i've just been out traveling the world.
NBD.
and i loved california just as much as new york.
who would've thought?
i love the world peeps.
i love it all.
i look like a have leprosy due to my peeling..
but its kinda cool.

today i just want to tell you all that i know that my Heavenly Father is aware of me.
so many things have happened in the past few weeks
that have proven to me even more how aware He really is.
i feel so powerful.
i'm finally figuring me out.
and i'm realizing my own potential.

on the way home from tour i sat next to my best friend.
he said "laura, lets read our scriptures together"
i said "ok"
he said a prayer and we switched verses.
i can't even begin to tell you how great it was.
no, i didn't have a crying vision and miraculous experience,
but i felt of God's love for me
and i felt that things would always be ok between me and my friend,
and i needed it.

guys, the church is so true.
don't forget it.

so much love,
laur

those little town blues have melted away.

to be honest, i never thought that i would fall quite this mad for a city.
new york is just one beautiful mess.
every street i walk on has its own story to tell.
even the same street tells a different one each time i walk on it.
i look up at the sky and
see the tall buildings scraping it
i feel so little,
but i also believe i've never felt so important in my life.
because here you have to have a presence.
and if you don't
they don't care about you.
and its fun to give everyone a scare
and wave to a taxi driver,
and have him look at you so confused
and wave back.
or sing "how does she know?"
in central park.
people don't do that here.
you look at someone and smile
and they look more confused than anything else
as if to say
"do i know you or something?"
but it's fantastic.
i love that
i love feeling like i'm throwing some sunshine in new york city.
i'm probably not
but i like it nevertheless.
people yell
they honk
they walk right into you.
and it smells like smoke and peanuts and lots of people.
and i love it.
laura cottrell loves it.
who would've thought?
its 1 in the morning here and we just got back from looking at the skyline.
i'll never forget it.
i'll never forget how alive i feel here
and how nice it is to take a few days to forget.
and i think i'll leave my heart in new york city
it's happy here.
and i'm in love with it.

love, laura

lets hear it for new york.

I look into your thousand eyes, and your thousand eyes look into my eyes.
I look into your face, and your face is full of the glory of God.
I look into your soul, and your soul is full of the wonder of the world;
Oh nourishing, immortal, beautiful Manhattan.
-Edwin Curran.

go to this url please.

and know that i danced on these steps last night.

people people people.

manhattan is my new hometown.

i'm so happy.

thats all i have time for right now.

i have a date with shelbie to stare out our window again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UjsXo9l6I8

my dears,
this is my last post from utah.
well, for about two weeks.

i know i'm not going very far,
but i still tend to have a hard time saying goodbye.
so today i went to get a frosty with a friend.
and talked on the phone with another.
and danced in my kitchen to "every time we say goodbye" with tor.
and i just want to say bye to all of you.
and i can't wait to share with you
all of my new yorkie
and california
adventures.

i love you all.
pray that i don't get attacked on the plane.

and if you see one in the sky tomorrow
please wave,
and i'll wave too.

thank you.

love, laura

how lucky.

how lucky to go to new york city with two of the most beautiful girls on the planet.

how lucky to listen to conference all weekend.

how lucky to go to disneyland.

how lucky to listen to frank sinatra in the car.

how lucky to overhear awkward conversations in the lunchroom.

how lucky to have a warm day.

how lucky to have love in your heart for someone. even if that means that you have to be bothered a little more.

how lucky that you are reading my blog.

i'm one blessed little girl.

love, laura