Pondering On Life

Hey guys. It has been a little bit.

But anyways. My biggest goal in life is to become a teacher. But not any kind of teacher, a preschool or kindergarten teacher. Until I got out of high school I NEVER wanted to be a teacher. Maybe for high school English but I never thought for little kids. But I have always loved little kids. I have always wanted to better their lives. So I thought oh a Pediatrician or a Child Psychologist. I never thought I would come to the conclusion of teacher. But the day I realized it I never wanted to turn back or change anything. It was the perfect job to work with kids and better their lives. If you wanna teach kindness it is best to start young. So I thought this was perfect for me.

As I look back on my life I have not always been kind to everyone. Not everyone has been kind to me. But at a young age I was still taught to be kind to everyone. I am sure we all were. We were taught to share our toys and love one another. But as we grow older we start to develop habits and behaviors. Some good some bad. Even though we can't take the past back what if we started today? Be kind. Even if being kind is just simply smiling at someone as you pass by on the street or in the hallways at school. Smile.

Ever since I started my job as a caregiver, I have been trying to love every moment of life. To not take my life for granted. To be grateful that I am well and healthy. Being a caregiver at my work and just imagining what these people have been through in life must be hard. I don't have to go through what they do and I think my life is hard. Yes for me my trails are hard and not everyone's trials are the same, but some peoples trials are major.

I love you all. Have great days and remember be thankful for all you have. :) Pursue your dreams no matter how crazy they may seem. I had a friend today say in her facebook that she wanted to sing a duet with Neil Patrick Harris. I sure hopes she fulfills that dream. I can't wait to hear her duet with him. It will be amazing!!! I want to be a teacher and that I will be one day. I also have the insane dream of skydiving and i hope to fulfill that one day too. :) Whatever your dream and goal my be chase it.

We all have loved ones we are thankful for. I encourage you all as you go to bed tonight pray for the people today who lost their loved. They need it. A lot has seemed to happen in the world this week. Let's not forget to thank God for all we have.
Whoever reads this wherever you may be, I challenge you to pray tonight. Thank God for what you are thankful for. Pray for the people of Connecticut who lost loved ones today. Pray for the world.

Signing off for the night,
Kenzie

Happy Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving EVERYONE!!! I am so thankful for many things in my life. But I am especially thankful for my family and friends. For the people who got me through the hard times this year. For the truest of friends Alysha, Breanna, Erica, and Shelbie. Who get me through everyday. I am thankful for my family who will be there for me no matter what. I am especially grateful for my parents Greg Dodge And Susan Smith Dodge for giving me life so that I can live on this wonderful earth. And for teaching me all I need to know, for raising me in the most wonderful way I can imagine possible. I am thankful for my bffle Elder Spencer John Peacock for teaching the gospel to the people of California. And giving two years of his life to serve the Lord. I am so so so very grateful for this gospel, and that I get to be a part of it. I don't know what I would be doing in life without it! I am grateful for all my opportunities and trials in life. Thanks everyone who made a great impact on my life this far. You are all wonderful people!!! Thanks for bettering my life! :)

My facebook status reads as above today. I am so very thankful and have much to be thankful for :) I am so excited for this Thanksgiving.

I don't even know what else to put! HAHA I am so happy I can be grateful for so many things and that I have so many things to be grateful for!

The number one thing I am grateful for is Family!

I have the funnest family! We are SO FUNNY!!! AHHHH!! I am so excited to spend Thanksgiving with them :)

One thing I am grateful for A LOT is SPENCER!!!

He is the BESTEST best friend anyone could ask for! He is the greatest!!!

I am grateful for many other things as well! I hope all your Thanksgiving days are full of turkey and other good foods!!!
Love you all!
~Kenzie

OH P.S.
I am grateful for the coolest person in the world who I can count on for anything
DRUM ROLL PLEASE!!!!

BAYLEE DODGE!!! :D
You guys think you have the best sisters??? You should have this girl as a sister!!! She is the most excellent sister ever!!! :D

It's Time

Well, hey everyone! Ummm I am not really sure what to write to you all. Things have happened to me like they always do. Thing change. But I guess my message today is don't be afraid of the change. A lot of people are and I would be lying if I told you I wasn't afraid of it. It is like jumping into the unknown. But change always happens for a reason. Whether you think it is good or bad. It is pretty much all good. It will benefit your life in ways that other things can't. I love it when my life gets benefited.
But for me change scares me. Probably the most in life. I like things to stay the same. Sudden change does not do good things for me. I like things to be explained to me if they change. Explained in a way that I might be able to be ok with the change. Well, that is not how it always is. When I was in college I went through some change pretty quickly. And I still don't have all the answers I want. One day I hope to have those answers but as for right now, I just gotta hang tight. The change happened I gotta let go and move on. But if you know me you know I don't let go very easy.
Letting go is a whole different subject but I would like to touch on it because lately I have had experiences where I have had to let go. I know by no mean I am qualified to tell you about any of these things. But this is just from my own experiences. Letting go is also a good thing. It goes right along with change. In order for things to change you must also let go of something. I am not going to share my experiences with you, because I believe that those can be kept to myself. And I am here just to give advice not sprout out my life. But have you ever loved something so much and once you don't have it anymore and it is gone you realize how much you love it? Well, let it go. If you want happiness let things go. But if you can't go a day without thinking about it, then don't let it go in the first place. But there are people out there who give up everything for us to be happy.
The last thing I wanna touch on is dreams. I recently received a letter from a friend out on his mission, about how he wanted to be a teacher more than anything. But he doesn't want to support a family on a teachers salary. Well, I wrote him right back and told him to not even worry about supporting a family. I told him as long as he kept the Lord as his focus and kept paying his tithing everything would fall into place. Now that doesn't mean that he won't have to experience change or letting go. But he needs to chase his dreams and do something he wants to do.
If any one of you are in love, go after it. Chase it! If love is your dream chase it! I have dreams as I am sure everyone does. So go after them. Live them!
Sorry if this seems so jumbled it is 1:00 am. But that is what I have really wanted to say for some time. I love all you! Have a great night!

Music

Music
"When words fail music speaks"
I like to make playlists for times in my life. I made one for my first year of college so I could remember my bad and good times. I would like to share that playlist here. Maybe you can relate or maybe you can't. Maybe if you didn't understand my story if I told you you can now. I like to think my life is a movie sometimes and put a sound track to it. But here it is:
Look up the songs or don't but I sure hope you will like it. These are in order from start to finish

The Time Of My Life
David Cook

No One
Aly & AJ

The Climb
Miley Cyrus

Keep Holding On
Boyce Avenue

Faithfully
Journey

She Will Be Loved
Maroon 5

The Time It Takes To Grow
The Morning Of

I Won't Give Up
Jason Maraz

You'll Always Be My Best Friend
Relient K

Arizona
Hey Monday

Stop and Stare
One Republic

Your Guardian Angel
The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

Need You Now
Lady Antebellum

One Of Us
Glee Cast

I Am
Nichole Nordmam

Held
Natalie Grant

Crush
David Archuleta

You've Got A Friend In Me
Randy Newman

Superman (It's Not Easy)
Five For Fighting

I'm With You
Avril Lavigne

Fall For You
Second Hand Serenade

Say You Like Me
We The Kings

Not Over You
Gavin DeGraw

We Are Young
Fun.

Give Your Heart A Break
Demi Lovato

Leave the Pieces
The Wreakers

The Hourglass
The Morning Of

Bad Day
Daniel Powter

You Found Me
The Fray

The First One
Boys Like Girls

Dreaming With A Broken Heart
John Mayer

Almost Lover
A Fine Frenzy

A Perfectly Good Heart
Taylor Swift

Bring On The Rain
Jo Dee Messina and Tim McGraw

I Dare You To Move
Switchfoot

Read Between The Line
KSM

Breathe
Taylor Swift

The Reason
Hoobastank

Candles
Hey Monday

A Little Bit Longer
Sara Evans

Go
Boys Like Girls

Home
Daughtry

Those are my songs
Enjoy.
If you have spotify subscribe to my College 1 playlist. That is where all the songs. Love you all!
~Kenzie

Some People Think it is Funny....

What up guys. It has been a while. Wanna know what I have been doing with my life?!?
here it comes. Brace yourselves!!!
WORKING!!!! :D
But I bet you all knew that. I don't know if I told you guys but I have two wonderful jobs.
One as a nanny and the second as a caregiver at the Utah State Developmental Center.
As one of the nurses I work with says:
"Just living the dream!"
Actually everyday at work is a new adventure!!! No joke! Wouldn't you like a job where everyday is a new adventure?!?
I love both my jobs. Just some days at my second one, they can be, how do I say this? stressful, awkward, hard. You know just the most awesome thing ever! ;D
Tonight I was actually working by my self. My other staff called in sick. So I had all five individuals and one Kenzie. Luckily for me Shai and Alysha were here to help and they were big helps!!
As I was sitting here facebook stalking people, one of the nurses walked in and asked how I was doing and if everything was running smoothly.
I was actually doing GREAT!!! All my girls were in bed and I was taking a breather. And of course facebook stalking.
Well, I decided I was going to blog. And he said "You can talk about how many people pooped today." Ok one I don't think you guys wanna hear about my girls BM's and two three out of the five of them pooped today! :D
Ok anyways... We got talking about sneezing and how sneezing sometimes makes my girls go potty. (darn those old blatters! XD ) So then of course I had to share with him the funniest quote I know! And that is the one displayed in the picture!!! :D
Every time I see it I laugh so hard, I could probably pee my pants!!! HAHA

Well, anyways. What else have been up to you might ask?!?
Just a bunch of either fun or nothing.
Quite literally!
My summer is going quite well.
I have done quite a few things on my summer bucket list and it has been fun!
This weekend I get to go with Alysha to Nephi and party it up!!!
Let's just say I am super PUMPED!!!
I have been working on a new book it has actually been going good.
It is about all the stuff I went through in college. Mainly my Spring Semester. It is called "That Crazy Little Thing." I hope I can finish it and actually get is published or something. I would LOVE that!!
But other than that nothing special has been going on.
So this is Kenzie!
I will try to be a better blogger and post more! Love you all!!!! :D
~Kenzie

Quotes!

I am a quote junkie!!! So.. ENJOY!!! :D

Oh hey...

Well, I am now home from school! And things have been great! I have two jobs now and I am loving life!!! It is so good!
My message to you today is never lose sight of your goal.
Your goals are so important! Not only to you but to others as well.
I have goals, but I wanna say my short term goals. My summer bucket list. here it is :)

Summer Bucket List 2012:
1.Video Blog
2.Clean and Organize my Bedroom
3.Have a party
4.Play tag in the rain
5.play messy twister
6.have an epic water fight
7.dye my hair
8.have a picnic
9.talk in a british accent for 24 hours
10.build a fort
11.dress like a nerd for a day
12.chalk draw my driveway
13. tie dye a shirt
14.stay up for 24 hours
15. learn to french braid
16.play night games
17.laser tag
18.have a paint fight
19.make a music video
20.watch a scary movie
21.sit on a roof
22.get a henna tattoo
23.go to a BBQ
24.Go to a wedding
25.have a food fight
26.got o lagoon
27.have a photo shoot
28.make macaquesidilla's
29.make spaghetti tacos
30.get a feather in my hair
31.finish dance academy

i have already finshed some!!! exciting!!! but yeah!!! have a great day everyone!!!
~Kenzie

20 Seconds

“All you need is 20 seconds of insane courage and I promise you something great will come out of it” - Matt Damon, We Bought A Zoo Twenty seconds that is all it takes. I used to literally not believe all it took was twenty seconds. I thought that saying nothing was the best. Not having the courage to say anything was the best. Just in case you say anything wrong. But isn't it better to say something than nothing at all? I have learned throughout my years that you need to stand up for what you believe in even if you are standing alone. But you are never standing alone. God is always on your side no matter what. These past couple weeks have not been the happiest weeks for me. I have been going through a trail that helped me grow in the best way possible. I know that sounds kinda weird, but it is so true. Throughout the past two nights I have had very personal spiritual experiences in learning about myself and what I need to do with my life. Who knew you could learn so much about yourself while being alone? I don't know all to say in this post. Just that I wanted to post. Guess what there is light out there. There is always a light at the end of the tunnel. And all it takes is twenty seconds of insane courage. I know that might not make much sense. But if I didn't have twenty seconds of insane courage, I don't think I would ever think things were going to look up. Friends, pray, pray everyday and night. Continue your conversation with God throughout your day. He wants to know what is going on with your life. Talk to him like he is your friend. Because he is. He doesn't want you to put up walls for him or anything. Let those walls down. Have insane courage and tell Him everything! Don't let anything get in your way of your dreams. Live your dreams, and live the life you have dreamed. That is all for today! ~Kenzie

Spring Ball

I like how it is a week later and I am finally posting about Spring Ball. Heh... Well, that's ok! It was fun! And I had a good time! There were some bumps along the way, but overall it was good. Darren took me and I couldn't have asked for anyone better to go with. He is my best friend and freaking LEGIT! We looked way good too! He wore a tux and I wore my prettiest dress. It was awesome! Before the dance, Darren had to say sorry for something so he brought me flowers and my favorite candy, STARBURSTS!! He did good because the flowers were my favorite colors. Minus the pink but the pink looks way pretty with the blue and the purple.

aren't they pretty?
Well, so The dance was fun and it kinda felt like I was at high school prom though. haha which I am not complaining because high school prom was pretty legit.
Darren taught me how to dance some dances he learned in his social dance classes. It was pretty fun. I kept failing when he would spin me ha. But yeah that is basically it!!!
Here are some more pictures!

Sorry some of the pictures don't look so good and that is cuz they were taken with Zach's phone. So yeah. But yeah :) Have a great day pals! :)

hurt ankle....

so.... yeah... I am a klutz... like a big one. Well, my friends if you haven't heard by now I guess you are going to... I hurt my ankle pretty bad...
Story goes like this:
I was asked if I wanted to go play ultimate frisbee. Of course I said yes! I could not get out of my apartment fast enough. I love running around outside and playing ultimate. So I went to play and it hadn't even been 10 mins and I tripped... over my own two feet.... yay.... so I was turning around to run the opposite direction and I tripped and landed on my foot wrong. I heard all these pops and cracks in my ankle and I was immediately on the ground. I was holding my ankle. But no one really noticed. So I kinda just limped off the field and sat down. When I said no one noticed literally no one noticed. It was probably another good 10 minuets before Darren noticed I was on the side of the field. heh... So he came over and helped me limp back to my apartment. I got back to my apartment and we iced it and wrapped it up. And then I just kinda sat there.... My friends stayed with me basically the whole weekend when I couldn't move off my couch. They are such great friends! but here are pictures!!!

Believe it or not the swelling was way way worse.
Well the other day I got it x rayed and it isn't broken! Just Sprained. Which in my case could be worse for me... because I dance. But I am just taking things one step at a time. We will see where I get then! that is all!
~Kenzie

19!!! :D

So as of three days ago I turned 19! I am now one year older. YAY! Actually being 19 isn't that much different from being 18. haha just kinda a filler year haha. Well, I kicked off my day of birth by seeing what my friends on missions got me. Spencer got me 419 folder paper butterflies. Which was really cool because last year he folded me 1000 paper cranes. I love origami so it was an awesome present!! McKay made me a bracelet with my name on it. It is my two favorite colors and I just love wearing it. Both presents very awesome! I hope those boys are enjoying their missions. I miss them.
Well, so for the rest of the night I really couldn't sleep. haha When I finally got to sleep it was a good sleep. I woke up and just kinda blahed around the house. When my friend Julia texted me and asked me if I wanted to go get frozen yogurt. Ok I LOVE frozen yogurt! So of course I said yes haha. I got Cheese Cake, White Chocolate Strawberry, and Snickerdoodle all mixed together. It was super delicious! I put cheese cake bites and cookie dough bites on top, as well as Mango BooBas. It was super delicious! I had a nice chat with Julia and I just love her to pieces. Then I went home and kinda blahed around again.
My friend Erica called me and said that we were going to do something. So she took me to see a movie. We went and saw The Vow. and I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT!!! It was so cute! Then we talked in her car catching up for a while. After we were going to go to Chick Fil A but it was closed so we went to Wendy's! haha it was good I had a Jr Bacon Cheese Burger, Fries, and a Vanilla Frosty! It was good. Then we talked some more and then she took me home. It was a pretty good birthday!
While I was blahing at home, I got to open my presents. I got a cricut from my parents! It made me really happy! I also got some stamps! So yeah! It was good stuff and overall a good birthday!
That is all!
~Kenzie

Wedding and VEGAS!

Well, on March 2, 2012 my lovely brother got married to the lovely Valorie. They are so cute and perfect for each other. The wedding was so much fun and yeah. That is really all i have to say about that.
Well on March 4, 2012 I got to go to VEGAS!!! I had so much fun! I did a lot! Here is a run down of the trip.
Sunday: I finally got to meet the lovely Kacey Smith! She took me to a wonderful fireside with her and then we went to one of her friends houses and played games. It was so much fun! I got to meet new people and have fun!
Monday: Went shopping and got a new sweater! I love sweaters!!! Then I went with Kacey to FHE and watched the Bachelor. Courtney can't cry... she is so fake and I don't like her... yeah she is a poop... heh...
Tuesday: Kinda hung out. It was super windy and yeah. Walked Freemont Street and got an awesome pair of nerd glasses!
Wednesday: I came home!!!
So yeah that is just a little run down. It feels good to be home! But Vegas was so so fun!!! :D

So btw that thing with sprinkles on it is a deep fried twinkie! It was so so good!! :D

A-Z

Kinda just to get to know me better
A~ age: 18
B~ bed size: twin.
C~ chores that you hate: Doing the dishes...but it has to be done
D~ dogs: none I am allergic
E~ essential start to your day: getting out of bed....
F~ favorite color: purple and blue
G~ gold or silver: silver all the way
H~ height: 5'11"
I~ instruments you play: Piano
J~ job title: student or in other words poor hobo that actually has a place to live
K~ kids: none yet! but don't think i don't have names picked out already.
L~ live: Cedar Hills, UT and Ephraim UT
M~ mother's maiden name: Smith
N~ nicknames: Tee, Shashe, Kwi Kwi, Kenzie
O~ overnight hospital stays: none.
P~ pet peeves: when people crack their knuckles. nastiest. sound. ever.
Q~ quote from movie or tv: "He love is like the wind, you can't see it but you can feel it." ~A Walk To Remember
R~ righty or lefty: Right....
S~ siblings: 2 Brothers and 2 Sisters 1 Brother in law 1 Sister in law
T~ time you wake up: 5:55 on weekdays to go swimming...
U~ underwear: yes, i wear it. be amazed.
V~ vegetable you hate: Peas
W~ what makes you run late: My bed... i love it!
X~ x-rays: Arms... Knee.. Teeth...
Y~ yummy food you make: Anything in the microwave OH! and homemade oreos! :D
Z~ zoo animal: Owls I have seen owls at the zoo. I also like penguins! :D

Well there is a little bit about me! :D

Fat Fridays!!! :D

Last night I went to Julia's and had Fat Friday!!! :D It was so fun!!! First we went to Walmart and we had to get stuff to make homemade oreos and stuff for Rachel and Julia to make their mask for AP Psych. So we got A LOT of paint and glitter. We also got re velvet cake mix and cream cheese. We went back to Julia's house and started. I made the cookies so I could contribute.

See friends, I can bake and cook. The cookies turned out AWESOME!!! I felt so accomplished because I actually made something really super good!! :D So yeah now you all know that despite what I say, I can actually bake and cook. heh... So yeah.
Then we decorated masks. The thing with these masks is that on the front of it you decorate it how people see you and on the inside you decorate it how you really are. So yeah. We got to decorating! I got to be the DJ while they did their homework. There were a lot of laughs and such!

So yeah there they are being good high school students!!! :D So after that we just talked. But I am going to tell you right now. I am having Fat Friday's in college from now on. It was so much fun!!! So friends get ready for adventures of fun!!! :P
This weekend has started out GREAT!!! I got to hang with some really cool girls! I hope all you weekends are GREAT!!!!

Happy Totally Normal Tuesday!!! :D

It's Tuesday!!! :D I normally don't post random stuff like this... but it is Tuesday so it is a good excuse. Yes I know it is Valentines Day. But I don't celebrate Valentines Day. I think it is a stupid pointless holiday... but that is just me. I have never had a reason to like Valentines Day. Yeah when I was little I got candy and cute little cards. But now that I am older what is the point? I am not married or dating. So yeah. I know that people say you don't need to be in love to celebrate Valentines, and I totally agree, but why would I celebrate. I have school to worry about.
So yeah! I might watch a movie tonight. Well no I will watch a movie sometime today because it is movie day! Because it is the 14th. I will probably watch Tangled. Yeah Tangled sounds like a good one. Maybe I will also play Super Smash Bros. That would be fun.
So because I do love Harry Potter I found these on the internet on a fabulous blog. and they have been everywhere so you have probably seen them. but I want to post them to wish you a happy valentines day! :D

Happy Valentines my friends!!! :D