Happiness is...

-"Classy" dinner parties with friends. (Classy in quotation marks because, well, how classy can you get with mismatching plates.) Last night I invited some friends over for dinner. I made vegetable lasagna and French bread with homemade garlic butter. The bread wasn't homemade. Well, it was Smith's-made, if that counts.

-Having the best job on campus working for the best professor on campus. This is my third semester TAing for Phil 205 and 305 (deductive and predicate logic), and I love it. I love how much better I understand logic after teaching it so much, and the weird things to which I connect it in my life.

-Loving all my classes. I'm taking a full class load this semester: six three-credit-hour classes. But it's a good thing I love all of them. I'm taking:

1. Epistemology. Episteme is Greek for knowledge, logy is Greek of study of (roughly). I'm taking this from one of my favorite professors in the philosophy department; one of my favorites because I feel like I do more philosophy in his classes than I do worrying about grades.
2. Metalogic. Can anyone say hard? 99% of this class is way over my head, but as of now, I'm at least treading water in it. Luckily I work for the professor who teaches it, and he understands how difficult the class is (it was originally taught as a 400-level class in the math department, they didn't want to teach it anymore, so philosophy teaches it by historical precedent). So I imagine if I work as hard as I can, I can get away with an A.
3. Philosophy of Language. So far, so good. We haven't studied language so much as we've talked about what philosophy is, but I'm looking forward to the material.
4. Philosophy of Theology/Reading Scripture. Probably my favorite class this semester. We spent the entire class on Wednesday just talking about Genesis 2:1-3.
5. Media Law and Ethics. I love studying the First Amendment, and I have a soft spot for law and government (thanks to my AP government teacher in high school). The professor is awesome, as well. She has law experience and used to teach at BYU's law school, and she's a lot of fun to listen to.
6. Research Methods for Journalism. I'll be honest, one of the most intimidating things about being a journalist to me is how overwhelming it is to get accurate, well-cited information. I think this will be a great class to learn about more resources. Also, it's supposed to be a 2 and a half hour class, but the professor said he'll usually cut it short. I won't complain.

-Realizing that I could bring my GPA up to a 3.7 if I make this another straight-A semester and retake a few classes in which I made less-than-desirable grades my freshman year. I've really been interested in good graduate schools for journalism (Columbia, Northwestern, and UC Berkley), and if I can get my grades up high enough, I have a shot at grant money and scholarships.

-Looking forward to the future. I'm spending spring in Provo, and I'm going on a mission this fall. It's weird to think that I've wanted to serve a mission for as long as I can remember, and this is the year.