100 Random Facts about Kiersten Elyse Tenney

1. I was born in San Diego, California in Mercy Hospital.
2. I have been to 4 foreign countries
3. I have been to 17 of the US States
4. My favorite sushi is Eel sushi
5. My first kitten had 7 names- Max Todd Aladdin Timmy Martin Marcus Kyle
6. My favorite movies growing up included The Dark Crystal, Goonies, The Secret of Nymh, and Chipmunk Adventure.
7. I have performed in the Swarovski Crystal Museum and received a standing ovation from the Mayor of Salzburg.
   
8. I performed as first chair cellist in Carnegie Hall in New York City with the Utah Valley Youth Symphony Philharmonic Orchestra
   
9. I am striving to become a true transcendentalist
10. I have read almost half of the Harvard Classics
11. I'm a (very) amateur photographer
12. I was nominated for the Sterling Scholar award in 11th grade
13. I was invited to Elite Modeling Agency's open call at the Hilton in Salt Lake City, but was ultimately not picked because of my short hair
14. I was a member of USPC Mountain Paradise Pony Club
    
15. My top 3 favorite westerns are Tombstone, 3:10 to Yuma, and Silverado
16. My top 3 favorite movies of all time are The Fountain, Into the Wild, and Much Ado about Nothing
17. My favorite authors are Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Sylvia Plath.
    
18. English was my best subject in school (obvious?)
19. I've had goats, chickens, cats, dogs, horses, fish, and a horny toad me and Kelly rescued camping in Bryce Canyon as pets growing up.
    
20. I've snorkeled with sharks and sea lions with my dad in Southern California.
21. Of all the places I have been, Berkeley, California is my favorite.
22. The book that has had the most influence on me is Walden by Henry David Thoreau.
23. My favorite pair of shoes are beat up yellow sneakers I paid four dollars for at Deseret Industries.
24. My favorite flowers are tiger lilies.
25. My favorite smells include (but are not limited to) rain on the hot cement, lilacs, and John Carden's deodorant.
26. I've performed and recorded music for cartoons at Disneyland.
27. My most prized possession is a letter.
28. I have a fleck of brown in my blue eyes, which aren't blue when I'm crying- they're bright green.
29. I love bouldering, although I don't do it well.
30. On that note, I'm terrified of heights.
31. I wrote my first fantasy story when I was in second grade.
32. John Hexemer Carden is my first love.
33. I can type up to 110 wpm (I'm not sure if that's something to be proud of)
34. I took 6 years of Spanish in elementary school and 3 years of German in junior high.
35. My favorite restaurant is Nati's Mexican Restaurant in Ocean Beach, California.
36. If I could pick the last meal I ate on earth, it would be either my dad's tacos or his pot roast & mashed potatoes.
37. If I could go on a date with any celebrity, I'd be torn between Christian Bale and Emile Hirsch.
38. Uma Thurman in Kill Bill is my hero.
39. I'm the definition of a euro-mutt... I'm partly everything from Norwegian to Scottish to French to English to German to even Native American.
    
40. I'm completely convinced that 9-11 was a conspiracy planted by the American Government,
41. And on that note, I love Michael Moore.
42. When I was little I wanted to grow up to become a mermaid or a pirate or an Egyptian.
    
43. I won the school spelling bee in 6th grade.
44. I like my sense of style.
45. I have a good and sincere heart.
46. I am extremely sensitive and I cry at.. well let's be honest, pretty much anything.
47. I feel most inspired by music.
48. I have perfect back-scratching nails.
49. I am the epitome of an old soul in a new body.
50. I have saved almost all of my fortunes from fortune cookies and tape the best ones into my planner.
51. I also have my own deck of Tarot Cards
52. I'm obsessed with Henna tattoos
    
53. I definitely had imaginary friends, including a werewolf named Matt that lived under my bed to protect me.
54. I can actually say that I love my job.
55. I collect swimming suits.
    
56. I have to sleep with a fan on.
57. Natalie Marie Martella has been my best friend since we played on the beach together at age 5. She always will be.
    
58. I can't sing to save my life.
59. My favorite color is green.
60. If I could live anywhere it would be in the northwest. Portland, Seattle, maybe even San Francisco.
61. I over-analyze everything.
62. My childhood nickname is/was "the babe" (my sisters still call me that)
63. I can never get enough to read.
64. Summer and Fall are my favorite seasons.
65. In all the years that I've lived in Utah, I have never (and I never will) go snowboarding or skiing. I absolutely detest the snow.
66. I secretly wish I was a vampire.
67. And for the record: I HATED TWILIGHT.
68. My guilty pleasures are avocado & honey on toast and the O.C.
69. If I had it my way all streets would be cobblestone.
70. My biggest fear is being alone.
71. I'm terrified of spiders, but I love snakes.
72. My favorite way to relax is in a big jetted tub.
73. Between a backscratch or a massage? Definitely a back scratch.
74. I'm horribly ticklish.
    
75. I'm a classic girl, I like my men tall, dark, and handsome. No blonds, please.
76. My favorite Bond movie is a toss-up between Goldeneye and (the new) Casino Royale.
77. Wayne's World is my all-time favorite comedy.
78. My favorite drink is an ice cold coke in a glass bottle.
79. I love public speaking.
80. I placed in the top 10 at state debate with my Public Forum partner, Bailee Nebeker.
    
81. My favorite high school teachers were Ms. Sanderson and Mr. Dean.
    
82. I take scalding hot showers & I wash my hair with tree sap & moss.
83. I can't go anywhere without my iPod.
84. I have witnessed God's miracle of creation during late nights of stargazing.
    
85. My starbucks order: tall chai tea latte with soymilk.
86. I still sleep with a stuffed animal: a little white tiger named John from the Hogle Zoo.
87. Wes Anderson is my favorite director, and his best picture was The Royal Tenenbaums.
88. My top 3 concerts would be Incubus, Iron & Wine, and U2
    
89. My favorite gemstone is my birthstone, Peridot.
90. Of all the political issues, if I had the power to change just one, I would save the rainforest.
91. I'm a firm believer in the Atonement of Jesus Christ, and my favorite books of the bible are Psalms and Proverbs.
92. Three things I would like to accomplish before I die: marry the love of my life, travel to India, and make a profound difference in someone else's life.
93. If I were to get a tattoo, I would get a tree (representing the tree of life) over my heart.
94. My favorite Batman is Batman Begins. My favorite Indiana Jones is The Temple of Doom. My favorite Star Wars is The Return of the Jedi.
95. I strive to find beauty and goodness in all things.
96. I am right brained, right handed, but my political views lean far to the left.
    
97. My favorite Beatles song is "I've Just Seen A Face" and my favorite Beatle is George.
98. It's not debatable that I have the cutest nephew, the sweetest sisters, the wisest father, and the prettiest mom.
99. My junior high nickname was "Legs"
100. If I had to pick one person, living or dead, that I admire the most it would be the handsome boy that I love with all my heart, John Hexemer Carden.
     
101. 
     

things they don't tell you when you're little.

This evening I have to say good-bye to the most important person to have ever come into my life.

Many times as a little kid, I heard my parents say things like "You can be anything you want to be!" or "You can have anything you want as long as you work for it."

Parents, for the reason of keeping their children safe, don't tell you about heartache. They read you fairy tales and show you romantic Disney movies, and promise you that everything will work out. The poor house maid gets the prince. The terrifying beast becomes a handsome prince. The magic kiss of love awakens you from death and they live happily ever....

They don't tell you that sometimes, the bad guy wins. Sometimes a kiss doesn't fix anything at all, in fact it does just the opposite. Sometimes heroes falter, they do not succeed, no matter how courageous or faithful they are. Sometimes life just isn't what you had hoped it would be.

For now, I hope for the future. I plan to fill my days with purpose, hard work, and to do my best to hide my tears and tuck my heart away. It hardly feels fair, but at least I have this to hold on to: I'm giving up my dreams for his. That's almost as good, right?

just another manic monday

Today at work I was all alone, as all the new girls are being moved up into the Master's program and are going through orientation. With nothing to do all day at the spa, I started and finished a beautiful little book Megan loaned to me called "Stargirl". Megan said something about it when she gave it to me that I completely agree with having read it; "I wish I had read this in high school. I would have felt so much better about myself."

I pride myself on being well-read, and never in my 18 years have I read such a powerful little story about staying true to oneself. As I watched the cars buzz by, as I listened to the construction workers pound into the walls next door, as I heard sirens wail to the scene of an accident, and as the telephone rang every half hour, I couldn't help but think what a beautiful word we live in and how happy I am to be a part of it. I also couldn't help but hope that I grew to become someone that stuck in people's memory... their good memories. I want to make a difference, for the better.



Mother's day was especially hard for me this year because I haven't talked to my own mom in probably months. My heart is a little broken for my family as we make the final transition from torn apart to completely broken. It's easy to feel glum about it, but the more I ponder it, the more I realize how grateful I am for all my experiences. I would not change a thing about my sisters or my parents. I am happy I've led the life I have. I have dealt with a lot of painful things within the past few months and I feel like I have a chance at coming out on top. I feel at peace with where I'm at in my life for the most part, and the motivation to change what I don't feel so great about.
John sent me a little note of love last night that helped so much. He said, "Babe... it will get better I promise. You can't let other's decisions effect your life's outcome... you can't help what your parents choose to do.. I hope you know that I love you and as soon as you move forward with your life, it will get a lot better."


After I read that I had what my favorite high school English teacher calls "Aha! moments", moments where something you were looking at one way hits you in a completely different way. It was so simple what he said, and thinking back on it I want to smack my forehead. Duh, Kiersten! It's so easy! It's so simple. Life is what you make it, and you can't dwell on the mistakes of other's that have hurt you. What a blessing his level head is in my life, that he has the ability to pull me away from the situation, and re-evaluate my thoughts.

Needless to say, I'm grateful for all the people in my life that protect and support me. I love all of you so much, and you all touch me in ways you can't even imagine. Thank you.

My Inspiring Transcendental Quote of the Day:

So some of the current hardships in my life center around the fact that John is leaving, for two years, at the end of this year. I'm very proud of him but I can't help but feel sad at the strain it's caused on our relationship (although I'm not allowed to call it that...) So reading Emerson, I stumbled upon this quote and I thought it was perfect for John's situation.

That is, until I applied it to myself. And now I feel pretty motivated.


"Be not the slave of your own past. Plunge into the sublime seas, dive deep and swim far, so you shall come back with self-respect, with new power, with an advanced experience that shall explain and overlook the old."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Into The Wild Review

When I found out that Sean Penn was creating the story Into the Wild, my heart leaped while my stomach dropped. I couldn't help but be skeptical about his ability to follow the true story of Christopher "Alexander Supertramp" Mccandless closely.
OK, I'll admit it. I'm a book/movie snob. And let's be honest, good movies that are based on books, well... they're few and far between.
And I was nervous, because I absolutely loved Jon Krakauer's "Into the Wild". Being the little wanna-be transcendentalist that I am, I immediately fell in love with Chris' story of escaping the burdens of humanity and becoming closer to nature. So as I watched the movie this last week, I grew a huge respect for Sean Penn because I can now label this as my second favorite movie of all time.
Although I wish to spread the good word about both the book and the movie, my disclaimer is that both require patience. Krakauer's book is only a couple hundred pages, but goes deep into the idea of transcendentalism itself, and the psychology behind Chris Mccandless' adventure. However the movie does not miss out on a single likeable person Chris met along the way, or frightening detail of the encounters with angry cops, big dogs, not to mention the Alaskan environment and it's wildlife. This brings the running time of the movie to about 140 minutes. I found the movie to be beautifully done. Plenty of adventure, there is also plenty of beauty, heart, emotion, wildlife, and loneliness captured.
I'd give the movie two thumbs up, or five stars, and Emile Hirsch was the perfect pick to play Chris, he did a phenomenal job and looks (scarily) like the real Mccandless (both being extremely good looking). Sean Penn, as I later found out, worked closely with Jon Krakauer in creating the story that he would approve of. I think Krakauer's book was beautifully illustrated on the silver screen, and if I could've given the Oscar to this movie, you better believe I would have.