Campaign To Find Myself

Sometimes I like to sit and think back to the time when I was a young child. I remember waking up and being so excited for the day. I didn’t worry about anything. I was excited for school. I loved church and made my mom take the sacrament multiple times during the week. I trusted everyone. It didn’t matter if it was my best friend or someone I just met. It was in my nature to trust everyone and think they had good intentions. Over the past year, I lost that… I don’t know where it went, but it definitely went somewhere.

Growing up, I never had arguments with anyone. I was very easy-going, confident, loving, and caring. I loved people and couldn’t wait to go places and make new friends. I had a friend recently tell me that I could change the entire mood of a room. When I walked in, everyone just got happier. I was happy. I loved making others happy. I was unselfish. Where did that person go?

These days, I find myself waking up nervous, scared, sad, very self-conscience, vulgar, angry, and definitely not the things I used to be and stand for! I don’t want to be this person.

I’m on a campaign to find Beau Byron Dunn. I need support from friends and family though. I know I’m not perfect and I’ve made mistakes. I’m truly sorry for that. I hope that anyone I have hurt or offended will look past it and realize that I wasn’t being myself. I wouldn’t normally do or say a lot of things I have done over the past year. Please forgive me and love me again.

I don’t think anyone can be too accepting. We need to love everyone! It doesn’t matter if you’re black or white. It doesn’t matter if you’re rich or poor. It doesn’t matter if you’re skinny or fat. Stop worrying about if he or she is gay. We are all people, children of a loving Heavenly Father. He doesn’t love you anymore than he loves anyone else. Come down off your pedestal and realize your obligation to love, support, and help others. Are politics that important? Does it matter if you’re republican or democrat? I think not. I say stay away from political factions and use your own brain. Don’t hide behind a party that tells you what to think and believe. We all need to stop judging.

Please, please, please accept my deepest and most sincere apology. I never wanted to hurt or offend anyone. Just love me.

American Idol Finale... Part 2

Wow!! This just keeps getting better and better. We ended up with seats right next to the judges. Make sure you watch for us. We're making a sign that says Utah loves David Archuleta. Haha!

We also ended up on the Pent House floor of the hotel and much to our surprise, the top 13 American Idols are staying here, probably on our floor.

We're having a BLAST!!! More to come.

Lights, Cameras, Red Carpet and Awesome People = American Idol Finale

As many of you know, I always end up with some really neat opportunities. Saturday I received any email asking me if I’d be interested in attending the American Idol Finale on either Tuesday for the actual singing or Wednesday for the winner to be announced. I was offered four tickets and after thinking about it, I decided to take tickets for the actual singing on Tuesday.
Immediately, Emily came to mind. Emily is a die-hard American Idol fan, so I knew I had to take her. Next, I thought of Dallas. Dallas is just fun to have around. That left one ticket. I couldn’t decide whom to offer it to when the most obvious answer nailed me in the forehead… LAYNE!! I called Layne to see if he was interested and he said he’d think about it. A little while later I got the phone call saying he was coming and now we’re going to American Idol.
I’m actually on the plane right now to Los Angeles. I’ll probably end up posting this after the actual show.

I’ve never been the biggest American Idol fan, but this year they did auditions in Utah and because of that I actually have watched the majority of the episodes this season. I’ve really enjoyed it and have been rooting for Danny Goeky and Kris Allen. Unfortunately, Danny was voted off last week, but Kris Allen is still in the running. He’s up against Adam Labert. I’m not overly fond of Adam. He’s a little too dark for me. He always has his fingernails painted, wears weird clothing, and always ends up making a good song… somewhat uncomfortable, BUT the kid can definitely sing. He performed Wicked on Broadway and I think that’s the problem. He tries making all his music too theatrical for my liking. He just needs to sing the song, because singing is something he can definitely do. As much as I hate to say it, Adam will most likely win, but I do hope Kris Allen wins. I’ll be rooting for him.

The other great thing about Dallas is that Dallas works for Marriott. He helped us get a hotel room in Los Angeles for very cheap. That is definitely a plus to help keep the cost of the trip down.

In summary… I’m so freaking excited I don’t care that I’m getting to Los Angeles tonight around midnight. And then leaving tomorrow at midnight and get back in Chicago at 7 am, just in time for work. I’m going to be completely exhausted, but it will be 187% worth it.
Once in a lifetime opportunity! I can’t wait! I’ll post more afterwards and make sure you look for us.

--Posted during my layover in Atlanta

I'm Thankful!

Why do I constantly forget about the positive and wonderful things in life? The last little while my positive and negative worlds have collided creating one disastrous path for the emotional roller coaster I've been riding. It seems certain events cause the roller coaster to abruptly turn throwing off my equilibrium and causing me to lose focus to the path of happiness.

I recently spoke with a friend who said, " Beau! If you want to be happy -- BE HAPPY!" At first, I was a little taken back and almost offended... I thought how could you be so insensitive and not realize what I'm feeling, but then his profound statement cleared the path I had been looking for. Happiness isn't an already created path. It isn't a place or time. Happiness is a created by the things you do and don't do.

"Happiness is not achieved by the conscious pursuit of happiness; it is generally the by-product of other activities."

--Aldous Huxley

So... I started a list of all the things that could make me happy. It consisted of mostly people. And one person particularly stood out because recently, he's been dominating my thoughts and feelings. This person is my dad. He's was recently diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer and with cancer of the lymph nodes. And I realized that this event had thrown my equilibrium out-of-wack and caused me to solely see the negative peices of my mosaic world. I frantically looked and looked for the positive peices and at first didn't have much success, but I'm determined to find happiness. I've slowly been picking up the peices and creating my new masterpeice. I sometimes pick up a negative one, but that's just part of life. I will find my happiness through...

My dad; he is such a great man. He loves his wife. He loves his kids. He loves his grandkids. Today he starts his chemo and radiation treatments, but today I choose not to focus on the negative, but today I found a positive peice. He's one step closer to putting this cancer behind him.

Despite what he is physicallly feeling, he's been so positive and hopeful during this whole thing. His strength is a tool for me. Today, I choose to take that tool and start recreating my masterpeice.

This picture shows and reminds my dad of some of the reasons that he's going to fight through this cancer. This is Micah and Grandpa fishing. And according to dad and Micah, there will be many more fishing trips.

Life is short. Please learn from others. To anyone who's been there for me over the past month, THANK YOU! I truly and deeply appreciate you. To anyone who might be struggling, learn from me and get off that roller coaster, pick up the peices, and create your masterpeice.

Please keep my dad in your thoughts and prayers. As I mentioned, today is the first of treatments. They will continue until the end of October.

Dad, I hope one day you read this. You are a peice of my life that makes me happy. I'm very grateful for the things we have done and will in the future do together. Keep strong old man and please don't give up the fight. I'm here for you as are many others. I love you.

Once Upon A Mattress

Once upon a time, I decided to audition for a play at BYU. The title of the play in and of itself probably straddles the fence of BYU’s fervent attempt to shelter their students.

As part of our class, we were automatically added to the TMA department email list. Now, I assume most of you belong to some kind of email list and understand the frustration and anger that these lists cause. Spam isn’t a huge problem; the problem is the moderators and overly excited members of these lists. I think I receive more “junk” mail from these lists than from any 50-year-old man living in his mother’s basement with nothing better to do than spam others.

*Clarifier… I’m a random person. My stories might include several other thoughts.*

Back to the audition… I received an email at 2:30 informing students of an audition for Once Upon a Mattress starting at 2:45. The email very clearly and almost verbatim said, “No need to prepare anything. Just come have fun.”

The few days prior to receiving the email, I had sat myself down and had a little chat concerning my lack of involvement with school. I’m not saying I didn’t go to class, but besides class, I wasn’t really participating in anything else. Those of you who are from high school will remember that I was a social… slut (for lack of better term). I was involved in everything. Being involved = Beau being happy. As I sat reading the email, the transcript of thus mentioned chitchat invaded by mind. I decided I was going to the audition. Why? Who knows, but I did know that if I was going to take the time to have a conversation with myself that I had better follow through with what I (and myself) decided – which was to be more involved.

I showed up to the audition and was handed two pieces of paper. The first was a form requesting more information about me. You know the usual: name, address, phone, email, previous experience, blah blah. The next was a tentative practice schedule and a character description list. I was already a little familiar with the play. It is a spoof of Princess and the Pea, but by the title, you can imagine it is a little more risqué. I decided to audition for the part of Sir Harry because he had a few lines, but wasn’t a lead role.

The director introduced herself and asked all the boys to go down on the stage. I started heading down to the stage when I realized that she was going to have us audition in front of everyone. I’m not a shy person, but when I saw about 25 other “theater talented” boys, 50 not so “attractive” girls, and 10 very “attractive” girls, I got a little nervous. Next, she asked us the line up single file. I saw where this was going so I naturally distracted myself and conveniently ended up at the end of the line. I didn’t want to audition first. The next thing that happened might have been scary, but since the email said “No need to prepare” it didn’t really strike me odd when she asked the first kid to perform his monologue. I just wrote it off thinking oh… he’s probably not prepared, no one is prepared, and there is no need to prepare…

He started performing an amazing monologue. I’m not talking about the “hey mom, I did great on my monologue I practiced for 10 minutes”. I’m talking about the “so… I’m not sure if you know this, but I’m a pretty big deal. I’ve been practicing the monologue for weeks.” I’m not gonna lie, I leaned to the kid before me and asked him if he had prepared anything. He kindly told me no and reaffirmed my prior interpretation of the phrase, “No need to prepare anything.”

First kid finished, next kid started… much to my surprise he was also very prepared. The next, and next, and next, were also very much prepared. I began planning my escape. I noticed a door on stage left leading to a hallway and started walking towards it when I heard the director say “HEY YOU! Where are you going?” I stopped frozen as if I had just spent a winter in Provo. I explained that I wasn’t prepared and that apparently the meaning of “no need to prepare” had changed in the last little while and I hadn’t received the memo. She told me not to get back in line, so… I did. One by one, the monologues got better and better. I was just glad the kid in front of me wasn’t prepared either. That way, he could crash and burn first taking a lot of the focus and attention off of me.

My “unprepared” friend started his audition saying that he hadn’t prepared anything, but while he was standing inline had decided to monologueify (which mean to make into a monologue) some excerpts of the scriptures he had memorized. He started his performance and holy crap; it was better than the first guys. The minutes turned into seconds as I frantically tried to think of something from the scriptures I could monologueify. All I could think of was Joseph Smith’s first vision. That wasn’t going to work…


I now stood on the stage by myself. All the boys were behind me and the girls were in front of me. I stood there for at least 60 seconds before the director informed me for the second time that I could start my monologue. I quietly told her that I hadn’t prepared anything so she told me to recite a story. I decided to tell a story about the time I won tickets to a concert Lauren and I wanted to see. I really got into it. Half way through the story the director told me I could stop. Everyone begged me to keep going. So the director allowed me to finish my story. I then started walking off the stage. She called me back and said I wasn’t finished. She asked us to now perform our songs one by one. I hadn’t prepared a song…

Everyone gave knock out performances. They knew songs from all sorts of different musicals. It was now my turn. I looked up at her again and said… I didn’t prepare anything. She told me to sing anything I wanted. I looked up at the lights for a minute and got a little confused… I randomly started singing I Am a Child of God. I thought it was going pretty well until one kid jumps out with me and starts trying to harmonize. It was going pretty well and I was starting to feel it. The next thing I say might not sound true, but I swear to you it happened. As we’re both signing (my solo turned into a duet) another kid pops out on stage and starts BEAT BOXING to our rendition of I Am a Child of God. I really didn’t know what to do, so I kept singing and then started laughing. I ran off stage, out the door, and just assumed I was finished.

A few days later, I received an email from the director offering me a part in the play. Not just any part, not even the part I had auditioned for, but the male lead part of Prince Dauntless. Unfortunately, the time commitment was more than I could commit to and I wasn’t able to participate. I did, however, get the lead.

29 years ago...

Thomas Cory Dunn was born. And the world has never been the same. Happy Birthday Bro! Love ya!

I must have done something right - SURPRISE LAUREN!

I cannot believe I haven't updated my blog in so long. I have received numerous requests from people asking, no not just asking, but begging me to write a new post. So here it is...

By the title of the blog you might have guessed I was quoting a song. (The fact the title is linked to the lyrics kind of gives it away.) The song talks about a guy who cannot believe that he is actually dating his girlfriend. Despite the fact that he loses 50 points automatically because he’s a man, he also recognizes that his girlfriend is perfect and well… he’s a boy. I think it sums it up when he sings, “I must have done something right” because it’s obvious I don’t deserve her. I sometimes feel the same way about Lauren. (That isn’t supposed to be a sad thing. It’s a good thing that I realize how amazing Lauren is. So if you sighed right there or said “Ohhh…” to yourself, please take it back.) Keep reading and you’ll understand why.

Tonight was probably one of the TOP 5 best nights of my entire life. It wasn’t like I won the lottery, met Paris, Lindsay, or even Britney. On July 9, 2008, Lauren gave me the most thoughtful gift I have ever received in my life. She gave me a DVD she made containing the last year and a half of our lives together. I must admit, it was a little creepy that I didn’t notice she had been recording the last year of my life… I’m just kidding. Seriously though, I haven’t felt so grateful for anything in a very long time. The DVD was only part of the gift though.

I have really been trying hard to reconnect myself to my Heavenly Father. My prayers have been full of me begging the Lord for reassurance that I am ok with him. As I was lying next to Lauren watching the DVD she had made for me, it hit me. I had received an answer. My answer was lying right next to me. I knew at that moment that “I must have done something right.” I’m not perfect, but I am on the right path. When you’re trying, God blesses you with people that inspire you to keep trying.

Lauren is always doing nice things for me, but this one really meant a lot. Not only do I love the DVD, it is obvious that she spent a lot of time, put a ton of effort, and hours of thought into it. I am normally not an emotional person, but it brought and still brings tears to my eyes that she loves me enough to do all of that.

“Maybe I'm just lucky, Cause it's hard to believe, that somebody like you'd end up with
someone like me.”

It may be hard to believe, but I do believe because I am living it. Lauren, thank you! Not just for the DVD, but also for loving me, accepting me, and always caring about me even at your own expense. I hope you know that you mean the world to me. I love you very much. I will do anything for you.

The Start of the Beginning of Time...

Meet Lauren Michelle Gillespie, born October 8 and the most beautiful girl in the world. She grew up in Bakersfield, CA. Now Lauren wasn't your normal everyday hottie. She played tennis, donated money to PETA, was a member of swim team, but the most impressive thing is... her dedication to the religion.

In Lauren's younger years, she would dream of the day when she could go to Brigham Young University in Provo, UT. I already said she wasn't your normal everyday hottie. Honestly, who dreams about moving to Provo, UT? Back to the story... While dreaming of BYU she would frequently dream of meeting her prince charming; tall, dark, and handsome, just like her father. Even though Lauren wouldn't admit it, everyone knew she was really moving to Provo to seek out her prince and marry him. That's what members of the LDS church do right?

She worked hard in High School. She had to. BYU was becoming overly competitive and if she was going to go to BYU and find her prince she couldn't slack off. After many hard years of work and dedication in school, Lauren graduated. Not only did she graduate, but top of her class. After graduation, she didn't waste anytime. She immediately went shopping... haha just making sure you're still with me. Do you really think she would waste time shopping? She started packing. Despite the bribes from mom and dad to stay at home a little longer, she put her things in her Toyota 4Runner and was on her way.

Now, Lauren is great at a lot of things, but she knew she wasn't the best driver. She was a little nervous to make the ten hour trip to Utah. So she pulled out her purse and thumbed through some stuff and do you know what she pulled out? It was a CD titled "BYU Roadtrip Mix". She put that CD into the player and listened to it the whole way to Utah.

She arrived to the Marriott Center. Where she was supposed to meet all her other "popular" Freshman Academy friends. She couldn't wait. She got out of the car in her Gucci jeans, Armani shirt, Stewart Weitzman designer shoes (I swear I am not gay, I had to look that up on the internet), and Neiman Marcus jacket. Of course she had to wear a jacket, it is a lot colder in Utah than California, plus she had to look good for her prince.

She was ready... the search had now began. Where was Prince Charming?

***

Meet Beau Byron Dunn. Born August 28. An interesting fellow who grew up herding cattle. He was raised in Annabella, UT. Now Beau wasn't your normal everyday cattle herder. He also played paint ball, went camping, was an active member of FBLA, but the most impressive thing is... his dedication to life.

In Beau's younger years, he would dream of the day when he would start his own multi billion dollar company. I already said he wasn't your normal everyday cattle herder. Honestly, who dreams of starting companies when you can herd cattle? Back to the story... While dreaming of his company, he would also dream of going to BYU and finding a hottie to become his wife. Although Beau would never have admitted that last little part, that was entirely his plan. He, however, knew that before he could start his company, go to BYU and find his hottie that he must graduate from high school and serve a mission for his church. (FYI, girls at BYU don't like boys that aren't RMs)
He worked pretty hard in high school. He had to. BYU was becoming overly competitive and if he was going to go to BYU and find his hottie he couldn't slack off. After many hard years of work and failed business ideas, Beau graduated. He packed his bags and was off... not to BYU, but off to the Church History Tour. Almost a whole month of church sites all over the USA. He couldn't wait, but in the back of his mind he was thinking about his future business and beautiful princess.

While in Nauvoo, IL, Beau received a phone call from his parents saying that his mission call had arrived. He was very nervous. His paren ts read it to him over the phone and he had been called to serve in the Mexico Guadalajara South Mission. Wait... there is more... drum roll please... SPANISH SPEAKING! Yeah, I am sure you already got that, but it was exciting to say anyway.

He arrived to the MTC (Missionary Training Center) August 6, 2003. He met up with all the other young men that were going to serve missions. He couldn't wait. He got out of his parents car in his Jones New York Suite, Van Huessen white shirt, Walmart tie, and skecher shoes. Of course he had to wear skecher shoes. He was going to be walking a lot and they have large sole.
He was ready... the mission had now be come. He was one step closer to BYU, his business, and his beautiful princess (hopefully to be queen).

***

August 2005

Beau, 45 lbs lighter and a little more bald, with his official RM status, returned home from his mission. He then packed up and moved to BYU. He still had the thoughts of his business and his beautiful princess. He was on a mission again, but not for Souls, but for the big "M"... Corporate merger of course... is it? You decide. Use your freaking imagination.

Lauren, still beautiful and amazing, was now heading to her dorm at BYU after a long day of Freshman Academy. Still no tall, dark, and handsome prince. Had she set her expectations too high? Of course not. She knew she would find him.

Beau was taking American Heritage. What a terrible class. One day he saw a girl staring at him. He looked and upon seeing her, knew she wasn't a business partner or a "possible" dating candidate. They, however, became very good friends. Her name was Emily. She was very good at distracting Beau by playing tic tac toe with him during lecture. She introduced him to some of her friends, Sarah and Jay. They started sitting by each other in American Heritage and became good study tools, but little did he know t hat those three girls were preparing him to meet someone special. A fate, a destiny that had started and could not be changed.

Lauren while in her dorm walked down the hall to the bathroom to freshen up before bedtime. Upon arriving to the bathroom, she saw a couple friends. Hi Emily! Hi Jay! Hi Sarah! Lauren listened to them. They were talking about Emily's new crush in American Heritage. Little did Lauren know she had just started a road to fulfill someone's fate and destiny.

Beau and Lauren both continued searching for their dreams...

***

September 2006

Beau who had just recently been called as the official ward chair coordinator walked down to the Bishop's office to get set apart. While standing in line talking to Jeremy, Jeremy began trying to flirt with the girls behind them in line. Jeremy and Beau introduced themselves and then Erica, Michelle, and Lauren introduced themselves.

Beau found out that day that chair coordinator wasn't a real calling and that he didn't have to be set apart. No, he didn't find out in a nice way. It was announced in front of everyone.
Wait!!!! Did I just say Beau introduced him self to a group of girls? The group of girls introduced themselves to Beau? Maybe you want to reread the names of the girls. It might be foreshadowing...

***

January 2007

January 13

"So Jeremy and Beau are both pretty good friends of mine now -- We hug and talk and laugh all the time. They're great guys. We bad a good time at "The Farm" this weekend with Whitney and a bunch of friends from our ward." Lauren wrote.

One day the Bishop called Beau. He asked Beau if he could meet with him. He told Beau that it was time for him to take on some more responsibility. The Bishop was sure he could handle more than just putting up chairs on Sunday. He called Beau to be the FHE Dad. Beau was informed that his Wife would be Lauren Gillespie from Regency 210. Beau was really excited because Lauren and he had became very good friends recently.

Once again, fate and destiny had brought Beau and Lauren together. They started spending every spare minute together.

***

May 2007

May 13
"Beau came home tonight! Yay! I always miss him so much when he's gone. He was laying down on my lap and we were talking and having a good time... he told me that by giving himself to me he means like choosing me first always. For example, if the guys wanna chill and I wanna do something else, he'll choose me. He said he wasn't really like that with his past girlfriends, but he wants to totally give himself to me. That w as eye-opening and very reassuring. Tonight we really established that we were officially dating and we both feel good about that decision. I am officially dating Beau Byron Dunn." Lauren wrote.

Beau went home that night and thanked God that even though he hadn't started a multi billion dollar company that God had put Lauren in his life.

Lauren thanked God that she had met her tall, dark, and handsome prince.

Meet Beau and Lauren. Started "officially" dating May 13, 2007. We all know they were really dating long before that date. They were just too scared to admit that they had found each other. Lauren her tall, dark, and handsome prince and Beau his beautiful hottie.

They spend almost all their time together now. If they have to go more than a day without seeing each other they both go crazy.

Both of their parents are very thankful they both have Verizon cellphone service or else they would go broke with all the phone calls and text messages.

This this the conclusion of this story, but hopefully not the conclusion of Beau and Lauren's story. They will love each other always and forever.

Introduction

Who am I?

General Stuff

Name: Beau Byron Dunn
Born: August 28
Where: Richfield, UT
Grew up: Annabella, UT

Favorites

Food: Any pasta or Mexican
Color: Black (I'm not gothic)
Number: 7
Subject: English
Drink: Water
TV Show: Prison Break
Movie: HSM 1 and Harry Potters
Sport: Soccer

Ok, enough of that. I am pretty excited about this whole blog experience.

My first blog...

Well hello there! Welcome to my blog; My little space on this huge world we call the internet. I am not sure why I started this "blog" other than I wanted to fit in. It seems like everyone these days has a blog. I felt left out, decided to be trendy, and here I am. The best part about starting a blog is that I will now fit in during party conversations.

I don't have a lot of time tonight, but little by little I will be adding some of my interesting stories. Stories like, "Freaks I've Encountered on the Internet", "My Audition for Once Upon a Mattress", and many other stories that leave me completely open for public humiliation.

P.S. I love you Lauren!