As much as I don't love math, I kind of like numbers. So, you get another year-in-review post... this time with some numbers that sum up some parts of my past year, in some way or another. (Whew! Lots of sums/somes in that sentence. Sorry about that.) Get excited.
Traveling:
Miles traveled: 22200+
States lived in: 2
States lived in/been in: 12
Countries visited: 4 (5 including US)
Plane trips: 7
Amusement parks visited: 6
School and Work:
Degrees earned: 1
Licensing tests taken (and passed): 2
EFY sessions worked: 6
Jobs held: 4
Jobs applied for when looking for my full-time job: 30+
Interviews attended when looking for my full-time job: 9
Personal:
Dates went on: 12
Boys I went on dates with this year who are now engaged: 3
Books read: 79
Wards member of: 2
Roommates had: 4
Roommates had including EFY weeks: 18
Plays/musicals/operas attended: 8
Cars test driven: 10
Missionaries written: 20+
Spiritual:
Temples/temple grounds visited: 12
Temple open houses attended: 3
Ensigns read: 12
101 List:
101 list goals completed: 28
101 list goals in progress: 9
Novels written: 1 (definitely had to highlight that out of all the goals I did, because that was awesome)
Lives touched: ?
But these numbers definitely don't paint the full picture that was my life in 2012. 2012 was full of surprises and ups and downs and lots of things happened that I never really would have expected. I never would have guessed that I'd ever live in Idaho, but here I am. Never thought I'd be working for the company I do, but (once again), here I am. I've really had to adjust my life plans in several different ways. I had to grow in ways I never thought I would and that (in some cases), I'm still trying to figure out how I feel about it all. But I have grown and learned a lot. And going over some of these numbers (as well as my previous post, with my Facebook statuses), helps me to remember some of the awesome things I did this year, as some of the harder things I went through. I'm really interested to see what 2013 brings.
Monday, December 31, 2012
My Year in Facebook Statuses- 2012 Edition
(Obligatory end-of-the-year post.)
I saved all my Facebook statuses in a Word Document for the last year, and it was definitely fun for me to review it and remember some of the things that happened this year. Hope you enjoy it, as well.
January
•2011 was a great year overall, but I feel like 2012 is going to be my best year yet. It won't be without its challenges, for sure, but it'll be a fantastic year nonetheless. Bring. It. On.
•My body is rebelling against getting back into work and school mode.
•15 letters later... I'm finally caught up on writing missionaries! Whew!
•Just got a letter from my 12-year-old self. To whatever teacher made me do that and then kept it for 10 years before mailing it... thank you. That was one of the most hilarious things I've read in a while.
•Sometimes being a therapist is really hard.
•Won the Sunday challenge.
February
•Going to bed just after 10pm. What is WRONG with me? (Oh yeah... I'm exhausted...)
•To all those who have been asking me what I'm doing after graduation, I finally have an answer... I'm going to be an EFY counselor! (Just don't ask what I'm doing after July 21. I still have no idea.)
•Heart-shaped pizzas are cool and all... But it's kind of depressing when you have to cut them up to eat them.
•Just got surprised by one of my best friends, who I haven't seen for almost three years. Definitely made me smile. So fun!
•In honor of Fat Tuesday and giving up desserts for Lent, I am currently eating the world's second greatest gift. And then I'll finish it off with a Krispy Kreme. :-)
•The first EFY counselor training was awesome. I'm getting more and more excited for this summer!
•In case anybody was wondering, roller derbies are AWESOME!
•Just ordered my cap, gown, hood, and announcements. Maybe I will make it to graduation, after all!
•I'm allowed to get excited over my half birthday, since I only get it once every four years. (Happy half birthday to me!)
March
•Sometimes 10:30pm IHOP runs turn into suddenly getting home at 1am and realizing you're not tired anymore. Work tomorrow (today?) is going to be interesting...
•Least favorite Sunday of the year. I hate getting even less sleep than normal.
•How the heck have none of my friends said, "Beware the ides of March" yet today? C'mon people!
•Note to self: Always have good friends around who are good with cars.
•Smoothies and scrabble for a lunch party at work today. (I love my internship.) :-)
•Seeing some of my friends posting about registering for fall classes is weirding me out a little since this is the first time in years I'm not registering for classes. (And I'm not ever registering for classes again...)
April
•Rappelling for class is so much better than having a lecture.
•Passed the ASWB Clinical Exam! (I feel such a huge sense of relief right now.) So when I graduate in two weeks, I not only get my MSW degree, I walk across the stage as a CSW. Bam! :-)
•I'm learning so much about cars by having mine break down. At least I have friends that can educate me and then fix it.
•"The pain of loneliness, disappointment, despair, and heartache is actually carving reservoirs into your soul that will later be filled with joy."
•Just finished my last final ever and I graduate with my MSW next week. (I don't think either fact has truly hit me yet.)
•Just finished my last day at LDS Family Services. I'm going to miss working there so much!
•Dating/marriage advice from Uncle Scott: "Parts for a Corolla are easy to find... parts for a Ferrari are harder." Gotta love family get-togethers (and being graduated)!
•Aaaaaand.... cruise is booked. The Caribbean better be ready for the party Julie and I are going to bring in a month!
•Kansas City BBQ was delicious! And made even better by being with friends. Also, my grades for the last semester are in. I won't quite be graduating with the GPA I want, but I'll still be getting my MSW. I'll take it. A good night thus far, I'd say.
•Back safely in Provo after almost missing my connection and experiencing the most turbulence I've ever had in my life. My time in Kansas was way too short. But... Now I just must let the summer fun continue!
•I feel so smart watching the teen version of Jeopardy. I actually know the answers!
May
•Donated blood for the first time ever today... And I survived. Definitely got rather lightheaded and nauseous, though. Had to have a compress on my head, a fan turned on me, cold water to sip on, and a barf bag nearby just in case. Oops. Oh well.
•Got to play around on a harp today! It was so fun. :-)
•Just saw a bunch of EFY kids getting snow cones during their free time. I'm so excited to be a counselor in a few weeks! Now if only I could just learn the orientation dance. It's way more complicated than I'd like...
June
•Mexico, Belize, Honduras, Grand Cayman, and Orlando were all awesome, but I'm so excited to finally be home and in my own bed! (Though I won't be able to enjoy my own bed for long... EFY starts in just a few days!)
•Happy anniversary to my wonderful and amazing parents. I can only hope one day to have as strong and loving marriage as you two do.
•I love it when Thursday nights at EFY completely make up for all the craziness that happens during the rest of the week. And while I am excited to catch up on some sleep next week during my week off, I'm going to miss this so much.
July
•Convertibles make me so happy. :-)
•Watching fireworks from a rooftop? Yes, please!
•I'm going to miss being an EFY counselor so much. I just want to do this forever. Forget this whole getting a "real job" thing. Haha. ...But seriously.
•While I miss Team Tall Tees, I'm so excited to be with the Midwest team in Kirtland this week! It's going to be fantastic. Sad it's already my last week of EFY, though. Where has the summer gone?
•A ton of girl counselors I'm working with this week have served missions, have their mission calls, or are putting in their papers. I've also interacted with several sister missionaries at church sites we've visited this week and during our EFY service project. During this time, I've realized how much I love hearing their stories of how they decided to serve missions. So to my sister RM friends, or to my girl friends who are preparing to serve or have their calls... What's your story? I'd love to hear it! (Feel free to message it to me if it's too personal to share in a comment.)
•After two awesome days at Cedar Point, Epic Road Trip: Ohio Edition continues... as we head to Nauvoo. :-)
•Home, home, home, home, home! I have to leave in less than 43 hours again, but it's so nice to be back for this brief amount of time. (I'm especially looking forward to sleeping in my own bed for two whole nights!) :-)
August
•I can't believe EFY is over. Those six weeks were some of the craziest, hardest, most emotional, and yet most fulfilling and fun weeks of my life. Thanks to everybody who made it such a great experience!
•Note to self: a dream about forgetting about a test is just as scary when you're out of school as it was when you were in school.
•Truths affirmed this evening: 1. I am a klutz. 2. Tubing is awesome. 3. I bruise way too easily.
•Advantage of my family moving to Orange County? Being able to play at Disneyland for a day when visiting them. — at Downtown Disney.
•"The Lord is intent on your personal growth and development. That progress is accelerated when you willingly allow Him to lead you through every growth experience you encounter, whether initially it be to your individual liking or not. When you trust in the Lord, when you are willing to let your heart and your mind be centered in His will, when you ask to be led by the Spirit to do His will, you are assured of the greatest happiness along the way and the most fulfilling attainment from this mortal experience. If you question everything you are asked to do, or dig in your heels at every unpleasant challenge, you make it harder for the Lord to bless you.” —Elder Richard G. Scott ("Finding Joy in Life")
•First time since fall 1994 that school has started and I'm not there. Weird. So I instead went to the gym for the first time in three months and somehow survived the hour-long Zumba class (but man, I'm out of shape). Next up on the agenda? Cleaning. Then going out to lunch with a friend. And job searching. And TV watching. And reading. Oh, the life of an unemployed graduate.
September
•Definitely got burned at the game today. Oops. Oh well. It was worth it. :-)
•Well... That was an incredibly hard game to watch. But I'm still proud of my Cougars. Now let's come back stronger next week.
•Regional Conference was wonderful and just what I needed. I'm so grateful to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints!
•Looks like I'll be up in Boise for an interview next week. For those familiar with the area, any suggestions of things to see/do while up there? Keep in mind that I'll also be evaluating Boise as a place to live, so any suggestions/comments geared towards that would also be appreciated.
October
•Anybody have an extra ticket to the BYU game this weekend? My dad's coming into town and it'd be a lot of fun to have him join me!
•After lots of crying, prayer, getting the worst night's sleep since recovering from my jaw surgery over 4 years ago, and more crying and prayer... I made a major life-changing decision. I have accepted a job position Boise and Nampa (Idaho). My head is still reeling from all of this. I'm really going to miss Provo and the people in it. It's been home for over 5 years... The longest I've lived anywhere in my life. But as I move forward with this decision, I'm feeling better and better about it and I'm excited to start this next chapter of my life.
•Funny quote from yesterday: "Colette, President Eyring moved to Idaho when he didn't really want to." Thanks, Dad. I hope Idaho is as good for me as it was for him. I still have my freak-out moments about moving, but suddenly being inundated with e-mails from my new co-workers welcoming me to the team does help calm me down.
•Ok, guys. This move to Boise is really happening. Anybody in the Provo/Orem area willing to donate some boxes to the cause?
•It's my last night in Provo and my roommate is throwing me a little going-away party. It's hard for me to keep track of who's in the area and who isn't, so I can't really send out individual invites. But if you can see this, it means you're invited! Come, come, come, come, come!
•Sorry for the first snow of the year, guys. Provo is just wishing me goodbye and is in mourning.
November
•My Idaho driver's license came in the mail today. Weird. I also got a new phone number with an Idaho area code. Double weird. I guess I really am an Idaho resident now. Anyways... Let me know if you want the number!
•Cereal. The dinner of champions.
•Got my first big-girl paycheck today! Definitely exciting. Now let's not just think about how I'm now paying more in taxes than what my gross pay was in some past jobs...
•A bit of a rough weekend in some ways, but also full of many tender mercies... including being able to go to two different sessions of the rededication of the Boise temple today. I am so blessed to live so incredibly close to a House of the Lord and am so grateful that the temple is now once again dedicated so that I can go and receive the blessings waiting for me there.
•Crazy, crazy, crazy day at work. My job definitely keeps me on my toes. But I'm loving it overall, anyways. Plus, I got my business cards today! I feel so professional.
•"I have learned that the bitter, almost unbearable pain can become sweet as you turn to your Father in Heaven and plead for His comfort that comes through His plan; His Son, Jesus Christ; and His Comforter, who is the Holy Ghost... I testify that because of Him, even our Savior, Jesus Christ, those feelings of sorrow, loneliness, and despair will one day be swallowed up in a fulness of joy. I testify that we can depend on Him and when He said: “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you..."... I testify that, as stated in Preach My Gospel, “as we rely on the Atonement of Jesus Christ, He can help us endure our trials, sicknesses, and pain. We can be filled with joy, peace, and consolation. All that is unfair about life can be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.”" --Elder Shayne M. Bowen, “Because I Live, Ye Shall Live Also”
•After 3 months, 7 visits to the DMV and countless phone calls, my car is FINALLY fully registered! Can I please cry tears of happiness now?
•Just won NaNoWriMo! Bam. It ended up being pretty fun, though my plot and characters weren't the best or most original. (But that's beside the point.) I forgot how therapeutic writing for fun can be for me. Let's hope I can keep some of this creativity up, and not just have it reappear every November. :-)
December
•Finally got up the courage to try to donate blood again and was rejected. I have to wait until the beginning of June (a year after my cruise) to donate. Let's hope I can convince myself to try again. But traveling is awesome, even when it may put you at risk for malaria.
•Just bought a space heater for my room. Best investment I've made in quite some time.
•I feel so accomplished. Passed the ASWB Masters Exam that I had to take because I moved to Idaho and finished all my Christmas shopping. And it's only 11:30! Next on the list: going to the dollar theater and Olive Garden. And just having a great day. :-)
•"Our Heavenly Father is aware of our needs and will help us as we call upon Him for assistance. I believe that no concern of ours is too small or insignificant. The Lord is in the details of our lives." -President Thomas S. Monson
•I wasn't going to make it home for dinner before FHE, so I asked my roommate to bring me an apple, so that I wouldn't starve. She decided that I also needed some protein, so she brought me some muddy buddies, too. This roommate situation is working out quite well. :-)
•I made it all last winter without falling on ice, but totally biffed it this morning (in a skirt, no less), after the first real snowfall. I think that sums up 2012 quite nicely... lots of surprises! It'll definitely be interesting to see what 2013 brings.
I saved all my Facebook statuses in a Word Document for the last year, and it was definitely fun for me to review it and remember some of the things that happened this year. Hope you enjoy it, as well.
January
•2011 was a great year overall, but I feel like 2012 is going to be my best year yet. It won't be without its challenges, for sure, but it'll be a fantastic year nonetheless. Bring. It. On.
•My body is rebelling against getting back into work and school mode.
•15 letters later... I'm finally caught up on writing missionaries! Whew!
•Just got a letter from my 12-year-old self. To whatever teacher made me do that and then kept it for 10 years before mailing it... thank you. That was one of the most hilarious things I've read in a while.
•Sometimes being a therapist is really hard.
•Won the Sunday challenge.
February
•Going to bed just after 10pm. What is WRONG with me? (Oh yeah... I'm exhausted...)
•To all those who have been asking me what I'm doing after graduation, I finally have an answer... I'm going to be an EFY counselor! (Just don't ask what I'm doing after July 21. I still have no idea.)
•Heart-shaped pizzas are cool and all... But it's kind of depressing when you have to cut them up to eat them.
•Just got surprised by one of my best friends, who I haven't seen for almost three years. Definitely made me smile. So fun!
•In honor of Fat Tuesday and giving up desserts for Lent, I am currently eating the world's second greatest gift. And then I'll finish it off with a Krispy Kreme. :-)
•The first EFY counselor training was awesome. I'm getting more and more excited for this summer!
•In case anybody was wondering, roller derbies are AWESOME!
•Just ordered my cap, gown, hood, and announcements. Maybe I will make it to graduation, after all!
•I'm allowed to get excited over my half birthday, since I only get it once every four years. (Happy half birthday to me!)
March
•Sometimes 10:30pm IHOP runs turn into suddenly getting home at 1am and realizing you're not tired anymore. Work tomorrow (today?) is going to be interesting...
•Least favorite Sunday of the year. I hate getting even less sleep than normal.
•How the heck have none of my friends said, "Beware the ides of March" yet today? C'mon people!
•Note to self: Always have good friends around who are good with cars.
•Smoothies and scrabble for a lunch party at work today. (I love my internship.) :-)
•Seeing some of my friends posting about registering for fall classes is weirding me out a little since this is the first time in years I'm not registering for classes. (And I'm not ever registering for classes again...)
April
•Rappelling for class is so much better than having a lecture.
•Passed the ASWB Clinical Exam! (I feel such a huge sense of relief right now.) So when I graduate in two weeks, I not only get my MSW degree, I walk across the stage as a CSW. Bam! :-)
•I'm learning so much about cars by having mine break down. At least I have friends that can educate me and then fix it.
•"The pain of loneliness, disappointment, despair, and heartache is actually carving reservoirs into your soul that will later be filled with joy."
•Just finished my last final ever and I graduate with my MSW next week. (I don't think either fact has truly hit me yet.)
•Just finished my last day at LDS Family Services. I'm going to miss working there so much!
•Dating/marriage advice from Uncle Scott: "Parts for a Corolla are easy to find... parts for a Ferrari are harder." Gotta love family get-togethers (and being graduated)!
•Aaaaaand.... cruise is booked. The Caribbean better be ready for the party Julie and I are going to bring in a month!
•Kansas City BBQ was delicious! And made even better by being with friends. Also, my grades for the last semester are in. I won't quite be graduating with the GPA I want, but I'll still be getting my MSW. I'll take it. A good night thus far, I'd say.
•Back safely in Provo after almost missing my connection and experiencing the most turbulence I've ever had in my life. My time in Kansas was way too short. But... Now I just must let the summer fun continue!
•I feel so smart watching the teen version of Jeopardy. I actually know the answers!
May
•Donated blood for the first time ever today... And I survived. Definitely got rather lightheaded and nauseous, though. Had to have a compress on my head, a fan turned on me, cold water to sip on, and a barf bag nearby just in case. Oops. Oh well.
•Got to play around on a harp today! It was so fun. :-)
•Just saw a bunch of EFY kids getting snow cones during their free time. I'm so excited to be a counselor in a few weeks! Now if only I could just learn the orientation dance. It's way more complicated than I'd like...
June
•Mexico, Belize, Honduras, Grand Cayman, and Orlando were all awesome, but I'm so excited to finally be home and in my own bed! (Though I won't be able to enjoy my own bed for long... EFY starts in just a few days!)
•Happy anniversary to my wonderful and amazing parents. I can only hope one day to have as strong and loving marriage as you two do.
•I love it when Thursday nights at EFY completely make up for all the craziness that happens during the rest of the week. And while I am excited to catch up on some sleep next week during my week off, I'm going to miss this so much.
July
•Convertibles make me so happy. :-)
•Watching fireworks from a rooftop? Yes, please!
•I'm going to miss being an EFY counselor so much. I just want to do this forever. Forget this whole getting a "real job" thing. Haha. ...But seriously.
•While I miss Team Tall Tees, I'm so excited to be with the Midwest team in Kirtland this week! It's going to be fantastic. Sad it's already my last week of EFY, though. Where has the summer gone?
•A ton of girl counselors I'm working with this week have served missions, have their mission calls, or are putting in their papers. I've also interacted with several sister missionaries at church sites we've visited this week and during our EFY service project. During this time, I've realized how much I love hearing their stories of how they decided to serve missions. So to my sister RM friends, or to my girl friends who are preparing to serve or have their calls... What's your story? I'd love to hear it! (Feel free to message it to me if it's too personal to share in a comment.)
•After two awesome days at Cedar Point, Epic Road Trip: Ohio Edition continues... as we head to Nauvoo. :-)
•Home, home, home, home, home! I have to leave in less than 43 hours again, but it's so nice to be back for this brief amount of time. (I'm especially looking forward to sleeping in my own bed for two whole nights!) :-)
August
•I can't believe EFY is over. Those six weeks were some of the craziest, hardest, most emotional, and yet most fulfilling and fun weeks of my life. Thanks to everybody who made it such a great experience!
•Note to self: a dream about forgetting about a test is just as scary when you're out of school as it was when you were in school.
•Truths affirmed this evening: 1. I am a klutz. 2. Tubing is awesome. 3. I bruise way too easily.
•Advantage of my family moving to Orange County? Being able to play at Disneyland for a day when visiting them. — at Downtown Disney.
•"The Lord is intent on your personal growth and development. That progress is accelerated when you willingly allow Him to lead you through every growth experience you encounter, whether initially it be to your individual liking or not. When you trust in the Lord, when you are willing to let your heart and your mind be centered in His will, when you ask to be led by the Spirit to do His will, you are assured of the greatest happiness along the way and the most fulfilling attainment from this mortal experience. If you question everything you are asked to do, or dig in your heels at every unpleasant challenge, you make it harder for the Lord to bless you.” —Elder Richard G. Scott ("Finding Joy in Life")
•First time since fall 1994 that school has started and I'm not there. Weird. So I instead went to the gym for the first time in three months and somehow survived the hour-long Zumba class (but man, I'm out of shape). Next up on the agenda? Cleaning. Then going out to lunch with a friend. And job searching. And TV watching. And reading. Oh, the life of an unemployed graduate.
September
•Definitely got burned at the game today. Oops. Oh well. It was worth it. :-)
•Well... That was an incredibly hard game to watch. But I'm still proud of my Cougars. Now let's come back stronger next week.
•Regional Conference was wonderful and just what I needed. I'm so grateful to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints!
•Looks like I'll be up in Boise for an interview next week. For those familiar with the area, any suggestions of things to see/do while up there? Keep in mind that I'll also be evaluating Boise as a place to live, so any suggestions/comments geared towards that would also be appreciated.
October
•Anybody have an extra ticket to the BYU game this weekend? My dad's coming into town and it'd be a lot of fun to have him join me!
•After lots of crying, prayer, getting the worst night's sleep since recovering from my jaw surgery over 4 years ago, and more crying and prayer... I made a major life-changing decision. I have accepted a job position Boise and Nampa (Idaho). My head is still reeling from all of this. I'm really going to miss Provo and the people in it. It's been home for over 5 years... The longest I've lived anywhere in my life. But as I move forward with this decision, I'm feeling better and better about it and I'm excited to start this next chapter of my life.
•Funny quote from yesterday: "Colette, President Eyring moved to Idaho when he didn't really want to." Thanks, Dad. I hope Idaho is as good for me as it was for him. I still have my freak-out moments about moving, but suddenly being inundated with e-mails from my new co-workers welcoming me to the team does help calm me down.
•Ok, guys. This move to Boise is really happening. Anybody in the Provo/Orem area willing to donate some boxes to the cause?
•It's my last night in Provo and my roommate is throwing me a little going-away party. It's hard for me to keep track of who's in the area and who isn't, so I can't really send out individual invites. But if you can see this, it means you're invited! Come, come, come, come, come!
•Sorry for the first snow of the year, guys. Provo is just wishing me goodbye and is in mourning.
November
•My Idaho driver's license came in the mail today. Weird. I also got a new phone number with an Idaho area code. Double weird. I guess I really am an Idaho resident now. Anyways... Let me know if you want the number!
•Cereal. The dinner of champions.
•Got my first big-girl paycheck today! Definitely exciting. Now let's not just think about how I'm now paying more in taxes than what my gross pay was in some past jobs...
•A bit of a rough weekend in some ways, but also full of many tender mercies... including being able to go to two different sessions of the rededication of the Boise temple today. I am so blessed to live so incredibly close to a House of the Lord and am so grateful that the temple is now once again dedicated so that I can go and receive the blessings waiting for me there.
•Crazy, crazy, crazy day at work. My job definitely keeps me on my toes. But I'm loving it overall, anyways. Plus, I got my business cards today! I feel so professional.
•"I have learned that the bitter, almost unbearable pain can become sweet as you turn to your Father in Heaven and plead for His comfort that comes through His plan; His Son, Jesus Christ; and His Comforter, who is the Holy Ghost... I testify that because of Him, even our Savior, Jesus Christ, those feelings of sorrow, loneliness, and despair will one day be swallowed up in a fulness of joy. I testify that we can depend on Him and when He said: “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you..."... I testify that, as stated in Preach My Gospel, “as we rely on the Atonement of Jesus Christ, He can help us endure our trials, sicknesses, and pain. We can be filled with joy, peace, and consolation. All that is unfair about life can be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.”" --Elder Shayne M. Bowen, “Because I Live, Ye Shall Live Also”
•After 3 months, 7 visits to the DMV and countless phone calls, my car is FINALLY fully registered! Can I please cry tears of happiness now?
•Just won NaNoWriMo! Bam. It ended up being pretty fun, though my plot and characters weren't the best or most original. (But that's beside the point.) I forgot how therapeutic writing for fun can be for me. Let's hope I can keep some of this creativity up, and not just have it reappear every November. :-)
December
•Finally got up the courage to try to donate blood again and was rejected. I have to wait until the beginning of June (a year after my cruise) to donate. Let's hope I can convince myself to try again. But traveling is awesome, even when it may put you at risk for malaria.
•Just bought a space heater for my room. Best investment I've made in quite some time.
•I feel so accomplished. Passed the ASWB Masters Exam that I had to take because I moved to Idaho and finished all my Christmas shopping. And it's only 11:30! Next on the list: going to the dollar theater and Olive Garden. And just having a great day. :-)
•"Our Heavenly Father is aware of our needs and will help us as we call upon Him for assistance. I believe that no concern of ours is too small or insignificant. The Lord is in the details of our lives." -President Thomas S. Monson
•I wasn't going to make it home for dinner before FHE, so I asked my roommate to bring me an apple, so that I wouldn't starve. She decided that I also needed some protein, so she brought me some muddy buddies, too. This roommate situation is working out quite well. :-)
•I made it all last winter without falling on ice, but totally biffed it this morning (in a skirt, no less), after the first real snowfall. I think that sums up 2012 quite nicely... lots of surprises! It'll definitely be interesting to see what 2013 brings.
Sunday, December 30, 2012
More 101 List Accomplishments
It's been a while since I updated my blog about how my 101 list is going. And I've actually accomplished a few more of my goals!
Find a job I love
Maybe love is a bit excessive. But I am enjoying my job and so I'm counting it as done, especially since I don't see myself leaving it for quite some time. My job is not without its ups and downs and joys and frustrations... but what job where you work with people isn't like that? It's definitely rewarding, though. And I love the people that I work with.
Read every article in each copy of the Ensign for a year
Very uplifting goal that I'm happy I accomplished. I need to continue with reading at least some of the articles each month. But I should probably read the whole thing each month, when I can...there are sometimes hidden gems in there that I would have missed out on, if I hadn't actually read the whole magazine each month.
Go on at least one date a month for a year
This was hard. I almost gave up completing it several different times, including almost not going on a date in December. But, with my dad's help, I was able to go on a blind date yesterday and was able to pull it off. So now that's done. Some of the dates were a blast, some weren't so great. But at least I can say that I did it. I don't plan on asking anybody on any dates any time soon, which means I likely won't be dating at all any time soon. And for now, I'm okay with that. Though I do need to still go on at least one more date to accomplish another one of my 101 goals. But I'm definitely not putting any pressure on myself to work on that goal right now.
Start an IRA
This was pretty easy once I started my job, since I was able to easily set one up with them and even get it taken out of my paycheck each month. Yay for saving money easily!
Go to an away BYU football or basketball game
This one was a blast. My dad and I went to the Poinsettia Bowl that BYU played (and beat SDSU) in. It was better than I expected this goal to go. I thought I'd just go to some low-key game. But it was a blast being surrounded with a bunch of other BYU fans in a huge stadium, especially when BYU did pull off a win.
Find a job I love
Maybe love is a bit excessive. But I am enjoying my job and so I'm counting it as done, especially since I don't see myself leaving it for quite some time. My job is not without its ups and downs and joys and frustrations... but what job where you work with people isn't like that? It's definitely rewarding, though. And I love the people that I work with.
Read every article in each copy of the Ensign for a year
Very uplifting goal that I'm happy I accomplished. I need to continue with reading at least some of the articles each month. But I should probably read the whole thing each month, when I can...there are sometimes hidden gems in there that I would have missed out on, if I hadn't actually read the whole magazine each month.
Go on at least one date a month for a year
This was hard. I almost gave up completing it several different times, including almost not going on a date in December. But, with my dad's help, I was able to go on a blind date yesterday and was able to pull it off. So now that's done. Some of the dates were a blast, some weren't so great. But at least I can say that I did it. I don't plan on asking anybody on any dates any time soon, which means I likely won't be dating at all any time soon. And for now, I'm okay with that. Though I do need to still go on at least one more date to accomplish another one of my 101 goals. But I'm definitely not putting any pressure on myself to work on that goal right now.
Start an IRA
This was pretty easy once I started my job, since I was able to easily set one up with them and even get it taken out of my paycheck each month. Yay for saving money easily!
Go to an away BYU football or basketball game
This one was a blast. My dad and I went to the Poinsettia Bowl that BYU played (and beat SDSU) in. It was better than I expected this goal to go. I thought I'd just go to some low-key game. But it was a blast being surrounded with a bunch of other BYU fans in a huge stadium, especially when BYU did pull off a win.
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
NaNoWriMo
I put "completing NaNoWriMo" on my 101 list. When most people hear about NaNoWriMo, they just ask, "Uh... what?" And then I have to go on and clarify what NaNoWriMo is. (And some people still think I'm crazy after the explanation.)
NaNoWriMo (or National Novel Writing Month) is a challenge in the month of November to write a 50,000 word novel in just 30 days. This averages out to be 1667 words a day to reach the goal. Quite a bit of writing, and it can definitely be a bit intimidating. But I did it!
I know my novel wasn't anything special, especially considering the fact that I officially decided to participate on October 31 and had no real plan or outline going into it. However, it was really fun to just be a bit creative in my free time. I forgot how therapeutic writing can be for me. I was able to actually work out some personal issues, in a way. Amazing how just writing can do that. And it's so liberating to just ignore your inner editor for a while, because you need to get your word count. (Sometimes, it does become more about quantity than quality.) It doesn't matter if what you write doesn't make complete sense. It doesn't matter if you have the perfect phrase to describe everything. It doesn't matter if the characters aren't completely fleshed out. As some NaNoWriMo participants have been known to say, "December (and beyond) is for editing." I'm not entirely sure how much editing I'll ever end up doing, since I don't really have plans to publish it. But maybe. We'll see. And I'm already considering doing it again next year. Maybe with more of a plan.
But for now, I'll just be proud of this win. I mean, how many people can say they've written a novel? It was always something I wanted to be able to say, and now I can! It feels so great to set goals and achieve them.
NaNoWriMo (or National Novel Writing Month) is a challenge in the month of November to write a 50,000 word novel in just 30 days. This averages out to be 1667 words a day to reach the goal. Quite a bit of writing, and it can definitely be a bit intimidating. But I did it!
I know my novel wasn't anything special, especially considering the fact that I officially decided to participate on October 31 and had no real plan or outline going into it. However, it was really fun to just be a bit creative in my free time. I forgot how therapeutic writing can be for me. I was able to actually work out some personal issues, in a way. Amazing how just writing can do that. And it's so liberating to just ignore your inner editor for a while, because you need to get your word count. (Sometimes, it does become more about quantity than quality.) It doesn't matter if what you write doesn't make complete sense. It doesn't matter if you have the perfect phrase to describe everything. It doesn't matter if the characters aren't completely fleshed out. As some NaNoWriMo participants have been known to say, "December (and beyond) is for editing." I'm not entirely sure how much editing I'll ever end up doing, since I don't really have plans to publish it. But maybe. We'll see. And I'm already considering doing it again next year. Maybe with more of a plan.
But for now, I'll just be proud of this win. I mean, how many people can say they've written a novel? It was always something I wanted to be able to say, and now I can! It feels so great to set goals and achieve them.
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Sleep-related 101 List Things
I had a couple of sleep-related goals on my 101 list, and I completed both of them this week. They were to be in bed before midnight for a week and to get up right when my alarm goes off for a week.
These may not seem like a big deal, but for those who don't know, I'm a night owl. I definitely tend to stay up past midnight. And this leads to me not being much of a morning person, so I don't get up immediately. But it was a good idea to start my full-time job being more rested. And actually getting to bed at a semi-reasonable time (even though there were a few nights I slipped into bed just a bit before midnight) helped me to get up when my alarm went off. Amazing how that works. I should probably try to keep doing this. Sleep is important, and work has really been wearing me out... though I really have been enjoying my new job.
In other news, I decided to attempt to win NaNoWriMo. I wasn't going to tell anybody originally since I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to complete it and I hate feeling like I've failed or let people down. But apparently, though I'm great at keeping other people's secrets, I struggle to keep my own sometimes. Anyways, I decided to do NaNoWriMo, since in order to do it for my 101 list, I have to do it either this November or next November... and who knows what next November may bring. It hasn't been too hard so far, but I know it will likely get harder, since I don't exactly have much of a plan with it. I mean, I decided to do it on October 31, so I didn't have much of an outline going into it. And it's probably not the best idea to do NaNoWriMo right now, as I'm busy trying to learn a new job, make new friends, and learn a new area, but it's actually been kind of fun to let my creativity flow for a bit each day. We'll just have to see how it goes!
These may not seem like a big deal, but for those who don't know, I'm a night owl. I definitely tend to stay up past midnight. And this leads to me not being much of a morning person, so I don't get up immediately. But it was a good idea to start my full-time job being more rested. And actually getting to bed at a semi-reasonable time (even though there were a few nights I slipped into bed just a bit before midnight) helped me to get up when my alarm went off. Amazing how that works. I should probably try to keep doing this. Sleep is important, and work has really been wearing me out... though I really have been enjoying my new job.
In other news, I decided to attempt to win NaNoWriMo. I wasn't going to tell anybody originally since I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to complete it and I hate feeling like I've failed or let people down. But apparently, though I'm great at keeping other people's secrets, I struggle to keep my own sometimes. Anyways, I decided to do NaNoWriMo, since in order to do it for my 101 list, I have to do it either this November or next November... and who knows what next November may bring. It hasn't been too hard so far, but I know it will likely get harder, since I don't exactly have much of a plan with it. I mean, I decided to do it on October 31, so I didn't have much of an outline going into it. And it's probably not the best idea to do NaNoWriMo right now, as I'm busy trying to learn a new job, make new friends, and learn a new area, but it's actually been kind of fun to let my creativity flow for a bit each day. We'll just have to see how it goes!
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Some Restaurant-related 101 Things and the Move
I was able to check off a couple more things from my 101 list. I finished trying 20 new restaurants (I actually surpassed that, too... I kind of like trying new places.) And I left a 100% tip at another restaurant.
I'm now moved and pretty settled into my room that I'm renting in a house. (Yes, I did end up finding a place to live, despite my kind of freak out in my last post.) I think I'll like it. I know it's where I'm supposed to be, but that doesn't necessarily make it easy. Having to essentially start over is hard. A big part of me just wants to be back in Provo, even though I know that isn't home anymore.
Things change so fast. Boise wasn't even on my radar screen a little over a month ago. And now I'm here for the foreseeable future. And I start my new job tomorrow.
This still feels a bit surreal. But I'm going to make it work. I have to.
I'm now moved and pretty settled into my room that I'm renting in a house. (Yes, I did end up finding a place to live, despite my kind of freak out in my last post.) I think I'll like it. I know it's where I'm supposed to be, but that doesn't necessarily make it easy. Having to essentially start over is hard. A big part of me just wants to be back in Provo, even though I know that isn't home anymore.
Things change so fast. Boise wasn't even on my radar screen a little over a month ago. And now I'm here for the foreseeable future. And I start my new job tomorrow.
This still feels a bit surreal. But I'm going to make it work. I have to.
Monday, October 15, 2012
Another 101 List Accomplishment... and House Hunting
I was able to cross another thing off my 101 list today.... to write a friend/acquaintance a nice note/text every day for a month. I know that probably doesn't seem like much, but I thought that it'd be a good thing for me to do. I know how much simple texts or notes have meant to me at certain times of my life, and so I tried to spread some of that happiness. It was a nice reminder to think of others who might need a boost and not be so wrapped up in myself (like I am sometimes prone to do). I hope to continue to be in tune enough with the Spirit to be able to reach out to others who may need help, even if it's just as simple as sending a text.
In other news, I hate house hunting. I've been looking online and making phone calls and sending e-mails pretty much since I accepted the position, and I'm finally out here to look at things in person. It was hard enough doing things from afar, when less than half of the people you contact respond to your inquiries. But it's hard being here, too. Things I've seen so far in person just aren't right. And I'm not super hopeful about anything tomorrow. I'm supposed to be moved up here in a week and a half! I'm definitely freaking out a bit. It's overwhelming. I never thought I'd be making a major move by myself like this and it's really difficult.
I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to be at this job, so I know I'm supposed to be somewhere up here. But I'm just not entirely sure where that somewhere is. And that's frustrating.
Let's hope things work themselves out tomorrow.
In other news, I hate house hunting. I've been looking online and making phone calls and sending e-mails pretty much since I accepted the position, and I'm finally out here to look at things in person. It was hard enough doing things from afar, when less than half of the people you contact respond to your inquiries. But it's hard being here, too. Things I've seen so far in person just aren't right. And I'm not super hopeful about anything tomorrow. I'm supposed to be moved up here in a week and a half! I'm definitely freaking out a bit. It's overwhelming. I never thought I'd be making a major move by myself like this and it's really difficult.
I'm pretty sure I'm supposed to be at this job, so I know I'm supposed to be somewhere up here. But I'm just not entirely sure where that somewhere is. And that's frustrating.
Let's hope things work themselves out tomorrow.
Friday, October 5, 2012
Multiple Temples in One Day
One of my 101 list items was to "go to three different temples in the same day." I figured that I should take advantage of the fact that I'm in Utah and can do that. There are so many members of the church who have to travel so far to make it to just one temple... who sacrifice so much money and time to just go once in their life. I'm so blessed to be able to go to the Provo temple once a week. And I figured before I leave Utah, I should hit multiple temples in one day. So yesterday, I did just that.
I visited the Provo, Mount Timpanogos, Draper, Jordan River, and Oquirrh Mountain temples. I also did my typical Thursday night Provo temple visit after all that, so I did five different temples, six times. It was really neat.
I'm so grateful for temples and the peace that I find in them.
I visited the Provo, Mount Timpanogos, Draper, Jordan River, and Oquirrh Mountain temples. I also did my typical Thursday night Provo temple visit after all that, so I did five different temples, six times. It was really neat.
I'm so grateful for temples and the peace that I find in them.
Trip to Boise
I was invited to go up to Boise and interview in person for a job and so I headed up there this week.
It was a bit intimidating, since I've never been to Boise, but it ended up being a really cool experience. I got to spend basically a whole work day with them, meeting the team and getting more familiar with the job description. The lady who would be my supervisor even took me and saw little parts of Boise to point some things out. They also treated me to lunch at a cafe on a local airport, where I got a delicious chicken burger and tater tots (hey... it's Idaho). And we saw this awesome plane. (Sorry it's a bit blurry.)
After spending the time with them, I drove around Boise and the surrounding area a bit. I went to a beautiful park, went to the temple grounds where people were busy cleaning the grounds for the upcoming open house, and went to a class at the LDS Institute.
I actually quite liked Boise, for the bit of time that I spent there. Though the roads are so crazy. I was so grateful for my navigation system. I think I would've literally died without it (so many one-way streets)!
Examples of crazy Boise streets.
I thought that if they offered me the job, I would probably take it. It would be hard to move, but I really thought I'd like the job and I would adjust to it. However, I was thrown for a loop on Wednesday as I was driving back, when I got a call from a family clinic in Provo that I interviewed with. I was expecting them to say that I didn't get the job, since I've been getting several rejection calls and they had told me that they would let me know early in the week if I got it. I figured since they were calling on Wednesday, they were informing me that they picked someone else. But they ended up offering it to me. I was a mess the rest of the way home and the rest of that day. I didn't want to leave Provo. And I had a great offer to stay! And when Thursday morning rolled around and the job in Boise did offer me the position, I was so torn. I'd enjoy the job in Boise more, but I was so tempted to be able to just stay in Provo. After lots of tears and praying and talking to several different people, I did accept the Boise job and I'll be starting there the end of the month.
It's crazy how fast life can change! I'm definitely a bit nervous about moving, but I feel great about the position. Hopefully this will be the start of a great new chapter of my life.
Also... bonus pictures. Driving back from Boise, I pulled off the freeway to try to call someone and found this little shop that had llamas out front. It made me smile when I was really struggling with a hard decision, and I thought I'd share the happiness.
It was a bit intimidating, since I've never been to Boise, but it ended up being a really cool experience. I got to spend basically a whole work day with them, meeting the team and getting more familiar with the job description. The lady who would be my supervisor even took me and saw little parts of Boise to point some things out. They also treated me to lunch at a cafe on a local airport, where I got a delicious chicken burger and tater tots (hey... it's Idaho). And we saw this awesome plane. (Sorry it's a bit blurry.)
After spending the time with them, I drove around Boise and the surrounding area a bit. I went to a beautiful park, went to the temple grounds where people were busy cleaning the grounds for the upcoming open house, and went to a class at the LDS Institute.
I actually quite liked Boise, for the bit of time that I spent there. Though the roads are so crazy. I was so grateful for my navigation system. I think I would've literally died without it (so many one-way streets)!
I thought that if they offered me the job, I would probably take it. It would be hard to move, but I really thought I'd like the job and I would adjust to it. However, I was thrown for a loop on Wednesday as I was driving back, when I got a call from a family clinic in Provo that I interviewed with. I was expecting them to say that I didn't get the job, since I've been getting several rejection calls and they had told me that they would let me know early in the week if I got it. I figured since they were calling on Wednesday, they were informing me that they picked someone else. But they ended up offering it to me. I was a mess the rest of the way home and the rest of that day. I didn't want to leave Provo. And I had a great offer to stay! And when Thursday morning rolled around and the job in Boise did offer me the position, I was so torn. I'd enjoy the job in Boise more, but I was so tempted to be able to just stay in Provo. After lots of tears and praying and talking to several different people, I did accept the Boise job and I'll be starting there the end of the month.
It's crazy how fast life can change! I'm definitely a bit nervous about moving, but I feel great about the position. Hopefully this will be the start of a great new chapter of my life.
Also... bonus pictures. Driving back from Boise, I pulled off the freeway to try to call someone and found this little shop that had llamas out front. It made me smile when I was really struggling with a hard decision, and I thought I'd share the happiness.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
Do a full 24-hour fast
Another thing on my 101 list was to do a full 24-hour fast.
As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we are asked to fast once a month, giving up food and drink for two consecutive meals. I've done that every month for years, but I haven't fasted for a full 24-hours for a really long time. I tend to stay up late Saturday nights and so I start my fast pretty late and then I end it Sunday around dinnertime. Because of that, it ends up being more like a 18-hour fast, though I still do fast during breakfast and lunch. But yesterday, I started my fast just after 4:30pm and then ended it today around 4:40pm... a full 24-hours.
It was definitely neat, and it was nice to prove to myself that I could do it. I hadn't done it in so long I wondered if I could. I hope this isn't the only time I do a full 24-hour fast. It's a sacrifice, but it can bring forth so much power and so many blessings. I've grateful to know about the doctrine of fasting.
As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we are asked to fast once a month, giving up food and drink for two consecutive meals. I've done that every month for years, but I haven't fasted for a full 24-hours for a really long time. I tend to stay up late Saturday nights and so I start my fast pretty late and then I end it Sunday around dinnertime. Because of that, it ends up being more like a 18-hour fast, though I still do fast during breakfast and lunch. But yesterday, I started my fast just after 4:30pm and then ended it today around 4:40pm... a full 24-hours.
It was definitely neat, and it was nice to prove to myself that I could do it. I hadn't done it in so long I wondered if I could. I hope this isn't the only time I do a full 24-hour fast. It's a sacrifice, but it can bring forth so much power and so many blessings. I've grateful to know about the doctrine of fasting.
Reading My Height in Books
For my 101 list, one of my goals was to read my height in books. And even though I started this goal on January 1 (and thus started recording the books then), I've already accomplished it. (With being out of school and unemployed, I've had a lot of time to read and it's been lovely.)
I even have pictures to prove it! Over 67 inches of books read.
But don't worry. I won't stop reading anytime soon. I just didn't think I'd finish that goal so fast! I guess that answers what I've been doing with all my free time this summer when I haven't been looking for a job or at EFY!
I even have pictures to prove it! Over 67 inches of books read.
But don't worry. I won't stop reading anytime soon. I just didn't think I'd finish that goal so fast! I guess that answers what I've been doing with all my free time this summer when I haven't been looking for a job or at EFY!
Saturday, September 15, 2012
How car shopping/buying is like dating/marriage
So... I got a new car. A 2013 Hyundai Elantra Limited. It's pretty sweet. But anyone that knows anything about this knows what a process it was for me to get this car. I test drove 10 different cars over the course of a few months. But then, even once I decided on the Elantra, more decisions had to be made. It really stressed me out... To the point that I wasn't really even sure if I wanted to get a new car. My current car (Squeekers, a 1998 Toyota Avalon) was fine. Sure, he had over 245,000 miles on him. And his turning radius was pretty awful. And the MPG definitely could've been better. But he got me where I needed to go. He was comfortable and spacious. And I had so many great memories with him. Why would I need something else? But I did get a new car. And somehow, I drew parallels to dating and marriage. (Am I a dork? Oh well.) So here are some of my observations about car shopping and buying. Not all of them may fit with the dating/marriage idea (and who knows how accurate some of these are, since it's not like I have much personal experience in dating or marriage), but I'm sharing them anyways. Because the idea of this post makes me smile.
For me, I had to do a bit of research before I started test driving. I had to figure out what was a must have for me (good MPG and cruise control) and what's nice to have (Bluetooth) and what I couldn't stand (truly compact cars... I need my space). But you can only research for so long before you have to start going on test drives. That's where you get some more invaluable information to add to these lists. Like I discovered that I can't stand uncomfortable seats... even if they're the back seats (I want my passengers to enjoy the trip, too). And I realized I liked sportier feeling cars. I got so used to my slightly clunkier Toyota Avalon, that I didn't really realize that steering could be a bit easier. And that was nice. Going along with that, I had to figure out what quirks I was okay with (a car not having the best suspension in the world) and what quirks I wasn't (ugly interiors). Some of those qualities are things I never would have figured out if I hadn't actually gone out with the car for a drive. Or I at least wouldn't have really known it mattered until I went on a drive.
Some cars you take on a test drive and you know immediately that it isn't a fit. This happened to me a few different times when test driving and I couldn't wait to get back to the dealership to either try a new car or go to a different dealership. The car was fine, but for some reason, I could tell it wasn't for me... though it'd easily be a great car for someone else.
Some cars sound good on paper and not in actuality. There were a few cars I was super excited to test drive since they sounded so good from my research. But once I was with the actual car... it wasn't right for me. And the opposite can also be true. A car may sound not-that-great on paper or based on your perceptions and stereotypes, but is great in person.
Test driving cars can actually be pretty dang fun. Though other times it's not as fun because you don't like the car quite as much as you wanted to. Oh well.
Unfortunately, there is no perfect car. But that's okay. You need to find what works and what doesn't work for you and find the best fit for you.
You may freak out when you find a car that fits so well that you then question if it could really be the right one- so you immediately try out some others. Um... this happened with me with the Elantra. After trying a few different cars and nothing working out, I was surprised how much I liked the Elantra. But that made me wonder if that really was the car for me. How could something fit so well? That couldn't be right. So instead of buying the car, I immediately wanted to test drive more cars. I was definitely overthinking things. (I apologize, future husband, for the fact that this most likely will occur with you.)
Not to make a post about cars spiritual or anything, but I definitely made the decision about my with my mind AND heart. It had to make sense in my head, but I also had to love it. The Elantra was the only car that fit that bill for me.
Sometimes the thing you fall in love with is completely different than you originally thought. Honestly, I didn't like the Elantra to begin with. I didn't really like its look and I was a bit weirded out my its handling to begin with (since I was super used to Squeekers). I pictured driving something more like Squeekers... except updated. But I ended up loving the Elantra.
Picking a car can require quite a bit of patience and perseverance. But it can still happen faster than expected. I got so frustrated driving and researching cars. I wanted to give up. But it finally worked out. And then I suddenly had a car that I love. Whoo!
Sometimes you just have to ignore what others say and go with your choice. I definitely had friends who tried to convince me to not get an Elantra. That made me doubt myself for a while. I took their advice into account, but ultimately, I had to do what was right for me.
However, sometimes you need to let others' opinions influence you. Sometimes others have a different perspective and can see something you don't because you're too close to the issue personally. They can also let you know when you're overthinking things. (I didn't overthink AT ALL with the Elantra *cough*lie*cough*)
Sometimes people know what would fit you well and sometimes they don't. My dad actually suggested that I try the Elantra when I first was looking at cars and I resisted. I eventually gave in and loved it. Another friend told me to try the Honda CRV. Hated it. Didn't fit me at all. (Moral of the story? I should listen to my dad... even if none of the blind dates he's set me up with have actually worked out thus far. Haha.)
Once you make a decision, you need to stick with it. I kept wavering with my decision about the Elantra. But without making a decision, I couldn't move forward. I was stuck. But I did move forward. And even though it was scary, and even though I was still freaking out about my choice for a bit after I got the car, it was a great decision. I'm so happy with it. And as my dad predicted, I am falling a bit more in love with it every day.
But it isn't necessarily all sunshine and roses once you get the new car. Though it's awesome, there are definitely adjustments. The cruise control isn't where you're used to it being. You can't quite figure out exactly where your seat and mirrors should be placed because it's not already fit for you like you're used to. You can't figure out how to adjust the temperature or how to connect your phone to the car's Bluetooth. And it's a pain to figure out new insurance polices and pricing. Bur you are able to figure it out eventually and grow used to it and love it. And, of course, there are also some fun, pleasant surprises. Like suddenly remembering you have a sunroof! Or using the seat warmers when you're cold. And basically realizing how spoiled you are by having such an awesome car and wondering how on earth you got to be so blessed.
Me in my car!
Outside of my car when it was at the dealership.
Inside of car.
Also... My Elantra still needs a name. Any ideas?
For me, I had to do a bit of research before I started test driving. I had to figure out what was a must have for me (good MPG and cruise control) and what's nice to have (Bluetooth) and what I couldn't stand (truly compact cars... I need my space). But you can only research for so long before you have to start going on test drives. That's where you get some more invaluable information to add to these lists. Like I discovered that I can't stand uncomfortable seats... even if they're the back seats (I want my passengers to enjoy the trip, too). And I realized I liked sportier feeling cars. I got so used to my slightly clunkier Toyota Avalon, that I didn't really realize that steering could be a bit easier. And that was nice. Going along with that, I had to figure out what quirks I was okay with (a car not having the best suspension in the world) and what quirks I wasn't (ugly interiors). Some of those qualities are things I never would have figured out if I hadn't actually gone out with the car for a drive. Or I at least wouldn't have really known it mattered until I went on a drive.
Some cars you take on a test drive and you know immediately that it isn't a fit. This happened to me a few different times when test driving and I couldn't wait to get back to the dealership to either try a new car or go to a different dealership. The car was fine, but for some reason, I could tell it wasn't for me... though it'd easily be a great car for someone else.
Some cars sound good on paper and not in actuality. There were a few cars I was super excited to test drive since they sounded so good from my research. But once I was with the actual car... it wasn't right for me. And the opposite can also be true. A car may sound not-that-great on paper or based on your perceptions and stereotypes, but is great in person.
Test driving cars can actually be pretty dang fun. Though other times it's not as fun because you don't like the car quite as much as you wanted to. Oh well.
Unfortunately, there is no perfect car. But that's okay. You need to find what works and what doesn't work for you and find the best fit for you.
You may freak out when you find a car that fits so well that you then question if it could really be the right one- so you immediately try out some others. Um... this happened with me with the Elantra. After trying a few different cars and nothing working out, I was surprised how much I liked the Elantra. But that made me wonder if that really was the car for me. How could something fit so well? That couldn't be right. So instead of buying the car, I immediately wanted to test drive more cars. I was definitely overthinking things. (I apologize, future husband, for the fact that this most likely will occur with you.)
Not to make a post about cars spiritual or anything, but I definitely made the decision about my with my mind AND heart. It had to make sense in my head, but I also had to love it. The Elantra was the only car that fit that bill for me.
Sometimes the thing you fall in love with is completely different than you originally thought. Honestly, I didn't like the Elantra to begin with. I didn't really like its look and I was a bit weirded out my its handling to begin with (since I was super used to Squeekers). I pictured driving something more like Squeekers... except updated. But I ended up loving the Elantra.
Picking a car can require quite a bit of patience and perseverance. But it can still happen faster than expected. I got so frustrated driving and researching cars. I wanted to give up. But it finally worked out. And then I suddenly had a car that I love. Whoo!
Sometimes you just have to ignore what others say and go with your choice. I definitely had friends who tried to convince me to not get an Elantra. That made me doubt myself for a while. I took their advice into account, but ultimately, I had to do what was right for me.
However, sometimes you need to let others' opinions influence you. Sometimes others have a different perspective and can see something you don't because you're too close to the issue personally. They can also let you know when you're overthinking things. (I didn't overthink AT ALL with the Elantra *cough*lie*cough*)
Sometimes people know what would fit you well and sometimes they don't. My dad actually suggested that I try the Elantra when I first was looking at cars and I resisted. I eventually gave in and loved it. Another friend told me to try the Honda CRV. Hated it. Didn't fit me at all. (Moral of the story? I should listen to my dad... even if none of the blind dates he's set me up with have actually worked out thus far. Haha.)
Once you make a decision, you need to stick with it. I kept wavering with my decision about the Elantra. But without making a decision, I couldn't move forward. I was stuck. But I did move forward. And even though it was scary, and even though I was still freaking out about my choice for a bit after I got the car, it was a great decision. I'm so happy with it. And as my dad predicted, I am falling a bit more in love with it every day.
But it isn't necessarily all sunshine and roses once you get the new car. Though it's awesome, there are definitely adjustments. The cruise control isn't where you're used to it being. You can't quite figure out exactly where your seat and mirrors should be placed because it's not already fit for you like you're used to. You can't figure out how to adjust the temperature or how to connect your phone to the car's Bluetooth. And it's a pain to figure out new insurance polices and pricing. Bur you are able to figure it out eventually and grow used to it and love it. And, of course, there are also some fun, pleasant surprises. Like suddenly remembering you have a sunroof! Or using the seat warmers when you're cold. And basically realizing how spoiled you are by having such an awesome car and wondering how on earth you got to be so blessed.
Also... My Elantra still needs a name. Any ideas?
Thursday, August 30, 2012
In which I turn 23
My birthday was yesterday. I still can't believe I'm 23. I don't feel old. I wonder what will take to make that happen. Because neither graduating with my Master's nor turning 23 is doing it for me yet. Maybe I need a real person job to have it hit me? Or maybe I need to get married? (And that's not happening any time soon... so I think I'm safe.)
My birthday started shortly after midnight, with a guy in my ward wishing me a happy birthday on Facebook and then my roommate joining in on the conversation (which was funny, because she was in her bedroom and I was in mine... but she didn't come talk to me). But she did come dance at me. And then came back a few minutes later to actually wish me a happy birthday... because she didn't the first time. Great way to start the day.
The day then truly started in the morning by going to the temple. I normally go Thursday nights, but since there's a home BYU football game tonight that I'm going to, I decided to slip in Wednesday morning. I was a little nervous when I saw how packed the parking lot was, but the baptistery was practically empty, so I was in and out in under a half hour. So wonderful to start the day with the peace that the temple brings.
Then I got a massage. I had a Groupon-type thing for a half hour massage. I got there and they asked if I wanted to upgrade to an hour massage for an extra $20. I decided to go for it (a fantastic decision, by the way). I don't remember the last time I felt that relaxed.
After that, I treated myself to a manicure and pedicure, which was fun. And then I used my birthday coupon at Rubio's for a free meal. (Shrimp burrito... yum!)
Once I came home, I didn't do anything terribly exciting. Mainly played around on the computer (but DIDN'T look for jobs) and read.
Then a friend (the one who was the first to wish me a happy birthday on Facebook) dropped off a birthday cake because he believes that nobody should have a birthday without a cake. And then we got some pizza and crazy bread from Little Caesar's because I didn't feel like cooking/didn't have much on hand. It was delicious.
A few guys in the ward also decided to randomly throw me a party. It was fun. It was nice catching up with people and being with friends. Plus, I blew out all my candles with one breath. I'm cool.
And throughout the day, I was inundated with texts and Facebook posts wishing me a happy birthday. I normally take my birthday off of Facebook, because I don't like people feeling obligated to do anything for it... even if it's just writing a quick note for it. But a friend convinced me to keep it up and it was actually kind of fun. And it's been neat to respond to each and catch up briefly with people. I am so blessed to have so many loving friends and family in my life.
My birthday started shortly after midnight, with a guy in my ward wishing me a happy birthday on Facebook and then my roommate joining in on the conversation (which was funny, because she was in her bedroom and I was in mine... but she didn't come talk to me). But she did come dance at me. And then came back a few minutes later to actually wish me a happy birthday... because she didn't the first time. Great way to start the day.
The day then truly started in the morning by going to the temple. I normally go Thursday nights, but since there's a home BYU football game tonight that I'm going to, I decided to slip in Wednesday morning. I was a little nervous when I saw how packed the parking lot was, but the baptistery was practically empty, so I was in and out in under a half hour. So wonderful to start the day with the peace that the temple brings.
Then I got a massage. I had a Groupon-type thing for a half hour massage. I got there and they asked if I wanted to upgrade to an hour massage for an extra $20. I decided to go for it (a fantastic decision, by the way). I don't remember the last time I felt that relaxed.
After that, I treated myself to a manicure and pedicure, which was fun. And then I used my birthday coupon at Rubio's for a free meal. (Shrimp burrito... yum!)
Once I came home, I didn't do anything terribly exciting. Mainly played around on the computer (but DIDN'T look for jobs) and read.
Then a friend (the one who was the first to wish me a happy birthday on Facebook) dropped off a birthday cake because he believes that nobody should have a birthday without a cake. And then we got some pizza and crazy bread from Little Caesar's because I didn't feel like cooking/didn't have much on hand. It was delicious.
A few guys in the ward also decided to randomly throw me a party. It was fun. It was nice catching up with people and being with friends. Plus, I blew out all my candles with one breath. I'm cool.
And throughout the day, I was inundated with texts and Facebook posts wishing me a happy birthday. I normally take my birthday off of Facebook, because I don't like people feeling obligated to do anything for it... even if it's just writing a quick note for it. But a friend convinced me to keep it up and it was actually kind of fun. And it's been neat to respond to each and catch up briefly with people. I am so blessed to have so many loving friends and family in my life.
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Brigham City Temple Open House
I was able to go with my mom and dad to the Brigham City Temple Open House this weekend. My mom grew up there (she even went to sixth grade at a school that was on the spot where the temple now is), and my parents met there in high school. My grandparents still live there. So Brigham City is a really special place to our family and it is so wonderful to have a temple there now.
The temple was beautiful. And it was such a nice reminder for what I am striving for... to always stay worthy to enter the temple and make covenants there. And to one day be sealed to my future spouse in a temple of the Lord so that we can be together for time and all eternity. What an amazing blessing temples are.
The temple was beautiful. And it was such a nice reminder for what I am striving for... to always stay worthy to enter the temple and make covenants there. And to one day be sealed to my future spouse in a temple of the Lord so that we can be together for time and all eternity. What an amazing blessing temples are.
California/Trip Home
I had to go home to get my car registered and it provided a great excuse to hang out with the family. My dad was able to drive out with me, and it was fun to be able to talk and catch up with him.
Didn't do much Monday, which was nice and relaxing. (Minus the job searching I did. That's stressful.)
On Tuesday, we played at Disneyland. It was great. Rode lots of rides and even stayed and watched the fireworks.
Mike took some time off work on Wednesday, so we were able to go out to lunch as a family and spend some time together. I also looked at cars with my dad because I'm getting a new one soon. Eek!
And then my mom, Aubrey, and I drove back to Utah to get Aubrey settled back into school. And to get me back to whatever is going on in my life. :-)
It was a short, but good, trip.
Didn't do much Monday, which was nice and relaxing. (Minus the job searching I did. That's stressful.)
On Tuesday, we played at Disneyland. It was great. Rode lots of rides and even stayed and watched the fireworks.
Mike took some time off work on Wednesday, so we were able to go out to lunch as a family and spend some time together. I also looked at cars with my dad because I'm getting a new one soon. Eek!
And then my mom, Aubrey, and I drove back to Utah to get Aubrey settled back into school. And to get me back to whatever is going on in my life. :-)
It was a short, but good, trip.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Camp Kesem
Last week, I had the opportunity to work at Camp Kesem BYU. That definitely wasn't on my original plan for summer, and me getting involved happened so suddenly. I was at EFY in Cedar and heard that the camp needed a therapist in order to happen. And since several different plans I had for that week had fallen through, I decided to go for it.
Anyways, the premise of Camp Kesem is really neat. It's a camp for kids who have a parent who has cancer (whether the parent has died, is currently in treatment, or is in remission). It's run by college students (so it's also a leadership program) and there are multiple camps throughout the nation. It's a basic summer camp, with all sorts of fun and activities (including great things like swimming, crafts, sports, a ropes course, talent show, theme days, and camper names). However, all the kids have one thing in common... having a parent with cancer. And they are able to talk about that at nightly cabin chats and it definitely comes out at the Thursday night "empowerment ceremony" (basically a camp-wide cabin chat that focuses exclusively on cancer). And at the end of the ceremony, a skein of yarn is unraveled and everybody takes hold of it to show we're all connected. It is all then cut up and everybody ties a piece around their wrist. I still have mine on. A nice reminder that we're all in this together.
As for my personal experience, it was a hard week for me. I wasn't feeling well physically during a lot of it, which was really hard. I was also struggling with some other personal stuff. But it was so neat to be there. The counselors and coordinators were all so incredible, as were the kids. I had so much fun with them and learned a lot from them. It was amazing to see these kids just be kids, because so many of them have to grow up so fast in their situation. It was neat to see them realize that they're not alone and that there are others who understand them and their situation. They are so strong and such amazing examples of resiliency and I definitely grew a lot from witnessing that. I learned that I need to appreciate what I have more. I was reminded of how fun and cute little kids can be. I realized that maybe I will be a good mother one day (as that is a worry of mine). And I know that I can be more kind and giving to everybody around me.
Though it was hard while I was there, I am so grateful I went. I highly encourage everyone to get involved, especially since the camp is entirely run by volunteers. Nobody in the camp is paid (including the professional staff, like myself and the nurse). And none of the kids have to pay to go, which is such a blessing, since many families are very strained for cash due to cancer treatments. It's really incredible. However, because of that, they definitely need money and donations to keep going. So if you feel so inclined, a great way to support them is by donating some money so that the camp (and magic!) can continue to happen in these kids' lives.
Anyways, the premise of Camp Kesem is really neat. It's a camp for kids who have a parent who has cancer (whether the parent has died, is currently in treatment, or is in remission). It's run by college students (so it's also a leadership program) and there are multiple camps throughout the nation. It's a basic summer camp, with all sorts of fun and activities (including great things like swimming, crafts, sports, a ropes course, talent show, theme days, and camper names). However, all the kids have one thing in common... having a parent with cancer. And they are able to talk about that at nightly cabin chats and it definitely comes out at the Thursday night "empowerment ceremony" (basically a camp-wide cabin chat that focuses exclusively on cancer). And at the end of the ceremony, a skein of yarn is unraveled and everybody takes hold of it to show we're all connected. It is all then cut up and everybody ties a piece around their wrist. I still have mine on. A nice reminder that we're all in this together.
As for my personal experience, it was a hard week for me. I wasn't feeling well physically during a lot of it, which was really hard. I was also struggling with some other personal stuff. But it was so neat to be there. The counselors and coordinators were all so incredible, as were the kids. I had so much fun with them and learned a lot from them. It was amazing to see these kids just be kids, because so many of them have to grow up so fast in their situation. It was neat to see them realize that they're not alone and that there are others who understand them and their situation. They are so strong and such amazing examples of resiliency and I definitely grew a lot from witnessing that. I learned that I need to appreciate what I have more. I was reminded of how fun and cute little kids can be. I realized that maybe I will be a good mother one day (as that is a worry of mine). And I know that I can be more kind and giving to everybody around me.
Though it was hard while I was there, I am so grateful I went. I highly encourage everyone to get involved, especially since the camp is entirely run by volunteers. Nobody in the camp is paid (including the professional staff, like myself and the nurse). And none of the kids have to pay to go, which is such a blessing, since many families are very strained for cash due to cancer treatments. It's really incredible. However, because of that, they definitely need money and donations to keep going. So if you feel so inclined, a great way to support them is by donating some money so that the camp (and magic!) can continue to happen in these kids' lives.
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Taking EFY Home
I was going to write a long list of "You Know You're an EFY Counselor When..." but that's been done before and I don't think I have anything to add. (There are some seriously funny ones.) So I decided to do a slightly more serious blog about what I learned.
Every Friday, we emphasized "taking it home" to the youth. We talk about how awesome EFY was, but how EFY is a waste if we don't apply what we learn once we go home. And in order to do that, we must first recognize what we learned. So in order to not be a hypocrite, I wanted to recognize a few of my takeaways. A couple of my main ones are not being as afraid to open my mouth (or use my fingers) to share the gospel. That's one reason I'm trying to share more gospel-related things in my blog. You never know who may be coming across this and hopefully they can glimpse my testimony. I also definitely came away with a much stronger testimony of Christ and the Atonement (this is definitely due in part to The Living Christ activity we did each week, as well as some amazing classes and personal spiritual experiences). I know there's still so much more I could learn about these things, and I know my testimony still needs to grow more. But it definitely grew a lot. And I am currently working on reading Jesus the Christ in order to help continue to grow that testimony.
But my last week of EFY, Celeste (my wonderful BC) talked about recognizing what we learned from EFY that will help us be better wives and mothers in the future. There are a lot of parallels from being an EFY counselor to being a wife and mother and just to life in general. I know I still have a ton to learn. And honestly, being a wife and mother still scares me sometimes. But I feel a bit more at peace about it after EFY. If I can survive some of that craziness, maybe (just maybe) I can be a good wife and mother in the future. And I know I have a great future ahead of me. So without any further ado, here's my list of "What I Learned About Being a Better Wife and Mother at EFY"
You must rely on the Lord
The Lord better knows and understands your kids than you do. He knows how to help them. He can give you strength. He'll prompt you. He won't let your kids get past His love.
You can't be afraid to ask for help
You can't help these kids alone. Prayer helps since Heavenly Father truly is there. But there are also other people around who are so willing to help. But you may need to get out of your comfort zone and ask for help (which is hard for me to do sometimes).
Satan works hard against you when you're doing the Lord's work
Satan manifests himself in different ways, especially when he knows that you're working hard against him. And you are definitely working against him when you are trying to help people come closer to Christ (whether you're helping your kids come unto Christ or you're just bringing yourself closer). One way that Satan really works against me is through feelings of discouragement or feeling like I'm not good enough or doing enough. If Satan can plant those feelings in me and get me to stop what I'm supposed to be doing, then he's won. I have to exert all my power against him and bring souls to Christ, despite difficulties.
People have their agency
It's so hard. You do all you can to bring these kids closer to Christ and to change their lives for the better and sometimes they choose to go a different way. But agency is part of God's plan. You can't force the Spirit upon others or force them to choose right. They must make the choice themselves. And it's so wonderful when you see them make the correct choices on their own.
Listen to and take time for others
Listening shows people that you care about them. It strengthens relationships. It means so much to show you are truly there. That it isn't just a job. And it's not a chore. The most important thing besides your testimony and dedication to the gospel is just to show how much you love and care for them.
Forget yourself in the work
With all that's going on in my life, it's so easy to focus on myself and my worries and concerns. But as I served those kids, I was happier and my problems didn't seem as big. It can be hard to get out of myself, but it's so amazing when I can.
The Lord makes up the difference
I know I'm not the best leader or teacher. I don't have tons of scriptures memorized and I don't understand all church doctrine. But it doesn't matter. As I did the best I could, the Lord filled in the blanks of what I couldn't do. But He only fills in the rest after I've done all I can. And the Lord blesses you and others for your efforts, even when you don't feel like you've done enough of you don't feel completely "into it."
Discipline
Disciplining is super hard for me. But it is definitely important to enforce the rules so that the kids can stay safe and on the right path. And discipline is a lot more effective when you already have a relationship with them (see note about listening and taking time for others).
Thursday night (and other) payoffs
EFY is probably the hardest thing I've ever done. I never understood that before when people who had been counselors said that. How could EFY be hard? It'd be the most fun thing ever. But after my first day... I got it. It's so hard. You pour your heart and soul into this and sometimes it seems like you didn't make a difference. But then Thursday night rolls around and you realize that maybe you did make a difference in some small way and it's such an amazing and humbling experience. I know that I'll crave and treasure those same moments as a mom. I have to work through those hard times to get the reward, but those payoffs will come if I do my part and then look for the payoff. One hard thing for me was when the payoff I was expecting wasn't there. There were sometimes other small moments throughout the week that give you that payoff, which was a blessing. But other times I truly felt like I didn't make a difference. So I had to remember that my God is a fourth-watch God. And sometimes that payoff is a long time coming. Some payoffs I never saw personally each week. But I know they were there... even if some kids don't manifest the changes and payoffs in their lives until years later. They were there. One of the session directors noted that we touched thousands of lives this summer, between the kids themselves, their families, their communities, their future missions and families... It was definitely humbling to think about. I have to hold on to that promise, because I didn't always see the payoff Thursday night. (Though it was generally there.)
You must be on higher ground to help others
So many of the kids needed help and there was no way I could help them if I wasn't prepared and farther along than they were. I had to have a knowledge of gospel principles. I had to have a strong testimony. I had to have my own "spiritual bucket" full before I could give anything to others. And because I was prepared, I was able to help these kids. And that was amazing.
You never know what the Lord has in store...but His plan is best
I think it's so easy to go through life with a plan. But in my case, the Lord always seems to have a different (but better) plan. One of my aunts told me that she knows she's doing what the Lord wants when she's doing something that she never planned on doing by herself. That definitely happened at EFY. I wanted to be at BYU for EFY, but I am so glad He placed me at the other campuses He did. I maybe wanted to have certain co-counselors or certain kids or certain roommates. But in every case, I was exactly where I needed to be.
Importance of keeping a schedule
At EFY, there is a very specific schedule. You always know where you're supposed to be, when you're supposed to be there, and what you're supposed to be doing. That is a stark contrast to how my life normally is (as evidence in the last week since EFY). But I came to the realization of how much more productive I am when I do have a schedule, or at least a general idea of what should happen each day. Obviously, as a mother (and just with life in general), things won't always go according to plan. But it's so important to have a plan to begin with, and then you can modify from there.
Follow the promptings of the Spirit
There were so many times that I felt the need to ask a certain question or tell or certain story at EFY and I had no idea why. But as I followed those promptings, it ended up helping these kids so much and in ways I never would have anticipated. It was amazing to hear kids tell me that something I was prompted to say really helped them.
Oh man. Going through this list just makes me miss EFY even more. And I know there are plenty of other parallels I could draw, but this list is getting long and I know I need to post it (if I keep working on it, posting may never happen). I know that even with these lessons, I still won't be completely prepared to be a wife and mother. But I know how patient my EFY kids were with me as I learned and grew. I'll just have to hope and pray that my future husband and family are as understanding. I'm grateful for all that I learned and all that I will continue to learn.
I'm truly taking EFY home... and I'll "Never Be the Same." :-)
Every Friday, we emphasized "taking it home" to the youth. We talk about how awesome EFY was, but how EFY is a waste if we don't apply what we learn once we go home. And in order to do that, we must first recognize what we learned. So in order to not be a hypocrite, I wanted to recognize a few of my takeaways. A couple of my main ones are not being as afraid to open my mouth (or use my fingers) to share the gospel. That's one reason I'm trying to share more gospel-related things in my blog. You never know who may be coming across this and hopefully they can glimpse my testimony. I also definitely came away with a much stronger testimony of Christ and the Atonement (this is definitely due in part to The Living Christ activity we did each week, as well as some amazing classes and personal spiritual experiences). I know there's still so much more I could learn about these things, and I know my testimony still needs to grow more. But it definitely grew a lot. And I am currently working on reading Jesus the Christ in order to help continue to grow that testimony.
But my last week of EFY, Celeste (my wonderful BC) talked about recognizing what we learned from EFY that will help us be better wives and mothers in the future. There are a lot of parallels from being an EFY counselor to being a wife and mother and just to life in general. I know I still have a ton to learn. And honestly, being a wife and mother still scares me sometimes. But I feel a bit more at peace about it after EFY. If I can survive some of that craziness, maybe (just maybe) I can be a good wife and mother in the future. And I know I have a great future ahead of me. So without any further ado, here's my list of "What I Learned About Being a Better Wife and Mother at EFY"
You must rely on the Lord
The Lord better knows and understands your kids than you do. He knows how to help them. He can give you strength. He'll prompt you. He won't let your kids get past His love.
You can't be afraid to ask for help
You can't help these kids alone. Prayer helps since Heavenly Father truly is there. But there are also other people around who are so willing to help. But you may need to get out of your comfort zone and ask for help (which is hard for me to do sometimes).
Satan works hard against you when you're doing the Lord's work
Satan manifests himself in different ways, especially when he knows that you're working hard against him. And you are definitely working against him when you are trying to help people come closer to Christ (whether you're helping your kids come unto Christ or you're just bringing yourself closer). One way that Satan really works against me is through feelings of discouragement or feeling like I'm not good enough or doing enough. If Satan can plant those feelings in me and get me to stop what I'm supposed to be doing, then he's won. I have to exert all my power against him and bring souls to Christ, despite difficulties.
People have their agency
It's so hard. You do all you can to bring these kids closer to Christ and to change their lives for the better and sometimes they choose to go a different way. But agency is part of God's plan. You can't force the Spirit upon others or force them to choose right. They must make the choice themselves. And it's so wonderful when you see them make the correct choices on their own.
Listen to and take time for others
Listening shows people that you care about them. It strengthens relationships. It means so much to show you are truly there. That it isn't just a job. And it's not a chore. The most important thing besides your testimony and dedication to the gospel is just to show how much you love and care for them.
Forget yourself in the work
With all that's going on in my life, it's so easy to focus on myself and my worries and concerns. But as I served those kids, I was happier and my problems didn't seem as big. It can be hard to get out of myself, but it's so amazing when I can.
The Lord makes up the difference
I know I'm not the best leader or teacher. I don't have tons of scriptures memorized and I don't understand all church doctrine. But it doesn't matter. As I did the best I could, the Lord filled in the blanks of what I couldn't do. But He only fills in the rest after I've done all I can. And the Lord blesses you and others for your efforts, even when you don't feel like you've done enough of you don't feel completely "into it."
Discipline
Disciplining is super hard for me. But it is definitely important to enforce the rules so that the kids can stay safe and on the right path. And discipline is a lot more effective when you already have a relationship with them (see note about listening and taking time for others).
Thursday night (and other) payoffs
EFY is probably the hardest thing I've ever done. I never understood that before when people who had been counselors said that. How could EFY be hard? It'd be the most fun thing ever. But after my first day... I got it. It's so hard. You pour your heart and soul into this and sometimes it seems like you didn't make a difference. But then Thursday night rolls around and you realize that maybe you did make a difference in some small way and it's such an amazing and humbling experience. I know that I'll crave and treasure those same moments as a mom. I have to work through those hard times to get the reward, but those payoffs will come if I do my part and then look for the payoff. One hard thing for me was when the payoff I was expecting wasn't there. There were sometimes other small moments throughout the week that give you that payoff, which was a blessing. But other times I truly felt like I didn't make a difference. So I had to remember that my God is a fourth-watch God. And sometimes that payoff is a long time coming. Some payoffs I never saw personally each week. But I know they were there... even if some kids don't manifest the changes and payoffs in their lives until years later. They were there. One of the session directors noted that we touched thousands of lives this summer, between the kids themselves, their families, their communities, their future missions and families... It was definitely humbling to think about. I have to hold on to that promise, because I didn't always see the payoff Thursday night. (Though it was generally there.)
You must be on higher ground to help others
So many of the kids needed help and there was no way I could help them if I wasn't prepared and farther along than they were. I had to have a knowledge of gospel principles. I had to have a strong testimony. I had to have my own "spiritual bucket" full before I could give anything to others. And because I was prepared, I was able to help these kids. And that was amazing.
You never know what the Lord has in store...but His plan is best
I think it's so easy to go through life with a plan. But in my case, the Lord always seems to have a different (but better) plan. One of my aunts told me that she knows she's doing what the Lord wants when she's doing something that she never planned on doing by herself. That definitely happened at EFY. I wanted to be at BYU for EFY, but I am so glad He placed me at the other campuses He did. I maybe wanted to have certain co-counselors or certain kids or certain roommates. But in every case, I was exactly where I needed to be.
Importance of keeping a schedule
At EFY, there is a very specific schedule. You always know where you're supposed to be, when you're supposed to be there, and what you're supposed to be doing. That is a stark contrast to how my life normally is (as evidence in the last week since EFY). But I came to the realization of how much more productive I am when I do have a schedule, or at least a general idea of what should happen each day. Obviously, as a mother (and just with life in general), things won't always go according to plan. But it's so important to have a plan to begin with, and then you can modify from there.
Follow the promptings of the Spirit
There were so many times that I felt the need to ask a certain question or tell or certain story at EFY and I had no idea why. But as I followed those promptings, it ended up helping these kids so much and in ways I never would have anticipated. It was amazing to hear kids tell me that something I was prompted to say really helped them.
Oh man. Going through this list just makes me miss EFY even more. And I know there are plenty of other parallels I could draw, but this list is getting long and I know I need to post it (if I keep working on it, posting may never happen). I know that even with these lessons, I still won't be completely prepared to be a wife and mother. But I know how patient my EFY kids were with me as I learned and grew. I'll just have to hope and pray that my future husband and family are as understanding. I'm grateful for all that I learned and all that I will continue to learn.
I'm truly taking EFY home... and I'll "Never Be the Same." :-)
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
EFY- Cedar City 2
I wasn’t supposed to be in Cedar City last week.
When I was hired to be a counselor for the summer, I was given (and accepted) five contracts. You’ve already heard about those weeks. But as I was working EFY and realized how much I loved it, I knew I wanted to work as many weeks as possible. I realized I was available to work the week of July 30, and that the team I worked with for the majority of the summer was working in Cedar City that week. I really wanted to work with them. That want became even greater when I realized that my sister was going to a participant that week at that session. It would be so fun to see her around. So I started telling all the BCs, coordinators, and the administrator that was I available to work Cedar 2. But it didn’t look likely, since they actually had more counselors than they needed. I had the opportunity to take other sessions that needed counselors that week, but I still held on to the hope that Cedar would become available, so I didn’t volunteer. I figured that if I didn’t get it, I still was able to have five amazing weeks as a counselor. A sixth would just be a cherry on top.
Then, while I was in Kirtland, I got an e-mail saying that I had an available contract for EFY. I checked the link and found out that it was for Cedar City 2. I was super excited and accepted it, telling all my girls how excited I was to work another week, especially the session my sister would be attending. I wasn’t quite sure how it happened, but I was grateful. (I found out later that some spots opened up and as the administrator was talking to the team about who they could offer it to, lots of people said my name. So she offered it to me and I accepted it.)
So all that back story explains why I wasn’t supposed to be in Cedar City. But I was so excited for another week and so ready to go. However, as the week wore on, I truly started believing that I really wasn't supposed to be in Cedar City. That I should have just stayed home and ended my EFY counseling career in Kirtland. I felt that I wasn’t making a difference. That I wasn’t clicking with my girls. That some other counselor should have been offered and taken the contract because she would’ve been able to help these girls (and boys). That I shouldn’t have fought so hard for that week, by constantly reminding people that I wanted that week.
Needless it say, with those feelings going on… It was SUCH a hard week.
But the week wasn't all bad. I had 16-18 year-olds again and they were fun. Of course, just like every week, there were some problems here and there, but nothing terribly major. Most of the hard stuff going on was my personal stuff and feelings with me, not issues with the group. My co-counselors were great and our name was Everlasting Glory (taken from Revelations 14:6-7)
(Pictures!)
And there were lots of fun, funny, and spiritual things that happened. Plus, there were so many tender mercies that happened that I am SO grateful for because they showed me that the Lord truly is aware of me and looking out for me. Just a few of those tender mercies... a couple of my girls coming and dancing with me in the lobby when I was on dance duty during the second half of the Friday night dance and feeling super down (though I don't think they realized that). And the session directors (the Dixons) coming up with one word to describe each counselor and my word being "depth." Until that word was said after my name, I didn't realize how much I've been working towards exemplifying that word this summer. I really have been trying to deepen my testimony, as well as deepen my relationships with Christ and those around me this summer, and it was so amazing to have somebody recognize that. And then just to have some participants and other counselors say or do certain things that helped me to realize that maybe I did help to make a difference.
So... maybe... just maybe... I was supposed to be in Cedar City. And I am so grateful for that.
But I miss EFY already. Those six weeks were some of the craziest, hardest, and most emotional weeks of my life. However, somehow, they were also among the most fun, fulfilling, and growth-promoting, weeks of my life. Funny how that works. And just like I'd tell my kids each week, I don't want it to stop here. EFY shouldn't just be a fun memory or a neat week (or weeks, in my case). It should be a springboard to the rest of your life. I rose a little higher because of EFY and I want to continue that growth and not sink back down to where I was (not that I was in a bad place before... I'm just in a better place now). It won't be easy, but I know I can do it. And I WILL do it.
When I was hired to be a counselor for the summer, I was given (and accepted) five contracts. You’ve already heard about those weeks. But as I was working EFY and realized how much I loved it, I knew I wanted to work as many weeks as possible. I realized I was available to work the week of July 30, and that the team I worked with for the majority of the summer was working in Cedar City that week. I really wanted to work with them. That want became even greater when I realized that my sister was going to a participant that week at that session. It would be so fun to see her around. So I started telling all the BCs, coordinators, and the administrator that was I available to work Cedar 2. But it didn’t look likely, since they actually had more counselors than they needed. I had the opportunity to take other sessions that needed counselors that week, but I still held on to the hope that Cedar would become available, so I didn’t volunteer. I figured that if I didn’t get it, I still was able to have five amazing weeks as a counselor. A sixth would just be a cherry on top.
Then, while I was in Kirtland, I got an e-mail saying that I had an available contract for EFY. I checked the link and found out that it was for Cedar City 2. I was super excited and accepted it, telling all my girls how excited I was to work another week, especially the session my sister would be attending. I wasn’t quite sure how it happened, but I was grateful. (I found out later that some spots opened up and as the administrator was talking to the team about who they could offer it to, lots of people said my name. So she offered it to me and I accepted it.)
So all that back story explains why I wasn’t supposed to be in Cedar City. But I was so excited for another week and so ready to go. However, as the week wore on, I truly started believing that I really wasn't supposed to be in Cedar City. That I should have just stayed home and ended my EFY counseling career in Kirtland. I felt that I wasn’t making a difference. That I wasn’t clicking with my girls. That some other counselor should have been offered and taken the contract because she would’ve been able to help these girls (and boys). That I shouldn’t have fought so hard for that week, by constantly reminding people that I wanted that week.
Needless it say, with those feelings going on… It was SUCH a hard week.
But the week wasn't all bad. I had 16-18 year-olds again and they were fun. Of course, just like every week, there were some problems here and there, but nothing terribly major. Most of the hard stuff going on was my personal stuff and feelings with me, not issues with the group. My co-counselors were great and our name was Everlasting Glory (taken from Revelations 14:6-7)
And there were lots of fun, funny, and spiritual things that happened. Plus, there were so many tender mercies that happened that I am SO grateful for because they showed me that the Lord truly is aware of me and looking out for me. Just a few of those tender mercies... a couple of my girls coming and dancing with me in the lobby when I was on dance duty during the second half of the Friday night dance and feeling super down (though I don't think they realized that). And the session directors (the Dixons) coming up with one word to describe each counselor and my word being "depth." Until that word was said after my name, I didn't realize how much I've been working towards exemplifying that word this summer. I really have been trying to deepen my testimony, as well as deepen my relationships with Christ and those around me this summer, and it was so amazing to have somebody recognize that. And then just to have some participants and other counselors say or do certain things that helped me to realize that maybe I did help to make a difference.
So... maybe... just maybe... I was supposed to be in Cedar City. And I am so grateful for that.
But I miss EFY already. Those six weeks were some of the craziest, hardest, and most emotional weeks of my life. However, somehow, they were also among the most fun, fulfilling, and growth-promoting, weeks of my life. Funny how that works. And just like I'd tell my kids each week, I don't want it to stop here. EFY shouldn't just be a fun memory or a neat week (or weeks, in my case). It should be a springboard to the rest of your life. I rose a little higher because of EFY and I want to continue that growth and not sink back down to where I was (not that I was in a bad place before... I'm just in a better place now). It won't be easy, but I know I can do it. And I WILL do it.
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Road Trip Back to Utah
After EFY was over, my roommates Sara and Julie came and picked me up in Hiram and we started on back to Utah. But we had lots of fun on the way.
Saturday
We went to the John Johnson Farm and got a tour. I loved being able to visit again. I also ran into two of my girls from my group that week. We also went to Historic Kirtland, but we only had time for a tour of the Newel K. Whitney Store. We then went to a musical that the Kirtland Stake put on, called "This is Kirtland!" Four of my girls also were there, so we got a picture outside of the church afterwards. (Aren't we cute?)
We also made a stop at the Kirtland temple and watched the video and looked around the grounds.
We then headed to Cleveland to see the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. My tiredness definitely hit me halfway through. But it was cool. Then we hit Wal-mart to buy some groceries and hung out in our hotel the rest of the night.
Sunday
Woke up, had the free continental breakfast at the hotel (we made sure we only stayed in hotels that had free wi-fi and free breakfasts), then left and headed to Cleveland to go to a YSA branch we had found. It was in the smallest church building I've ever seen. The chapel was half-sized. There were no pews on the side, and it wasn't super deep, either. And apparently, they even have Sunday School just in the chapel because there aren't a lot of available rooms. It was just super tiny. And there was a security camera monitoring the building and lot. (It was in a kind of sketchy part of town.) Partway through the meeting, I came to the realization that it was the branch I would've attended if I had ended up going to Case Western for grad school. But I heard back from BYU before I ever finished my application there. Weird. After church, we drove to our next hotel and hung out for the rest of the day.
Monday
Day one of Cedar Point. It was definitely draining, since it did get pretty hot and humid, and I'm just not used to humidity. We went on lots of rides and also saw two different shows. One show had extreme sports- roller skaters, scooters, bikers, and gymnasts. It was crazy. A couple of the athletes had even won medals in the X Games. And then we saw an ice skating show with Snoopy and Friends. It was so nice to get in some air conditioning for that!
After the park, we took a quick dip in the pool to cool off. The pool was FREEZING, though. And then we hung out in our room. Cuz we're cool like that.
Tuesday
Day two of Cedar Point. We made sure we hit the rest of the roller coasters that we hadn't hit yet, including Top Thrill Dragster. That was an amazing ride. Two hours of waiting for 17 seconds of amazingness. You basically go straight up and straight down 420 feet at 120 mph... with nothing holding you in but a seat belt and lap bar. I totally would've waited in the line to go again, but the ride was having difficulties and kept stopping and mechanics had to keep looking at it. We felt lucky to have gotten on it, because pretty soon after we got off, it seemed to shut down for at least an hour.
It was actually the day of breaking-down rides. Several rides shut down for a while due to some sort of issues. But we were able to go to every roller coaster in the park, plus some other rides. We left the park a bit early since we were drained (it was supposedly cooler than Monday, but it felt so much worse... I even got slightly sunburned) and because we couldn't get on the rides we wanted to anymore.
Wednesday
Left the hotel and traveled to Nauvoo. I read two books on the way and started a third.
We got to Nauvoo, and most of the places to tour were closing, but Julie and I managed to see the Cultural Hall and the Scovil Bakery. We then just wandered around Nauvoo a bit and ended up at the Visitor's Center, which was still open. We met up with Sara there, who had been having dinner with a family friend.
All three of us then bought some custard at Annie's Custard and wandered around the Nauvoo temple, before heading down to the Nauvoo Pageant. It was amazing. I'm so grateful I was able to see it. I also got to meet up with my friend Melanie, who is performing in the pageant this summer, briefly afterward.
We then collapsed at our hotel.
Thursday
Continued our journeys. We made a stop at the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, which was cool. I wish we had more time to explore other parts of the city, but maybe some other time.
We also stopped at Sara's brother's house for dinner and that was nice. I also got nominated to drive through Kansas, since I didn't have to sit through Nebraska on the way out like they did (thank you, airplanes). We stopped in the middle of Kansas (Hays, to be exact) for the night.
Friday
Drove 12 hours. I started off the day, driving through the not-so-pretty part of Kansas. Once we traded off, I napped some of the rest of the way. And read. And tried to talk on the phone to a friend.
So... states visited (or at least driven through) on this trip: Ohio, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, and Utah. Definitely quite the adventure. And many different license plates were seen (I probably would've seen even more if I hadn't been reading so much.) :-)
And now I'm home. And I leave again tomorrow for another week of EFY, and then a family reunion and possibly a family vacation after that. I've never been gone so much from my home base as I have this summer. I've loving these adventures, but it will also be nice to settle back down. Which means I also need to figure out my life and what I need to do once EFY and vacations are over. Yikes. Wish me luck!
Saturday
We went to the John Johnson Farm and got a tour. I loved being able to visit again. I also ran into two of my girls from my group that week. We also went to Historic Kirtland, but we only had time for a tour of the Newel K. Whitney Store. We then went to a musical that the Kirtland Stake put on, called "This is Kirtland!" Four of my girls also were there, so we got a picture outside of the church afterwards. (Aren't we cute?)
We also made a stop at the Kirtland temple and watched the video and looked around the grounds.
We then headed to Cleveland to see the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. My tiredness definitely hit me halfway through. But it was cool. Then we hit Wal-mart to buy some groceries and hung out in our hotel the rest of the night.
Sunday
Woke up, had the free continental breakfast at the hotel (we made sure we only stayed in hotels that had free wi-fi and free breakfasts), then left and headed to Cleveland to go to a YSA branch we had found. It was in the smallest church building I've ever seen. The chapel was half-sized. There were no pews on the side, and it wasn't super deep, either. And apparently, they even have Sunday School just in the chapel because there aren't a lot of available rooms. It was just super tiny. And there was a security camera monitoring the building and lot. (It was in a kind of sketchy part of town.) Partway through the meeting, I came to the realization that it was the branch I would've attended if I had ended up going to Case Western for grad school. But I heard back from BYU before I ever finished my application there. Weird. After church, we drove to our next hotel and hung out for the rest of the day.
Monday
Day one of Cedar Point. It was definitely draining, since it did get pretty hot and humid, and I'm just not used to humidity. We went on lots of rides and also saw two different shows. One show had extreme sports- roller skaters, scooters, bikers, and gymnasts. It was crazy. A couple of the athletes had even won medals in the X Games. And then we saw an ice skating show with Snoopy and Friends. It was so nice to get in some air conditioning for that!
After the park, we took a quick dip in the pool to cool off. The pool was FREEZING, though. And then we hung out in our room. Cuz we're cool like that.
Tuesday
Day two of Cedar Point. We made sure we hit the rest of the roller coasters that we hadn't hit yet, including Top Thrill Dragster. That was an amazing ride. Two hours of waiting for 17 seconds of amazingness. You basically go straight up and straight down 420 feet at 120 mph... with nothing holding you in but a seat belt and lap bar. I totally would've waited in the line to go again, but the ride was having difficulties and kept stopping and mechanics had to keep looking at it. We felt lucky to have gotten on it, because pretty soon after we got off, it seemed to shut down for at least an hour.
It was actually the day of breaking-down rides. Several rides shut down for a while due to some sort of issues. But we were able to go to every roller coaster in the park, plus some other rides. We left the park a bit early since we were drained (it was supposedly cooler than Monday, but it felt so much worse... I even got slightly sunburned) and because we couldn't get on the rides we wanted to anymore.
Wednesday
Left the hotel and traveled to Nauvoo. I read two books on the way and started a third.
We got to Nauvoo, and most of the places to tour were closing, but Julie and I managed to see the Cultural Hall and the Scovil Bakery. We then just wandered around Nauvoo a bit and ended up at the Visitor's Center, which was still open. We met up with Sara there, who had been having dinner with a family friend.
All three of us then bought some custard at Annie's Custard and wandered around the Nauvoo temple, before heading down to the Nauvoo Pageant. It was amazing. I'm so grateful I was able to see it. I also got to meet up with my friend Melanie, who is performing in the pageant this summer, briefly afterward.
We then collapsed at our hotel.
Thursday
Continued our journeys. We made a stop at the Gateway Arch in St. Louis, which was cool. I wish we had more time to explore other parts of the city, but maybe some other time.
We also stopped at Sara's brother's house for dinner and that was nice. I also got nominated to drive through Kansas, since I didn't have to sit through Nebraska on the way out like they did (thank you, airplanes). We stopped in the middle of Kansas (Hays, to be exact) for the night.
Friday
Drove 12 hours. I started off the day, driving through the not-so-pretty part of Kansas. Once we traded off, I napped some of the rest of the way. And read. And tried to talk on the phone to a friend.
So... states visited (or at least driven through) on this trip: Ohio, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, and Utah. Definitely quite the adventure. And many different license plates were seen (I probably would've seen even more if I hadn't been reading so much.) :-)
And now I'm home. And I leave again tomorrow for another week of EFY, and then a family reunion and possibly a family vacation after that. I've never been gone so much from my home base as I have this summer. I've loving these adventures, but it will also be nice to settle back down. Which means I also need to figure out my life and what I need to do once EFY and vacations are over. Yikes. Wish me luck!
Sunday, July 22, 2012
EFY- Kirtland
What an incredible week of EFY. Really, it was just what I needed.
I'll admit it. I was kind of nervous going in to the week. I had grown so used to the team I had worked with for my other four weeks and was a little scared to lose them. I knew that the Midwest team had all been working together and with all the traveling they do from place to place, I figured they'd be pretty close. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to make friends and I only knew one of the other counselors. But there was no reason for me to be worried. I arrived to Kirtland late, because we had to wait extra long for the shuttle, and so I arrived about 15 minutes into the fireside and just slipped in. I waved to my friend, but sat quietly by myself. But after the fireside, when they announced BC groups, my BC (Codi) immediately gave me a huge hug, and Ellie (one of the coordinators) couldn't stop waving at me. I immediately felt so welcome and so at home, even though I was the only counselor who had never worked with them before.
Another good sign of the week, was once I met my co (Ben), we were almost instantly on the same page and unified. He's such a solid guy. Though I also feel bad that I wasn't able to spend as much time with him during the week as I wanted, since we were on the kind of crazy special edition schedule and I was on musical program during free time.
Anyways, I had the 16-18 year olds this week and I adored them. We were On the Right Hand (from Acts 7:55-56). We had 10 girls and 12 boys (super bizarre to have more guys than girls, but it was fun for me to be escorted sometimes and get to know some of the guys better that way).
We were able to tour some historical sites in Kirtland and the surrounding areas on Tuesday and Wednesday and it was amazing. Our session directors (the Woodwards) also were so informative about all the historically significant things that happened in Kirtland. I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that I didn't realize how much happened there until this week. I had heard most of the stories, but didn't put two and two together that they happened there. But Kirtland was the church headquarters for the longest of anywhere besides Salt Lake City, so a lot happened there. I got to be in the room where D&C 76 was seen in vision by Joseph (and then I was able to studying that section on the lawn of the farm where it was revealed). To look at the exact place where Christ revealed himself in the temple to Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon, and where Moses, Elias, and Elijah came to restore keys (and read D&C 110 on the temple grounds). To stand on the step of the John Johnson farm that Joseph Smith both preached from and was dragged from before he was tarred and feathered. To sit near the site where the first high priests of the dispensation were ordained. It was all so incredible and I feel so blessed to have been able to do it. Granted, it was bit crazy... I was doing a million and a half headcounts to constantly make sure I didn't lose any kids, and the schedule was a bit nuts (including getting less sleep on the touring days). But the busing and touring also provided some extra bonding time as a group. And nothing pulls people together more than spiritual experiences and discussions (one reason why EFY is so awesome). :-)
Company picture in front of the Newel K. Whitney store.
I also had the great opportunity to help with musical program this week. It was definitely a little crazy because we only had four practices instead of the normal six (we lost two lunch practices since we were touring), but it definitely brought the Spirit and helped to set the tone for me to receive some personal revelation that night. And the counselors I got to work with for that were wonderful.
Late night chats with some other counselors were also great... though the lack of sleep due to them wasn't. Oops. I know I still need to figure lots of stuff out with my life and I feel like this week gave me more questions instead of answers. But I am so happy I had the opportunity to be in Kirtland with a great team. And I'm also so grateful that I just got hired on for one more week of EFY, this time in Cedar City. It's going to be awesome.
I'll admit it. I was kind of nervous going in to the week. I had grown so used to the team I had worked with for my other four weeks and was a little scared to lose them. I knew that the Midwest team had all been working together and with all the traveling they do from place to place, I figured they'd be pretty close. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to make friends and I only knew one of the other counselors. But there was no reason for me to be worried. I arrived to Kirtland late, because we had to wait extra long for the shuttle, and so I arrived about 15 minutes into the fireside and just slipped in. I waved to my friend, but sat quietly by myself. But after the fireside, when they announced BC groups, my BC (Codi) immediately gave me a huge hug, and Ellie (one of the coordinators) couldn't stop waving at me. I immediately felt so welcome and so at home, even though I was the only counselor who had never worked with them before.
Another good sign of the week, was once I met my co (Ben), we were almost instantly on the same page and unified. He's such a solid guy. Though I also feel bad that I wasn't able to spend as much time with him during the week as I wanted, since we were on the kind of crazy special edition schedule and I was on musical program during free time.
Anyways, I had the 16-18 year olds this week and I adored them. We were On the Right Hand (from Acts 7:55-56). We had 10 girls and 12 boys (super bizarre to have more guys than girls, but it was fun for me to be escorted sometimes and get to know some of the guys better that way).
We were able to tour some historical sites in Kirtland and the surrounding areas on Tuesday and Wednesday and it was amazing. Our session directors (the Woodwards) also were so informative about all the historically significant things that happened in Kirtland. I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that I didn't realize how much happened there until this week. I had heard most of the stories, but didn't put two and two together that they happened there. But Kirtland was the church headquarters for the longest of anywhere besides Salt Lake City, so a lot happened there. I got to be in the room where D&C 76 was seen in vision by Joseph (and then I was able to studying that section on the lawn of the farm where it was revealed). To look at the exact place where Christ revealed himself in the temple to Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon, and where Moses, Elias, and Elijah came to restore keys (and read D&C 110 on the temple grounds). To stand on the step of the John Johnson farm that Joseph Smith both preached from and was dragged from before he was tarred and feathered. To sit near the site where the first high priests of the dispensation were ordained. It was all so incredible and I feel so blessed to have been able to do it. Granted, it was bit crazy... I was doing a million and a half headcounts to constantly make sure I didn't lose any kids, and the schedule was a bit nuts (including getting less sleep on the touring days). But the busing and touring also provided some extra bonding time as a group. And nothing pulls people together more than spiritual experiences and discussions (one reason why EFY is so awesome). :-)
I also had the great opportunity to help with musical program this week. It was definitely a little crazy because we only had four practices instead of the normal six (we lost two lunch practices since we were touring), but it definitely brought the Spirit and helped to set the tone for me to receive some personal revelation that night. And the counselors I got to work with for that were wonderful.
Late night chats with some other counselors were also great... though the lack of sleep due to them wasn't. Oops. I know I still need to figure lots of stuff out with my life and I feel like this week gave me more questions instead of answers. But I am so happy I had the opportunity to be in Kirtland with a great team. And I'm also so grateful that I just got hired on for one more week of EFY, this time in Cedar City. It's going to be awesome.
Saturday, July 14, 2012
EFY- Salt Lake City 3
This week of EFY was really interesting for me. I was SO excited to go back to EFY all week during my week off. I was even thinking to myself a lot, "If I were at EFY, I'd be doing *this* right now." But then Saturday night hit and I suddenly didn't want to go back. I'm not entirely sure why. I was kind of stressed because I had been trying to look for a real job for after EFY, but I couldn't find anything. I was worried about having a hard week and the necessary energy to be a counselor. I was overwhelmed and just not sure if I could do another week. It was also hard because it started to become a bit monotonous. During EFY training, someone mentioned how important it is to give each week your all because even though you may work multiple weeks in a summer, it's the only shot these kids have. I just thought, "Duh. Why wouldn't I give each week my all?" I was so excited to be an EFY counselor and didn't understand how it could be difficult when you have personal stuff going on and when you're exhausted and spent in every way possible. I was just kind of burned out. It was compounded by the fact that not only was it my fourth week, but it was my third week with the exact same campus, exact same schedule, exact same dorm building, and exact same food. It really became a bit monotonous. And all of these things going on added up to me not really wanting to be there, even once I got up to Salt Lake and was at the fireside. It was interesting that at the fireside for counselors, our session director (Brother Bacon) talked about desires. And a lot of the counselors talked about desiring to help their kids in various ways. I felt pretty inadequate when I realized that my desire was just to have the desire to be at EFY so that I could be a good possible.
Luckily, that desire did come (though it didn't starting coming until Monday evening and didn't really come until Tuesday) and I ended up having a great week. I was with the 14-15 year olds again. This week, I had 12 girls in my group, and there were 34 kids overall in our company. Our company was Glory of the Sun (from 1 Corinthians 15:40-42). Things weren't perfect with our company, but my girls were sweethearts. That was such a blessing, considering how much I was struggling at the beginning of the week. I felt bad that I wasn't able to spend as much time with them as I wanted, since I was on lunch and free time duty a lot, but they were pretty understanding.
I learned a lot personally this week. It was definitely hard in a lot of ways with the different personal things me and my co's were going through, as well as dealing with some difficult things within the company, but it was so good. And there was such a good payoff. As hard as it is, I wish I could be an EFY counselor forever.
The co's... Ryan, Kylie, and me.
Glory of the Sun!
But as for now, I need to finish packing and get to bed. I leave in less than 8 hours to head out to Kirtland for my last week of EFY. I'm sad EFY is almost over for me, but I am so excited to go to Kirtland. It should be a blast!
Luckily, that desire did come (though it didn't starting coming until Monday evening and didn't really come until Tuesday) and I ended up having a great week. I was with the 14-15 year olds again. This week, I had 12 girls in my group, and there were 34 kids overall in our company. Our company was Glory of the Sun (from 1 Corinthians 15:40-42). Things weren't perfect with our company, but my girls were sweethearts. That was such a blessing, considering how much I was struggling at the beginning of the week. I felt bad that I wasn't able to spend as much time with them as I wanted, since I was on lunch and free time duty a lot, but they were pretty understanding.
I learned a lot personally this week. It was definitely hard in a lot of ways with the different personal things me and my co's were going through, as well as dealing with some difficult things within the company, but it was so good. And there was such a good payoff. As hard as it is, I wish I could be an EFY counselor forever.
But as for now, I need to finish packing and get to bed. I leave in less than 8 hours to head out to Kirtland for my last week of EFY. I'm sad EFY is almost over for me, but I am so excited to go to Kirtland. It should be a blast!
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Testimony
For my 101 list, I wanted to bear my testimony in sacrament meeting. I don't even remember the last time I did that. I'm not sure that I've done it since high school. But I did it last Sunday. And despite constantly testifying to my kids at EFY, it was still a bit scary to get up in front of the congregation to bear my testimony. But it was a good experience.
It's also interesting for me to note how much there is to my testimony. There are so many aspects and so many things I know and believe. At EFY, my testimony is different each time I bear it, based on the kids or the activity or what we are talking about. It was different once again when I bore it in sacrament meeting.
But every time, my testimony comes down to a few basic beliefs. I know the Jesus is the Christ. I know that He came down to earth and atoned for my sins and suffered all sorts of pain and afflictions so that He can comfort me in my times of sorrow and so that I can return to live with my Father in Heaven again. I truly am a daughter of God. I know that Joseph Smith was called of God to restore His church on the earth today and that he translated the Book of Mormon, which truly is another testament of Jesus Christ. I know that there is a living prophet on the earth today who receives revelation from God to help guide and direct the church. I am grateful for the ability to receive my own personal revelation, as well. I am also grateful for temples and for the opportunity they give me to become closer to God, as well as the opportunity I have to spend eternity with my family because of the power that is there.
I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true. I may not understand everything yet, but my testimony is my sure foundation. I encourage you to find out for yourself if it is true, as well.
It's also interesting for me to note how much there is to my testimony. There are so many aspects and so many things I know and believe. At EFY, my testimony is different each time I bear it, based on the kids or the activity or what we are talking about. It was different once again when I bore it in sacrament meeting.
But every time, my testimony comes down to a few basic beliefs. I know the Jesus is the Christ. I know that He came down to earth and atoned for my sins and suffered all sorts of pain and afflictions so that He can comfort me in my times of sorrow and so that I can return to live with my Father in Heaven again. I truly am a daughter of God. I know that Joseph Smith was called of God to restore His church on the earth today and that he translated the Book of Mormon, which truly is another testament of Jesus Christ. I know that there is a living prophet on the earth today who receives revelation from God to help guide and direct the church. I am grateful for the ability to receive my own personal revelation, as well. I am also grateful for temples and for the opportunity they give me to become closer to God, as well as the opportunity I have to spend eternity with my family because of the power that is there.
I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is true. I may not understand everything yet, but my testimony is my sure foundation. I encourage you to find out for yourself if it is true, as well.
Saturday, June 30, 2012
The Pearl Necklace
I wanted to share some of the spiritual insight that I gained at EFY that I mentioned in my last post. I won't get into too much detail, since it is pretty personal. But I hope that maybe this can also touch someone else the way it touched me.
As I've done every week thus far, I went into the week with questions that I wanted answered and I have definitely been getting some answers. It's been great. But this week, Brother Chidester (our session director) challenged the counselors in our fireside Sunday night to write down our questions. So I did. In generic terms, the questions were about what to do with my life, with dating, and with certain relationships. I gained insight and revelation throughout the week about them. But Thursday night is when it really hit me and I felt like the heavens opened for me in regards to a few of my questions.
Thursday is the extra spiritual day at EFY. We're all in our church clothes and have young men and young women activities. This year, we get to go over The Living Christ in our counselor groups, as well as having a separate YM/YW morningside devotionals by the session directors. There's lunch and then a variety show, but the evening is when it gets really spiritual. There is a wonderful musical program and then a session director fireside and then company testimony meetings. I loved hearing Brother Chidester throughout the week, but as he spoke at that fireside, he changed slightly and his message seemed to be much more powerful and more much forceful. And what he said hit me really hard. He talked the story about the woman in Mark 5 being healed of the issue of blood. He talked about how Christ is the only one who can heal us, and we all need to be healed. As he said that, I realized how much pain I'm still carrying in regards to certain issues and I how need to accept that Christ can and will heal me if I let Him. I was definitely touched by that, but he then shared a story that I'd like to share, as it also touched me deeply. I had heard the story before, but I think I was more open to it as I was searching for some answers.
(Ok. I tried writing it in my own words, but it wasn't super powerful. I copied and pasted it from here. I don't know how powerful it is even with this, but I know it's better than me trying to tell it. Hope that's ok. I know it may be a bit cheesy to some, but I hope you can get something out of it if you read it in the right spirit.)
The cheerful girl with bouncy golden curls was almost five. Waiting with her mother at the checkout stand, she saw them: a circle of glistening white pearls in a pink foil box.
"Oh please, Mommy. Can I have them? Please, Mommy, please!"
Quickly the mother checked the back of the little foil box and then looked back into the pleading blue eyes of her little girl's upturned face.
"A dollar ninety-five. That's almost $2.00. If you really want them, I'll think of some extra chores for you and in no time you can save enough money to buy them for yourself. Your birthday's only a week away and you might get another crisp dollar bill from Grandma."
As soon as Jenny got home, she emptied her penny bank and counted out 17 pennies. After dinner, she did more than her share of chores and she went to the neighbor and asked Mrs. McJames if she could pick dandelions for ten cents.
On her birthday, Grandma did give her another new dollar bill and at last she had enough money to buy the necklace.
Jenny loved her pearls. They made her feel dressed up and grown up. She wore them everywhere--Sunday school, kindergarten, even to bed. The only time she took them off was when she went swimming or had a bubble bath. Mother said if they got wet, they might turn her neck green.
Jenny had a very loving daddy and every night when she was ready for bed, he would stop whatever he was doing and come upstairs to read her a story. One night when he finished the story, he asked Jenny, "Do you love me?"
"Oh yes, Daddy. You know that I love you."
"Then give me your pearls."
"Oh, Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have Princess--the white horse from my collection. The one with the pink tail. Remember, Daddy? The one you gave me. She's my favorite."
"That's okay, Honey. Daddy loves you. Good night." And he brushed her cheek with a kiss.
About a week later, after the story time, Jenny's daddy asked again, "Do you love me?"
"Daddy, you know I love you."
"Then give me your pearls."
"Oh Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have my babydoll. The brand new one I got for my birthday. She is so beautiful and you can have the yellow blanket that matches her sleeper."
"That's okay. Sleep well. God bless you, little one. Daddy loves you." And as always, he brushed her cheek with a gentle kiss.
A few nights later when her daddy came in, Jenny was sitting on her bed with her legs crossed Indian-style. As he came close, he noticed her chin was trembling and one silent tear rolled down her cheek.
"What is it, Jenny? What's the matter?"
Jenny didn't say anything but lifted her little hand up to her daddy. And when she opened it, there was her little pearl necklace. With a little quiver, she finally said, "Here, Daddy. It's for you."
With tears gathering in his own eyes, Jenny's kind daddy reached out with one hand to take the dime-store necklace, and with the other hand he reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue velvet case with a strand of genuine pearls and gave them to Jenny.
As Brother Chidester spoke, I knew exactly what my dime-store necklaces were. As recorded in my journal from that night, a couple of my necklaces are fear of what it will take and fear that my pain can't be healed. Another necklace is made up of my personal plans and what I think should be happening in my life. But these things are SO hard for me to give up. I like my plan. I still want to do my plan. And the fear is also hard to give up. I feel in control with it (which sounds contradictory, but humans don't always make sense). And I'm afraid there will be even more fear if I give up my necklaces. But why wouldn't I give up those plans and stop worrying, if I know that there are genuine pearls still waiting?
What was interesting, as I woke up on Friday, I had ANOTHER insight to a dime-store necklace in my life. And I think that was the hardest one to accept. I don't really have to change anything to give it up. It's just acceptance. However, acceptance can be incredibly hard. But I know that if I can give up this necklace, then great things are in store. But as I hold on to the cheap necklace, I can't accept the great things that are coming. It's hard.
I'm sorry this is vague in regards to what my personal take-away was. But it is kind of personal and I am still trying to figure out where to go from here. But I encourage you to think about your own dime-store necklaces. What's holding you back?
As I've done every week thus far, I went into the week with questions that I wanted answered and I have definitely been getting some answers. It's been great. But this week, Brother Chidester (our session director) challenged the counselors in our fireside Sunday night to write down our questions. So I did. In generic terms, the questions were about what to do with my life, with dating, and with certain relationships. I gained insight and revelation throughout the week about them. But Thursday night is when it really hit me and I felt like the heavens opened for me in regards to a few of my questions.
Thursday is the extra spiritual day at EFY. We're all in our church clothes and have young men and young women activities. This year, we get to go over The Living Christ in our counselor groups, as well as having a separate YM/YW morningside devotionals by the session directors. There's lunch and then a variety show, but the evening is when it gets really spiritual. There is a wonderful musical program and then a session director fireside and then company testimony meetings. I loved hearing Brother Chidester throughout the week, but as he spoke at that fireside, he changed slightly and his message seemed to be much more powerful and more much forceful. And what he said hit me really hard. He talked the story about the woman in Mark 5 being healed of the issue of blood. He talked about how Christ is the only one who can heal us, and we all need to be healed. As he said that, I realized how much pain I'm still carrying in regards to certain issues and I how need to accept that Christ can and will heal me if I let Him. I was definitely touched by that, but he then shared a story that I'd like to share, as it also touched me deeply. I had heard the story before, but I think I was more open to it as I was searching for some answers.
(Ok. I tried writing it in my own words, but it wasn't super powerful. I copied and pasted it from here. I don't know how powerful it is even with this, but I know it's better than me trying to tell it. Hope that's ok. I know it may be a bit cheesy to some, but I hope you can get something out of it if you read it in the right spirit.)
The cheerful girl with bouncy golden curls was almost five. Waiting with her mother at the checkout stand, she saw them: a circle of glistening white pearls in a pink foil box.
"Oh please, Mommy. Can I have them? Please, Mommy, please!"
Quickly the mother checked the back of the little foil box and then looked back into the pleading blue eyes of her little girl's upturned face.
"A dollar ninety-five. That's almost $2.00. If you really want them, I'll think of some extra chores for you and in no time you can save enough money to buy them for yourself. Your birthday's only a week away and you might get another crisp dollar bill from Grandma."
As soon as Jenny got home, she emptied her penny bank and counted out 17 pennies. After dinner, she did more than her share of chores and she went to the neighbor and asked Mrs. McJames if she could pick dandelions for ten cents.
On her birthday, Grandma did give her another new dollar bill and at last she had enough money to buy the necklace.
Jenny loved her pearls. They made her feel dressed up and grown up. She wore them everywhere--Sunday school, kindergarten, even to bed. The only time she took them off was when she went swimming or had a bubble bath. Mother said if they got wet, they might turn her neck green.
Jenny had a very loving daddy and every night when she was ready for bed, he would stop whatever he was doing and come upstairs to read her a story. One night when he finished the story, he asked Jenny, "Do you love me?"
"Oh yes, Daddy. You know that I love you."
"Then give me your pearls."
"Oh, Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have Princess--the white horse from my collection. The one with the pink tail. Remember, Daddy? The one you gave me. She's my favorite."
"That's okay, Honey. Daddy loves you. Good night." And he brushed her cheek with a kiss.
About a week later, after the story time, Jenny's daddy asked again, "Do you love me?"
"Daddy, you know I love you."
"Then give me your pearls."
"Oh Daddy, not my pearls. But you can have my babydoll. The brand new one I got for my birthday. She is so beautiful and you can have the yellow blanket that matches her sleeper."
"That's okay. Sleep well. God bless you, little one. Daddy loves you." And as always, he brushed her cheek with a gentle kiss.
A few nights later when her daddy came in, Jenny was sitting on her bed with her legs crossed Indian-style. As he came close, he noticed her chin was trembling and one silent tear rolled down her cheek.
"What is it, Jenny? What's the matter?"
Jenny didn't say anything but lifted her little hand up to her daddy. And when she opened it, there was her little pearl necklace. With a little quiver, she finally said, "Here, Daddy. It's for you."
With tears gathering in his own eyes, Jenny's kind daddy reached out with one hand to take the dime-store necklace, and with the other hand he reached into his pocket and pulled out a blue velvet case with a strand of genuine pearls and gave them to Jenny.
As Brother Chidester spoke, I knew exactly what my dime-store necklaces were. As recorded in my journal from that night, a couple of my necklaces are fear of what it will take and fear that my pain can't be healed. Another necklace is made up of my personal plans and what I think should be happening in my life. But these things are SO hard for me to give up. I like my plan. I still want to do my plan. And the fear is also hard to give up. I feel in control with it (which sounds contradictory, but humans don't always make sense). And I'm afraid there will be even more fear if I give up my necklaces. But why wouldn't I give up those plans and stop worrying, if I know that there are genuine pearls still waiting?
What was interesting, as I woke up on Friday, I had ANOTHER insight to a dime-store necklace in my life. And I think that was the hardest one to accept. I don't really have to change anything to give it up. It's just acceptance. However, acceptance can be incredibly hard. But I know that if I can give up this necklace, then great things are in store. But as I hold on to the cheap necklace, I can't accept the great things that are coming. It's hard.
I'm sorry this is vague in regards to what my personal take-away was. But it is kind of personal and I am still trying to figure out where to go from here. But I encourage you to think about your own dime-store necklaces. What's holding you back?
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