Advice

I went to a ward activity last night where we talked about a lot of marriage advice.

One of the pieces of advice given was to take every piece of advice with a grain of salt. I liked this advice because I'm already finding that there is a lot of information out there, and some of it conflicts. But one piece of advice we received last night that I liked was to practice and find what works for you.

I feel like this advice applies to everyone, no matter their stage in life. We have a lot of information coming in on what we should do, what we should like like, and what is the "right way." But we are all created to be very different, to be unique. We are meant to create and to expand, to discover who we are so we can foster change in our world. As we accept the advice we are given, we can try it out. Advice can be valuable, especially during a time of life where everything is transient and decisions must be made. But the point of the journey is to find out specific path. We can take the road less traveled. We don't have to take the mainstream. Although there are guides we must stay within, Heavenly Father doesn't expect us to fit a cookie-cutter mold. That's the beauty of life.

So here's to mistakes, to new ideas, to fresh starts. We have people to help us and ourselves to figure out who we are with that help. Today is the start of being someone new. 

Power in Positivity

A week ago, I got engaged.

I definitely recommend getting engaged (and subsequently married obviously...I just haven't done that part yet). It's one of those life milestones that is a happy and excited time. You have the whole wedding to plan, friends and family are over the top excited for you, you and your fiancee are over the top excited, and life is good. Sure, there's a lot of planning which can get stressful. But as long as you keep perspective, you can keep that happiness and excitement at the forefront. I have loved being able to share that happiness that I am feeling with those around me. I love that when we have really good news, others can share in that piece of happiness as well. I know that whenever I hear that someone I know is engaged or expecting or something else momentous, I'm excited and happy for them. The world needs more good news. The power of positivity is amazing.

So I've resolved to be more positive. To always be a sharer of good news. And especially to keep that happiness and excitement in my engagement...even though I have a million decisions to make between now and June. But life is good. It's a journey, and traveling well is what it's all about.

Mistakes

Sometimes, we make mistakes.

We're human. We're imperfect, and that means we make mistakes. We make mistakes pretty much ever day- as least I do. And we beat ourselves up for these mistakes. The mistake replays over and over in our heads, and sometimes it seems like a trap that we will never get out of. But that isn't what life is about. Life is a time to make mistakes, but it isn't defined by our mistakes. We are being tested, and there's a huge learning curve. Heavenly Father sent us here to earth to figure things out for ourselves. But He loves us, and He wants us to succeed so He didn't set us here on our own. We have the Holy Ghost to guide us, scriptures to inform us, church leaders to lead us, parents to raise us, and friends and family to help us. And most importantly, we have a Savior to pick us up every single time we make those mistakes. Because mistakes are inevitable- they're part of the learning process. The most important thing is that we learn. That we move on, and that we forgive ourselves. We can't let mistakes define us. We are defined by how we respond to mistakes and how we change because of them.

Mistakes have just been on my mind a lot lately. And I have decided to not let them define me. I will be allow myself to be changed and to become a better person - to become who Heavenly Father wants me to be. Because I know that I'm going to continue making mistakes. Probably daily. But I will also continue to rely on the Atonement for forgiveness and the power to move past those mistakes that I do make. I am in charge of who I become.

Interviews

This week in M Comm we did mock interviews. Personally, I was grateful for the practice in a non-threatening situation.

Because the truth is, I've never gone through a job interview. I've made it to this point in my life with the only experience being nannying. And I wouldn't change that experience for anything - I loved working with the kids and I learned a lot doing so. But my limited experience makes me a little nervous to apply and interview for a "real" job. I was grateful for the tips and methods I learned from the mock interview. I tend to be shy and as a result, building up my resume and what I can do and who I am isn't a strong suit of mine. But doing the mock interview helped me see the difference between showing your best self and being prideful. I can be proud of my accomplishments, and honesty about them will help me and help the interviewer make the best decision for their company.

That's one reason I like M Comm. It contains subjects and material that have real life application. And I feel much more confident about future interviews.

Curveballs

This past week, I've realized that life is funny. It keeps you on your toes.

Basically, this past week has contained occurrences that were really awesome, and also really lame. I'm a planner and I've got at least a rough outline for what I want my life to be like. And sometimes my life does go according to plan. Other times, not so much. Living life is hard work. You have to set priorities and make goals but also be willing to go with the flow and work with what comes your way. Balance is key. Because sometimes you meet the man of your dreams, and sometimes your heart gets broken. There is the option of always playing it safe and refusing to go down any path that isn't what you have in mind. But then you miss out on adventures, and God usually throws you some curveballs regardless. We may be in charge of our destiny, but we are also subject to the specific path that we are meant to be on. Our control comes in the response we have to the things that come our way. When times get tough, we can either complain and give up or we can rise to the challenge and make it into something great.

My life is going really well right now. I'm happy and in a good place. That being said, there are still going to be bumps in the road. My plans won't always go perfectly. Occasionally I'll get bad news, and life will stress me out. But, as Buddha said, it is better to travel well than to arrive. 

Because I knew you

This past Friday, I went to my freshman BYU YSA ward reunion. I really enjoyed seeing familiar faces that I hadn't seen in years and catching up with what has been going on in everyone's life as well.

The reunion caused me to stop and think about the people that we find in our life. One of my favorite quotes is:

I love the beauty of that. I love the thought that every person that we meet and become acquaintances with, become friends with, or fall in love with is there in our life for a reason. Friend or family. Heavenly Father is so aware of every single one of His children. He knows who needs who. Looking back on my life, I can definitely see the truth of this statement. People have hurt me. People have loved me. People have helped me. Every single person, whether they have continued to be my friend or not, has become apart of my story. I am who I am today because of the relationships I have now and have had in the past.

With this in mind, going forward one goal I have is to make the most of each relationship I have. Tell the people in my life already how much I appreciate and love them. Take the time to make new friends with those I met in various circumstances. Because you never know going into a relationship what you're going to get out of it. But there is always something to be taken out of it. You live and you learn, along with everyone else in your life.

The Book Cover

While I was on my mission, I met a lot of different people. And one lesson I learned over and over again is that you can't judge people. They always surprise you, and most of the time your judgements are wrong.

One such instance really made me think. My companion and I were going door-to-door with a college-age girl in the ward we were serving in. We walked up to a house, but only made it halfway up the front walkway when suddenly a very angry lady started yelling at us from an upstairs window. I don't know if it was a bad day for her, or she had bad experience in the past with evangelical proselyters, but she was rude. She yelled at us for a good minute as we turned around and walked quickly back down her driveway and on to the next house. We all walked in stunned silence for a little bit, then brushed it off with comments about how some people are. As we stood at the next door waiting for someone to answer our knock, I noticed a man walking toward us from the house with the angry lady. He was quite a sight - he walked slowly because he had two boots on his feet, and both of his ankles were still yellow from the paint they put on your skin when you have surgery. His slow gait and slight limp gave the appearance that each step was painful to take. We walked over and he said, "I just wanted to apologize for my wife. You guys are just out doing your job and what she did was uncalled for. I'm an atheist, so don't bother sharing your stuff with me. They're all Catholics in there, so who knows about them. But I just wanted to come and say sorry for her."

The apology was simple. But one phrase stuck out to me: I'm an atheist.

Isn't it ironic that a Christian woman's atheist husband came and apologized for her not treating us in a very Christian-like manner? That really struck me. As a missionary, you're out to help people come closer unto Christ. That requires a belief that what you are teaching people is a great way, the best way you've found for yourself, to accomplish that. But that man taught me a lot about what it meant to be Christlike, and he doesn't even believe in Christ.

So what? You can learn from everyone. Sometimes, people surprise you. Everyone has different viewpoints, and just because someone disagrees with you doesn't mean that they are a bad person and it definitely doesn't make you better than them. The more we take the time to remember that, the more we learn and the more friends we end up having. Each one of us is a Child of God. We all have that divine potential and we all have the responsibility to help one another reach that.