A Few Reflections

February has taught me a lot of lessons. And since it is nearing the end of the last day of the month, I figured I should write down what February has taught me.

School is what you make of it. If you think it's hard, it's going to be hard. If you think it's amazing, it's going to be amazing. If you think it's easy and achievable, it will be. I've come to realize that if I put my mind to something and completely put my whole heart and soul into it, it will work out. This has proven to be true in my science classes and my literacy classes this year for my Education classes. I'm still working on math..that nut will be a little harder to crack! That doesn't mean that if you think all your classes are easy that you don't have to do any work, but that means that you have the confidence that you'll know the material when you study it, and tests and homework assignments will come more easily to you.

Be a friend and missionary to everyone you meet. Yes, everyone. I don't want to go anywhere or leave an impression on anyone that I am unsociable or even unfriendly. I'd rather have someone think I'm too happy or too nice! I'm not saying that I think people find me unfriendly or anything, but it's just something I've recently made a goal of in my life. Always live your life so that others are finding you in the service of others and with a smile on your face. 

Be willing to be the listener instead of the talker. I've usually liked being the talker in my family, my friend group, and with people I'm around. I was always more comfortable talking instead of listening--I like receiving advice, but have never been very good at giving it. This month I tried being a listener to people instead of wanting to barge in and constantly just talk so that I felt comfortable in my environment. I know that sounds weird--but it's true! Being a listener was actually an amazing experience for me. I had many friendships strengthen because I was willing to listen, more opportunities to share what I thought of situations or even my testimony of things, and was able to see people as real people instead of objects that could just sit and listen to my stories. Listen to people around you--sometimes they need a willing person to sit and listen to them and help them out. It's been a really great learning and friendship building experience so far!

Stand for what you believe. This has been a huge thing for me lately. Without going into too many details, I have felt very alone up here at school. I'm thankful for good friends who keep the commandments and help buoy me up and help me feel closer to God, and I hope I help them as well. Living on your own is much different than living with family. You're in charge of your life--at least for the most part! You have to come to see what your foundation is built on. Individually, you, yes YOU, have to make a conscious decision! When you choose the decision that will ultimately make you the happiest, or back to our Heavenly Father, it is the most empowering feeling, and temptation doesn't even sound appealing. You crave spiritual food and getting to know yourself more.

Determine what is really important in your life! What do you really want to do with the one life you are given here on Earth? I saw a quote the other day from a LDS article (I don't remember it), but it really hit me for whatever reason. I can't remember exactly how it goes, but it basically states that we need to determine what we find important in this life and what we do in it. When we get back to Heavenly Father, what will we tell Him? That we were serving others around us, getting an education, and working on coming closer to Him? Or will we simply state that we watched a lot of movies or got a high score on a video game? What really matters to you? That made my mind kind of snap into a different mode of thinking. Don't just live day to day! Live with a purpose!

Live. Love. Laugh. Grow.

My Life Goals

Yes, this is kind of a random post. But, I feel like I haven't posted anything in forever. And, I have to do this for my Family History Class. I mean, I get to do this for my class. 

Although I didn't think I'd enjoy typing this all out and sharing it on a blog, I really have come to see what I want to do with my life, what my goals really are, and how it has shaped me, and continues to shape me, into who I am today and will be in the future. 

I hope you enjoy these goals, think of some yourself, and create some goals if you don't have any right now!

• Graduate from BYU-Idaho in or before April 2016. 
• Become an Elementary School teacher.
• Possibly go on to Grad School (BYU?) where I would study to become a Speech Pathologist for Elementary Schools.
• Get married in the temple.
• Have some blue-eyed, curly-haired kids. Okay, so I don't know what they'll all look like. But I hope at least one of my kids has my blue eyes and curly hair!
• Join the Utah Symphony, Bells on Temple Square, or the Orchestra at Temple Square. (My absolute dream would include being part of Michael Buble's Orchestra or a Movie Score Orchestra, but I don't know how that would ever happen!)
• Create custom wedding invitations and paper products. I would love to create wedding invitations for someone, table cards, typography for cards/envelopes/etc, to create a theme for a wedding. If the whole wedding line doesn't work out, I'd love to still create custom wedding invitations, birthday cards, stationary, graduation announcements, etc. 
• Being a stay-at-home mom that can work from home if needed.
• Travel to Italy, Scotland, England, or Ireland one day. Or even just ride an airplane!
• Own a home of my own.
• Learn about Interior Design (my original major choice here at school) and possibly (?) freelance.
• Learn the harp, flute, or cello. Or all three!
• Learn another language, at least a little bit. Preferably Italian.
• Finally finish reading the Harry Potter series! 

Those are the goals I can think of off the top of my head as of the moment. Make some life goals for yourself! See what you really want from your life. :-) Writing it out helps, I promise!

Live. Love. Laugh. Grow.

Pitching Our Tents Towards the Temple

This semester, I'm taking a Family History class. I honestly picked it because I found it slightly interesting, but mostly because I thought it sounded easy, and the rest of my classes had a pretty heavy workload. However, as the semester has rolled on by, I've realized how much I really do love Family History, and how very important it is for the work to be done. I don't think I'll ever be one of those "Family History Junkies" where that's all I do with my life, but I just find it neat to see my ancestors, what they did with their lives, and know that I was related to them.

However, as great as all this is, we've started talking about the temple in our class, and I have been absolutely glued to my seat every single class we have each week. I am so enamored with the temple, and I can't wait until it's my turn to go inside one day for my own. I've been thinking a lot about how everything we do here in life, and especially with family history as I'm finding out, points to the temple, leads us to the temple, and guides us to the temple.

I've watched so many videos this past week or so for my class on "Pitching Our Tents Towards the Temple". Many have brought tears to my eyes as I watch, just because I feel the Spirit so strongly, telling me that these buildings are eternally significant. They aren't just there for fun, for a beautiful architecturally different building, or a good place to go take pictures, but they're there for families. They're there for us.

I have started working on cutting out distractions from my life (limiting my time on Facebook, Pinterest, watching movies, etc) and replacing that time with watching General Conference talks. It has brought such an amazing feeling, and even a power, into my life, that I can assume only comes from living closer to the Spirit and striving towards making going through the temple your priority.

I also thought of the song that we would sing so often in Primary, "I Love to See the Temple", but the lyrics have never hit me so hard, or rang as true to me as they have this past week. Those lyrics are beautiful, especially for those who are making preparations to go through the temple one day. I'm so glad they taught us those songs in Primary, but I'm even more grateful for them now, because of the wonderful meaning and spirit it brings when I think about them.

"I love to see the temple,
I'm going there someday,
to feel the Holy Spirit,
to listen and to pray.
For the temple is a house of God,
a place of love and beauty.
I'll prepare myself while I am young.
This is my sacred duty."

"I love to see the temple,
I'll go inside someday,
I'll covenant with my Father,
I'll promise to obey.
For the temple is a holy place
where we are sealed together.
As a child of God, I've learned this truth:
A family is forever."