Here Am I

Hey, remember how blogs are probably not the thing to do anymore? I don't care. I'm absolutely terrible at writing in a journal. I feel like when I only use Facebook and Instagram to post, some of the feels are missing however, so I'm going to try blogging again! My thoughts are all over the place, but this is more for me than you anyway, so yeah.

So here's my past 2 years in a nutshell.


**EFY

Holy crap. I never thought being an EFY counselor would be something I would be good at. I had a few people tell me before my mission that I should think about it, but I never really gave it serious consideration. A big reason was because I felt I was too shy and that I wouldn't enjoy it. Then after I got back from Australia, my roommate was an old mission companion and she had done it that summer. She said I would love it and should do it. So I applied, got offered contracts, and decided to give it a shot.

LOVED IT.

I was a counselor for two summers. I never got enough sleep, had every kind of teenage personality I could possibly imagine, worked with some awesome co-counselors, used personal experiences to teach the youth, danced A LOT, made great friends, and learned again that forgetting yourself and serving is the way to happiness. I had so much fun and also felt the spirit so strong every single week. I had sessions in Utah, Nauvoo, Minnesota, and Florida.

I learned a lot about myself through the experiences. I became more comfortable with myself and was able to relate to many kids because of the experiences I've had in my life. It doesn't get much better than that.

So many selfies and awkward family photos and cool places I got to see. Plus incredible people. Thank you to every single person who was a part of my EFY experience over the 16 weeks. 

**SPRINGVILLE

I lived here for about 9 months. I had many challenges while I was here - it wasn't what I wanted socially, I didn't get into graduate school the first time I applied, finances were tight, etc. I did have awesome roommates and we became the 3 musketeers. Fun trips and great memories.

**SALT LAKE

I alsolived Salt Lake for about 9 months and that was a great experience for me. I instantly made great friends who became family to me. So many great adventures with amazing people.

**FAMILY WEDDING

This was just so happy!!!

**GRAD SCHOOL

Now I'm living in Arizona and just started my grad program! 3 weeks done and many more to go haha. It's definitely been an adjustment being back in school and not being able to spend all of my time adventuring. I spend lots of time sitting and studying. Bleh. But I'm so happy to be moving forward with what I want to do as a career. I haven't really done much here as far as exploring, but that's partly because of school and partly because it's freakin' hot outside. When it cools down a bit...I'll be all about that! I did go to Mexico right before class started, and that was a blast.

If anyone reads all of this, props to you.

I feel like social media gives people anxiety because it seems that everyone else's life is so great and perfect because of the things they post, and then your own life is lacking. I like to have an optimistic attitude about life and find joy in the journey and post about the fun things I do and/or accomplish, but life is DANG HARD. There are so many disappointments and hard things.

But la vita e' bella. Life is real and we have to deal with it. I have found things that help me to feel better in my life. A lot of that has to do with my religion and my relationship with God. Sometimes it means I go on a hike and look at how beautiful the earth is. Other times it means get the heck away from me because all I want is to watch TV and drink a soda by myself. FIND WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY AND HEALTHY.