Find the Bright Side

1. I was standing in my bedroom with my acceptance email from BYU in one hand and my full ride scholarship to the school of my choice. I had no idea what to do. My dream job and the life I wanted was at my fingertips, but I knew it wasn't where I was supposed to be. I knew without a doubt that I needed to go to BYU. I knew that I needed to grow spiritually and learn at the Lord's university. Even with this sure knowledge, it was such a temptation to reply YES! to my dream school. At that moment, I got on my knees and prayed to Heavenly Father to give me the strength to turn away what I always wanted in my life. I wanted to be an interior designer and I was accepted to any FIDM school of my choice, but it wasn't BYU. Upon kneeling down onto my knees in the privacy of my bedroom, I started to cry and shake because of the stress that was falling upon my soul. I then felt comforted that everything would be alright. To go to BYU and I would grow in ways that I would never even imagine.

My first weeks at BYU were TOUGH! I hated the dryness in the air. I hated not being able to breathe through my nose. I hated that my skin was always cracked instead of silky smooth. I hated that everyone was Mormon. Once again, I had to kneel on my knees and pray to like BYU and to not compare it to California in every way. After quite a few semesters at BYU, I love everything about BYU. I am so happy that Heavenly Father helped me to see the light in this situation.

2. A scripture that I love is 1st Samuel 16:7. I teach little children how to read every morning fro 8 to 12 (this is the reason why I walk in late most days). Most of these children come from horrible homes where they are abused sexually, emotionally, and/or physically daily. Before I started working there, I was a volunteer. I have never felt closer to the spirit as I did when I was volunteering at little Geneva Elementary School in Orem. The children would give me hugs everyday and I remember weeping as I thought of the lives they had at home and how I wished I could just teach them that they are children of God. That I loved them more than they could ever imagine and if their parents were not able to be there for them, I would be there for them. Through service, I became closer to my Lord and because I was closer to my Lord I was able to serve those children in every way they needed.

3. One Sunday I was extremely homesick. I went to Sacrament meeting and decided that I wanted to just leave and explore to get my mind off of my family and the stresses of life. While I was walking out of the Sacrament Hall I decide that I would take my car to the mountains to see the leaves change and get away from the stresses of life for a while. I cried the whole way up to the top of that mountain and when I finally stopped the car I just felt so far away from the stresses of school and life that I finally felt at peace with my life. I realized that I was put on this earth for a reason and that I would learn how to be away from my family. I would make it through this time of hardness and learn to be happy. I finally saw the bright side of being at school in Utah and being away from my family. I was learning so much about myself it was unbelievable.

When life gets hard, I always drive to that same part of the mountains (unless its snowing). I look around at the beautiful creations that God put on this Earth and realize that we are all put this Earth for a reason. When life gets hard, God is right beside us showing us the bright side to everything.