This I Know

I have a Heavenly Father who loves me, and who gives me direct counsel and guidance.

The Priesthood is powerful, and I can receive it's blessings personally.

It is only in following God's plan that I can fulfill my full potential.

All of this requires intense trust in Him.

Success

Want to know what success looks like? 

 It looks like standing up to your boss and completing an ORCA grant at the last minute.  It looks like an epic Murder Mystery party despite countless setbacks, and a toga costume.  It looks like tons of delicious leftovers, a non-sleep headache, and the ability to look back on the week and realize that you somehow got everything done that you needed to.  Most of all, it looks like your little brother standing up for himself in front of a judge, creating the opportunity for loads of strangers have wholesome fun together, and the slow yet steady process of understanding how God speaks to you.  Sometimes success doesn't involve all of the answers you want, or being certain about everything in life- but it's the ability to find happiness within the mayhem, to feel at peace with yourself at every step in the journey.  Tonight, success is the moment just before I fall asleep, when I understand in utter exhaustion that it's all worth it, and the joy that consumes me in realizing that I get to begin a new chapter in this adventure every morning.

Opportunity

A great example of why it's so important to give people the opportunity to shine.

I firmly believe that opportunity is the best thing we can give others.

And boy, did he take it.

space case

I'm not the most organized person ever, but usually I do alright.  Recently, though, I've been majorly spacing.  Proof:

1. Yesterday I had a loooong day and huge work meeting as well as a research study I was proctoring, all of which I needed my laptop for.  Guess what the one thing I forgot to bring to school was?

2. Tonight I remembered that I had to sign up for classes.  I checked my registration date, and it turns out I could have registered two days ago.  Rock on.

I've been so overbooked lately, and this weekend is not going to make life any easier.  I need to figure out a way to lessen this craziness, or I'm going to explode into tiny little pieces.  Although that might be amusing, now that I think about it...

Elder Busche, 1996

You may think it's cheesy, but these are the idealized words I need to remind myself of every day.

My boss and professor showed us this in class this morning, and it really touched me.

Simple truths, simple lives.

Joy.

closing time

i used to be really good at writing papers at 1am.

maybe it's the fact that i've already re-written this paper twice, or that it's a lot harder to fake your way through a neurology paper than an english one...or it might have something to do with the last hour and a half i spent formatting my references page.

the point is, i'm out of motivation.

which is why i'm downing ben & jerry's and staring at a blank conclusion page for a paper that was due an hour and a half ago.

when i finish, i'm going to reward myself with running shoes.  FACT.

Grateful

For:

feet

ice cream

movies

friends

crafts

cookies

test scores

Five Guys

roomates

hugs

soup

spoons

ice packs

alarm clocks

pictures

parents

fiction

future plans

grad school

opportunities

and the realization that most of the time, I'm the one to blame for my misery.

I have so much to be grateful for, and so much more control over my destiny that I usually want to admit.