(Let me just preface this blog right quick....I don't intend for it to be a log of all past experiences. I decided to start a blog because I tend to have hilarious and awesome moments along the way that I always think are worth sharing with others. I never got around to sharing them in the past in a way that quite satisfied me, so here goes! I'm finally gettin' it done!)
OKAY, so back to the smidgen-of-my-story. I call this eight year undergraduate period "My Adventure" and tend to think of it as a time that I had some of the absolute best times of my life and some of the absolute most difficult.
A lot of people go into college thinking, "I'm going to get this thing done in 4 years or less, so I can land my dream job, have tons of adventures along the way, and end up in my dream home with my dream spouse and perfect dream children". I must admit I cared enough about what I thought people expected of me when I started college, so I had those same goals initially. Then a little....wait...hold on a second....I feel it more appropriate to call it a big thing. This big thing called life hit me. With all of it's ups and downs, I went through experiences I never thought I would have at a young age and ended up having some of the most exciting and fun times of my life so far. This is why it doesn't bother me that my undergraduate experience lasted eight years.
I went through a year of my first major (Human Nutrition), and quickly realized it wasn't at all what I wanted to do. I then went through a series of changing my major more times than I can count because I discovered I could do anything I wanted to. AND, there were a TON of very interesting things out there that I truly enjoyed learning about. How could I pick just one??? The cure for my indecision came along when my little sister joined me at college. Her and her high school friend lived in an apartment maybe 300 ft. from my front door. I would hang out there a lot, and over time, her friend became one of my close friends. We had a long conversation one night, and she said to me, "You have always wanted to become a wedding planner. Why don't you just do what you really want to do and go for it?" This was a life-changing question she had just posed.
The next morning, I was driving to campus, and I still recall the exact spot of the street I was driving on where I had that pivotal epiphany. I realized that the entire time, I was having such a hard time picking a major that was going to stick because, up to that point, I had not believed I could really accomplish the goal I had wanted to accomplish for such a long time. I loved planning events and had dreamed of being a big time wedding planner for as long as I could remember. It took my friend almost bluntly pointing out the obvious for me to realize that I had been selling myself short every day of my life up to that point. I came to see after this how much time I had wasted not believing in myself, and this changed my entire perspective on life.
Needless to say, I changed my major to Business Management.
The next year or so of college was filled with adventurous trips to arcades, fun and refreshing hikes to gorgeous locations in the mountains of New Mexico, lots of exciting sporting events where I would cheer especially loudly at rival games, and plenty of other rewarding experiences. I had also landed a job in the catering department on campus where I had been promoted twice and was working as the Lead Catering Sales Coordinator. I had the exciting opportunity to work with several brides to plan the menu for their weddings, so I was well on my way to learning a TON about weddings! This was a time of excitement and fun, and so many experiences that blessed my life in ways I could have never imagined.
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| A good friend's wedding I got to help direct after gaining all of that wedding-related experience in my catering job |
I went through two majorly difficult times towards the end of my time at New Mexico State University. I won't go into great detail. I'll briefly mention them, but I mostly want to focus on what I learned from them. In the summer prior to my last three semesters, my father had a massive stroke, and three months later, my brother's life ended tragically to suicide. I learned through these experiences about how important it was that I take time to process the emotions I felt throughout these experiences. I knew what it felt like to go through the deepest pain I had ever felt in my life. To this day, I cry when I think or speak about it. Going through something that painful taught me a lot about the atonement and God's love for me. It taught me just how powerful his love is. I believe that my family will be together forever, so I know I will see my brother again, and that brings me more comfort than I ever thought it would. I also learned that, while going through experiences like these, you wonder if you will ever be happy again because the pain is very deep. Thankfully, along the way, I have felt him urge me forward. He has reassured me several times that it is okay for me to move forward in my life and be happy. I also learned that there is almost no better feeling than emerging from the most challenging time of my life to find the greatest joys I have ever felt.
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| My Daddy-Kins who I love with my whole heart. |
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| My baby brother. He was learning how to fly and loved other adventurous things like motorcycles and such. |
Emerging from this incredibly difficult time in life steered me in a direction towards the most fulfilling experience I have had in my life so far. In my last semester, I had the opportunity to take part in an ordinance my church refers to as the endowment. This was an incredibly life-changing experience for me. The three decisions I have made in my life that have been the most important so far have been the decision to be baptized, the decision to go to the temple when I was 12, and then the decision to get my endowments. The biggest reward for me has been an increased desire to live my life in the best way that I can and to feel closer to my Heavenly Father every day.
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| The best day of my life so far! My lil sis' sense of humor is one of the parts of my laugh that makes me laugh the most. |
This was the best experience of my life so far, and then only a few months after that, I finally graduated. I am surprised none of my family members fainted watching me walk across the platform to receive not a degree, but a paper that told me that I would be receiving my degree in the mail shortly. I did it! I finally did it!
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| Graduation day with one of my close friends. We actually worked together as well, so go us!! |
I decided to be adventurous and go for my dream. I have always wanted to live in California, and upon receiving confirmation from God that this is where I am supposed to be, I am here! San Leandro, California. It is in the Bay Area, so lot's of opportunity surrounding me. Yay! I have been job searching and think I am close to landing my dream job! We'll see how it all goes, but for now, my take home lesson from this experience has been: Don't be afraid to go for your dreams! Life is too short to not experience the things you want to experience! Let God be your guide and best friend. The life plan he has designed for you is so much better than anything you could have spent hours and weeks and months carefully drafting.
By the way, I know I can't just mention that I am getting close to maybe landing my dream job and leave it at that. There is more to talk about there. There is plenty more to come with that adventure and so many others. So, until next time.....
Peace and blessins!
P.S. And just so ya'll know, I realize the title of my blog is"This Tall Gals' Life: Did I Just Snort When I Laughed?? Can I Give You a Hug While We're At It?". This is a pretty good description of what I am like when you are around me. So stay tuned for highlights of the hilarious moments I have that cause me to occasionally snort when I laugh, and want to give people hugs because I love them or just want them to feel happy :)
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