Love

On Monday we did the Trail of Hope in the evening, as usual, and I was a "company captain" (leading a group through the vignettes). I had quite a few children in my group and a few were rather rambunctious, so I invited one of the little girls who seemed quite disengaged to come stand by me. She soon grabbed my hand and held it most of the way down the trail, and she engaged a bit as well. It was a beautiful experience, and... oh, love is just a beautiful thing. Feeling it and giving it and receiving it and being surrounded by it. So much of life is occupied in the quest therefore. But as a dear friend mentioned in a recent email, when we open ourselves up to love a little more and trust a little more, we can accomplish great good. It's just hard not to get hurt in the process... What a balancing act this life is.

Love someone today -- maybe even someone that's hard to love.

Rediscovering My Future

My Nauvoo story begins before I was born, when my grandma and grandpa were called to run the YPM program. Growing up, I visited their home in St. George often and browsed through pictures from their many years of service. Seeing pictures of cousins and friends surrounding my grandparents, I always thought I would join them one day. And my fascination with Nauvoo only grew when my family spent two weeks there in 2005.

Among all my performing experiences in junior high and high school, my favorite was the Nauvoo Pageant. The friends I made there, the stories, the feeling and love of the experience, were matchless in my limited experience. And somewhere around this same time, something dissuaded me from being a Young Performing Missionary. Perhaps it was the replacement of my grandparents as directors, or my wonderful experience with the Nauvoo Pageant core cast and my desire to be part of that, or the focus on career and business that came later in high school and after my mission. But whatever it was, the years directly before and after my mission were occupied by anything but the YPM program. High school consisted primarily of musicals, singing groups, soccer, and academic pursuits, and it was closely followed by a mission to Spokane, Washington, speaking Spanish. Upon my return, I was ready to graduate quickly, marry quickly, and set out to conquer the world. The changes that came instead could not have been less expected.

My college career began with a major in Business Management, which fascinated me less and less the more I studied it. The principles were sound but very routine, lacking the depth and purpose that other disciplines seemed to carry. I even got an incredible job and several internships in the field of Human Resources, which I seriously considered, but I decided that I wanted something more. After a difficult winter in 2012, I spent the last summer in Mexico on an internship/study abroad experience that changed my perspectives. Face to face with cultural contexts, the ambiguity of life, sorrow, joy, spirituality, darkness, and my God, I learned much about myself that surprised and humbled me. I came back with my head whirling but my heart more ready to listen. In the following months, I changed my major to Philosophy, gave new effort to my performing and service opportunities, and decided to audition for the Nauvoo YPM program. I’m so grateful to be going, and hope to learn and grow tremendously this summer.