This was a guest post on my mom’s blog. Hope y’all like it.
My first guest post. Guess Im not super familiar with the blogging scene, so if this isn’t up to par with The Daily Grapefruit, just know that all the blogging genes were used up before I got to the pool. It’s probably ok though, I never liked grapefruit much anyways. Too sour. I think I prefer making things sweet.
And you know, there’s a lot in my life that has been pretty sweet. Im sure people can attest to my sweet tooth (my eggnog drinking alone could be considered dangerous), but Im not just talking about cooking brownies in a mug in the microwave. The sweeter side of life isn’t all about good food, however unfortunate that may be. Rather, its about making your life good, and making other lives good, and it’s these experiences I am so grateful for.
There are so many things that have happened to me for which I need to express gratitude. But the one I am writing about is the call I have received to serve a mission for the LDS Church, in Huancayo, Peru.
Earlier in the summer, I decided to graduate high school early, and serve a mission. There were a lot of different influences that guided me in my decision, but probably the deciding factor was the fact that I would have the opportunity to serve, and then come back and get a head start on the rest of my life with all the wonderful knowledge and experience gained from this critical step taken.
I definitely wasn’t on the track to getting a head start. I had a single semester to complete a year’s worth of credits, while working. I didn’t even go to school for the whole day, because I left early to go to work. I wasn’t even on track to graduate when I made this decision, so obviously it was going to take some real effort to make all this happen. However, with the wonderful help of Jana Houle, my counselor, and lots of prodding from my mom, I got all my credits complete. I even inspired another kid to follow my example and graduate early to serve a mission, and that was probably one of the coolest things about my graduation experience.
Although I graduated early and all that, it wasn’t any Student Council experience, or any dance, or anything else that I remembered most about my Senior year. The thing I will never forget is when that big white envelope showed up in the mailbox.
It took so long to come. I think I mastered the virtue of patience solely by waiting for my call to come. And so it wasn’t all that hard for me to wait Wednesday (when it arrived) to Friday (when I actually opened it). The only thing I worried about was my mom stealing it from under my pillow while I was at school. Thankfully that didn’t happen. Well at least I think it didn’t. Regardless, I opened it on Friday night, and so many of my wonderful friends and family came to my house to support me and my decision. I think that was the best part of the night. But the best part of the entire experience was the calm spirit I felt after I read it.
You feel a lot of different feelings over the course of your life, even over the course of a day. You can get a feeling to wait a little longer at a stop sign, right before a car blows through the intersection. You can feel like your friend needs a hug, and you comfort them when they just lost their grandma. You can feel nervous right before the start of a big game. But this feeling I felt was unlike anything I had felt before. It was an immediate feeling of peace, reassurance that I was doing the right thing, and that made the most impact. And you know, impacting yourself can in turn impact others.
I don’t know how many people I have impacted through my example of serving a mission, but I hope I can positively affect someone, change their life for the better. It might be in Peru, it might be a friend watching from home, it might be someone I meet after I return. But there is always someone your example will influence, and so I hope that I use my influence for good. And I know that by serving a mission, I will do just that. And maybe, just maybe, a little bit more.