Transitions in Life

I've been thinking about this quite a bit lately. I mean, it makes sense, now that I've graduated from my college studies and am stepping into the next phase of my life, whatever that may be.

I graduated high school 6.5 years ago, which was a major life transition. It marked the beginning of my independent adult life. It meant leaving my beloved hometown, my family, and all familiarity as I embarked on to the small college town of Rexburg, Idaho, to discover what I wanted to do with my life and who I wanted to become. It was definitely scary at first, especially since I was the first in my immediate family to go to BYU-Idaho, and the only person I knew going up there up there was my roommate. But it didn't take me long to fall in love with the college life, deciding for myself what degree to choose, what classes to take and when, what social activities I wanted to be a part of, and more. I grew SO much throughout my time in college.

After a year of school, I made the decision to serve a full-time mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which is something I never had the desire to do before. But that decision was completely my own. And yes, that was a scary thing too at first! The idea of going to a completely different continent and country, learning a new language, and sharing a different gospel message in a predominantly Catholic city of 10 million people of varying socioeconomic statuses was certainly intimidating! But, once again, it didn't take long for me to fall in love with life as a missionary, sharing a message of hope and love, and becoming fluent in Spanish miraculously quickly (I felt confident speaking after only 6 months).

The missionary life was absolutely wonderful. It was definitely hard at first, and there were many frustrating days, but it just took some time for me to adjust to my "new normal," if you will. Coming home from my mission was no different. It was difficult at first to adjust to speaking English again (my family can attest to this), although adjusting to carpeted floors and hot showers didn't take very long ;) But getting back on social media was definitely an adjustment too. On my mission, I got used to sharing a Nokia brick phone, not even having texting most of the time, video calling twice a year, and using a computer for just an hour and a half per week to email my family and friends. Going from that to getting back on Facebook, texting again, Messenger, having my own computer and 1st smartphone, etc. definitely took some getting used to! And now look at me, I have my own blog now! :) I'd say my transition from the mission back to normal life was the last life transition I experienced before now.

This life transition from "college independent adult life" to "real independent adult life" is particularly unique. In my opinion, college is definitely independent, but at the same time, everything is so structured. Once you're set in a degree, you know which classes you need to take, and housing is basically provided for you - you just have to choose which place you like best. You're still choosing for yourself, but your options are all laid out for you. I didn't realize that until recently.

This "real independent adult life" that I'm transitioning into is a different kind of independence than college is. I do have options, but I have to go find them. I may be student teaching through BYU-Idaho, and everything there is structured for me, but I still have to find where I'm going to live. And after student teaching, that's when the real independence is going to come. I have to get my teaching license, decide which teaching job to take, where I'm going to be, and all those other things. And that's definitely scary and intimidating! But life from this point on is going to be like this. My life is going to result from my decisions. Decisions truly do determine destiny, to paraphrase Thomas S. Monson.

Though these life transitions have all been scary at first, I know that my Heavenly Father has been there with me every step of the way. I'm never alone, even when I feel like I am, because He is always watching. I know that He knows me better than I know myself, He's aware of what's going on in my life, and He knows what's best for me. He won't ever force me to do anything. I still have my agency, or my freedom to choose. He can only lead and guide, if I will let Him.

This student teaching is a little scary, I'm not gonna lie. I'm going to a completely unfamiliar place, once again not knowing anyone, and I'll be teaching an age group I've never done before. But I know that this is going to be a great experience because of all the past life transitions that have prepared me for this moment. I may be going by myself, but I'm never going to be alone. I'll have colleagues, new friends to find, my Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ, and of course my ever-supportive family and friends wherever they may be found. I know I couldn't do this without you all. Thank you for supporting me in everything I do. I'm excited to see where this new adventure takes me, and to see how "real" independent life suits me. I've been preparing for this my entire life, and now it's finally here!