Thirty Days
Hey guys, it's been a while.
In this blog post, I want to give you some updates. But in order for me to do that, I need to explain some things. Here goes nothing.
As many of you know (or can at least guess) I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (commonly referred to as the LDS Church or simply the Mormon Church). While the beliefs I hold in this church are very important, valuable, and tender to me, I have not shared many of these beliefs on this blog simply because I don't know where to begin or what to say. I guess I still don't know what to say. But if nothing else, know this:
I do not know the intricacies of the universe or fully grasp the extent of all human knowledge because of my membership in my church. I don't know everything there is to know about the world or life or God or really anything. But what I have learned in this church has brought me happiness that I have not found anywhere else, and this feeling of happiness has lead me to believe that the teachings therein are true. Of course, I could not prove to you the validity of the church I participate in, but that's not the point. The point here is simply that I am a member of the LDS Church, it makes me happy, and I hope that it can do the same for you. (Please feel free to check out LDS.org in order to find out more.)
So, update one: I have been called to serve as a missionary for the LDS Church, which is both an incredible blessing and a daunting task. Missionaries are called to bring the knowledge of this gospel to people all around the world, setting their normal, everyday lives on hold for a period of either 18 months or two years. I have been called to serve in the Mexico Ciudad Juárez Mission, and will depart from my home to serve this mission in exactly a month from today. Among the anxiety, inadequacy, and nervousness I feel, I am grateful and excited for this opportunity to serve. I know it will be a great chance for me to share what brings so much joy into my life.
It's hard for me to put into words exactly how I feel about this opportunity I will have to serve people in Mexico. It's thrilling to consider the lives I will touch and the people I will meet. At the same time, I am terrified. What if I'm not good enough? What if I can't learn to speak Spanish well enough or quickly enough? Will I be homesick? What opportunities or experiences will I miss while I am gone? What will happen to my friends and family while I am gone? Will they forget about me?
Ultimately, all of these worries will be quelled as I am going around trying to serve people. But right now, they are all too real. It's daunting to hop on a plane to a foreign place and hope for the best. Of course, I know that I will be guided and protected by my Heavenly Father. But sometimes the worries sneak their way into my mind anyway.
One of the things that I've had some trouble with in this time leading up to the mission is the fact that I have a lot of time on my hands. This doesn't sound like a problem, and really it isn't, but it's become all too easy to spend way too much time in bed or on my phone or watching movies because I don't know what else to do with my time. Long story short: I'm not very good at planning things or managing my time properly. But since it's really been hitting me hard lately how little time I have left, I decided to make some changes. So here comes update number two:
BLOG MONTH.
A while ago, I had been planning on doing a "Blog Week", where I would publish a new post to this blog every day for a week. This ultimately never happened because my life was busy at that point. Right now, it's less busy, so I have decided to set a goal to upload a new blog post every day until I leave for my mission, in part to make up for the long time it's been since my last upload and also due to the fact that there will be no new updates to this blog between December 5th, 2017, and December 2019. How well I will achieve this goal is yet to be seen, but I promise to try my hardest to get a new one out each and every day for the next thirty days.
Update three: I've been developing a love for old-fashioned things as of late. Specifically: Polaroid pictures and handwritten letters.
I can't really explain why, but in the past few weeks I've become kind of obsessed with Polaroid pictures (or I guess technically, Polaroid-style pictures. The camera I own is made by Fujifilm. Regardless, I'm going to keep calling them Polaroids in the same way that you can ask someone to hand you a Kleenex and they will understand you want a tissue. I digress). This interest has caused me to get an instant camera, buy a bunch of film for it, and set the goal to take a bunch of Polaroids before I leave on my mission so I can take them with me when I go (I am also planning on taking a bunch of Polaroids while I am on my mission). I even got a sweet photo album to put the pictures in, and I've never been happier.
So yeah, I think Polaroids are really cool and I appreciate the fact that you can preserve a moment in a physical form so quickly. That's awesome. With that said: please take a Polaroid with me!! If you want me to take a piece of you with me on my mission then ask me to take a picture with you and I would absolutely love it. It would honestly make my day so much better. SO DO IT. (Oh also if you're feeling generous and want to buy me extra film for the camera that would be super cool! :) Hate to ask but I'm just super poor and my Polaroid addiction is out of hand. My camera takes Fujifilm Instax Mini film.)
In addition to my taste for Polaroid Pictures, I've really gained a love for handwritten letters lately. I know, it sounds kind of cheesy and unnecessary in today's world of instant communication to sit down and write a letter to someone, but there are very few things I love more in this world than getting a letter from someone that I love. It means more to me than words can properly describe. But in addition to receiving letters, I also love sending them!! If you want me to write you something, PLEASE feel free to send me your address and I will do my best to send you a letter in handwriting that I can only pray you'll be able to read. That would be the coolest!
I know that maybe not everyone feels the same way that I do about such old-fashioned things, but I just love them. So if you want to make my day a little bit brighter sometime, take five minutes and write me a letter! I would love it if you did.
Anyway. Crazy times in my life. I know this whole blog post has been kind of a jumble of a lot of things and I hope it didn't bore you. For the first time in the two years I've run this blog, I can finally say:
SEE YOU TOMORROW.
In this blog post, I want to give you some updates. But in order for me to do that, I need to explain some things. Here goes nothing.
As many of you know (or can at least guess) I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (commonly referred to as the LDS Church or simply the Mormon Church). While the beliefs I hold in this church are very important, valuable, and tender to me, I have not shared many of these beliefs on this blog simply because I don't know where to begin or what to say. I guess I still don't know what to say. But if nothing else, know this:
I do not know the intricacies of the universe or fully grasp the extent of all human knowledge because of my membership in my church. I don't know everything there is to know about the world or life or God or really anything. But what I have learned in this church has brought me happiness that I have not found anywhere else, and this feeling of happiness has lead me to believe that the teachings therein are true. Of course, I could not prove to you the validity of the church I participate in, but that's not the point. The point here is simply that I am a member of the LDS Church, it makes me happy, and I hope that it can do the same for you. (Please feel free to check out LDS.org in order to find out more.)
So, update one: I have been called to serve as a missionary for the LDS Church, which is both an incredible blessing and a daunting task. Missionaries are called to bring the knowledge of this gospel to people all around the world, setting their normal, everyday lives on hold for a period of either 18 months or two years. I have been called to serve in the Mexico Ciudad Juárez Mission, and will depart from my home to serve this mission in exactly a month from today. Among the anxiety, inadequacy, and nervousness I feel, I am grateful and excited for this opportunity to serve. I know it will be a great chance for me to share what brings so much joy into my life.
It's hard for me to put into words exactly how I feel about this opportunity I will have to serve people in Mexico. It's thrilling to consider the lives I will touch and the people I will meet. At the same time, I am terrified. What if I'm not good enough? What if I can't learn to speak Spanish well enough or quickly enough? Will I be homesick? What opportunities or experiences will I miss while I am gone? What will happen to my friends and family while I am gone? Will they forget about me?
Ultimately, all of these worries will be quelled as I am going around trying to serve people. But right now, they are all too real. It's daunting to hop on a plane to a foreign place and hope for the best. Of course, I know that I will be guided and protected by my Heavenly Father. But sometimes the worries sneak their way into my mind anyway.
One of the things that I've had some trouble with in this time leading up to the mission is the fact that I have a lot of time on my hands. This doesn't sound like a problem, and really it isn't, but it's become all too easy to spend way too much time in bed or on my phone or watching movies because I don't know what else to do with my time. Long story short: I'm not very good at planning things or managing my time properly. But since it's really been hitting me hard lately how little time I have left, I decided to make some changes. So here comes update number two:
BLOG MONTH.
A while ago, I had been planning on doing a "Blog Week", where I would publish a new post to this blog every day for a week. This ultimately never happened because my life was busy at that point. Right now, it's less busy, so I have decided to set a goal to upload a new blog post every day until I leave for my mission, in part to make up for the long time it's been since my last upload and also due to the fact that there will be no new updates to this blog between December 5th, 2017, and December 2019. How well I will achieve this goal is yet to be seen, but I promise to try my hardest to get a new one out each and every day for the next thirty days.
Update three: I've been developing a love for old-fashioned things as of late. Specifically: Polaroid pictures and handwritten letters.
I can't really explain why, but in the past few weeks I've become kind of obsessed with Polaroid pictures (or I guess technically, Polaroid-style pictures. The camera I own is made by Fujifilm. Regardless, I'm going to keep calling them Polaroids in the same way that you can ask someone to hand you a Kleenex and they will understand you want a tissue. I digress). This interest has caused me to get an instant camera, buy a bunch of film for it, and set the goal to take a bunch of Polaroids before I leave on my mission so I can take them with me when I go (I am also planning on taking a bunch of Polaroids while I am on my mission). I even got a sweet photo album to put the pictures in, and I've never been happier.
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| Tell me this isn't the coolest thing you've ever seen. I dare you. |
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| The front of the album is inscribed with the words "small things" in Korean, which I personally find really cool. |
So yeah, I think Polaroids are really cool and I appreciate the fact that you can preserve a moment in a physical form so quickly. That's awesome. With that said: please take a Polaroid with me!! If you want me to take a piece of you with me on my mission then ask me to take a picture with you and I would absolutely love it. It would honestly make my day so much better. SO DO IT. (Oh also if you're feeling generous and want to buy me extra film for the camera that would be super cool! :) Hate to ask but I'm just super poor and my Polaroid addiction is out of hand. My camera takes Fujifilm Instax Mini film.)
In addition to my taste for Polaroid Pictures, I've really gained a love for handwritten letters lately. I know, it sounds kind of cheesy and unnecessary in today's world of instant communication to sit down and write a letter to someone, but there are very few things I love more in this world than getting a letter from someone that I love. It means more to me than words can properly describe. But in addition to receiving letters, I also love sending them!! If you want me to write you something, PLEASE feel free to send me your address and I will do my best to send you a letter in handwriting that I can only pray you'll be able to read. That would be the coolest!
Anyway. Crazy times in my life. I know this whole blog post has been kind of a jumble of a lot of things and I hope it didn't bore you. For the first time in the two years I've run this blog, I can finally say:
SEE YOU TOMORROW.
