Having a SMART vision.

For Wednesday's lecture Ryan, our BYU/SA President spoke to us and presented a power point about the importance of having a vision and holding onto your vision. Being fresh out of high school and brand new to this university I thought it was all very timely. I've always thought it was important to have a vision and know the direction to take in your life but Ryan pointed out that: in life we have a plan that gives us hope and allows us to be charitable. With that in mind it's easier to map out your life with a purpose beyond self-fulfillment, but to be charitable and know that when my life is set and organized that I can devote myself elsewhere and give service. The vision I have for my life is to ultimately be married in the temple and live with my family eternally. In order to get to fulfill that I realize the importance of holding onto that vision and not letting go of it! Goals must be made to reach that vision. Goals that I've made are- 1. Creating a stable foundation for my testimony. 2. Keeping myself worthy to go the temple 3. Graduating BYU and 4. Working in Special Education programs incorporating music.

I was impressed by the vision statement of BYUSA and how important it is for the entire university to not only be personally healthy but reach out to the "intellectually, spiritually, emotionally, [and] physically poor among us." I also like that BYU has made it our mission to be centered on Jesus Christ and contribute to building Zion. I love knowing that we stand for those things and make it our mission to be proactive, it motivates me to be better!

Taco Bell Makes Friends :)

My friends Mom believes that she could use Taco Bell to solve world hunger. I am not quite that ambitious but I do believe that Taco Bell helps make friends! When Rebekah announced our service activity I totally expected it to be a walk in the park. Our objective was to apply the principle of "Knowing Each Heart" and to demonstrate friendship, love, and compassion to people that we have never met. I was excited to do this because I usually tend to join another person eating lunch and we'll chat until we run out of things to say....and then pretend to text our friends. Yesterday in this activity, I felt an extra amount of pressure to not only ask where they're from, what they're studying, and how they like the weather that day; but instead to really know them on a deeper level.
I stood in the line for Taco Bell talking to my sister and she was telling me about a book she's reading for a class and two guys in front of us joined in on our conversation. We were able to talk easily until ordering our burritos and then we sat at different tables. While waiting for our food, I heard someone say "so what's good here?", and as a Taco Bell fanatic I took the liberty to explain the menu, differences in prices, and the secrets of beef vs. steak. The man I helped just laughed at me and put his full faith in me and allowed me to order for him. It was really funny and then we just made small talk waiting for our food together about sports we like and food we eat! My sister Kat and I sat with someone who was by himself. I introduced myself and asked what homework he was doing. He explained that he was mapping out his weekly schedule for his Student Development class. We continued talking about his class and then I went on to explain that I also was in a Student Development with a different kind of course outline and explained a little bit about the class. We talked more about how he's liking his classes and it was really easy talking to him, he was really sweet. He had to go to his one o'clock class and then I sat with Kat finishing our lunch. One of the first guys that we stood in line with came back and said bye to us and mentioned that he was happy he got to meet us. It was simple and I know he didn't think to much into it, he was just being friendly, but it meant a lot to me for some reason. I think because I was particularly aware of people and relationships in those few hours. I feel like it was a better experience for me than it was for the people that I was getting to know. I was so impressed by the guy who just wanted to say goodbye and realized that it's those little moments that make such a difference in my day! So while I was supposed to be reaching out to people, it was the other side that made such an impression on me. It definitely was harder than I expected to "Know Each Heart", I hope that now I will be able to learn from this experience and make my small-talk conversations a little more worth while and personal...because there really does come a point when you can't talk about the weather anymore :)

"The Spirit to Serve"

I was impressed by several things in Brother Cox's lecture. I really appreciated his sentiments on the reasons and motives to serve. It's always important to put in check your motivation. I know that I personally can do a better job of being a "humble servant". In Doctrine and Covenants, Joseph Smith teaches us that he is our "humble servant and never deviating friend". The prophets have been a great example of service and leadership not only in the church but abroad. I love how service-oriented the church and the gospel is; which allows me to draw conclusions that because Christ, as the perfect leader, set up his gospel based on the principles of serving your fellow man to serve God, it makes the whole idea of service not a self-improvement program, but rather a sacred task.
At FOL I was ambitious of projects and other activities I wanted to become involved in, however I was very intimidated by the time-committment and the responsibility that would come with it. One of the speakers comforted me by mentioning that if you make time to get involved you will be blessed and you will do better in your schoolwork. After that I couldn't make any more excuses because if my aspirations don't involve service, I know I will be upset with myself and it would just be a whole lot easier if I got out there and started being a little more selfless!

Puzzle Pieces.

Before leaving for BYU someone mentioned to me "you'll learn a lot about yourself in college, like if you're the type of person who makes your bed everyday or not." As simple as this sounded at the time, I've found it to be very true. In these past few weeks I have learned so much about who I am as an individual. Coming to school was a real struggle for me and I left a lot of happy times in Carlsbad. The week before school started, I came up early and went to The Foundations of Leadership Conference in Aspen Grove. I was one of the last lucky ones to get in just days before the conference began. At FOL I was able to really evaluate myself and start putting the puzzle pieces together. I was allowed time to reflect about the leader I was and the leader I want to become. Questions I have considered:


Who Am I?
In regards to leadership I have been supported by people that I have loved and served. I found in different secular leadership positions that "Leading By Example" is affective but it's not enough. It is more important to get to know the people around you and the people you are working with than just being your best self. I am a big believer that becoming friends with someone is one of the greater acts of service that a man or woman can do. One of my most cherished gifts is my ability to make friends and stay positive in trying situations. I think that the light of Christ that I have is easily seen by others and it attracts them to me. By becoming close with people and sharing my happiness I know that they can count on me for anything and vice versa I can hold them accountable to be there for me. It's definitely a two way street as I see it. One challenge that I do have is trusting people. I wish that I could be more trusting of people but I know that starts with trusting myself. It's more of a complex idea than just a "get-to-know-you blog", but I know there are things as a leader that I have to work on, and I need to take time to better myself before I can be a leader to other people.

What I Do?
I am happy to go the extra mile and be a leader in clubs, sports, friendships, etc. I'm that friend who makes plans for the weekend and throws out invitations for everyone to get ready at my house before we go out. I really like working with administration and people who have held leadership positions. I think it's beneficial to observe how people interact and give directions. I am a huge people-watcher and like to learn about relationships. I live the idea "you GET what you GIVE". On sports teams I was privileged to be captain of three teams, an officer in two clubs, the vice president of my choir, and heavily involved in our ASB. The seasons that I was captain were so memorable and special to me because I put so much into the program and the girls on the team. I don't mind having responsibility, in fact I like to be held accountable for things. I like when people have expectations and standards that I have to live up to, it's almost like it keeps me in check. If I'm not doing it for anyone else, I'm doing it to better myself. A successful is selfless though which is kind of contradicting of my last statement, but it's important to "make sure you have your own life in order before you act as a leader and influence others".  When this is done you can begin to meet other peoples needs and look for ways to serve them.

Why I do, What I do.
I simply do what I do because that is when I am happiest. We are all here on Earth for the same reasons and I want my time to be the best I can make it. With that in mind, and happiness and fulfillment as my goal it is the obvious choice to serve people and to become a leader in the capacities I've been called to or if there is a need for leadership. Sometimes I feel selfish almost because it all ends up coming back to me and is making me a better person. It goes in a full circle, but that's the beauty of service.