Realizations

• Things don't always turn out the way you plan.

• Some things take much longer to occur than you want them to.

• If you want something to happen, effort is required.

• If you find yourself getting prideful, something will happen that will make you humble again.

• You can't control your circumstances but you can control your reactions to your circumstances.

• No matter how much you want things to stay the same, things will change. No matter how much you want things to change, things will stay the same.

The month of January has been a month of realization for me. Deep down I always knew these things were true but I guess I've never had them verified as much as I have this month. Life has its positives and negatives but the one thing that positives and negatives have in common is that they are designed to make you stronger. You learn to overcome the bad and you learn to appreciate the good. I don't know what the future holds but I do know that I can choose to follow Elder Wirthlin's counsel: "Come what may and love it."

Christmas in Cali

After finals were over, I flew home to California for Christmas. I was able to spend about two and a half weeks at home. It was great to spend time with my family before plunging into another hard semester. Mom, Dad, Lisa, Kiel, Melissa, Bruce, Grandma, and I enjoyed a great Christmas morning together. I received many awesome gifts, including a new camera (my old one was nine years old and didn't even have a zoom feature on it) and a Payless gift card which I promptly utilized.


Bruce was super cute and gracefully let us poke, squeeze, kiss, and go nuts over how adorable he is.


After everyone left, I used my free time to do some arts and crafts. I started making vintage-looking advertisements as wall decorations this past summer and I decided to do a few more while I was home. This is one of the four I completed.

All in all, I had a great Christmas break. I truly saw the spirit of Christmas at work this year and I am grateful to all those who sacrificed for others and for me. Happy New Year!