One week of unemployment later, this girl's got herself a job again. Score!
I was telling my relief society that I didn't have a job yet so I have nothing but time on my hands when the lovely Miss Jessica asked me if I wanted to work with her at a daycare center. A quick interview on Monday, a day of paperwork, and I'm once again a workin' gal! I am the Teacher's Aid for a kindergarten class of 30 kids. Ideally we will have 3 teachers (including me) doing rotations of 3 groups of 10 so that each child is getting the attention and time that they need (not to mention that having 30 five-year olds is no picnic for the caregivers either haha). We haven't moved to this schedule yet, but we will probably start on Monday. I've worked only a couple days so far and it's been pretty fun! The kids are sweet hearts and I love being called 'teacher' and 'Miss Jochul.' :) It's really strange because I was just thrown into the classroom without very much training on the rules and such, but I've found that I pretty much know what's allowed and what's not. I guess volunteering at the Murray High Day Care and babysitting for all those years really paid off. As an added bonus I get to wear scrubs to work- I feel pretty cool and professional let me tell ya. I will be working full time until November 15th. Mom says that I'm cutting it really close by leaving myself only 5 days to pack and wrap up mission stuff, but I can't think of a better way to spend my time than hanging out with kids all day. Watching them play, learn, and grow definitely makes life seem so much simpler. Who knew that I would be a kindergarten teacher after graduation? That definitely wasn't in my plans. BUT! I'm so grateful for the opportunity to teach and help out as well as make some money before I leave- every little bit helps :)
0 Comments
I'm going to die.
And not in an abstract "everyone is going to die eventually" way. I'm going to die relatively soon. I have 9 weeks until I enter the MTC and it's KILLING ME. I want to be on my mission already! Working for Seven Peaks was an adventure and a blessing in that it filled my time and gave me a source of income for a while, but it's been a REALLY long first week of unemployment. You know how I find adventure in the ordinary and mystery in the mundane? This week has stretched my creativity to the limits. I have had adventures (of course), but every day feels like a lifetime- and NOT in a good way. I keep thinking that there must be a reason for the long wait between receiving my call (July 3rd) and actually entering the mission field (November 20th), but I haven't figured it out yet. I know that part of it is probably the tricky business of getting a visa or that my mission isn't ready to accommodate new missionaries or that there isn't room for me in the MTC at this moment (wild theories), but I can't help thinking that there's something I need to learn before I go. Something that will help me immensely in the mission field. The only thing that comes to mind is that I have to learn patience... but it seems like that is always the answer. God is always trying to teach me to be more patient and I hate it. I don't have time to learn patience, I've got things to do! Can it really be another lesson in patience? Even if it's not, I'm stuck here for 9 more weeks. I don't have another choice. Since I'm stuck here, I've found several ways to spend my time semi-productively: 1. Institute. I have to laugh at this one- in my recent post I said that institute was something I would be doing if I were looking for a celestial mate instead of going on a mission. And then I promptly signed up for institute. I guess I'm just a walking contradiction huh? :) No, I signed up for institute for other reasons- namely so that I will stay on some kind of schedule. I have class M-Th at 10am at the Sandy Institute. It's been great so far! The spirit is strong, the people are interesting, and it get's me out of the house. Wonderful! 2. Piano. With so much time on my hands, I've taken to playing the piano for a couple hours each day. I don't think I'm pro by any means, but keeping the hymns fresh in my mind will make it easier to step up and play if necessary on my mission. It's been a nice way to fill my time! I love that I can sit and play my days away. 3. Temple Trips. I haven't been going every day, but planning in a session every week will definitely help me kill time and get ready to go. I looked up all the temples in Utah that allow you to rent clothing (I don't have any of my own yet), and I think I'm going to try and attend sessions at each of them before I leave. The ones in the Salt Lake Valley won't be too hard, but I'm going to have to make some special trips to attend Logan, St. George, and Vernal (two of which have already been planned). So that's fun. 4. Friend Adventures. Going to Cedar, walking around Temple Square, and eating delicious Café Rio burritos have helped me fill my hours, but most of my friends are busy with school and work and real life, so I'm just chillin' by myself most days. Can you believe I used to sleep and chill out for FUN when I was a child? Sheesh. I need to be accomplishing more! There's still a chance that I will miraculously get a job for the Halloween season or the election season, but as more time goes on I seriously doubt it. Each day that I don't have a job means there's less chance of me getting one. Maybe I need to start volunteering somewhere... anything to make the hours fly by instead of drag on. If you have any ideas, I'm all ears. Remember how I need to get better at taking pictures? You should be proud- only half of the pictures in this post are random pics from the internet! I'm getting better! This weekend was eventful, to say the very least. I love my sweet friends in Cedar City! I'm glad we got to play :)
As you know, this kid is going on an LDS mission in about 10 weeks. YAY! I've had my call since July, and I'm telling you- something weird happens when you are a soon-to-be sister missionary. Ever since I received my call, I've heard a lot of comments like this: Oh, you're going on a mission to Russia? That's exciting. Maybe you'll meet your husband over there- that would be a sweet story. Russia huh? Don't you dare meet a cute Russian boy and never come back, ya hear? I want to have you around after your mission. Russia? That's cool. Maybe one of the missionaries you serve with will set you up with a nice young man when you come home. As well meaning as I know these people seem to be, I can't help feeling like they think I'm going on a mission in order to look for a celestial mate.
Let's make one thing very VERY clear: I am NOT serving a mission in order to get married. If I REALLY wanted to get married right now, I'd be doing other things- like going to the singles ward, attending institute, and DATING for heavens sake. If you think that a mission is the place to find your eternal companion, then you aren't fully understanding what it means to consecrate your whole life to the Lord. Now, if you've read any of my previous blog posts then you'll know that the idea of marriage doesn't scare me, I don't think it's a bad thing in any way, nor do I think that choosing a career first and marriage second is the best way to live out your 20s. I do want to get married one day (sooner rather than later) and I think that doing school together as a young married couple can help keep you united and strengthen your marriage; after all, it's only once clay has been through the refiner's fire that we can truly say it's become something beautiful. I really think that marriage is a wonderful institution (it beats being a spinster cat lady my whole life), but I'm not looking for that right now. I'm serving a mission because I know that Jesus Christ atoned for the sins of the world, that the Book of Mormon can change your life, and that Heavenly Father has a plan for each of us. These truths have shaped who I am today and I am eager to share them with anyone who is searching for their purpose, identity, or that feels like something is missing in their life. It sounds like a long list of cliches, but I believe that this gospel has the ability to change hearts and bring souls to Christ and I know that my imperfect self can help move these truths forward. I'm not going to be a perfect missionary, not even close, but I'm going to work hard so that I can serve others for the next 18 months. Thinking of missionary service as anything other than SERVICE is just plain wrong. So. If you want to make a comment about that beautiful man that you think will sweep me off my feet in the mission field, save your breath- I'm not interested. Thanks for reading :) Have you seen this movie?
I haven't. BUT! I was a wedding crasher this weekend! Let me tell you about it: On Friday I was hanging out with Banana Giraffe, Marie, Rachel, and RM friend when RM friend asked me to go to a wedding with him on Saturday. RM friend: Hey homie are you busy tomorrow? I may be going to a wedding. Wanna come? Me: Sure! Just let me know. RM friend: Ok cool. But... you'll have to dress up. Me: Yeah... I think I can manage that. So who's getting married? RM Friend: I don't know. It's at Annie's house. Me: So why are we going? RM Friend: Because I like to go to weddings. Me: Alrighty. And that's how we ended up at the lovely reception of Syd and Jon. I don't even know their last name, that's how cool I am :) It was rainy last night, so the reception was moved inside. We showed up around 7:30. When we got there, I signed the guest book "congrats! -Xochitl." I'd like to think that sometime when they are looking through their book they will see that little note and think "who the heck is that? Do we know her?" :) After signing the book, we ran into a problem. RM Friend: Uh oh- the bride and groom are right inside the front door! How are we going to sneak past them? Me: Well, we could just tell Syd that she looks gorgeous, give her a hug and keep moving down the line... Or I guess we can sneak around the back of the house and go in the back door. RM Friend: You're a genius! Let's go! (Jk, he probably didn't say the "genius" part- that's too much like a compliment haha) So we snuck (or sneaked if you want to be grammatically correct) around the back and ended up by the cake. We found Annie and talked with her for a minute, I participated in the bouquet toss ( I didn't win), we ended up in the background of half a dozen pictures, and we ate delicious treats while critiquing the "cuteness" of the couples we saw around us. Not much of a wedding 'crash' per se, but it was super fun! Just another adventure :) I'm done friends.
I've had it with the fake confidence that lives behind a message board. I've had it with the "let me put MY opinions all over your wall" crap. I've had it with the viral blog posts that leave a stream of not-so-nice comments behind. NEWS FLASH: Social networking is all about YOU. It's about YOUR opinions and YOUR pictures and YOUR profile, which means that nobody cares about YOUR stuff, because they're too busy being sucked in to their own stuff. I know what you're thinking: you're thinking "no, I keep facebook (or twitter or instagram or whatever) in order to stay in touch with my friends and family, in order to keep up with everyone." Bull. When it comes down to it, we all are trying to "keep up" with our friends via the internet by allowing them to "keep up" with us. "Hey, did you see MY picture of MY cute kids?" "Did you read MY latest blog post about MY great life?" "Did you laugh so hard when MY friend posted that thing? Here, let ME "share" it." Blech. I know that a lot of uplifting things can be spread through social networking or blogging or whatever, but a lot of negative, judgmental stuff gets thrown around too. Just because you think it doesn't mean it's worth spewing into cyberspace. Just because someone has a different opinion than you doesn't mean you have to stomp all over them claiming that your opinion is correct. Next time you comment on a blog post, remember that most things posted are accessed by a wider audience than first intended. Most posts were written or shared for a specific audience that didn't originally include you, so there's no need to bash. No need to throw in your two cents. If you don't like what you read, leave the blog. If you don't like what you see, leave the page. Don't blabber to everyone about how "judgmental" so-n-so is or how "immoral" such-n-such is... it's not your responsibility to judge others, it's your responsibility to live life to the best of your ability and love others regardless of their differences. Thumper said it best- "If you can't say something nice, don't say nothin' at all." In my life, I blog because I like to write. I blog because I think I have ideas worth sharing. In effect, I buy in to the "me" generation just like everyone else does. Hopefully by deleting my facebook account PERMANENTLY I will be able to be focused more on serving others and less on he-said-she-said. Because you know what? In the end, it's just a bunch of zeros and ones on a computer screen. If you want to change society, get out there and LIVE what you preach, don't just facebook it. Why is it that I never take pictures? Seriously! My mom is awesome and takes pictures all the time- even ones that we don't especially like.... and then there's me, over here, pictureless.
I keep thinking that when I become an adult than I will take pictures all the time- I mean, without Mom around to take the pictures of major life events/activities for me, I will get all picture-happy right? WRONG. Three years of college and a summer of "adulthood" after school, and what do I have to show for it? A journal full of entries, a handful of programs/movie tickets with my familiar scrawl on any blank spaces, and a rather active facebook account. Sorry y'all, looks like I'm not the picture taking type :) 21 years, 18 journals in various stages of completion, and very few pictures. Maybe I'll become the awesome amateur family photographer once I have my own kids to take a million pictures of. We'll see. Anyway. How's life treating you blog readers? Are you having the best day of your life? You should! Life is a wonderful thing! I've had a lot of fun the last couple weeks of my life, and I'm pretty sure that that is pretty normal for you as well- so you should keep on smiling my friend. Your life is as awesome as you make it. What has made my life so fun lately? Here's a nifty list just for you: 1. Teaching Sunday School. This summer I've had the great experience of teaching the 12-13 year olds about the Gospel. I love my class- they are wise beyond their years sometimes, while other times they are monsters. It's always a challenge, always a place I can improve and we can grow together. We've had really great lessons where I really feel that the spirit is there, and then we've had lessons where I try to take charge and then the spirit isn't quite there. It's pretty much the best mission prep EVER because I get to explain things that I usually take for granted. It's not often that adult sunday school classes will ask me where the topical guide is or what exactly an ordinance is and why they are important. I love being able to go back to basics, plus any time I get off track I get a kick in the pants that reminds me this is the Lord's work and I just need to prepare the best I can so that He can use me to teach His children what they need to know. Pretty awesome! 2. Hanging with the Fam. I've been to the cabin so much this summer its crazy! I love having the time to hang out with the family and not to worry so much about my work schedule or homework or anything like that. My job has been so nice because I can spend all my evenings and weekends with my family, but I still have a pretty steady source of income. I seriously love spending time with my family- even just eating dinner and talking about the events of the day can change my day. For a while it's seemed like I lost a lot of freedom when I moved back home, but the family time is far sweeter than having my own bathroom, my own kitchen space, and my own schedule. 3. Friends! My friends have been so fun this summer! It's great to be back in Murray so that I can hang out with the old group again. I've got mission friends coming home or going out to the field all the time and letter writing has definitely given me a boost. My cute friend Annie threw me a surprise party a couple weeks ago and it was so sweet! We played Super Frog and Vegetable Masters and I felt right at home! I love when my friends will play crazy games with me and spend time being kids at the park and such. It's great to know that I have people who care about me and understand my phase of life. We're all in the weird transition stage, but at least we've got each other. Love them :) 4. Mission Prep. Now, getting my call was exciting (and helped me stop having marriage dreams- thank goodness!) but having the privilege to attend the temple and study the scriptures more and more has be even better! Sometimes I don't feel like I'm doing enough to get ready- like I should live the missionary life RIGHT NOW- but when I look at where I was a year ago, I'm so grateful for the way my testimony has grown the last little while. It's incredible! And yes, Xander says I'm "churchy" on a regular basis, but you know what? Studying the Scriptures is cool. I turned 21 recently and I don't feel much different than I did 5 years ago. On my birthday I was talking to a family friend and she said "Wait, you're 21 today and you're hanging out here with your parents? You must be a good girl." That's right- I am a good girl! Deal with it! I find joy in the simple things and that is the best way to live! I challenge you to do the same: find your simple pleasures and keep being yourself - no one else can pull it off quite like you :) |