Life is pretty dang good

You know, my resolution to update this blog more often has pretty much epically failed. I'm not really the blogging kind, I guess. I check Facebook pretty often, and that's how I keep in touch with people and let people know what's going on in my life, but I can't seem to find the time to update the good ol' blog.


Well, I can't guarantee that I will update this post regularly, or even every once in a while, but I will try not to completely forget about this blog and leave it floating around in the great, vast ocean that is the Internet.


To start out this post, I would just like to begin by saying that I feel so very blessed right now, and there are several reasons why, but they require a little explanation first.


This past year (2010) has felt almost like a waste of time, mostly because I felt like I had nothing to show for it (like a finished Bachelor's degree (or even a begun one), or a wonderful dream job that was bringing in lots of money.) I spent most of the year (well, it felt like most of the year) unemployed and looking for work. I did find a short-lived and rather undesirable position at a local non-profit organization, and then I did a brief stint at the LDS Business College Help Desk (again) while I decided not to pursue a Paralegal degree. I felt like I got a lot of nothing accomplished in 2010.


Which isn't to say that 2010 wasn't fun. Sure it was! Because I was unemployed and not really in school, I had extra time on my hands to spend with friends (summer movie nights, anyone?), and I was able to participate in wonderful events such as singing with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir one Sunday morning (thanks to the LDSBC Choir I was in at the time) and performing on Temple Square with The Harmony Sisters at Christmastime. All-in-all, I was a busy, reasonably cheerful woman.... but I still felt like my life was on hold.


Do you know what the problem was? I wasn't taking the time to realize that I really was accomplishing a great many things, even though I felt like I was accomplishing nothing:

• Getting into the Bells on Temple Square and being set apart as a special music missionary is not "nothing." (I was selected to become a member of the BOTS in February 2011.) In fact, it's been one of my dreams for the past five or six years to become a member of the Bells, and now I can officially say that I have accomplished that goal. 
• Being an active member of the Church and a dedicated helper to those in my ward is pretty special, too. I was able to hold a number of different callings in my former ward (the Bountiful Millstream YSA Ward), and I am very grateful for the opportunity I had to serve in a variety of capacities and learn more about myself and others in the process. I made some very wonderful friends during my time in that ward (almost exactly two years, I'm thinking), and I hope to keep in contact with them. There has never been a ward like the Millstream Ward, and I'm going to miss it dearly. Life won't be quite the same without it, but I will just have to find ways to serve in my new ward. (Rose Park YSA Ward >> Salt Lake Pioneer YSA Stake.)
• Finding a job (after much searching and almost giving up hope) with the Church is also a significant occurrence. For those of you who don't know (and I'm pretty sure all my readers DO know because, seriously, who reads this blog?), I work as a receptionist in the Information and Communication Services (ICS) Department of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I don't quite believe in "luck;" I think "blessed" is a better, more accurate term. I feel like I wasn't just placed in this position by accident. Oh no. In fact, I'm pretty sure that I have the position I have now only because I had help; if I'd been left to my own devices, I don't think I would have made it past that first interview, if I'd even gotten an interview in the first place. *Side note: For those of you who don't know (sheesh, I keep using that phrase, don't I?), I'm horrible at interviews. Absolutely, fantastically horrible. In fact, every position I've ever interviewed for, I've never gotten. Every job I've had in my life so far is because I've been referred by someone I know, and I'm essentially the only one applying for the position. Granted, there are probably reasons (divine intervention, if you catch my drift) why I haven't gotten certain positions, but I still think that my abysmal interviewing skills are a slight factor in the problem. End side note.* But I feel like I'm where I need to be at the moment. Who knew I'd ever need to be in Riverton, UT?

I could go on with every tiny, seemingly insignificant accomplishment in my life to date, but that would take up WAY too much time, space and effort. I guess the point I'm trying to get across is that blessings and things to be proud of and grateful for are always there, no matter how small. Just looking at the three listed "accomplishments" make me feel like my life hasn't been such a waste after all. :)