Optimistic Outlook

This has been a fairly uneventful week, unfortunately. I continued in my same routine of school, work, and home life—not that there is anything wrong with that, it just doesn’t leave much to say in this blog. Everything is still going really well and I am still really happy. I have really bonded with all of my roommates and I actually look forward to when they come home at night (unlike a certain roommate from last semester). It is fun joking around about Star Wars and Lord of the Rings, and sometimes these topics spark real deep conversation about religion or politics. It always makes things interesting and I’m very grateful for these moments as they always brighten my day.

I had a moment of negativity on Sunday, but I am proud of myself for fighting it off and being more optimistic. I discovered that I have a tendency to be pessimistic, and I need to learn to change that. I sometimes get this attitude that, “why should I have to do more on Sunday than go to church, isn’t that enough?” But, then I drag myself to a fireside, ward prayer, or break the fast and am really enlightened or have a great experience and realize that it isn’t a matter of “what is enough” but “how much can be gained.” Why would I want to limit the amount of good experiences I can have on Sunday? Church and other related meetings should not be viewed as a chore that needs to be completed, but as a blessing that could really help me grow and become a better person, and isn’t that the goal in life? That was the lesson I learned on Sunday, and it has really changed my outlook on things.

A lot of my negativity yesterday dealt with my calling and feeling inferior in it. I was the family home evening group leader both fall and winter semesters, and I have the opportunity to fill that same calling during Spring. It doesn’t seem like a particularly challenging calling, but I often struggle with it because I’m not good at thinking of fun activities (because a lot of the “typical” FHE activities honestly don’t sound fun to me) and I’m not good at being a leader and getting everything organized. I feel bad for the other FHE group leader who has to deal with all my shortcomings and make up for them, causing their calling to be more difficult than it should be. But, I know I must be in this calling for a reason, and that I need to learn to love FHE more and learn to be a better leader, so I am going to embrace it and simply do my best for the few weeks left in the semester. Last night I felt that FHE went really well—we had a lot of fun watching Kung Fu Panda, and I think it really did allow us to bond as a group. So, I am beginning to feel more optimistic about this calling.

As for other things of interest this week, Kris Allen is the winner of American Idol Season 8! I was genuinely happy with the result even though I was rooting for Adam. It is always nice to see the underdog come from behind to shock everybody with his honest talent. He truly grew the most throughout the competition and I’m sure he will have a great career (as well as Adam). Also, I’m excited because I found out which bands are playing at Calprog (a progressive rock concert in Southern California) this year and they happen to be all bands I love! My mission now is to get Kevin interested in the bands that will be playing so that he can come with me to the concert in October. It seems to be working so far, so I’m definitely looking forward to that.

This weekend is my cousin’s wedding which is in Arizona and I’m really excited for it. I love being able to see my family! I’m sure I’ll have many interesting things to say about the trip in my blog next week. I still feel bad about not being able to make it to my grandparent’s 50th anniversary in Las Vegas earlier this year, so this is my way to make it up to the family, so I’m going to make the most of it! Besides that, I don’t think there is really anything else interesting to discuss. Classes are going good. Work is good. Life is fun!