For Lex...

Four weeks ago today, my baby sister handed herself over to The Lord to serve an eighteen month mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. As unbelievably hard as it is to not be able to see or talk to my best friend every day, I am so incredibly proud of this decision that she has made. She is significantly more mature than most girls her age and her spiritual maturity rivals that of people much older and more experienced than she is. I have no doubt that this is where she is supposed to be and that she will do great things. Though I believe the same things that she does, I am not too prideful to admit that my little sister is a great deal more selfless and brave than I am - which is part of why she is currently on a mission and I'm not. I am, however, embarrassed to admit that I very rarely take the opportunity to talk about the one thing that means the very most to me in my life: my religion. So, in honor of Lexi going out on a limb and sharing her faith with everyone that she comes in contact with for the next eighteen months, I am going to go out on a limb and share a little bit of my faith with whoever happens to be reading this blog post. 

A little over two months ago, I had the opportunity to go through the temple for the first time and receive my endowments. This is a major step for someone in the LDS church and brings with it increased responsibility, knowledge, and blessings. For someone my age who is neither going on a mission nor getting married any time in the near future, this was a little unorthodox. I received very mixed responses from people that I discussed the idea with but, ultimately, I knew that this was a decision that was between my Heavenly Father and myself. And I knew we were on the same page. I can say now that this was one of the best decisions I have ever made for my life, and I will never regret choosing to go when I did. Going through the temple gave me a renewed sense of faith and purpose, and really changed my perspective on a lot of things. 

As with any religion, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has many different aspects to it. We believe in many doctrines and principles which ultimately all intertwine. It would take me hours and hours to explain in full everything that I believe in and feel strongly about, so I'm not going to do that. Instead I just want to share my testimony of those simple but beautiful things which I know to be true. The greatest of which is that I have a Heavenly Father who loves me more than I will every comprehend. Everything else that I believe follows because of this one truth. Because He loves us, He gave us families to help us through this life. Because He loves us, He created the Plan of Salvation which allows us to be with our families for all eternity - not just this life. Because He loves us, He has given us commandments to live by so that we can return to live with Him. Because He loves us, He sent His son to suffer and die for us so that we could be given the opportunity to repent when we inevitably make mistakes. Because He loves us, He has given us the ability to talk to Him anytime about anything; knowing that we will have His undivided attention. Because He loves us, He has given us scriptures, church leaders, temples, and living prophets to help guide us on our way back to Him. I truly can't comprehend the kind of love that Heavenly Father has for each of His children, but I am so grateful for it. 

I feel so blessed to be a member of this church and to have the faith that I do. With all of the craziness in this world, and all of the controversies happening both in and around the LDS church, I have been so grateful to see my faith be strengthened while the faith of so much of the world is weakening. Within the last few months, I have had countless moments and experiences that have cemented in my mind even more that this life has a purpose, and that we have not been left alone to make it through and find that purpose. Our Heavenly Father loves us without measure and without condition, and He wants nothing more than to see us succeed. What a blessing!

"Beyond comprehension, brothers and sisters, is the love of God for us. Because of this love, He sent His son, who loved us enough to give His life for us, that we might have eternal life. As we come to understand this incomparable gift, our hearts will be filled with love for our Eternal Father, for our Savior, and for all mankind."

-President Thomas S Monson

Hey You Kids....

As some of you probably know, my current job involves a whole lot of interaction with high school kids. I spend around an hour a day, almost every day, in the middle of the high school lunch scene....and it sure is entertaining. High schoolers are definitely a different breed of people. I have a lot of fun talking to these kids every day and watching and listening to them interact with each other but, I would be lying if I said I didn't want to just shake them sometimes. I am, by no means, an expert on anything, but I do think that I have learned a LOT in the almost four years since I graduated from high school. I definitely have a different perspective on things than I used to. I've started finding myself feeling like a mom or a guidance counselor who wants to just sit these kids down and tell them what's really important in life. So, with all that said, here is a list of 50 things I would tell high school Cassie and/or tell the kids that I interact with every day if I knew they wouldn't look at me like I'm a crazy person.

1. If someone tries to give you advice, don't look at them like they are a crazy person.
2. Be confident in who you are. The way you are.
3. There is a fine line between confidence and cockiness. So get your nose out of the air and slow down on the selfies.
4. There are much more important things to do in life than be the Homecoming queen....or even the Valedictorian.
5. Make friends with your teachers.
6. Take school seriously, but don't make yourself miserable.
7. Incessant swearing is not cool and will actually be a turn-off to most future admissions departments, professors, employers, and really anyone important.
8. Your parents do,  in fact, know what they are talking about.
9. Don't judge people before you know them. Just don't.
10. The number of people you kiss, date, etc. is not a competition. Don't treat it like one.
11. Your social status in high school will mean nothing after graduation.
12. Spend lots of time with your family.
13. Never ever let anyone else dictate your happiness.
14. Go to football games.
15. Don't be afraid to spend time by yourself.
16. You will never be so superior to someone that you no longer have to be nice.
17. If you haven't already, learn proper spelling and grammar. It's arguably the most important thing you will learn in school.
18. Get involved and be well-rounded.
19. Thank your parents for all the little things they do for you.
20. You won't get what you don't ask for. (and it's better to ask for yourself than having your friend ask for you)
21. Find something to believe in.
22. The brand of your clothes, the people you hang out with, the model of your car, and the number of  "likes" you get on Facebook do not make you any better or any worse than anyone else.
23. Don't be a drama queen.
24. Don't change yourself for anyone.
25. Wear clothes that fit you.
26. Choose to see the good in everyone.
27. Ask people about themselves and then LISTEN.
28. Don't burn bridges.
29. Be present.
30. Say "please" and "thank you."
31. Embrace your weirdness.
32. Boys are dumb. Girls are crazy. Don't let members of the opposite sex get to you too much.
33. Go to the movies with your mom.
34. Stand up for what you believe in - no matter how uncool.
35. Live in the moment, but look toward the future.
36. Go on a road trip with your friends.
37. Stop saying rude things about other people.
38. Sometimes it's fine to build a blanket fort and watch a Disney movie with your friends.
39. Do good things without the motivation of recognition.
40. Be real.
41. Read for pleasure.
42. Drugs, sex, alcohol. No, no, no.
43. Don't spend too much money on your sparkly jeans. People don't really wear them after high school.
44. Enjoying yourself at the expense of someone else is not fine.
45. Good hygiene is soooo important.
46. Watch "Boy Meets World" and listen to everything that Mr. Feeny says.
47. Overachieve.
48. It's fine if you don't care what other people think of you, but if people think you're rude then you should probably start caring.
49. Don't hate on your hometown.
50. Remember that high school doesn't last forever, so enjoy it while you can!

Follow Your Arrow

Okay, so things are about to get a little soap box-y right now. But that's what blogs are for sometimes, right? Also, I tend to get frustrated with myself for not having an opinion on things....so this is me having an opinion. 

Watch this video, then read.

So, I really like this song. It's a little weird, and I certainly don't condone some of the things that it talks about, (smoking joints, girl-on-girl kissing, etc.) but I just love what it's getting at. Essentially, you're always going to be wrong. You're never going to please everyone. So quit trying to make society happy, and just make yourself happy. People have this terrible habit of picking at other people's lives and telling them everything they are doing wrong, and what they should be doing instead. People also have a terrible habit of listening to the opinions of everyone else, and trying to live a life that will make society happy. Well, the truth is, that's impossible. You are never going to live a life that makes all of society happy; so why make yourself miserable trying?

I have seen lots of blogs and articles lately about this very thing: telling people what they should be doing with their lives right now. For example: I've seen lots of people talking about how getting married at a young age is the absolute worst plan - how those marriages are doomed to failure and people use marrying young as a cop-out to avoid finding their own place in the world blah, blah, blah. I have also seen lots of counters to this point of view - how marriage is the greatest thing that has every happened to them, and they are so glad to be with someone every day who loves them  unconditionally, and people who don't have that are just sad and bitter blah, blah, blah. Both of these bother me. If you find the person you love when you are 19 and decide to marry them - great! If you decide you want to focus on other things for a while before settling down - also great! I think people on both sides of this argument need to be a little more sensitive. Telling people who married young that they ruined their lives and are bound to get divorced is - obviously - incredibly rude. And untrue. And people can't really go back in time and change those decisions even if they wanted to. So that's not fine. But going on about how wonderful marriage is, and how nice it is to have someone who loves you and takes care of you all the time - thus making that the correct life decision - is also a little insensitive. I don't want to make a blanket statement saying that everyone wants to get married eventually, but I'm sure that a lot of those people who are focusing on finding their place in the world right now would not complain if someone showed up who wanted to love them forever unconditionally. But, just like married people can't time travel, single people can't decide to get married one day and just have that happen. So let's just let people make their own decisions based on what works best for them, and stop fighting about which way is right. Mmmmk?

The marriage thing is just one example, but it's definitely not the only one. I'm in an interesting place in my life right now where, depending on who you ask, there's lots of different things that I "should" be doing. Getting a graduate degree, getting married, having babies, going on a mission, travelling, working my way up the corporate ladder, etc., etc., etc. Obviously, I can't do all of these things at the same time so, to one part of society or another, I'm always going to be wrong. This can be really frustrating. But I have realized that it just doesn't matter. I'm going to do what makes me happy, and not worry about whether or not the rest of the world approves. Maybe it's selfish, but I don't think the point of my life should be to please everyone else. And yes, if someday I get married and have children, then I will adjust my priorities to make decisions for my life that will make my whole family happy - not just me. But for now, I'm following my own arrow and living my life for me.