End of October, What?

I can't even believe its been more than a month since I last posted. I'm sorry I've been neglectful haha. Plenty has happened so I can't really fill in on everything. But the last month has been one of the biggest blessings in my life. A few challenges and many blessings, but all for good! At the beginning of October in General Conference (a worldwide leadership conference for the LDS church) it was announced that girls could go on their missions starting at the age of 19. I couldn't believe it! And since I have always desired to serve a mission I thought for sure I would be turning in my papers. But I guess that turns out not to be Heavenly Father's plan for me, for now. I know I'm where I am supposed to be and though in many ways I was disappointed I am also sure- sure that if I follow my Saviour I won't be led down a path I will regret taking. Ever.

So since that time I have been working hard on my studies. I also work a lot. Last year I didn't know how I could possibly fit twenty hours of work into my schedule. Someone it has happened. And though sometimes its stressful and challenging, I love being a TA. The hardest part is knowing that sometimes your students wont like you- actually, sometimes they hate you (or think they do). But I'm teaching something I love and I get to help students. The most rewarding part is being able to read their thoughts and hearing them share aspects of their lives with me through their papers. I'm always grateful that because we attend BYU we can feel open enough to share our religious opinions in academia.

I am very busy right now with midterms and paper writing but somehow I've had time to meet so many great people and become even closer with my roommates (is that possible?? haha). We celebrated halloween this weekend. We hit up a few dance parties and had a great time.

I also got to watch the Calgary Temple Cultural Celebration! It was beautiful. I couldn't help but tear up during some parts as I watched my friends and fellow Calgarians doing something that will only be seen once in our lifetime in our city. It made me miss home a lot and wish I had been able to be part of everything. But I can't wait to go home and see the temple. My friend Keely and I were talking today about how lucky we would be to be some of the first married there. Its such a special thing to know that when I am home everything will be that much more complete because I will be able to visit the Lord's house.

Those are my thoughts for now :) I will try to commit to writing more frequently. Ill even try to get a few pictures into the next post.

Love,

Stef