dear sister wilson,

It has been a while since I have written, and the reason for that is because I have been working hard for this specific moment. This past Tuesday I received a letter explaining that I would have the opportunity to serve as a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The process just to get the letter took many months, interviews, and prayers. Everyone has to make a choice to serve, and everyone's decision making process is different. Here was what mine looked like:

JANUARY 2019: Being a missionary had always been a part of my post-high school plan. I always looked up to the missionaries that came into our homes to share messages about Jesus Christ. And I knew I wanted to do the same. What I didn't know was that a lot of mental health struggles would put my plan on hold. Once I had gotten diagnosed with depression this past January, I was convinced a mission would be completely out of the picture. I didn't think serving a mission would be a good thing for someone who struggled so badly with anxiety and depression. A mission holds a lot of unknown and the last thing I wanted was to start something I couldn't finish because I didn't think about the triggers that laid ahead. So, I decided that a mission would be out of the question.

MAY 2019: I graduated from Snow and met with my ecclesiastical leader Bishop Larsen. He wanted to visit and make sure I had a job now that I was living back home. At the end of our visit, he asked if I wanted to serve a mission. I responded "Yes," but then tried to explain that I had no idea where that response came from. But for the next few months I began to question, "Why did I say that? Is it something I need to consider? Or do I just feel like it is what I'm supposed to do?"

JULY 2019: I have prayed about a mission now for two months and had no response. I have prayed for reassurance that serving a mission would be the right choice, but nothing has come. I was getting sick of not having an answer. Doubts of my beliefs in God started to creep in. Doubts I didn't even know I had started to eat me alive. I didn't feel confident, I felt like a hypocrite. My mom became worried, and my dad offered me a priesthood blessing. Afterwards, I sat in my room and read my scriptures and found Mosiah 23:10. It says, "Nevertheless, after much tribulation, the Lord did hear my cries, and did answer my prayers, and has made me an instrument in his hands in bringing so many of you to a knowledge of his truth." After reading this I knew that I needed to continue, and hoped peace would soon follow.

I finished the paperwork in August and waited two months before the letter came. And as soon as I read "Dear Sister Wilson," I knew that this decision was right. It didn't matter where I went. I was just grateful for the struggle that allowed me to get to this point. And October 1st became the best day of my life.

I'm so grateful for the support I got this night, and for the opportunity I have to serve the people in the Hawaiian Islands. I cannot wait for January 22nd to get here so that this new adventure can start!

end of the year & graduation?!

Well, we made it to the end. I honestly didn't think I would make it to this point. With everything going on this semester, I was nervous that I wouldn't be eligible to graduate. My GPA may not be the best, but I honestly am just happy to have been able to graduate. I feel so grateful for all of the friends I've made here and for the memories made as well. I seriously feel so incredibly lucky to have these people in my life. They are my greatest examples, and have made me become such a better person.

Thank you Snow for giving me the BEST two years of my life. This video highlights this past school year and it makes me so incredibly happy. I can't imagine going anywhere else for school. It's brought me some of the greatest friendships. These are the people who I cannot imagine going through life without.

spring break 2019: san diego & las vegas

For Spring Break this year, my roommates (plus Tarryn--the honorary roommate) to San Diego. We drove and stayed the night in St. George and then left early in the morning to make it to California.

We got to San Diego before we could check in to the hotel and immediately found the nearest beach. Let me tell ya--5 girls stripping in the car to put on their swimsuits was not as hard as we thought it would be. We were just all so excited to be in the sunshine and out of the car!

After the beach we went to get lunch at In-N-Out and then check in to the hotel. After checking in we got ready to meet up with Bunker, Taris, and James for dinner in Old Town San Diego. They were in California for a football camp and it was SO FUN to meet up with them!

Our second day was spent going to the San Diego temple. We were hoping to do baptisms for the dead, but the temple was closed. So we just walked around for a while, and ended up meeting the temple president. It was so awesome to talk to him about the fact that just being on temple grounds invited the Spirit. 

After the temple, we went to La Jolla beach, and got to see the sea lions and seals. They're like cute little ocean puppies. But they smell way worse.

For dinner we drove to Coronado Island and walked the beach. It is such a pretty island, and I wish that we could've spent more time there. We found the cutest little diner to eat at there, and had such a great end to the day.

Our last day in San Diego was spent going to a suspension bridge off of Spruce Street. It was beautiful! It almost looked like we were in a rainforest. Bella was terrified that it was going to break, so she was so grateful there was a rail for her to hold:)

After the suspension bridge we went kayaking and it was so cool! We were able to get up close to the sea lions and they would come swim right up to our kayaks! Sometimes you could see lion sharks, or sea turtles, but we couldn't see them that day on our tour. I would love to go back though and see if I could see them. 

After the kayak tour we were on our way to Las Vegas to meet up with some other friends from Snow. California traffic--is a real pain in the booty. But that night we got settled into the Vegas hotel and just had fun watching movies with everyone before bed.

That next morning we went to the 7 Magic Mountains. It was SUPER windy, but it made for a pretty fun photoshoot. Also, for lunch we went to Raising Cane's and that place is BOMB--10/10.

The next morning we went to the temple to do baptisms for the dead and it was much needed! There is something so wonderful about the temple and the peace that is there. This was definitely a highlight of the trip for me.

We ended the day walking the strip and swimming that next morning before heading back to school. Overall this trip was really fun! We did have a few bumps in the road, but with that comes a lot of learning & growing. I'm so grateful for this trip overall and all of the memories we made.