Over the past month or so, I have been becoming increasingly anxious about moving up to school and living over nine hundred miles away from home. Not to the point where I have panic attacks, but every once an a while I'll start thinking about it and wonder how the heck I am supposed to do it. The school year is almost over and preparations are being made for the coming year. At first I was super excited to live on my own and be independant, but as I actually started thinking about all of the things that I am going to have to take care of for myself, I don’t know whether to be excited or terrified.
I was talking to someone the other day about going to school and after talking about it for a little while and she stopped me and asked me, “What if you can’t?”. At first, I was a little confused -- what if I can’t what? Up until this point, I had figured that everyone was wondering how I was going to pull off living on my own. And at the moment, I don’t even know how I am going to be able to not rely on anyone. But I have prayed about it a ton and I know that my future is in the hands of my Heavenly Father. For as long as I can remember, everyone has encouraged me to become more independant. Literally everyone from teachers, to physical therapists, to my family. Personally I think I have come a long way and that being independent is great. But I think people often confuse independance with not relying on Heavenly Father’s guidance. When you want to become more independent, I think, at least for me, I have to become closer and more trusting in my Heavenly Father. When the time came for applying for college, I was hesitant to apply to anywhere. I had always assumed that I would go to the community college in the area and live with the fam bam. But then one day my sister suggested to apply to the CES schools and see if I get in. She said that I didn’t even have to decide right then and there if I was going to really go, but to apply anyways so I could keep my options open. So I started my application process. I began filling out my information and writing my essays. There was a pretty long time for me to work on my application process, but I got started on it right away. After writing a couple of the essays, I stopped working on them because I got a little discouraged about being able to get in and even if I did get in, it was overwhelming to think about actually going to school there. As time went on, the application deadline got closer and I had abandoned the idea of going to any of the church schools. About a month later, I remember coming home from school one day and seeing one of the CES endorsement forms on the end of my bookshelf. I immediately started to question if I really wanted to go to a community college. I remember feeling like if I didn’t finish the application, I would be missing out on the opportunities that I wouldn’t be able to have anywhere else. So, I finished my application, telling myself that I would apply and see how it goes from there. I remember on the day I finished it, I felt this unmistakable feeling of peace. I wasn’t sure where it came from at the time, but now I know that it was Heavenly Father reassuring me that if I did get in, He would help me know what to do. One Thursday morning, before seminary, I woke up and saw a notification e-mail from the CES admissions office. I was so scared to open it. But when I opened it and read the email saying that I had gotten in to BYUI, I screamed and cried a little (happy tears). Because for the majority of high school, I had been geared by teachers to shoot only for community college. Not that those teachers didn’t want me to go to a four-year, but because most of the kids with disabilities at my school usually don’t even apply to four year colleges. I had been told over and over that I could just go to community college because that’s what everyone had been expecting me to do. I think everyone thought it was a little odd that I was so excited. But to me it was a big deal because I had always just assumed that I would go to a community college. I am super excited to start this new chapter and I know that this is right for me. I want to remind you that you don’t have to know exactly what you want to do for the rest of your life at this second. You have a whole lifetime to think about that. What you do need to know as soon as possible is that Heavenly Father loves you and has a plan for you and that He is going to guide you. As long as you look to Him for guidance, everything will work out. Even if you don’t know exactly how right now.
0 Comments
Since starting up The Life in Progress, I have become increasingly interested in reading other people’s blogs to see how they do it. Over the past year or so, I’ve accumulated a list of blogs that I have deemed my favorites. The other day, when I was talking to my friend about if I read other blogs and she asked if I had any favorites. That gave me the idea to do a post some of my favorites on here for anyone that might be looking for other blogs to read. I have found that most blogs I read fall under a few different categories. The first and my personal favorite category is blogs about people with disabilities or other physical setbacks. This may seem a little odd to most people, but I have found it really cool to read about these people who don’t let their disabilities stop them. Claire Wineland - The Clarity ProjectI stumbled on The Clarity Project one day when I watched a youtube video made by the author of this blog, Claire. She has something called Cystic Fibrosis. I looked up the exact definition online and it said, “Cystic fibrosis is a disease that causes thick, sticky mucus to build up in the lungs, digestive tract, and other areas of the body. It is one of the most common chronic lung diseases in children and young adults.” Despite this disease she has, her blogs and her videos, absolutely radiate positivity. It is so encouraging to me that she can be so positive despite her illness. Christina - Fifi + MoThis next blog is probably my absolute favorite. It’s called Fifi and Mo, written by Christina who is the mother of the cutest little girl, Finley. This one is my favorite because Finley has cerebral palsy just like me. It is super fun to read Christina’s blog about Finley’s CP because I can completely relate. When I see how Finely with her leg braces and walker, it totally reminds me of when I was little and needed similar things to help me walk. It also helps remind me how far I've come since then. Oakley - Nothing Down About ItAnother blog I read is called Nothing Down About It. It’s written by Oakley, the mom of the cutest little boy, Welles. Welles has down syndrome and it absolutely melts my heart to see how much this mom loves her son. Now, my disability is way different from sweet Wells’, but what really gets me with this blog is the pictures of Wells and his sister, Scarlett. In a lot of the pictures on her blog are of Scarlett helping Welles somehow and it makes me think of how much my big sis used to help me a ton when we were little. Molly BurkeAnother super inspiring blog I read is written by Molly Burke, who is completely blind. I found out about her by watching some of her youtube videos. At first, when I watched her videos, I could barely tell she was blind. But after hearing her stories about going blind and how she had to adapt and completely change her life, I was amazed. She talks a lot about how being blind doesn’t stop her from following her dreams. I love how she is really open to answering questions about her blindness and tries her best to educate people about vision loss and how readers can help people that are dealing with vision loss. Other subjects that I love reading about are uniquely stylish and creative people’s blogs. I love it when these people post about their cool outfits or insanely creative tutorials. I love how these people are not afraid to put their uniqueness out there and encourage others to do the same. Erin HansenI’ll start with one of my favorite poets ever. Her name is Erin Hansen and she lives in Australia (which I think is so cool) . Erin has both a poetry site where she posts all of her amazing poetry (she even has her own poetry book published), called The Poetic Underground and she also has a blog called The Halfway Point Blog. Not only is she an amazing poet, she is also a master crafter. When she needs something, she doesn’t go out and buy it, she tries her best to make it! Brittany Jepson - The House that Lars BuiltI really like to look at craft tutorials and try to replicate them with putting my own little spin on them. I find it helpful when the tutorials are actually doable, as with some sites, they skip half the steps and you end up with some weird product that doesn’t even look like the pictures. My favorite blogger that does this is named Brittany Jepsen of The House that Lars Built. She does a really good job of thoroughly explaining her crafting processes and never leaves you to fill in any in-between steps. Her blog is filled with hundreds of different crafty tutorials, so whenever I get bored or feel a little crafty, I pull up her site. New Darlings - Robert & ChristinaI’ve always loved travelling, but haven’t gotten to do a lot of roaming around for myself. A really fun way to learn more about these places that I so want to visit is to read about them. I have a couple of favorite travel blogs. The first is called New Darlings. Run by Robert and Christina, a couple from Arizona. They are some genuine globetrotters, every time I read their blogs, I’m stunned by how many gorgeous photos they can squeeze into one post! It seems like they’ve been just about everywhere from New Mexico to France to the Caribbean! Their home and design category makes me want to stop whatever I’m doing, take a trip to Ikea (one of my favorite places on earth!) and redesign my entire house! I can’t think of another way to explain it justly, you’ll just have to see for yourself! Headed Somewhere - Mary LaurenHeaded Somewhere is another go to blog for the wanderlust. As the name of their blog suggests, they’re always headed somewhere. It’s kept up by Mary Lauren and features her travels, mainly in the U.S., essential oils, fashion, and her cute little family. Her photographs are stunning and with the way that she writes, getting bored pf reading her posts is never a problem.
|
My name is Ellie. I am a sophomore at BYU Idaho. I am excited to live life and to share a small piece of it with you!
Archives
May 2019
Categories
All
Links |