Sounds Like Life to Me

"Sounds like life to me, plain old destiny.

Yeah the only thing for certain is uncertainty.

You gotta hold on tight and just enjoy the ride.

Get used to all this unpredictability.

Sounds like life!

Man I know it's tough, but you gotta suck it up.

To hear you talk you're caught up in some tragedy.

Sounds like life to me."

source

This is the chorus to one of my favorite pump-me-up-on-a-less-than-stellar-day songs. I don't know about you, but sometimes it feels like life can't take a break from throwing you those curve balls. Just when you think it can't get worse, it goes and gets worse. My grandma once told me bad things happen in threes, so once you reach three, you're done and then things'll start going good again. Well, if you're reading this Grandma, I've disproved your theory. 

Maybe it's Murphy's Law, maybe a sick twist of fate, or maybe just bad luck. 

This is NOT a downer post. Keep reading!!

To give you a small glimpse into the bad luck that's befallen: stolen flash drive, bad grade in a class, dropped a class, took on 3 more credits, got a concussion, lost me short term memory of the 2 weeks prior to the concussion, out of school for a week (you added that right, now 3 weeks of missed school work), laptop had orange juice spilled on it (needed professional cleaning), back in school relearning all the material for midterms this upcoming week. 

Now, like I said this is not a downer post. All that seems pretty bad for a fresh, new college kid all out on her own, right? Well, that's what I thought too. I spent the better parts of those first three days that I was recovering from the concussion angry and bitter at how such things could happen to me! Then this week as I returned to school and things were getting hard again I was just so mad! 

As I mentioned in the first post, I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (aka a Mormon). So naturally, these things felt like a tremendous test of my faith. I was questioning my Father in Heaven about why all this was happening to me. 

While scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed one day this week--I was taking a break from my discouraging studying--I stumbled across this picture:

Now, if you've never heard Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, member or not, I highly recommend it! He is a powerful speaker. When I read this, I knew I needed to look at the bigger picture, stop freaking out, and be humble. I decided to make a change...or four.

1. No more complaining about what had happened.

I always thought I had more sense than to be a complainer, but it turns out, when my parents weren't there to remind me to have a good attitude, I was miserable. You know that friend, the one we all have, who never seems to be in a good mood? You say, "Hey there so-and-so, how's it going?" And their reply EVERY TIME is, "Eh, I'm okay," or "Not that great, but it's fine." And you just have the hardest time with those friends because you want to say, "Get in a good mood!" (name that movie). Yeah, I was THAT friend. Can you say pity party? I will not forget the moment that hit me. Life is too great to be fine or okay. Especially in my situation. I am blessed to be going to school, living, breathing, working hard. So no more complaining for me! 

2. No more looking at the stack of work I still needed to complete.

I have two classes that are kicking my trash. The work is hard and time consuming, they are for my major (not general credits) and they will affect the outcome of my graduate school. Let's just say, missing a week of those classes and forgetting another two weeks is a little inconvenient. Staring at that stack of work is intimidating. Staring at that stack and the stack of all my other classes work makes a person feel like they're drowning. Which leads right to number three! 

3. Take pride in the little accomplishments.

Honestly, when I stopped focusing on everything I needed to do, and started focusing on all I had accomplished, I felt empowered!! Think about when you are on a hike. I grew up in Utah, and I love my mountains dearly. When you hike a mountain, it's hard to look up at how far you have to go. When you get to the top, do you keep looking up? NO! You look down at the view and at how far you've come! The same goes with tasks like make-up work. There's a level of excitement and power that comes from looking at your work and saying, "Heck yeah! I accomplished that!" It doesn't matter if you finished a  two question worksheet or a one hundred question exam.

4. Take sporadic breaks from studying to give my mind a break and give my soul some TLC.

Life isn't supposed to be miserable. Even in the hardest times we need to have fun and find the joy. Hitting the books for 6 and 8 hour stretches may work sometimes, it may even work all the time for some people (like superhuman people, or general authorities), but it has NOT been working for me as of late. So, I told myself, "Okay, how about three hours and then a break." My breaks? Country Dancing, exercising, blogging, watching Grey's Anatomy (my current favorite on Netflix), doing laundry, baking, basically anything that doesn't remotely resemble studying. And you know what? I found my joy.

Remember...

Life throws you some curve balls, sometimes it may even throw you a whole bucket-full! But honestly, it won't last forever. Concussions heal, laptops are fixed, school work gets done, and before long you start recognizing the blessings again. With Thanksgiving coming up in just over a month, I'm feeling even more in tune with my blessings. I am blessed profusely by my Heavenly Father. Sometimes the blessings are temporal, sometimes spiritual, and sometimes they're blessings that are disguised as challenges, because even those help us learn and grow. To those who may be struggling right now, whatever the struggle is, remember that you're not alone in this world. You can find help from all sorts of people. 

My last thought:

I was having a particularly tough day about a week and a half ago, and I felt like I'd never make it. Dramatic? Yes. Legitimate feeling? Yes. I couldn't help but question what I was doing here, far from home, away from my family and friends, stuck in a rut. About the time I was going to go in my room and take a nap--for the umpteenth time that day--I heard a loud knock in the door. Being the crotchety little lady I was that day, I grumbled all the way to the door. When I opened the door, I was shocked! A girl from one of my classes was standing on the porch with my notes form class, a slice of apple pie, and a bag of gummy bears. I couldn't even believe it! We hadn't ever hung out, or really had a full conversation. But there, I had found a friend and she gave me hope. Since then, we've hung out and gained a friendship that I know is true.

You're never alone, people are aware of you whether you know it or not.

LIFE IS GOOD!!!