Here's to you!

Well, my best friend left for her mission yesterday! She will be gone for the next 18 months. It's weird to think about how much can happen in 18 months... I sit and think about where I will be in my life when she gets home. She has been one of the greatest examples to me in the past 11 years! I would not be the person I am today without her. That's not even a question. Right now she has been such a strong example in so many different ways. I think about how I want my life to go... I don't necessarily want to plan anything, because we all know that life never ends up the way we plan... and most of the time it's for the better. But there are certain aspects that I would love to see happen in my life. Whether it's something small like taking that certain picture with the certain someone... or whether it's something bigger like finding that career that I love and that fits my lifestyle perfectly!!
There are so many things that I think about doing, and a lot of the time it gives me anxiety and I get scared and begin to doubt whether I can do them or not. But then I think about Sum and I remember her telling me how nervous she was and how she wasn't sure... Well, she's there! She did it. I can do these things.... I just have to take that first step and force myself out of my comfort zone! Scary? Yes! Nerve racking? Yes! Unsure and a little insecure? Yes! Worth it in the end?? It has to be!!
If you force yourself to do hard things and if you fight and fight until you get through them and accomplish what you set out to overcome... you can only be rewarded.... there is no other option. It just makes sense.
God wouldn't give us something we couldn't handle... something we couldn't overcome, something that we wouldn't love in the end... We complicate things and analyze them so much in our heads when really it's just simple. The best proof of that is kids! Watch how kids live, how they approach life. If they want a friend they simply walk up to someone and say "wanna be my friend." They live so audaciously. They run and they play and they use their imagination to keep them entertained. They only eat when they're hungry, They laugh constantly. They smile. They will hug you every time they see you because they recognize you are someone they care about. They are flexible with their schedule... I mean they have to be... one minute they are playing "house"and the next it's time to go to the grocery store.
Imagine how much more simple our lives can be if we mimicked a child's way of living. We are suppose to be the ones teaching them, but in reality we should be learning from them!
Life gets complicated, I know that! It gets hard and overwhelming! But when it comes down to it, it's all about simplifying it as much as you can.. and then when it can't be simplified any more that's when it's time to take on the challenge, do what you have to do because it's the right thing to do, whether you feel like doing it or not...  because when it's over it's what is going to make you happy, go on that photo shoot...finish your last year there... help coach... get that internship... go on your mission! :)