Year in Review II (Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Accept What Comes and Love It)

(The shadow of Delicate Arch and L-O-V-E spelled out in our shadows.)

It seems that September 20th has somehow crept up on me yet again. This year marks the fourth since I entered the MTC, and the second since I started this whole blogging experiment. Despite my best intentions it appears that I have made little improvement as a blogger. Apologies to all my (largely imaginary) avid readers.

The past year has been nothing short of incredible. Incredibly rewarding, incredibly challenging, incredibly busy ... there really hasn't been any middle ground. I've climbed a few mountains, met a couple princes, avoided kissing more than a few frogs, cried a little, laughed a lot, loved more, said a few goodbyes, said many more hellos, and learned much more than I could ever hope to remember. Thank goodness the Lord teaches us line upon line and precept upon precept, because otherwise I'm sure I'd be hopelessly lost.

So here goes, a quick update on my life.

I'm still in graduate school. They haven't found a reason to kick me out yet, so the odds are looking in my favor of perhaps graduating with my masters next summer. Towards the end of last fall semester I joined a research group and spent most of the summer working on my project: a laser cooled strontium ion source for an ion interferometer. If you think it's a mouthful ... you're absolutely right. Just be glad you're not the one trying to put it together.

Over the winter semester I was called to be Relief Society president in my ward. There have been few things I have loved more than that calling. I went into it completely unprepared and overwhelmed, and came out of it with an overwhelming love for the Lord and the sisters, and a firm testimony of the power and reality of revelation. "Whom the Lord calls, the Lord qualifies." The lessons learned have served me well, because shortly after I was released as Relief Society president back in May I was called to serve as a secretary in the stake Relief Society, where I continue to serve now. Deep breaths, right?

The matter of my dating life is certainly the most frequently brought up question, and the one that I am going to pointedly ignore. That being said, if you happen to know any upstanding gentlemen (and I do mean gentlemen) who may have a preference for slightly awkward, blonde physicists, feel free to send them my way. There seems to be a dearth here in Provo.

Life has been good to me. The Lord has been good to me. Life isn't without its challenges and believe me when I say I'll be the first to admit it (or complain about it). But the trick is in loving it anyway. "Come what may, and love it." And fortunately for me, much of what has come my way has been wonderful: fantastic friends, amazing adventures, and lots of laughter, love, and sunshine. With any luck, this next year will be as great (or better!) than the last. And if I can get the hang of this whole blogging thing, maybe you'll even hear about it.