Bruises

These bruises make for better conversation.

Yes, that is a line from a Train song but I really love it.
Looking at the way my year has turned out, it has been far from ideal. I am in no way kidding when I say that everything I had planned and everything I thought was going to happen did not go accordingly. It has been a year for the books and it still has 4 months left. Yeesh. Here's to hoping that things start looking up. However with how this Spanish class is looking, I may not even live to see the new year. I also have found myself in Buena Vista Virginia, attending Southern Virginia University, and for the sake of honesty here, I really dislike it. I mean I have only been here for a week but it is nothing like I thought it would be. So who knows if this move will last long term but I do feel like I needed to come here. I don't know what the reasoning is yet but then again, I haven't been here long enough to figure that stuff out. I just really miss the home that I call Dixie. So watch out guys, I may be back sooner than planned. (; In all seriousness though, there are things about this place that I have to say I love. The scenery is one. I can not wait for fall and for the leaves to change! Bring on the pumpkin! I also love that the spirit is so present on this campus. I am also crazy about my Institute instructors and my Bishop. Plus I have met some really awesome people. I think it really is the size. I never thought I would say this but it is too SMALL! I am really missing the bigger university feel. However, I know that I will adapt and figure things out. It will never be Dixie, but I suppose it can be its own thing.
Anywho, in reflecting a lot on my life this past week I have been praying a lot wondering what I am doing here, why have I gone through all of these things? Can't I just one event in my life be easy? I know that we must not judge and we don't know what other people are struggling with but I can't help but think how easy things are for other people that are so hard for me. This may sound like a juvenile, woe is me, complaint but I really want to know how so many girls can literally make every guy they meet fall insanely hard for them. I am not one to accomplish such a feat but I really would like to know how. Teach me your skills! I feel like I am pretty outgoing and easy to talk to and yet.....never had a boyfriend or felt like people were genuinely interested in me. Geez, pity party for one please. Okay, man tangent over. How easy is it for us to dwell on everything we feel sad about or things that are hard for us. I just so nobly used myself as an example on this. Sometimes though, we just want to know what we are doing and why certain things don't work out that we want so badly. The answer, there is something different that we need. That is seriously one of the hardest things to come to terms with. But just like that song line says, the things we go through make for better conversations. We have stories to tell, experiences to share. We all go through things that we would probably rather not, but we make it through all the same. Sometimes we fail at things but the world keeps turning. One of my favorite lines from the movie, Fried Green Tomatoes, is "A heart can be broken but it keeps beating just the same." I like to think of my experiences as things I can share with my future children. Maybe they wont need to go through certain things because they were able to learn from me. I love talking with my parents and grandparents about their past and present experiences and develop my own strength through them. Chances are they went through fairly similar things. So my challenge with this blog post is to keep a journal. Preserve those stories and those "bruises." Remember what you learned from the bruises and how they healed. Thats the amazing thing about it. They heal. Bruises always fade. Sometimes they hurt like the Dickens, but some hurt less. Share your experiences. All of them. You have a story to tell. Don't forget it and don't forget that others stories may be similar to yours.

Everybody loses. We've all got bruises.