2009 Year in Review

Every new year, as one year ends and another year begins, I always like to review the past year and evaluate what went well. For me, personally, this is more effective than setting New Year's Resolutions because I feel better and more motivated when I look back on the good things that I HAVE been able to accomplish than to think about all the things I wanted to do, but for one reason or another was not able to do. This also makes me more motivated during the year to do things that I will be excited to add to my list of accomplishments at the end of the next year. So here we go:

January-

-Began my internship at the Smithsonian in Washington DC.

-Took part in a bit of history by attending the Inauguration of President Obama

-Made lots of friends with my fellow interns at the Barlow center and at Church in the Washington DC 2nd ward.

February-

-Had lots more adventures in Washington DC-you can read my February post for more details

March-

-Celebrated my 27th birthday

April-

-Hiked "Old Rag" Mountain in Shenandoah National Park

-Enjoyed the Cherry Blossom Festival in DC

-Participated in Graduation ceremonies with my brother Ammon.

(Okay, here is one thing that I admit could have been improved upon, I still have not officially graduated because it has been really hard to stay motivated to finish my last few GE classes as soon as I had hoped. One thing I plan on reporting in my 2010 year in review is an official graduation announcement.)

May

-Showed my brother, Ammon around Washington DC, visited Thomas Jefferson's estate at Monticello, and said goodbye to the city I came to love.

-Visited my sister, Mona, in Madison Wisconsin.

June

-Went to the "Colorado Country Classic" dance event in Denver, Colorado. It was really fun to see some of the professionals dance and to learn a few more dance moves myself. I went with my friend, Jeremy Burgess and had lots of fun there.

July

-Did lots of homework, took an LSAT prep class, and thought a lot about going to Law School.

-Spent time with my family at 2 different family reunions at Bear Lake: one for the extended Johnson Family with all of my aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. And another for just my immediate family with my parents, all my sisters and their spouses and kids, my brother Ammon (Hyrum wasn't there because he's still on his mission in CA). It was great to enjoy the sunshine, nice weather, and beautiful scenery.

August

-Did more homework

-Went to Wisconsin to babysit my nephews, Bridger and Carter while my sis, Mona and her husband Ben were out of town for Ben's job interviews.

September

-Went to "Desert City Swing" another dance event in Phoenix, AZ. This one was also really fun and really helped me improve my West Coast Swing technique. I hope I can go again next year.

-Signed up for a pre-law internship at an attorney's office in Orem. I learned a lot about what it would be like to be a lawyer.

-Started taking a "ladies only" West Coast Swing class from a great instructor, Shalay Branch. It was tons of fun and I learned a lot.

October

-Finished 2 of my Independent Study classes, studied more for the LSAT

-Went to Wisconsin again to babysit Bridger and Carter again while Mona and Ben did 2nd interviews.

November

-Decided not to take the LSAT because I wasn't going to be ready for it.

-Went to Small Claims court a couple of times and got a little taste of what work in a court room is like.

-Went horseback riding with some friends and fell off my horse because of an equipment malfunction (my cinch strap broke). Despite being sore, (and despite being a little ticked off at some people who shall remain nameless) the horseback riding actually was pretty fun and made me want to learn how to do it better.

-Celebrated Thanksgiving with my family and was reminded of how blessed I am. Life is great!

December

-Finished my pre-law internship and decided that maybe a legal career is NOT for me. At least not at this point in my life. Though I was really excited about my internship at first, as the semester wore on, I was feeling less and less interested in what I was doing and I was having a hard time imagining myself enjoying what I saw my attorney doing day in and day out. It was a great learning experience for me and was exactly what I needed to make an educated decision about whether or not law school was right for me. I have not eliminated Law School as an option altogether. At some point in my life I may reconsider it, but right now I feel that I need to be

doing something that I absolutely love and enjoy doing which right now is real estate.

-Reactivated my Real Estate license and started getting busy building a client base and doing LOTs of BPOs (Broker Price Opinion). I am excited to get back into a business that I love and hope to be very successful at it. I really love working with my Broker and am anxious to help lots of people find homes that are the right fit for them.

-Celebrated Christmas with family in Lewiston, Utah.

-Celebrated New Year's Eve the best way I know how...by DANCING!!!

Books I've read this year: (I'm a little embarrassed that there aren't that many, or else I'm forgetting some)

-The Broker by John Grisham-A fun novel to read while I was in DC.

-He's Just not That into You by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo -I knew the movie was coming out, so I read the book. Its an interesting, slightly exaggerated, but generally true observation about the dating culture in the US.

-To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee-its one of those classics I love reading again and again

-Resistance to Civil Government by Henry David Thoreau-This is not really a book, more a long essay or pamphlet. It was required for one of my classes but was really interesting to read and consider the huge impact this has had on societies all around the world.

Movies I saw this year:

Taken-I liked it. Good action movie.

He's Just Not That into You-I actually liked this movie. Maybe because read the book or because I can relate...;-)

Avatar-My boss said the main avatar girl reminded him of me. I'm not sure why... The animation was pretty cool, I didn't get to see it in 3D, but I liked the movie anyway.

I know I saw more movies, but I can't remember them.

Cities I visited:

Washington DC

Philadelphia, PA

Valley Forge, PA

Charlottesville, VA

Delaplane, VA

Shepherdstown, WV

Martinsburg, WV

Madison, WI

Denver, CO

Phoenix, AZ

If hanging out in an airport counts as visiting a city, I was stuck in Minneapolis MN several times for several hours between Madison and Salt Lake City. PS-if you ever have to have a layover anywhere while flying AVOID the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport AT ALL COSTS! Every experience I had there was a bad one.

Guys that I kissed:

-ha ha! Just kidding. I'm not going to post that here. But I will say that I kissed less guys this year than last year, so depending on how you look at it, that could be either an improvement or a regression. ;-*

So here's to a great 2009 and a hope that 2010 will be even better!

Thanksgiving...

This Thanksgiving I spent time with my family at my sister's house in Lewiston, Utah. It was a nice low-key dinner, and on the drive up there and on the way home, I began thinking about the things that I really am thankful for. Though it would take too long to list everything, here are a few of the things that came to mind:

1-My Religion-being a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is truly a wonderful blessing in my life. Because of my religious beliefs, I feel I have a strong understanding of who I really am. This life can be so confusing sometimes, with so many different entities clamoring for our attention and trying to persuade us to define ourselves a certain way, I am thankful for an understanding that I am a daughter of God. He knows who I am, He understands what I am going through, He knows what will bring true happiness to me in my life. Though sometimes it is easy to believe what many people in the world say about what is or is not true or important, I have found that I really am happiest when I spend time pondering my relationship with my Father in Heaven. Yes, there are some lifestyle restrictions associated with my religion. I don't drink alcohol. I don't have sexual relationships outside of marriage. I go to church almost every Sunday, I pray, I read the Bible and other revelations from God including the Book of Mormon. I live a lifestyle that is different than a lot of people my age throughout the world. But I am happy. I am confident. I know what to expect when this life is over, which makes me cherish and value the time I have here on earth. I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God, that he is my Savior, that he can help me overcome my mistakes, and help me through any trial or hardship I may have to face, and this belief has made all the difference in my life.

2-My husband- I dated Lucien for one year and was only married to him for 8 months before he died, but the short time I was blessed to spend with him taught me so many things about life and love that continue to have a profound influence on me even now, more than 5 years after his death. Our 6 year wedding anniversary came and went about a week ago. Though I missed him terribly, I couldn't help but feel so thankful that I had the opportunity to experience with him some of the sweetest moments life has to offer. Before I met him it was as if I had been living life in grayscale, and when Lucien entered my life, suddenly his personality and his presence illuminated the world around me in such a way that I was able to see the vivid, bright colors that had been surrounding me all along, but were now enhanced and seemed so much more beautiful than before. There were so many things I experienced for the first time with him: Sushi, Virginia, Betos, a really good kiss, doing donuts in the church parking lot. After he passed away, part of me felt that all of those things had passed away with him. As more time has passed, and as I reflect more upon why it is that I loved him so much, and what it was that I loved, I realized that though I thought I was falling in love with him, he was really showing me how to fall in love with life. He showed me that life should be lived on purpose, that dreams can and should be achieved. When you long to soar above the clouds, you grab a plane by the yoke, spread your wings, and learn how to fly. There might be some strong headwinds. Your engine may stall. You may be forced to make a few bumpy landings. But all those things are part of what makes the moment that you break through the clouds that much more thrilling. When you look down below at all the things you've risen above, you realize that with enough persistence and the right equipment, life's gravity has had little power to hold you down. Though our dreams may not always play out exactly as we expect, we can still choose to make this life a unique and wonderful experience.

Though I sometimes wonder how I can ever love anyone as much as I loved Lucien, I know that there are still many more "firsts" to experience in life. Among other things, I've still never walked along a white sands beach, visited New York City, or held my own newborn baby. And there are plenty of sweet moments I would love to experience again, like waking up next to someone I truly love, laughing until my face hurts from smiling, and of course, a really really good kiss! ;-) Though I am sad that I can't experience all of these things with Lucien (at least in this life), I know that he wouldn't want me to not be able to experience these living jewels because of his absence. When the time is right and with the right person, I believe I will be able to open up my heart again to give and receive the kind of love that Lucien and I shared. But even if that never happens, I will consider myself one of the luckiest people in the world to have already had so many treasured moments. Many people go throughout their whole lives never knowing what it is like to really be loved. Now THAT would be a real tragedy.

3-My family-Though none of us are perfect by any definition, I must say that I do have a pretty good group of folks to call my own. We all have our own little quirks, but in all, I'm glad to be a part of this family. My parents are two of the sweetest people you'll ever meet. My brothers and sisters are all pretty well educated and pretty successful. We all have different personalities and different interests, but growing up and working together on our family farm has given us an understanding of each other that nobody else quite gets. And when I talk about loving my family, its not just my blood relatives either. My in-laws are pretty great too. I hear a lot of people complaining about their in-laws, but my sisters-in-law are two of my best friends, and my mother-in-law is one of the most caring people I know. Even though I don't get to see them as often as they or I would like, I'm thankful that we have been able to stay as close as we have even after Lucien's death. I read a quote recently that sums this all up pretty well: "Families are like fudge, mostly sweet with a few nuts!"

Anyway, there are plenty of other things I am thankful for and which I could expound upon, like my job, education, the country I live in, my dog, and chocolate, but even if I had nothing else than what I have listed above, I would consider myself one of the luckiest people in the world! Life is beautiful, isn't it?!

Fun In Wisconsin

Here are a few photos from my trip to Wisconsin. I had a lot of fun with Bridger and Carter and learned a lot about kids. I learned that there are a few things you just learn to get used to when children are involved. For example....

With 2 kids under age 3, it doesn't take very long for a house to go from looking like this....

to looking like this!

Although I'm not a huge fan of kids watching a lot of tv, after all the ideas you have to keep them entertained were met with failure, and it's only 10:00 am, sometimes a 20 minute dvd can be your best friend! Look how captivated they are! Sometimes I used Charlie Brown to buy a few minutes to actually get myself dressed and cleaned up for the day. I no longer wonder why some moms look like they didn't look at themselves in the mirror before they walked out of the house. Who has time for indulgences like showers and makeup?

Despite all your efforts to please, kids can always find a way to be unsatisfied. After watching "Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving Dinner" Bridger wanted to make pumpkin pie like Snoopy. Thinking that he actually wanted to eat it too, I found all the ingredients and we went to work. Bridger had fun smashing the dough and stirring ingredients together.

However, although Bridger had seen all the orangy pumpkin stuff we put in the pie, when it was finally done and it was time to eat it, he took one look at the pie, stuck his finger in it, stared at his finger with a disgusted look on his face and said, "I don't like this orange stuff. Its yucky!" and then refused to eat it.

Carter, on the other hand, wolfed down the pie like it was going out of style! He probably ate more of the pie over the course of 3 days than I did!

On another note, one night right before heading to the neighbor's house for dinner, I quickly ran downstairs to check on some laundry. Bridger and Carter were playing in the big room downstairs when Bridger said "Hey! Its wet!" At about that same moment, I looked down at the carpet and saw a shallow but large puddle of water that covered about half of the basement. Being a little panicked, I looked around to see where it was coming from while I frantically called Mona and said "Your basement is flooding!!" I found out that the water heater was leaking and was soon getting directions from Ben on how to remedy the situation. I brought the kids over to the neighbors where they could be watched while I took care of the mess. (Thanks Jamie!)

Luckily, some of Ben & Mona's friends were able to come over that night to help clean up the water and get some fans going to dry out the carpet. A plumber came the next day to replace the broken water heater.

Here are some photos of Halloween. We had a great time! Carter was dressed as Elmo, and Bridger was a fireman. I took them to the mall to go trick-or-treating, and a bunch of Japanese people saw Carter and started pointing and laughing and taking pictures of him. He just stared at them wondering why they were talking funny and what all the commotion was for. Bridger got scared of the people dressed in funny clothes, so we didn't stay for long. When Ben and Mona got home that night, we went trick or treating again down the street they live on with the neighbors and their kids. I couldn't have picked a better way to spend Halloween. I didn't really want to come home, and I guess I could have stayed, since my wallet got stolen while I was there and I didn't have any ID. But after a series of questions and some extra screening by airport security, they finally let me board my plane and I had to fly home and get back to life as a student. I miss my nephews and all the fun we had and can't wait to see them again!

Precious Moments….Mostly!

While my sister and brother-in-law, Mona and Ben have been away doing second interviews for Ben’s job, they have entrusted me again with the care of their two precious little kiddoes, Bridger and Carter. I must be getting used to this nannying business, because last time I was here at the end of August, I was completely exhausted by noon and would crash on the couch as soon as I had put the boys down for their naps while praying they would stay asleep for a long time. This time around, when its naptime, I still have energy to clean the house, check email, and even get in a little bit of LSAT studying time. Also, last time I was here, my back would be aching so bad at the end of the day, I would have trouble sleeping even though I was so tired, and I had to rely on Ibuprofen to get me through to the next morning. This time, I prepared myself by doing some back exercises starting a couple of weeks before I came, and I also learned some great stretches to do that help relieve the tension in my back. It also helps that Carter is walking now, so he doesn’t have to be carried everywhere, although he still wants to be held and carried every once in awhile.

Being around these two little angels has definitely had a variety of moments ranging from those filled with laughter to those filled with frustration, from thinking this is the greatest job in the world to wondering how the heck parents do this every day. Here are a few examples:

-After banging Carter on the head with bath toys, and then having Carter return the favor, then both of them bursting into giggles and hugging, Bridger proudly smiled up at me and exclaimed “We be’d not kind to eachother, Aunt Val! We be’d MEAN! And now we’re kind again!!”

-Carter’s favorite thing to do is to blow “berzerts” on any amount of bare skin he can find. This surprised me the first time it happened because after watching him running around giggling and playing with toys for a few minutes, he looked at me with his shy little smile, walked up to me quietly and opened up his arms as if he wanted a hug. I proudly picked him up and held him close, thinking it was a kind guesture of his affection. I snuggled him in my arms, he buried his head in my neck, and the next thing I knew he was blowing loudly on my bare neck! This caught me completely off guard, and set me off laughing, which in turn made Carter giggle hysterically and then he repeated it over and over again. Now, any time he sees any bare skin (i.e. the skin of my lower back that happened to be exposed while I was bending over picking up toys!) he tries to blow as loudly as he can on it and then bursts into giggles. He even tried to do it on my legs through my nylons as he sat on the floor beneath the bench at church.

-While naptime usually proceeds without much more than the normal weak protests, today was especially chaotic. About 20 minutes after putting Bridger down, I heard him bawling and sobbing and screaming. I opened the door, worried, and asked him what was wrong. He looked at me with huge tears running down his little cheeks and sobbed “I WANT MY DADDY!!” and then continued to be unconsolable. I sat down on his bed next to him and hugged him and tried to calm him down, telling him that Mommy and Daddy would be home on Halloween, that they loved him, that Daddy was busy talking to people at the hospitals. I asked Bridger if he loved his Daddy, and he said “Yes.” Then I asked “What does your Daddy do for you that you love?” and he answered “He paints the door.” Surprised at his answer, and trying not to laugh, I asked “What else does he do?” Bridger replied, “He…(sniffle)..mows (sniffle) da yawn.” Then, I heard Carter screaming from his room. I got up from Bridger’s bed, went to Carter’s room and opened the door to see one of his legs sticking through the slats of his crib, jerking violently. Somehow he had stuck his foot through the slats then turned his leg so he was unable to get it back out again, so he was stuck all the way up to his thigh. I gently maneuvered his foot out, and of course, as soon as it was free, Carter jumped up and held up his arms while sobbing. I picked him up and hugged him, tried to calm him down, picked up his bottle and carried them both to the kitchen so I could fill up his bottle again and put him back down. After doing that, I heard Bridger crying for his daddy again. I went back to his opened door, peeked in, and he looked up at me and sobbed, “Wet!” I looked at the puddle on the sheets beneath him and then remembered that I had forgotten to make him go potty before giving him his nap. With both children still sobbing and screaming I decided to abort the naptime mission. We got Bridger cleaned up, changed his sheets, and then decided to go to the store instead, which wasn't necessarily a less chaotic activity, but it cheered us all up anyway.

-Carter can’t talk yet, but he is learning a little bit of sign language. Over the last few days, Carter has learned how to say “dog,” “All done,” “baby” and “fish” in sign language. It is adorable to see him proudly smile each time he successfully makes a sign that I can recognize.

And most rewarding of all…

-After playing with some pots and pans on the kitchen floor, Bridger stood up, smiled at me and then said “I love you!” then began dancing around the kitchen while repeating it over and over in his sweet, musical, sing-song voice “I love you! I love you! I love you!” Suddenly, wet beds and aborted naptimes don’t seem so bad anymore, and I understand why parents do what they do day in and day out. :-)

Mommy for the Weekend

Last week, my sister, Mona, and her husband, Ben had to take a trip to Spokane, Washington for a job interview. While they were gone, I had the lovely opportunity to babysit my adorable nephews, Bridger, (2 1/2) and Carter (1 year) at their home in Madison, Wisconsin.

I arrived in Madison on Tuesday, August 25th and stayed there for a few days while Mona and Ben were still around. They left on Saturday and returned the next Tuesday. Though I was only

on my own with the kids for about 4 days, it was definitely long enough for me to gain a new appreciation for motherhood and what moms do every day.

I thoroughly enjoyed what Mona's neighbor, Jamie, described as "Moments of fun surrounded by chaos!" The little moments of giggles and laughter, singing, jumping, and playing were definitely worth getting through the just as numerous periods of crying, pooping, whining, daiper changing, and endless questions like "Can we go pick up Mommy and Daddy from the 'Olport' (airport) now?"

Bridger is at that adorable stage where he is fascinated with the world around him, and his favorite question is "Why?" which he repeats thousands of times a day. Though the endless

"Why?"s did get old after a while, it did force me to get a little creative with my answers:

Bridger: "What is that man doing with his dog?"

Aunt Val: "He's taking it for a walk."

Bridger: "Why?"

Aunt Val: "So his dog can get some exercise."

Bridger: "Why?"

Aunt Val: "So his dog doesn't get too fat."

Bridger: "Why?"

Aunt Val: "Because if his dog doesn't get exercise, it will get so fat it won't be able to leave the house."

Bridger: "Why?"

Aunt Val: "Um.... Because.... he will get SO big from eating his food and not exercising that he won't be able to fit through the door anymore."

Bridger: "Why?"

Aunt Val: "Because they don't make doors big enough for fat dogs that don't get exercise."

Bridger: "Why?"

Aunt Val: "Um...(sigh of annoyance and slight frustration)...Because.... Oh wow! Look at that!"

Bridger: "What? Where?"

Aunt Val: "I don't know, did you see something?"

Bridger: "Why is that dog pooping?"

Aunt Val: "Oh dear."

In all, I was actually quite impressed with how well the kids behaved while their parents were

away. Mona has spent a lot of time and energy helping them become accustomed to a regular schedule and it really paid off while she and Ben were away. Whenever it was time for naps, as long as I made sure to go through the regular routine before naptime, the kids went right to sleep without any more than the usual protests or requests to "read just one more book?"

We had a lot of fun making popsicles, finger painting, going to the park, kicking the soccer ball, playing with bubbles, eating, singing songs, watching Chitty-Chitty Bang Bang, and what Bridger enjoyed most of all was "playing airplane" where we would "fly" to Spokane, Washington and then fly back to Wisconsin.

It wasn't all fun and games, though. Bridger kept wanting to play with his dad's golf club and would swing it all over the place, making me worried that he would whack Carter in the head or break something. I finally decided to put his interest to good use, and told him to beat out the rug with the golf club, which he was more than happy to do. :-)

Needless to say, Bridger was very excited to go to the "Olport" to pick up Mommy and Daddy on Tuesday night. Carter, on the other hand, hardly recognized Mona and turned away his shy little face every time she would look at him. After a few minutes he finally warmed back up to her.

It really was a fun experience and I'm so thankful I was available to do this for my sister. The enjoyment I got out of my time spent with these two little boys was probably worth more to me than what my sister would have had to pay for a babysitter. Though my back was very sore by the end of the 4 days from lifting 25 pound blobs of squirming little people, picking up toys, and wrestling Carter into his car seat, I must admit, that I missed being with them as soon as I got on my plane to leave. I am a little envious of mothers who get to spend all their time with little angels like these. I am looking forward to the day (someday) when I can have a few little munchkins of my own to keep me busy, tired, and thoroughly happy.

Takin' it Easy.... sort of!

So, I haven't updated my blog recently, mostly because there are not too many exciting things going on. Well, I guess that could be an understatement. Mostly there are not a lot of things going on that I take pictures of. Since I got home from Washington DC, my days mostly consist of working out in the yard, doing homework, studying for the LSAT, and dancing.

I am trying to finish my last few classes at BYU so I can officially graduate. I am doing all my remaining classes through Independent Study, which is nice because I can go at my own pace and I don't have to go to campus unless I really want to. However, it is taking me longer than I expected to finish my classes. I have one completely finished, I'm about 1/3 of the way done with another, and then I will have 3 more. I am also taking an LSAT preparation class. Yes, I am thinking about going to Law School. Although when I really think about having 3 more years of school to go through, part of me wants to vomit, but another part of me thinks it would be a very rewarding challenge. We'll see how things go.

One of my other goals this summer was to learn how to dance better. I absolutely LOVE dancing! I started doing country swing dancing when I was about 16 years old. Between the ages of 19-21 I took some dance classes at UVSC and went dancing frequently on the weekends. Over the last couple of years I have dabbled in it a bit more, but now I want to get more serious. My favorite dance so far is West Coast Swing and I go at least once a week, if its a good week I can go three times on Tuesday, Friday, and Saturday nights. There are some really good dance clubs around here that teach great lessons and I feel like I am improving, though I am not nearly as good as I want to be. I also started going to the BYU Swing Kids Club, which is also really fun, but they do more Lindy-Hop, which is actually becoming a very close second in my preference to West Coast Swing. I will be attending a dance competition/workshop weekend in Denver this month which I hope will help me improve my skills, and it will be fun to watch the pros dance in person.

Thats about it for now. Sorry I don't have photos. I'll work on that for next time!

Graduation!!

Although I am technically not graduated yet (I still have 4 more classes to finish) I was able to participate in Commencement ceremonies on April 23rd with my brother, Ammon who graduated in Mechanical Engineering.

Graduation was a fun experience. A lot of my family members were able to be there and we were able to get a photo of all the 5 BYU graduates in our family.

Dressing up in the cap and gown, walking through the Marriott center and across the stage at convocation, and listening to the wonderful speakers who gave great counsel, all helped me realize what a blessing it has been to be a student at Brigham Young University. Reflecting back on the last 3 years, I have definitely learned a lot, and not just academically speaking. I have been able to develop some wonderful friendships, I have learned more about myself, my talents, my likes and dislikes, and I have learned to appreciate each moment of this phase of my life with all of its ups and downs. I have absolutely loved studying Humanities which has allowed me to be exposed to some of the greatest minds this world has seen. I have learned to look for and appreciate the beauty that is apparent everywhere and I have been able to develop and strengthen my own opinions about various topics.

Elder Dieter F. Uchtdorf, a member of the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and one whom we revere as someone who recieves revelation from God, was the speaker at our Commencement exercises. He encouraged us to do the following as we continue our journey through life:
1- Use time wisely
2- Continue to Learn
3- Always Seek inspiration from the Spirit of God

Elder Russel M. Nelson, a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of our church, also spoke to us and gave us this wise counsel:

"The end for which you should strive is to be the person that you can become — the person that God wants you to be.

"Much more important than what you have done for a living is what kind of person you have become. On your final graduation day … what you have become will matter most."

(To see what else we were told at graduation exercises, please see this link: :-)http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705299300/6192-at-BYU-celebrate-graduation.html )

As I finish up this last semester of my undergraduate degree, I am considering what my next steps should be to help me become the kind of person God wants me to be, the kind of person I want me to be, and what paths I need to take to reach that goal. I have always pondered upon this question when I reach certain points in my life that require decisions about my future, and when it comes to a career, for the last several years there has been something in the back of my mind that has told me that Law School is an option that I should consider. So, as I finish up my classes, I am also going to have to make time to study for the LSAT. Depending on how well that goes, I'll let you all know where I go from there.