one piece of advice

This morning I got a letter from my good friend Jon.  Except, it was actually from Elder Cosman.  He got home in April, but the letter was dated January 11th and stamped May 1st, so we are not exactly sure what happened there.

He told me how much he learned from his missionary experience and how much his testimony grew.  He sent a nice little wallet sized picture overlooking Subic Bay, Philippines.

                                                             

What he said here was amazing:

"never stop striving for perfection because eventually we will be perfected and if we aren't desiring perfection how will we be able to spend eternity in a perfect place?  Every decision that we make needs to be for the better of our eternal salvation and if it isn't we need to change".

Thank you so much for your mission Jon, you have taught me so much and you are a wonderful friend!

at the park

have I mentioned that I am liking my summer job?  like a lot.

well, I am!

teddy bear picnics, treats and walks on the trails.

what could be better?

professional pictures from COLOR RUN

Yeah, so I splurged a little and got the downloads of the Color Run pictures that I was in.
Pretty worth it if I do say so myself!

how my phone saw it

(and Casey's phone too)

life = bliss

My life seems like bliss lately, and I have been feeling so grateful for all the wonderful things right now.  I am happy, and I can remember times when I wasn't, so this feel so good.  I absolutely love my summer job.  It is so laid back, but fun at the same time.  It is providing me with the perfect work/school/life balance, which is exactly what I need this summer.  School is going well even though I am little nervous about the course I just started, I have hope and faith that it is all going to go well.  Tomorrow, I will register for my 4th and final year at UPEI, and again the same thing, I am so nervous for the coming school year and the courses that I need to take to complete my degree, but at the same time I know that I have made it this far, and I will finish strong.  I am thankful all that I have learned.  When I get asked what I learned from University in job interviews, I won't reply with information I learned in my courses, I will say that I learned so much about dedication, commitment, time management and passion.  I never thought I would have such a drive to complete something, especially something like University.  I know that the Lord instilled me with this characteristic, because I know I would not have made it through the last couple of years without it.  Things at home and at church are both going great as well.  I do love being at home with my family, but I am starting to feel a little disconnected from my age as I wake up and get ready for the day, or spend evenings at home, when most of my friends are not out on their own.  I get the same old "you are saving money" thing from time to time, and I know that, but it doesn't really change that I am longing for that experience.  Maybe an opportunity will come up for the fall, but until then, who knows.  I love going to church each week and seeing the many beautiful faces in my ward.  There are so many sweet families and I love catching tender moments between parents and children, or between children.  It makes me desire a family so much more than I already do.  When I get to watch these families, these eternal families, my soul is filled with happiness.  I have snap shot some of these moments in my mind so I can hold unto them until I have moments like this of my own.  Things with my friends are also awesome.  I am having such a fun summer and trying to find time to see everyone has been a little difficult, but I am making things work.  Whether it is just quick meet ups (like with Ellen for lunch), lazy afternoons at the beach (with Jocelyn and Kayla), late night ice cream dates (Casey, Cody & Jocelyn) or late night board games (Mom, Kayla and the best neighbour ever, Amanda!), I am loving all this quality time with people that I love.  I feel happy to have these people and more in my life, and especially for their support these past years.  Last but not least, music is finding its way of impacting my life.  There are so many songs that are able to describe so many of these moments or songs that bring back so many wonderful memories.  There are songs that help me to daydream, and there are songs that help me to feel calm, make me think or help me to move forward.  Music in my life provides me with many unique experiences.

& as for the rest of it, I am just going to hang in there.
It is astonishing how short a time it can take for wonderful things to happen.  

happiest 5k

I had the time of my life running in THE COLOR RUN, the happiest 5k on the planet.  It was so much fun, and I am so happy that I did it.  I never saw myself as a strong runner, and I have been trying to run the past month or so, but the past two weeks I haven't done any since I was sick, and starting the job at the park and what not.  I was feeling a little nervous about how I would do, but to my surprise, I loved running and I felt great.  I didn't run the whole thing, but when I was running I felt like I was on fire.  My body was loving me for running.  Amanda and I would run and then pick spots where we would slow down, or just walk for a bit.  I loved being with her and we were able to find a comfortable pace.

The Color Run itself was and was not what I was expecting.  I was expecting to get way more coloured on the run than we actually did.  Most of the colouring happened at the after event.  I was also expecting that the color was going to look so awesome on me, but it really didn't because I was a sweaty mess and it sunk into my skin in places that I didn't want it to (I had a green moustache for awhile and the inside of my elbows were pretty blue.  The shirts were pretty thin so I had a blue belly and I think (days later...) there is still some blue in my belly button.    

I wasn't expecting that many people but I was so wrong.  I heard there was about 5000 people, but I never found out if that was accurate or just someone's estimate.  Still, it was crazy to see that amount of people.  I wasn't expecting that I was going to have so much fun on a 5km.  I wish there had have been music playing the whole time, like as a background and soundtrack to the run, but there wasn't.  They said the number one rule of the run was to never stop dancing, but I couldn't exactly do that with no music!  I don't think I could run and dance at the same time any ways, I would probably end up looking like a running penguin or something.

We met up with Casey and Cody after the run.  Amanda, her Mom,  her sister Lauren, her friend and I were in the first heat, which was actually great.  I saw some different faces from school and high school.  I am going to encourage EVERYONE I know to do it if they come back, because I had a blast.  Next time: I want to take more incredible pictures.  Maybe it's time for a GoPro camera....