Change is in the air!!

Well, I have big changes in my life coming up. I'm sure most of you have heard how the mission age for the Church of Jesus Christ of latter-day Saints has been lowered. So, men can now leave at 18 and women at 19. Well, I'm 19! So, I'm taking a leap of faith and going on a mission! I'm almost done with my papers. I've done my part of the papers and had my final interview with my bishop. All I need now is my final interview with the stake president and he'll submit the papers to the church headquarters where they will decide where I'm going to go. I'm hoping to have my mission call by Thanksgiving, but we'll see how behind they are with the many papers of other people they have gotten so far.
The first thing people ask me when they find out I'm going to go on a mission, is where do I want to go? I always tell them I'm willing to serve wherever I'm called. But in all honesty I would love to go somewhere French speaking, whether it is Canada or France or some country in Africa. It doesn't have to be French speaking, but I would love to be fluent in such a beautiful language. So, I'll post it on the blog when I know where I'm going, but if you feel so inclined you are welcome to post a comment with where you think I will go. :)

Meeting President Monson!

I shook President Monson's hand!! I know, it is something that doesn't happen often, but I shook his hand. President Monson is the prophet and president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He is an amazing man who has become my role model over time. He is big on promoting service and compassion. He is someone who I look up to as someone that I would like to become like. If I could be even just a little more like him, then I would be pretty set in life. Well, anyways, back to the experience. I was at a viewing for the father of a member of my ward. I didn't know the guy personally, but I really look up to his daughter who is our neighbor. So, I went with my grandmother to support her. Well, just as we were about to leave, we were talking to her husband when in walked President Monson. He shook everyone's hands and then went into the viewing. So, even though I didn't get to talk to him, I did get to shake his hand. He really is a prophet of God! I know that God talks to him and directs him how to run his church. Below is a picture of President Monson:

Once Upon a Time Season 2!!!

So, it isn't actually time for season two to start, sadly, but there is a sneak peak that was just released today that makes me so excited! I can't believe I have to wait until this fall to see it, but here is the sneak peak for you all to enjoy. And if you haven't seen Once Upon a Time then you are sorely missing out. Anyways, here it is!

I am proud to be an American!!

So, tonight I worked an event at the Marriott Center that was so cool. It is an event that many in Utah have probably heard about, and maybe even seen. It is called Hope of America and this was its 17th year. It is a showcase put on by elementary school children celebrating that they are the Hope of America and thanking the military who serve our country. It is a really touching event and brings tears of gratitude. It really reminded me what a great country I am blessed to live in and really truly made me proud to be an American!
Here is a picture of the school children in the flag that they make:

Finals... and good news!

Well, another semester is coming to a close and I can hardly believe it. College is great though and I'm so glad I'm here This semester has really kicked me in the butt and I don't know what to expect for my grades. I'll be happy with whatever I can get. I hope finals aren't too bad this week. I've taken one and have three left. Pray I do good, because I can use all the help that I can get!
It is weird to think that this time in a week I'll be completely moved out of my apartment and I'll be in South Jordan with my grandmother. I'm really excited to work for the summer and get to spend more time with my extended family. I really love spending time with my grandmother and all of my extended family. We are so close and have so much fun together and I love that!
Well, for the exciting news in our apartment, Brittany, one of my beautiful roommates, is engaged! It was lots of fun to see this all pan out from my side. She really had no idea he was going to propose last night. We were able to get her all dolled up, and she had no idea. She went over to his apartment to say hi really fast before she had to start working. When she got over there, he sang her a song he wrote and then got down on one knee and proposed. It was so cute and she was so excited! We are all very excited for her, and it is so much fun to have someone really close to me getting married. This is the first time it has happened for me. So, congrats Sean and Brittany. You really make the cutest couple the world has ever seen. Love you two!
Here are a few pictures of Brittany.

Easter Sunday

For those who know me well, you know I do not cry easily. It isn't that I don't feel emotion, because I do. I just don't show it by crying. Well, today I cried. I was in Sunday School in my grandma's ward and they had a lesson about the olive tree and tied it into Easter weekend. At the end of the lesson, they showed a video that really touched me and I cried. It shows events in Christ's life with a point of view of the events in relation to his mother, Mary. It is incredible. The part that really touched me was when Mary picks up Christ when he falls down the stairs and then when he is carrying the cross and falls. I love the love that is felt there. The crucifixion is a little more graphic than most movies and isn't completely accurate, but overall the movie is incredible and I feel that it represents the relationship between Mary and Christ very well.

What a great day!

Today was just a really great day! I enjoyed myself a lot. I went to all my classes and had my homework done on time and understood everything we learned in my classes. It was so great! I especially enjoyed my church history class today. We are talking about all the great doctrine that was revealed in the Nauvoo period of the church. There was a ton that was revealed during this time, and it was crazy how much there was revealed.

Also, today I got my clicker! I am so excited that I get to finally start my new goal. I'm so happy that I already have 31 clicks and I only have had it for about five minutes. I really challenge everyone who is reading my blog to look into doing this challenge. It is so easy and so much fun! I already am so glad that I chose to do this and I haven't even been doing it for that long. For those who  may have missed the previous blog about this, the website that talks all about the clicking challenge is www.billionclicks.org. Also, my blog post that has a video about the clicking challenge is http://sarahleigh-corner.blogspot.com/2012/03/i-hate-waiting.html. I hope you decide to join me in this great endeavor!

The last thing that has really brightened my day was being able to go to the temple with my roommates. I haven't been to the temple since I came to school and I really regret this. I'm glad that I get to go now. It will be a big blessing for me, and I am so grateful that I live so close to so many temples. I have the Provo Temple walking distance away, and several other temples just a short drive away. Today we are going to the Mount Timpanogos temple. I'll share some pictures later, but in short, I'm excited to be alive, and I am so grateful to be where I'm at in life. I love life, and I love myself. I know I am a daughter of God, and I know that He loves me and I love Him. Enjoy your day and I know that you can have a great day if you put your mind to it! Here is a picture of the Mount Timpanogos temple.

Clicking

Above: My roommates, Brittany and Kristiana, and me with Hillary Weeks at the fireside.

Last night I went to a stake fireside given by the musician Hillary Weeks. She had a great message to share about thinking positively. She said that thoughts are the seed of action so we really need to make sure we are positive in our thinking. So, she challenged all of us to focus on our positive thoughts. She started a personal challenge to keep track of all the positive thoughts she has every day. She bought a clicker and clicked every time she thought positively. It worked for her. She found that every day was more upbeat and when things went badly she didn't let them get her down. She started a website called billionclicks.org. The goal of the website is to get one billion positive clicks recorded. So, my roommates and I bought ourselves some clickers from her website and as soon as we get them we are going to start counting our positive clicks. A quote from a notebook she sells on the website that I really like is, "Love your crazy, unbelievable, challenging, side-splitting, spontaneous, improbable, unpredictable, exasperating, big-hearted, absurd, delicious, abundant, inspiring, joyous, daring, jaw-dropping, beautiful LIFE . . . . make every moment count." I really like it and I hope we can all take it to heart and make every moment in our lives count. Enjoy your day, and think positive!

Below is a picture of the clickers from her website.

Right now next week!

So, for those of you who haven't looked at the countdown recently we are pretty much about a week away! From what, you ask. Hunger Games midnight premiere of course! About this time next week, I will be close to on my way to wait in line for the midnight showing! I am so excited! This is such a great opportunity and I am so excited to be able to attend. I hope this is a great movie. I'm also excited, because once the midnight premiere is over, my blog will be getting a makeover, so look forward to that. Have a great day, and may the odds be ever in your favor!

Something To Look Forward To

I can't even begin to express my excitement for the movie Hunger Games. I loved the books, and read the first one before anyone ever knew about them. These are going to be incredible movies. I hope you enjoy the trailer as much as I did. Enjoy!

Eternity

I really love fast and testimony meeting in a singles ward. I love the insights that one can find from the people their own age. I felt the spirit more strongly today than I think I have ever felt in one room. I was especially touched with what one young man said. He talked about how he was feeling really homesick (like most college students) and one day he was having an especially rough patch. One of his friends (to help him feel better) said this, "what is one day in the glimpse of eternity." I really liked this, but he took it in the sense that this one bad day will not mean a lot in eternity. While I like this, I thought of it a different way. As I have felt throughout the week, being away from my family really stinks, and when I thought about it I thought how horrible it would be to be without my family for eternity. I mean think about it. If it is this bad now, how bad would it be to live in a different place for forever! It makes me never want to do anything bad to keep me from the celestial kingdom and away from them. I think about the fact that if they were in the celestial kingdom and I wasn't I couldn't pick when I do or don't get to see them. Like now when I'm at college and I get lonely I can call them whenever I want. I have family just a short drive away. If I were in the terrestrial kingdom while they were in the celestial I wouldn't be able to do that. That saddens me greatly, but at they same time gives me some motivation to do my best in this life so I will be with them forever. I love my family and to be with them forever is all that I could ask for.