A place called home.

What a surprise it was to wake up one morning last week to snow on the mountaintops. Coming from Florida, I never have really gotten to experience the change of seasons. I became overwhelmed by the love I felt from my Savior. What a beautiful world our Heavenly Father has created. It makes me sad to think that people can deny his existence when they see things such as a fall day and the leaves on the trees change colors. When I was up in the mountains (see pictures above) I felt as if I have never lived before that moment. The beauty of this world is breathtaking. I am so blessed to live in this magical place. Over the past few weeks life has taught me lessons that I wasn't quite expecting. Living away from home for the first time brings challenges such as not being able to control what others do/don't do in our apartment, learning that the apartment will never be as clean as I expect it to be, people will do things for their own reasons and not yours, and many more. I miss the days where my mom would cook dinner. What a simple task that was that I miss now. I miss going to lunch with my mom once a week, I miss the birthdays, the Sunday dinners, and the random things I would do with my family. I miss my best friends. You never really know the meaning of a true friend until you are learning to make others. I miss my job where I only made minimum wage and worked 20 hours a week. I miss home. Although I miss those things, I have many great blessings in my life. I have new friends, I have new people to see every day, I have a wonderful job that I am so lucky to have, I make good money, I save a lot of money, and I get to grow up on my own. Most of all, I am lucky to have extended family close. What a blessing it is to have family 20 minutes away. My mothers sisters are a relief to me because they are a small dose of my own mom. Growing up, working 40 hours a week, and becoming an adult is not as easy as I had expected. I thought that I was so grown up until I moved out here and had to face reality. My love for my family and my Savior has grown so much since I moved away. I rely more on prayer to get me through difficulties, I study my scriptures more, and I try to be the best example of service that I can be. I will be the first to tell you that things have been hard for me. This is a part of my journey. This is my story. Each new day is a new page in my book and I feel honored and privileged to be able to write a few chapters in this beautiful place I can now finally call..home.