A Time of Change

Well, here I sit at the end of another semester at BYU-Idaho. But not only that, with the end of this semester comes the end of another chapter in my life. In less than two weeks I will be packing up and moving out of Rexburg for the last time. I can't believe how quickly the past five years have gone, or how much has changed in my life in those five years. My eight semesters here at BYU-Idaho have been a wonderful experience. I have learned so much, and grown in ways that I never would have dreamed of. I have met so many wonderful people. I have seen two bishoprics who I have come to love dearly be released (the second of those happening just this morning). I have sat through countless hours of class and learned hundreds of new things. I have met many wonderful people. I've seen many changes take place on campus, and just around town in general. And I kind of feel like I've been here forever. So I guess it really is time for a change, in that respect.

At the end of this month, I will be moving to Utah. Utah...where all my friends are, but where I will be in a place where I won't know anyone. At least not at first. That thought kind of made me nervous when I realized it. But then again, I thought, that it could actually be a good thing for the very fact that I won't know anyone. Now is my chance to take that leap out of my comfort zone and be outgoing and make new friends and be the person that I've always wanted to be. Not that I'm unhappy with who I am, because I'm not. I've just always wished I could be a little more outgoing, and now's my chance to make that happen. And I may or may not be (meaning I am) looking for a new hairstyle to go along with the change of location and outgoing-ness. Any suggestions?

My next semester living in Utah is going to be a time of a lot of new experiences. I got my student teaching placement this week, and it makes me a little nervous. I will be in a 6th grade classroom. I will be teaching 32 students. Half of them are learning English as their Second Language. A couple of them just got to the states and don't speak any English--or any language even remotely similar to English. This may be my endorsement, but I am super nervous to be in charge of the education of these children. I realize that it will be a good learning experience for me, but that doesn't make it any easier to jump right into it.

I am excited for this new time of change though. I realize that it will be good for me. It will help me grow. It will stretch me to do things I didn't realize were possible. And it will allow me to meet new people who will be able to influence my life, and hopefully who I will be able to influence.

Just in closing, I want to share a thought that President Mendenhall, our Stake President shared with us today as they released Bishop Rossiter and his counselors, Brother Burton and Brother Larsen. "Change is good, eventhough it sometimes brings pain and discouragement." This is something I want to remember, especially as I go through this season of change in my life.