Life Keeps On Keeping On

Can someone tell me what happened to the last two months?

Exactly eight weeks ago today, the four of us had our Farewell Night in my and Eve's dorm room. And now here we are: Lanie's left on her mission, Anna's just about done her Spring semester, Eve's attending the temple in Spanish, and I've changed my mind about serving a mission over and over and over again (more on that later).

(Pictured is me living my West Side Story life)

We only have 78 days (count 'em) left of our summer, which blows my mind. But 52 days have come and gone, so let's unpack some of that first.

My YSA branch here is drastically smaller than the ones at BYU. As in there are like twenty/twenty-five active members. With that being said, two are getting married to each other this month, and then if you throw in everyone who's leaving on missions or moving away for school, there might be seven (tops) active members remaining in September. Fun fact: that's still enough to have a branch.

I've made two new friends: Reegan Zobell and Shaelagh (pronounced "Shayla," although when I talk to Siri I have to pronounce it as "She-lag") Stephan. I carpool with Reegan because she only lives 5 minutes away, which is practically neighbours considering we live on acreages. She's quiet and a little socially awkward, but our conversations in the car are pretty top-tier. Shaelagh's family moved from Saskatchewan about a year ago, but she's been in Germany/Netherlands for the past eight months. We got along immediately, which was super cool. Like it just kinda "clicked" if that makes any sense. Some people are just the right vibe and you can immediately start talking about the real deep stuff. Exactly how my relationship with Eve, Lanie and Anna was. Shaelagh and I have been hanging out as much as possible since we met, but she's gone working in rural parts of Alberta for long periods at a time so we haven't had a lot of time together. I recently posted a few pictures of me in my new Smiley pants on Instagram, similar to the one at the top of this post. Shaelagh was the one who took those pictures.

Shaelagh isn't easily fooled by boys, which makes her the perfect pair for me. Especially with all of the drama that I've gotten myself into. I know, I know. Classic Bethany. Now I'm not going into extensive detail because I have other stuff I want to cover, but here's a brief run down. I had a short crush on this one guy when we were playing street hockey at a YSA activity. We got along really well and he's like 6 something which is... well it's perks let's just say. Fast-forward five days (I knowwww) and I meet this new guy, who just got back from his mission in April. We didn't not get along and I'll be honest, I was kinda excited when he asked me out. But now it's complicated. Anyways, I'll tell more if there's more to tell in a month from now.

Our branch has sister missionaries, a Sister Barton and a Sister Tustian (pronounced like "Christian," except replace the "Chri-" with "Tuh-"). Sister Barton's from Farmington, Utah. Sister Tustian is all the way from Ontario. She is a real sweetheart and gives off golden retriever energy, which immediately brightens everyone's day. Seriously, I don't think I've seen a single person annoyed or upset with her. I strive to have the same positive influence on people I encounter. The two of them have been together for three transfers in a row, but they get transfer calls tonight and we're scared that they're going to finally be split up. And then one of them (or both!!) might be leaving our area for good on Wednesday. We're all honestly going to miss them at YSA. Every time I came to activities, the sisters would ask me about the Oilers' progress in the NHL Playoffs. They did really well, kicking Calgary's butt in the Battle of Alberta (sorry Kade but it looks like you picked the wrong team). But then we were swept aside by Colorado's team, which I'm not even mad about because Colorado played really well. We were beat, fair and square. I'm a little sad that I don't get to go over to my grandma's house three times a week to watch the games anymore though.

(Pictured is me and a few of my old friends from high school at our local arena where they broadcasted one of the games)

Working for my dad has been hectic. It feels like I'm back in school again, except it's only computers. I did a penetration test report and a research project on cyber security in routers. Reccently, I found some hotel booking software and helped my dad develop some strategies for the software he's working on. I think I get to learn how to program with my dad's toolhelpers and "methodology" next so that should be pretty cool.

Okay, finally, let's talk about serving a mission. That's been the big and weird issue lately. I wanted to serve, and then I didn't, but then I did, and again, I didn't. I kept trying to make a quick and easy decision about what to do. But here's my final verdict: I need to experience life in a way I haven't before in order to learn how to live disciplinedly, before being forced to live that way with the rules and restrictions of a missionary. Basically, I need to be able to want to and live righteously and responsibly out of my own agency/fruition. So here I am, heading back to school in 78 days. It seems like so long, and yet not long enough. I wonder how much is going to change before then...

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Until next time!! TTYL 🤍