Happy New Year!
Sorry this is a little bit late. I do realize that it is January 8th, but I was too lazy to write on New Years Day.
This year has been an absolutely positively INCREDIBLE year.
I traveled to SEVEN countries I have dreamed of my entire life and I never thought I would be able to see.
I met THE most inspiring, and beautiful babies who will have my heart forever.
I met many new friends who are the kindest, sweetest people in the world, and they have changed my life.
I decided on my major, and I couldn't be more excited to pursue it.
My best friend and love left for a two year LDS mission in Sierra Leone, and if you ask me anything about the kid, I will tell you that I could never be more proud of anyone in my entire life. He is incredible.
I spent Christmas with my sweet angels in Ecuador, and it was the best Christmas I could have EVER asked for.
I have so much to be grateful for. My health, my parents, my education, my family, my sweet ecuadorian babies, my amazing friends, all of the opportunities that come my way every day, the gospel, the temple, the sweet and sincere people in my life, everything a girl could ever ask for, I have. I am so grateful for all of this and more! I am so blessed. Thank you to everyone who is and has been so kind to me. I really appreciate and love everyone in my life, and I want every single one of you to know that.
2010 brought a lot of lessons, and experiences that I will never forget. My life has been greatly blessed with the experiences of this year, and I am so grateful for them. Here are just a few things that I have learned over this past year:
An eight month old baby can give you every ounce of happiness you'll ever need in your entire life with just one smile.
Waking up to 26 pairs of sparkly dark brown eyes at six in the morning will ALWAYS be better than sleeping in. Who am I kidding? Thats better than ANYTHING i'll ever wake up to at anytime of the day.
Seeing new places gives you a thirst for life, and life before you.
ECUADOR IS THE BEST PLACE ON EARTH.
Do good things that make YOU truly happy.
Learn as many new things as you can each day.
Leave hearts better than they were when you found them.
Try a little bit harder.
Compassion is something that is deeper than just "feeling sorry" for someone.
Learn how to see someones heartache before your own.
Learn how to see the bigger picture, or the "eternal perspective", if you will.
Work a little harder so the people who do need you, can have you.
Understand that where you are in life is exactly where you are supposed to be.
Coming from my favorite movie, Eat Pray Love, Learn to let every person who comes into your life bring something special into your life. Let them be a lesson in your life. Let them leave a mark on you because every person you meet has something special to teach you... if you let them.
Don't give up on someone just because they are far away. If you feel it, don't let it go.
Your heart is ALWAYS right.
Life always gets a little bit easier if you just give it time.
Heartbreak makes you a stronger person.
Attitude is absolutely EVERYTHING. You can make any experience in life a good one if you can learn to just smile and see the good things in everything that comes your way.
The second you stop seeing how hard your life is, and start seeing other people's heartache, THAT is when you are the happiest.
Kids teach you so much if you just look in their eyes and listen to them.
People really live in a state of poverty that you never, in your worst dreams, wanted to believe.
People are giving, and full of love if you give them a chance.
You can give your whole heart to 100+ children, and you will never ever ever get it back.
When you have really known true love, the dreams never stop, the longing for them never stops, and the happiness never ends, and the hurt of being away from them NEVER goes away.
Love can heal anything. Money, cars, new things, none of that is going to make you feel better. A mothers love, a sisters love, a child's love. Those things will always heal.
Love is the greatest thing we have to give, and we take it so for granted.
When I thought my world was ending, I realized that it's just starting.
There is so much this year has taught me. I will never forget the year 2010. The experiences it has brought me have truly changed me. I will never be able to go back to who I was before this year. I love everyone who has come into my life this year. Each one of you have been a building block to who I am now. I still have a long way to go, but I am so grateful for each of you. (you know who you are.) My elementary school friends, all the way to my Ecuador girls, you all have been such a strength in my life and I don't know where I would be without every single one of you.
This year has a lot of suprises ahead, and I look forward to the ones that come my way.
Happy 2011!!
It's a new year, and there are MANY new things to learn!
Good luck to everyone. May this year bring many smiles, laughs, and so much happiness!
