I remember when I
was younger, whenever my friends and I would play any game using our
imagination, I would always decide that the character I was pretending to be
was a teenager. I was so excited to one
day be a teenager, to drive and go to prom, to make lasting friendships in
college and high school, to be able to date and to hopefully go to BYU, and
then later go on a mission. I imagined
that those times would last forever that I would bask in the sunlight of
teenagedom. Now here I am and those
times have flown by, too quick it seems.
I feel like those years of my life were all in fast forward, and now
here I am, on the threshold of leaving for my mission and I am in awe of how
quickly it has all passed. Maybe it’s
just that when you’re younger that time seems slow, that you can really enjoy
it. When I was young, I feel like the
Christmas season, for example, was such an extended period of time, and I could
really do everything I wanted to as a kid in that time period to prepare for
the upcoming holiday. Now everything
arrives so quickly, that I will often think to myself the night before
something happens “Oh my gosh, it’s already here” and watch as the time passes
me by. Maybe I am just shocked that I am
weeks away from leaving on my mission.
I’m pretty sure that is it.
One thing I had
been really looking forward to before my mission was going to Missouri and then
going to BYU events while out here in Utah.
Here I am, back for weeks from Missouri , just thinking back to the
trip, and how it passed me by so quickly.
I did have so much fun though while I was out there. My mom and I went out and finished packing up
the house which was a hard experience, but also one that allowed us to grow
closer together through. That house in
Missouri, that’s the house where I became who I am today, where I became
“Kennedy”. That was hard, to say goodbye
to it, where so many memories were made and where I grew so much. I will always be able to look back on that
fondly though, just as I do with our old house in Oregon and the memories
placed with it. It will be a place to
visit and a good chapter in my life.
After we packed up
the rest of the house, we could finally relax a bit and visit the friends that
I knew I would not see for a couple of years.
It was weird just because I always think, “Oh, I’ll be back and see them
eventually” but for me it will be a few years.
That is so odd to me. My friends
in my brothers grade will be GRADUATING…wow that’s so odd. It will be good to come back and see all the
change though. It was also so good to
see everyone. I am really going to miss
them all, but I also cannot wait to serve a mission. I know it’s what my Heavenly Father wants me
to do and I just want to teach His children here on Earth. I love to teach. I haven’t really ever thought that was
something I enjoyed until I was called to teach my Sunday school class this
summer and then subbed for my seminary teacher when I was out in Lee’s
Summit. I loved it! It’s just being able to interact with
everyone and talk and I just get this sort of rush from teaching and being in
front of people. It was so fun to be
able to do that for Sister Furnell, that service that was so fun to give.
Another memory
that I made in Missouri, one that I will cherish forever, was being able to go
through the Kansas City temple with my close family and friends. What an inspiring and spiritual experience,
one that made sense and was unlike anything else. It’s hard to write about because it was so
amazing, and something I am going to treasure to myself for as long as I
live. I just feel so blessed for
temples. I will write more about this,
just not in this post. I want to save it
for its own post.
Going to Missouri
was very needed. I still had so much to
do and so many “till we meet again” to give out to those I love. I am so glad and blessed that I had the opportunity
to go out there and see the transition from that part of my life to this next
step. And now here I am, in a weird
transition phase between my first term at BYU and entering the MTC for my
mission. The wait is weird. At the same time as I want it to end, I also
want to prolong it, to enjoy this pre-mission period. I am torn, but it’s a good torn. Being here and leaving for Brazil are both
good things. That’s why instead of
complaining about how I want to leave for my mission already (which I am
excited to leave for) I am going to cherish these moments, and make memories
that I can come back to. I am so very
excited for the next chapter of my life, for what awaits me in the future. It looks bright and I am excited to step into
that light.
