Six Lessons Learned During My 22nd Year

Today I looked down at my temple schedule and realized that it's September 20th. Which means my birthday is in ONE MONTH and I will no longer be singing TSwizzle's song 22. I don't find this too sad because I've accidentally been telling people I'm 23 for the last month and according to my mother "it's too early to be lying about your age." Oops.

So, yeah! I'm turning 23 in one month. I realize that age is nothing but a number and I'm really not that old. I haven't been on Earth for every a quarter of century yet!!! But this past year has taught me a lot and I wanted to share that with you, reader of my blog.


1. Always cook your chicken thoroughly. 

Hospital Day One vs. Hospital Day Three

I'm a big believer in sharing food so when I joined a dinner group last year, I was pretty psyched. It was a fun way to get together and eat good food before we all went our own ways to do homework. Until one fateful night when my friend cooked shish kabobs. Being starved, I ate two big bites of chicken that were a bit chewy than normal. I realized it wasn't cook thoroughly but the damage was done. Two days later, I got so sick with a fever, throwing up, chills...it was bad. My nursing roommate took me to urgent care where I had "the flu." HA. Next day, I went to the ER and was admitted to the hospital for the first time in my life. I had a lot of visitors, which was nice. It's time like this that you know who your real friends are, as I had one friend spend the night SITTING in a chair that we didn't know reclined, haha.  Well, three days later, the doc and I vowed we'd never eat cookie dough ever again because I had salmonella! So yes, I'm the one case of salmonella you'll probably ever meet, but now you can scare your children not to eat cookie dough because salmonella is death.

2. Addictions are real.

I've known this all my life but never did I know this more than I do know. Within a matter of days after the new year, I was offered my first "real" job as a psych tech at Center for Change, a rehab home for girls with eating disorders. It's been a roller coaster of emotions, working at a place that can be so challenging but oh so rewarding. I've shared lots of tears and lots of laughs at that place.

the ever popular "feet selfie" from work

And then, when I moved into a new ward, I was asked to be the Addiction Recovery Sunday School teacher. I was told that a lot of ward members attended the close because it focused on the Atonement. Talk about feeling overwhelmed and unqualified!! But in the past seven months, I have learned a lot about addictions and mental health and eating disorders and daily struggles. I have seen people easily "hide" their problems and I've gotten really good at recognizing when people are struggling. My heart breaks when I watch those I love struggle but I also know that there is light at the end of the tunnel through many, many resources: therapy, medications, support groups, coping skills, and religion--mainly the Atonement. I'm a big believer that trials make us stronger. Addictions are real and we all struggle with one thing or another.



3. Go see a doctor if your body isn't working "normally."

right after I found out my tumor was small

For about 5 months after graduating from BYU and not having the handy dandy health center up the corner, I casually told my mom I should probably see a doctor as my body wasn't being "normal." After being a little more firm, I came home and saw a doctor only to find out that I had a small tumor in my pituitary gland that was producing so much prolactin that my body thought I was pregnant. The thoughts that go through your mind when you have a tumor...it was a pretty scary time.

After an MRI, I was lucky and blessed to find out that it was small tumor and treatable with medication. I am now a pro at doing blood work and the phlebotomist in Cali got to know me and my horrible veins pretty well. I learned our bodies are pretty cool and can tell us when something is wrong. Even though I still dislike doctors, GO SEE A DOC if something is wrong, please? Ok, thanks, glad we had this talk. :)

4. When something isn't going right in your life, go to the temple. The temple brings peace.

If we want to get technical, I went through the temple for the first time when I was 21...but two days later, I turned 22. So I'm counting it. Anyway. I. Love. The. Temple. I remember during my interview with the stake president, he asked what I was doing to prepare to go through the temple, as I wasn't getting married or going on a mission. I sat there and said...well I go weekly right now... He smiled and said never let that change.

10.18.15 

The days leading up to me attending the temple for the first time were some of the hardest in my temple. Satan kept trying to remind me of all my mistakes and sins and why I was unworthy to attend. It wasn't like it was a bad week, but finally getting on that flight to go home, I felt so much peace. The day I attended the temple was one of the most peaceful in my life. To be honest, I didn't remember a lot, I only remember the peace and the happiness.

Since being endowed, I have attended the temple (almost) every week and now I get to attend every week as I am a temple worker. I cannot begin to list the blessings that have come from the temple, as a patron or a worker. The temple is the house of God. Every time I attend, regardless of what's going on in my life, the peace and quiet I feel is so real and relaxes my mind.

5. Nature is all around us and can provide peace.

Megan, Party of One, Hiking

Growing up in SoCal, I was at the beach ALL THE TIME. But in Valencia, we don't have mountains. We don't go outside during the summer unless we're headed to the pool or beach. And having lived in Utah for five years now, I realize that nature is all around me. I mean, I always knew that but now I realize how much peace I get from a drive in Provo Canyon or hiking a mountain or going outside for a run at night. I love to hike and I love to see the beauty from nature. Fall is starting and I just can't wait for all the beauty that I can explore! But being in nature, disconnected from the world brings serious peace. During summer, we vacationed at Sequoia and had little to no wifi and absolutely no service at times. It. Was. Great.  We really spent time with each other and had a marvelous time taking in beautiful sights and sounds of Sequoia. When you feel like your life is chaotic, unplug and visit the mountains. It brings so much peace!

6. Live your life as authentically as possible. 

I started this blog post (and this motto) in my mind about a month ago. I was unhappy with life. I felt disconnected and I didn't know why. I was so frustrated. I started reading a book called The Voice of Knowledge "A Guide to Inner Peace" and it honestly changed my life. The book talks about how we each are telling our own story. We're in charge of creating it and we're in charge of taking control. But then we have other people in our lives who are trying to tell their own story and sometimes it doesn't agree with our story. Or people have perceptions of us that doesn't agree with how we see ourselves. Or we have this voice in our head that tells us you're not good enough, you'll never be as thin as you want, you're not even funny.

"This is real, this is me, I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be"

I was feeling all these things. I was feeling like no one really knew the real me. And then it clicked. No one CAN know the real me because they only see a perception of me. And if people have thoughts about me that aren't true to my story, THAT'S OK because I know my story and no one else knows it. It's all about being authentic! Live in the moment. Create those moments. Be comfortable in your own skin. It's made all the difference.

One thing that this book talked about that really struck me is that you will always be with yourself for the rest of your life. You will never be "truly alone" so start liking yourself! I take myself out on "dates" all the time and sit there in Yogurtland by myself and I enjoy it! I go on hikes by myself because being alone with myself is relaxing. I go for runs because my body enjoys it and it refreshes my mind.

Since August 27th, I have been living my life as authentically as possible and I'm amazed with the changes I've seen. I met people in my ward and when they laugh at something I say, my mind goes, "See? I told you! You're funny! People like you!" I love going to work because I feel in my element. I can joke around with patients when they want me to but I can also be serious and help when they need it. I can stand in front of a church class full of my peers and teach because the voice of knowledge is quiet. It's no longer telling me negative things. I go for a run and do yoga and meditate because that's the real me. It took me twenty two years to figure out who I am but life is now so exciting Life is way better to take the challenges and changes and chances authentically as possible and not regretting it. In the past 24 days that I've been truly authentic, I cannot think of one instant that I have regretted and that is amazing.

So there you have it, folks. Six major things I've learned. But as with the tagline of this blog, I'm still learning. I'm not perfect. I'm learning every day, making mistakes and loving every minute!