After the Mission: My Journey: 7 Months Home & The Formula for Life

Well, it's been 7 months and 8 days since I returned home from Italy, and about 5 weeks since I moved out to Utah.

I moved out to Provo and I am studying at UVU. I love it! There is a spirit of hope and progress here. I am finally doing something a little selfish by preparing for my own future. It feels great to be studying and focusing on something important. I feel motivated more motivated here to improve my life and my health, and strengthen my faith.

The mission really changed me in that way. I really grew the desire to want to live a full life. I understand now that life is really short; we only have so much time to learn and do. I want to make my earthly experience all it can be.

(I think I've figured out the formula to a success life. It's nothing that no one hasn't thought of before. This will simply be an account of my experience.)

What it comes down to, according to me, is all the little, daily things. Something that I learned toward the end of my time as a missionary - I think I was in Vicenza - was that starting the day right and having a successful day is based on the routine that one follows. For a missionary, it's:

wake up
personal prayer & companion prayer
get ready
personal study & companion study

...then out the door we went!

Its not as well planned for returned missionaries. It's more of a personal choice.

I have realized that in order for me to have a successful day, it starts the night before. I have to:

shower
prepare for bed
pack my bag
lay out my clothing
get in bed at a reasonable hour

Also, I know that I have to end the day with a prayer or I won't sleep well (it's true, I've tested it.) In the morning, if I do not start the day with a prayer, I can't focus. I become easily aggravated and I don't accomplish the things I hoped to. I try to read or even listen to the scriptures earlier in the morning, but that doesn't always work out. If I can find a block of time in which I can find a quiet place and read, I'll read a chapter of the Book of Mormon.

I believe that I have been blessed by our Heavenly Father with a strong spiritual compass. He has helped me, so many times, realize that something was wrong. He has also planted in my mind the way that I can fix that problem. Like this week, I was getting really anxious and jittery. I was trying so hard to focus on a paper I needed to write, but I just couldn't seem to settle down. I was impressed upon by the Spirit that it was because I was lacking that peace that the Spirit's presence brings. So what could I do to gain the Spirit? Pray and read the scriptures. It was an easy solution but not always so obvious in the moment.

I'm grateful for the little ways that the Lord has guided me and helped me find peace and direction in my life. I know that I am on the right path because I feel it.

I am still trying to figure out post-mission life, but I am not so afraid anymore. I have hope in my future and faith in the Savior, and for now that's enough.