Bitter, yet Sweet

Warning: Long post, but definitely worth reading

So this week has been a week of endings and new beginnings.  I spent Monday finishing up my finals.  Tuesday was devoted  to finishing packing and saying goodbyes.  My bestest friends and I pulled an all nighter doing just random fun things.  I believe the ride to the Salt Lake airport was probably the hardest drives I have ridden in a long time.  I was flooded with wonderful memories of freshman year.  I thought of the whirlwind of moving in, the terrible goodbyes to my parents, awkward freshmen orientation, BYU women's soccer games, testimony building temple trips, lots of baking treats, ward activities, random dates, soccer class, late night talks with roommates, playing all kinds of sports from volleyball, ultimate, and soccer, the missionary announcement, many, many runs where Josee and I told each other all kinds of life stories, all the snow fun including Kayla teaching Chelsea and me how to build a snowman, the first night being back after Christmas break and bundling up like crazy because our heater was broken, people making fun and imitating my silly southern accent, lots of random Creamery ice cream runs, learning tons from Mission prep, going to the dance with my two hot dates Kayla and Whitney, Josee slapping and leaving a HUGE red mark, learning a crazy a lot from a good friend about myself and the world, the nerve wracking decision I made to truly serve a mission and start my papers, City Creek shopping trip where we bought nothing, dollar movies, millions of game nights, great calls back home to my ma where I told her every little detail and happening in my crazy happy college freshman life, watching Cosmo movies, BYU basketball games, Alabama besties coming to visit and our fun around college town and Temple Square, Tate's Farewell, growing spiritually, physically, mentally, and just overall.  I'm a completely different, stronger, better person then when I left Alabama.  I have BYU and the wonderful people I met there to thank for that. It was so hard to hug my girls goodbye and walk inside that airport.  Part of me wanted to stay, but the other part knew it was my time to leave.
That part knew that a new chapter of my life was around the corner.  Today, Saturday, I opened up my mission call.  I will be serving the Lord in the Arizona Phoenix mission!  I'm speaking English and leave July 31, 2013! I am so excited.  And it's a perfect place for me! It's warm!!  And it'll be so much easier speaking my native tongue.  It's crazy and a little overwhelming to think that I will be gone for 18 months.  I just know I will grow and become all the Lord wants me to be as I put Him truly first in my life.  I can already fill the love for them! I'm so excited to be able to share this great light, comfort, and blessings that this gospel brings to my life to the great people of the Phoenix mission :)

So I guess where I'm getting at in this post is that right now, I'm in a period of bittersweetness.  It's sad that I am leaving freshmen year and all those I love in Utah.  But it's also exciting I get to serve the Lord.  Bittersweet is the only word that accurately describes my mixed emotions.  And you know, it's an ok feeling to be experiencing.  It shows I had a rocking freshmen year and that I am, even though I don't always fill like it, ready to commit to serving the Lord for the next 18 months of my life.

Always loving life, even in it's awkward bittersweet moments,
Quirky Kaila