just a month late.

3/8/15 original writing date.

heres to having life plans,
heres to getting life in order,
heres to "better late than never"
heres to now.

I kind of got lost for a month. I didn't have a home, so I let myself believe for that time i was just floating and until i stopped, it was fine to be floating in every sense.  Now take it from me, all and any other RM. Don't go floating. 

Floating: a period of time where you 

don't have your ward, home and/or schedule 

figured out, and just kind of do whatever, whenever. 

It also didn't help that my farewell was so far out, and my parents didn't have a ward/home either... But I have to take responsibility for the lack of effort to figure it all out.

So my advice, Week 1. No matter where you find yourself for that week, and no matter if you want to change soon or whatever, unpack your stuff and get settled.

When I got home my parents were living with my aunt with plans

 to move very shortly. I had little to no desire to stay there very long so

 I opened my suit cases but just left it all there. My parents also 

had put all my clothes they could find from out storage unit in 

my car, and I was just driving around to all places with that in there. 

Being an utter mess.

Now I do have a few redeeming qualities, such as temple and institute attendance. (which I would say saved me from a lot more "floating") but as I well know in the gospel, we can't be one (or 2) trick ponies. 

Other advice. Well, I had {still have} it in my mind that coming home from a mission and waking up at 5:45 every morning to study is a bit extreme. Especially coming from a mission where we went to bed and woke up later (to meet local customs) and especially when you have no other things to fill your schedule the rest of the day. I find no problem in waking up at 8 or 9 and getting to work on everything the mission taught us. {Work out. Get ready for the day. Study the scriptures. And get out and get going on your day.} 

But do it. Every day get up and work out, get all ready (shower! even when its inconvenient for whatever lifestyle you are living when you get back) and study. Don't feel guilty if you aren't doing it for an hour. Remember, we are no longer missionaries. Yes we should do our best to dedicate and sacrifice time to the scriptures, but now more then ever we can understand those people we taught, there are things to do, yes the sacrifice must be there, but you have to search with the Lord to discover how long that study time should be. (maybe yours is an hour, maybe 2, maybe 30 minutes maybe 10. That is between you and the Lord) But work out, and study, every day. 

My awesome Mission President told us that the only thing that changes when we get home is we don't put on a plaquita (nametag). And I planned on that! But my stuff was in the car, or the suitcase, or in a storage unit, and it was cold outside, and I didn't have easier way to work out, or i didn't have a buddy{companion}.

So now being home, my goals and plans are needing to change. The goals I set are good. But just as we did as a mission at our year mark, I need to set a mission statement. 

One month ago, it was: 

"Somos misioneros consagrados cuyos vidas y trabajo se centran en la doctrina de Cristo" 

{we are consecrated missionaries who's lives and work are centered in the doctrine of Christ}

Now, immersed in the real world settled into a home and ward I think it should be something like:

I am a young girl, who {is}

easy going

confident in who she is

solid {true} to what she believes

never says any negative thing about anything or anyone

but is honest and sincere

real

{or at least wanting to be}