it was the best of times, it was the worst of times

quentin l. cook quoted that in his last conference talk called "i hope ya know, we had a hard time" he mentioned how we all experience this very phenomenon. i have to agree. often i feel like this is the worst of times:

• i have no money
• no new shoes
• no boyfriends
• no time to play
• i do homework all day
• i'm a little exhausted
• i just failed a test
• it's so blasted cold
• i'm late for class
• i have a headache
• i am freaking out
• etc, etc!

sometimes i have a little harder time remembering that this is the best of times:

• i get to stay out late
• i get to crack up with haylie late at night
• and wake up to her in the morning
• i get to meet so many people in this little city thing called campus
• i get to pray in class
• i grow so much from having to do really hard things
• there are fun people all around me
• absense from my family makes my heart grow fonder (i really love seeing them when i do get to)
• i've gotten really good at doing laundry when pressed for time at my parents laundro-mat
• i have heard from various mothers that your time is no longer your own when you are mom- i am so looking forward to being a mom, but for now i get to work on all my shortcomings with relatively few obligations that require me to distribute my focus

i pretty much love conference, and this talk specifically. my problems don't go away just because i'm choosing to feel happy, but life is so much more enjoyable. i love everything right now. including you.