The Will of God

I have been re-reading one of my favorite books. This book focuses on living your life with a focus on the Gospel and growth in your situation. I have been contemplating some of the ideas within this book and I would like to share some of those thoughts today...

I would like to address the idea of goals. I am not the person I want to be. I like to think that I am a good person but I know I can be better. In making goals to improve myself I need to remember that "the achievement of some important goals in our lives is subject to more than the timing of the Lord. Some personal achievements are also subject to the agency of others... Do you see the difference between committing to what you will do, in contrast to trying to plan that you will be... married by the time you graduate from college or that you will earn at least X amount of dollars on your first job?" This thought was poignant to me it is important that I not make goals that depend on someone else. The book goes on to state that though we cannot justify goals that are 'subject to the agency of others' we can develop goals that will help us be better prepared. "Life has some strange turns. Do your best and then trust in the Lord and his timing." If we can have patience enough to accept the Lords timing we will be blessed! That does not mean that we wait to live our live we need to make plans an prepare to move on with our lives but we also need to stay focused on the Lord and strive to follow his will. Elder Oaks stated "Do not rely on planning every event of your life- even every important event. Stand ready to accept the Lord's planning and the agency of others in matters that inevitably affect you. Plan, of course, but fix your planning on personal commitments that will carry you through no matter what happens." I know that I can grow in many ways and I know that as I struggle to improve myself I can always trust in the Lord and ask for guidance and he will give it to me!

Review

First day of finals and I have finished all of my finals... I can now say that I am officially done with my last semester of classes at BYU!!!! All I have left is my internship and I will be graduating college! I am so excited and I cannot wait to start teaching but in the meantime Summer sounds like a nice idea! ;)

My experience...

Fun times with the neighbors

Monday Movie Nights

Wish with all your heart!

CES Fireside (Pres. Uchtdorf)

Cousin Fun

Halloween Party

Breaking into the house with out FHE boy's help.

Locking professors out of the classroom...

Realizing that together our apartment starts the ABC's

Kicking people off the internet

Country Swing dance

Valentines day lesson on love

Family Time

My brother's Graduation

Football games with Friends

Exploring Provo

Bonfires in the Canyon

Muse-ing with my roommates

Proposals at the football games

Finals week countdowns

Trips with Friends

Cultural experiences

Masquerade Balls

Finals Week Puzzles

Playing in the Park

Photoshoots

YouTube laughs

And here is the video referred to is here

Happenings

So life after practicum has been crazy! Here is what has happened...

1) I got an internship!!!! Starting in July (year-round school) I will be teaching 3rd grade at Jordan Ridge Elementary, if you want to know more about the school you can look here! I am so excited and I can't wait to get started and meet my 3rd graders!!! I will be on A track and I have a friend also on A track so we are planning exotic vacations to China and Africa... Well maybe in the future, but very possibly California.

2) My grandmother died. On Friday April 5th I was out shopping with a friend when I started feeling uneasy,  we ended up heading home soon after and I felt like calling my parents, they had just gotten home and went to grandma's room to find that she was not breathing. She died soon after. This was tough for me because I have never had anyone close to me die before and I have never really gone to a funeral of someone I knew before. But I know that she is in a better place now (More to come on my amazing grandmother later). The night before the funeral we had a family meeting  (Samoan tradition) where all the extended family (my grandpa's mother's brother's children included) came and were able to share rememberances of my grandmother, it was lovely. On Saturday we had the funeral and we actually watched them lower the coffin and the concrete into the ground before leaving the cemetery (Samoan tradition). This morning I got an email including a video of my grandma that I want to share, it was taken soon before she passed away. 

Pat Fiso from Fesler Films on Vimeo.

3) I had my last day of classes as an undergrad today!!!!!! I still have finals but I am so close to done and I cannot wait to actually graduate. In the meantime I will be satisfied with having my own classroom for a year!  But seriously, being done with classes is great but I will miss the amazing girls that I have met and befriended on the way to graduation! I hope we can all stay in touch...

4) General Conference happened and was great! Although I enjoyed conference I was not as focused as I could have been so I will go back and reread the talks but I loved the ideas presented. I especially liked Sister Wixom's talk about children and the way we speak to them.

Okay so maybe it is only four things... I feel like there has been much more that has happened but at the moment my brain is not cooperating so those four it shall be.

Yesterday Was Plain Awful!

Yesterday was just plain depressing, I had my interview for an internship and it was my last day of practicum with my fifth graders! It had its highs but it also had its lows...

I woke up early to get ready for my internship interview and left for the interview I got there (quite nervous, I was finding out if I got a position that night) interviewed (It was fine) and then drove to school. I was a little late to school and when I got there I had this spread waiting for me on the back table. Every student had written me a poem (some two or three) One girl made me cookies and a few others brought presents for me. I felt so loved!

Let me share with you a few of my poems... You don't have to read all of them but please read the Limmerick, it's one of my favorites.

Acrostic
Much Appreciated
In all aspects, amazing
So very fun
Super fun

Fantastic-ly fun
Is awesome
Super nice
Over the level of awesomeness

Marvelous
Intelligent
Special
Smart

Fun
Important
Smiley
Optimistic

Haiku:
A dark stormy night
An awesome teacher appears
And kills dark monsters

You are amazing!
I love it when you teach us
Don't go Miss Fiso! :(

Concrete:

The words for this one: Please don't go and we all will miss you  and you are a part of this class! Please don't, Don't leave, we will all miss you!

Telephone poem:

Nice, loving, caring

Awesome substitute teacher is Miss Fiso

I hope you come back to visit us

The class loves you

We're going to miss you

You're super super super nice

So goodbye Miss Fiso we'll all miss you always

(And last but not least) Limerick:

There once was a student teacher,

And I'm really gonna miss her

Her success was definite

Her love was infinite

Goodbye, Miss Fiso you're a winner!!

We went through the morning, I taught math, we did reading, recess and then lunch. I told the students I would eat lunch with them on my last day of lunch so I did. While we were eating the students were talking to me about things and they found out about my internship interview. It was at that point of lunch that the students started cheering for me and chanting my name to the chagrin of the lunch lady. It was so amazing! After lunch we did some more school-ish things and then the students got ready for the end of the day and said goodbye to me. While the students were in various parts of the room getting ready to go home this is what I heard...

Did someone bring string? We can tie her up and she can't leave...
It's okay we can just kidnap her. (As he comes up to me to put his sweater on my head to "kidnap" me)
We don't have to tie her up for too long, just enough to make her stay with us

and then everyone came back to give me hugs and look at me with sad eyes. I told them to stop the sad eyes and that is when they started their sad faces. :(

But the bell rang and after we finally ushered everyone out of the room I went to collaboration with my mentor teacher. It was good but nothing special. After the meeting I went to the car to go home and got the phone call that I was not offered a teaching position but I could try for Jordan District. I was devastated. I have nothing against Jordan but I was really looking forward to Nebo. Wish me well, Interviews for Jordan are next week.

**Also I am so so so excited for my friends who got their internships! They are all amazing!**

I went to my parent's home and I couldn't stop crying which is odd because I am not a crier... I was just so devastated. My mind was telling me that I was being an idiot. I originally wanted to do Jordan and it would be a new experience for me but I was a mess. My mom had the idea that we go to the Temple. So we did. It was great! I still was a little teary but I love going to the Temple and it calmed me down a lot.

Well there is my sad and sordid story but I'm sure the 'sun will come out tomorrow' My 5th graders are having a party and I just might stop by...

Sunday thoughts

I have so many family and friends at the moment who are on missions or leaving soon on a mission so I get a lot of missionary emails. I love reading these emails and seeing how much these family and friends have grown and applying their knowledge to my life. One of my friends recently challenged those back home to share a message every week that will strengthen or comfort someone else. I am going to try just that...


While looking at the Mormon Channel on Youtube I found this video. The video focuses on courage and perseverance. It refers to the story of Ester and the faith and courage that she needed, to accomplish the things asked of her. The story of Ester is one of my favorites. I'd like to think that I could be as faithful as her if the situation ever arose, so likening Ester to modern women of the church really made an impression on me. I know that we can do hard things. Like Ester and many others we are not alone, we have the support system of our family, friends, ward members, Father in Heaven and Jesus Christ. As long as we are striving to be our best we will have the strength and courage to go on. I hope you enjoy this...

It's done...

This week was the BYU Lu'au I have been practicing every Saturday since January so it's nice to be done but at the same time I love participating in the Lu'au. This year I danced for Tahiti and Samoa. It was great! Samoa had a sick Sasa this year and Tahiti had a lot of time devoted to costumes as well as the dances. Both sections were great and I was so happy to participate in them! I'm so thankful for everyone who came to watch... I've heard that this year we can get a copy of the performance... I can't wait!

Funny thought of the day

Today there was a student reading me a book she came to a part where the person speaking called another person an arrogant jerk (she stopped after reading arrogant)...

Her: What does Arrogant mean?
Me: Well it means that he was stuck-up?
Her: What is that (She is learning English)
Me: It means he thinks he is better than everyone else. Go ahead and keep reading.
Her: (After looking at the Page) J-E-R-K. Ohhh I can't believe it! They used a bad word. Can you believe it. That is a bad word!

**I love kids so much!**