Rewrite (Part Two)

I just finished up my six year terms serving on another incredible governor appointed entity and working closely with the best of the best in our state. I am truly grateful for the many experiences, adventures, lots of unforgettable moments and lessons that I was able to take away from this journey. I loved getting to be involved with various leadership capacities and making the disability community here in Utah a place that everyone belongs. 

MANY YEARS BACK----I quietly thought to myself about becoming a member of UDDC and not quite knowing what I would be getting myself into. I definitely felt like at the time it was the right step for me as I wanted to continue giving back to a community that provided opportunities I will cherish for the rest of my life. I am thankful for the growth that I have seen in myself and knowing my advocacy work is far from being over any time soon. I am truly blessed to have had the help of my Savior, Jesus Christ through out this journey and believing in me to trust in him every step of the way. I know he was never going to let me do this alone and give me every ounce of faith to keep going whether I wanted to or not. I am grateful for his role in my life and encouraging me to do my best no matter the obstacles that laid in my path that would prevent me from continuing to do what I love. 

As I have contemplated on what this experience has meant to me, is simply to never give up on what I am capable of doing while making our society a better place. I have truly loved getting to meet new people on this journey who are passionate, dedicated, hard working, patient and doing so much behind the scenes to make the disability community what it truly can become. I know my life has been forever changed in the sense of what I have accomplished to make UDDC what it is and their work is not even close to over yet as I hope to stay involved as much as I can possible. I am not particularly sure what I could assist or help with down the road but I know there will be more opportunities to expand my horizons while inspiring so many people to do the same. 

Next Chapter - (Mini Sneak Peek)

LONG STORY SHORT----One of my colleagues sent off a reccomendation email considering my name for an opportunity to serve on the Athlete Leadership Council. It is obviously something I have a lot of questions about and can only hope this will be a possibility for me to expand on my leadership skills for the disability community. I am really not sure what else this opportunity if there is one for me to look into that I can be of help to a population that I love so much and hope to continue seeing growth in those who want to make our world a better place. (Stay tuned for more!!!)

I obviously cannot rewrite about my experiences serving on these two governor appointed councils and wish at times I could have been a little more self aware of what was going on, but knowing I had extra heavenly help on the other side made this truly something to keep close to my heart. I know my years serving were not always the happiest of times for me and trusting in my Savior to help me through it was such a blessing. I am not particularly certain what the future holds for me yet and know whatever does happen for me down the road will be amazing. 

Rewrite

SIX YEARS AGO-----I made a decision to apply to volunteer my time on two governor appointed councils and making an impact on the lives of people with disabilities. I knew in my heart that this opportunity was not going to come around in the distant future and wanted to get to know lots more amazing people. I obviously had a lot of questions running through my mind about what was clearly expected of me in the role as a council member among so many other things. I made a good share of mistakes along this journey that helped me draw closer to my Savior than ever before and to know he would take care of everything else brought peace to my heart. I was able to feel his love for me not only as being one of many council members within the disability community, but as one of his daughters who wanted nothing more than to give this her best possible shot. If you have known me long enough, I did shed a lot of tears and let out emotions that easily should have been kept to myself for long periods of time and as I look back on what this experience taught me is that nobody is expected to know everything or let alone be the perfect council member.

I knew coming into this experience was not going to be easy at times and feeling like maybe I should have waited a little bit longer to be a part of them. I also knew that my role on these councils was so very much needed as well as crucial into what had to be done while participating in every meeting. I am truly grateful for the privilege that I had to serve in various leadership roles and stepping up to the plate when things had to be taken care of in a timely manner. I really loved getting to make new friendships with so many people who are passionate about making sure they are being heard and continuing to be an example to those they meet along the way. I did not necessarily expect changes to happen that were clearly meant to help all of us grow while representing organizations who continue to do so much behind the scenes and cheering me on to keep going. 

One of the biggest lessons I took from this experience is doing your best is all that you can do on being a new council member as well as maintaining respectful and professional boundaries with so many people who dedicate their time to making the disability community a better place. I did not necessarily learn this particular skill very fast in any manner, but it did give me this sense of understanding what is socially appropriate and what is not. I most definitely had to give myself some grace in the process of all this and knowing it's only going to help me trust in the Lord even more than I ever thought possible. He made certain that I was not in this journey alone even when times felt unbearable and next to impossible with all I had on my plate. He was truly with me every step of the way and gave me comfort when it was clearly something I needed at a moment when I almost wanted to give up. I am grateful for his role in my life and giving me the chance to try again while striving to be a disciple of him every time I participated in some kind of an event or whatever the case scenario was. 

Looking back on this experience from six years----I have definitely come a long way from where I was prior to applying to be on these councils that serve the disability community. I learned to be patient with myself a lot more and knowing that everything has a timeline made this experience truly something that will forever be close to my heart. This six year journey was not at times anything but easy for me to say the least and knowing I had a good support system to encourage, motivate, believe in me to do things to my full potential among so many others that led me to where I am now. I know this is only going to be the beginning of what is to come next and can only hope for the best in whatever lies ahead for a new chapter waiting to be opened. I will continue advocating as much as I can possible and being the best version of myself that I can become long after this journey concludes. I know there is a lot more good things out there I can hopefully take part of and learn even more about what this beautiful community has to offer. 

Rewrite Lyric Video - Hilary Weeks

(To Be Continued)

Updates

BYU Adaptive Show Choir (Next Year)

There is no official decision being made or set in stone at this moment---but I am kinda considering the fun opportunity to be involved with the BYU adaptive show choir. I attended one of their concerts a few years back and absolutely loved getting to see the participants get out of their comfort zones to perform a song, dance, or anything they wanted the audience to see. I especially loved the energy inside of the field house with so many fans cheering them on from the stands and making it an experience no one will ever forget. 

I am keeping my fingers crossed that this time next fall in 2027 I have signed up myself for something that I confidently know will impact my life forever. I cannot wait to make new friendships with so many other participants who have been a part of this for some time and learn so much from them. I have wanted to be involved with this show choir for some time but was never able to make it work into my schedule where I had so much going on. 

BYU Basketball Diamond Painting

Minus the option of taking this to show and tell for a SNAP activity... I literally have no idea what my decision will be afterwards to give away my diamond painting to someone else. I obviously would like giving the piece of art to a friend of mine who loves the game of basketball and continuously leaves me stunned with all that they do in working behind the scenes of BYUWBB. I am keeping my head up high and hoping we can make it to some of the women's basketball games this next season if we get just even one chance to watch the team play. #StayTunedForMore

Back To SNAP!!! (Next Week)

I am literally excited to get back into SNAP and have more activities to look forward to as we head into the fall season. I have genuinely missed being with my friends on a weekly basis and making lots of new memories together alongside the other participants who are in attendance. We are having a birthday party for everyone since people had birthdays during the summer months and we were not able to celebrate any of them as an entire group--which if you ask me will be a treat all by itself. 

Terms End

My six year terms serving on two of the best governor appointed entities in our state will come to an end next month and cannot even imagine my life without them. I have truly learned and grown so much as the person who knows they were not going to be perfect in the beginning of a journey that allowed me to be an instrument in the Lord's hands. I throughly enjoyed getting to volunteer my time with some amazing and incredible colleagues who pushed me to do my best in any situation--no matter the circumstances that I was up against. They inspired me to see the good in those I came in contact with and recognizing my full potential was to serve on these boards. 

I obviously didn't know if signing up to be on two councils at the time was a good idea and not to mention the fact I was incredibly nervous about what to do in any given circumstance. I did have my fair share of mistakes along this six year journey and learning to put my trust in the Lord as much as I possibly could without questioning what I had gotten myself into. I definitely came to understand over time that he was going to be in the small details of my life and not leave me wondering what to do next. I am grateful for the comfort and peace of mind he gave me when emotions in my head felt almost unbearable to control but knowing he was not going to let me do this alone was an answered prayer. I know this experience at times was nothing short of easy for me when it came to processing all that this entailed in what has felt like the blink of an eye. 

There are too many unforgettable moments and experiences to be shared right now, but I am grateful for the opportunity my colleagues gave me to be a part of their lives. They made me want to be a better and more confident self advocate who could believe in themselves to do hard things, not being afraid to take risks when I knew it was going to be fun by the end of things, etc. I will admit that I especially loved getting to be involved with some of the disability leadership conferences that helped me get to where I am today and leaving an imprint on every heart of the individuals I was able to learn so much from throughout this journey. 

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Four Days Left

These past two weeks alone have been treacherously long and boring for me in more ways than one minus the fact I am anxiously excited to have my mom walk in the door of our house. I have done my absolute best in keeping up with house work and making sure we are getting things done that need our attention. I have definitely liked not having so much on my schedule while my mom has traveled out of state to help do the choregraphy for a long time show in Nauvoo that's gotten revamped multiple times if not more. We are more than ready at this point to have her back home and helping me with things that I have waited for two weeks to either get online or have completed before figuring out what to do with my diamond painting that I spent a lot of time on. #IYKYK 

I have waited anxiously to get to this point in time with all that has been going on and look forward to having a little bit of a normal life around here. I know my mom sacrificed so much of her time, energy, skill into making sure this particular show in Nauvoo is what they are asking for which to me is either what they wanted or maybe need to find someone else who knows what they are supposed to do in any situation like this one. 

I am probably going on about this way too much and have left you feeling slightly confused---but I am grateful to have made it as far as we have. I am more than excited to have one of my parents home with us again and not having to leave out of state again once they get here. I know I have felt the lord's hand in this whole process and giving me peace when I didn't know if I was going to feel it or not during any kind of situation I didn't want to put up with. We have not needed to call other people for extra help in anything that has gone on for the past twelve days and not having to be somewhere in particular (I will admit is nothing short of a miracle.) I am quite certain that we can all take a big sigh of relief in a few short days from now and get excited for what is to come down the road. I am grateful that my mom is not going to be doing this again next year and have an extra fun filled summer with other things to do rather than twilding our thumbs waiting for time to pass. 

I look forward to participating in my adaptive needs institute class again next week and not having any kind of worry about what I need to do the second we walk in the door. I have waited a long time for this weekend to finally arrive and now that we are officially here at the moment---I know things will begin to settle themselves down quite a bit. 

(End Of Post)

Clear Answer

"Let me take the reins on this one and I will take care of her." 

This is the clear answer I received multiple times after praying to heavenly father with asking him if there is anything he needed me to do for an incredible young woman that I have looked up to for some time and I cannot get this out of my head. I know the lord will do all he possibly can to take the hand of this young woman as they walk down his covenant path on a daily basis. I still may want to let them know that I am praying for them every single night and letting our heavenly father do his stuff to make her life bearable---as they have experienced so much. I am not necessarily going into the details about all of this right now on here, but in the moment I really wished I could have been there to give them a hug or let alone cry with them as many times as they would let me but in my heart I knew there was not much of anything I could physically do in the sense of performing an act of service for them in some way or another. However, I knew the lord was going to take the reins on this one for me and take care of this individual who I have looked up to for awhile now. I obviously knew the least I could do for them was kneel down on my knees in sincere prayer to my heavenly father and ask him to help me with this no matter the circumstances that were going to come up later on in their life, I needed to make sure the lord was looking out for them.  I have continued doing this for awhile with no plans to stop any time soon and know it is better than just dwelling on what I have absolute zero control on whatsoever. I am not necessarily writing this to draw any kind of attention to myself or make a completely utter fool in any way but I am confident this is what the lord needs me to stick with. I know he would not ever put me in a situation that was too hard or unbearable for him to assist me on his path that all of us are walking down. 

I have contemplated on this experience for awhile now and understanding that I may never be able to let this young woman know the blessing it has been for me to pray in their behalf. I have obviously thought quite a bit on the fact my prayers will do a lot more than I could ever write in anything like a note or just about whatever comes to mind. I know my prayers to our heavenly father are what make us want to draw closer to him everyday and putting our complete trust in him no matter the circumstances we may be up against. I know without a shadow of a doubt that we are never alone in things we may be going through while we take hold of the lord's hand to guide us in the right direction and giving us hope for a brighter future ahead. 

I know the lord gave me this specific answer for an important purpose and letting this young woman trust in him as she continues forward with her life. I would obviously like to tell her in person that praying for her has blessed me in ways I never knew I needed for some time along with the fact she is such a strong, confident, kind hearted, genuinely sweet, self-less, patient young woman in more ways than I could even put into words. I know the lord brought her example into my life when I was processing through so much in a situation that left me not knowing if I would ever feel happy again which if you ask me, after I said a quiet prayer to heavenly father with tears rolling down my eyes. I knew in my heart the lord was watching out for me in that particular moment four years ago and letting me know everything would be okay as long as I invited him into my life more than I ever have before. 

FLASH FORWARD:

As I have followed this young woman over the last few years, I know their example has impacted my life in more ways than one and not only on just certain occasions. I remember calling out their name shortly after one of the BYU women's basketball games at the Marriott Center and next day feeling slightly bit on cloud nine!!! I had the absolute biggest smile on my face as I anxiously waited for the UTA bus to show up at my stop to get to my adaptive needs institute class. I literally cannot express perfectly the gratitude and appreciation that I have for this young woman right now. She has truly inspired me to look for the good in other people and having the potential to do hard things. She has also showed me through her example of what it means to be a leader and given the opportunities I have had within the disability community, I am forever grateful to have her look up to. I know neither one of us sees each other on a daily basis or anything like that but knowing that I have been a small part of her journey from being a collegiate basketball player to now being an assistant coach for the team she played on not too long ago as a former cougar, I feel lucky to support her in any way I can. 

I am grateful for their influence throughout these past few years and letting me know what no matter the road it takes to achieve your dreams that I am going to get there at some point. I may not have wanted to share this with you all on here and yet I know not a lot of people who come across my blog will want to read through a treacherous post such as this one, but I am confidently hoping that someone will want to do the same for another person they come across. It may not need to be over social media or anything of that nature for you in particular but I am confident there is someone whose influence will leave a mark on your life too. 

Diamond Painting

TO MAKE THIS BRIEF----I finished up with my diamond painting today and could not be more grateful for the way it turned out. I obviously spent a lot of my time making that come to life as well as the fact I did push myself a little too hard on this one. I didn't waste any time putting each of the diamonds by their number, code and diamond colors every time I sat down to work on this project in making sure it was all in the right place. 

I genuinely still have a lot more work left to do for this and have no clue whatsoever how the final product is supposed to be like. I need to take a brayer or rolling pin to make sure all of the diamonds are tightly or at least as securely on the canvas as possible along with brushing on a water sealant that will lock all of the diamonds in place. I will also need to take heavy books that can set on top of the painting itself while the sealant dries over a twenty four hour period---but who knows??? I would obviously like to show off the painting to at least a small number of people and not make a complete fool of myself during a quick time frame. I am not necessarily planning on keeping this specific piece of artwork whatsoever and not have one more thing to take care of at home, which if you ask me is even close to an understatement. I definitely am not the kind of person who feels inclined to keep stuff laying around for months and just simply wanting to hold onto them. 

I literally spent two weeks and five days on this project that originally should have taken me all of BYU football and basketball season to finish but that didn't happen. I honestly wanted to spend more time on making this look as decent as possible but obviously there was an energy inside of me that was going to keep me patient and focused at all times. I am not going to post this diamond painting over social media due to personal reasons and not worrying about what other people think of my ability to do achieve this kind of thing. 

(To Be Continued)