Silver lining.

I love General Conference weekend. It revs my spirit up in a way that nothing else can -- and this time, it seemed like every other talk was being given just for me. It helped me realize that, even though I've been dealing with some pretty ridiculous stuff in my personal life, God's still blessed me in, like, a MILLION ways. So, today is all about silver linings -- positive things that sneak up on you when all you can see is the negative. And I'm gonna highlight some of these awesome occurrences with my favorite organizational tool: a list.

What I've Been Whining About: Having no friends.

Why I Should Shut Up: First of all, I do have friends -- it's just that they're new, and they're not the friends I'm used to hanging out with. Second of all, having a reduced social life has given me the time to do so many lovely things. I've been able to help my mom out at home, hang out with my youngest brother, focus on my guitar skills, paint my fingernails, etc. Even though I'm not out until 2 AM every night or partying it up with pretty people, I'm still living a full and entertaining life.

What I've Been Whining About: Dishonesty.

Why I Should Shut Up: Dealing with so many dishonest people has taught me to appreciate those in my life who I can count on to tell me the truth, no matter what. Sure, there aren't many of them, but they're all awesome. (Shout-out to everyone in my family, Crystal, Spencer, Guy, Brittany C, both Jadens, Erika, Kristina, and Christhian.)

What I've Been Whining About: A former best friend (we'll call him "Ted").

Why I Should Shut Up: Regardless of whether or not Ted and I stay friends -- which isn't looking super likely, at the moment -- I've realized that there's one bestie with testes who will always be there for me, and that's Spencer. Going through all this shitty stuff with Ted (A) helped me and Spence grow closer as we've exchanged advice on how to deal with disappointing people, and (B) made me realize just what a gem my mustachioed madman really is.

Anyway, those are some of the things I realized this weekend -- and now that I've acknowledged just how positive negative things can really be, I'm feeling much better about my life. I think I've finally managed to re-focus on the kind of person that I want to be, and I hope I can keep all these silver linings in mind as I finish up college. 'Cause once I've got my Bachelor's, I can pick up and move away, and then most of these problems cease to exist. :)