Many of you may have been wondering what on earth I am doing in Utah if I loved (and still love) Florida so much. Well, I have decided that it is time for full disclosure. Although my time in Florida was one of the best times in my life, it was also one of the hardest times in my life. I have often said that socially, emotionally, and spiritually it was tremendous. I have grown more in those areas then I would have ever thought possible. Financially, it was a disaster! I burned though all of the money in my 401k, accrued thousands of dollars in credit card debt, and had a car repossessed, all in a space of two years.
The week before my car was to be repossessed I found myself sitting at my job as a telephone customer service representative for a major software company one day and had just gotten off of a particularly nasty call. I said to myself, "I don't have to take this any more," and instantly went online to Brigham Young University's web page and began to apply for admission to their undergraduate program. I had not been thinking about going back to school at the time and I don't know what came over me. I just knew that I was sick of the kinds of jobs that I could get without a degree and knew that I had to do something so that none of the problems that I had been having would ever happen again. As an after thought, I also applied to go to school at the BYU campus in Idaho. I didn't really want to go to Rexburg, I had been there before and was not all that impressed. It was cold! (It had earned itself the nickname of "Iceberg!") But I felt that applying there would be the right thing for me to do.
The day that my car was repossessed I decided to quit my job. I could not justify spending 6 hours commuting to and from work on a bus to work for 8 hours at a job that I was not satisfied with. I really enjoyed the people there, but working there was sucking all of the life out of me. At the same time I told my landlord that I would be leaving at the end of the month. The plan was for me to move to Utah and go to school because I was convinced that BYU in Provo, UT was going to accept me.
The next few weeks were tough because my landlord had agreed to let me out of my lease if I would vacate my apartment before the end of the month so that he could rent it out and I had no where to go. I had not heard from either one of the schools yet either. I was scared. I didn't know what was going to happen and I was running out of options. I was talking about my situation with a very good friend of mine and Matthew 19: 16-21 came into my head and I felt that Heavenly Father had given me a task to do and I needed to trust him. I also though of the scripture further down in the chapter that says that it "would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God" (Matthew 19: 24) So I decided to do exactly what The Savior had told the rich man to do so I sold or gave away most of my stuff. I sold my Select Comfort Sleep Number 5000 bed to some very good friends of mine who will be getting married in July. (This was very hard because it was the only bed that I have ever been able to sleep comfortable on since I became an adult.) I sold several of my books on amazon.com, sold some more books, videos, and furniture to a friend of mine from Church, and gave away most of the rest of what I owed to either the Goodwill or the Salvation Army. I now can fit the bulk of all of my earthly possessions in two suitcases, two duffel bags, and a few boxes.
I was not accepted to BYU in Utah, but I was accepted to BYU in Idaho. When I found that out, plans to move to Utah were already in the works. I stayed with my brother Keith and his wife Caroline in Florida for a few weeks and then, thanks to my bishop, hopped on a plane bound to Salt Lake City. This haven't been easy since I got here. I had to stay with the brother of a friend of mine in SLC for a week until I could get a ride to Provo. (Thanks Naomi!) Then I stayed with my friend Elliot for two weeks in Provo where I subsequently got the stomach flu and had to go to the emergency room to have fluids pumped back into me. Now I am staying in South Jordan with the parents of a friend and former co-worker of mine from New Hampshire. And I just started working at Target after being unemployed since October.
Like I said, things haven't been easy since I have been out here. If it hadn't been for the generosity of others I would definitely be on the streets at this moment. But I feel exceedingly blessed. The Lord has allowed me to reconnect with many old but good friends. He has helped me to get everything but my housing worked out with the school, and he has helped me to get a job. I am excited for this new beginning and am grateful to all of those who have helped me, encouraged me, and prayed for me. I wouldn't have been able to do it without you.
I hope that this wasn't too long. I will write more later. Until then, God bless.
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