An Open Letter to My "Robin Scherbatsky"

I always read these kind of things online, so I thought I would write one that many people could relate to. 

If you have never seen "How I Met Your Mother" then this letter won't make sense to you. You should also get on that and watch the series because it's amazing. 

Dear "Robin," 

I know that you believe we're never meant to be. And I totally respect that. I know that I'm the one you can always rely on to give you a listening ear, a hug, a smile, or just to assure you that someone cares for you. I know that when times get hard with your dating life, career, school, whatever it may be, that I am a foundation of rock to tell you that you can do it.

I also know that you've been through a lot. Your thoughts, fears, dreams, likes, dislikes, everything has been shared between the two of us. You've never judged me, and you've never left my side. 

We've had some times where we fall apart. We've had our ups and downs. We've dated and watched each other date other people. I've even told you that I love you multiple times. And yet you haven't run away which I'm so grateful for.

"Robin," this letter isn't to try and win you back. This isn't a way for me to try and make you feel guilt. This letter is for you to know that I've accepted who we are together and how at peace I am with it. This is a way to show you that I will always be there for you. No matter what the world throws at you, at me, or at us, we will get through it together. 

I know that we will never fall in love. It's been a hard journey for me to finally come to grips with that, but I really have accepted it in my heart. You found love and I found love, and it's amazing. 

Please know though that because I'll always be there for you, I will always love you as well. I will still steal a French blue horn for you, even a blue orchestra. I'll decorate our apartment in Christmas lights extravaganza to cheer you up. I'll miss you when you go to Russia, and I'll be the first to greet you when you come back. 

I will always be a phone call away. You have evolved to be one of my dearest closest friends. Never forget that. 

"Robin Sherbatsky" you are amazing. I will always love you. 

Love, 

"Ted Mosby"

Remembering to Keep Your Eyes on the Main Goal

Even if you aren't Mormon, I still recommend you read this. Though I use analogies with the temple, the lesson taught here is still relevant for anyone who's striving to reach a goal in life. 

Go ahead and look carefully at this picture:

Do you see the temple? Look again until you find it (it's there, I promise)

On Sunday, I really wanted to take a picture of the Jordan River temple because, well, it's beautiful. That day I thought, "Since it's Sunday it might be closed. But there's still a chance." I debated about going or not. I finally decided to check it out on that said day because I usually have work, Sunday is such a calm day, and I thought I'd just take the chance anyway. 

Surprise. It was closed.

It actually bummed me out that it was closed because I was really looking forward to a stroll on the temple grounds on the Sabbath day. But at least I now know that Sunday's are closed (as now do you. Go to Temple Square or the Provo temple instead).

I wasn't going to leave without any pictures, so I took some through the gate. Hoping to snag some sort of angle that I appreciated. I started thinking about how I love the temple and long to continue being worthy to enter into them. 

As I was about to go back home, it hit me.

Take a picture up close with the gate. Because that's how I kind of felt that day. 

Then the gears rolled some more and we have the picture we have at the top. 

Now let me explain everything this picture represents

Let's look at it this way -- the temple is the House of God, a peaceful place where we can worthily enter and be away from the world. Even the grounds are peaceful and bring the Spirit into your life. So let's have the temple represent our goal in life, whatever it may be. 

Next, the gate -- it seems self-explanatory that it would be what's blocking you from entering the temple, literally in this situation. You can't even get close to the temple if the grounds are locked up. Sunday is the Sabbath day and yet the grounds are locked. We'll call this the roadblocks of life. 

Lastly, the trees -- what great beauts in the picture, right? But what is it doing? It's blocking the temple. I could barely see it through all that beautiful green. It was still a really pretty sight to see and I love the shots you can get on the temple grounds because the grounds are always so gorgeous. We'll call the trees things we do in life. 

Kind of catching on here?

What I'm trying to say is: 

Do not lose sight of the goal you have in life, no matter what is in your way. 

Figuratively speaking, but in all seriousness, I never want to lose sight of the temple and the blessings that God gives me as I live the gospel of Jesus Christ. I love it and I live it. However, there are many times in life that I get caught up in things that aren't as important -- school, friends, work, life itself. They're all great things and bring joy and happiness to my life. But sometimes they can accidentally make me lose sight of want I want most in life -- eternal marriage and true joy. 

Sometimes (or a lot of times) life throws me curve balls to try and completely block my way to the temple -- life situations that are barriers. They may be temporary but realistically they are there. 

The trees weren't planted where they're planted to purposefully block the view of the temple. Though the trees are beautiful and add variety and happiness to the temple grounds, they aren't the main attraction, so to speak. The gate isn't always closing the temple grounds, they are only temporary, but they still are powerful enough to prevent one from entering in. 

Just like that, we as human beings can get mixed up in stresses of the world and lose focus of what really matters, and what goals we may have. We have to remember to prioritize and remember the good, better, and best. 

"As we consider various choices, we should remember that it is not enough that something is good. Other choices are better, and still others are best. Even though a particular choice is more costly, its far greater value may make it the best choice of all." -Elder Dallin H. Oaks

So whatever it is that you are striving for in life (that's right, you!), go for it! DO not lose sight of your prize. It can be easy to be distracted, but you can stay focused. I for one, am grateful that I was reminded of this lesson while practicing my talents, and that I can continue to live the gospel and try and become better everyday in all aspects. And I hope that you do the same!

Cause I'm Happy~

I've been thinking about my mission a lot lately. It really does come up in any conversation. But I'll write about that later. 

This week, I wanted to talk about how we view our lives and how that can affect us. My mission changed my way of viewing life! Let me summarize this in just two words: 

THINK POSITIVELY

It's as simple as that. Do you want to be happier? Do you want to find success on your mission (another topic for later)? Do you want to radiate the light of Christ about you as a missionary?

Then you must start to first see the good in this world 

I had a time on my mission where (emotionally) I hit rock bottom. I got so depressed and just felt hopeless. I would work as hard as I could everyday -- and I'm thankful that this rock bottom didn't affect that -- but every time I was out and about I would think, " What's the point? They're not interested and we're just setting ourselves up for failure and rejection." Our investigators were gone for the winter break, so we had no one to teach. It seemed like no one was interested in the gospel. It was the holiday season and so that just adding more to my sadness, too.

Talk about pessimistic. 

My mission president could tell I was struggling. My companion was brand new and so she didn't know how to help me. All I could do was just mope in my sorrows.

Until one day, after weeks of my mission President reminding me to be happy and the Lord telling me through prayer that I am being successful, I somehow began pulling myself out of the hole that I had dug for myself. I'm not sure how it happened, to be honest. I think it really was a tender mercy of the Lord that got me out of the hole. 

I felt the Lord's hand pull me up and out. 

That was a turning point for me. I began to think more positively and kept telling myself that I could do this. A day full of rejection was a good day because that meant I talked to all of God's children. A day full of "failure" meant a successful good day because I fulfilled my purpose as a missionary to "invite others to come unto Christ." If an investigator didn't want to learn or read or get baptized, I kept my head up high because I was doing my part in reaching out in love. 

Optimism helps you move forward.

Now don't get me wrong. Remember, optimism does not equal indifference. Nor does it mean you cannot be sad. Optimism is more like the opposite of discouragement. If your investigator doesn't want to get baptized and quits coming to church, be sad! You should be sad if you truly love them! But that does not mean you quit. You keep moving forward as a missionary, and you keep your faith that there are prepared people out there. 

After I climbed out of that pessimistic hold of mine, I felt like I became a different kind of missionary. One who was more motivated and driven to do the Lord's work. (I was also on the downhill of my mission, so maybe that's why too ha) Nothing changed, people still rejected us, people didn't come to church, etc. But my view of everything changed. And the Lord was with me. That was all I needed. 

Even now, after my mission, I still fight that kind of pessimism in my life. It impacted me forever. No, I was not and am not diagnosed with depression. It wasn't that bad. But the power of prayer (again, a different topic) continues to give me an optimistic view of life. Find the good in every situation. I definitely see the difference this has made me now; my mom once asked me if optimism is the only thing I learned on my mission because I bring it up so much haha! 

The Lord, the gospel, life, is all about goodness. God wants us to be happy and we can be no matter what. Whether it's receiving optimism through prayer or just seeing the good always, that gives you strength as a missionary and as a person!!

I invite each of you to make a conscious effort to be happier and smile more. :)   

I Learned That....

I'm finally getting around to what I learned on my mission. I'm going to try and do this as much as I can. I'm hoping that I can keep this up for quite a while. I also really hope that somehow this will spread on the internet and be one of those blogs that people look at before their missions. We shall see :) 

Also, my numbering of my lessons is not the order of importance or anything like that. It's just random!

So, lesson #1. It's tough to say. I learned so much that I'm not sure what I should start off with....

Ok, I've got it. January 15 is a very important day for me. Especially January 15, 2013. Two years ago (TODAY), I received my mission call to be a missionary for the California Oakland/San Francisco Mission, in addition to serving at the Oakland Temple Visitors' Center. I was called to English speaking, and I was to report on May 29. I still remember that day, two years ago. It was such a happy day. And my mission was just so much happier. 

So lesson #1 is that significant memories will always last forever. 

Especially from your mission. There were many times where I didn't have time to write in my journal. I was so worried about forgetting everything, especially because my memory stinks. But lo and behold, I feel like you never forget anything that happened during your mission. And thank goodness for that! Every day I cherished so much. It meant so much to me to be able to wear the name of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on my chest, and represent our Lord Jesus Christ! 

I think about my mission everyday. Not a moment goes by that something can be related to my mission. I keep saying that it changed me life forever. And it has! And I'm glad for that. I'm also super grateful that Heavenly Father has blessed me with the gift of remembrance when it comes to my mission. I sincerely believe that if you are doing the Lord's errand then He will never let you forget it because such precious blessings always come from that service! 

So there it is everyone. My first lesson I'd say is trust in the Lord. Write in your journal as much as you can on your mission! Stick things in for memories, and record your thoughts and feelings of everything everyday, if you can. But if you happen to miss a couple of days (or weeks...) don't sweat it. Heavenly Father will always help you remember the memories that you create. Because the mission is so sweet and wonderful! The work of salvation is real and satisfying!!!! :) 

I'm baaaaaaack!!

I just got back from the most amazing experience of my life!!!!!

I just finished my church mission in the Bay Area of California. 

As you can see in my previous posts, I received a mission call from my church. 

What church do you say?

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints!!!

Where did I go?

California Oakland/San Francisco Mission, in addition to serving at the Visitors' Center

Ah. I loved my mission. It was so great. 

I'd go back in a heartbeat. 

I've been home for 2 weeks now, and yet I feel like it's been longer than that!!

As I've been thinking about my mission every. single. day. 

I've been wondering what could help me remember and apply what I learned. 

And so I decided to jump on the blogging bandwagon of sharing what I learned on my mission, here on the internet. 

So I will start doing that maybe once a week or so? 

Hopefully I can keep this goal up! :) 

My name is Yunnie. 

I am a recently returned missionary for my church. 

I love the Bay Area more than anything. 

I am so grateful for this time to continue becoming a better person. 

I love the gospel of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 

And I'm a Mormon. :) 

(And I'm now ready for my youtube video hahaha)

The Final Countdown!!!

I had my farewell today; and I leave in 10 days. WHAT?!

How did this sneak up on me so fast?! I'm already down to 10 days?! I feel like there's so much to do still, and hardly any time now!! In 5 minutes, I'm going to be officially in the single digits. *_*

First off, I'm super stoked. Scared out of my mind, but excited to experience this. I've never been away from home in this kind of manner yet, so this is going to be quite the new adventure! My family has also always had the experiences of life through my older sister first, but she is married and so I'm the first (and last) missionary in our family! I don't like being the guinea pig (all the more reason why I'm glad my sister is the older one)!!!

I also had my farewell today (except, in one minute it'll be midnight, so technically yesterday). That was weird, in a good way. It just never seemed like the day I would be hosting a farewell would come. And yet here we are; it's come and gone. And I'm so glad it went the way it did. I think I gave a pretty good talk, but that's always up for judgment to the audience. Then we had lunch at our house and it was quite the success. So. Much. Food. And almost all of it was gone!! Apparently my dad counted how many people came and there were over 50! I feel so loved :')

I was really grateful for everyone that was there, and all the support and love they've given me all these years. I'm also really grateful for the friends that took the effort to come to my farewell, especially my friends who live in Provo. That's not a short drive, and so it was so good to see them, and it made me so happy. I've truly been blessed with such great friends who are strong in the Gospel and uplift me to be better. 

I'm grateful for the home ward and all the people who are in it. This ward is seriously so great. I'm going to miss the people here. It's funny, I've realized there are quite a bit of people in this ward who have known me since I was really little. Those people have been a wonderful blessing in my life as well. 

I'm so glad my talk is over though!! Won't have to worry about that for a while :) 

It's now the final wind down of life, as I now transition from normal person to a missionary of the Lord. 

I'll post back again soon (I hope)!! In the words of my sista, Party Rock. 

Changes a'comin'!

It's been quite a while, and I've been really bad at updating anything lately. Not that I have a lot of things to update, but I haven't been on top of things as I should be. There's so much to do before I leave for my mission! Where did all the time go?! Well, almost half of it was spent in Boston with my sister and her fam. But still. It's flying by too fast! I don't think I can handle this speed yet!

I leave for my mission in 13 days (well, 12 now since it's past midnight)

Can someone say "Cuh-razy"?! My last post was when I had 50 days! Now I have less than 2 weeks! Whaaaat?! (Imagine that being said in the minion voice from Despicable Me.)

I'm looking back since my 50-days mark and trying to think of all that's happened...nothing really. I'm done with school, finished finals, moved back home, went to Boston, and now I'm staring at my room that looks like a tornado went through it. Oops. :/ And I've got a talk to write for Sunday. I think all the things I have to do surpasses what I've done in the past while haha. 

But change is happening. And it's really weird how fast it's coming. I've got to either start a new blog or change this one for my mission, too. I have to clean out my room, say goodbye's (which are never easy), shop for things like an alarm clock and such, and actually pack! GUH. 

I guess I shouldn't be on my computer blogging then, right? Except now it's too late to do anything but go to bed. Hopefully tomorrow will be much more productive than the past few days....