Friends!

There are a lot of different types of friends out there. Friends that you can count on always, friends that will drop everything for you to help you out in times of need, and friends that become aquaintances. You have to love those people that you meet and you feel like you have known them for such a long time. Those people are put into your life for certain reasons and those are the people you want to hold on to. You can learn a lot from them and they can learn a lot from you. If you find the right people to hang out with and to be around, they essentially form you to be the person you grow up to be. What I have learned while growing up is that it takes a lot of work to keep and form solid relationships with people that you care about. There have been people that I have been friends with for most of my life and I really thought they were friends that I would grow up with and have them over to my house for family BBQ's.

Well I was wrong and it does suck a little bit. It's not fun to see them go down a path that I wish I could prevent. It gets to me when I see their drunken pictures all over the web and see how much "fun" they are having..

Im doing good now though because I have a couple of good friends that I can go to and that will hang out with me for me and we dont need other stuff that messes with us in order to have fun. I still love those guys to death and will be here for them if they ever need help.

Changes

What a year this past year has been! So many things have been happening in my life and changes have been occurring weekly. One year ago, I was a senior in high school going to Juan Diego. I didnt really know what I wanted to do with my life and have no intention of doing anything really important or big. I wasnt really taking what was going to happen after high school to seriously. I applied at Utah Valley University and luckily I was accepted. I didnt have a major in mind so I just signed up for the classes everyone signs up for. To this day I still dont have a major in mind. I might want to get on that. I met someone so amazing and she decided to share some important concepts to me. I never thought in a million years that I would be going on a mission. I have been working pretty hard these past couple of months to be ready physically, mentally and spiritually to be ready for this mission because its not just something you can go out and do.

In preparing for this mission, it has made me realize what can come your way if you just do the things your supposed to do. There may be some things that come your way that you may not want to do but you know that if you end up pushing forward and sacrificing things here and there, things will come your way and you will end up being a better and happier person. A couple of months before I got my call I put up a map in my living room for friends and family to put their guesses on there. There were guesses all over the world. From Australia to Finland and from Africa to Canada. Once everyone put their guesses on there, it kind of hit me. I really could go anywhere in the world. It was becoming more and more real to me. At first it was just something I was preparing for but now it was becoming tangible.

Then the day came! On March 24th I woke up with only one thing on my mind. It was a wednesday and that means that my chances of receiving were very good. I went to school walking to class not knowing what was really going on because I was so hyped up. After school was over, I raced home finding out that the mail had not even come yet! I sat in my front yard pushing my skateboard back and forth over the cracks in the driveway waiting for the Mail lady to come racing around the corner. I saw her come around and got even more excited. I went inside just so I couldnt see her put the mail in. After she left I walked over to the mail box hoping that my call would be waiting there for me. I had amanda's voicemail going as I opened the lid. WOOOOHOOOOO BAMMMMM! I wouldnt doubt if the whole neighborhood heard my hootin' and screaming. The only bad thing about this was that I had to wait 4 whole days in order to open it! Saturday rolled around and I was able to have lots of people over to experience the letter opening. Then I read it.

Elder Sidney Alton Morley is called to serve in the Mexico City, Mexico Northwest Mission. Spanish speaking of course and I will be reporting to the MTC on July 21! Before I opened the letter I had all these places I wanted to go to. Rachel to me that no matter where they tell me I'm supposed to go, I will know that it is the right place for me. When I read my call, it was exactly what she said. It was the most right thing ever and I knew that I wasnt supposed to go anywhere else.

Here is the funny part. Months before I got my call, my mom told me all the places she didnt want me to go. Low and behold Mexico was one of the places. She is still up tight about that fact that I have to go there but Kohnie told me something really special. As Im out serving there will be a spirit in the house to comforting my family. I know it will be hard for her but she is strong and I know that she will get through it all.

It is also sooooo weird that I will be leaving July 21. I mean that is the absolute most perfect day to leave. I will be able to be here for Amanda's birthday and also be able to experience Travis's and Rachel's wedding. It going to be hard though because I will be having so much fun with everyone that week and then a week later I will have to leave everything just like that.

Things will work out the way their supposed to. If they dont go the way that I want to, I have to realize that its not what I want to have happen, its what HE wants to have happen.

The Countdown

So I havent blogged in theeee longest time!!!
I thought that I should change that soooo here we go!

I blogged a long time ago about starting up a mission and a couple of months later a lot of things have happen. I started my mission papers about 1 month ago and now I am almost done. It really does seem like time has flown by. When I was thinking about going on a mission, I thought that 8 months was soooo far away but now if everything goes the way I have planned I could be leaving in about 3 1/2 months to 4 months. Things could change but that seems like its tomorrow. I have a ton more to do like finish the Book of Mormon, grow an unbreakable testimony, and KNOW that I myself is ready to do the work of the Lord. Everyone that I have talked to has said its the best 2 years of their life but Im still scared to leave. The longest I have been away from my family is 5 days and its going to be weird to be away from them and everyone else for 2 SOLID years. To not be able to call them when I want and go to the traditional holiday dinners is going to be hard. BUTTTT its going to be awesome to spend those holidays with my future companion and future investigators. Its cool to think that there are people waiting for ME, ELDER MORLEY, to teach them something that they will be able to benefit from.

I am so grateful for all the support I have with everyone including my family, my church, my friends, and what I like to call my 2nd family (the good ol' nielsen family) they are truly awesome!!!!

Wish me luck!

MOMMY!!!

What would you do without mom's?
I can say that my mom is the best mom in the whole wide world. Her and I have such a deep and awesome relationship with one another. I find myself going to her for advice only SHE can give me. There are some topics that I cant talk to anyone else about. Even if it is something that is going to be totally weird to talk to her about, I'll still give it a chance and it always goes great. I can never ever ever be mad at her because if I am, she will take me out to get a drink or do one of her funny gestures just to make me laugh. Works every time no joke.
She ALWAYS knows when I have had or am having a bad day even if I try to hide it. I do not know how she does it. Ill be having the worst day ever and not want anyone to ask me what is wrong, so I'll walk in the door with a smile on my face and INSTANTLY she asks me what I am hiding and if there is anything she can do for me. Even though I told myself I did not want any help with the situation, her telling me that she is there for me makes me open up to her.
Tonight I had the opportunity to talk to her about what is going to be happening in the future and problems that I was facing currently. We talked about ..... pretty much everything one could think of. In the middle of our conversation she gave me the best compliment anyone has EVER ever given me in my whole life.
It went something like this. She was talking about how whenever there is a problem in our household, she can count on me to make the situation end up with smiles on everyones faces. She told me that, "I'm the spring air that hits you when you open up the front door on the first day of spring." It took me awhile to think about what she meant and then she went on to explain it a little better. She told me that my presence in the house makes her smile and she trusts me so much. If she is having a bad day she will come to me and tell me what is wrong and without me even knowing it, I make her day turn around by pretty much doing nothing at all.
I miss all the times she would pick me up from the street and wash away my cuts and bruises. I miss her taking me up to our favorite sledding hill in our old neighborhood. I miss our long walks in Sugarhouse Park. I miss everything about my childhood. I'm looking forward to what the future has in store for both of us. I cannot wait to see what will happen.
Mom i love you so much!

VEGAS BABY!

Alright!
So Amanda, Shelby and I had this wild idea that we should go to Vegas for a day. The reason for this is because I had heard that they have a store down there that sells amazing suits for a really cheap price. This was just a thought we had that came up about a month ago. Christmas break rolled around and the though came back into our heads. We decided to get together and actually make things happen! We asked all the parents what they thought and with a little hesitation, they let us! This pretty much all happened the day before we wanted to leave. I woke up tuesday morning at 3 and arrived at Amanda's house at 4. As we got all packed up we went to Shelby's house and waited for her to come out. She is known to be a deep sleeper and slept through her alarms. Amanda and I didnt know what to do so we waited for about 10 mins and then left. As we were driving we felt really bad but there was nothing else we could of done. We started to drive through Orem, Utah and suddenly got a call from Shelby. We decided to pull over in a Target parking lot and waited for her to come meet us there. Within the next 20 mins we all met up and were back on the road again!

Immediately, Shelby and Amanda went right to sleep. It was just the Tunes and I driving with each other for 5 and a half hours! It was a pretty long trip but when the last hour rolled around everyone was wide away and going nuts! We wanted to get out of that car so bad. WE FINALLY GOT THERE! Our first stop was Las Vegas Outlet Mall. When we got there we ran to Paolo Giardini to get me some suits. Everything worked out perfectly and we were able to get out of there within 45 mins. We shopped around there for about an hour. Then TO THE STRIP! This was the best/worst part of the trip. The strip was so much fun! We were able to go to the M&M Factory, Coca-Cola Store, all the hotels, and see some crazy looking people.

We were all dead tired and I especially wasnt feeling to great just because the drive wore me out. We were making the best of it though. While walking the strip we took some funny pictures, walked in weird ways through casinos, and made jokes about all the weird looking people we saw. Even though we were having the time of our lives, we were also experiencing some negative actions. The way Las Vegas works is pretty ridiculous and low. With all the people on the corner handing out hooker cards to the billboards the line the street making people into objects, makes Vegas not the best place to be.
Now it was time to go home. We left around 6 and had heard that it had been snowing in Utah all day long so we were kind of worried about that. Amanda and I agreed that I would drive through all the canyons and she would drive the 2nd half. When my turn was over and it was her turn to drive, we were starting to hit the icy conditions. We said a prayer as we were driving through and I believe this helped us out a lot. Amanda was able to drive on the roads without a problem. She was afraid to pass the big trucks at first but after the first few she passed them with ease.

This was one of the best trips of my life and I will remember it for the rest of my life. We had so much fun dancing to LOUD techno music in my car, walking the strip and shopping of course. I was able to get my suits and then it hit me. I am going to be using those for my mission! I cant wait.
When is road trip number TWO!?!?!

Holidays

Holidays are meant to bring out the joy in people and bring families together. It is a time to reflect on what happened through the year and if you made it a great one. It is a time to be loving and a time to help others out. With having this mindset it is hard to see what holidays do to certain people. It hurts me to see individuals fight over presents in the store because they think their kids are more grateful for the gift, to see the road rage on the freeways, and to see the selfish side of people come about.

With ending this wonderful year that I have been able to experience, I am looking back on what I have done. I graduated from high school! That was one of the most memorable moments of my life. I graduated from Juan Diego with a 3.5 gpa. When freshmen year started I wouldnt i dreamed to do that well. I'm thankful for the hard work that i put in school. I made the best memories with friends and teachers.

I met such an amazing person. She was able to keep me on track and get me involved in something higher than myself. With this happening it made me realize how happy I was becoming. It wasnt a happiness that lasted a couple of days. It was a feeling that I still posses today. With meeting her, I was then introduced to her family and her church family. They give me so much support with everything I do. I have never met such nice and loving people. They barely even knew me, yet they were willing to do what ever it takes to keep me determined and on the right path. I love them so much.

I made awesome memories with friends and people I hold close to me. I was able to go on a cruise with all my school buddies. That was honestly thee best vacation I have ever been on. We were able to spend a little over a week with each other in the Western Caribbean. I was also able to go to concerts that include The Fray and Jon Schmidt and probably more I just cant think of them. I got fired from Ikea and within 13 hours I was able to get a job at a place I absolutely love!!!

I started COLLEGE!!!! I was soooo scared to start college because I was doing it alone. It was something so different and so big to me. The first month was very difficult because I didnt know anyone. I kept pushing forward and was able to meet a couple of cool kids and found out that it wasnt as scary as I though it was.

I feel like I could of done so much more like help people out and go do charitable things. I did not get involved with anything like that. I did do certain little things here and there. As I look back on this last year, Im going to try and find the things that I lack and make them my strengths this next year. It's sad to see this year just pass by and leave but it makes me happy to think about all the new things that are waiting for me this next year. One Im soooooooo excited for!!!! BRING IT ON!!!

The Next 6 Months

If I have everything go the way i want to i will be able to leave for my mission around the Middle of June. I have tons of different feelings toward it. Almost all of them are great feelings but not all. The other feelings i have towards it is that im going to have to risk losing a lot of things. Such as relationships i have with people. This is one of the big things im going to have to deal with but im also going to have such a hard time with it. My dad is a stickler with my decision that ive made with the whole mission/religion. It hard for me to go on and know that i have his support through words but not his support through thought. When missionaries come to the door he shuts the door in their face and tells them they he isnt interested. I told him that if i have his support then why does he pretend to give me his support. He is pretty much shutting the door in my face and telling me that he isnt interested because i will one day here pretty soon be wearing a nice suit and will have a name tag saying Elder Morley.
It's hard to have this happen but i know that by having my make these decisions it will show him how serious i am with this and how happy i am and maybe he have a change of heart.
Everything that im involved in now is being effected with my decision for my mission. From school to friendships to relationships. It is so hard for me but i know that the end result is going to be great and that if i keep strong certain things will be blessed.