Because I knew you, I have been changed for good.

Wow. New Year's Eve is TUESDAY. I can't believe it's almost 2014!! This year has gone by so fast!! I have had so, so, so many experiences that have helped me grow, and I am so thankful for each and every one. I have met and befriended so many wonderful people who have shown me and taught me things I don't think I could've learned from anyone else. But, most importantly, I KNOW I have grown closer to my Savior. Some experiences I've had could not have brought about the spiritual consequences they did without the Atonement of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Because of all the many wonderful people I have met this year, I have been changed. For good. I will NEVER go back to the person that I was at the start of the year, and for that I am grateful. I am a better child of God, a better daughter, a better cousin, a better sister, a better friend, and a better confidant now than I was before. I have been changed forever, and for that I am grateful. I love each and every one of the new friends I have formed this year, and I still love all my old friends. I have loved getting to know everyone in all of my classes better, and I have loved being able to spend time with my friends. I have loved being able to be me this year, and not caring what others think of me. I hope they think of me fondly when we've said goodbye (haha, good ol' Phantom of the Opera). My siblings have put up with lots of me this year, and I hope that, in time, they'll come to recognize that this is who I am, and they just need to accept me. Again, I am so thankful for all of the people I've had the chance to meet and all the experiences I've had the opportunity to go through. Now, some of them were not easy. In fact, some of them were downright scary and intimidating, like my solo. But once I got through it, it was like the heavens had opened and I had the biggest support group of angels I have ever had the pleasure to have. Despite the fact that some of the experiences were not easy, I did them anyway and I learned a lot. I am so thankful for that. I am so thankful for the changes that I made in others. I am looking forward to making many, many more in the upcoming year. Hopefully I will be less "rollercoaster-y" and more "heartbeat-y". Anyway, I love my Savior, Jesus Christ, and my Heavenly Father, and I know they love me. I love my family, and my old friends, and my new friends. I love my teachers, who sacrifice so much for me, and listen to me, and (try to) understand me. I love being a child of God, and I love that He knows me. He knows me: He know my needs, my dreams, my desires, my fears, my worries, my loves, and He knows the way I tick. He knows who I connect well with, and who I don't. He knows everything about me, including things that I don't. He knows the why and the how about how I work. I trust Him forever with all of my heart, and I love Him forever with all of my heart.