I Won't Give Up by Jason Mraz

Wow. Hello there. Remember me?
Have you heard this song? It's amazing. Seriously.

Here is a list of  TEN things I will never give up on:

1. My testimony. I know what I know and like Joseph Smith, I can never deny anything. I know that my Heavenly Father loves me. I am His daughter. And His son Jesus Christ atoned for me. He feels everything that I feel. I am saved through him. And because of His resurrection, I can be with my wonderful family for all time and eternity, which is such a comfort as grandparents and an uncle have passed away. I know that Joseph Smith restored this gospel. I know that we have living prophets on the earth today. The Book of Mormon is the word of God. The temple brings me so much peace. Everything about the gospel makes me happy. I will never give up on my testimony.

2. My family. They are my best friends. My Dad is one of the hardest-working, wisest, and funniest guys I know. My mom is so sweet, always seeking out how to help others and taking such good care of our family. My brother Seth has the best laugh I've ever heard. He's strong, smart, and he's going to do amazing things with his life. And he's going to be an awesome missionary in less than a year. Rebekah is gorgeous, so smart, so talented. She is so fun. Luke is also smart, funny, and so fun to be around. I love my family with every fiber of my being. I will never give up on my family.

3. My goal to teach violin. It's been the only thing I've had my heart set on for as long as I can remember. (Okay, so 1st grade, but still. It's been a long time.) I am adoring my music program at UVU. So, my current major is Music Education. This implies that I will teach music (namely, orchestra) in the schools. Recently, I have decided to declare a double major, adding a Violin Performace degree to Music Education. This is exciting since the performance program will be new this next fall. And I get to be one of the pioneers to help start it. I am so blessed to be down here, doing things that I never thought I would have the opportunity to do. I definitely would not have at many other schools. I am preparing myself by teaching private lessons right now. I've got my 9 students, and we're having a Spring Recital on Thursday. It's going to be excellent. Music is so healing to me. It calms my troubled heart . . . not that my heart is often troubled. But in all the busy-ness around me, I just have to sit down at orchestra, or play through any piece, and I feel at peace with the world. And my greatest goal is to help my current and future students realize this. It's so hard to explain! But I will teach orchestra, private lessons, my children. I love it. I love it. I love it. I will never give up on my goal to teach violin.

4. My love of simple pleasures. Like ice-cream (had some today. With blackberries and caramel in it.) Putting my feet in a pool (did that today. It was incredible.) Watching a chick flick. Swinging on a swingset. Staring at a fire. Reading a novel (finished Jane Eyre today. Amazing!) Singing loudly to songs in the car. Eating with chopsticks. Wearing bright colors. Playing a hymn on the piano. Looking at old pictures. Going on walks. Riding horses with my Dad. Going to lunch with my mom. Going grocery shopping with my roomates. Going to the temple. Praying. So many things in your everyday lives that aren't significant. Many little things that happen every day are such tender mercies. They are so important to notice. I'm so grateful for every little thing that happens in my life. I will never give up my love of the simple pleasures and noticing the tender mercies in my life.

5. Learning from my mistakes. Like making sure I don't lock my keys in the car, again (did that for the third time in the past year a couple weeks ago.) And so many others. I will never give up on learning from my mistakes.

6. All the wonderful people around me. I've been blessed with wonderful roomates, visiting teachers, home teachers, people in my classes, people in my ward, students I teach, boys I've been on dates with, professors, institute teachers, bishops, extended family, best friends. I need to be better aware of the needs they have. To not be a taker, more of a giver. I will never give up on all the wonderful people around me.

7. My health. In the past, I've been very caught up in body image. I've made unhealthy choices, and not your typical eating junk food choices. More like not eating enough. Not exercising. Stuff like that. I still have a lot of improvement to make. I will never give up on my health.

8. My love of learning. I am in love with the classroom setting. Last summer I took Hunter's Safety. Half because I wanted to, and half because I wanted to be in a classroom again. It makes me so happy to sit in a lecture and soak in some knowledge. I love expanding my mind! I will never give up on my love of learning.

9. Dressing well. I know it sounds funny, but it has been ingrained in my mind to get ready every day. To be clean, well groomed. I guess I follow my mom's example: no matter how late into the day it is, there's still time to get clean and looke presentable. I've learned that Indian women (who I will meet soon) braid their hair and put on their best sarees, even in their extreme poverty. It really says a lot about a person with their willingness to do that. I will never give up on looking classy.

10. My desire for adventure. I like to try new things. I love it, in fact. Weird food. I'll try it. Repelling off the third floor of our apartment building, I'll do it twice. Going camping in January, check. Going to India. . . almost! 22 days left. I want to travel. I want to try new things, as long as I'm able. I will never give up on my desire for adventure.

"I won't give up on us, even if the skies get rough."