So, this past school semester has been interesting, but I think that it is safe to say that I have learned a lot and the adjustment from Kentucky to here has been rough, but good. Overall, good things and bad things have passed, but I have learned from them all.  I took a class this semester in the hopes of improving my ability to plan and be financially secure.  Let's be real!  I took the class to make sure that I had my crap together and with the hopes that I would be able to not let anything blindside me.  So, there I sat for an entire semester working on projects, reading chapters, not exactly everything that I wanted to do all the time.  However, looking back I am starting to see some of the benefits that came along with the class.
Anyway, as part of the class I was assigned a topic, asked to write a research paper on said topic, present on said topic, and do a project associated with that same topic.  Of course, I get gender gap, earnings gap, and the glass ceiling.  Well, thanks to the wisdom of my English teacher, I had learned that a research paper can have a twist, therefore, I set off to make this something that I was passionate about and something that I enjoyed.  The paper finished, and I found myself preparing to write the outline for my presentation.  Once again, trying to find a twist other than just the same old raise awareness.
I, eventually, came to the conclusion that it was more important for everyone to focus on developing individual talents and become the best them that they could be.  So, I set off to find ways to accomplish that goal.
Then, once again, I got reminded of my practitioner project, a project meant to implement the things that I researched in a plan of action.  I was not exactly excited, but I was determined to do something that I would enjoy doing.  I was at school to learn for crying out loud!  I thought through all of the different projects that I could do.  I could hand out brochures. My heart wasn't in it.  I could make a blog, nobody reads my school blogs.  What could I do that I actually cared about, that would make a difference and help others in some way.
I thought about all of the things that were important to me, and it hit me.  I could teach others how to learn more effectively and how to retain information that they learned.  This was something that I had been working on my whole life, and...well... why not!?
I put together a powerpoint presentation that I would use to teach those around my, and then, with my newly found love for human anatomy, especially the brain, I would teach someone the information and then evaluate it.  I took a few classes from an online course and compiled information that my teachers had taught me over the years.
I then used some of that time to study for a brain anatomy test that I was going to be having in anther class. I tried to condense that information into a small study guide and short lesson plan.  I gave that study guide to my siblings before coming home on Easter and made them fill it out.  Much to my amazement, the paper was extremely full of information and detailed diagrams of the brain, and what they filled out (Lafe even cited his sources).
Then I taught them all the techniques, and the biology and psychology,  for successful learning, many of which they already knew.   I then taught them about the brain.  I was expecting them to be bored. I expected it to get over with little to no questions.  Whether to make me feel good or because they may have actually enjoyed it, I am not sure, but they asked a lot of great questions and had some great responses.  In the end I came to the realization that I was using the BYUI learning model.  The model consists of preparation, teach one another, and ponder/prove.  They were able to prepare, learn and then they took a test over the information.
It was really cool to see how others learn and to see how everyone learns the same things.  It was a fun project and I learned some interesting things.  Although I was unable to see the full results, because Kali and Lafe were in school and finals week has yet to end.
Overall, learning is really important and helps us develop our skills and abilities.  As we develop these skills and abilities, we can contribute more to society and the world. I just seem to keep learning that.  Learning is amazing!

The Plan and Change-Week ?

I guess that you could say that it is time for me to finally take that step back into social media.  I think that clicking the “like” button is not doing too much for anyone anymore, because lets be real no too many people go through the list to see who liked it, it is usually just the number that draws people’s attention.

To be honest, I have not known what to say.  The amount of feelings that race through me are overwhelming to me.  It seems that every step that I take back into the world that I live in is one step away from the world that I loved for 18 months, and a world that I had to leave, but that I did not want to leave behind! 

The last 18 months of my life taught me so much.  I learned to love!  I learned to embrace change, and awkward.  I learned that humility is not the absence of confidence, but rather the excess of confidence in God.  I learned that charity truly is the pure love of Christ.  I just started to understand and see the plan of God and what it means.  I got to watch people as they learned, understood, and embraced their potential.  I watched as we all got tried, testing, and pushed to the max.  I also experienced the love joy, and happiness that came with all of those who embraced the truth.  I saw change, and I changed. 

 In reality, there is so much to say and so few words that bear the meaning significant enough to say it.  Despite the words of so many English teachers, there really are no words to express how I feel.

“Are you adjusting?”  “How are you feeling?” “What was it like?”  These are all questions that seem to be repeated and found often in the everyday conversations that I have.  To the “What was it like?”  There are not words to express my feelings toward my mission.  Amazing!  Humbling!  Incredible!  Spiritual!  Full of miracles!  Faith building! Faith testing!  Learning!  All are words that have nowhere near enough impact to explain how I feel.  Each word has so much behind it, so many stories and feelings that I cannot express in all the words I know, in either language.  I think that it is better explained by the way that I feel, and those feelings can only be backed up by the amount of love that I truly have for these incredible people.  I miss them and love them all so much!

As for the questions, “are you adjusting?” and “how are you feeling?”  The truth is no!  No, I am not adjusting!  I miss these people and my Kentucky life more than I can express. I miss the amazing people that I got to know.  I miss their faith!  I miss their conviction!  I miss their ability to change!  I miss their insight, their love, and their knowledge!  I miss their kindness!  I miss getting to see them, as small as it may have been, a little how God saw them.  I miss focusing every minute of every day attempting to help them see their potential and then trying to provide them with the tools to do so.  I miss calling upon God for the well-being of their souls.  I miss having noticing his hand in every second of my life, every single day.  I miss being so aware of my Heavenly Father and of His son Jesus Christ.  I miss seeing the world through clearer eyes.  I miss the green trees and blue rivers, and dare I say it, I miss the cockroaches.  I miss the awkward that I embraced.  I miss the bike riding, and the helmets.  I miss the daily self-evaluations, and the long conversations that I had with God every night as I would fall asleep.  I guess that it is safe to say, that it is not the same here and now!

So am I adjusting?  NO!  The answer is a huge big fat no!  And I want it that way!  This life was not meant to be experienced just to go back to the way things were.  I have learned too much for that. God has so much more in mind for us than that.  He has so much more planned for us, and so much more waiting on the other side.  He sent His Son to break that chains that held us back, to hold our hands through the light times, to guide us through the dark times, and to carry us through the times that we can’t go anymore.

It is hard changing!  Now, my focus is to help people through my education.  I have to study, and remember that I am here to learn, not to get a grade.  I have to remember that a person is worth more than a grade.  I have to remember that my scriptures carry more weight in the eternal scheme of things than my DNA text. 

However, different it may be, the purpose is still the same, find truth, hold on to truth, and use the truth that you receive to build others up, bring them to Christ, and keep moving forward.  The purpose is to progress and to help others continue to progress.  The purpose is to become more kind, more thoughtful, more intelligent, and more the person that I need to be in the sight of God.  Although, it can be hard to remember those motives, and to remember the why behind it all that is what brings true happiness.  Happiness that is surpassed by the happiness promised by books, that Pinterest post, facebook, or that ad on the brownie box.

So am I adjusting to the life that I left behind?  No!  Am I changing back, and getting used to the ways things used to be?  No!  And I never ever will, and I pray that I will never ever go back!  The girl that was here 19 months ago, should be long gone!  The girl that read Kentucky Louisville on a special piece of paper is not the same.  However, Heather Gamett is still here.  She has just changed, and as hard as it is, she knows that she still has to change.  There is so much still to learn.  Although, I had to leave that wonderful place and those wonderful people to continue on, I know that I need to keep going.  I can always continue on!  That is the beauty of the gospel.  That is the beauty God’s plan! ! 

"Heavenly Father offers to you the greatest gift of all—eternal life—and the opportunity and infinite blessing of your own “happily ever after.”-Dieter F. Uchtdorf