Okay, so this time I promise I'm not going to sound too much like a missionary. I want to talk about feeling alone and inadequate today. I'm not going to pull out any scriptures, because I don't have them with me...these are just thoughts that I've had because I often feel alone and inadequate, as I'm sure most people do.

This week, Sister Peterson and Sister Olgilvie are going to Korea. Actually, Sister Olgilvie is gone already. I am a solo sister, which makes things difficult. I frequently felt alone. Its hard being the only sister in a class of elders (they are only nineteen, after all, and not as well-behaved as my brothers). Sometimes I feel like I'm cut off from the real world, and that I'm living in some sort of bubble. And it would be really easy for me to feel sorry for myself. Sometimes I do--I'm not perfect.

Over the past few years, I've noticed that the more time I spend thinking about how miserable I am, the more miserable and alone I feel. So, when I start to feel as though I can never learn Korean, and that I'm going to be completely alone for the next week without any help from anyone else, I do something else. It was a very painful lesson to learn, but I have learned it. I start to sing, I read my scriptures, I talk to someone else, I pray, or I start thinking about vocab in Korean. Anything I can do to keep my mind from being on me and my 'miserable' situation helps. And I promise you that if you try to do the same thing when you feel alone, you'll be able to lessen the impact of those terribly depressing feelings. Even if you don't do something "spiritual". Lose yourself in service of other people. When I'm doing something for someone else, I'm too busy to do any thinking about me.

You're not alone. You don't have to feel miserable. Work on choosing to feel better. I know you can do it! Ciao for this week!