another swig of felix

Every Sunday night, I conduct a planning session for my week, in which I write down my school assignments due for the week along with my non-academic to-do's and goals. This most recent Sunday, I made a comprehensive list for both this week and next week because they are all I have left before I go home for Thanksgiving. [Insert internal cartwheels, jumping, high-fiving, shouting, and heel-clicking] After making my list, I realized that much more than anticipation stands between me and my wonderful family. My list consists of four midterms, a computer programming project, two papers, and several assignments. Whoa.

Facing this massive list, I knew that I could only come off conqueror over this stretch with the Lord's help and direction. I've been praying that I'll know how to use my time because there are so many different things that I can be doing and I need someone to point me in the right direction so that I'm using my time in the best way possible. Monday and Tuesday were great days. Yesterday (Wednesday), however, was amazing. I had a day similar to this last March. On this day, like yesterday, I felt guided in exactly the right direction, even though I couldn't see where it was going at first.

Wednesday evening after work found me in the library, trying to immerse myself in studying for my English midterm. I have been dreading this test for a while because I do not like essay questions or this class. I didn't know how much I would need to know about the authors and their texts, and I was a having a hard time building up motivation to keep studying. This class is a GE and the assignment grading is extremely lax. However, I did not want to underestimate the exam and come out with a bad score. This is a class that I can actually secure an A in, and I don't want to mess that up by not studying enough for an ace-able test.

My lack of motivation was frustrating me because at the beginning of the week I felt so full of motivation and confidence that the Lord would guide me through every study session and academic endeavor. The day before, I spent three wonderful hours in a comfy chair on the third floor of the library, reading Hawthorne, Poe, and Dickinson, contemplating their works and the Gothic literary movement. Following my personal study session, I met with some girls from my class and went over the study guide thoroughly. I felt great about the material then, so why was I having such a hard time now? Sitting at my table on the fifth floor of the library, I said a prayer that my evening would be productive and that I would be able to stop dreading this test and continue my preparations. Soon thereafter, I was struck with the idea to go ahead and take the test that night. This caught me off guard because I was planning on taking the test Thursday night, but still thinking that I might need more time to study. Though unexpected, the idea of facing the test that night was thrilling. Filled with a fresh surge of literary determination, I reviewed for another 30 minutes, then made my way to the testing center.

From that moment in the library on, I was in a fantastic mood, which is the best way to feel heading into a test, and especially a test with an essay portion. I daresay that I was even excited to take my test! I was actually excited to sit in a giant room filled with uncomfortable desks and hundreds of fellow test-takers, identify excerpts from early American literature and then write about them. What the heck!?!

For those unfamiliar with the BYU testing center, there is a screen on the wall near the exit to the building that displays the scores to recently completed tests. More often than not, I check my score, then walk outside, shaking off feelings of disappointment and intellectual incompetency. Today however, I actually did a little cheer as I walked out, because next to the last five digits of my student ID appeared an actual 100%, accompanied by a "Perfect Score!" Any further studying would have been pointless, because I knew enough, and the Holy Ghost knew that.

I really feel that the Spirit kept me from my sought-after motivation so that I could take the test when I was ready and just didn't know it. I am so grateful that Heavenly Father loves his children so much and that He makes this gift of the Holy Ghost available to us for our daily use. He can see farther than we can, and by seeking and listening to the Spirit's guidance we can receive wisdom, power, and strength far beyond our own.

It's a Miracle!

Before I came out to BYU, I downloaded the BYU Devotionals podcast, and enjoyed listening to them on Sunday morning or anytime I needed a spiritual boost, and I've come back to one, entitled "Live Right Now," multiple times in the last year for strength and direction. The devotional itself talks about agency and the different types of choices we make and how we make them. The speaker is Gerrit Gong, and he delivered the talk on 3/20/07, and I highly recommend looking it up. The best guidance I've received from this address, however, is a quick quote from President Hinckley that Brother Gong mentions. To BYU students, our beloved former prophet advises that "if you get to bed by 10:00 and get up 6:00, things will work out for you." I was pretty impressed by this, because it is so rare that General Authorities give such specific instructions, and it has stayed with me ever since.

Facing this new semester, I was feeling overwhelmed by the task of figuring out how to do everything this semester, and I realized that "things working out" is exactly what I need to happen, and if President Hinckley says that that will happen, then I'll do whatever he says. Thus began the 10-6 experiment.

I have yet to be asleep by 10:00 p.m. on the dot, but I'm coming close, and I officially LOVE waking up early. Those of you who know me are probably thinking, "This surely can't be Emily, the girl who barely had 80% attendance for seminary, which started at 6:00, five days a week for 4 years? She's chosing now, when she doesn't have classes until 9:00 every morning, to become a morning person?" Well, it's time to re-think how you see my early-rising potential, for I am officially a morning person. I've discovered that my key to 6 a.m. success is not letting myself hit snooze or fall back on my pillow, because then I fall into a vicious cycle of alarms and funny dreams, last minute getting up, hurried getting ready, stressful trekking to campus, and tardy entering of class or work. Ironically, sleeping to the last minute and rushing to get ready results in my being way more tired during the day than when I get up at 6:00, get ready, and spend time studying scriptures and starting my homework for the day.

These instructions from President Hinckley have blessed me so much in these last two weeks. My experiences have testified to me that Heavenly Father knows exactly what we need not only spiritually but physically. He created us to thrive under certain circumstances, and the 10-6 lifestyle is one that works beautifully for me.