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I think I finally got over the fact that today is Wednesday and not Thursday. Too bad that will only be the case for an hour and fifteen minutes more! I'll probably think it's Wednesday all of tomorrow.
Today was a decent, no frills day. I went to work this morning and worked until 2 pm. I had a little break before my 4 o'clock class. Class was good and only lasted an hour and a half (compared to the 3 hours that are allotted for the class). After class I turned some mellow music on and did some meditating. I got some good thinking in about lots of things and I think I'll try to meditate to mellow music more. I did make one decision that will be a great challenge for me. I have been needing to go to the store for the past few days to get some groceries. Then, today it kind of hit me how much non-perishable food I really have. Therefore, I have given myself a challenge to eat all of that food before I go buy anything else. The only things I will buy will be essentials like butter, milk, bread and eggs. Hopefully, this will cut my costs further and allow me to save even more. I won't be starving myself by any means. Off the top of my head I know I have at least 8 macaroni and cheeses, a month's worth of Ramen (with a Ramen cookbook (which is Mary's, but until she reads this and decides she wants it back, I'm keeping it)), lots and lots of pasta with a couple cans of pasta sauce, a huge re-sealable bag of pancake mix, lots of spices, flour, sugar, bakers chocolate (semi sweet and white), lunch meat, cream cheese, pork chops, BYU Creamery Raspberry Sherbet and ice cream cones...basically, I can survive without buying more food. I've tried eating the food I have before, but my body always rejected having the same things and I had no appetite for food at all. Now my body must have decided it can take it, so, I'll take it!
It's late tonight and I have an 8 o'clock class, so, in the interest of not leaving anything out (I'm really tired today), I won't write another chapter in the summer story until tomorrow. Works out for you all anyway since you likely won't read this post until then. I will just add the chapter to the end of this, so if there is anything after this sentence, you're in luck!
Chapter 4: Pieces Come Together
Going into the summer, there were many reasons to believe I had no hope of a bright future anytime soon. I had nearly $800 in debt to the bank, family members and even friends. I was living on food stamps and had been depending on that monthly food allowance for nearly a year. I had little motivation for life and I was the butt of many jokes, even my own. I was someone who could not be taken seriously. But, as I put in extra hours at Seven Peaks and as my life-ometer, as it were, climbed higher and higher each day, it became more apparent how serious I had become. Each paycheck, I paid my tithing first, rent at the beginning of the month next, then devoted almost everything else to debt. I devoted myself to living in poverty of new things. I bought no new clothing. I purchased the bare minimum of groceries, visiting the grocery store as seldom as possible. Finally, the light shone through as the end of the tunnel of debt grew nearer. I ended my dependence on the food stamp program in June. I began saving money for the first time in my life. My bank account grew as quickly as my confidence in a bright future. Spring Term ended and I had accomplished a new feat in life. My hard work paid off and I received my first college "A" grade. It was an "A-", to be technical, but no amount of technicality can take my "A" away from me. With school over, I devoted all of my time, energy and effort into my job. During all this, each night and even some days on break at work, I could be found with my replica Book of Mormon. I could not put it down. To read the Book of Mormon is one thing. To be captivated in an understanding that cannot be described is another. I was captivated.
Today was a decent, no frills day. I went to work this morning and worked until 2 pm. I had a little break before my 4 o'clock class. Class was good and only lasted an hour and a half (compared to the 3 hours that are allotted for the class). After class I turned some mellow music on and did some meditating. I got some good thinking in about lots of things and I think I'll try to meditate to mellow music more. I did make one decision that will be a great challenge for me. I have been needing to go to the store for the past few days to get some groceries. Then, today it kind of hit me how much non-perishable food I really have. Therefore, I have given myself a challenge to eat all of that food before I go buy anything else. The only things I will buy will be essentials like butter, milk, bread and eggs. Hopefully, this will cut my costs further and allow me to save even more. I won't be starving myself by any means. Off the top of my head I know I have at least 8 macaroni and cheeses, a month's worth of Ramen (with a Ramen cookbook (which is Mary's, but until she reads this and decides she wants it back, I'm keeping it)), lots and lots of pasta with a couple cans of pasta sauce, a huge re-sealable bag of pancake mix, lots of spices, flour, sugar, bakers chocolate (semi sweet and white), lunch meat, cream cheese, pork chops, BYU Creamery Raspberry Sherbet and ice cream cones...basically, I can survive without buying more food. I've tried eating the food I have before, but my body always rejected having the same things and I had no appetite for food at all. Now my body must have decided it can take it, so, I'll take it!
It's late tonight and I have an 8 o'clock class, so, in the interest of not leaving anything out (I'm really tired today), I won't write another chapter in the summer story until tomorrow. Works out for you all anyway since you likely won't read this post until then. I will just add the chapter to the end of this, so if there is anything after this sentence, you're in luck!
Chapter 4: Pieces Come Together
Going into the summer, there were many reasons to believe I had no hope of a bright future anytime soon. I had nearly $800 in debt to the bank, family members and even friends. I was living on food stamps and had been depending on that monthly food allowance for nearly a year. I had little motivation for life and I was the butt of many jokes, even my own. I was someone who could not be taken seriously. But, as I put in extra hours at Seven Peaks and as my life-ometer, as it were, climbed higher and higher each day, it became more apparent how serious I had become. Each paycheck, I paid my tithing first, rent at the beginning of the month next, then devoted almost everything else to debt. I devoted myself to living in poverty of new things. I bought no new clothing. I purchased the bare minimum of groceries, visiting the grocery store as seldom as possible. Finally, the light shone through as the end of the tunnel of debt grew nearer. I ended my dependence on the food stamp program in June. I began saving money for the first time in my life. My bank account grew as quickly as my confidence in a bright future. Spring Term ended and I had accomplished a new feat in life. My hard work paid off and I received my first college "A" grade. It was an "A-", to be technical, but no amount of technicality can take my "A" away from me. With school over, I devoted all of my time, energy and effort into my job. During all this, each night and even some days on break at work, I could be found with my replica Book of Mormon. I could not put it down. To read the Book of Mormon is one thing. To be captivated in an understanding that cannot be described is another. I was captivated.
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