... happiness

Life is good. I don't really have anything to complain about and the past couple of days, I've had this smile on my face that I can't seem to wipe off... Seriously though, I try to not smile and I feel a twitch on the right side of my mouth, just itching to curve upwards.

As I was at the temple this afternoon with my friend Nicole, I was thinking about this strange phenomenon that is going on.  WHY am I so happy?  I mean, like I said, I don't really have anything to complain about but... it just feels like more than that.  THEN, it hit me.... it him me big:

My happiness was contributed to the absence of things (like trials) from my life but rather the addition of a greater thing-- God and his Son, Jesus Christ.  Now, I've been Mormon my whole life, I've served a Mormon Mission, but since this summer, I have grown a lot spiritually (probably more than I ever have in my life)-- I actually read my scriptures every morning, I begin and end each day with a prayer, I go to the temple twice a week... I have brought these two incredible men into my life more than ever before-- and that is what makes me so happy.  I'm sure of it.

So immediately I thought of this song I heard on my mission and I will share it with you-- Truly, following the commandments of God, letting them into your life doesn't just make you happy during trials but it makes you so much happier even when life is going good.

So enjoy and BE HAPPY!

... homesickness....

People always ask me if I want to go back to Ghana. I always answer "Yes, the only question is when"

The summer months of 2011 will forever be known as a life-changing summer. I found a people, a place that seemed so familiar yet so foreign, so understanding yet confusing... and in that place, with those people, I found myself.

Okay, so you might be thinking, "really Corrine? that seems a little dramatic, don't you think?" Well, it may be but you know what? I've finally accepted (after repeated accusations from my sister) that I am a tad bit dramatic.... so, yes, that may be dramatic but it is how I felt.

Now, what do I mean by "I found myself?" Well, finally, the pieces of the puzzle entitled "what will Corrine do after graduation" finally came together. I grew closer to my Savior and my Heavenly Father than I ever have in normal, real life. I found a genre of food that I LOVE! (and most importantly, learned how to cook it). I found that I could be good at compromising, leading, following, and all those other traits that are desirable in a person... with some more tweaking to do, of course.

Michelle, one of my dear sisters that traveled with me, said on our last day in Ghana: "You know, traveling is good for the soul". And I must concur. Traveling was good for my soul, and yet sometimes, I feel like in three short months, Ghana became home-- a place I long to travel back to.