It's thanks to Mrs. Cannon that I now hold a college degree in Creative Writing...but more than that, she made me feel like I had genuine talent at something, and that means a lot to an "Average Jane" teenager going through a lonely, insecure period. She congratulated me on Facebook when I graduated, and she offered her condolences when Dad died; she still remembered her own dad's death vividly, and now she's with him again.
Apparently she's affected a lot of other kids besides me, because I read plenty of her praises on social media when she died. I'm not surprised. You could say she was everything a teacher should be, and more.
On a more uplifting note, President Nelson has told us next General Conference, in April, will be extra-special because 2020 will mark 200 years since Joseph Smith's First Vision, and he challenged us to read the account of the First Vision again as well as the Book of Mormon. And speaking of the Book of Mormon, they're releasing some impressive short videos about Book of Mormon stories, similar to the "Life of Christ" videos they released a couple of years back. Those should be interesting.
In ten more years, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will celebrate its 200-year mark, too.
I'll tell you this: the Church of Jesus Christ, the knowledge of Jesus Christ and His Atonement, have definitely kept me going through my rough patches. The losses of my dad and grandparents, as sad as they are, are made much more bearable with the promise of life after death and forever families. For that matter, I've never really had to question where Dad, Grandma, and Grandpa are now, or whether I'll see them again. A part of me has just known; the timing of their passing bothers me more than anything else.
Sadly, not everyone I know shares my beliefs, and at least three people that I thought were my best friends have stopped talking to me because of those beliefs. I remember we had a few unpleasant clashes about certain topics, and now they've just cut me off altogether. I know I shouldn't judge them but it still hurts that they allowed our differences to get in the way of our friendship. I was willing to work past those differences; clearly, they did not think the same.
Well, when all is said and done, I'd rather lose them than the gospel. I'd rather live my life alone with the Savior on my side than live my life surrounded by the entire world without the Savior. I know there's a lot I still need to work on, but there are some things I've done that I'm rather proud of as well.
Now, then, "Inktober" once again. Day 6: Husky. I used a great deal of black ink this past week. It's a good thing I recently bought a whole packet of Sharpies, although two Sharpies are just about dried up by now. But the drawing (and coloring) itself has been quite relaxing. No wonder adult coloring books are all the rage these days, and here's hoping I can make one of my own.
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