The rain just makes you appreciate the sunshine more.

...I definitely believe that. Its the whole concept of the more pain you feel gives you the capacity and ability to feel more love and appreciate it. Now in the literal way, I LOVE the rain! The past few weeks of random rain has been fantastic.

Anyway, there has been a lot of things that I've always known throughout my life and that my parents have been trying to drill into my head that have finally solidified with my own testimony. Some of those things are:

• that "friend" who "stepped over the line" doesn't deserve my time. That might sound mean or extreme, but I don't believe its wise to spend time with someone who brings you down.
• even though I'm not perfect I deserve the best. Now that doesn't mean that I can just be lazy and try not to improve myself, but I do deserve to date and later marry a guy who -as a sweet temple worker once told me- "treats me like the queen I am going to become".
•  oh and the temple! I love that place. But a trend I have noticed in my life is that it is so much easier to withstand temptation when I am consistently going to the temple.
• and of course I've learned about dating. A friend once told me that its like feast and famine. I'm not always going to have my weekends full of fun activities with guys. I have to rely on the Lord to make me happy and help me to know what to do with all the time I have while I'm still single.
• Our Father in Heaven loves all of us. That has been confirmed to me many times in my life but especially in the past few years. He has a plan for all of us and wants the best for us. Now the biggest thing I've learned is that that plan is never going to be how we imagine it to be. That doesn't mean that our "plans" are bad, but Heavenly Father KNOWS what is best for us. I am surprised so much as how life seems to have it's twist and turns from what I thought would really happen to the point that you would think it would stop surprising me.
• And another great thing I've learned is that the best decision is always the hardest. It could be something as simple as never telling even a "small" lie to standing up for what you believe in if that means defending your beliefs at work or breaking up with someone because you just know its the right thing to do. 
• And the thing that I've learned that probably scares me the most is that I have greater potential than I could ever imagine. I have the capability to do so many things that I never thought I could do, its just all about my attitude and perspective. Heavenly Father has a wonderful future planned for me and I have a lot to improve on to make it through those experiences and I have my doubts sometimes that I can't do some things, but deep down I know I can I just have to push myself (which, as we all know, is easier said than done).
• One last thing, moving back home has probably been the best thing for me for this time in my life. It has helped define me and remind me of who I really wanted to be. Thank goodness that I have loving parents that would let me move home. 

What have you learned from life?