I made it to Labor Day!

Happy labor day weekend, friends! I hope that many of you get a chance to relax and spend time with family and friends. :)

I want to start off by saying how grateful I am for the past two weeks of school! Things could not have gone better. Really. It was incredible. From day one, good things were happening - some were silly, but some were really crucial. I had good feelings about coming back to school, which I had mentioned in my last posting, but Heavenly Father really blessed me and showed me that I am truly in the right place at the right time. I'll do a short-ish list just to give you an idea of what I am grateful for. (Oh man. I ended with a preposition. Sorry guys...)

1. I won my first contest ever! It was for Ticketbud, a company that an old elementary school friend works for. One facebook posting later, they had chosen the name I submitted for their office pet newt: Stuart Newton Bradley IV. Now, those of you that know me know how much I pride myself on the way that I name things. So to win my first (and, by the looks of it, possibly last...) contest ever by naming something, I was over the moon. They sent me flowers as a prize! Beautiful!

2. I was offered a position in what is called the ArtsBridge program. It's a program through the University of Utah that integrates the arts into core curriculum for K-3 students in public schools. The best part (besides getting to work with those precious gems) is that it comes with a scholarship! Which was welcomed news, considering that I walked away from all my scholarships when I decided to go on a mission, and am left with my out of state tuition...

3. New job! I have a new job! I've been working at Macy's department store down at City Creek since they opened, and I technically still work there. But now I'll be working at... LUSH Cosmetics, which is also at City Creek. They are fantastic. I already use almost everything they have to offer. So feel free to come and visit me, and I'll show you all the secrets! Even you, men! A close source told me they love their shaving cream...

4. I am now a member of the Salt Lake Vocal Artists, or SLVA. They are the elite division of the larger community choir group, the Salt Lake Choral Artists, under the direction of Dr. Brady Allred. He is the former head of the choral department at the U - and is phenomenal. I'm so humbled that I get to sing with these fantastic musicians! It's going to be a busy, wild ride. And in May, we are touring to Bulgaria! Here is a preview of Bulgaria:

I don't know about you, but that's not what I think of when I think of "Bulgaria." So cool! And I get to get a passport! I've never been off the mainland....or out of the country. Adventures will ensue!

5. After many late night blog postings in frustration (think, sophomore year)...I have a new private teacher! Steve and I have worked through our differences in the last three years - we are fine people, but for some reason, we don't exactly gel in a student-teacher setting. Anyway, since I was leaving on a mission, he didn't plan to have me as a student this semester. Because of a scheduling and time commitment issue, I now get to take lessons from our AMAZING doctoral student horn player, DeAunn. Man. I just think the world of her, and now I get to study with her. We had our first lesson this week, and it was honestly the greatest lesson I've had in my 3+ years at the U. What a way to end my degree. I'm so grateful.

6. So perhaps the greatest news that I have is regarding my financial status. Unfortunately, but actually for good reason, I am still a nonresident here in Utah! I have been blessed with scholarships that have greatly helped my (absurd) tuition costs, but as I mentioned before, I respectfully walked away from all that when I decided to go on a mission. But luckily, for some reason, I never filled out the official paperwork or anything. So this week, after a phone call to the office, I found out that my GPA was reviewed automatically in June and I was approved for a 2/3 tuition waiver again!!! How cool is that?!? For the last two weeks, I've been calculating that I was going to owe literally $10,000 for just 12 hours in a couple of days. It was phenomenal. Just one day later, Scott (he's in charge of wind instrument scholarships) let me know that he has found some money for me. And if just that wasn't enough, the money he's found for me is more than twice my old music scholarship. People. The church is true. If I still had any doubt that coming to school was indeed the right thing move, this whole financial thing has completely eliminated it. The Lord is so good, and he takes care of us when we are in good places, doing good things. Also, pay your tithing people. And if you're not in a church, JOIN ONE. Preferably mine... And pay tithing. :)

Anyway, I am so full of gratitude. To be completely honest, I feel as though this summer sent me to hell and back. And the entire time, all I could cling to was the hope (and knowledge, actually) that things would eventually turn around. That I would climb out of that hole, in time, and things would start to make sense again. But I believe that one of the hardest lessons to learn in life is patience. I mean, come on. How hard is it to stop over thinking the what-ifs and the should-haves, and to just be? Maybe some of you are just gifted with immeasurable quantities of patience, but I for one am not. But I can testify that Heavenly Father is aware of each and every one of us. No matter what. It doesn't matter if we remember him or not - he will always remember us. And I'm so grateful for all of the blessings he has crammed into just the past two weeks. 

But speaking of patience, have any of you ever known (or at least strongly felt) where you were headed, but had not a clue how you were going to get there? Or maybe you could see how it would happen, didn't know if you had the patience to see it through without meddling and ruining things with your impatience. I feel like that's where I'm at right now. I know what I want, and I know that it can happen. And even though I have not a clue how it will happen, I know that Heavenly Father does. And the number one desire of my heart doesn't have to be a disappointment. I know that he will take care of me. Of it. Of us. 

Easier said than done.