Hello, lovely WSR Blog readers! My name is Amanda, and I am so excited about the chance that I have to blog here for the next semester. I’m from Alpine, Utah, and I love singing, commas, running, George Eliot, cubic zirconia, playing outside, and blueberry muffins. I’m sure we’ll get to know each other better as the semester unfolds.
One evening this week, I decided to hike the Y. Too many summer days spent sitting behind a desk had left me with an itch to walk, to run, to move (to do anything but sit, really) and the suddenly crisp, suddenly fall-like air that this week brought was too much to resist. I've lived in this beautiful valley for longer than most BYU students, for better or worse, and the rocky twists and turns of the Y mountain trail are now familiar to me.
I wound my way up the side of the mountain, and as one dusty, dirty switchback led to another, I thought back to the first time that I had hiked the Y trail three years ago. It was a spontaneous event, the kind of activity that happens only in college towns, only with the best of friends, and only late at night. That first time I hiked the Y, I was not prepared. It was pitch black and I didn't know the way up the mountain, and though the trail was well marked, I had to rely almost entirely on a friend ahead of me, who had a flashlight and more knowledge of the trail than I did. And now, fast forward three years, and I was confidently charging up the trail while Beyoncé serenaded me through my headphones. Through experience and time, I had developed the skills, confidence, and stamina to make it up the mountain on my own without too much difficulty.
Now, I hope to accomplish many things in this life that are much bigger and better than hiking a two-mile trail in Provo, Utah, and I hope I've already accomplished a few of them. But as I reflected on how different my two hiking experiences were, my thoughts drifted back to something I've been thinking a lot about lately: self-reliance, specifically emotional self- reliance. Emotional self-reliance, coupled with faith in our Heavenly Father, can help us tackle the winding mountain trails life throws at us. Emotional self-reliance can make all the difference in how we perceive and handle the mountains and molehills that lie in front of all of us.
I wound my way up the side of the mountain, and as one dusty, dirty switchback led to another, I thought back to the first time that I had hiked the Y trail three years ago. It was a spontaneous event, the kind of activity that happens only in college towns, only with the best of friends, and only late at night. That first time I hiked the Y, I was not prepared. It was pitch black and I didn't know the way up the mountain, and though the trail was well marked, I had to rely almost entirely on a friend ahead of me, who had a flashlight and more knowledge of the trail than I did. And now, fast forward three years, and I was confidently charging up the trail while Beyoncé serenaded me through my headphones. Through experience and time, I had developed the skills, confidence, and stamina to make it up the mountain on my own without too much difficulty.
Now, I hope to accomplish many things in this life that are much bigger and better than hiking a two-mile trail in Provo, Utah, and I hope I've already accomplished a few of them. But as I reflected on how different my two hiking experiences were, my thoughts drifted back to something I've been thinking a lot about lately: self-reliance, specifically emotional self- reliance. Emotional self-reliance, coupled with faith in our Heavenly Father, can help us tackle the winding mountain trails life throws at us. Emotional self-reliance can make all the difference in how we perceive and handle the mountains and molehills that lie in front of all of us.
I am not suggesting that having solid friends and family to lean on is not important, or that there are not times when it is important, even crucial, to seek help from loved ones or professionals. I count the help that I have received from others throughout the years as one of the biggest blessings of my life. But consider the following quote from President Boyd K. Packer:
“The principle of self-reliance or personal independence is fundamental to the happy life. In too many places, in too many ways, we are getting away from it. . . . The same principle—self-reliance—has application to the spiritual and to the emotional.”
To me, emotional self-reliance means that I don’t base my worth on the opinions and judgments of others. It means taking time to care for myself. It means knowing that I have worth, that I am beautiful and wonderful regardless of rejection or what other people think. It means understanding that no matter how hard life may seem to get, I can do anything as I rely on my Heavenly Father for help and as I pray to him always. It means trying my darnedest to focus on the good and forget about the bad, and it means letting go of things that I cannot control. It means stopping to reflect and respond thoughtfully when something goes wrong, rather than merely reacting and lashing out in anger or uncontrolled emotion.
All of this is easier said than done—mucheasier said than done. And talking about exactly how we develop these characteristics is a topic for another time. But trying, just trying to do my best to tackle life’s difficulties, to climb the mountains that are set before me, and knowing that I have the strength to do it, that all women and children of God have the strength inside us to do very hard things, as we rely on our Savior—that feels good.
I leave you with this gem of a quote from Edith Wharton:
“In spite of illness, in spite even of the archenemy sorrow, one can remain alive long past the usual date of disintegration if one is unafraid of change, insatiable in intellectual curiosity, interested in big things, and happy in small ways.”
By Amanda Seeley
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