Last year, I trained for my first half marathon.

I had never been a runner beforeI was always more of a sprinter. As I began building my endurance, each long run became the longest I had ever completed.

One summer morning, I was walking with my parents when we saw someone jogging past us on a trail. He wasnt moving fastjust a steady, slow pace. As we passed him, we found ourselves judging him because of how slow he was running. Shortly after, we all felt bad about it, and I said, Hey, we never know what mile someone is on. That thought stuck with me, and I found myself returning to it each time I ran.

We truly never know what mile someone is on. The person we pass could be on their 14th mile, pushing through the final stretch. They might be recovering from an injury or simply choosing to take it slow and steady. We just dont know.

As more time passed in my running journey, I began to see how this idea applies to life. We never know what mile someone is on in their personal journey. Someone could be facing their biggest trial, experiencing their happiest moment, or just having a tough day. This realization helped me understand that we often have no idea what others are going throughso instead of judging, we should offer encouragement.

This reminds me of a quote from Sister Freeman. In April 2026, she gave a talk called

She said, Because of Jesus Christ, no matter how bad things are right now, your best days are ahead. In other words, the next mile is ahead. Everyone will make it through the mile they are on, whether its their best day or their hardest.

Through Christ, we are helped. He comforts us in our worries and fears. Jesus Christ is our strength. No matter what mile someone else is on, our role is not to judge, but to offer strength and encouragementjust as He would.

This semester I had the chance to be in BYUs production of the musical The Light in the Piazza.

It was an awesome show that I did not know very well beforehand. One interesting thing about it is that although it is a contemporary show, the music is written like a classical golden age piece. The music was actually some of the most challenging I have ever had to learn, but through lots of effort and support, I was able to get it down.

The night of our second performance, during one of the final duets of the show, a musical track came in a little earlier than expected. In an attempt to keep on with the music I accidentally started my verse of the song a full measure early, as I was singing, I realized that I was ahead of the track and was thinking of the options that I had to correct the mistake. I decided that the smartest thing to do was just to finish the verse, and hope that my partner on stage would wait out the next measure before she started hers.

So thats what I did, I got through the rest of the verse and waited for my partner. She, having correctly heard that I started early, waited out the measure and started her verse, and we were right back on track. At that moment, I looked at my partner and felt a lot of joy. I knew that if I messed up, someone had my back. I was not at all embarrassed, or nervous about the rest of the number, in fact I actually felt more prepared for the rest of the song than I had up to that point. Rather than being worried that someone else may have to help me, I was so excited by the idea that somebody would if I ever needed it.

We often take on a lot on our own. While it is important to be able to take care of yourself, and achieve things on your own, I think we sometimes imply that reliance on others is weakness. Instead, I think that reliance on others only frees you up to be the best version of yourself. Whenever possible, Id highly recommend taking a moment to realize who you have in your life, who has your back, and who is there to help you through whatever you are going through. Even in the times that you dont feel you need that support; it could free you more than youd expect to know that its there.

Spring is my favorite season.

There is such beauty in the changing of the seasons, and something sacred in the new and renewed life that rises as the weather becomes warmer. I love watching buds appear on trees, listening to the birds return, and feeling the sun on my face after a long winter. It is not lost on me that spring is a perfect analogy of the Saviors Resurrection, a time when life rises again, stronger and brighter than before.

For me, winter often seems to drag on. And while I love the snow, seeing nothing but empty trees and scraggly, sad bushes makes me miss the leaves, the sunlight, and the sound of birds returning again. The world feels still, almost lifeless, and I cant help but long for warmth and color. I think thats how life can feel too, the moments that are quiet, lonely, or painful can make us miss the joy and vibrancy of what we hope is coming.

Life, like the earth, has its seasons. We are born into our own proverbial spring, full of promise and new beginnings. We pass through the summers of our lives, with growth, learning, and experiences that shape us. And just as surely as the seasons change, we face our autumns and winters, times of trial, loss, or sorrow. One day, our earthly lives will come to an end. I often find myself wondering what life would be if that were it, the end.

I think it would suck.

But thankfully, life is not like that. Just as winter is not everlasting, our death is not eternal. We have a Savior who died and resurrected for us. He lives. Because He lives, we will live. Because He lives, we can return again. Because He lives, families are not lost, only separated for a time. Because He lives, we can repent, find peace in our sorrows, and discover joy even in our trials. Because He lives, eternal life is possible.

Because He lives, I dont have to fear the winters of my life. Even in moments that feel heavy, cold, or empty, I can hold on to hope. I can remember that spring always comes, that the earth renews itself, and that my soul can be made new again. I can see the beauty in life, even when it feels hidden, and trust that brighter days are ahead.

Because He lives, I know we will live again. I know that families are forever, that love endures, and that peace and joy are real promises, not just wishes. Because He lives, I can face the challenges and trials of life with courage, hope, and gratitude.

I am so grateful this Easter season for a Savior who loves us, and for a Savior who lives. Because He lives, life is full of promise, hope, and renewal, not just for a season, but for eternity.

During this past semester break, I had one goal: Recenter and refresh myself for the new year and upcoming semester.

Arriving at this goal wasnt immediate and it took an approach that I wasnt anticipating, but I was able to learn some valuable lessons in the process. Some of the lessons come from a book, titled Be Where Your Feet Are, by Scott ONeil as he discusses personal experiences/lessons that help to keep him grounded in a fast-paced life. The mixture of my own ideas and what I learned from this book both helped me to be able to enter this semester refreshed and ready to tackle the demands that seem to be never-ending.

Here are a few of the lessons that I learned and have worked to apply this semester:

While these are only three of the lessons that I learned from reading Be Where Your Feet Are and from my own reflection, I have been able to let them shape me this semester. Taking the time to deeply reflect on what I could change wasnt easy; it was a little uncomfortable if Im honest. I had to realize and accept that I had space to grow into and that I wasnt where I wanted to be. So, my personal reflection and desire to reach my goal of a refresh helped me to find things to change.

In Scott ONiels book, he talked about the idea of having a Core Four or determining your personal Whats Most Important. This idea has helped me to focus on 3-4 of the biggest areas of my life and make them what I focus on. Whether it includes faith, education, family, service, or any other area, this has been something that has allowed me to stay connected to what I value most. It has also helped me to see what really matters right now as compared to just going with the flow without a defined direction.

Both from my own experience and also from what Be Where Your Feet Are teaches, I have learned that failure is not meant to define us. Instead, I am learning to use failure and unmet expectations as a continuous feedback loop for improvement. This can be used in any area of life work, school, family, relationships, etc. The Agile meetings we all are familiar with have taught me a lot about this, especially retrospectives. When we take time to review what happened, identify what went wrong, accept it, and move forward, we are choosing to fail forward and create an environment for growth.

More than anything, a strong connection to the Lord can anchor us when nothing else seems to provide that. With so many choices and decisions to make, we can choose to hold on tight to the relationship we have with the Lord. The peace that I have felt from this relationship in my life has helped to sustain me when the other lessons from this list havent. I know that the Lord can give us the guidance and answers to our deepest desires when nothing else seems to be working.

So, whether you are looking for a refresh or just looking to feel more grounded in a busy college life, take some time to slow down and reflect. It may be a little uncomfortable at first, but the peace, clarity, and growth that come from it are worth it.

One of my favorite fantasy worlds is built around ambitions.

These ambitions are more than just the goals that drive the characters and the story; they are a major part of the characters' identity. Success in this fantasy world isnt determined by the amount of wealth or power gained; it is determined by how much you pursue your dream and how much you encourage others to pursue theirs.

We all have dreams and goals. Elder Soares has said, The help we can receive from the Lord in our goals and righteous pursuits is unlimited, and He supports us in any good and righteous endeavor.

Now I know I have been told that with effort and perseverance, I could accomplish anything I put my mind to. But at the end of the day, we have limitations. Lets say I have the grand goal to be the fastest person ever and go to the Olympics. I have set a good goal, and I can make a proper plan to start training and pray that the Lord will consecrate my efforts, but I still have several underlying medical conditions that make the training do more harm than good for me. Sometimes we still fail despite doing nothing wrong.

President Nelson asked us to allow our will to be swallowed up by Gods will. Im a very stubborn person. I like being in control of my life. When I look at the term swallowed up, I dont see how that is supposed to be an enjoyable process. Giving up my own desires and ambitions to find the ambitions that God has for me is something I am still consistently working on.

Dreams should push you to new limits. God designed them to push us out of our comfort zones. We are bound to run into failure as we pursue our dreams. Failure is often one of the greatest lessons, allowing us to do things differently and persevere. Trusting in God and his timing was designed to go against every natural desire we have; it is a choice we have to make continually. Following and relying on His direction while we pursue our dreams is how we gain our success.

Dreams are worth pursuing, even in failure, even in disbelief, even in pain. Christ is here for us to rely on, and even if its not where we think he will guide us to whats best, while helping us become the best possible versions of ourselves.

The truthfulness of the restored Church boils down to a few important core truths.

Is God our loving Heavenly Father? Is Jesus Christ the Savior of the world? Was Joseph Smith a prophet of God? Is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints the kingdom of God on earth?

I have pondered the importance of these questions throughout my life, and they only seem to become more relevant the older I get. I love the words of Elder Lawrence Corbridge:

If you answer the primary questions, the secondary questions get answered too, or they pale in significance... (Stand Forever, Corbridge, 2018)

I know that this is true. Knowing that Jesus is the Christ answers far more questions than knowing the logistics of how He created the world. Knowing that the Book of Mormon is the word of God is far more applicable and enabling than knowing exactly how Joseph translated it. Seeking answers to the questions that lie at the core of our beliefs is the best way to build a strong foundation that will stand forever.

The same applies to the secular. Often, we can be caught up in the specifics of daily life, fixating on interesting, but ultimately inconsequential things. One of the easiest and most common ways that I think that the adversary drags us down is by making us feel like the insignificant is all that matters, and the significant should fall by the wayside. Distractions fight for our time and attention constantly, while simple truths can often seem boring or not worth our concern.

I want to underscore that zooming out and focusing on the simple joys of life, like family, friends, nature, and time on earth in general, can greatly improve mentality and optimism. It is the most effective tool against the distractions and sadness that plagues our day.

Like Elder Corbridge said, we should strive to align our focus with what is most important! Then and only then will we be able to discern truth from error, and live after the manner of happiness (2 Nephi 5:27).

I wanted to write about a story that, although not my own, made a real impact on me and on my outlook towards life, especially the hard times of life. This story was shared by Mike Gibson.

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All hands meetings are already a highlight of being on the Agile team here at OIT. I love getting to know the team better and learn from my team and leaders. But I feel this last time was especially good. Mike got up to share professional development tips from his long and successful career as a father, businessman, and BYU alumni. His simple tips turned out to be hard-hitting life lessons. One lesson and story he shared really stood out to me.

The Hill is where you Win. That was the one-liner hook of his beautiful story. The story of a devoted cross country coach that shaped the life of Mikes younger years and, in effect, his entire life.

Mike was, and still is, an avid runner. When he was in high school he ran for his school on the cross country team. During his time running on the team, he improved in his abilities, largely in part to the wonderful coaching he received. His coach was wonderful and took the time to train his team to become winners. As most good coaches do, he had a mantra to accompany his teaching. His was simple - The hill is where you win.

Mike probably heard that simple phrase a hundred times in his time running for the school. But, Mike soon discovered, and continued to learn over the course of his life, that deeper meaning is found in that simple phrase. The hill is where you win. The meaning of that phrase becomes evermore meaningful when you are yourself, literally or figuratively, running up a hill.

Its when your legs are burning, lungs bursting, and the run is getting steeper and steeper that you make the decision to keep going and win. Its when life starts feeling like a marathon and one more step seems too much. Its when uphill battle starts to take on personal meaning. Its when your tank is empty and you are running on fumes.

Thats when you win.

Not when you cross the finish line and not when you pass the person in front of you. You win on the hill. Mikes coach understood that. His mantra was more than encouragement to win a race, but a lesson on when our efforts matter the most. When perseverance leads to victory.

Unfortunately, Mikes coach tragically passed away recently. Mike made a song to commemorate his life and he sang that song in our meeting. It was fantastic. Words cant describe how the Spirit filled the room. Everyone listened intently and even halted their incremental bites of delicious J Dawgs to listen to the beautiful melody. Its impossible for me to convey through writing the emotions he delivered when he sang, but I hope the message has been received. The hill is where you win.

Thanks be to Jesus Christ who climbed the Hill of Calvary while carrying the pains and sorrows of every one of us. Because of Him, there is hope to finish the race although it may feel like the finish line is too far and everyone else is passing you. Because of Him, we never have to run completely alone although it may feel like we are completely isolated. He is our perfect coach and I am sure when He sees us struggling to topple our own individual hills, no matter how big or small, He is repeating the same mantra of Mikes coach. The Hill is where You Win.

When President Oaks came for his devotional 2 weeks ago, his third point he gave was to seek help from others.

I will be graduating early this winter. Trying to figure out the ins and outs of that seemed very daunting and unrealistic at first. I didnt even know if it was a possibility until I went and talked to one of accounting school advisors. She helped me come up with a plan that made it possible to graduate early.

There have been many hic ups in my education since then and I have seen many tender mercies throughout the process. I cant count the number of times I have been checking my graduation plan, and I see something that I believe will ruin the whole thing. Every time this happens, I go to my advisors office and together we have made changes to the plan to still allow me to graduate in December.

There is no doubt in my mind that if I wasnt for her help, I wouldnt be graduating. This goes back to the message President Oaks shared, sometimes we need to seek for and allow help form others. Often, I find that I would rather just try it on my own rather than asking help from someone else. More often than not when I dont ask for help, I do worse than if I would have gotten assistance.

Currently I am in classes with students a year above me as part of my plan. Even though I shouldnt feel nervous about the first day of class I remember being extremely nervous the first day of the semester. I didnt think I would know anyone in the class and maybe the material would go over my head. Fortunately, I met someone who is also graduating early, and we have become good friends this semester. It is thanks to his help that I have really come to enjoy and succeed in those classes.

Whether it is my advisor or a friend in my classes, I have learned this semester that I need help. As I have sought guidance from others, I have learned a lot more and grown more this semester. I invite all of us to not be shy or ashamed about asking for help and assistance when we need it!

The idea of New Years Resolutions has never really made sense to me.

In the past, I have decided to make changes to further my goals or to improve myself and was tempted to wait for the new year. But why do we have to wait for the new year to improve ourselves or start our goals? The whole idea of new year, new me just feels wrong. In my opinion we do this to delay the changes that we are wanting to make out of fear or waiting for the opportune time. We are delaying change and improvement because we attach it to dates. This is the Myth of the Perfect Start. There is never going to be a perfect time to start or do anything, but action is still necessary. And its not always the New Years. Sometimes it's Ill wait until next semester, or "Ill wait until Monday, or even worse when life calms down a little bit. I have found that this just results in a someday it will happen mindset and no action is taken. I have been guilty of this way of mindset as I believe most people are.

These last few years I have made a resolution for myself. If I wanted to make a change or get something done, I would Just Do It. I love Nikes' motto because it encourages you to act and get stuff done, regardless of your circumstances. I decided that I wouldnt wait for a better time. I realized that all these goals I had needed action. Waiting for the perfect time was just a way of delaying the hard work that would be necessary. I have stuck with this, and it has changed the way I think. Throughout these last few years of my Just Do It mentality, I have realized that there will never be a perfect time to do anything. If we wait to start on our goals, we begin to overanalyze and think of reasons why we cant or shouldnt start yet. Overthinking and overanalyzing kills momentum. This is the moment that we need to make a mental shift. Action creates motivation, not the other way around. A ball wont roll unless it gets pushed. We won't start until we take that first step to get the ball rolling. Motivation and momentum will keep us going from there.

At first, starting might feel uncomfortable. Starting or making any sort of change typically is. You arent going to know how to lift weights perfectly the first time you go to the gym. You arent going to be perfect at journaling or learning a new skill. You arent going to lose weight all at once. You are going to feel awkward and uncomfortable as you make changes and this is hard. This often results in discouragement and kills your motivation. But what feels more uncomfortable, from my personal experience, is not starting or giving up. In most cases we need to recognize that the long-term benefits will outweigh the short term pain. So don't think about it, don't over analyze, take that first step and create your own motivation. Take a page out of Nikes book and Just Do It.

Let me set the scene:

You're completing a puzzle (which is very cozy and cute, by the way) when you cant figure out where one of the final pieces goes.

You are almost done with the puzzle, so, naturally, frustration begins to build. It becomes so aggravating that you begin to wonder if the piece even belongs to this puzzle. Because, come on, if you havent found its place by now, you might as well toss it in the trash.

You check the picture of the completed puzzle one more time and realize that, of course, the piece had a place all along; you just didnt realize it would be a part of the hydrangeas.

The rest of the pieces fit nicely into place, and your puzzlefinallyis complete.

In a similar way, I knew that a mission was something God desired of me, but I didnt see where it could fit in my future. Instead of trusting God's picture, I tried to rearrange his will to something I would be more comfortable with. Perhaps that meant serving a mission later with a spouse, but certainly not during college.

Over time, I decided to build faith in Gods plan for me, so I began praying for an increased desire to serve a mission.

I was thinking about my situation when during relief society, a member of the bishopric shared Doctrine and Covenants 4:3 which says, "Therefore, if ye have desires to serve God ye are called to the work."

Woah. Wanting a desire to serve a mission felt applicable here. After church, I looked up D&C 4:3 in my scriptures, and I found that it was already marked. Perhaps I always did have a desire, but I was letting the fear of failure hinder my excitement about serving.

Sometimes God asks us to do things that we don't plan on. It can be difficult to accept a change in our agenda when we dont see the present benefits. For me, God asking that I sacrifice 18 months of my life to serve him was initially overwhelming. All I could see was my weaknesses and not what I could BECOME with the Lords help. I couldnt see the full picture.

Now, as I prepare to serve a mission, Doctrine and Covenants 109:44 comes to mind: Thy will be done, O Lord, and not ours. As we turn to the Lord, our efforts can be magnified. When we trust Him, we can have faith that every piece in our puzzle is where it belongs.