Good, Better, Best, and more?

           

     As a woman in college, there is quite a bit of thought I put into dating. There is a strong emphasis here to get married, but with that goal there are so many other factors that I have to consider. Such as do I want to finish my degree first before getting married, should I go and travel abroad, serve a mission for the LDS church, or should I wait to find someone near my home state? I want to become a successful career because it’s what I know I deserve, but how do I balance this in finding love, and starting a family. In ten years what will I define as what was good, better, and best for myself?

                 What is good? I define this as a base line for me or as the minimum goals that I want to reach. My hopes and dreams are to graduate college and find a line of work as/for a family advocate, adoption agency, or a non-profit. This is a goal I know I can reach and be satisfied with. I would be okay with never being married if I can accomplish these things.

                What would be better? Building from this last narrative I would go on a mission and attend law school somewhere. These are things that scare me because it pushes myself to be out there. To be vulnerable, to fall, and to make mistakes. However, I know the rewards would be great. I know that I would fulfill my goals in establishing a career for myself. I could see myself as being stronger after these things and truly having peace in not shying away from goals that challenge me.

                The best way I could see my life going, is doing all that I have said previously, but with my own family by my side. I would love to share these moments with someone and find a companion whose has similar dreams and hopes. We would be married and sometime after graduating college we would start a family. We would both graduate with our masters and find a place to settle. Grow old together and watch our kids grow up to become bright, successful, responsible adults.

                Even though I have established what is best. I think I have to address what is the greatest of all to have. I have described many achievements I hope to accomplish and they are great. They are also what many of us hope to fulfill in being successful in our careers and finding a happy family. However, this can not be possible if we do not learn the lessons from trying to achieve these goals. We have to grow even if we don’t achieve these goals. We need to have grit, perseverance, patience, empathy, be loving, and kind. My dreams that I have are worth nothing if I am not a changed person afterwards.

                What is the greatest of all is if I become the person that my younger self needed. This would be someone who inspires others, uplifts them during their difficult moments, and as cliché as it sounds, believes in their selves.  I know that these dreams could possibly never be fulfilled. I could for some reason drop out of college, never find the right person to marry, and never move up in my job. The greatest of all is learning to be okay with these possibilities because we know that sometimes things in life happen. What is greatest of all is making the decision to say who we will become. Because of these obstacle will we become the greatest of all?