Christmas "Letter" 4.0

Dear Family, Friends, and Random Strangers in the Great Abyss of the Interwebs,

Well, another year has passed by! I think the theme this year has been change, and constancy. Which, I know, are two completely different things. But we'll get to that later.

First, I want to mention something that has been on my mind a lot the past few days. This is my first year, in five years, that I have not had to go through finals to get to Christmas. As all of my friends have been stressing and counting down on Facebook, I have been hit with this strange sense of nostalgia. Not that I want to have to take three-hour tests, and study my butt off in between, but there is something about having to take finals to get to Christmas which made Christmas Christmas, ya know? I don't quite feel like it's Christmas as I just go back to work everyday same as any other month. I think it was the semester ending, and finals starting that just let me know Christmas was right around the corner. I also miss ABCFamily's 25 Days 'Til Christmas. I love cheesy made for TV movies, as well as the Harry Potter marathon, and old Christmas favorites.

Now to this past year. It has almost been a year since I graduated from BYU and moved into my parents' basement (I know, such a stereotypical thing to do). I started off the year with a big change in my life--my first internship! This meant working 40 hours a week, in an office building, with my own office. Working at the New Era was such an amazing experience. And now that my articles have started being published, it is like the gift that keeps on giving! After four months there, another change came in my life. After three weeks of waiting, I was offered an internship at Deseret Book! While I only worked part time here, I had a great time. I was reading books, and editing, and learning, and source checking. After 16 weeks that affirmed to me that editing was really what I want to do with my life, I left there and started at my third internship at the Joseph Smith Papers Project.

I'm back to working full time, and really loving it. I like the people I work with and the things I get to do (though they do get tedious sometimes, but what job doesn't?). The great thing about all these experiences is that they built upon each other--each one prepared me for the next. When I took the editing test at Deseret Book, I just got this peaceful feeling that God knows what I need and if I trust in Him, everything will work out. And it has! It is so amazing!

Another wonderful change this year was that my brother got home from his mission in the Dominican Republic! It's so good to have our family all in one country again!

I also took an acting class! That was very interesting, and good for me to do--got me out of my little shell for a little bit.

So, those are all the changes that have occurred in my life this year, so what about the constancy? Well, though I have changed jobs every four months, I have remained in my parents' basement. That's a constant, as is their love and concern for me. God has remained constant, though I have changed (for the better) in regards to Him. Though I am serving in a different capacity at church, the gospel has forever remained constant, and will ever remain constant. It may not seem like much constancy, but these are the things that are really important.

Also, I'm still single. That has been very constant these past few years!

What am I looking forward to this coming year? I'll continue at JSPP until April-ish, and after that . . . who knows? Hopefully I'll get a "real" job, move out of my parents' house, and start another new chapter in my life. It'll be an adventure, I'll tell you that!

Happy Christmas!

Whitney