Reconfirmation from on high.

It has fallen on my week to post on the blog and it could not have fallen at a better time. With General Conference being held this last weekend I have many spiritual moments bestowed upon me in the course of a few hours. However the one I want to share with everyone is somewhat near and dear to my heart. This experience starts back about a year ago when I finally decided to apply and was accepted to attend school at Brigham Young University- Idaho. Those of you who know me well know that this school was the LAST place on Earth I wanted to end up (maybe with the exception of BYU Provo). It took nearly a year of subtle hints and pokes at the subject for me to even consider it and then one night in the temple for me to finally give in and apply. After I was accepted I had a vital decision to make...what would my major be? Nothing really interested me expect the Home and Family department. This is widely known as the "mommy major". Even though I have since changed my major to Child Development it is still in the same department and when people ask me what my major is, I often get the, *pause* oh, and the look in their eyes that says "you're in the mommy major" as if it is a bad thing.
I'm not going to lie it has bothered me for as long as I have been up here. Why do people look down on those who choose to help children or families in some way or another? Tue it's not brain surgery or rocket science but that shouldn't make it any less important. The family is at the center of our Heavenly Father's plan and striving to help children and families find happiness in life is a great way to live your life!
Luckily Elder Christofferson agrees with me. He talked about the moral force of women and how it is a force for good in the world. He talked about how encouragement from women leads others to reach high. He then said that we don't diminish men's careers and we should not diminish a woman's career of homemaking. Yeah I know he was talking about women as mothers but I couldn't help but see the connections between his talk and my chosen career path. My eventual goal in life is to become a certified Play Therapist. Basically I'll be playing with children under the age of 13ish who have been traumatized, abused, abandoned, etc and help them understand that what happened to them is not their fault and there is nothing wrong with feeling the way they do.
I realized this weekend what I have known all along. The "mommy major" is important! Women need to understand how the development of a child works, how children understand more than we think they do and how everything they do has a purpose if we just stop to ask questions before assuming we know what is going on. And since not everyone knows that mistakes happen, I want to be there to fix some of those mistakes, encourage children to reach high and never stop believing in themselves!
So to end my post I want to give a shout out to the woman who has always encouraged me to be the best I can be. Who has always been there for me, lifting me up when I fall down, and supporting me through every step of my journey. I love you mom, thank you for the wonderful example you set for me everyday!

That's all for now,
-Kylie