First Impressions

First impressions last the longest, right? Well, with that in mind, I made myself look and feel my very best as I went to institute for the first time with my new ward. I was super excited (and nervous) to meet some of the people in my new ward. As I drove up to the church building that will now be where I got to church, I first found it odd that there weren't very many cars there... was there really institute tonight? I walked into the building and heard a piano playing so I went to that room (probably a Relief Society room or something) to find more adults there than YSAs. Okay... Am I missing something here? There ended up being only about 8 YSAs there from the ward, and two of those came late. Since I'm writing about first impressions, I think it's okay for me to say that the guys there really weren't all that... well, attractive. But, of course, that's judging by appearance... so forget I said that. The lesson was good, so I won't say much about that. After the lesson they had dinner. Some of the people left, but I stayed to begin meeting people and ask questions about the ward.

Apparently I wasn't missing anything. First of all, this ward is not a part of a singles' stake, it is in a family stake. The ward has about 150 people in it, but less than half actually come. They said they are working on that and publicity for activities. The oldest person in the ward (who I met tonight) is 28 and the youngest are the recent high school graduates. Most of the people in the ward are students who still live at home with their parents. The average age is "young." They said right now the ward is sparse, but as kids come back from school to live at home for the summer, the ward is really big. The girl I talked to made it sound like there weren't very many college graduates there because they all have moved away from home. The thing I can compare it to is the Chaffey Branch in my stake at home California. Everyone who is there has been there their whole lives and they know each other and those who go to school go away and come back every so often or not at all.

This is going to be hard, really hard. Coming from an large, incredible ward where there are few less actives and so many great people that come to most, if not all, activities is really hard. Not to mention how many friends I had in that ward- I knew most everyone! It's also really hard for me because one of the biggest reasons why I wanted to move is because I wanted to be in a ward with people who were my age and graduated and trying to support themselves like I am trying to do. It feels really weird to move into someone's "home" ward and be the only one who doesn't have a long back history with everyone else in the ward. I really will be fresh meat to the guys in this ward! I really hope that I can make some good friends and fit in. I need that. I also really hope that there is someone in this new ward who I can relate to and get the support I need as I am trying to be self-reliant and do what I need to do to care for my grandma. I just hope that there are a few really good guys and not just "left over" guys who've never lived away from home and who can be really creepy and weird. In some ways I kind of wish I hadn't gone to institute tonight because it might be hard for me to get that same excitement I had before institute when I get ready to go to my ward for the first time on Sunday. Like it or not, I'm here to stay and I can't go back. I already know this is where I'm supposed to be, so I have to press forward and jump in with both feet. I can do this and do it well! Good things will come from this, I just know it!