The Importance of Being Resourceful

Being from the country and being raised on a cattle ranch can teach you many things.  You learn the value of hard work, and how it directly affects your life, i.e. you put up the hay in the summer, the cows have food in the winter or you don't put the hay up in the summer, the cows have no food and die.  Simple stuff.  You learn that your neighbor isn't just the person that lives closest to you, but everyone in your community and beyond. You also learn to drive at a very young age, 5 or 6, which is more out of necessity than desire.  Yes, I have learned many things in the country but the one I am going to talk about today is resourcefulness.  My dad is the prime example of being resourceful.  There is an advantage (or disadvantage) to having a lot of property, which is that you can store a lot of stuff.  Our ranch is covered with steel pipe, fence post (steel and wood), wire, old equipment parts, tires, and many other unidentified objects.  Luckily, most of this stuff is sorted and put in somewhat organized piles. One of my dad's favorite resources is our scrap pile of steel and other metal materials.  It consists of different sized pipes and rods, bent fence posts, and other remnants of metal parts.  My dad would always pull out just the thing he needed as he worked on one project or another, whether it what a metal pipe that became a lever, or a steel plate that would then be welded onto a trailer hitch.  My mother once insisted that he move a particularly large scrap pile to the dump (the "dump" was about a mile from our house on some of our property where we would haul things from dead cows to broken appliances).  My dad complied, but placed the pile neatly above the dump to later retrieve a useful scrap if needed.  Some would call this hoarding, but my dad felt it was hidden treasure.  But, even though it seems a bit much to have a bunch of extra stuff, there always comes along a project or another need to use the resources, whether it is for their intended purpose, or something we would make them work for.

 I feel that I have definitely learned to be resourceful.  I have my roll of duct tape and my can of WD-40.  Macgyver would be able to save the world with just those two items if it came down to it.  I realized yesterday that I had taken heed to my dad's teachings and learned to used my resources.  When I moved to Nashville, I was able to move in to an apartment with a couple of girls where one is planning to move out in a month and a half.  I was also fortunate to find that they had a storage closet that was completely empty and able to fit all my things until I move into a room at the end of November.  Sleeping on an air mattress for that period of time?  No problem.  Having my stuff in the outside storage closet.  No problem.  Not being able to hang up any of my clothes? Problem.  Actually, it's not too big of a problem.  It's just a little inconvenient to have really wrinkled clothes all the time.  So, I took a little trip to Target and got a shower rod.  I made sure to get the one that could hold 50 lbs.  I installed it in the closet, and voila!  Clothing rack!  Now, this may not seem like that big of a deal, but I was really proud of myself.  It really makes the whole situation just that much better, and I feel that I can soldier through til the end of November.  Now, I may start getting some weird looks from the neighbors as they start noticing that I head out onto the back porch to the storage closet every day, emerging with a pile of clothes, or my bedding (I'm able to put my air mattress and blankets in their as well during the day, keeping the living room looking as if it isn't inhabited), but luckily I can't see if they're looking.  So, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.  Or in other words, be resourceful!

                                                         My awesome outside closet!

Well, first of all, I always told myself that I wouldn't start a blog until I was married.  It seems that a lot of people will start blogs when they get married for many reasons.  It could be a way for them to boast of their new unified status, or to create a way to make sure that their single friends don't forget them, or just to keep updates on their family as new additions are added through the years.  Of course, there are just speculations and no one I know has started blogs for these reasons.  In any case, my reason for starting this blog is to 3 fold.  First, to keep my friends and family back home up to date on my life.  Second, to keep my perspective on what is really important by writing down my experiences.  Third, to offer any useful advice about what I have learned.  The 3rd point will probably be addressed the least.  Ok, so now that I've gotten my excuse for doing a blog out the way, I shall continue.

You may wonder what a single, 26 year old, LDS, young woman is thinking by packing up her bags and moving from Ruby Valley, NV to Nashville, TN.  I am wondering that too, but when I figure out the exact reason, I will let you know.  My initial reason is to pursue singing/songwriting in the country music capital of the world.  It has always been in the back of my mind as a goal of mine, but something I didn't actually think I would ever do.  I have already done a lot with my life by the world's standards.  I have received a bachelor's degree in choral music education, and a master's degree in music education.  Even with my advanced degree, it has been difficult to find a job in my field.  After graduation from the University of Utah with my master's, I became one of the 50% of college graduates who had to move back in with their parents.    Luckily it was on a cattle ranch where I could work and earn money for the time being, and not pay rent.  So, with the situation of not being able to find a job in my field (well except for the hay field) and living at home with my parents, I felt that this was the perfect opportunity to do something crazy:  follow my dreams.  This cannot be possible, however, without support from friends and family.  After 2 months of working for my family, I was able to save up enough money to make the move.  My mother was kind enough to drive across the country with me to offer driving and moral support.  It has been almost a week since I have arrived, and I have managed to find a place to live.  The two girls I am living with are nothing short of saints.  They are allowing me to sleep in the living room and share their living quarters until one of them moves out in November.  I asked if they were sure about this, but they kept insisting it was, so, I will not argue.  That is one thing I have noticed right away about the south-the southern hospitality.  Everyone is so warm and welcoming.  The members of the young single adult LDS branch (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) have certainly welcomed me with their friendship and kindness.  I will go into more detail about details of my first week here in later blogs.  I now have the daunting task of applying for jobs in anything and everything.  I am either too qualified or lack significant experience.  I have applied from everything to a hotel guest agent to a zamboni driver (I secretly really want to be a zamboni driver so I am keeping my fingers crossed).  I feel like I am basically starting over.  Even though I have a master's degree, I feel like nobody cares, but I know that I will find something soon.  I am putting my faith in the Lord and am probably relying on Him more than I ever have before.  Well, I think that is long enough for my first blog.  What have I learned from all this?  Do the best that you can and all will work out.  I think....