Personal Narrative: Taking the Next Big Step

This was a very difficult paper for me to write, I had the hardest time thinking of a story from my life. So far it seems to have been pretty uneventful.  I mean come on, I have been out of High School for a year now, I should at least have had one or two statues made of me.  One of my goals is to live a life worth remembering.  There is a lot I want to do in this life, and I got a little ahead of myself, here is an excerpt from my life right after I graduated to about two or three months ago.  Please leave comments of what you liked, and what I can work on.

I have noticed that people never like to say they are good at something.  Maybe they fear that they will
sound arrogant or prideful, but I believe you can acknowledge your strengths and still be humble.   Humility actually is knowing where you are strong and where you are lacking, as well as knowing that you always have more to learn.  I am good at accepting people, and seeing the best of everyone.  I am told I get that from my grandmother.  However, while I may be able to accept others weaknesses and praise their strengths, I have a difficult time doing this with myself.  I am my toughest critic.  I do know that I have talent in some things, but I put the bar very high on myself.  Usually too high to reach, and when I don’t quite get there, I become very frustrated.  Most of my post-high school life has been me getting angry at the lack of progression in my life.  I came to realize that all this frustration was coming from lack of direction.  I had no goal---no purpose, or so I thought.
   Senior year of high school is almost all focused around graduating and asking what one another is going to do once the get into the “real world”...that and having a fling with as many girls as you can before it’s all over.  The term “real world” was used a lot, not only senior year, but all throughout middle/high school.  During class this term was used often too.  A student will ask, “Teacher?  Why do we have to take economics? I am not going to be an economist.”
    The teacher will say something to the effect of, “Because some of these lessons are used in the real world when you have to balance a checkbook, or invest in the stock market, or open an IRA, etc.”  On the other hand sometimes they’ll say, “You really won’t need this in the real world, but it’s part of the curriculum so we have to do it.”
    As my graduation day drew near I often thought about the real world.  The way people talk about it, you might think that colors suddenly take on a different hue.  I was expecting critical life decisions to appear one after another.  After all growing up we have been told that this is the time where some of our most important decisions are made.  I graduated...a month passed...two months...three. I came to realize the band Bowling For Soup put it best when they said, “High school never ends”. 
    Everything seemed to be pretty much the same.  During high school, I woke up, went to class, went to after-school play rehearsal, practiced my singing and guitar, skateboarded for a while, came home did a little homework, played video games, and went to sleep.  Once I got into this real world I woke up, went to class, rehearsed monologues for auditions, practiced my singing and guitar, skateboarded for a while, came back to my dorm, did a little homework, played some video games, and went to sleep.  The only noticeable differences were:  I ate a lot more ramen, and drank more energy drinks.  The application process for my major was a long one, and I was told that it would be better if I applied after my mission.  I had a job, but got less hours then I thought I would, and since I only had one prerequisite for my major that was next to impossible to get into as a freshman, I mostly took generals that I had little to no interest in.
    Everything I wanted to do---my “next step”---were all post-mission things, and there was almost nothing I could do to prepare for them.  I graduated when I was 17, so I have had this long period of waiting until I could take my next step.  I watched my friends either go on their missions, or get nice fancy jobs out of state, or get married in a few disturbing cases while I sat and waited until I could go out into this real world and live my life.
    After two semesters of tedious classes and loosing my friends to jobs, missions, and marriage, I moved back home.  Motivated by my parents and my delusion that this was the thing standing in the way of me getting on with my life, I applied for my mission.  Through the process of applying, I had many talks with my bishop, went to my ward’s Youth Conference, and studied the gospel.  As I put more of my focus on the gospel and my mission, I realized that I was making progress in my life.  With the help of my bishop and my ward’s youth, I began to see that my mission was not the thing I had to get done to make my next step in life, but it was my next step.  I swiftly repented for my bad mindset, and went to work reading the Book of Mormon, other scriptures, actually putting thought into my prayers, and making other preparations for my mission.
    I was so excited when I received my call.  When I opened it, I covered where I was going with my finger, so I wouldn’t see it until I got to that part of the letter.  I did however see the top of the first letter; I thought it was an E.  My first thought was Eugene Oregon, and dread filled my soul.  I would have gone, and I am sure I would learn to love the people of Eugene...but I was thrilled to find out that it wasn’t Eugene, but France Lyon. 
    I learned the importance of missionary work, and what an honor it is to go and do nothing but serve the Lord for two full years.  I know that this is my next step in life, and that everything else I want to happen will just have to wait until I have done this, and I am happy with that.