Enjoy the Ride

I’m going to Tonga this summer. And I have a blog. And these are panties on my wall. 

The Panties: 

I’ve had these panties for awhile, and at the point that I might’ve gotten rid of them I realized how much I needed to remember what they say. It’s easy for me to focus on my own little world of problems, get caught up in my little phone, social media, comparing my weaknesses to others’ strengths, and how many goals I haven’t yet accomplished. I forget that patience is a virtue. That there is so much joy to be found in the day-to-day activities that take up much of my time, as well as the people I share those activities with. So when I’m alone in my room, reflecting on the day and whether or not I feel accomplished, I remind myself to “Enjoy the ride,” and all that comes with it. Plus what better way to remind yourself than with the backside of your unmentionables?

Tonga: 

(Before we get into it, I’d like to clarify that Tonga is near Hawaii/Australia/New Zealand, since no one seems to have heard of it ) 

I have been offered the opportunity to serve as a Trip Leader for an LDS (this is a nickname for 'Mormon' by the way, which I am) program for teenagers called Humanitarian Especially For Youth (HEFY). 

It gives teens the opportunity to travel abroad and do humanitarian aid, strengthen their faith and testimonies in the love God has for everyone everywhere, and to expand their perspective of the world around them. Other churches would call this something like a "mission trip," but in the LDS church a "mission" classifies as 1-2 years of a media fast spent preaching the Gospel in somewhere other than your home.

After years of being an EFY counselor I’m so so excited!! If everything gets approved and figured out, I will be in the Polynesian Islands for 5 weeks between July and August.

The Blog:

Surprise - I have one! Not something I’ve touched in awhile, but it’s been there for me since I did the Disney College Program in 2011, documenting my experiences for those who wanted to follow them. I guess that’s why I still have it. Enjoy :)

Why I'm Happy to be Home From My Mission

So I'm really happy about it. And I've gone through phases of feeling guilty for that, feeling great about that, and wondering if there's something wrong with me for it.

Machu Picchu

Although today I just stumbled across blogs from missionaries that also served in the same mission that I did, and it made my heart so happy to see them teaching, visiting, and baptizing the people I used to visit!

I came home from the LDS (Latter-day Saint - www.lds.org) mission I served in Cusco, Peru about three months ago, on November 4, 2015. Missions are broken up into time blocks called transfers - each one is 6 weeks, so roughly a month and a half. I spent my first transfer in the mission in the Missionary Training Center in Lima learning how to be a missionary.

The MTC (Missionary Training Center) in Lima 

The next 7.5 months (5transfers) I was sent to Puno, which borders Lake Titicaca

Los Uros, or the floating islands on Lake Titicaca

Morning study time; I was tired every single day of my mission. Means we worked ;)

And the next 9 months (6 transfers) I spent working in the actual city of Cusco

The Qurikancha

Working with the members 

You fall in love with the people in your mission

Overlooking Cusco

And then the very last transfer of my mission (6 weeks) I was in Quillabamba.

Teaching a lesson 

The church building in the jungley mountains 

Quillabamba is a little tropical town located up in the Andes mountains on the backside of Machu Picchu, and can only be compared to places like Hawaii. It was the perfect place to end my mission, and I was in love with the weather, the kindness of the people, and the innumerable amount of wild mango trees.

Ending my mission was an emotional process, but the most distinct feeling was looking back on how quickly 18 months had passed by. I had learned Spanish enough to express myself and converse easily, lived and breathed the mission standards and daily schedule, and collaborated in a team with a female companion teaching Church principles every single day of the mission. I was exhausted, but couldn't help but feel satisfied with the effort I had put in.

My mission president and his wife, President and Sister Harbertson

Coming home to Southern California was a completely different world to the one I was used to, and for most missionaries, the adjustment process can be very stressful and sometimes depressing. I found myself in complete awe of the grocery stores, cars I would see on the street, and obsessed with American food. Which to me, means authentic food from every single country that I could find just down the street.

It's still a bit overwhelming sometimes, going from only focusing on spiritual progression for a year and a half to your own personal education, career future, relationships, and current financial status. But it's also wonderful and beautiful. Some people say that our generation is a very selfish one, and I would agree, but it's also helping us to become better contributors to society in the future.

So, here's why I'm so happy to be home after my mission:

1. The food. I can't even. Peruvian food is a mix of sometimes spicy, sometimes garlicy blends of rice with meats, vegetables, and fruits that can be really yummy. And like every country, there are good cooks and not so good cooks. But there is nothing like being able to get great tacos, sushi, orange chicken, and In-N-Out all in the same day.

Sushi in Tokyo

A bacon cheese donut burger in Orlando

2. When I got to the end of my mission, even though it had sped by, it really did feel like it was time to go home. Just like any stage of life, I couldn't stay in the mission forever, and it was time for me to move on and I was okay with it.

3. I missed my family. A lot. Three years away (I had a month in the U.S. in between coming home from Japan and leaving for Peru) didn't give me a lot of time to spend with my family. Face-to-face contact when you can actually stand in front of a person and hold them is completely different from Skype, Facetime, or phone calls.

Going to the LA temple with my brother

4. I love my cellphone. I love how efficient my real life is. I love social media, staying connected, and being able to communicate with people whenever I feel like it. Doing a media fast for 18 months was really great because I was completely concentrated on the people in front of me always. But efficiency is just... irreplaceable.

5. Most returned missionaries will agree that at a certain point in your mission you start to feel like you're ready to apply the principles you are teaching to your own personal life. Now post-mission, I'd like to say that it's all about finding a great balance. I loved being a missionary, but now my time and energy is divided between many different wonderful things, and I love all the happy things I can be involved in!

Being able to see my missionary plaque up in the Tokyo First Ward building with awesome

6. Sleeping in. I missed it. And staying up late doing whatever I want. Oh my.

7. Not having a companion anymore. Each and every one of my companions was perfect for me for the time I was with them, and I hope I'm friends with them forever. They taught me Spanish :) But I will never have to be with a girl 24/7 again, and am so happy about it.

8. Being with boys. Being able to hug them! And kiss them ;) And date them. The first time a boy hugged me after I got home I was sooo stiff and awkward. But I got over it :)

The Bellagio fountains in Las Vegas

Seeing my brother for the first time in forever

9. Just being able to move on with life. Progression is a weird thing in the mission-- you progress spiritually the quickest you ever have, but everything else in your personal life falls by the wayside as you concentrate on helping others progress personally. It becomes a very unique self-improvement process for everyone, and I'm thankfully for the entire amount of time I got to spend in my mission.

10. I missed people :) And places. I missed Japan and Orlando and Disney. So I came home and went back. Worth every penny. 

First time I seeing my roommates in 3 years

The Tokyo YSA's

The subway in New York

Why I Want to Go on a Mission

Starting first with the story of how I decided I wanted to serve a mission:

I was sitting in a normal Church meeting one Sunday in November when unprompted, the thought of going on a mission came to mind. I've dismissed it before as just thoughts and not promptings, and it was the same this time but instead of dropping it, I let my mind wander to how different my life could be in six months if I decided to serve a mission. I'd probably have a mission call and potentially be in the MTC (mission training center) already, having gone through the temple to take out my endowments and say goodbye to all family and friends for a year and a half. I asked myself if that scared me, to change my life so drastically for something I believed in, and remembered that I have absolutely nothing to be afraid of. My testimony of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is so solid and thorough that I actually would give up everything for it, and so I made the decision that it was finally time. For the rest of the meeting I plotted in my head how the next few months would pan out, and as soon as the meeting ended rushed to the bishop's office to tell him about my plans :) And now I'm a few days away from finding out when and where I will serve for the next 18 months after I return to the States! 

This list is a bit unedited but it's very honest, and hopefully not offensive in any way. If offense is taken, understand that it was unintended:

1. I feel 100% like this is the right thing for me to do at the right time. Yes we should always strive at every moment to better ourselves, but I do believe in a sense of timing, and that certain things can be much better at specific times. For instance, I would not have ever done this last year. I've grown up with no desire to ever serve a mission but also with a self-assurance that if I ever felt the desire and/or call within me to go, I would drop everything without hesitation and do so. 

2. I want to do service on a bigger scale, I'm ready to give back, and what better way?

3. Because I can; I've been preparing by working in different situations with completely different kinds of people this whole year; I know how to stay motivated and positive, and I have the means to take care of myself for 18 months without working. And I'm still in my younger 20s :)

4. Because it's a really good experience, growing up for me and helping others to learn; a really good lesson for me in humility, faith, and obedience, and for me to love and serve my companions and people in the area I'm sent. 

5. I can help people with my previous experience and study to have a more fuller understanding of the world around them and how God's presence and love is in everything. There are people out there I can influence and help find the Gospel that might not have been able to find it otherwise.

6. Because it just feels so right that I can't even express it. 
And it's weird, this service thing. I've never wanted more to help people out, to help them to feel happier, to do them favors and even go across the world to do humanitarian aid, to love my family more (I call them all the time now), and to get to know people better and listen to their stories and just love and love and love. It makes me want to burst!

7. Because I've learned so much this year and in years and jobs prior; I've learned how to live by myself and be lonely, but also what working hard means, and how to work with different attitudes and cultures without changing my standards, and I've learned more about real life, while sort of not living in it. Is my life ever going to be "real" anyway? It doesn't have to be. I like getting paid for hugs.

So there you have it :) Jennifer Lauren Hollingshead is going on a mission. 

Halloween at Tokyo Disneyland!

Here in Japan they have a concept called "cosplay" (costume play) in which people almost religiously dress up as their favorite characters from all sorts of films, shows, and books. It's taken to a whole new level at Tokyo Disneyland, when for two weeks in October anyone can dress up as anything Disney-related and go inside the park. I've never seen anything like it, not even in the states when the Disney parks have Halloween nights. 

My friend Mia and I decided to see it for ourselves on the weekend (the busier the better) and spent the day checking out all the people and taking pictures. The great thing about the Japanese is that they wanted us to take pictures of them; they happily posed for anyone who walked by with a camera, and even took group shots with people they didn't know who were dressed up as similar characters. 

These are some of my favorite shots from the day, and the rest of the pictures can be found on my Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/jenn.hollingshead/media_set?set=a.10201746195910452.1073741827.1047570394&type=3&uploaded=75

Alice in Wonderland

Snow White's wishing well and the seven dwarves

Rapunzel's hair team and the guy who sells flags

The Sultan, the Emperor of China, and the King of Hearts

30th anniversary Chip and Dale

by far my absolute favorite, all the forms of Genie in the movie Aladdin!