So today in church we had a special musical number. The young men and young women got up to sing the EFY Medley - As Sisters in Zion/Army of Helaman. It was a nice number and they did a good job.
But this is what I can't get my head around.
There were 37 of them up there ... and that wasn't even all the youth in our ward. There could easily be another 10-15.
I never had that growing up.
If I counted all the young men and young women in ALL the wards I have attended since turning 12, I don't think I would even reach 37.
And I really don't know how I feel about that. I don't think that I'm angry -- it's not these kid's fault that I grew up in areas that did not have such a strong youth presence. I don't even think that I am resenting that fact [well, only a little].
I think what I am feeling is that these kids don't realize the blessing that they have. Where I grew up, there were 3 other kids my age in my ward - and not many more in the stake that were my age. I missed out on that opportunity. I bounded well with those that were my age - but we still had to venture most of high school as the 'lone Mormon.'
These kids don't have to go through that -- that have an amazing number of youth in the community [and not just our ward but the stake in general has a large youth presence] that they can use as a support system.
Once again -- I'm not really sure how I feel. I was shocked by the number of youth that were up there today singing that song. The last time I sang that song in a youth choir - we had about a fourth of that total ... about 10 people. It's just amazing to me the differences between this area and the area that I grew up in.
That's all that I'm saying.
3 comments:
Freaking 37 youth? Our musical numbers were also lucky if we hit 10, and even luckier if half of those would be loud enough to hear.
I know. And really ... that wasn't all of them in our ward. I mean I remember wards where I grew up where we would have 1 beehive, 4 mia maids and 3 laurels. It was unreal.
You know though, having lived in Utah for half my youth and the Midwest the other half...I really preferred having a smaller youth in Ohio/Michigan. We got to be a lot closer friends (girls camp!), there weren't as many cliques (YW in Utah was just an extension of school social structures), and I think I had to learn to be stronger and more confident in my own testimony, rather than relying on the lifestyles of those around me. Being LDS turned into a defining part of my personality, and ultimately helped me stay stronger, because it made me different at school. I bet the large group in Texas get a good mix of both worlds, since I'm sure it's nice to have a lot of LDS kids around, but there's a different world to be grateful for on your end :)
Ps. Your blog is seriously amazing, how did I not know you have one!? It is so you!
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