a little bit more.

I am so ridiculously happy. Getting baptized was the best thing I ever did for myself. I know that I have had to give up a lot of things that were in my life before, and change the way I talk and even a little bit of the way I dress. I know I have to go to church every Sunday, and I know that I need to read the scriptures daily and pray often. I know 10% of what I make has to go to the church, and that I need to strive for a temple recommend, and to be a good example of what a Christian should be. I know that nobody expected me to get baptized, but I also know that once I started reading the Book of Mormon, I could not put it down and I know that I experienced feelings of happiness and comfort that were completely foreign to me.  I have not been this effortlessly happy in my entire life. I have never had the feeling of belonging quite like I do knowing that I am a member of the church. I have never been as proud of my life and of the decisions I've been making. I honestly can say that if my parents or even if God took a look at my decisions and my life, I would be proud. There have been so many times when my friends were going out or when I see my old friends that I wish I could drink and it's hard because I feel left out, but then I think about where my life was when I was drinking. I wasn't very happy, I didn't feel like I had too many good friends, I didn't pay attention to the actual friendship, I was ashamed of decisions I was making, and I was feeling empty and hopeless. Now I feel like a completely different person. I have a few amazing friends, who care about me and who I care about a ridiculous amount, I don't take my friends for granted and I am continuously thinking about how to be a better friend, or what I can do to make someone else's day better. I am always including people in my prayers, and I find myself smiling for no reason at all. I am just so proud and so happy of the decision I made to be baptized. I just cannot believe it took me so long to find this peace.