I have a plan! Exclamation point!

The past few weeks have been very enlightening and revelatory as far as where my future lies upon this planet we call earth. Almost 3 years after I graduated from college with a Bachelors Degree in Music, I have decided to try to get into business school and start an MBA program this fall 2009.
What? What the heck are you thinking, Carly?

Well, friend, it all began way back in 6th or 7th grade when I first discovered what an MBA was. I thought how cool it would be to graduate in music and then get one of them MBAs maself. The years afterward opened my eyes to how difficult that plan would be and I decided somewhere along the line that I wasn't smart or hard-working enough to do either of those. In high school, I knew I really wanted to get a Bachelors Degree in something, and since I was all right at music, why not do that? My life plan was to graduate with a bachelors in music and somewhere during that time get married and start a family and live happily ever after. I envisioned being married before I graduated but at the very oldest, by age 25 or 26. I loved studying music at Weber. I know the Lord led me to that program and that school. It was exactly the right fit for me and my needs and abilities.

After I graduated from college, I did my 4-month performing mission and then started working at an industrial supply company doing secretarial/clerical work. I have been working at the LDS Church since last March as an Accounting Staff Assistant and have loved it. I have always been very socially active; I make a lot of new friends and keep old ones, I have gone on a lot of first dates but have had steady relationships too, and I always try to push myself to go out of my comfort zone and seek new opportunities.

After the car accident, I spent a lot of time lying on my back, doing nothing. I thought about my life and where my "plan" was taking me; I had never imagined being over 25 or 26 and being single and felt very lost and discouraged. I didn't want to just sit in cold storage, waiting for a charitable young man to discover me, dust me off, and do the world a favor by marrying me but I also didn't want to be ambitious in my job for fear it would turn my priorities and attentions away from a marriage opportunity. I just didn't know what I was supposed to do with my life.

Three or four weeks ago, a thought came into my mind to dust off the ol' dream of an MBA and check out the possibilities. Since then, a million little things have been falling into place and sending me a message that this was the right thing for me, for example: a co-worker I e-mail often but never see came by my desk a couple of weeks ago for a document. While I was printing it up, a friend of hers walked by, and they started chatting for 20 minutes about their MBAs, one recently finished and the other soon to graduate. The next day I contacted her to ask he about her MBA program, and the spark turned into a roaring fire. Things like that don't happen randomly; they are messages and opportunities from Heavenly Father!

On Tuesday, I went to the temple with a lot on my mind. I prayed and prayed so hard for answers to my questions and concerns, some relating to graduate school, other to different, personal things. The next day, I felt like a different person. My questions had been answered!

Regarding my schooling, I feel so confident that this is the path God is sending me on, that even though it seems very daunting, God will "qualify me for the work," and this is what is best for my progression. I feel at peace about the issue of my occupational ambition getting in the way of an opportunity for marriage. I know that if I remain faithful and righteous, when the best marriage opportunity comes, God will not let me be distracted from it by my career. I know that if I don't get married for 5, 10, 20 years or ever in this life, God will lead me to opportunities that will help me grow and build His kingdom just as much as I would if I were married and raising children, just in different ways.

I know that God knows each of us. I know that when we come to Him, He will love us and teach us in exactly the way we need to be loved and taught. I know that the Savior can take away our pains and heartaches, and replace them with hope and faith and energy and excitement for the path he will lead us on. I can't tell to you how happy I am for the insight and revelation I have received. I think I could just explode because it's so great!!!