“I wasn’t shy growing up, but when I moved, I didn’t want to make new friends. For a few years, I kind of shrunk back and didn’t want to talk to anybody. I had a couple of good friends but realized I wasn’t very happy socially,” she said.
“I started making goals to talk to someone I’d never talked to before or make somebody smile. And then all of a sudden I was making new connections and new friends! It was super cool to see that I could achieve my youth program goals,” she said.
“Seminary also helped me to make new friends and get answers to my questions. My seminary teacher explained to me that we don’t have to understand everything about the gospel and that it’s good to have questions. But I realized that you can’t let one tiny little thing cancel out everything you already know to be true. You have to keep your testimony strong, even if you have questions.”
Thanks so much for sharing, Eliza! Small goals—like a simple smile—can lead to a brighter future.
Find more inspiration around this topic on pages 12–14 of February’s For the Strength of Youth magazine. We’ll be sharing small and simple success stories throughout the month, so stay tuned!