While

Yes, there exists this truth: everybody wants to be that quintessential person. Everyone wishes "If only" they could be more than they are. Every person I have ever met has a picture in their head of the "If" they want to become.

So that's what this life is: a chance for a few people to take what they are and change it into what they can be. Because sometimes the process is infinitely more important than the actual event. It would be impossible for a person to take their painfully imperfect selves and simply transform into this magically whole person. They would be missing many key traits and experience that are the very essence of what it means to be whole.

Also--they wouldn't really exist. Because a person who is whole is one who has fallen and risen. A circle must be made up of the top and the bottom, and light only exists because of dark--or else how would we know what light even meant? There must be failure and success. A process.

 This is a record of that--the actual process. The part that is, I would argue, the most important part.

Taylor Stinnett

"To become the person I want to be--

• Evaluate myself using my experiences as well as what I see in others to make mylife the best I can. 
• Keep myself physically active in order to maintain a healthy body and a positive psyche.
• Foster the desire to expand my mind through scientific, fictional, and spiritual literature."

Stephanie Johnson

"To become the person I want to be, I am studying my patriarchal blessing and trying to live up to the characteristics described in that. I am also learning how to show my love for others because I want to be a charitable person."

Tony Hsieh

"I'm enrolling in the Honors Program, interning at Personal Economics, and networking at the Marriot School of business to become a potential employee at Goldman Sach's."

 Julia Harris

"I am working hard in school so that I can learn and be better prepared for the future. I am also trying to study and apply gospel principles into my life, including strengthening my family relationships."

Taylor Kraus

"I am at BYU working hard to get a good education. I go running and workout regularly so I can stay in good shape. I am practicing my violin and playing in a band that is helping develop my skills. I am saying my prayers and reading scriptures regularly so I can stay in tune with the spirit."

Rachel England

"What am I doing to become the person I want to be? I am doing things that I am scared to do. I am trying new things. I am challenging myself and demanding my best. I am trying  to follow the spirit in all of my decisions. I am learning from my mistakes and moving forward with confidence. I am trying to let go of the past and have hope for the future. I am trying to become more like my Savior. And I am feeling gratitude for all of the wonderful blessings my Heavenly Father has given me. What am I doing to become the person I want to be? I am trying to live my life in a way that will lead me to becoming the person I want to be."

What would this be without my own input?

I believe that becoming the person I want to be involves waking up every morning, pulling open the blinds, and smiling no matter what the weather looks like. It means surrounding myself with those I love. I believe that it means forgiving people who've hurt you even if they don't deserve it. I believe it means taking those risks so that I can prove to myself that I really could build myself up from nothing if I had to. I believe it means dreaming, waking up, and holding those dreams in my head throughout the day as I work as hard as I can to achieve them. I believe it means taking criticism, but still following my own feelings. I don't believe it means being perfect every day. I don't even believe it means trying perfectly every day. It means getting up when you fail, and trying again.

And there it is: That is what "If" looks like in process.