Views on Life

My name is Samantha Jean Lee. I was born on February 15, 1992 in a city called Santa Ana, in Orange County, in California. I was the youngest of five children at the time, and I had a mother and a father in the home that loved each other very much. When I was about ten months old, my mother died of adrenal cancer, which is very rare; for obvious reasons, I never knew her and do not remember her. When I was about eighteen months, my father remarried to a woman who had four children of her own, and soon after the marriage, they had another baby. Now, I was the second to youngest child in the family. I remember being upset when I was younger because all of the attention was on my new baby sister, and not on me. I also remember not liking my new mom, but I learned to grow out of that mindset, and eventually loved her. I think it was a mutual feeling, this feeling of not liking each other, between my mom and me. But as we got to know each other, we grew together.
I have seven older brothers and two sisters. I remember always wanting to be exactly like them growing up; I wanted to ride bikes with them, rollerblade where they went, wrestle with them, hang out with their friends, play videogames, and just be a tomboy who fit in with them. As I neared my teenage years, I grew out of that stage and started really becoming a girl. I had my own friends now, I started liking boys, I wanted to go on dates, and I loved to talk about girlish things with my friends. But most of all, I remember not wanting to be near my family because I thought they were “not cool enough.” I think I really hurt my parents’ feelings when I acted angry or shut off from them; they did not deserve the treatment I gave them as I was going through my teenage years. Mind you, I was not always prissy and too arrogant for my family, but many times I felt embarrassed by them. As I neared my college time, I gained a greater understanding of what family means, and how important they are to me.
Now that I am older and not living with my family, I can really make decisions about who I am and what I want in life on my own. I believe that politically, we should have a democracy, like we do in this country that we live in. I feel like my views on this matter are more conservative and I consider myself to be a Republican. I was not always feeling this way though; during my junior year of high school, I started to gain Democratic views on things when I learned about events in history and how they affect us now. I felt like the Democrats were very smart, which they are, but I had always been raised in a Republican household. What really made me decide on my politics was when the Prop 8 issue was popular. I questioned what was right and what was wrong; I finally came to the conclusion that the First Presidency had the best ideas that anyone could follow, and I followed them with all of my heart. I am very glad with that decision.
I’ve never really had a huge opinion on economics, mainly because I don’t really understand it very well. All I’ve ever known is that I want to be able to provide for my family, and if my husband and I can get satisfying jobs, then I am happy. I do not like to get into the politics and economics of our country today, so I stay clear of those subjects as often as I can.
The thing that I do like to talk about is history. I have always loved learning about events in our past and figuring things out that have preceded us. Many people think that it is strange that I love history so much because they do not like it at all, but there is something about learning of the wars and actions that other countries and individuals have gone through that grasps my full attention. I am so grateful to be able to go to classes that teach me about the past because it is true what they say: the past repeats itself. I know that as I learn about preceding events, I can come to a greater knowledge of what will happen in the future. I believe that the greatest source of history is scripture. I love reading the scriptures because they describe things that have already happened in this world from a historical and spiritual perspective.
Spiritually, I am grateful for the religion that I am a part of. I am happy to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It warms my heart to know that I can live with my family forever and that even if they die, I will be able to see them again. I am so happy to have Heavenly Father and His Son watching out for me; I know They love me, even when I make stupid decisions. I know They feel the hurt that I feel when I have made a wrong choice and They just want me to come back to Them.
I love my family so much; I know that even though my mother has passed on, she is still watching out for me. Sometimes I think about her and wish I could have really met her and remembered her. But I know I have eternity to look forward to. I am very excited to get married in the temple and be sealed to my spouse forever. It is such a good feeling to know that I can hold onto the people that I love the most for the rest of my life and into the next one as well. Family is the most important thing here on earth; we cannot take anything else with us onto the next life, so I will always make sure that I put them first before anything else. My parents have taught me these eternal principles, and I am so grateful for their examples and for what they have taught me my entire life about the gospel and about life.
I know that I have lived a great life and the teachings of my parents have majorly shaped me into the person that I am today. I would not have made it through the hard times without the gospel; I feel like I have a guardian angel out there watching over me, but when I really think about it, I know it is my mother who is always there. I know that holding onto the gospel truths is the only way I will get through my life happily. Forming good relationships with others is something that constantly needs to be worked on, but I know that it is possible to always be happy as long as I put forth the effort. I will always strive to do what is right because I know that this is how I will achieve my fullest potential.