Posted on: Saturday, June 14, 2003

Choices are God's gift to us

By Tejah Signori

Being in high school has been so much fun, like the time I got sent outside the classroom for talking too much, or when my teacher called my house because I disrupted the class, and also the time I got busted for being involved in a food fight. It was fun at the moment, but I did learn a few lessons along the way.

Since then, there weren't too many big decisions that I had to make. However, just recently, I had to make a decision on which college to attend. I thought the decision would only affect the next few years of my life.

I've always wanted to attend a Mainland college, preferably in California. Of the universities I applied to, my last two choices came down to either Brigham Young University or one of the University of California campuses. My mom made it known that she wanted me to attend BYU-Provo, but I was leaning more toward one of the California universities.

My dad, who is pretty level- headed, said, "Tejah, I've said it before — the decision about where you want to attend college is yours. Since you don't have a lot of experience in making long-term decisions that will affect the rest of your life, I want to help you as much as I can, so that you — not me, not Mom, but you — will make the best decision, for yourself and your future."

Over the next few days, my dad compiled 26 pages of information comparing BYU and University of California side-by-side.

There is a lot more to making a good decision than merely picking one choice over another. Bad decisions are easy to make. You don't have to think about things very much and you tend to select the easiest path. But I realized that I'm going to have to live with my choice for a long time.

Without retelling the entire episode, I came to the conclusion that going to BYU was the best choice.

I know that my Heavenly Father loves me, and like my earthly father, wants me to make the right choices in life. I also realized that true love is never forced. The gospel of Jesus Christ is based upon

free agency. It is a gift from our Heavenly Father, given with hope that we will apply it wisely in the conduct of our personal lives. Wilford Woodruff once said, "By virtue of this agency, you and I and all mankind are made responsible beings, responsible for the course we pursue, the lives we live, the deeds we do in the body."

Like my Father in Heaven, my dad was patiently guiding me. He trusted that I would make the right decision. As I consider the purpose of the gospel, the importance of family guidance and family love here on Earth becomes even more obvious to me.

I imagine there will be challenges to face and choices to make as I enter college this fall. I know that I cannot do it alone. I am so blessed that I have the love and support of my family. It is reassuring to me that they will always be there to guide me, even though we will be hundreds and thousands of miles apart. The gospel helps me to appreciate and love them even more because of the things that I know are true.

Tejah Signori recently graduated summa cum laude from Kaiser High.