Ambition.

What a title, I have to say. It's one of those qualities that everybody wants to say they have, and to say they understand, but the truth is, very few people do. Don't get me wrong. There are some ambitious people out there who have done some amazing things, but more often then not, people either have to little or too much ambition. Too little, and you never amount to anything. Too much, and you never focus on doing one thing the best. Now these are the extremes. I'm not saying you are either a loser or a busybody. There are many different in-betweens and middle-grounds, and sometimes people can be incredibly motivated toward one aspect of their life, and totally blasé toward another.

So those are my thoughts. 

Now that I have philosophized a bit, here's why its on my mind today:

My roommates and I today were discussing majors, careers and the future -- typical topics in Mansion 22 -- and we were discussing where we would like to end up someday, and I realized I have two visions for my future that don't really coincide. 

One vision is a successful LDS one, where I get married at BYU and move back to Arizona to be near my family, and am a perfect little stay at home mom in a super cute Pinterest house where I cook interesting meals and have adorable genius prodigy children and a husband who rakes it in. 

The other is a successful worldly one, where I graduate from BYU and move to Chicago or New York or Boston or DC and become a sought after public relations specialist or communications advisor for a political campaign and live in a beautiful apartment in the city and do cultured things like attend the ballet and all kinds of galas.

Both of those scenarios I want desperately, but I don't see how they can coexist, on the simplest level, that one is set in a brownstone in DC, while the other is located in a house with a yard somewhere in Mesa. 

The most important part there, though, is that I don't see how it will work out. There is a quote from on of my first devotionals by Sister Oaks that says, "the Lord will provide a way for you to balance your ambitions." Short and sweet, but that simple phrase helps me realize that Heavenly Father knows me and knows my desires and has a plan that will allow me to be happy and the enjoy the best parts of each eventuality. 

I thought the cityscape was particularly fitting.