Evaluation of the Blog

This blog has been an interesting experience for me. A lot of my friends are really into blogs and I always wondered what they really were, so it was nice to get a feel of what it's like to continually post messages onto the internet. I had a lot of fun designing the blog, but it was very hard to pick the correct color schemes to set the right tone for the blog. In all honesty though, I am not the biggest fan of blogging. I feel like I am writing a journal but one that the whole world can read. I also don't like how just anyone can jump on and follow me and read all of my posts. I guess you can be careful about what you post and not make it very personal, but it still freaks me out that everyone and anyone can read what I post. I think Facebook is enough for me and I will keep my own personal journal that's not on the internet.

However, it was a great experience being able to follow my classmates and see their points of view on certain things.  Looking back over my blog, I think the audience I tended to lean towards were young adults in college. All of my topics kind of pertain to that age group and are stories from my own college life.  I did have some more spiritual messages and I also think those related to the college age group as well because they had to do with going on a mission and being kind to others which is very important, especially in college. I also think it applies to that age group because a lot of my blogs are about my interests and what I have come to realize and appreciate through those interests. I write in a more informative style, explaining certain ideas so the reader knows what I am talking about and can more easily relate.

This blog was a great experience and I'm glad I was able to be part of the blogging world and get a feel for what it's like. Even though it isn't my favorite thing to do and somewhat uncomfortable for me, I am going to try and keep it going because it is a great way to practice and develop your writing skills.

Lesson from a Stranger (Narrative Paper)

“Are you and Allexis coming to the J-Wride concert tonight? The tickets cost $3 each.”

“Of course I am going to the concert! We’ll see you in 5 minutes.”

I grabbed a five dollar bill out of my wallet, stuffed it into my front pocket, and headed out the door with my roommate Allexis. My friend Ty had pulled up in his sporty silver car in the parking lot. His older cousin Rob was in the front seat so Allexis and I got in the back. We were running a good 30 minutes late to the J-Wride concert, but thanks to Ty’s parallel parking skills and tiny car we were able to get a parking spot directly in front of the Muse music venue.

The concert was being held for a good friend of mine from freshman year of college who had recently discovered that she had a brain tumor on the left side of her brain. She had some good friends that were in a band called J-Wride so the group got together and set up a concert for her at the music venue known as Muse. They asked some other bands they had played with before to join them and held the concert to raise money for her to help pay for some of the medical costs. She couldn’t make it to the concert because her biopsy was the day before, but they had special equipment that allowed them to broadcast it live on the internet so she could watch it while at the hospital.

The four of us walked through the front door of Muse and headed towards the lady with long dark brown hair that looked like she was in her 20’s at the small school desk in the corner to buy our tickets. In front of her was a small tin box to store the money. I handed her my crinkly five dollar bill, and she gave me my two dollar change that I then placed in my front pocket. I headed toward the concert area and turned around to see Ty paying for his ticket, but not with a five dollar bill. I saw his lips moving and realized he was still talking to the ticket lady.

“Give the extra money to Jenna’s family. I don’t need any change back.”

Underneath his five dollar bill, he had two twenties. I didn’t notice them before, and wouldn’t have ever known that had happened if I hadn’t turned around just at that moment. Ty was so generous, and so humble about it. I then waited and watched the other two, Allexis and Rob, to see how they went about paying for the ticket. They handed the ticket lady a ten dollar bill each. As we all walked into the concert, I felt guilty for being so selfish and not even having the thought cross my mind to bring extra money. I went to support my friend, so why had I only brought the bare minimum of cash and then keep my two dollar change?

We were standing in the very back next to the microphone controls stationed by the door most of the concert. About fifteen minutes after we arrived, a man bumped into me on accident as he tried to get into the concert. He was about 6’ 3” and maked me feel a little nervous because he had the appearance that he might be drunk. He wasn’t clean shaven and had a straw fedora hat on his head that appeared to have been used for many years or found in the garbage and a hobo-esque jacket that was dark gray that went down to his knees and had some tears in it.

“Do any of you know the girl’s family?”

This caught my attention because I knew her. I turned around with the intention of telling him I knew her family, but found that he was talking to the members of J-Wride specifically, who had been standing behind us the whole time.

“Yeah we do. We’re good friends of her. Can we help you at all?”

“I was wondering if you could pass this on to her family.”

I looked down towards his hand as I noticed him opening a tightly closed fist. I saw a tight roll of hundred dollar bills with a single rubber band wrapped twice around it. It appeared to be about five or six hundred dollars.

“Don’t tell her who gave it to them. I want it to be anonymous. My son passed away just a year ago from a cancerous tumor and I know how scary and emotionally draining this situation can be and I just wanted to show support for Jenna and her family in some sort of way.”

I stood there watching this transaction and felt tears start to run down my face. The man who I had judged so quickly had given a very generous amount of cash to help out a family he didn’t even know. He was just a normal guy trying to do his part in the world by helping others. I had paid the three dollars and taken my change back whereas this complete stranger that didn’t even know her gives away five hundred dollars. He then walked up towards the front of the concert and stood next to this woman who was just a few inches shorter than him and in a floral shirt and light blue overalls. She wrapped her arm around his and they both began to sway to the music, taking in every note being played and lyric being sung.

The whole next hour of the concert I couldn’t stop thinking of the generosity of my friends and the stranger. The concert came to a close and we began to head out so we could go visit our friend in the hospital. On our way out the door, I could see the ticket lady was still at her small brown school desk. I put my hand in my pocket and felt my fingers touch the crinkly green paper in my pocket – the measly two dollars that I kept as change.

“I would like to give this money to the girl’s family. I know it’s not a lot, but I hope it helps.”

New Life Form Discovered!

Just recently a new bacteria was found that is way different than any other type of life form on our planet Earth. It is allowed to use arsenic when building its DNA, RNA, cell membranes, and proteins.  Life forms to our knowledge was created by six different components. These six are carbon, nitrogen, hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and sulfur. However a new life form that was named GFAJ-1 was discovered that uses a arsenic instead of phosphorus. It was discovered in Mono Lake, California. This is shocking because first of all, arsenic is poisonous to basically every living organism except for a small amount of microscopic creatures. The second thing that is amazing is that this means that when searching for other life in space, we can now look for life on planets that are not the exact same setup as planet earth. This just blew my  mind because this opens up so many new ways to search for life in the Universe. I also enjoyed reading about this new bacteria because in my PD BIO class we learned how phosphorus and sulfur and the other four components are used in living organisms so it was cool to see it being applied in life. I just love reading things about science and nature because I really like to know how our world works and operates. If you want to read more, the link is: http://gizmodo.com/5704158/nasa-finds-new-life

Pokemon

Pokemon was basically my childhood. I'll just straight up admit it. I'm not embarrassed. Heck I am proud of it. First of all, the creators of Pokemon are absolutely genius because they can continually make money off of it because each year they can just add 150 new Pokemon to the series and voila! They can make new shows, new games for gaming systems, and produce even MORE cards to add to the millions of them that are already out there. Honestly, the most genius thing in my opinion is cards. People pay 6$ for 7 cards. The cards are basically small little pieces of sturdy paper with colorful pictures on it that probably takes 25 cents at most to make. Basketball, Bella Serra, Beanie Babie, Pokemon, Yu-gi-oh -- all of them have cards and I', sure being in a junk load of money for the companies. Second of all, the Pokemon games are just plain AMAZING. I have pretty much owned every version and played every one and man, they just get better and better each and every time. You pick your six favorite Pokemon, catch all the legendary magical ones, and go on to defeat the Elite Four. Everything adds up to that moment. Bring up Pokemon anywhere you are and you will instantly have 15 new friends because a vast majority of people were doing the same exact thing I was doing as a child -- trying to catch 'em all. It's amazing how one thing can bring together and unite so many people.

Being a Sister Missionary: Is it for me?

I was talking with my roomates the other night and we were talking about relationships and how girls and guys are so different in how they deal with certain things. We eventually got to talking about the difference between men and women missionaries and what they're like once they have returned. I thought a bit on women missionaries, and then realized I would soon be having my birthday that would make me the right age to be able to go on one myself.  I never thought that this time in my life would come, and so quickly! I was totally caught off guard.  However, it really hit me and I have been thinking about it a lot lately. Going on a mission no matter what is going to be an amazing life-changing experience. However, I don't want to end up going for the wrong reasons because a mission is NOT easy. You are always keeping busy and work very long days, and if you have to learn a language that adds even more effort that is required of you to be able to do a good job and be a productive missionary. If you don't go into the mission with the right intent and for the right reasons, the mission can be made so much harder and I don't think you will learn from it what you could have if you had gone in prepared and ready to teach the gospel. I have always been nervous about teaching, but I was talking with my friend on the phone after that discussion with my roomates and he said that when you teach people the gospel, they don't so much remember what you say, but how they felt WHEN you spoke to them about certain things of the gospel.  It's mainly just introducing them to that feeling and have them learn by the Spirit through you. I found that to be very interesting. I think it could be a wonderful experience and a great opportunity to serve the Lord by providing service to our fellow men and women. I just need to find out for myself if it is the right time to go and if it is for me.

Guitar and Music

Today I learned two songs on the guitar and that is a big step for me. Usually it takes me a very long time to learn them and master them. The songs were "If It Means A Lot To You" by A Day to Remember and "The Last Thing On Your Mind" by Lights but the acoustic version.  Honestly, the main reason I play guitar is because I REALLY want to learn how to play the harp, but it costs a ridiculous amount of money to learn.  With the guitar, I still get some strings that I can play around with. It's only six strings rather than like 80, but I'll take what I can get.  I am more of a finger picker rather than a strummer with the guitar.  Strumming is sometimes really hard for me but I can sing while doing it if it's simple enough. However, I really like to pick but I can't sing at all while I do that.  I just really love how so many notes can be played together and sound so beautiful. I like hearing them one at time especially so I can hear how each note blends in so perfectly with the next. I am just so grateful that we are able to have music in our lives. I don't know what I would do without it. I love when huge choirs sing, like the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. It makes the song seem so much more meaningful and powerful. I am so grateful for my guitar and that I got the opportunity to learn how to play it! It has been a great stress reliever for me.  Hopefully I can learn a few more songs tomorrow :] .

Rock Climbing and Bouldering

On Monday I went rock climbing at a place called the Quarry. It's an indoor rock climbing facility that also has an upper level where you can go bouldering, which is when you rock climb but without a harness. Bouldering is more about maneuverability whereas rock climbing seems to be more about seeing how high you can go so the bouldering walls are not nearly as high.  Bouldering was the sport I totally fell in love with though when we went. We didn't really know what we were doing and we were not very good at it, but we were able to watch the experts and man are they AMAZING! It's ridiculous how a person can hold their whole body on to a rock wall and just hang on with one hand and make it look like it's a piece of cake.  I really want to find someone that can train me in the ways of bouldering and help me strengthen the muscles required for it.  I honestly think the movements can look very graceful depending on how smooth the climber is able to boulder.  I really want to buy a membership there or just go more often to help me improve. I recommend this sport to everyone. You've got to try it out at least once in your life!!!

Rough Draft Narrative

“Are you and Allexis coming to the J-Wride concert? The tickets cost $3 each.”

“Of course I am going to the concert! We’ll see you in 5 minutes.”

I grab a five dollar bill out of my wallet and stuff it into my front pocket and head out the door with my roommate Allexis. My friend Ty pulls up in his sporty silver car in the parking lot. His older cousin Rob is in the front seat so Allexis and I get in the back. We were running a good 30 minutes late to the J-Wride concert, but thanks to Ty’s amazing parallel parking skills and tiny car we were able to get a parking spot directly in front of the Muse music venue.

The concert was being held for Jenna, a good friend of mine from freshman year of college, who had recently discovered that she has a brain tumor on the left side of her brain. Jenna had some good friends that were in a band called J-Wride so the group got together and set up a concert for her at the music venue known as Muse. They asked some other bands they had played with before to join them and held the concert to raise money for Jenna to help pay for some of the medical costs. Jenna couldn’t make it to the concert because her biopsy was the day before, but they had special equipment that allowed them to broadcast it live on the internet so she could watch it while at the hospital.

The four of us walk into the front door and head to the ticket lady at a small dark brown school desk by the far wall sitting right outside the entryway of the concert. She has a small silver tin box in front of her to store the money. I hand her the crinkly five dollar bill, and I get my two dollars change back and put it in my pocket. I head toward the concert area and turn around to see Ty paying for his ticket, but not with a five dollar bill. I see his lips moving and realize he’s still talking to the ticket lady.

“Give the extra money to Jenna’s family. I don’t need any change back.”

Underneath his five dollar bill, he had two twenties. I hadn’t noticed them before, and wouldn’t have ever known that had happened if I hadn’t turned around just at that moment. Ty was so generous, and so humble about it. I then wait and watch the other two, Allexis and Rob, to see how they go about paying for the ticket. They hand the ticket lady a ten dollar bill from each of them and not take any change back. As we all walk into the concert, I feel guilty for being so selfish and not even having the thought cross my mind to bring extra money. I came to support my friend, so why did I only bring the bare minimum of cash and then take my two dollar change back?

We were standing in the very back next to the microphone controls stationed by the door most of the concert because Jenna had so many friends there supporting her. About fifteen minutes after arriving, a man bumps into me on accident as he tries to get into the concert. He’s about 6’ 3” and makes me feel a little nervous because he has the appearance that he might be drunk. He wasn’t clean shaven and had a straw fedora hat on his head that had clearly been used for many years or found in the garbage and a hobo-esque jacket that was dark gray that went down to his knees and had some tears in it.

“Do any of you know Jenna’s family?”

This catches my attention. I turn around with the intention of telling him I know her family, but find that he is talking specifically to the members of J-Wride who had been standing behind us the whole time.

“Yeah we do. We’re close friends with her. Can we help you at all?”

“I was wondering if you could pass this on to her family.”

I look down because I notice his arm move and see his right hand tightly closed around something. His clenched hand opens and inside is a tight roll of various types of dollar bills with a single rubber band wrapped twice them.

“It’s only about five hundred dollars. Don’t tell her I gave this to you. I want it to be anonymous. My son passed away just a year ago from a cancerous tumor and I know how scary and emotionally draining this situation can be and I just wanted to show support for Jenna and her family in some sort of way.”

I stand there watching this transaction, completely shocked that it is really happening. He then walks up towards the front of the concert and finds his wife. She wraps her arm around his and they begin to sway to the music, taking in every note being played and lyric being sung. This man who I had judged so quickly just gave a generous amount of cash to help out a family he didn’t even know. He was just a normal guy trying to do his part in the world by helping others. I get a huge feeling of guilt and shame as I think of how I only brought five dollars and took my change back. I should be the one giving that kind of money to her, not some stranger.

The whole next hour of the concert I can’t stop thinking of the generosity of my friends and the man. The concert comes to a close and we begin to head out so we can go visit Jenna in the hospital. We’re getting closer and closer to the ticket lady from before. As I put my hand in my pocket, I feel my fingers touch the crinkly green paper – the measly two dollars that I kept as change.

“I would like to give this money to Jenna’s family. I know it’s not a lot, but I hope it helps.”

Thanksgiving Break

Thanksgiving Break is both a blessing and a curse. It's absolutely wonderful getting the 3 days off of school, but when it ends, you come back to the worst three weeks of school that ever existed. However, I think the three days off is totally worth it. I don't live in Utah, so I don't have the wonderful opportunity to drive home whenever the occasion arises. Texas is a little too far to drive to, so my parents arranged flights for my brother and I to fly down, and thank goodness we left when we did! If we had left one day later we wouldn't have been able to go home. We left on Monday after classes, but my Grandma and Aunt who were set to come have Thanksgiving with us had their flight on Tuesday -- the day that the worst storm in ten years was to expected to come to Utah. Unfortunately their flight was canceled so they weren't able to join us in our turkey feast. We still had company over though. We had Thanksgiving dinner a day early and had the missionaries over and my brother's friend Cara from school. She is looking into the Mormon church and taking missionary discussions where she goes to college so it was great to have her meet the missionaries in her home area.  The missionaries had great personalities. One of them was on his 18th month in the mission field and the other had just been baptized a year ago and was on his second month in the mission field. They both got along really well and you could tell they have a lot of fun together. My little sister set up a scavenger hunt for me to help me find the gift she made for me. It was a pillow that she had made herself and had sewn "LOVE" onto. She made it so I could use it on the airplane when I sleep. I had a great time going back home from break and enjoyed every minute of it. I am so grateful for my family and that we are healthy and able to spend time with each other. However, now it's time to buckle down and get the monstrous pile of homework done. Bring on the finals!!

Preference Week

This week is preference week for my ward meaning the girls ask the guys on dates.  There are more girls than guys in our ward so the Bishop asked us to ask at least two guys out.  I never knew how ridiculously hard it is to plan dates!!! It is very weird being in the guys shoes and being in charge of everything! It's also super hard because ALL the girls in our ward are asking guys, so it's hard to know which days the guys are available and who has and hasn't been asked already.  So you can have a date set and planned and then have it fall through because none of the guys can make it for that particular day or because they're already booked with five dates. I think preference week is a great idea because it gives the girls a change to get a feel for what guys go through every time they ask girls on dates. It's a scary process and man do you guys have guts!! Preference week would be so much better if it was more like Two Weeks of Preference so we didn't all dive for guys in the same week. But it was definitely a great idea and I'm glad that I am able to be a part of it!

That Darn Research Paper

So I am still struggling with figuring out my topic. I decided earlier to discuss the differences between being a Veterinarian and a Veterinary Technician, leading more towards being a Veterinarian. However I feel like they are way too similar and wouldn't provide enough information for me to write 8 pages on.  So I think I am going to take this opportunity to explore other careers. I am going to look at majoring in Biology with a Pre Veterinary Medicine, Marine Biology, and Animal Genetics/Biotechnology. I don't have a side chosen yet, but after researching I will pick one of them and put into my thesis. Let's hope I decide to stick with this one!!

Halloween Dance

This weekend I went to my first dance in three years, and my first dance while being at BYU. You would think that being a Junior I would have been to one by now, but I avoid dances pretty much like they're the black plague.  Dances really aren't my thing. If you have the right people, they can be fun. Like stake dances during high school were always a lot of fun because I knew a lot of people there and we would just mess around. I ended up going as a tired person, so I was in my pajama pants and a t-shirt and slippers. However, when the dances are smaller they tend to get a little awkward. And long. When slow songs come on, my friends and I book it out of there so we can avoid dancing with people. We then go back in when the fast songs come back on. It's a pretty good system I think. It's worked well so far.  I am really glad I went to the dance last weekend though. It was a lot of fun seeing all the awesome costumes the people in my ward came up with and everyone was familiar to me because they are all my neighbors. It was truly sad though how sore I was the next day.  I didn't even dance. I walked around taking pictures. Oh well, I guess it just means I need to work out a little more and go to more dances. All in all, it wasn't that bad of a dance and I ended up having a lot of fun. Especially because I got to wear comfy pajama pants :)

Issues Paper Topic

I am considering writing my issues paper on one of two topics: Majoring in Marine Biology or majoring in Pre Veterinary Medicine. Both are of great interest to me and right now I am working on the Pre Veterinary Major.

Would it be best to stick with Pre Veterinary as my issues paper topic since I am already headed in that direction and become more informed on the major or would this be a great opportunity to find out more about Marine Biology? I'm very torn on the matter. Do you guys have any ideas of what specifics I could get into besides application process, colleges to apply to, or different medicine/marine bio studies?

Learning to Love Everyone

I was at a Stake Leadership Meeting a few weeks back and we later broke off into groups, so I went to the area where the Relief Society leadership were located and one of the topics that was spoken on was Visiting Teaching.  They were talking about how important it is to get that done and get to know the girls, and the speaker said, "find out what the Lord loves about her so [you] can love her too." That didn't really settle in until earlier today when I had to hand out visiting teaching assignments.  We were asked to give them to the girls individually and treat it as if we were giving a calling. One of the things we were asked to share with the girls was that quote. As I was explaining this to each of the different girls I talked to, I realized that this shouldn't just apply to those you visit teach or home teach. We need to do this and keep this thought in mind when we meet ANYONE.  We need to recognize the potential that that person has and help them be able to magnify that. We need to help them realize that they are loved and that we are there for them.  No one is perfect, including ourselves and picking out the flaws in a person is not going to make anyone happier or help anyone progress in anyway.  We need to realize what it is that makes that person so special, and let them know we appreciate them for that.  I just felt very strongly about this. It's such a simple phrase, yet has such a powerful meaning behind it and I thought that it needed to be shared with more people and applied to so many other parts of our lives.

What Have You Done With Your Name?

One of the talks I really enjoyed that was given at General Conference was when Elder Mervyn B. Arnold spoke about respecting your name and holding to the faith, giving an example of Helaman explaining to his sons Lehi and Nephi where their names came from and why they were given to them.  He then went on to say that we can bring respect to our names by coming unto Christ and following his commandments. He developed ethos by talking about a life experience of his to explain why commandments are there for us. The one that really touched me was the story he gave about his childhood and working on the ranch. There was a cow that would continually stick it's head through the fence to eat the wheat and one day broke through the fence, became bloated, and suffocated to death.  He went on to say, "I was saddened by the loss of that cow.  We had provided her a beautiful mountain pasture to graze and a fence to keep her away from the dangerous wheat, yet she foolishly broke through the fence and caused her own death...The commandments and rules are for our own good."  With this, he shows how truly important it is for us to follow the commandments and stay on the straight and narrow path.  He shows the commandments as the fence, the disobedient cow as ourselves, and the wheat as the temptation to break those commandments. He is able to more fully get his point across to the audience this way, by first of all catching their attention with his story and secondly, helping them realize how stupid it seems for someone not to not keep the commandments.  This comparison also helps explain and prove to the audience that the commandments are not there to keep us from having fun or restrict us from having a good life: they are there to keep us safe and out of harms way.  There are good intentions behind the commandments.  Elder Arnold was able to successfully explain to the audience with the use of his own personal life experience the importance of keeping the commandments. They may seem like guidelines, but they should be taken seriously.

Tutt Tutt, Looks Like Rain!

These past couple days of rain have been absolutely lovely! The temperature outside has been a good solid 75 or below which is my kind of weather. It's not too hot, and not too cold. I love seeing the dark clouds floating in the sky and watching them wrap themselves around the mountain tops. I want to go hike Squaw Peak one of these days when there are clouds up there. I think it would be awesome to be surrounded by clouds like that. I also loved the way the wind made the rain look as it blew the water droplets in all different directions. It seriously looked like the rain was falling horizontal rather than vertical as usual.  I'm hoping we get a couple more days of this weather before it goes away.  Fall is here and I'm enjoying every minute of it.  

Notes from Class

speech, rubric, cover page, rough draft, rough draft from first day in class, ALL IN MANILLA FOLDER

blog due Tuesday/thursday

Uchtdorf - relates, emotion

Holland - tone, word choice, provided evidence, examples, angels, example of loving parents. Pathos

See complexity of GC in play:
*all of them have their own ethos
*use broad terms that can apply to many different things rather than being specific

Packer's talk - now protest in gay community because said you can overcome it

kairos - why is it causing problems now? "prophet is not going to be popular in the world" then packer's talk comes up.  Now it is causing conflict where back then it wasn't such a huge ordeal

there's an awful lot that happens that we don't know

Monson - talk on gratitude, has a loving tone, great orator, knows when to pause and wait for reaction, knows when to get quiet, can feel the love he has for everyone, great stories.

Announced 5 new temples, encouraged missions, felt need to put huge emphasis on encouraging men to go on missions (probably because numbers are falling) remember first thing u say so thats why he said it first. where speeches are placed makes a difference.

have a plan with the thesis statement.

Cafe Rio? I Think Yes.

Today I went on a grand adventure to a wonderful restaurant called Cafe Rio. The walk was not too terrible from my apartment and the weather was perfect. My brother tagged along and we ordered the grilled chicken salad, the grilled chicken burrito enchilada style, and a tres leche.  The salads are very good but I tend to get sick of it really fast because it's the same flavor over and over that I put in my mouth. In my opinion, I think they should put more rice in them and a little less chicken. The grilled chicken burrito enchilada style never fails to satisfy the monster in your stomach begging for food. There is a perfect amount of each ingredient inside and the white cheese they put on top melts just perfectly and is that kind of cheese that fails to break and stretches forever and always. They also have this lovely mild green sauce they smother on the burrito and it sinks to the bottom of the aluminum serving trays, drowning everything else in it's delicious goodness. However, the absolute BEST part of the whole meal was the tres leche.  We ate it first, and that was the worst decision ever because it made our other food not even compare. All we wanted was the heavenly tres leche. It's a small circular cake with the diameter of about 4 inches and as the name says, it has three different types of sweet flavored milk added to it, making it very soft and moist.  You have the option of adding strawberries and whipped cream to the top.  This is the treat that keeps me going back to Cafe Rio.  Go taste of it.  You will instantly be addicted  and find yourself craving it for every meal.

Discussing Church Talks

Over the weekend I got the chance to go over the notes I had taken from Stake Conference with a friend.  My friend had to go out of town to give his return-from-mission speech that Sunday in his home ward and missed the opportunity to hear what Elder Snow, Sister Beck, and Elder Holland had to say.  He had been asking me the past couple days about looking at my notes and so I gave them to him when we both were home. I had to call my Mom so I let him take the notes home and read them. When he returned them, he asked if I could go over the notes with him and explain some of the stories.  I was a little apprehensive about discussing them because the talks were given a while back and I was afraid I wouldn't remember anything, when I was the one who took those notes! I didn't want to look like I hadn't payed attention.  However, I agreed and he came in and we began to converse. We talked for a good hour and I realized that while talking with him, I made connections I never would have made with the different talks if I hadn't talked them over with someone else. It's one thing to take notes, but it's another to actually know what the speakers are saying and apply it to your life.  I never realized how important it is to talk about what your thoughts, especially when it comes to church related things. You get different perspectives on certain ideas and you get to hear the different experiences people have had.  In the end, you come out with more knowledge than before.  I am very grateful that my friend had come over and insisted that we discuss the Stake Conference talks because it definitely helped me grow spiritually and get more out of the talks.

My Favorite Weather

Wednesday was my absolute favorite day of the week. We got a wonderful storm that made the air smell like Utah dirt and brought dark, gloomy, yet also comforting (in my opinion) clouds.  I am from Texas and we get intense storms similar to those quite frequently. It is very hard for me to come to Utah where the weather is not nearly as exciting. My favorite weather is dark, overcast, foggy days rather than sunny days. I am happiest when that weather comes around. I have observed in the three years being here that the storm clouds always hang out around Timp and never come our way, and so I have come to be disapproving of the mountains surrounding us.  I look up the weather all the time, continually checking what the chance of rain is for the day.  I missed the rain that happened earlier that morning because I was in a class.  I was so bummed to come out and smell the rain and see the puddles on the ground and realize I missed it. Thank goodness the best downpour ever occurred when I had a 3 hour break later in the day.  I sat on the steps in front of the Talmage Building with my brother and watched the torrential downpour as we ate our delicious gummy bears we had just bought in the vending machine. We watched students running to get to their next destination, and others walking, not caring whether or not they got wet. We also saw someone with an umbrella hat on and she made watching the rain that much more enjoyable. The rain stopped 15 minutes later and my brother and I headed our separate ways. I am so grateful we finally got a storm in Utah and that I could get a taste of what I get back home in Texas. Cross your fingers we get another!

The Habits of Great Learners

In my writing class, my teacher asked the students to read Elder Eyring's talk called "A Child of God". He listed five habits that great learners have or should have, which were welcome correction, keep commitments, work hard, help other people, and expect resistance and overcome it. While reading the talk,  two that really stood out to me were welcoming correction and expecting resistance and overcoming it.

Welcoming correction for me is really hard when it comes to English and Writing classes. Not that I'm cocky and think I'm always right, but I'm not comfortable letting people read my work because I feel like I am not at the writing level I need to be at as a college student. I just want to keep my writing to myself because it's embarrassing for me to have someone read my works, but honestly what I never realized until I read this was that the more I allow people to read and edit my own papers, the more I will improve in my writing and learn from the feedback I receive. 

Expecting resistance and overcoming it is also a huge ordeal for me and I think that is one of the main reasons why I am major-less right now. One thing that Elder Eyring said really affected me and helped me realize what I need to change. He said, "Some learning has been easy for you. But more often your enemy has been discouragement.  You may try to avoid that by choosing to learn only what is easy for you, looking for the path of least resistance.  But the great learner expects difficulty as part of learning and is determined to work through it." I felt like he had me cornered and was looking me straight in the eyes as I read that part because he had found my weakness and that was what I needed to hear. I need to branch out and not be afraid to take the higher level classes in majors. It's time to grasp the fact I will have hard classes in ANY major I choose and find that determination in me to get through it.

I'm very glad we were assigned to read this talk because it was very inspiring and I hope to better apply these qualities of great learners to my life.