BYU English

The greatest surprise to me from blogging was that it was therapeutic.  My mind is one that often wanders and never stops.  Thinking is a love of mine and pondering comes naturally to me.  Writing things down and then being able to reflect back on them brings a good feeling.  Sometimes I laugh or am surprised at the words which flowed through my fingers.  It helps me to realize that journaling needs to become a better habit in my life so that I can have these memories with me forever and not let them escape me. This assignment was really fun.  Writing freestyle was refreshing and helped me to stay more focused since I was doing things my way.  Reading other blogs was fun to see the perspective and writing styles of others in the class.  Overall blogging is something I would find valuable and continue doing just for myself.  It isn't something that needs to be viewed by others to be properly appreciated.  If I was the sole audienc...

Every day I wake up and go through a crazy routine.  Life doesn't ever seem to slow down and although I feel I am mostly productive sometimes, I want a break.  How do I find it? Breaks and down time come in many different forms for different people.  For me down time involves wasteful hours on my phone but it doesn't make me happy and this life is about finding happiness.  Being outdoors makes me happy but with a baby it's hard to make it out sometimes.  I worry about it being too cold and him getting sick.  The inconvenience discourages me and the then tiredness creeps into my veins.  The couch somehow falls beneath me and the relaxing moments are spent there. In order to really fill my days with experiences that are uplifting and useful it takes a lot of effort.  It takes work.  When we work we can look at our efforts and pat ourselves on the back.  In order to find the time to live life to it's fullest we have to put in the w...

Marriage seems to lose it's meaning as the years go by to the general public.  Marriage has increasingly become 'old fashioned' to this new world that changes over time.  If one does not believe in God what is the purpose of marriage anyways?  It has become the belief that all marriage is good for is a piece of paper.  Both my immediate and extended family are riddled with this perception of marriage.  But it rings true if I did not believe in God.  If I was not a religious person and did not believe in a set of commandments from God then I would find no reason to be married.  It would only serve the purpose to show as a legal declaration on paper for me. When others find it hard to believe in marriage, we do not press marriage on them.  Instead we press the truth that we have a God and that He love us.  Because He loves us He has not sent us down here without any direction on what we should do or how we should act.  He has give u...

Moving from Hawaii to Utah when I was seven was a culture shock.  Dealing with non-mormons on a daily basis as a missionary was culture shock plus so much more.  Living outside of Mormon communities was something not familiar to me.  Although as missionaries we were still encased in our own little bubbles, we still had plenty of exposure to outside forces.  It was so hard to talk to people, my first area was in San Francisco and I didn't know people would be so closed off.  People would rush by avoiding eye contact, they didn't want to be sold our product.  As I pondered why these experiences were so hard I found that it was because I was not trying to understand the world that they lived in and did not see things through their eyes. In order to be the most effective people we must have a diverse set of experiences in our lives.  If we have the opportunity to learn of other cultures and ways of life then we should be open to seeing life through ...

There is great anxiety that can come with an unexpected pregnancy.  Worries may flood the minds of expecting parents with questions based on financial, mental and physical capabilities that are required to have and care for an infant.  As members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints we know that a child and starting a family is our purpose and one of the greatest blessings this life has to offer. Recently my coworker shared a story with me that her period had not arrived on time and when she shared this with her husband he became angry and annoyed.  "You can't be pregnant" was his reply, "you better not be pregnant" he continued.  Although she understood that it was not something they were planning on, she would not be mad or scared if she were to be pregnant.  When it was confirmed she was not pregnant she reminded her husband of these blessings and that although his reaction was understood, it was not an appropriate response. This story ...

My husband and I have interesting family situations.  We both have parents who are mostly dependent on their children.  On my side, I am the child who has the firmest foundation under my feet at the moment.  My husband has several siblings who are capable of providing a home for his mom but somehow we have wound up with the blessing of two moms in our home. Many newlyweds would find this their worst nightmare but we find it our greatest blessing.  We have a baby boy who is now six months old, we both work almost full time and both go to school.  It has been such a blessing to be able to not have to find babysitters for our son and to be able to leave him with trusted family members whenever we need to.  Although my goal is to eventually stay home full time, I am grateful for our moms who are here for us while we transition to that period in our lives. We are born into different family situations that ultimately will bring us blessings as long as we d...

My work as a proctor parent has given me experience to parent teenagers before I ever had the experience of parenting my own baby.  Working with 18 to 21 year olds in my home has helped me to see the damaging effects that are warned about in The Family: A Proclamation to the World.   "we warn that the disintegration of the family will bring upon individuals, communities, and nations the calamities foretold by ancient and modern prophets." This warning seemed extreme to me and I didn't fully understand until I was really able to see the effects of children from broken homes both within my own family and in the kids that I work with.  My own family has been riddle with substance abuse and poor choices, behaviors which I believe directly correlate with family circumstances.  Shockingly similar were the behaviors of kids in proctor care who I work with.  Some were failed adoptions, others mental issues, abuse, addiction and other various problems.  The...

I left off to a great adventure as a church missionary at the age of 23.  What I found astounded me.  I had always known about the legacy of my dad's side of the family but didn't think much of my mom's history.  After all, they were the educated ones who surely would pass down the cool stories if we had any.  My dad came from a father who didn't even finish middle school.  They came from a small pacific island and we heard great stories of our legacy and our legendary great grandmother who had braved death threats and divorce if she were to join the Mormon church, she did anyways. My mom's side? Meh... Nothing special there, so I thought! At the Oakland temple there is a great family history center.  We were encouraged to share about families often and invite people to go to the visitors center and learn our message on families.  Because of this strong push I wanted to make sure I took that challenge myself.  It was so easy! I logged int...

The first goals pertaining to both writing and reading are just as simple as they come. Reading: 1.  Just Read. 2. Read without distraction. 3. Read with a purpose. Writing: 1.  Just Write. 2. Write without distraction. 3. Write with a purpose. For me reading and writing go hand in hand.  I can't do much writing if I don't get much reading done and I can't do much reading if I don't have something to write or benefit from it.  My biggest issues have always been finding the time to complete all of my assignments on time.  Playing the mommy card is something I do often but I also just wonder if it's used as my scapegoat sometimes?  If I can read more and get more writing done period then I can be more successful.  The mind I have been blessed with is extremely curious which also comes with the curse of some serious distraction.  Any question has the potential to lead me on wild tangents not pertaining to my assignment.  A...

By the title of this talk we instantly are set up to ponder on what has come from the result of this book being in our lives.  We are asked to compare the benefit of diamonds and rubies with The Book of Mormon.  Which has more value in our life and which would be more meaningful? He asks us three questions: What would your life be like without The Book of Mormon? What would you not know? What would you not have? By leading us to reflect on what has come into our lives as consequence of have this book we begin to experience pathos, logos and ethos by all of the thoughts that come to play.  Elder Russel M. Nelson shares experiences throughout this talk that witness to us the power of the book.  From his stories we find that many find value in The Book of Mormon and that it brings about change and knowledge of Christ to those who seek it. He ends his talk by sharing his personal testimony of the book which is use of his authority and experience with the...

Ryan begins his comedic sketch by cutting straight to the elephant in the room, his big happy face.  By cutting directly to the point, he beats us to the very thoughts which would have surely surfaced in our minds.  "This guy has kind of a creepy happy expression on his face at all times."  Because he makes fun of himself, we are persuaded to look past his physical features and focus more on the fact that he is a funny guy. Comedy is one of the quickest forms of persuasion because we so often make decisions based off of pathos, so the ability to invoke emotion is a powerful one.  Bringing laughter to someone releases good endorphins that make a person feel better.  If someone can consistently deliver good jokes and invite laughter, the receiving audience will then associate that person with good feelings.  We are persuaded to believe that if we listen to the funny guy, we will be happy.  Our brain will wire us to pay attention whenever that ...