http://www.fox13now.com/news/kstu-one-dead-in-pleasant-grove-shooting,0,2693250.story
Read the article and watch the video. That my friends, is an amazing story. You know why? Because David Murphy, the guy who apprehended the shooter, is my FHE brother. Woot! Go David! :)
Isn't it great that we can live in a country where citizens are willing to help out just like that? Yes, there are some huge problems with our world, but at the same time, most of the people in it are trying the best that they can to be good people.
Like David Copperfield. :D
But sometimes I wonder if I'm living up to everything I should be. Would I be able to be willing to help take down a shooter, even if I didn't know what was going on? Would I be able to withstand beatings and a horrible childhood and still manage to be a good person? There's a line in my patriarchal blessing, that I'm not going to share, for personal reasons, but it has a line that makes me think this every time I read it. I think it's a great question for anyone to ask themselves. Am I living up to my name as a child of God?
This would make a great paper for John Bennion. Remind me about it for my David Copperfield thought paper. :) Also, I'm not going to post my last paper up here, but if you want to read it, just let me know. It's about Jane and Rochester in Jane Eyre, plus lessons I've learned from my boy experience. :)
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Self-Actualization
So I'm not really self-actualized. But I feel one step closer. That is the goal of our papers in John Bennion's class anyway. And I just finished one.
I wrote it my whole boy experience that's been going on for the past year and a half. I was thinking about how much I had learned from it and everything all while we were reading Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre. And then Tuesday...I suppose that was just yesterday...I was ditched again. Wasn't really the boy's fault, but it was still dumb, especially considering how many times it's previously happened. So I just had to let everything out....again. But I'm back to feeling good about the whole thing again. Yay self-actualization!
Also, I might get to bed before midnight tonight. As soon as I'm done posting here I'm going to snuggle up under the covers. Unfortunately I have German tomorrow; it was almost cancelled. But I think all we're doing is watching Der Herr der Ringe...auf Englisch Lord of the Rings. hahaha. Love it. That's how we start every class. But at least this much sleep is better than none. And then I get to do homework and then go to the temple, pick up my Sports Pass (finally...I've been meaning to get it for months) so that I can go to the basketball game against the U on Saturday, and then go tubing at Soldier's Hollow! Hooray! It's going to rock!
I wrote it my whole boy experience that's been going on for the past year and a half. I was thinking about how much I had learned from it and everything all while we were reading Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre. And then Tuesday...I suppose that was just yesterday...I was ditched again. Wasn't really the boy's fault, but it was still dumb, especially considering how many times it's previously happened. So I just had to let everything out....again. But I'm back to feeling good about the whole thing again. Yay self-actualization!
Also, I might get to bed before midnight tonight. As soon as I'm done posting here I'm going to snuggle up under the covers. Unfortunately I have German tomorrow; it was almost cancelled. But I think all we're doing is watching Der Herr der Ringe...auf Englisch Lord of the Rings. hahaha. Love it. That's how we start every class. But at least this much sleep is better than none. And then I get to do homework and then go to the temple, pick up my Sports Pass (finally...I've been meaning to get it for months) so that I can go to the basketball game against the U on Saturday, and then go tubing at Soldier's Hollow! Hooray! It's going to rock!
Monday, February 23, 2009
Was-ever
It's been a while since my last post. Well, it feels like it's been a while. I suppose it's only been just over a week. It seems like a month since Lorinda's wedding. Goodness.
Life is great. Saturday's Cupid's Ball at Washington rocked. I've just enjoyed all the thoughts that I've had lately too. Church yesterday was really great, actually. It always is, but yesterday just had extra ooomph.
Today I'm very motivated, but not. I want to get stuff done, and I've been trying to, but I can't really focus. I don't know why. Okay, that's a lie. I know why. But I don't know why it's keeping me from focusing on school because it hasn't before. Oh well. I'll still get stuff done.
Anyway, just felt like I hadn't updated in forever. I guess school just takes up lots of my time and makes it seem like my life is dragging. Was-ever. (That's my "whatever" that's half Deutsch-half Englisch).
Life is great. Saturday's Cupid's Ball at Washington rocked. I've just enjoyed all the thoughts that I've had lately too. Church yesterday was really great, actually. It always is, but yesterday just had extra ooomph.
Today I'm very motivated, but not. I want to get stuff done, and I've been trying to, but I can't really focus. I don't know why. Okay, that's a lie. I know why. But I don't know why it's keeping me from focusing on school because it hasn't before. Oh well. I'll still get stuff done.
Anyway, just felt like I hadn't updated in forever. I guess school just takes up lots of my time and makes it seem like my life is dragging. Was-ever. (That's my "whatever" that's half Deutsch-half Englisch).
Sunday, February 15, 2009
:D
So I might have had a slight change of heart about Valentine's Day. Simply because I've discovered...
I. LOVE. WEDDINGS.
Today, taking pictures of and with Lorinda and Scott, visiting with family, seeing the happy couple beaming, seeing my parents and all my aunts and uncles (and even my cousin Jason!) so touched by the ceremony, feeling cute, just feeling all happy...life was good today. I hadn't been to a wedding-wedding (as in, anything other than a reception or a bridal shower) since my Aunt Darlene and Uncle Scott got married, and I was 5. They're wonderful. It just made me want to get married and be that happy. Of course, I'm perfectly content to wait. More than so. But today the Spirit and the happiness and excitement that hung over my whole extended family was so...celestial. We're all going to be together forever, and now we have another cousin to be with--Scott Allred. He makes our cousin Lorinda so happy. They were glowing. :)
I guess the point of this post was to say that spending my Single's Awareness Day at a wedding was the exact opposite of what I thought it was going to be. Maybe Valentine's Day isn't quite so bad after all. :)
I. LOVE. WEDDINGS.
Today, taking pictures of and with Lorinda and Scott, visiting with family, seeing the happy couple beaming, seeing my parents and all my aunts and uncles (and even my cousin Jason!) so touched by the ceremony, feeling cute, just feeling all happy...life was good today. I hadn't been to a wedding-wedding (as in, anything other than a reception or a bridal shower) since my Aunt Darlene and Uncle Scott got married, and I was 5. They're wonderful. It just made me want to get married and be that happy. Of course, I'm perfectly content to wait. More than so. But today the Spirit and the happiness and excitement that hung over my whole extended family was so...celestial. We're all going to be together forever, and now we have another cousin to be with--Scott Allred. He makes our cousin Lorinda so happy. They were glowing. :)
I guess the point of this post was to say that spending my Single's Awareness Day at a wedding was the exact opposite of what I thought it was going to be. Maybe Valentine's Day isn't quite so bad after all. :)
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Valentine's Day: When you're 19, Single, and at BYU...
Valentine's Day has never been my favorite holiday. In fact, quite the opposite. To me, February 14th is a commercialistic, puke fest. From junior high onward, it has been many things: a popularity contest, a day where any girl who is unattached is helped along to feeling insignificant and unloved--no matter how strongly she may believe otherwise, a day (or week) of excessive and disgusting PDA, a day that people seem to think can make up for their lack of love througout the rest of the week. On top of that, it's the middle of winter, and the coldest part of it as that. By the time Valentine's Day rolls around, I am so sick of the snow and the freeze-fest that I don't want to leave my bed, let alone my apartment. I could go on. And when you're 19, single, and at BYU, there is definately no escaping February 14.
Last year, my first year here at the Y, Valentine's Day wasn't so bad. Yes, I was trying to get over the heartbreak of a very cute boy. Yes, my roommate had started dating someone and although I was so so very happy for her, I will admit, I was slightly jealous. But to lighten the mood I counted couples on campus over the space of Feb. 13-15 with many of my friends and had a girl's night with my "cousin" and her best friend. After all, we were all single (or too wonderful to hate for being in a relationship when others weren't, haha) and freshman. Life was grand. Marriage was looming in no one's curent futures and we were, for the most part, content to just be living with our girl friends and having a blast. I may have been a bit bitter that I wasn't dating a certain boy at the time, but generally life was good.
This year, lots has changed. Many girls I know, not close friends, but who I knew fairly well who went to high school with me are married or engaged. The real kicker is that 3 good friends--one of them a best friend from high school, another one of my best friends ever who has been with me since 6th grade--have gotten engaged in the past 2 weeks. My cousin, the first one to get married, is actually getting married on Valentine's Day. I'm so excited for all of them--so giggly, happy, supportive excited. Yet I talk about wedding plans with them, look at wedding and engagement pictures, and I feel empty. Although a few days ago I was perfectly fine being single, now Valentine's Day has transformed me into something else. I was even thinking just last week that February 14th might not be so bad this year, because I'm perfectly content being single. But now I have an aching yearning to get married. Not just be in a relationship, but to get married. Which scares me, because I really don't want to get married right now, and I still have much to learn and work on before I do get married. I'm just not quite sure what to do with myself. Especially since last night I had the best dream. I was in a happy, healthy relationship with a boy whom I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, and he was completely in love with me as well.
Someday it'll all happen. But when you're 19, Single, and at BYU, all your friends and family start getting engaged. And Valentine's Day is back to its depressing, Single Awareness-y self.
Last year, my first year here at the Y, Valentine's Day wasn't so bad. Yes, I was trying to get over the heartbreak of a very cute boy. Yes, my roommate had started dating someone and although I was so so very happy for her, I will admit, I was slightly jealous. But to lighten the mood I counted couples on campus over the space of Feb. 13-15 with many of my friends and had a girl's night with my "cousin" and her best friend. After all, we were all single (or too wonderful to hate for being in a relationship when others weren't, haha) and freshman. Life was grand. Marriage was looming in no one's curent futures and we were, for the most part, content to just be living with our girl friends and having a blast. I may have been a bit bitter that I wasn't dating a certain boy at the time, but generally life was good.
This year, lots has changed. Many girls I know, not close friends, but who I knew fairly well who went to high school with me are married or engaged. The real kicker is that 3 good friends--one of them a best friend from high school, another one of my best friends ever who has been with me since 6th grade--have gotten engaged in the past 2 weeks. My cousin, the first one to get married, is actually getting married on Valentine's Day. I'm so excited for all of them--so giggly, happy, supportive excited. Yet I talk about wedding plans with them, look at wedding and engagement pictures, and I feel empty. Although a few days ago I was perfectly fine being single, now Valentine's Day has transformed me into something else. I was even thinking just last week that February 14th might not be so bad this year, because I'm perfectly content being single. But now I have an aching yearning to get married. Not just be in a relationship, but to get married. Which scares me, because I really don't want to get married right now, and I still have much to learn and work on before I do get married. I'm just not quite sure what to do with myself. Especially since last night I had the best dream. I was in a happy, healthy relationship with a boy whom I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, and he was completely in love with me as well.
Someday it'll all happen. But when you're 19, Single, and at BYU, all your friends and family start getting engaged. And Valentine's Day is back to its depressing, Single Awareness-y self.
Friday, February 6, 2009
John Bennion Moment
I'm really exhausted. All week I've been tired, but last night I didn't get much sleep anyway, and it was restless. Because about 22 hours ago I had a John Bennion moment.
John is my British Novel professor who is taking our group to England in the spring. I can't wait. But he is phenomenal. He makes you think and ponder--raises more questions than he answers and teaches you to look at texts in a completely different way to discover yourself and others in a whole new light. AMAZING. No other word for it. If you're at BYU and taking English classes, I highly recommend him.
Anyway, we just finished Pride and Prejudice and I've been waiting for this explosive moment for a while. It finally came. I had been looking at it the right way; it's not just a story, but an exploration of people and whatnot, but I just needed the right prompt. Kudos to Kylie for her discussion question that got my wheels turning. And they've been going ever since. I might post my paper up here when I'm done with it, but right now I have no idea where it's going. Or even starting. I have so many questions and thoughts and ideas and experiences I could tie in and EVERYTHING IS EVERYWHERE AND I NEED TO MAKE IT ALL FIT AND ALL THESE THOUGHTS ARE SO GREAT! AHHHHHHHH! I love being an English major. I love moments like this. So much. My head hurts, but in a good way. :D
I just wish they didn't make me so tired.
John is my British Novel professor who is taking our group to England in the spring. I can't wait. But he is phenomenal. He makes you think and ponder--raises more questions than he answers and teaches you to look at texts in a completely different way to discover yourself and others in a whole new light. AMAZING. No other word for it. If you're at BYU and taking English classes, I highly recommend him.
Anyway, we just finished Pride and Prejudice and I've been waiting for this explosive moment for a while. It finally came. I had been looking at it the right way; it's not just a story, but an exploration of people and whatnot, but I just needed the right prompt. Kudos to Kylie for her discussion question that got my wheels turning. And they've been going ever since. I might post my paper up here when I'm done with it, but right now I have no idea where it's going. Or even starting. I have so many questions and thoughts and ideas and experiences I could tie in and EVERYTHING IS EVERYWHERE AND I NEED TO MAKE IT ALL FIT AND ALL THESE THOUGHTS ARE SO GREAT! AHHHHHHHH! I love being an English major. I love moments like this. So much. My head hurts, but in a good way. :D
I just wish they didn't make me so tired.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Deutsch, Dreams, und Designs
Hallo! Machmal denke ich nur auf Deutsch, weil ich meine Deutscheklasse jeden Tag haben!
Translation: Hello! Sometimes I think only in German, because I have my German class every day. And we speak only Deutsch (or are supposed to, haha) in class, so that's 5 hours a week, plus I'm supposed to speak for an hour outside of class (and usually do about 1.5 or 2). Then I'm supposed to listen for an hour each week. I usually find Disney movies auf Deutsch an YouTube or go see a Deutschen Film at the International Cinema (love that place). Plus I have a paragraph thingy to write each week and my daily assignments. So that adds up to at least 10 hours of German thinking a week, usually more around 13-15. So yep. Deutsch is taking over my brain. But that's probably a good thing. :) Right now I'm supposed to be studying for a test that I need to take today, but I've decided to take a little break and post!
I had one of the BEST dreams EVER last night. I can remember very few times that I've had a better dream than this (there have been a few, but not many), especially where I've remembered the dream when I woke up. Last night I dreamed (or traumte, as my German-brain wanted to say) that a very fun and attractive boy--who I do like (a lot, actually), and always enjoy talking to--came to my house in Twin Falls and took me on a date and it was the best night. Not that I've been on many dates this one has had to beat, but still. And yes, I know I'm pathetic. I don't care. I've been really happy all day, even though I know that this dream is in no way real and will probably never be real. :)
Lastly, my roommate and I have decided to make some changes. This past week neither Sarah nor I were really productive. Last night Sarah asked me to remind her to do some things and so our life overhaul got underway. We are helping each other to become better. We're keeping modified missionary hours: 10-6. Of course, we realize that due to some late classes and the fact that we are college students and the like, going to bed at 10 might not always be possible. But if we aim for it, we'll get to bed as early as we can. :) And we're waking up every morning. This is something I'm going to have a really hard time with. I am quite possibly the worst morning person ever, but I really want to change that. This morning I didn't quite get up at 6. I got up around 6:20, and then ended up taking a 20-minute nap around 7:15. haha. But our plan is to get up and start our day off with scripture study, get ready, do homework, go to classes and stay on campus until dinner time (and then possibly going back up) so that we can get everything done, writing in our journals every night, and then picking up our room. Those last two will be really good for me too. I used to write in my journal every night. I did for about 3 years and then senior year hit me. Right now I have some notes/entries just not in the journal/things that I need to write/transfer in the actual journal from the past few months. I just need to catch up and get in the habit again. And if you've ever seen a bedroom of mine (or roomed with me...) you'll be very grateful that I'm trying to improve that too. My apartment is not messy. Only my bedroom gets trashed. And I'm tired of it.
Yep. So that's life in a nutshell right now (minus my amazing English classes and stuff. I'll write about that tomorrow perhaps). I'm rather pleased that it could all be alliteration for the title. It makes me happy. I guess I could have also used "German, [Dreams], and Goals" but actually not because I can't think of a synonym for Dream that starts with a G. And neither can Thesaurus.com (my best friend!) either. Sad day. But not. :)
Translation: Hello! Sometimes I think only in German, because I have my German class every day. And we speak only Deutsch (or are supposed to, haha) in class, so that's 5 hours a week, plus I'm supposed to speak for an hour outside of class (and usually do about 1.5 or 2). Then I'm supposed to listen for an hour each week. I usually find Disney movies auf Deutsch an YouTube or go see a Deutschen Film at the International Cinema (love that place). Plus I have a paragraph thingy to write each week and my daily assignments. So that adds up to at least 10 hours of German thinking a week, usually more around 13-15. So yep. Deutsch is taking over my brain. But that's probably a good thing. :) Right now I'm supposed to be studying for a test that I need to take today, but I've decided to take a little break and post!
I had one of the BEST dreams EVER last night. I can remember very few times that I've had a better dream than this (there have been a few, but not many), especially where I've remembered the dream when I woke up. Last night I dreamed (or traumte, as my German-brain wanted to say) that a very fun and attractive boy--who I do like (a lot, actually), and always enjoy talking to--came to my house in Twin Falls and took me on a date and it was the best night. Not that I've been on many dates this one has had to beat, but still. And yes, I know I'm pathetic. I don't care. I've been really happy all day, even though I know that this dream is in no way real and will probably never be real. :)
Lastly, my roommate and I have decided to make some changes. This past week neither Sarah nor I were really productive. Last night Sarah asked me to remind her to do some things and so our life overhaul got underway. We are helping each other to become better. We're keeping modified missionary hours: 10-6. Of course, we realize that due to some late classes and the fact that we are college students and the like, going to bed at 10 might not always be possible. But if we aim for it, we'll get to bed as early as we can. :) And we're waking up every morning. This is something I'm going to have a really hard time with. I am quite possibly the worst morning person ever, but I really want to change that. This morning I didn't quite get up at 6. I got up around 6:20, and then ended up taking a 20-minute nap around 7:15. haha. But our plan is to get up and start our day off with scripture study, get ready, do homework, go to classes and stay on campus until dinner time (and then possibly going back up) so that we can get everything done, writing in our journals every night, and then picking up our room. Those last two will be really good for me too. I used to write in my journal every night. I did for about 3 years and then senior year hit me. Right now I have some notes/entries just not in the journal/things that I need to write/transfer in the actual journal from the past few months. I just need to catch up and get in the habit again. And if you've ever seen a bedroom of mine (or roomed with me...) you'll be very grateful that I'm trying to improve that too. My apartment is not messy. Only my bedroom gets trashed. And I'm tired of it.
Yep. So that's life in a nutshell right now (minus my amazing English classes and stuff. I'll write about that tomorrow perhaps). I'm rather pleased that it could all be alliteration for the title. It makes me happy. I guess I could have also used "German, [Dreams], and Goals" but actually not because I can't think of a synonym for Dream that starts with a G. And neither can Thesaurus.com (my best friend!) either. Sad day. But not. :)
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