20.Evaluative Conclusion

As I was looking through my blog, the most pertinent problem I realized is that all of my topics are related to school. Rarely do I have anything eye-catching because mostly it's a blog of only school-related topics. If I could redo my blog, I would still have some of the same blog posts, but I would post many different blogs having fun topics. It was surprisingly fun keeping a blog because it was a great refresher to things I'd learned in the past. For instance, I decided to post on two of my favorite devotionals and simply wrote down my favorite quotes from each and then let it lie. When I finally got around to posting them, I was able to reread some of the devotionals and the things I was struggling with when I first heard them were still pertinent to what I am struggling with now so I was calmed down all over again. Further, when I wrote two blogs on two chapters of Mindful Writing, I was reminded of special reading and writing strategies that helped me write my rhetorical analysis. I also liked organizing my thoughts into various study strategies I had learned my two semesters at college. I will most definitely go over them when finals week finally comes around. Overall, I think that having a blog was comparable to journal writing because it's just a way to organize your thoughts into one cohesive unit and to provide a medium to showcase everything that you'd been working on for the semester.

19. Funnest things to do with friends

I haven't done all of these options, but at some point in my life I aspire to complete all of them.

- Walk into walmart and find the ball crate. Play a little soccer with your friends.
- Go into Costco and sample all their free tasters because college is expensive.
- Go on a roadtrip to hike Zion's and Bryce Canyon
- Rent a puppy for an hour
- Go for a drive and have a coin decide which ways you will turn
- Go night swimming and play games like color and Marco Polo
- Visit m & m world and do a line of coke (the drink) :)
- learn how to surf
- pretend to be the cast of Harry Potter and talk with a British accent broken up by really poorly thought out spells. Abide by the rules of the spells.
- Watch the entire series of Avatar in one day.
- Play would you rather, mafia, and what are the odds
- Go bowling with a game of skittles. Have everyone pick a skittle every round and ask them a question depending on the color of skittles.

(Roommates and friends ant the top of Angel's Landing in Zion's)

18. General Conference Mini-Analysis

This general conference was full of enlightening messages and exhortations to make changes in lives for the better. Some of these arguments for change were a lot more persuasive than others so here are some of the most effective techniques for persuasion.

In his talk "To the Friends and Investigators of the Church", Elder Joaquin E. Costa used the technique of logos to help us see the process that takes place in the heart when we wish to draw closer to Christ. He said, "experience repentance; nothing draws you closer to the Lord Jesus Christ than a desire to change." This methodical approach makes perfect sense because when one first desires to change, they see the need for repentance to assuage them of guilt which, in turn, brings them closer to Christ. This sentiment persuades us to desire to draw closer to Christ and since we've established drawing closer to Christ is a direct result of a desire to change and thus repent, he's actually exhorting us unto repentance.

In his talk "The Voice of Warning", Elder D. Todd Christofferson uses strong diction such as inclusion and tolerance to establish this idea of a culture that accepts everyone and juxtaposes it with a true society that follows the ideals of being unmerciful to those who don't fit in. He says, “the guilt culture could be harsh, but at least you could hate the sin and still love the sinner. The modern shame culture allegedly values inclusion and tolerance, but it can be strangely unmerciful to those who disagree and to those who don’t fit in.” This thought-provoking truth persuades us to look at society in a new light where one thinks of examples of this exact idea happening in this so-called tolerant age. He paints a picture of a Utopian Society were everyone is extremely understanding of all situations in life, but shows that in truth usually the opposite is true.

Lastly, Elder Ulisses Soares in his talk "Confide in God Unwaveringly" uses pathos to exhort us to push off the heavy yoke of uncertainty. He says "brothers and sisters, if we are not rooted by steadfast trust in God and the desire to serve Him, the painful experiences of mortality can lead us to feel as though we are burdened by a heavy yoke; and we can lose the motivation to live the gospel fully." His language helps us imagine a life where we can't get the burden of a heavy yoke off of us. If we wish to avoid this horrible sentiment, we need to envision a life where we are rooted by steadfast trust in God so He will help us remove the yoke brought upon by disbelief and confusion.

(Elder D. Todd Christofferson)

17. Personal Narrative

The Dating Debacle

“Does this shirt look too fancy with these pants?” I inquired as I contorted my body, my back facing the mirror as I tried to get a better angle, observing the combination in the mirror. My tight black jeans offsetting the loose-fitting emerald blouse. “No, it looks fine.” came the disinterested reply, my older sister Katie not even bothering to look up from her phone. Her dark brown bangs covered what little I could see of her face. “Ughhh” I groaned, exasperated, “you can’t tell me how good I look if you’re not even going to look at me!” Katie finally lifted her head to glance up at me, almost immediately dropping her gaze back to a scene from Keeping up with the Kardashians. “You look cute” she offered. Finally satisfied I snatched my black, leather satchel from its position draped over the back of my chair and clambered through the carnage of rejected outfits. I looked at the clock and gasped at the glowing time. “He’s almost here!” I screeched scrambling to shove my feet into the closest pair of black flats. A knock on the door stilled my frenzied motion. “Oh no” I breathed. I quickly shoved my second foot into the shoe and laced it. I ran to the door and yanked it open.

“Hello,” I gasped, breathing harder than usual. “Hi.” Garrett, my date for the evening, returned the greeting. “Are you ready to go?” He asked. With a nod I pushed past him, pulling the door closed behind me. I desperately hoped he hadn’t noticed how flustered I was. As we made our way to his car, I quickly patted my curly, brown hair into place. “Are you excited for the movie?” He asked opening the car door for me. “Of course,” came my hesitant reply. I had absolutely no idea what this movie was nor did I have an interest in seeing it, but I wasn’t about to suggest we derail the entire evening. “So, I was thinking Café Rio for dinner. Is that okay?” Garrett asked, glancing in my general direction. I silently cursed, thinking about the sweet pork burrito from the same establishment settled on the top shelf of my fridge, reminiscent of the previous day’s ventures. “Ya, sounds good to me,” I agreed. We pulled up to the restaurant, parked, and then walked in. While we were standing in line waiting to order, I nervously fidgeted with my shirt. I pulled it down to cover the top of my jeans and rolled up the sleeves. I bit my lip. “Should I get the salad or the burrito?” I asked anxiously, watching the line in front of us dwindle. I hadn’t yet reached a decision when an associate asked, “what can I get for you?” “I’ll have the chicken tostada.” Garrett answered, then turned to me, his head tilted and one eyebrow raised. “I’ll have the same” I replied, shrugging my shoulders. After grabbing the hot meals off the trays, Garrett turned to face me asking, “Where would you like to sit?” I looked at the wide expanse of options at my disposal and my eyes widened at the overwhelming array of seats. “Anywhere is good,” I replied.  We made our way to a table near the back of the restaurant and I sat across from him. I wondered if I should’ve taken the seat next to him instead.

Once we finished eating, we made our way back to his car.  The rest of the night passed by in a blur, with me intermittently biting my lip and fidgeting as we talked. As the night came to a close, he dropped me off at the door step. I hurriedly wrapped my arms around his neck in a hug and then stepped away. I opened the door, stepping inside and ducking my head as I quietly expressed my thanks for the fun night. “Ya thanks so much for saying yes. It was way fun,” he agreed. “Well bye.” I said, shutting the door. The breath I’d been holding the whole night came out in a sigh of relief. I rubbed my eyes in exasperation thinking about all the awkward and dumb things I’d uttered throughout the duration of the night. I groaned thinking about seeing him at school the following Monday.

            “Did you have fun on your date last night?” My mother asked giving me a quick hug before repositioning herself on the wooden stool next to the counter. I cringed. “Ya, it was great.” I replied, shoulders shrugging, my eyes downcast. She reached over and tilted my chin upwards, forcing my eyes to meet hers. “Tell me about it,” she softly inquired. I sighed pushing her finger away and resting my head against the granite countertop. “I didn’t know how to act around him the entire time! I was wondering what he was thinking the entire time! I didn’t want him to think I was super pushy or opinionated so I wanted him to decide literally everything.” The stream of words just kept coming. “And I know I should act normal, but I really want him to like me!” My head came up from the counter to ascertain what my mother thought of these words. My mother stared back at me thoughtfully and finally rested her hand on my shoulder. “Honey, I think you’re focusing on who you think he wants you to be instead of just being yourself.” “But what if he doesn’t like me?” I countered. My mother patiently replied, “that is completely fine. You will find someone one day who loves and accepts you for who you are. The most important thing, however, is that you like who you are.” My hand formed a fist under my chin to contemplate these words. My eyes narrowed skeptically. “You are okay just as you are,” my mother continued, “don’t worry about what he thinks about you. Just be you.” I nodded repeating this new mantra in my head. “Thanks mom, you always know what to say” I said giving her a tight squeeze. “They did let me graduate from mom school and everything.” She joked, pulling out of my embrace to look me in the face. “Just remember I love you more than you could possibly know. You’re a darling girl.” “Thanks mom.” I repeated, pulling her back into an embrace.

*          *          *          *          *          *          *          *          *

I glanced at my reflection in the mirror and then eagerly bounded from my room into the living room. Melissa, my roommate, stared up at me from her position beside the couch, her stomach resting on the floor, her bent legs almost touching the ends of her blonde waves of hair. “Are you excited for your date?” She asked repositioning herself into a sitting position. I nodded and wondered if I should ask her if she thought my shirt was too loose, but instead, I remembered that I thought my shirt looked great with my pants. I straightened my back and pushed my shoulders back. “So what do you have planned for the evening?” Melissa asked eagerly.  “We’re going to play some games and then go out for ice cream.” I replied. “That sounds like fun.” She asserted. “I know,” I said grinning from ear to ear, “I suggested it.” A knock at the door signaled my date’s arrival. My eyes widened and my mouth gaped open. My roommate regarded my panicked reaction and laughed. “Would you like me to get the door?” I took a deep breath and nodded. “Tell him I’ll be right there.” I answered, calmly walking over to grab my shoes. I silently repeated the words I’d told myself a hundred times before and took another calming breath. You’re okay. Just be yourself. Everything will be fine. I looked at myself in the mirror again and squared my shoulders.

“You look great!” My date greeted as I stepped into the hallway. “Thank you.” I said, giving him a hug. “This is my roommate Melissa and Melissa, this is my date Matt.” I introduced the pair. “Nice to meet you.” They both welcomed in turn. With formalities taken care of, I looked up at Matt and asked if he was ready to go. He smiled and said, “yes, let’s head out.” We made our way to the door and walked into the basement of building 14. “Is pool okay?” Matt asked as he walked up to the equipment checkout counter. “Yes! I love pool!” I answered enthusiastically practically skipping to the table. After playing a few rounds, Matt asked, “would you rather play ping pong or foosball next?” I weighed both options in my head, pursing my lips in concentration. “I like foosball better, but either is just fine with me.” I answered honestly turning to smile up at him. “If you want to lose badly I’d suggest you go with foosball,” I boasted. His dark eyebrows arched up in surprise, but then he checked my teasing expression and laughed. “Well, we’ll just have to see about that.” He replied grinning.

      After a few more rounds of games we walked down to the creamery. While we stood in line, Matt turned towards me and asked, “what would you like?” I looked at all the options and resolutely replied, “definitely the mint brownie. What about you?” His brows furrowed. “Hmmm…that’s a tough one.” He tapped his chin with one finger. “Probably the salted caramel pretzel,” he finally decided. “An excellent choice,” I praised smiling up at him. Once we got our delicious confections Matt asked where I wanted to sit. “I prefer booths, but we can sit wherever.” I suggested. “A booth it is.” He agreed. I strode confidently to a free spot in the back and he followed close behind. We both sat down and began talking. “So how are you liking school this semester?” He asked me. “Oh I love it! I really love the atmosphere. If there’s one thing I could change it would be starting class an hour later. I really need to get more sleep.” I looked up into his eyes and smiled. “What about you?” I reciprocated. “No complaints here. I completely agree with you about the sleep thing. It’s a real problem,” he replied laughing.

We talked for another hour until we both agreed it was getting late. Matt walked me back to my apartment and gave me a hug at the door. I looked into his deep, hazel eyes and thanked him for a wonderful night. I wrapped my arms around his neck once more and then turned away, firmly inserting my key card into the door and striding inside, quickly glancing behind me, waving in farewell. He waved back and started walking down the corridor. After the door had safely swung shut, a small smile slowly spread across my face until it split into a wide grin. I did a little dance, breathing out a sigh of content at a wonderful, carefree night.

(Me and Matt)

16. Waiting Upon the Lord Devotional Anaysis

This past week has been pretty stressful because I've been trying to get housing, my class schedule, and plans for the summer all pinned down. This devotional really helped me to understand the importance of relying on the Lord, but also taking the initiative to make decisions and move forward with them. I attended the last BYU devotional called "Waiting Upon the Lord" by Erin Holmes and it helped me immensely in the decision-making process.

One of my favorite things she said was “God’s plan for you will not match the plans God has for others, you must come to know what the Lord wants for you personally.” It's easy to look around at others and think you should be doing as well as they are, but sometimes God has other lessons He wants to teach you. I've found that to be the case because I've really had to work for the testimony I have right now. I thought it would come pretty easily, but I think because I've had to work for it, I've appreciated it a lot more and cherished it to a greater degree.

I also loved when she said, "fear is rooted in the false belief one must do things alone, but faith and hope come form the memory of spiritual experiences or blessings from the Lord." I always think I can do everything on my own. I end up getting really stressed out because I have so many decisions to make and so many things on my to-do list, but what I always forget is that I can rely on the Lord in all of my endeavors. If I'm wondering what major is the best for me or if I should be dating this person, I don't have to be stressed out because I'm relying on someone who can see the entirety of my life and knows what will be the best thing for me. If I was relying only on what I thought was best, I would be constrained to only knowing how it would effect me short-term, but I know that if I put my faith in trust on the one who can see far into the long-term, He will not lead me astray.

(Erin Holmes pictured above)