Thoughts from ME

For a class I had to read George Orwell's 1984. Here is my paper :) Read the book!  George Orwell’s powerful tale of the woes of totalitarianism is a poetic cry for the sanity of mankind, a cry for us to stand up and think for ourselves. In 1984 Orwell cries for humanity from the lips of Winston Smith, a man frozen in a world he cannot escape, a world full of people he views too empty-headed to be worth very much. I appreciated this powerful story and the message Orwell hoped to convey to his readers. Among the things that made this book great are the setting of a twisted London, the character of Winston Smith and his associates, as well as the storyline and the style used by Mr. Orwell.             What first captured my attention is the setting. This includes the odd view of London as well as the homes described. A powerful part of the setting was the description of the posters that showed the visage of “Big Brother”...

Hey all! I know it's been forever :)   I've been thinking recently about the brain and us, humans and how we just get so attached to things and then we can't really shake them. I don't just mean things that aren't good for us either. For example, people. We get really attached to people.  Here's a poem I really love by e.e.cummings that I think adequately shows what I'm talking about: i carry your heart with me by E. E. Cummings i carry your heart with me(i carry it in my heart)i am never without it(anywhere i go you go,my dear; and whatever is done by only me is your doing,my darling) i fear no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true) and it's you are whatever a moon has always meant and whatever a sun will always sing is you here is the deepest secret nobody knows (here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows ...

Hi!!! I am officially an RM and returned after faithfully fulfilling my call for the Church to serve in the Virginia Richmond Mission. It was Awesome and hard and fantastic and looong and so unbelievably short aaaaall at the same time. Yup :P And I've just finished my two week visit back to my mission and am now spending a week being a total beach bum on the Atlantic Ocean in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. It is soothing here. I love walking across the street to step onto the sand of the beach. It is an awesome sight in the best sense of the word to be able to stare out into the ocean. Today after breakfast we crossed the street and played on the beach. I went wave jumping and had a blast!! Just thinking about it I can taste the intense saltiness that would fill my mouth or burn my nose when I messed up my jumps. I had a great time though and wasn't even out too long. It'll be some time before I'm anywhere near a beach like this again so I'm going to take advanta...

Christmas time is a celebration of a spectacular event that changed everything forever. Mary bore the world its Savior in her son Jesus the Christ. We celebrate his birth at this wonderful time of year. Reproductions of his birth can be found everywhere, acted out or set up in lawns or in living rooms. The star, the shepherds, the manger, his earthly parents, and the Son. Wherever I am, this is what Christmas is about.  Recently we had a Relief Society activity where all the women shared either a) their favorite Christmas memory or b) a favorite Christmas tradition. It was fun to listen to all these woman, spanning ages 18 to 60+ speak of their families and their traditions and memories. It was not until then that I really realized I'll be in Provo, away from my family during this very special time. However, my thoughts and love will be with them as they meet together and share time and laughter. The tradition I shared is one very close to the hearts of me and all of my sibling...

Well we all have a face That we hide away forever And we take them out and Show ourselves When everyone has gone Some are satin some are steel Some are silk and some are leather They're the faces of the stranger But we love to try them on ...Once I used to believe I was such a great romancer Then I came home to a woman That I could not recognize When I pressed her for a reason She refused to even answer It was then I felt the stranger Kick me right between the eyes (Billy Joel, "The Stranger", 1977) I have been pondering lately about people and how complex we all are. As individuals we wear many faces, masks, make-up etc. To our family, our friends, our teachers we are all different people. Who are we really? Do we even know? When the lights are out and we lie in bed, when the days activities and stray thoughts flutter around in our brain, do we realize who we are? Where in that day we acted out a new face? A new persona? When do we act as we truly a...

There's something beautiful about fire and candlelight. I have always thought this is because people are awed by how destructive something so beautiful can be. Tonight I have thought something else. I have this small candle from somewhere and tonight I lit it for no real reason. Here are my realizations:  Jesus Christ is called the Light of the World. As his disciples, and members of his church, we also are to be lights (Matt. 5). I think people find fire attractive in part because it reminds of spiritual things. Girls who attend testimony meeting at Girl's Camp around the fire often say (and I agree) that it is one of the most spiritual experiences they have had and probably will have. I admit this to be partially because you have spent days camping in God's nature, away from civilization, but there is almost always a fire at that meeting and it is what every girl, leader, and Priesthood holder are looking at. God so loved the world that he gave his Only Begotten Son...

Mission call arrived (FINALLY) and I am going to Virginia Richmond Mission, English speaking I leave Dec. 15th, my farewell is Nov. 28th here at home We have been pressing apples today and making apple cider! yummmm! Really fun. Company was great too... :) The knee is feeling strong and healthy. Had a little scare, thought I pulled stitches or something few weekends ago hiking in Moab but it's feeling great once more! Yes! Jay and Nicole will know the gender of their baby next Wednesday and I'm thinking...Boy Found the coolest scripture in, of all places, Isaiah. (See Isaiah 43:1-5) My brother David moved to Pennsylvania. Out of the blue. Like the old country western song. I'm kind of looking forward to shopping for my mission. I'm not a big shopper but I think it'll be pretty fun.  Today was a perfect example of October. The sun played with us! It shined and then hid like it was playing hide and go seek with us! I think it had way more fun then we did, so u...