In Real Life These Are Their "Last Calls"

I started reading a graphic novel called In Real Life (by Cory Doctorow) about a girl, Anda, who, through the course of the story, realizes that the people on the other side of the screen of her computer game are real people. The boy she tries to help ends up getting fired from his job because of how she tried to help in a very naive way. She did little research into the circumstances Raymond was in, but not enough. Anda jumps to the concussion that a strike is what is needed, but, as I said, it made things worse.

She tries, but is unable to do anything physically for this boy in China.

As I was posting the review for it on Caitlyn's Modest Reviews I was also listening to my Facebook feed and some of the horrible things that are happening in the middle east. The one that struck me in connection to In Real Life were the "Last Calls" of the citizens in Aleppo. As bombs are flying overhead, as they walk around their burning and crumbling city, they are making what could possibly be their final call out to the people they love and care about. They don't know if they are going to live ten more minutes to send another tweet to say they are alive. They may not be alive.

I've looked up a few of these videos that people have posted to the internet and they make me cry. My heart breaks for them and there is seriously very little I can actually do. I am not a politician. I am not a military general. I'm not a government official. My voice is small amide the chaos around me.

But the world tremors with cries for help.

What am I supposed to do? Really do?

I sit here in my warm home with my child and husband asleep upstairs in their rooms. I sit next to a Christmas Tree that have a few present for my friends and family, whom I know are safe and sound a few cities away. I sit here and write a blog post about the latest book I finished and my thoughts on it. I listen to Facebook and the humm of my fridge which may not be full but it has food in it.

What can I do? Realistically, what can I do?

I know I can't jump on a plane; I'm no nurse; I seriously have very little money. If I were going to do anything, I wouldn't be able to do anything by myself.

As I've sat here and thought, there are somethings I am able to do. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has the best welfare system that I know. They money and food goes to the places that need it, not to some fake leader's pockets. We have missionaries helping in refugee camps and aide stations around the world. For those who are LDS and wish to help, add some more money to your tithing and give to the Welfare Services.

While tithing envelopes may not be able to help the people in Aleppo today, my prayers can. You're prayers can. Pray for them. Give them strength to gather their families to run. Discernment about which alley to take to avoid bombs. Peace when they see loved ones fall. To be taken quickly, if it is their time to meet God.

I know prayers are answered, because even the littlest prayers are answered for me. So why wouldn't the big ones?

Father loves all of His children and He wants them safe. However, He can't force other's actions. Agency is our gift, bought by the blood of Christ. Father can't stop all of our trials; they why we are here on this earth.

The Spirit of Peace isn't here on the earth anymore, anyone who says otherwise is being deceived. Peace, in our heart, in our mind, in the world around us, is something we need to pray for in order to get it. There is too much chaos for it to stay.

Pray for strength. Our Father in Heaven will always grant us strength when we ask for it. Always.

Prayer cannot make anything worse because Father listens to us and He wants to help us. What is amazing is that He knows the best way to help us. Sometimes that mercy is extended in the form of death. But death is not something to despair over. This is not the end. Father has a plan for each of us and often it is more grand than we realize.

Oh, if the whole world would kneel down and fervently, meaningfully, purposefully pray, how drastically different would it be?





Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wh7jOP0RBqI
Prayer Photo: http://www.worldnetworkofprayer.com/

We're all Smiles!

I found this on my Facebook Newsfeed this afternoon. It made me smile so much.

(Pun only slightly intended.)

If It Isn't Written Down, It Never Happened

I am a big history buff. I love reading about stories of people who lived before me whether they are my ancestors who crossed plains or horse thieves, or the crazy stories of how Empress Elizabeth of Austria got stabbed and didn't die until her corset was removed that night. There are many fascinating things that can be found in history in old tomes, on sculptures, and as bits of pottery.

There were many people who did amazing things throughout history. But, sadly, because events and names weren't written down, they are lost to us. It is as if they never existed then though they might have actually changed the world. Over time, even if a tale is retold and given from generation to generation, things change with each telling. Instead of saying that a man who had done something extraordinary who also had an extra finger, he, over there years, gets an extra arm or has two heads. Things become warped and they aren't what really happened. This can partially be said for the written word. Second hand accounts or those from someones memory can become faulty. Our recollection is skewed by our emotions or the heat of the moment.

I often think of cop shows where they ask someone to give a description of the bad guy they saw during an armed robbery or something. They give those witnesses over to a sketch artist and amazingly the witness give a very good description of the guy the police are looking for. I know if I had to talk to a sketch artist, I wouldn't be able to do as good a job as the witnesses on cop shows. I can hardly recall the face of the man I was helping three minutes ago. Was he bald? Short light hair? Was his jacket blue or black....? I think he had a big nose. If he were to come back, I'd probably be very wrong.

As we look back in history though, unless they were rich and had a portrait made of them, we don't know what they looked like exactly. The tapestries found in medieval  castles weren't of individual people with every person's name on it. How often in the past did they even have all the names of each soldier in their ranks on a piece of paper? I have a feeling there were more numbers listed instead of all of the family names.

I'm also aware of the practice "Damnatio memoriae" where peoples names were erased. As Wikipedia points out, it was much easier to do anciently when documents were fewer and far between. Here you could blot out the name with ink on every registry they were a part of or chisel their names from the family stone tablet or memorial. In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, they do this to Sirius when they thought he did wrong.

The idea that history is written through the eyes of the victors isn't something new. It is something every historian is aware of. Only half the story is being told and often times it is written through shaded lenses to show the victors as the most angelic person in the world--often times, though not all. This historiography is something that has become big among historians within the last few decades, if not longer; to not only take what is written on the page but what is between the lines of text that explains the reasoning behind why the author is writing it.

My point of thought that led me on this rampage is something that I've thought on a lot. In my own writings, I've written about it through as many different views in trying to understand what happened. Sadly, the incident that has shaped my life and the lives of many around me, isn't something easy to talk about. Though I always find a way to discuss it in the month of October. Not only did the month and anniversary of the accident get me starting to think again, but another, very similar, accident happened just a few weeks ago where.

On Sept 19, 2016, there was a charter bus crash in North Carolina that took the lives of four members of the University of God's Chosen football team.This is awful and sad and awfully sad. Not many people know what it's like to survive a bus crash or how it affects those around you. I don't know what it is like to survive a bus crash, but I have seen how it has effected many of my friends. There boys in North Carolina will be going through some very trying years following this. PTSD will come in at times and change the way they see things. Next time they see flashing lights they may have panic attacks or suddenly freeze. Some may try cutting or even attempt suicide now that the survivor's guilt has kicked in, which doesn't take long. Many more may hide in shells and pretend like nothing happened until they can't take it anymore and crack; they will be found lying face down, still breathing, but aching and wishing they could melt into the carpet or tile. Their friends won't know what to do. We don't know what to do. My deepest sympathies and empathizes go out to those football players, family, friends, and everyone else around them.

My own story (actually it's not really mine. I was a bystander, which makes it hard as well as some people don't realize) starts on October 10th, 2009. On a return trip from a marching band competition, My high school lost a teacher and friend that night when a bus overturned and the instructor was thrown from the window saving the rest of the students. I never knew Heather, but I am grateful for her sacrifice and love to help keep my friend safe. Miracles were performed that night through little things and big hearts. It was amazing; in the few days that followed  the accident, marching bands from all over the country sent flowers, cards, and other notes of love, hope, wishes, and prayers were sent to the school. They had so much support from outside that I don't anyone really expected.

 Their program that year was based originally on the "Greatest Generation" (also something I talked about recently) and their sacrifice for our freedoms. They dedicated their program to her and added a beautiful moment when they presented her picture. She was part of the "Greatest Generation" though she was born decades late.

There were so many things that happened around that time. It has been seven years since the accident. There have been so many changes in people and circumstances since it happened. But still there are many who can't speak about it. Can't read about it. Can't write about it. Over the years, I know they've tried, some have been able to get through the whole night but their words are cold and distant. Others can't get past certain points where it just stops. I realize that some memories are harder to digest than others. Some can throw you back into those moments of anxiety or stress. That loss that sinks deep in your stomach and plummets you into the deepest part of the sea. You can't breathe because the depression fills your lungs, head, and heart with invisible water.

I'm not saying to force yourself down those roads if it will cause you to do something reckless. I'm not saying to write and read about the experience over and over again so then you force yourself to feel something when you are the numbest you've been in months/years. There are better ways to cope that would be best told to you by a counselor.

But what I am saying is when you get to the point, whatever or whenever that moment is, share it. There are so many others out there that are hurting from similar circumstances, you'd really be surprised, and they can use some encouragement. They need your voice to realize, they aren't alone. Maybe you are in the boat where you need to find other's voices, search. Find the words. Make your own to help others. Other people know how to give CPR when it comes to tragedies because they've been there. They can help you breath, purge the water from your lungs, from your heart. Then you can learn how to do it too.

But don't only speak of it. Write it down so then it's not forgotten. Journaling or essay or blog. There are many ways to influence others. Elizabeth Smart  is one of the best examples that I have of this idea. She was kidnapped when I was little, when she was little. The was abused by her kidnapper and was finally found nine months later. But now she is married, which many would have understood her not doing so because of what she experienced, and is a motivational speaker for women who have been abused, for women who have been raped or molested. She empowers women in her words and her book, My Story. She has made changes to the world around her so than girls who have been through similar circumstances that she has don't have to go through it alone. They don't have to feel like they are nothing because they were raped. They can feel like powerful women who don't have to remain victims all their lives. They can move forward, move on, and help others to breathe.

And you can do it too. For future generations as well as those who are around you currently. Speak. Write. Gather your courage and face it with the help of those around you, counselors if necessary.

Everyone has a story to tell. Write it down. Anyone can be a positive influence and make the best out of a bad situation.






Pictures by: 
Books: http://whytoread.com/world-history-books-everyone-must-read/
Sirius: "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix"
North Carolina Bus: http://www.kxlh.com/story/33124380/10-year-old-son-of-football-coach-among-dead-in-nc-bus-crash
Heather: http://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/charges-possible-in-american-fork-band-bus-crash/article_7356f13b-3557-5403-9124-b1e56366dea0.html
Elizabeth Smart: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Smart_kidnapping

Essays, Movies, and a Way of Seeing

We all see different things when we go about our lives. We may share the same experience, same situation, but come out very different people afterward. This could go very deep and say people need to do this thing or that thing and we will all be happy, but that's not what this thought is. Fooled you, didn't I?

Probably not.

I had a friend over the other day, a non-English major (not that there is anything wrong with those people. :P ) who didn't spend all of her time in college thinking about thesis' and essay/the proper way to write an essay with an intro, thesis, three paragraphs/subjects for the body, and a nice wrapped up conclusion for the ending. She wasn't one who spent lots of time thinking about particular book analysis of characters, setting, dialogue, and plot points. I think a lot of the most important parts of my college career was learning to look at the little details. We were told to study this essay, read this book and diagnose the character as this type or that type of person, and make sure you look at each word in your essay to make sure it is the right one. Draft after draft after draft. Watch the word and the context to be in the just right place for your voice and your thesis. Overall it felt like I was being pulled through the same mud puddle for five years.

But I'm really happy to say that, unlike math, I've been able to use my English Major and the things I learned in my class in real life applications. WHAT!?! Yeah, awesome right?

My career is Mother and all that it entails (which is an incredibly long list of responsibilities and awesomeness). So, one would think that I wouldn't use it much, but I surprisingly do. Finding the little things in movies that I can talk about with my child to hopefully better him (as well as myself), being able to be articulate when talking (which is funny because I had a hard time finding the right word for that. :D ) to my neighbors or friends, and hopefully being able to slow my children the love of reading and thinking for yourself.

Back to my friend, she was visiting me as my son was watching Dreamworks Kung Fu Panda 3. We got talking about it a little and the Kai came on scene with his amazing theme music. I said, "Oh, I love this part, the music plays along with his knives/sword things and sets the mood for the battle they are going to have, but then when Po interrupts the monologue it brings so much of the personality..." etc. She looked at me and smiled, because she a very smiley lady who makes my day, and said "I've never thought about it that way. I've seen it a bunch of times, but never thought of that." I'd loved it the second time his theme song come on in the movie theater.

Had my view changed so much? Did I pay attention to movies and books and the interpretations that can come from them a few years ago? It wasn't so long ago when I just enjoyed movies for movies sake.

Now that I think about it, when the Warner Brother's movie Sucker Punch came out in 2011, I loved it. To me, it was a live action anime where girls could kickbutt and blow crap up. It was a good blowy-uppy movie when I needed one. And that was before I even saw it in the movie theater with my friends. After seeing it, and being enveloped in the metaphors and story-inside-story-inside-story motif like in the classic Frankenstein. I thought it was an ingenious way to display something that happened in an all female asylums with male staff and present it in a way that was artistic and not.....risque? It showed a way that some patients coped with being in there and kind of made them crazy. I loved Sucker Punch far more than my other friends because I was fascinated by the metaphor that flowed throughout the whole piece. It was beautiful. They didn't see it that way.

And again recently, I commented on Facebook how much I loved Ellen Parr (AKA Elasta Girl) on Pixar's Incredibles. I mentioned just how awesome she was and how she is set up to be the stereotypical mom who has to be stretched in  so many different directions and is often stretched super thin (pun intended) to take care of her family. (Much like the way Mr. Incredible is the strong father, Violet is the invisible daughter, Dash is a little boy who never stops running, and Jak Jak is a monster baby where he changes mood/skin? in an instant.) A few people commented on how they hadn't seen that and wouldn't have if I hadn't have said anything.

Am I just really weird in that I analyze many of the stories around me? I look at the setting and characters, dialogue and plot and see more than other people. I know I don't get all of it. Sometimes I'm actually very slow when it comes to things foreshadowed three chapters earlier. Or some of my friends, my husband especially, see a twist in a book or movie miles before I do.

Am I weird? Yes. But in my weirdness I find so much more than other people do. I find a bit more beauty in the things I surround myself in.

My way of seeing is different than yours and that's great. For both of us. For all of us.

Embrace your inner weirdo. Love your inner nerd.





Sucker Punch: http://www.warnerbros.com/sucker-punch
Kung Fu Panda 3: https://fanart.tv/movie/140300/kung-fu-panda-3/
The Incredibles : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Incredibles

History Through the Eyes of the Victors

This morning my husband's radio went off so then he could get ready for work. The lawn mower was going past our window of our apartment, so it took us a few minutes to become aware of the two men on my husband's talk radio channel. I was aroused just enough to hear something about history and my dreamy mind thought of my high school history classes. I loved my high school and the teachers there. English, history, and art were my favorite classes by leaps and bounds. 

But as my sleepy mind worked through groggy memories the thought of "we never get past World War II" came into my head. And it was true. From the time I remember really learning about history in the fourth grade when we learned in depth about Utah history and how we Mormon's came to settle here (which is well and good for a fourth grader) to my last few days in my AP history classes, we could never get past WWII. I know of the Korean war because of M*A*S*H* and the Vietnam War because of Operation Dumbo Drop (both awesome shows that everyone should watch) I have never learned anything about Nixon or Reagan or even the presidency of JFK except for the hearsay of "Watergate, blah blah, blah," "Actor, blah blah blah," "Assassination and brother's death, blah blah blah." Unless we did some random Wikipedia searching or students actually went to their public library, we learned nothing of the Cold War or the African revolts. Honestly, I still have no idea what the first Gulf War was about. I don't know what made Reagan such a great president, except for I think that he was the one who told Putin to "tear down this wall". I don't know anything about any of the other Presidents that we have had in my parent's lifetime, who's actions as President, as well as those in the cabinets, are a reason why we have problems today. (Recent Presidencies and policies are not out of that reasoning as well.)

If I, who is a history buff, don't know these things, what about those who hate history classes and think it's boring? Is that do to the fact that we learned the same history lessons every time we had a new history class? We learned of the Pilgrims (maybe), Battle of Concord and Lexington, Battle of Bunker Hill, the Alamo (big maybe), a gold rush and brief movements of peoples across country, Gettysburg and every single move they made while at that farm (Chamberlain was awesome, but we spent more days discussing it than the actual battle), Archduke Franz Ferdinand being the match that started WWI, the battles of Western front of WWII (but nothing of the Pacific Theater except for Hiroshima and Iwo Jima). Then when we reach the Paris Peace Conference and maybe a little into the Cold War (no later than 1950 though, we don't want to push it) is when finals would hit and we would miss the last fifty years our history. Every single year. 

We are forced to take these history classes and maybe memorize the Presidents of the U.S., but we learn nothing new. We block our U.S. History classes into the years 1775-ish to 1950. Even into college, when our required courses says we have to take History of the U.S. again! (for the tenth time) we never got past that point. We spend so much time being fed lecture after lecture with baby
spoons and don't touch potentially hot topics that are more recent. We kept slavery to plantations. I don't ever recall talking about Martin Luther King, Jr. in any of my history classes (now this may be vastly different in other parts of the country where the is a much higher African American population; Utah's is very small in that regard so it doesn't get touched often). The only mention of hippies or the War on Drugs is from my parents who lived during that time. 

Why couldn't we get past the Battle of the Bulge?

I understand that politics are hard to teach and keep the high school students, who are already sleeping, attentive and receptive. I know I hated my Government and Citizenship class my Senior year of high school. I didn't like it because we were learning the branches of government again, something we learned almost every year in all of our history classes. The other topics our teacher chose were the same one's we would have in our next class period (U.S. history). She did have us get news articles that we were to discuss in class, but no one really knew what was going on or why it was happening.  No one knew the background to the circumstances of which we were living. And what high school student is going to look dumb by asking?

The teachers, is seems, are forced to still teach to the test. For AP classes, that's all it was. Know Voltaire to Nietzsche to Marx and to have us come to our own conclusions about the text. He gave us histories and maps and didn't focus on every single battle of the French Revolution. We had a lot of context to cover, but we saw how the world moved. I came to finally understand why Spain isn't the powerhouse it once was and how England came to be so.
these pieces of art, know this person, know the reasons for this battle 300 years ago in France. Why do we need to know it? It's on the test. While I learned a lot from my AP European History teacher (because we weren't taught these things in any other class), he was still teaching to the test. Though, he taught us as if we were college students. He gave us primary sources to read from

That AP Euro class has become one of my favorites. However, I wish we would have talked about Eastern Europe. In college, I took a Europe: 19 Century class. My professor had an emphasis in her degree on the French Revolution. She wanted to spend a lot of time there. We spent three weeks guillotines and bloody messes.. We only have three and a half months on everything in Europe during the 1800's. I was sorely disappointed in that class. There were so many Eastern European countries who barely got fifteen minutes in the entire three and a half months. Those countries and their histories were the reason I took the class and the questions I did have she didn't have answers for and didn't direct me to a proper source. She also spent more time with us, the students, teaching the class when we had no idea what we were doing. 

I ended up learning more about Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia (the little countries between Poland and Russia) by reading Between Shades of Grey by Ruta Sepetys, who got most of her research from her family who was there, than any of my history classes taught. In class, we never talked about the Soviets taking over countries and what they did to the people. These people froze up in Siberia and were carted around in railway cars like the Germans did the Jews. Maybe it was mentioned that x-million people died in Russia by their own government, but we never learned why or how.

It was only through my Chinese History class in college that I learned about the Rape of Nanking what the Japanese did during WWII to the Chinese. How it was a holocaust in three weeks. Up to 300,000 unarmed civilians were brutally killed and/or raped. We never learned about that in high school, in any of the world history classes. 

And what is truly horrible is when governments to hide their own faults and wrongdoings, accidents or otherwise, they seal documents and keep other stories from being heard. I was reading an article online about the Cap Arcona  a ocean liner that was turned into a prisoner's ship during WWII. It is extremely sad what happened, but no one will fess up to the destruction of the ship or the thousands of concentration camp prisoners who died. A judgement can't be filed because the documents have been sealed until 2045 when all who would have been prosecuted for it are long past dead. All those people who died, and those who survived and lost loved ones, still don't have justice. 

**********

You get the point. I could seriously go on pages of the things that I had to find out myself outside of the curriculum. I do it, because I enjoy reading. I do it, because I enjoy the characters/real people who were there, whose stories are being silenced and need to be told. 

I try to do family history. I'm not very good at it and my dedication is slacking, but I try. All of those people, all of your ancestors, had their own stories. Whether it is about a little farmer from Illinois fifty years ago,or a mother in Nanking during WWII or the chambermaid of Charlemagne in the 700's or even one of the Pharaoh's servants who saw Moses and lost a child. 

We can learn a lot from history. We need to learn it otherwise "we are doomed to repeat it," as the saying goes. We will repeat it if we are unaware of what is going on presently. Our history classes are good(-ish) at giving us our history from the far distant past. There is a lot to learn. 

What our history classes have forgotten, or what they are told not to tell us because it's not on the AP test, is the modern history. The things that have happened recently that influence us now can keep us from repetition. Documents are being kept from us, the people of old and now. We don't get the full truth because the people who are supposed to represent us are keeping things from us. Even in National Treasure 2, there is a Book of Secrets that only Presidents can read. Look back at Nixon; look back at Benghazi, look at the potential candidates for the Presidency in 2016. There are so many secrets, hidden things, and lies that flutter around in the media shadow, so then we will vote or act a certain way.  

If we don't learn our modern history from those who actually understand having been there or have done the research, as we just as gullible and illiterate as the peasants during the dark ages. If we don't know what's going on (especially us millennials who haven't understood the past presidencies and haven't been taught the last fifty or sixty years) we will be taken advantage of by people who know and run the system. 

Our history books have been written by the victors over us. 

Tear down the false media. Find the primary sources and make your own conclusions, not just reading the commentaries of others opinions. 

Take initiative. 

Learn another language and read the older texts. 

Make sure the younger generations knows cursive; if they don't, they can't read those older documents unless they have someone else translate/alter them. 

Read the Declaration of Independence and Bill of Rights. 

Find other opinions that aren't like your own. Learn why they have it. The reason will enlighten you even if you don't change your own opinion. Discussion, not argument, is vital. 

For the modern history, talk. Discuss with neighbors and family and older friends. Find out what they did during the 60's and 70's besides discoing with bellbottomed pants. They have vast amounts of knowledge to offer if you could just talk and tap into it. 

We need to do something to change the way the system is being run. The best way to do that is to become informed and act, not with hostility and anger, but with dedication and understanding and kindness. Intelligence, courage, and kindness will go a long way if we want change, which we desperately need.




Thank you Wikipedia.org and Google Search: History Books for pictures. 

Unexpected Underdog: Ted Talk

I enjoy many different TedTalks. Do to the influence of my husband I've come to enjoy stories of the Bible and other Scripture as well. I've found it extremely interesting to find the little joys of the gospel stories that you can only get if you look closely enough at them. You can find many different and surprising gems inside the stories if you really study them. 

David and Goliath is a story that many people, even non-Christians know. The David has been reproduced many times by artists over the years. My favorite "David" is a sculpture by Gianlorenzo Bernini in 1623-4.  I love this sculpture because it is so very different from the other David's that were produced after the Renaissance. Many of them have no movement; they stand nonchalantly, not like they are about to go kill someone or die. Many of Bernini's other sculptures are like this. To see his works in St. Peter's Cathedral in Vatican City would be a trip of a lifetime. 

But our figures in the Bible story are looked at differently in Malcolm Galdwell's TedTalk "The Unheard Story of David and Goliath." Galdwell describes gives us much appreciated  background of the terrain and peoples who are fighting and he sets up the story for us. But he flips our renowned "underdog" story into what could have probably happened. 

Lets look at Goliath first. Goliath, Galdwell argues, is probably much like the beloved "Princess Bride" character Andre the Giant. Goliath and Andre most likely suffered from the same illness that was the cause of Andre's death. This was known as acromegaly--a disorder that's caused by the abundance of growth hormones in the body. There are many complications with acromegaly and many of the people who have it die fairly young. Galdwell explains that Goliath's size seen as his greatest strength was actually his greatest weakness. This hormone disorder can cause severe nearsightedness and double vision, as two of the many repercussions. So David would only have to stand a dozen yards away with his sling in order take Goliath out. 

Speaking of our Master Slinger, David was an artilleryman. Galdwell mentions, though doesn't reference any which I really wish he would have, moments in ancient warfare that slingers were the deciding factor in battles. These men would be amazingly accurate; Galdwell says that they could shoot birds out of the sky in flight which is amazing. David was a shepherd. He would have had to fight off "lions and wolves" to keep his flock safe. He was in the army probably as an artilleryman. Also Galdwell points out that the rocks in the valley they were in were twice as dense as most stones around and they could sling these rocks very quickly. So, an accurate shot to the head with a heavy rock that could be shot out of a sling almost as fast as a bullet would indeed kill anyone let alone a gigantic target like Goliath. 

This "underdog" story here has almost been flipped on it's head. The little guy took down the big guy. But then again the story is still the same, just a different take. All big, scary, problems that we are supposed to face, our Goliath's, can be faced if we are prepared like David was with his well trained arm. Before my understanding of the story was that it was a lucky shot, God helped the rock to fly straight and with enough force to slay this giant, but that isn't the whole truth. God gave David time to prepare for his battles with his Goliath just like he does for us. 

We can overcome anything! 

The Unheard Story of David and Goliath 

https://www.ted.com/talks/malcolm_gladwell_the_unheard_story_of_david_and_goliath?language=en

The Power of Introverts

I love Susan Cain's voice. Her TedTalk is one that I listen to often, one: because I would consider myself an introvert, and two: because of her voice. Her way of putting things that I hadn't thought of in realistic and very understanding ways.

Since I started college, I've tried to be more outgoing. In this I've succeeded. I've gained a few good friends by trying to introduce myself at the beginning of classes and it helps a lot now that I'm in my upper division classes and many of my peers are in the same classes I am. But there are many times when I want nothing more that to sit down in a comfy chair with a cup of cocoa and read about far off places. I want to go on an adventure all by myself and maybe at some point talk to a friend (or write on my blog to you unknown people who I appreciate) about the characters and world.

There are so many outgoing people who I know and love very deeply. They do things in ways that I wouldn't have thought of or wouldn't have the guts to do. Speaking in public is causes me the worst butterflies especially on subjects that I have little to no knowledge about. I know many extroverts who can work through things very quickly on subjects they know little about and they can work sound like they know everything. I like to have time to process my thoughts and explore them on my own before I let anyone else have a jab at them.

I hold my thoughts as dear and precious things. Not all of them need to be shared with everyone.

Although, there are sometimes when the extroverts or the louder people step over my words. My own ideas get looked over because my voice isn't as loud as others. There are many times when I have to be flamboyant and almost abrasive to let my voice be heard. Those who are near and dear to me know how much I dislike having my words being stomped on and they are kind in trying to quiet their voices a little or ask me questions so then I can speak.

It was worse when I was younger because I didn't know that it was okay to speak up. I would raise my hand, like I would do in a classroom if I ever spoke up, amongst my own group of friends for them to realize I had something to say.  Sadly, though, there are others who haven't gotten the memo and still step all over me. Whether or not it is getting better is hard to tell.

Susan Cain refers to the idea that I know I had and have that being an introvert is a bad thing. This is false. The wonderful thing about her TedTalk is that she says it is"to sound grandiose, the world's loss" because we need introverts to "do what they do best." We need them to be thoughtful and creative and that little bit of hesitancy so then we don't rush into things without thinking them through thoroughly.

She delves into the differences between introverts and extroverts and how they are stimulated by different things. This is perfectly okay. Find out where you are stimulated the most. Is it in a library where it is quiet and not many people in your ears? Is it in the kitchen with bustling kids? Is it out on the streets?

She also calls out teachers and the institutions where children are taught to realize that 1/3 to 1/2 of their students are introverts and may not learn the best not in group activities but in doing their own work. Realize how different the students are. (I think the best way for this to occur is to have smaller class sizes--though I know that is a difficult topic to some.) Don't simply believe that the "ideal student is an extrovert." That would cut out 1/3 to 1/2 of the students in the classroom.

We introverts need to realize that this is good to be introverts. That it is important that we share our views and share our creative spirits. We don't have to pretend to be extroverts but find a way to let yourself be heard.

I believe that Susan Cain's TedTalk to be very intriguing and worth the watch. She also has a book, that I have yet to read--though I want to, called Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking. I am very interested to read this.

But please watch her TedTalk. I enjoy her thoughts immensely.

The Best Friend You Can Ever Have

Friends are something that everyone wants. Whether it is a single friend that you can rely on wholeheartedly or to be the social giant who is constantly surrounded by people, people, people. We seek for friends in our communities who have the same interests that we do. Nerds and geeks seek for nerdy and geeky people. Fans of fandom's are sometimes desperate for other fans. The boys and girls who crave popularity find charismatic ways to become liked by the majority of the people around them. I am not different, but I've found that I've had a hard time making and keeping friends.

I am twenty-three and am on the verge of graduating college. I can strike up conversions with people whom I hardly know in my classes. But they are often times more like acquaintances. We may embrace our inner nerd-ness and let our geek show, which I'm very much okay with doing, but then the long hand on the clock reaches the top of the hour and we all go our separate ways. At the end of the semester, there will be many that I will never see again.

Some of my friends, whom I love dearly and have meant the world to me, sometimes seem to cast me aside. I've found that I've become a friend of convenience to many of those whom I hold dear. I'll only be talked to if I'm the only one around or if they have something they need from me. This can be very disheartening, especially when I need someone to turn to, someone to vent to, someone to lean on. I sometimes feel like a ballerina trying to practice in the empty, mirrored room without a bar to hold one to. Or on occasions it's there, but then suddenly it will vanish. I stumble and fall headfirst into the mirror and smash it. It falls like glitter though it crunches like glass.

Do I always have to start the conversation first? It appears so. Then I only get one word answers. Seconds later, silence.

Recently though, I've come to hug onto my sister more, something  I feel I haven't been able to do in a very long time. We sit in the halls at the university and just talk. Simple little chats and in-depth conversations. She has a very sweet heart and I hope she finds the best guy in the world to be her companion for eternity. She deserves him--the right him. (So, dude, watch out. I'm watchin' you.)

I've also been clinging onto a scripture. Well, a set of scriptures that has brought me immense comfort. It is D&C 93:45. (If you want context, go to the link provided.) But this verse says "Verily, I say unto my servant [insert your name here though originally it says Joseph Smith, Jun.], or in other words, I will call you friends, for you are my friends, and ye shall have an inheritance with me--"

"For you are my friend..." One of the amazing things about this is the word you. Instead of using "thee" like he had previously, he says "you." You may miss the significance of this if you don't know the true difference between "thee" and "you." I've been told that the English of the King James Bible, prominently translated from Greek by William Tyndale in the 16th Century, is the language of scripture. This is why the Book of Mormon and the revelation of the Doctrine and Covenants is written the way it is, with the "thees" and "thous" and why it doesn't get translated into a more Modern English. The difference between "you" and "thee" is how formal or intimate are you will the person you are talking to? "You" is actually the more intimate term. Over the years it has been almost flip-flopped (crazy how languages change right?)

So when Jesus the Christ "I will call you my friends, because you are my friends..." He's not saying, "Lets be Facebook friends and never talk to one another again." He's saying, "You are my best friend. I will see you every day and I can truly understand your struggles. You can turn to me for anything and I will always be standing next to you."

Jesus Christ is the closest friend you can have. Because of His Atonement (this word didn't exist in the English language until William Tyndale, fyi), He can understand what we have gone through. He suffered "pains and afflictions and temptations of every kin; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people. And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon hi their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may not know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities" (Alma 7:11-12). I know this to be true. My husband knows a lot about me, but not even he knows as much as Jesus Christ, my Savior and Redeemer. 

Why am I saying this when it started out as a rant on how it often seems I'm friendless? 

I'm never friendless. 

One: I have Jesus Christ on my side and He will never let me down. 
Two: I have the best husband in the world. 
Three: It's sweet when I have to pull away for school and I see my son crying at the window because he doesn't want me to go. (It really warms my heart though I'm making him cry.)
Four: Families are Forever. 
Five: I actually have a few friends who do care, though sometimes they forget it themselves. If I do call on a select few, they will always be there for me. 

These things, though sometimes I forget myself, are the most important. And we all need to remember them, not just me. 

Remember, especially in this Holiday Season to take time and thank your friends and love your family. Not only because you have to, but because you want to and get to. They truly are worth the world.