[16] Narrative Review

      In one of my previous posts titled Love and War I wrote a narrative assigned in my WTG 150 class. We were assigned to write about a moment in which we saw or experienced a change in a past event in our life. The catch to this assignment was we had to show this change we experienced rather than actually write it out. I chose to write about my mom and my realization of her unconditional love.
     In my paper I start out by describing an activity my dad used to do with is called the Push-Up War to show how my parents would teach us important values in life to carry with us. I then talk about how my mom shows her love for everything. It was really interesting for me to recognize my realization of her love because I had never thought about how it was a specific moment in which I fully understood her love. Through this assignment I was able to experience again my realization and rediscover her admiration just as I did the first time.
     In this assignment we relied on our abilities to appeal to our audiemce's ethos and logos so that they could emotionally feel with us and logically make sense of the change. Hopefully through these appeals and our interpretations of our events others were able to relive the moment with us.
    Writing this narrative was semi difficult because it was hard to show the change without actually saying it. After meeting with my professor and getting advice it became easier to show not tell (Thanks Sis.Steadman!) I have loved reading my classmates narratives, they did such a great job. In all the narratives I have read so far they do a great job of showing and not telling as well as making it a fun and humorous read.  Overall the narrative was an enjoyable assignment.

[15] He is Risen

      In honor of Easter being this past weekend I would just like to bear my testimony on our Savior's resurrection. I have never been good at expressing my testimony, it always comes out as the 4 year old version of "I know" being repeated over and over again.  You get the message though, so here it goes. 

     I know this church is true. I know that the scriptures, and Bible as far as it is translated correctly, are true. I know that Jesus is our Savior. I know that through Him we can once again return into the presence of our Father in Heaven. I know that He died for our sins and for that I will be eternally grateful. I know that if we follow His commandments and try to be the best possible versions of ourselves we can live with Him again. I love our Savior, the gospel in my life, and the uplifting light it brings. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

[14] General Conference

      During the LDS general conference this year there were many great talks given. Each talk gave spiritually uplifting advice and reminders that can help us live our lives to the best of our potential. Oddly enough the session that stuck with me was the priesthood session. During this session the speakers, being called to address the priesthood of the church, did well to appeal to the pathos of their audience.
      Many times they would use things in their talks that could apply to the men listening in a personal way. Elder Ballard, one of the Quorum of the 12, addressed the audience by saying "I will now interview each of you personally. Please look at me as though you and I were the only ones in the room." By doing this, Elder Ballard caught the audience's attention and allowed them to interact by personally reflecting on themselves as though they were being interviewed by him. He also appealed to their pathos by reaching out and giving advice to the different age groups so that all the listeners could go away with specific advice to them.
      The Lord knows who the church and world needs to hear from and who all is listening. He guides the speakers in what to say and how to say it so that the messages are well received. The Prophet and our leaders all strive to, and do very well, at making it so that we all can feel for and make use of the guidance given so that we can all understand and maximize our divine potential.

[13] Need a Laugh?

     When I started the draft to this post 2 months ago it was on one of those nothing-is-going-right, desperately in need of a pick-me-up kind of days. Being a hard day it quickly exhausted me and I found myself in one of those “I am not really sure why I am doing it”/”I am so tired” laughing fits. Silly jokes I had seen on a paper left by my friend for me sent me over the edge, and somehow lifted my mood despite being terribly punny and over the top cheesy. So I know these are dorky but maybe someone else out there needs this little bit of cheese to perk up their smile as well! Here they are:

• Knock knock.

         Who’s there?

         Smell mop.

         Smell mop who?

         (Say that one a couple of times and you start to hear it! Hah.)

• You must have 11 protons because you are sodium fine!      (GREAT pick up line.)

•  How many tickles does it take to make an octopus laugh?

          Ten tickles.

• 84 travel agents go into a bar. The bartender says “Get out! We don’t serve travel agents here!” and one travel agent says, “Boy, you trippin’!”

• Two guys walk into a bar and one says, “I’ll have some H2O.” The guy next to him says, “Yea that sounds good, I’ll have some H2O too.” The second man died.

[12] Are you a Geo Genius?

       So I'm sure you have all heard of the National Geographic magazines. The National Geographic Society is a nonprofit educational organization that works to increase the world's knowledge of scientific things all around the globe. Each month they release a new magazine featuring new findings and ancient stories, but my favorite parts is the 5 question quiz that tests your geographical knowledge. I recently came across my National Geographic collection and decided to put you all to the test as well! Here are questions from one of the GeoBee quizzes, let's see how you do!

1 Which small African country located on the Gulf of Aden averages less than six inches of rain each year?

2 The Blue Nile flows through Lake Tana, which is located in the northern part of what country?

3 The Indus River, one of the longest rivers in South Asia, empties into what sea?

4 Tbilisi, located on the bands of the Kur River, is the capital of what country?

5 Lake Volta is located in which West African country known for its production of palm oil?


Once you think you have the answers check below!

Answers 
1- Djibouti 2- Ethiopia 3- Arabian Sea 4- Georgia 5- Ghana

[11] Love and War

 Love and War

“Eight… nine… ten!” We pushed out the last of our push-ups with our breathing strained. “I could do this all day!” Leisel, my younger sibling would taunt us. “Not if my rock destroys your scissors!” Taylor, still panting from his push-ups, replied in a wheeze. “Not a chance!” Leisel mocked. It was mom’s call that had led us here. “Kids! Come on down! It’s time for Dad’s favorite!” Every Monday night (or really whenever we get the chance) at FHE we all participate in a game dad invented; The Push-Up War. The game starts off with everyone in push-up/plank position with one fist pointing toward the middle of the circle. Then simultaneously we all, still in the push-up position, do rock-paper-scissors. Everyone who loses has to do 10 push-ups while the others wait in the plank position. As the game goes on it becomes more and more physically exhausting and people begin to falter. When someone falls or touches the ground they are out of the contest, forfeiting victory. Even though The Push-Up War was a lot of fun it served to teach us not only that physical health and conditioning are important, but also that we should always push forward and try our hardest even when things get tough. Throughout the game you would always hear dad panting out to those doing the push-ups, “You can do it! Just a little farther! Don’t give up!” It was often through simple and fun things like this that our parents taught us so many of the important values us kids carry with us in life today.

Dad, being a doctor and a very practical realist, taught us about things such as saving money, exercising regularly, and gaining an education. Mom, a very creative and dedicated stay-at-home mother, taught us things like integrity, creativity, and how to love unconditionally. Both parents were excellent at teaching us through example, however the best example was given by our mom showing us the importance and value of being able to love unconditionally.

“Please can we get a fish?” It was my older sister Melissa who started our pet craze. By the time I was in second grade we had a variety collection of fish, frogs, and hamsters. Habitats filled our playroom and the soft sounds of hamsters running on wheels and frog croaks could be heard from the hall. Dad would often remind us of the conditions of being pet owners, “How are the grades doing? Remember, all A’s or no more pets!” Along with this stipulation the rules were that the only pets allowed were those that lived in a cage and us kids had to do most the caring for. We abided by these rules and within another year found ourselves the happy owners of a disabled gecko, two turtles, and tarantula as well.

“Here, hold Lucy and I’ll do the cage.” We had our method of cleaning down. One kid would hold the tarantula while the other kid would clean out the webby habitat and we would work our way through the pets until they were all taken care of. The pets were all played with and treated kindly as well as care for. It wasn’t until one night I heard mom singing Love at Home in the playroom that I saw how genuine her love for everything was. As the words “There is beauty all around,” weaved their way through the hall I cracked the playroom door open to peek inside. I saw mom singing to the disabled gecko while feeding him medicine through an eye dropper. After she had finished with the eye dropper she proceeded to catch a live cricket from the container, powder it with some calcium, and hand feed it to the lizard. As I continued to watch her she next pulled out some topical medical lotion and began to rub his disabled arms and legs in the ointment. By this point she had reached the third verse singing “Love becomes a way of life,” and I couldn’t help but think about how appropriate the line “Healing balm for every rift,” was right at that moment. Finally the song ended and she gently put the gecko back in his cage. I ran down the hall so she wouldn’t see me as she exited and I watched from my room as she left the playroom and entered the kitchen to continue dishes.

I had always taken for granted how loving and thoughtless mom was. She would always stop everything at the drop of a hat to perform tedious things for us like making food or driving us to and from our sports. We were always polite and grateful toward her, however I never actually took the time to stop and recognize exactly how selfless she was being. It wasn’t until we started getting pets that I noticed this attentive love toward anyone and everything.

Each night after us kids were done caring for the pets I would watch my mom silently slip in after us to do her extra little mile for the gecko, never saying a word except for the singing of Love at Home. After some time the gecko finally healed and could function as normal lizards do. My siblings all thought it was a miracle and that he must be a really special lizard, but the truth behind it was that we had a really special mom. I don’t know why I never told anyone about her secret little slip-ins, perhaps it was that I liked having this special knowledge of her love filled action all to myself. Just knowing that she never had to be spotlighted for her good deeds made it all the more special. She has always been and will always be an amazing role model for me. I now strive to be every bit as caring as she is, by loving anything and everything that crosses my path because it is through this that we can truly make “life a bliss complete, when there’s love at home.”

[10] Drinking and Driving

The title drinking and driving may have caught your attention and filled your mind with thoughts of car crashes and alcohol, but don't worry, this is not the case for this entry. 

So the other day I was with a friend and we had gone to the store to pick up some supplies for a bonfire and some food and drinks. After getting what we needed we headed back in the car and were on the road to the mountains to meet everyone else. For some reason the store shelves had not been restocked and instead of being able to get water bottles for everyone we had grabbed jugs of water because all other water containers were currently out. On the drive there I decided I was pretty thirsty and opened up a jug to drink out of. Right as I was mid drink my friend slammed on the breaks and sent the entire contents of the water gallon in my face, over my head, and down my front leaving me sopping wet for the rest of the night. 

Moral of the story is, don't drink and drive kids. (Or don't trust your friends while you take a drink. You can pick.)

[9] A Sister Missionary Challenge

My younger sister is currently serving in the Helsinki Finland mission. She left 5 months ago and has been loving every second. I am so proud of her and the work that she is doing, come to think of it I am so proud of all the missionaries out there and the work they all have done. It has been amazing to read her stories and hear about the power of the spirit influencing the lives of the Finnish people.
I think it is so great that our church makes such an effort to spread it's message to everyone everywhere. The gospel is such a blessing in all of our lives and brings us all so much joy that it just makes sense that we would want to spread and share it with the world.
I pass along her challenge to share the gospel or your testimony with a non member this week, or if you are a non member reading this, to find some missionaries because they would love to share their with you. Whichever category you fall under, you won't regret it! It's a great message and should be shared!

[8] Oh the places you'll go!

I have had the fortunate opportunity to travel all over the world and experience the different cultures in each place. As different as they all were there was one thing that remained the same on each continent, the Church of Jesus Christ and it's gospel.
No matter where I was, whether it be Norway, Egypt, Israel, Korea, or Mexico the teachings of the church remained constant. Whether it was a large ward, or a small branch the Spirit of the Lord was present. It is amazing that the restoration of the gospel has been so widespread and that people all over the world have the opportunity to hear the teachings of Christ. I am so grateful for missionaries and the work that they do. They are the servants of the Lord and superstars to the many they teach.
As we all go about our regular everyday lives we should be looking for opportunities to serve and have missionary moments because we never know who might be listening and how much of an impact it can make.

[7] Eat your Greens.

Last semester I took an anatomy class, which has been my favorite class since attending BYU. I loved studying the bones and muscles and seeing how they all were interconnected on the cadavers. It was amazing to see all the thought and detail Heavenly Father put into making us. And because we were created in his image it allows us to know him better by understanding not only how our own bodies function, but how His does as well.
There are so many contributing factors to keeping the bodies we were given healthy, major ones being exercise and diet. As we near Valentines Day, a major candy holiday, I encourage all of you to remember to take care by not eating too many sweets from your many admirers, but to throw some green and leafy things into your holiday meal as well! Happy Holidays!

[6] Torture

So I am one of 6 kids; 5 girls and 1 boy. Three of us have been, or are currently attending, BYU students, and the other 3 are in elementary/high school in South Korea. Recently my youngest sister and I have been emailing back and forth and the subject of school came up. I told her about my classes and what I thought about them and then asked her about her schooling. She replied, "I get dragged out to school everyday. I call it torture instead of school because they force me to do work against my will." Her reply made me laugh because I tried to remember the hardships of being in elementary school and thought it silly that a few in class and homework assignments could produce such a dramatic reaction. That was until I remembered me laying upside down on the couch the other day moping to my roommate about how I still had so many blog entries to write and I suddenly felt sympathetic. I'm not saying these blog posts are torture by any means, they have actually been relatively fun to write! That being said they still are homework assignments that need to be done.

So here's to all of you for pushing through the blog post assignment! We are nearing mid-semester and have made it about half way through our posts! I applaud all of you hard workers, and good luck with the rest!

[5] To Stop and Smell the Roses

So I passed by another quote this week and you lucky people get to hear about it!

So recently I have been running a lot. It started out with just leisurely jogs with a friend but has turned into marathon training because it gave such a high. After one of these run's I decided to post an instagram picture (because why exercise if it's not going to be posted online? Hah, kidding.) and wanted a running quote to go with it. The quote I landed on was "Go fast enough to get there, but slow enough to see." (by Jimmy Buffet)
We all have so much going on in our lives, with school, work, friends, and blog posts, it can get quite overwhelming. Time seems to speed away while we focus on getting things done. What this quote helped me realize is that it's okay for us to focus and move forward with all these things, because they are important, but we need to remember to slow down enough to enjoy the moments that we might sometimes speed past. So remember while your working hard and pushing forward to 'stop and smell the roses' per say, and to have fun while doing it.

[4] "To Flood the Earth" - Elder Bednar

In my Writing 150 class we were told to write about two talks Elder David Bednar gave about the internet, so here it is.

In his talks, Things As They Really Are and To Flood the Earth, Elder Bednar talks about the pros and cons of the internet and how to use it as a force for good. In Things As They Really Are he discusses the importance of knowing the dangers that the internet offers. He explains how easily it can being to control our lives and effect things that really matter. He encouraged us to not miss out on the things in life that online time can replace. He talked about how we all have real bodies in this life and should not throw it aside to focus more on a virtual one. This message he gave is an important one because we live in a world overcome with technology and the time and energy spent online grows with every passing day, so it is important to remember who we are and what is truly important.

That first talk paved the way for Elder Bednar's second talk To Flood the Earth. In this talk Elder Bednar switches gears and talks about how because the internet is an ever growing power we must embrace it with good. Because there are so many bad things out there he encourages us to flood the earth with uplifting things and to use it as a tool to spread the gospel. He explains how it can be a great missionary tool to reach those who otherwise would not receive those messages.

The first speech was geared more toward the younger generation because they were the ones who were being most effected by the ever growing change in internet usage. The second talk is more geared to everyone because now everyone is online and the more that know to uplift the internet the more good it will do. Both talks are very important and very relevant to today's world. We all need to be wary of the dangers the internet can bring, but understand the importance and effectiveness of flooding it with good.

[3] I Know Nothing.

      I came across a quote this week that caught my attention. It was “I am the wisest man alive, for I know one thing, and that is that I know nothing.” 
This, as I am sure many of you know, is a quote by Socrates. Socrates is a world renowned philosopher, and considered a very intelligent man. For him to say that the one thing he does know is that he knows nothing means a lot. As I thought more about this I thought about my own life. All of us at BYU are here to learn, to expand our knowledge, just as Socrates did a long time ago. The difference between him and us is that we have the gospel in our lives, so when we say we only know one thing, it isn't nothing. We know all about the gospel of Jesus Christ and His plan for us, and what a blessing that is! Not only to know something that Socrates did not, but to have the light in our lives that the gospel gives us. We all have a testimony of the gospel and can firmly say that we know it is true. I am so grateful to be surrounded by so many others that share that knowledge and belief. 

[2] "If we are to live together in peace, we must come to know each other better." - Lyndon Johnson

Here's a little about me. I'm a 21 year old sophomore at BYU studying biology (because science is awesome). I moved from Belgium and miss it greatly. I'm american however because my Dad is a doctor in the Army I have lived my life in Europe since kindergarten. My family moved to South Korea right after I graduated and I've had the opportunity of visiting them every Christmas. I love traveling the world and spending time with my family and friends. I love sports, doing anything outdoors, chemistry jokes/pick up lines, and fruit. I am incredibly quiet, which I don't necessary like about myself, but I enjoy listening to others so it all works out. My guilty pleasure is Lord of the Rings, and could watch it for days. When I was little I was always torn between becoming an astronaut or paleontologist. My question in life is "where do kiwis come from" because they don't seem like a plant that grows on trees, vines, in the ground or on a bush. I know I could easily look up the answer to this but I like the mystery of not knowing. Lastly, I'm a Mormon and I love it.

So that's a bit about me. I'm excited to read everyone else's blogs to get to know the great people of Writing 150 better as well!

[1] To Start a Blog.

Hey everyone! To start off for those of you that don't know me my name is Cathy. I have never created a blog before and do not know the slightest thing about blogs (as my only experience with them is reading my missionary sister's updates on her blog that my mom sends me a direct link to). I'm not quite sure I look forward to becoming an avid poster, partly because I am not the best at writing, but mostly I have just never been a huge fan of blogs. I don't know what it is about them except that they have just never seemed enticing, so I have generally steered clear, but that is all about to change.
 I have been given the assignment of writing and keeping up with a blog for my writing 150 class. I'm not the most excited about this but I except the challenge and will try to make it a positive experience. We all know things are only as fun as we make them. So here I am, about to start the thrilling journey of becoming a blogger.  Hope it makes for a good read!