Mila 18

I love books. All kinds. Well, most kinds. I just finished reading Mila 18 for the second time and it once again blew me away. It's about the Warsaw Ghetto in WWII where all the Jews and societal misfits were made to live during the war, until they were deported to death camps. Leon Uris does an incredible job creating real characters that you wish you knew, combined with historical events. People in the ghetto formed the Jewish Fighters, an underground (literally) militia that (according to the book) held off the German SS Troops for over 40 days! Somehow the first time around I missed that the Fighters were real and Uris based the book off of things that really happened. It is incredible to think of the passion and determination these people had to preserve their stories. I am currently in awe of what people will go through to do what they think is right. Because of my Moral Development class, I think I'm more aware of moral exemplars and I look for them all over. I hope I can always keep this mindset because it helps me look for and see the beauty in people.

This book is on my must-read list!

Spread Kindness

Dear Fox 10,
I am an avid fan of culture, news, and media. I feel it is very important that people around the world know what is going locally, nationally, and in other countries. Thank you for searching out news stories and reporting them, so that we can have this valuable information.
I grew up in Mesa, AZ, where my family has lived for four generations now. I love Mesa and I love Arizona. It is a wonderful place to live, filled with good people and a growing culture. I hope to be able to raise my children there one day and let them have opportunities to grow in such a great environment.
In the last few years, I have become aware of my lack of desire to watch your, and others’, news stations because I feel that all I ever hear about is how horrible the world is and what sad and disgusting things are happening around me. I know that this is compelling news and it is important for people to be aware of what is going on around them, but I feel like many news stations, including yours, are only giving us part of the picture. Every once in a while we get to hear of someone going out of their way to do extraordinary service, but those stories seem to be few and far between.
Many people believe that watching violence or aggressive behavior can lead to increased aggression in viewers. Whether viewers become desensitized, excited by aggression, or get new ideas from it, I believe media violence certainly has an effect on their behaviors. In some of my university classes and through personal research, I’ve learned that watching or being exposed to prosocial behavior (i.e. service, kindness, helpfulness) has just as much effect on positive behaviors as viewing violence has on negative behaviors.
News stations have such power in what and how they portray the events around us. Imagine what good Fox 10 could do by regularly showing the good things happening in The Valley. Happiness and kindness is news too and it is interesting. Your viewers will be happier and have a stronger impulse and desire to help others, if you would show us the good in this world (especially in our communities) as well as the depressing. I truly believe that if you would report on good, prosocial events more often, there would be a positive change in people who watch your program and thus a change in our families and society.
I want my children to grow up in a community where service and goodness is valued and portrayed in the media alongside deviant and selfish behaviors. We deserve to know all that is happening, including the kindness I witness regularly in Mesa and everywhere else I’ve traveled. You can do this. You can help create this environment for our citizens.
Thank you again for covering the news and providing that service to us. I hope you will seriously consider the implications of what you show and how you can be a force for positive change and happiness.

Respectfully,
Sally Boyle

Clutter

This week I've really been thinking about how the world is SO LOUD and it's often hard to hear the Spirit over all the noise. We learn over and over that the Spirit whispers and is a still, small voice. The world is loud and we have to consciously work to hear the Spirit and put ourselves in situations where the Spirit can reach us. My roommate, Rachel, and I were talking about this and she made the comment that it seems like the world has gotten louder as time has gone on. I think this is in big part due to mass media. When in history have this many people been able to be reached this quickly with information? Because of mass media, the world can form more collective opinions and push its views on soooo many people, so often, and with such pressure.

What does this mean for us? It is imperative that we learn how the Spirit speaks and "sounds" to each of us personally, so that we can hear Him through the hubble and bubble. It is crucial that we take time (as much as we can) "off" from the world and be in places (physically and spiritually) where we are seeking His will through the Spirit.
This is how we can be happy. I know.

I'm grateful I can talk to sweet Rachel about these things. She pushes my thinking and helps me come to new insights.

Plus we went to China together!

Christmas!

OK. So I thought it would be fun to run a little ad for the folk dance show I'm in. It's called Christmas Around the World and this year is the 50th Anniversary of the show! It is always such a great performance and you get to see dances from countries all over the world! Dance is such a wonderful expression of love and life and I feel very fortunate to represent people from so many countries. The show runs December 4th and 5th at 7:30pm or the 5th at the Marriott Center. You can get tickets at the Marriott Center or here:) It's a beautiful way to celebrate Christmas and I'd love to see you there!

More like "Male Appreciation"

We had stake "Relief Society" appreciation night on Saturday. My roommates and I dressed up, went to the Wilk, and were escorted by sweet boys to our tables where we had a delicious dinner. Our stake pres. and his wife said some wonderful things and then we had a talent show by some boys in our stake. The show started out great and there were some really funny/beautiful acts, but then all of a sudden it turned into kind of a "we're desperate girls who love slobbering over cute boys" type of thing. It was weird. They were giving us their numbers and my roommate, Lisa, and I felt soo awkward as if because some girls were acting silly and desperate, it made us all seem like we wanted a man. The boys tried hard to make it a fun night, which it was, but by the end it seemed like we were there to appreciate them, not to appreciate each other as the wonderful women we are. Somehow the message got mixed up in this media.

I just thought this picture was sweet:)

Piano? Really?

My cousin Katie and I like jamming on the piano on Sunday nights, so when she heard of Grand Pianos Live (the piano version of Acoustic Guitar) she set up an audition. We played three great Beatles duets-Penny Lane, Eleanor Rigby, and Let it Be-and were accepted for the show. I found out it was a competition the day before, which kind of saddened me...I was just thinking that a night of eclectic piano performances for some people at BYU would be perfect. Anyway, we knew our piece wasn't of the competitive nature, but we also knew we would have a blast. Best cousins on the piano? Heck yes!
So we got all decked out in our British Flag shirts and were ready for a night of entertainment. The MC started out by telling the audience that this was the first strictly piano show of this sort at BYU. That sounded great. The first few pieces were great and all different from each other, which I loved, but then we had some people get up and play original compositions, which I respect, except that they sang along with them. I loved the singing. Great voices and great lyrics, but I didn't see how they were "strictly piano." I mean if Katie and I had added a drum set to our rendition of the Beatles, it would have been more of a crowd pleaser for sure, but then it wouldn't be a piano song. I thought this was about honoring the piano, but I guess I was wrong. One of the "singers" won. Beautiful voice, but she basically played chords along with it. I guess I was just excited to be part of a show that celebrates the piano and so that was disappointing. But I loved performing, as always!

Anonimity

Anonymity gives great power. It can empower you to do great things and it can give you the power to hurt others. I was thinking about this recently because I was reading a friend's blog (someone not in my class) and she had asked people to reply by anonymously sharing a secret on her blog. The first disconcerting thing to me was that I actually read their replies (I like to think I'm above stuff like that, but I guess not quite) and the second was the range of things people needed to get off their chests. Some people told about relationally aggressive things they had done, but some people admitted to horrible things like seriously hating their in-laws or committing adultery. The whole post anonymously thing just really didn't sit right with me. Be yourself. Be good. Let others know how you feel about things and don't hide that you feel a certain way. This is how I feel.

Not what I thought

So for the sexual content assignment this week I watched a movie because I don't watch TV at all right now. Weird. Anyway, my roommate has been telling me to watch Freedom Writers for a while now, so I did! It was wonderful! Such a great movie. There was hardly any sexual content in it, which was awesome, but I think that was because they were focusing on other aspects of the kids' lives. This story was very inspirational and it made me want to reach out and really serve others. I hope I can do some good in my life the way Erin did with the Freedom Writers. Everyone should see this movie! There is so much to learn from it!

President Uchtdorf

The fireside last night was incredible. Pres. Uchtdorf touched on such different topics, but really got in depth into all of them. He gave me a lot to think about and I talked to a lot of people about it afterward. Good disscussions are one of my favorite things!
I watched the fireside with my cousins and afterwards we each made goals for the week. My cousins all made goals to get a girl's number or take a girl out this week. My goal is to smile at people more.
I feel like church leaders have been really getting on our generation to date, date, date! Five years ago, Pres. Oaks gave his infamous "no hanging out" fireside and since then I've heard that alot from other leaders. So what's the problem? We hear these great firesides, but are we actually changing our behavior? Do people go on more dates than they did five years ago? What is it that actually gets people to go out and "do"? We can listen all day long and agree with someone, but that doesn't always cause change. I guess for my part, I'm going to encourage my guy friends to take more girls on dates (casual, no pressure dates) and encourage my girl friends to be nice and approachable. Sometimes we make things harder than they are.

I do. Media.

So is a wedding considered media? It is sending a message from one party to other parties, so I'm going to say yes. My two best friends got married last week! To each other! Yay!

When I was seven, my brother's best friend (my surrogate brother) brought his little sister Melanie to play with me. We became good friends and went through elementary school , junior high, and high school together and became best friends in 10th grade. I love Melanie to pieces. She is so different from me, but we really think each other are interesting. It's great.

When I was eight, Adam's family moved into my ward and I totally had a crush on him. It didn't last long, which is good seeing as he and Melanie started "dating" in 9th grade and have been in love ever since! I'm in love with them as a couple. If that's even possible...

I guess the main message that I got from their wedding is that marriage is ordained of God and we should support it. I'm glad to have such great examples of love and sacrifice in my life, like Mel and Adam. Maybe someday I'll want to get married too. We'll see.

Wuthering Heights

I saw a beautiful adaptation this week of Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. I thought it was very well done, except for the last half where Heathcliff seemed to have lost all redeemable qualities. I haven't read the book and there are too many books I want to read, so I figure that is one I probably won't get to in this life. If any of you have read it, would you let me know if he Heathcliff actually turns evil, or if he just wasn't played right? I really want to like him, but I am struggling...

There Was Water On the Stage.

Last week my roommates and I made an impromptu trip to Saint George and saw Aida at the Tuacahn Theatre. It was a great performance and I loved seeing that show set in the natural red rock. It really worked well. It isn't my favorite show and the actors weren't perfect, but there were two flash floods ending with water covering the stage, fireworks, horses, a huge camel, pigs, goats, chickens, beautiful dresses, belly dancing, and incredible abs!

The things you find out on facebook...

So I was just on facebook with my cousin and she showed me a picture of the guy she is dating. Cool. Turns out I met him at the pool about a year ago and he got my number and asked me out. It didn't ever work for us to go out, which is a pretty good thing (all things considered). Anyway, if there wasn't such thing as facebook, we would have saved this discovery for another time. And it would have been in person, which could have been great! And perhaps slightly awkward, which can be great too!I'd say he has pretty good taste. Wouldn't you?

Hooked on Pan door ah

I recently rediscovered Pandora. Free music. I love it! It's so user friendly and it's good at exposing me to songs I haven't heard. I don't love the ads on it, but the other day it played an ad promoting MARRIAGE! How cool is that? And kinda random. Anyway, one thing has been bugging me about Pandora. Sometimes a song comes on and I don't appreciate the language or subject, but I love the feel and sound. So I wish there was a button for me to push that says, "Hey Pandora, I like this type of song a lot, but just don't play me any songs with swear words or about losing virginity. Thanks!" At first it shocked me that I couldn't request that, but then I realized that I had forgotten how I live in a bubble called Provo:) Maybe there is a way to fix my settings like this, so if anyone knows about it...let me know please!

Left to Tell

My favorite book I’ve read recently is Left to Tell by Immaculée Ilibagiza. This autobiography is about Immaculée’s experience in the Rwandan holocaust in the 1994. She hid in a bathroom with 7+ other women and children for three months while her family and most of the people she knew (who were of the Tootsie tribe) were murdered. While she was going through this, she clung to her beliefs, read the bible, and grew in her faith. Her story is beyond inspiring and her faith is definitely desirable.
I am so grateful that I got to read Left to Tell. I read it all in one day because I just couldn’t put it down; I needed to know what happened to sweet Immaculée. Outside of church books, I don’t think I’ve read anything so powerful and motivating. It was a hard read because of the atrocities that happened during this genocide, but it is so interesting to see the psychological and emotional sides of individuals who went through it. My mom and I were talking about Immaculée after we read the book and my mom was saying how she wishes Immaculée could have the gospel in her life, but that Immaculée’s faith and understanding of God is so powerful it seems like she wouldn’t even need the gospel. Of course she does, but we just agreed that we have so much to learn from her example and love. Immaculée is is definitely one of my heroes. She inspires me to be better, to act on what I know, and to have complete faith in God and Jesus Christ.

Love/Hate

So I basically have a love/hate relationships with the Twilight series. I love getting carried away into another life, but I can't stand how over the top the characters are. I think the stories (in the first few) are really interesting, but the writing is poorly done. Anyway, my roommates and I watched this hilarious spoof of the Twilight movie and I want to share it. BTW it gets weird and not funny at the end, so I recommend turning it off at about 4min 5sec. Enjoy! Oh and if you want to know how to make it seem hilarious...watch it with people you love and quote it all the time and then watch it periodically after that. And if it's late at night that helps too!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sILnTjYlNxc
A picture for you thoughts.

Bummer

I watched the movie Jumper last night. I didn't love it. A few funny parts. It felt disjointed. Kinda like this post.

I realized I've become sooo sensitive to violence in the last year. I just don't want to see it and I don't want to hear it! I'm not sure what people get out of seeing someone punch someone else in the face. It doesn't do anything positive for me, but others must have some reaction to it that they like if they keep watching it right? I like to think I'm an understanding/open person, but this is something I just don't understand.

Of course, I won't complain about staring at beautiful people for an hour or two. Thats what got me through a few other movies (e.g. Pirates 2&3, Star Wars 2&3)!

Jungle

I just read Upton Sinclair's The Jungle for my modern U.S. History class and wow that book makes you think. Sinclair wrote it to promote socialism, but the parts that most people remember are the horrible conditions at the slaughter house in Chicago. These were the sweat shops where meat, lard, and other products were produced in sickening ways. Because of this book, the U.S. government was compelled to look into the meat industry and that is why we have pure food laws today! Talk about media power!
There is so much I could write about this book, but the idea that affected me most was how quickly the hopeful, optimistic family (immigrants from Lithuania) were worn down. They were living in circumstances where, as hard as they could try, they couldn't rise above. The outside forces were just too strong and powerful. The more I learn about the world, the more grateful I am that I have opportunities to make something of myself and my life. Some people can have such hopes and desire, but won't be able to act on them in this life.
It was a hard read, but I recommend it to everyone.

I want EVERYONE to know this.

Today I was touched through the medium of song. My sweet roommates (who are sisters) sang "I Know That My Redeemer Lives" in sacrament meeting and that song always always helps me remember what I believe and what I have to be grateful for. I was talking to one of the girls afterward and we talked about how strong the Spirit was as they were singing. We talked about how amazing it is that if you do your part to prepare when you serve, the Holy Ghost will spread that desire of love and sharing of your testimony with everyone around you. My roommates had prepared, but they knew it was the Holy Ghost who provided our congregation with what we needed.
Today my favorite part of the song was I know that my Redeemer lives, so come what may. Life can be hard and get you down, but if you believe Christ, you can get through and do anything! It's like spiritually saying bring it on!

Emotion or the Spirit?

A while ago my dance director gave me a copy of this awesome song we used to warm-up to at the beginning of class. It's "I Can Go the Distance" from Disney's Hercules, but it's spliced with comments from general authorities of the church. It's incredible the way they put it together and it lets me see a more eternal meaning for that song.
I was playing it for my roommates last night and it was cool to see their reactions and get their input. I think a lot of the appeal of the song is the words, which are great and inspirational, but I know that music can have such an effect on our emotions and so that does play into how inspiring the song is.
I think in our church we often blur the line between feeling the Spirit and feeling strong emotions. Because I'm sensitive about mixing those feelings, I think I err on the side of putting a stop to my emotions so I don't get into the habit of thinking they're the Spirit.
How do we distinguish between the Holy Ghost and our (sometimes manipulated) emotions in uplifting media? The church often puts out videos that teach doctrine and have images of super sweet or sad things because it is a way to reach people, so I can't think that it's always wrong to try and affect people that way. Where is that line?

You are My Exception

I finally watched He's Just Not That Into You this week. Loved it! It was really so funny and so true. The only way it could have been better was if they took out this one nasty couple. There was adultery in it and although they didn't show it in a good light, I would have just nixed it--I'm just not that into that.
I really liked how honest the movie and messages were. It really makes you think. After watching it, my roommates and I all talked about times where the guy must have just not been into us. It was pretty funny. I agree with the message of the movie...you can make all the excuses you want, but if he's not trying to date you, he just not that into you. What do you think?

Media. It's all over.

This semester I'm taking a fabulous class called Media, Family, and Human Development. We get to discuss how media effects us, our families, our relationships, etc. As one of our assignments we get to create a blog on the media in our lives. So that's basically what I'm going to be posting about from now on (not that I ended up posting anything on this blog previously).

Two facts I learned from yahoo.com today:
1. Space has a smell! And it's quite unique. Some astronaut said so. He said he would never forget it. Isn't that interesting how smells really can stay with you for such a long time. Every once in a while I'm taken back to some memory, such as making "perfume" with my friend Lindsey when we were 10 or some boy I liked in high school, just from some scent wafting by...I wonder what space smells like and if it has a taste.
2. Starlings are the most hated birds in America. Ok, confession time. I actually already knew that because Professor Black of my bird biology class made that very clear to us. He is one of the funniest teachers I've ever had. Some things I learned from Professor Black: "If you want boys to notice you, wear silk skirt", if you're a polydontia you can eat all the candy you want and it's ok because you're teeth will just fall out and be replaced all the time, "If you're in the back seat, you'll get pregnant. If you're a bear.", and much more!

Although I didn't learn anything of serious value today, I realized that media can make you think and help you make connections between different parts of your life. Connections help you build on ideas and develop deeper ways of thinking-and that is valuable. I guess like most things, sometimes media is just what you make it.