A Reflection on Writing

Writer's block, woolly sock, wooden clock, big rock, Woodstock, writer's block. We all just loooove writing papers. Okay, well actually I do like writing papers. They give your mind a chance to throw-up all that info just building up, steaming, ready to gurgle out your ears. Not to mention, it's a break from the math; a chance for the mind to have a little creativity.

But the writing process... that's something to think about. Again, call me a weirdo, but I like it. I don't like all of it, but generally speaking, I actually do like it. For the last paper I wrote for instance, I was able to choose a topic of my choice. So naturally... I chose Frankenstein. What a story: suspense and something to think about(Frankenstein's monster was actually only a monster because everyone made him out to be that way; he really just wanted a friend).  I analyzed the part where the monster is pleading with his creator to make him a friend. Well the point is, I got to chose something fun to write about, so it made it a lot easier to write.

Usually the way I write something, which I find fairly successful, is to decide on a topic, and then write down everything--EVERYTHING-- I have ever known that can relate in any way possible. And once I have that, I can decide which parts are really kind of dumb and unrelated to the topic in question, and then organize the surviving info and create themes out of it. From there, I find quotes to support my arguments, write some support and transitions from one theme to the next, add a thesis and conclusion, read through it a couple times, and Voila! it is finite!

The part I'm really bad at is... well getting anybody to read over what I've written. It's like pulling teeth(mine and the potential reader's). Nobody wants to take the time to read something other than Harry Potter or the funnies in the daily newspaper, and I don't want to take the time to find somebody. And I'm so cheap I don't like paying people to read my papers.. But I will have to work on that!

Why is Family History even a Thing?

When I was in High School we had this class every single day called Advisory. While it was meant to be a time for us to discover our futures and realize our most intricate self ambitions, for me and my friends, it meant throwing paper wads at each other, nap time, study hall, and at times post breakfast/pre lunch snack time. Once a week we would have a club day and my friends and I thought a club called "Tree Me" would be some fun club for climbing trees or making origami trees. HA! We soon came to find out that meant we would be sitting for an hour at a desk, staring at a family history website. Uggggghhh(That's the collective thought that went through the room. Every. Week.)

Everyone's seen those websites. familyhistory.com... ancestory.com... Everyone's seen those tv shows where you find out who your famous ancestors are. And everyone knows those little old ladies that sit in a stuffy room for hours scrolling, scrolling, scrolling through names that may or may not have been their old relatives. Why? Why do people get excited? Why is family history even a thing?

WEeeeelllll as it turns out, besides all the churchy stuff, there are also other benefits! According to the article, "The Stories that Bind Us" when we know our family stories, we are much more likely to have more confidence, feel more like we have a successful family, and get through the hard times much easier. Studies were done on a lot of small kids(the human kind) that confirmed these claims. According to the article, "identity tends to get locked in during adolescence," so it's important to tell kids those stories beginning from a young age. Further found was that when extreme hardships hit, like 9/11 for example, it is much easier to cope, when we know that our family's have coped with similar hardships in the past. 

Who'da thought, right? So next time your Great Uncle Albert tries to tell you about when he had to walk both ways uphill to school, or when you find yourself at a ward activity doing family history stuff for the fourth activity in a month,.. turns out it's actually your lucky day! 

Over-using and Under-using the Internet

We all know those people that are on facebook twenty-four hours a day, eight days a week, posting videos of their kitten, letting the world know about every argument they've been in with their boyfriend, and always posting selfies, selfies, selfies... all with the same ducky kiss face. Don't we get tired of it? Darn tootin' we do! But why do they do it? Attention? Well yea. Looking for a way to avoid associating with anyone and their dog in person? They probably won't admit it, but yea.

On the other side of the spectrum.. we all know the other ones. The ones that we all figure live under rocks. Even though, in reality, they probably have more of a life than the aforementioned type. Unless of course they spend all the time they're not spending on facebook living in virtual worlds or playing video games.

Yea, there's a fine line that most people don't know how to hit. Including myself, of course(I'm one of the cat video watchers. ALL. THE. TIME. It's kinda bad..)

But what comes along with that fine line, is that the internet is wonderful for keeping us all connected and sharing all that we are and know and believe.

Elder Bednar talks about it perfectly in his addresses regarding those who completely forget about the real world, and those on the other spectrum who don't use their resources. It's so important to not get completely caught up in internet hype to the point where we completely forget what the point of living is. But it's also important to not live in the stone age. We live in this age of technology to use it and help others through it.

So yea, it's important to not be one of those technology weirdos, but it's also important to not live under a rock and use technology to both make life easier, as well as sharing things with others. Technology. Can't live with it, can't live without it.