A Blog about Blogging

I wish I was a talented writer. It has been reasoned that I SHOULD be a relatively good writer, considering how much I read. Wrong. Very wrong. Oh sure, papers, resumes, articles, whatever. No, I’m talking about creative writing—poems, shorts stories, letters, an interesting blog etc. The world of blogging is fascinating. My mother comments often about how my generation is so self-oriented, that in her day people would never think to publish their day-to-day life on something as public as the internet. As if people were interested in reading it! Well Mom, who knew? I have concluded that it’s really only those bloggers that are interested in reading on another’s blogs. Is there some sort of unwritten agreement? “I’ll read yours if you read mine?” I certainly never read anyone’s blog until I got one of my own, now it’s become some what of a weekly ritual, how I keep up with relatives and friends. I will say this though, it’s a relatively harmless, if impersonal, way of keeping in touch. Which leads me to my next point—blogging, facebooking (yup, it’s a verb now), emailing, are such a cop out for nourishing relationships, yet society, now more than ever, deems it not only acceptable, but encouraged! How many times have I been texting someone and heard my Dad say,

“Why don’t you just call him, wouldn’t it be faster and more personal?”

*I gasp in horror!*

“Dad, no! Then he’ll KNOW that I like him…..”

Okay, back to the subject at hand. Blogging. Weird electronic universe. Impersonal. Well, not always. Ironically enough I have some friends who share their thoughts, goals, aspirations on their blog, yet when we actually get together, they are not so open. Yes, this makes perfect sense; share your deep feelings with all of the cyber world, but don’t let anyone real know. Maybe I’ll do a term paper on this….

And the sad reality of it all is that by writing this blog, I’m condemning myself of that which I accuse of others. Where does the twisted cycle end?! Not to mention that reading back over this I have questioned this entire entry as a whole. It has virtually nothing to do with my thesis statement about becoming a good writer (strike one). Thesis statement? Did I just say that? It’s a good thing I’m leaving on a mission in 7 weeks (yes the countdown has begun), I need to detox from school, too many hours in the library….. And thus ends my blog about learning to write an interesting blog. Oh dear, I’m further away than I thought…….

It’s amazing what can “flow” when you’re trying to avoid doing homework while in the library.

One final note (an attempt at redeeming this entry): A friend and I figured out today that you can play the song “Anything for Love” By Meatloaf, 5 times in an hour—a solution for the endless roadtrip… :)

Literature that Lives

I believe that I promised I would be posting a list of my top ten all-time favorite books. It's almost humorous that I've set these restrictions on myself, because whenever someone else asks me this question, I usually take liberties and result with giving them an extra 5-10 books that they weren't expecting. Well, here I go (in no particular order):

Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner**
The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom*
Follow the River by James Alexander Thom**(based on a true story)
To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee**
My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok**
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak **
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho**
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith**
Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankel*
And There was Light by Jacques Lusseyran *

Honorary Mention (I knew I couldn't keep it to just 10)
The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara

** Fiction, the story is beautiful but invented to relay a point
* Non Fiction, first hand accounts that never cease to inspire me

What can I say? I love literature!

Ph. D., M.D., D.M.D.....?

What is it that makes a professor a great teacher? Certainly not their degree or the amount of initials after their last name, oh no, that is most definitely not it. I was sitting in my American Studies Theory and Methodologies (daunting, I know, but it's actually a really great class) listening to my teacher delve deeper into the modern and past minds of the twentieth century and thinking "wow, you know, this guy really gets it, and he cares enough to make sure we understand it". I not only love that class because of our small number, or my professor's dry wit, but because we discuss theological things that actually matter! We do our best to get to the heart of an issue, picking it apart, piece by piece until we are left with fragmented ideas and concepts that are all independently important and then explore their impact on society. Then it hit me. What makes a professor a great teacher is his/her passion. It is blatantly obvious to the student when a lecturer is either indifferent to the subject matter or simply is not engaged enough to give class their full attention. I admit there are just some professors that do not have a flare for social performance, but if they love their subject, and love the students, they will stop at nothing to convey to the importance of their passion.
I have been lucky this semester, I have only one class where I do not think the professor is a great teacher (and even then, I think he likes the subject, just really rusty at teaching it). My favorite teacher of the semester: Prof. Kerry Soper. My favorite teacher of my BYU experience: Prof. Carl Sederholm. Both were outstanding lecturers, got the class involved, listened to opinions with an understanding and open ear, and ( I hardly need mention) were down right hilarious.
I have been contemplating a career in academia, and this subject troubles me greatly. How do I successfully convey my passion to the student? What is their secret? I am too tired to think tonight. Suggestions perhaps?
Oh, and I need to put in a little plug here, American Studies is BY FAR the best major (to all you cousins still wondering what major to adopt, to those who already graduated-you missed your shot). :)

I feel like that was a harsh note to end on, perhaps a uplifting quote will soften the blow...

"He has not discovered the secret of life who does not every day surmount a fear"
RW Emerson

Achieving Childhood Dreams....

Last weekend my family had our semi-annual "Family Retreat". Besides listening to lengthy lessons on budgeting we were able to watch two really inspiring lectures. The first of which is what I wish to share with you all and it comes from a program called the "Last Lecture" series. Most of these "last lectures" are giving by retiring professors from Carnegie Mellon (hence "last" lecture), but this one was given by a professor named Randy Pausch. He gave an incredible lecture on achieving your childhood dreams. Don't want to give a synopsis of the entire lecture, I would be doing him a disservice if I did that, but I do want to mention a couple of things that inspired me.
- When you hit a brick wall while trying to accomplish your dreams, remember, brick walls are there to keep those who don't want it badly enough, out.
-Let others help you get where you want to be, and in turn help others. Everything will come back to you.
-There are always 2 ways to say the same thing
"You're being a Jerk"
"It's too bad people perceive you as arrogant because it's going to limit what you can do"
-If you wait long enough, people will show you their good side, no one is ever all bad.
-If you have to give something up that you love, don't leave it in good hands, leave it in BETTER hands.
-Maximize on your differences, let those differences work together to make your ideas/relationships stronger.
And my personal favorite:
- "Don't complain, just work harder"

All this talk about childhood dreams really got me thinking. I wish that I had made a long term list when I was still a child. But, as they say, no time is better than the present. Here are a couple of things I want to achieve:

Work in Alaska for the Summer
Learn to Viennese Waltz
Do a semester in Washington DC (wow, am I EVER going to graduate?)
Find a teaching job that I love
Learn how to drive a stick-shift
Run a marathon
Serve a full-time mission (work already in progress!)
Get married in the temple
Write and publish that novel I know is in my brain somewhere......
Ride in a hot air balloon
Travel to: London, Paris, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, China, Australia, New Zealand, India, Turkey, Scotland, Ireland (the list goes on and on!)
Do another humanitarian service trip (preferably to Africa this time)
Get better at Rock Climbing
Read all of the Standard Works in a year
Have Children (of course)
Visit Mt. Rushmore
Be a volunteer for a political campaign
Buy that awesome new Hybrid Toyota Corolla
Travel back to Havasupi

Once I started that list I found it hard to stop! This list is longer and not quite as complicated as Randy Pausch's, but i think the key principles still apply.

New Beginnings (No, I'm not talking about Young Womens)

I have been inspired. After my pathetic attempt at keeping a blog while in Jerusalem, I have now been re-converted to the world of blogging. I sit here at my computer and wonder what might make for a good first entry, because, of course, the first entry must be excellent, or who would bother to read further? Perhaps a promise of things on the horizon? A favorite poem? An insightful thought I learned today? Alright, you convinced me. All three.

Things rolling around in my brain I intend to expound upon:
-My top 10 all-time favorite literary works and why
-My thoughts about the current quality of films being released ( fear not dear friends, this is not a review of each movie, but my thoughts on the entertainment field in general)
-Jerusalem Study Abroad Vs. BYU - the social scene leaves something to be desired.
-GREAT motivational talks I have heard recently and pertaining thoughts.
-Billy Collins, I'm converted, need I say more?
-The woe's of dating (this one could get interesting...)

Alright, I don't want to give away ALL of the good stuff.

I recently attended a poetry reading by Billy Collins (more about him another day) and LOVED this poem he wrote. Jane and I both found it extremely funny

The Lanyard

Billy Collins

The other day I was ricocheting slowly off the blue walls of this room, moving as if underwater from typewriter to piano, from bookshelf to an envelope lying on the floor, when I found myself in the L section of the dictionary where my eyes fell upon the word lanyard.

No cookie nibbled by a French novelist
could send one into the past more suddenly—
a past where I sat at a workbench at a camp
by a deep Adirondack lake
learning how to braid long thin plastic strips
into a lanyard, a gift for my mother.

I had never seen anyone use a lanyard
or wear one, if that’s what you did with them,
but that did not keep me from crossing
strand over strand again and again
until I had made a boxy
red and white lanyard for my mother.

She gave me life and milk from her breasts,
and I gave her a lanyard.
She nursed me in many a sick room,
lifted spoons of medicine to my lips,
laid cold face-cloths on my forehead,
and then led me out into the airy light

and taught me to walk and swim,
and I, in turn, presented her with a lanyard.
Here are thousands of meals, she said,
and here is clothing and a good education.
And here is your lanyard, I replied,
which I made with a little help from a counselor.

Here is a breathing body and a beating heart,
strong legs, bones and teeth,
and two clear eyes to read the world, she whispered,
and here, I said, is the lanyard I made at camp.
And here, I wish to say to her now,
is a smaller gift—not the worn truth

that you can never repay your mother, but the rueful admission that when she took the two-tone lanyard from my hand, I was as sure as a boy could be that this useless, worthless thing I wove out of boredom would be enough to make us even.

Insightful thought of the day: If you want to be with someone wonderful forever, you need to live to be worthy of that someone. There is no way to measure this. It is a continual progression. "Don't give up, never give up"

And lastly, the sad news of the day. It is now quite certain, I have indeed LOST the second volume of Chicago's Greatest Hits. The real tragedy is that all the best songs were on that second CD. Anyone have a copy?