Why I'm An English Major

So, as some of you reading this blog may already be aware, my schedule is rather crazy this semester. I mean, I know we all have busy lives, and I don’t mean to minimalize anyone’s personal schedules/trials, but I have a busier schedule this semester more than ever (hence my lack of posts the past week). However, I’m able to do it because I absolutely love the courses I have to take (minus Spanish). After pondering on this and reading a post from another one of my friends, I thought I’d write down just a few of the reasons I’m in this major that too many people think is worthless.
1: I LOVE READING!
So, among many other college undergrads, I had a very difficult time deciding on a major. I think I may have always had ADD, I just didn’t realize it until I 20 years after the fact. As a kid, I loved reading books. If not for movies, I probably would have been grounded from reading at times. My family inherited a couple hundred children’s books when I was growing up, so I was constantly surrounded by them. If I’m really honest though, I didn’t read probably half of them. I tended to stick to the ones I loved: The Bernstein Bears, Arthur, etc. Before I learned to enjoy English, I knew that I could get through my English classes for this reason alone.
2. I love exploring different perspectives. If you want to be an English major, you must be willing to read a lot, and A LOT of things that you don’t want to initially. This was one of the reasons that I struggled with making this my major because I felt like I encountered so much gratuitous material in the works I read. But as time has passed and I’ve matured a lot, I’ve become much more tolerant of such materials because I understand their context, not because I accept the behavior portrayed. There is a huge difference between tolerance and apathy, and I certainly do not associate with the latter.
However, nothing frustrates me more when people simply refuse to read or view something because it may have unsavory material. I understand that in many cases that we are fed unnecessary trash. We don’t need to look any farther than our TV sets to find that. I guess what frustrates me is when people look only at the rating reasons below the MPAA stamp on the DVD and don’t bother to read the plot summary. I’m aware that Satan’s influence is rampant in the world today and I don’t care to view material that he inspires others to create. But, I believe that Heavenly Father gave us agency to USE it, to think and make decisions for ourselves, not just surrender it in every case. It would have been SO much easier to do things Satan’s way after all. But, Heavenly Father gave us agency because He wants us to LEARN for ourselves.
3. I have ample opportunities to better understand my own faith and beliefs. As I read various stories from all kinds of different authors, I’m exposed on a regular basis to belief systems that often do not coincide with my own. As I consider these things, I’m always reminded of the power that the gospel of Jesus Christ has in my life, and that I would not at all be where I am today without it. No matter what I encounter as I continue my studies and research, I will NEVER let go of my testimony of the things I know to be true. I’d change majors before changing my beliefs any day.
4. I have a passion for research, particularly regarding literature and film. As lame is it sounds, I’ve rather liked writing some of the papers I’ve written in the past because of them relating to a film I had viewed. Last night I was in the library later than I usually am, but for the first time, it was because I was genuinely enjoying my time there. I have so many questions to be answered by what I’m reading that sometimes I don’t want to stop. When I find something to be passionate about in research, it consumes me. It’s helped confirm that going on to be a professor is definitely something that I can find enjoyment in. This semester I’m blessed to have three classes that I’m very passionate about and so while the load on my hands is huge, it’s totally doable.
I’m so grateful to have the talents and abilities I do. Without them, I would never have set foot in this major, nor would I have the perspectives that I do.

The Upside of Failing

This past semester for the first time in my academic career, I flunked a class. Not a C, not even a D, a straight up F (or an E in BYU grades, since apparently we're too cool to use F's). I had hoped that by doing the minimal amount of work for my Spanish class that somehow I'd be able to get by. However, given that it is pass/fail class, I couldn't get anything lower than a B- if I wanted to pass. Over the break, to my great dismay, I discovered that I would be retaking the class. At first, I was infuriated. Partly at my teacher, but mostly at myself. Why had I been kidding myself the entire semester? At what point did I honestly believe that my meager efforts would magically amount to a passing grade?

While part of me still wishes I could have avoided the entire experience altogether, I'm grateful for what this experience has taught me. If I want to get a passing grade, I can't just be hoping to get by when I don't put forth my best efforts. This coming semester I've vowed to put forth more effort and energy than before in my Spanish classes. I've been too lackadaisical the past semester in my studies, and this is just what I needed to help me recognize that I can't keep doing what I have. While I know this is going to make things more hectic this semester, I look forward to having this opportunity to do better than I have before.

I'm so glad that Heavenly Father gives us second chances as well and that when we fail, we have the opportunity to use the Atonement of Jesus Christ to overcome our challenges and weaknesses. It is by no means a simple process, just like obtaining a passing grade, but it can be done. The Lord allows us to fail so we may more fully recognize our dependence upon Him. I love this song by Kenneth Cope because it reminds me that when we feel broken and like we are beyond repair, the Savior can step into our lives and help us overcome whatever challenges we are facing. So next time you find yourself failing at something, don't get too down on yourself. Remember that if the Lord is willing to let us fail at times, He is more than willing to help us get back on our feet and become better than we were before.

The Greatest Gift

Today my ward was combined with two others for a combined Christmas sacrament meeting. There were several beautiful musical numbers along with an incredible talk by one of the most revered men in my community. He talked about the gifts that we could give our families and the Savior. What stood out most to meet was when he said, "The greatest gift that we can give our families is our testimony of the Savior". He went on to talk about a particular bible that had been handed down throughout several generations of his family and how it represented the continuation of faith throughout those generations. I too have been blessed to have members of the church as my ancestors, some of them pioneers that made the trek west to the Salt Lake Valley. This evening my family and I watched the film 17 Miracles, which gives an account of the Willie and Martin handcart company and the trials they experienced coming to the Salt Lake Valley. Some of my own ancestors were a part of that company, and I'm eternally grateful that despite the horrendous trials they had to endure, they maintained their faith and overcame those tribulations. I would most certainly agree that one of the greatest gifts I have in this life is knowing that my parents have a testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. That knowledge has made all the difference in my life, and I plan to see that it has the same presence in my future family.

I hope that during this season we all remember what our Savior Jesus Christ has done for us through His infinite and eternal Atonement and all that He continues to do for us. I know He lives and that because He does, I will too after this life. I'm grateful to know that through His power on earth, I have the opportunity to be with my family after this life. Merry Christmas to you all!

Occupy Hollywood

It’s official. Hollywood has hit an all-time low when the likes of a horror/zombie film director decides to desecrate a timeless literary classic by blasting it with ridiculous action sequences and totally unnecessary 3-D. To see minds young and old are becoming deluded and contaminated by such material is unadulterated sacrilege to our greatest literary works. It is sickening to view a film whose only relation to the book from which it was inspired is the title itself. Such intolerable reinterpretations, revamps, and reimaginings must come to an end. Once, the likes of Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings graced the silver screen. Now we must shed a tear as we preview The Three Musketeers and watch as an amazing novel is turned into pure CG drivel. There is something terribly wrong when 1% of the films on the big screen do justice to the books upon which they draw inspiration from, while the other 99% make untold amounts of money off of gratuitous special effects and terrible casting. We will not stand for such refuse to permeate our TV screens, laptops, or iPods. We call upon all directors, producers, and screenwriters to discontinue these horrid and cruel misinterpretations, these disgraceful portrayals of the greatest literary works of mankind. We, as the common people, refuse to purchase Redboxes, attend film screenings, and download Netflix versions of our beloved novels unless they contain an interpretation of those same novels which the authors would be proud of. OCCUPY HOLLYWOOD!!!!!!!!

4 Years Ago...

To the date, I made a decision that would change my life forever. I entered the Missionary Training Center in Provo, UT in preparation to serve in the Colorado Colorado Springs Mission. If you had told me back then everything that was going to happen in the next 2.5 years, I'd have told you that you were crazy. If someone had told me that I would come home for six months due to unforseen medical conditions, I'd have laughed in your face and told you I couldn't do it. If you'd have mentioned I'd spend the last third of my mission in a town of less than 1,000 people, I'd have asked my mission president to never let me go there.

But, if you'd also have told me that those six months would teach me more than any six months prior to my mission, that I would eventually overcome those medical conditions, that in that town of less than 1,000 people I would have more baptisms than I did in any other area, I wouldn't change a thing. And nor would I today.

I hate to sound like everyone else in the church, but to all you young men out there, you really have to experience a mission for yourself to be able to relate to the experiences of mission life. They are so personal and unique. I gained a testimony in the field more than ever that our Heavenly Father knows us by name and is aware of our individual situations. I know I spent my last blogpost talking about this as well, but I don't think I can emphasize just how important this choice in your life is. Nothing in the world can compare to this experience. Those who choose to not serve missions are not less loved by God, nor do RM's necessarily receive a higher degree of glory than them either. But it will help build upon your testimony to give you a lifetime of experiences from which you can draw upon. To all those who have served, never forget what this experience means to you and stay true to the covenants you have made and the things you know to be true. Too many RM's are making rather poor life decisions and not living up to the standards they did before. Remember what you taught others on your mission, that our Savior Jesus Christ lived and died for us. He lives for us today and through the Atonement, we may become clean from our sins and live with our Father in Heaven again with our families. That knowledge is what keeps me going and I'll be forever grateful for my mission continually reminding me of the importance of that knowledge.

In the Service of Your God

I stumbled upon this video without really looking today, but man is it powerful. Growing up as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, there was virtually never a time where I questioned serving a mission for the church. As my testimony continued to grow as a teenager, so did my desire to serve. It wasn't until I got out into the field I began to struggle. I knew I was supposed to be serving but I didn't know for myself why. One young woman in particular challenged my feelings about serving a mission and made me rethink why I had come out to Colorado to share the gospel. That experience changed the rest of my mission and my life. As I took the time to pray earnestly and search the scriptures diligently for an answer to my questions, I learned for myself that whether or not I saw a lot of baptisms in my time as a missionary was irrelevant. What really mattered was my devotion to sharing this priceless message with my spiritual brothers and sisters and doing my best to help them recognize their relationship with their Father in Heaven. In so doing, I would be a lot more likely to bring souls to Christ.

I'm so grateful for people who I met on my mission that changed my life forever. I had the opportunity to be an influence for good in the lives of many, but I feel like so many more helped me personally. For all of you young men out there wondering if you should serve a mission, I strongly encourage you to pray earnestly to your Father in Heaven and find out for yourself the power for good you can be in someone's life by being a missionary, and the blessings that will come regardless of where you serve. Some may feel I mention the blessings of my mission a little more frequently than is necessary, but I don't think I can emphasize that point enough. My mission has made me who I am today in so many ways. You will be amazed at how many people you meet like the woman in this video who leave an imprint on your life that cannot be erased. If you know anyone who is currently serving, consider taking the time to write to them and remind them to never give up, especially when things get difficult. Letters from home mean the world to missionaries, and motivational ones even more so.

FHE Caroling!

Tonight as our last FHE group activity, we had the opportunity to go and carol to several houses nearby. We also collected cans for the food bank. It amazed me how much some people were willing to give when we asked and the happiness so apparent in their faces. We brought several bags and within fifteen minutes, one had been completely filled and broken. It was a great experience to be a part of. The kids we ran into were priceless as well. They reminded me what a special season this is and the power music has to bring the Spirit into our lives.

I knew no one in my FHE family when I first started attending FHE this semester, but I've made many awesome friends as a result. For all you YSAs out there, I know FHE may not sound like the funnest thing to do on a Monday night, especially when there's papers to be written, tests to be studied for, and sleep to be found. But I have no doubt that when we make attending these events a priority, the Lord blesses us beyond what we would expect. Thanks to all those in my FHE family this semester! It has been a blast getting to know you all and spending some great times with you.