Haha.

 

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I'm the hero of this story. I don't need to be saved.

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I can't sleep. So I might as well blog I suppose.
Today Camille gave a talk. It was brilliant. She's so cool.
She talked about something she learned at Girls Camp from Writer's Cubed (a writing group). They talked about being the hero of your own story. Camille kind of recapped. She said: "We are all the heroes of our stories. Because of this we have to make important decisions and develop over time, while carrying a burden no matter how big or small." She emphasized that we need to be careful about the people we choose as secondary characters in our stories. Secondary characters are the people that we choose to be closest to. This kind of stood out to me because I've been pretty sad about a couple of friendships that didn't end up working out. I realized that I am really grateful for the secondary characters in my life who stick with me through the thick and thin. I guess friendships that last are pretty hard to come by so when they do last, it's definitely something to be thankful for and they are people that we shouldn't just take for granted.
It's been a little bit of a rough couple of weeks for me and I'm just so grateful for everyone who puts up with my emotional craziness haha.
So thanks to those secondary characters in my story. You know who you are. I really appreciate everything you do and seriously don't know where I'd be without you.

Brilliant.

In case the embedding doesn't work click here.

Emma Watson

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Well, tonight I'm going to the midnight showing of the very last Harry Potter. I'm pretty excited! It better be good though. Speaking of Harry Potter, I've decided Emma Watson is a pretty cool person and probably my favorite actress. As one of my facebook friends said: "What a girl, that Emma Watson. She's classy, smart, beautiful and seeks to make a positive difference in the world. Good to see growing up in fame hasn't demolished her, at least yet." I agree. Here's an article about how hard it was to go to school at Brown University and be an actress/model at the same time. She put her education first though and I think that's pretty admirable.

The Egyptian Revolution: Adel El-Daba's Personal Account

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I just got back from hearing Adel El-Daba (Chair, World Languages Department, Cairo American College) speak at the BYU Kennedy Center. He talked about his experience with the Egyptian Revolution. He said that he didn't want to talk about why it happened, the before, or the after he wanted to talk about what was happening in the moment of the revolution. I thought it was really interesting that he focused a lot of his talk on the unity that the revolution brought to the people in Tahrir Square. He said you could see Christians and Muslims praying together and women were seen as more of equals during this time, they were treated with more respect. So with their differences aside, they all stood together, in the cold, barely getting any sleep, people getting injured badly, but they were unified in their goal and this made them all stronger and willing to stand tall. The way he described it was really emotional and inspiring. He was a brilliant speaker. He also talked about the people who died for this cause. He saw a man, newly married, who was bleeding and about to die and this man told his friend not to leave Tahrir Square but to keep fighting (I don't remember the exact words) and then Adel El-Daba said that this really struck him and he knew that those people who died for this cause were one of the main reasons to keep fighting for it. Then he sang some verses from the koran for those people and it was really captivating. I think Arabic is actually a really beautiful language. I admire the Egyptian people for having the courage they did and still do to bring about a change for their country that will last forever. Pretty cool, I must say.

Biases aside...

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So this is a silly post. Yesterday I was bored, so like many young adults/teenagers put in this sort of situation, I started browsing Youtube. I actually came across a couple of things that took me by surprise.

1. People have been terribly cruel to Rebecca Black. I think Friday is a terrible song that was written badly and is meaningless beyond repair but really, why is everyone blaming Rebecca Black? She's not the best singer but she isn't the worst either and I, personally, would probably never buy an album or a song by her but really the cyber bullying towards her has gotten pretty out of hand. Death threats--really? Over a stupid song that she didn't even write? And I think under no circumstance should anyone tell someone that they should become anorexic to be pretty. Or that they should cut themselves until they die. That's just plain cruel. I think sometimes people are mindlessly hurtful towards someone over the internet because they don't actually have to see the reaction. On the other side of those comments was a little 13 year old girl who was shocked to read how many people said they hated her for singing that song. What? Ridiculousness.
Anyway, here's a video of Rebecca making fun of the great "depth and meaning" hidden in the song Friday.

2. So... apparently Justin Bieber actually has a really good voice? I don't like his music because it seems to be made up of meaningless pop lyrics and catchy beats. His ego is probably about three times the size of him. He's mostly only popular among girls 14 and younger. I found a video of him singing before he became famous though. So, I guess I can recognize that even though I dislike his music, that boy has some real musical talent. Yes, he still sounds like a girl at age 17. It was cute when he was 12 but now it's kind of weird. Also, he wrote an autobiography. Yes, in addition to a whole movie dedicated to him he also has a whole book... oh my. But here's an excerpt from the book you might enjoy.

I am not converted to fanaticism for either Rebecca Black or Justin Bieber, these are just two realizations that came along while browsing the internet. 

Anyway, maybe I should stop browsing Youtube when I am bored and do something productive instead... Like decide my major? Nah.

Just like the good old days.

So, it seems I am a terrible blogger these days. That's probably because I have nothing to say since nothing interesting has happened in awhile. Yesterday was a pretty fun adventure though, so I think I shall write about it.

The Farewell
Jamie and I left at 9:15 in the morning for Salt Lake City so that we could attend John's mission farewell at 10:30. We wanted to have plenty of time to get there since we weren't sure where the church was located and we thought we might get lost for a bit. It was a pretty fun ride actually--Jamie and I haven't really talked much since moving home so it was nice to catch up. We ended up not getting lost at all and found out that the farewell was actually at 10:50 so... needless to say, we had quite a bit of time to explore Salt Lake City before church. After visiting duck ponds with no ducks, seeing tourists at temple square, marveling at the odd assortment of outfits there, and hiking uphill in our Sunday best... we arrived at John's farewell a little late (figures).

I don't remember much of the other two talks that were given, thanks to Matt who is the most distracting person to sit by during any sort of meeting, but I did try very hard to pay attention to John's talk and he delivered it beautifully. We were all so proud of him. He's definitely one of the most spiritual guys I know and he tries so hard to be the best he can be. It's pretty inspiring, really.

The Luncheon

After the farewell talk we all headed over to John's backyard where we ate a traditional Brazilian meal of beans and rice. He was called to the Dominican Republic but I guess beans and rice are pretty much the same wherever you go. John's family seemed pretty nice and his backyard was full of fruit trees which apparently made Jamie hungry because after she saw the peach tree she kept talking about how she just really wanted a peach. We took lots of pictures because we don't get to see those friends much anymore and since John is leaving for two years. Jamie drew a lovely picture of John and wrote on the back "For my plan C... in case A and B don't work out." I think John loved it? Maybe?

Temples and Museums and Pie
We decided to go to Temple Square for awhile so we walked around the visitor's centers and we ran into a sister missionary who was pretty cool. She was from Kiribati and she talked to John, Matt, and Hiram for a long time about being a missionary. She was way nice but at the end she told us she wanted one number of a non member friend from each of us. So we all looked at each other nervously, knowing we didn't have any to give because our non mormon friends are not mormon because they don't want to be. Seeing our hesitation, she told us to pull out our phones and go through our contacts because that might help us remember who our non mormon friends are. So we started going through them and I accidentally said Conrad's name to Jamie because I read it on my phone and it sort of slipped out. I didn't think she'd heard but she did and she took my phone and wrote down his number and I was pretty sure he would not be interested but it was the only number she got from us so I felt bad but now I am afraid Conrad is going to think I'm trying to convert him or something! So I'm debating whether I should call him or not. Hmm. But really being at Temple Square was a good experience and it reminded me how much I want to go inside someday. It's just beautiful and the grounds are beautiful and I love it. Also, I love that statue of Jesus (in the picture on the right).

We walked over to the Church History museum
which was kind of the best part of the whole trip. After going through the whole main level of the museum we went upstairs and stumbled on the kids' part of the museum. It was so fun! They had a boat you could catch pretend fish from, cloth dolls, large blocks to build castles with, skirts and vests to dress up in, some tortilla game Jamie and I were awesome at, etc. It was way fun. We built a pretty cool castle-ish thing with the blocks and we were trying to take a picture of all of us by it but the camera wasn't working. We were setting up the camera one more time or something like that and this little kid just ran really fast right into the castle and punched it all down and then ran really fast away. I thought it was pretty hilarious. We didn't feel like rebuilding it though so we just held some pieces up for the picture haha. And that triangle on Hiram's head is actually Matt.

We visited Matt's house (he has a really really nice house) and ate some caramel apple pie. I wish we could hang out with these kids more often. I miss them all.

Oy with the Poodles Already

I haven't blogged in forever... so I guess I will just say a few random things.

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Well, it's been a long and interesting week. I got my learner's permit again (the third time haha) but I only have to take the last test and I will be set to get my license! Yay! It'll be a miracle, I tell you. Camille went to Youth Conference on Friday until Saturday so I hung out with Stephanie and Sam while she was gone. It was quite the adventure which is exactly what I needed. We met at Guru's (it was a miracle we all made it on time haha) and ate the delicious sweet potato fries and some good, healthy main dishes. Then we walked to the library to catch our bus but since we were a little early we decided to stop in the little boutique, Cherry Lane Keepsakes, across the street. We ended up losing track of time in there because they had some really interesting items haha. We found vintage jewelry, crazy dresses, tons of purses, 

sixties-ish sunglasses, and best of all, slap bracelet wrist watches (not really cute but sure fun to put on). 

We then ran back to the bus stop where we met Jeremiah. He was quite the character. He was 29 and had huge muscles and very rough-looking and cracked hands. His eyes were a clear blue but his face looked hardened and red from too much exposure to the sun. He immediately began talking to us and asked if we were LDS. He then proceeded to explain that he, too, was LDS and he was supposed to warn us that the end was near. He showed us his birth certificate and talked to us about how God is a woman so he bowed to Stephanie and I. Then he later told us that he might be God. So I guess he might be a woman then? Who knows. He told us women had the greatest power even above the priesthood and that is why there are only sister missionaries at Temple Square. He put his hand on Sam's chest and told him he was giving him the heart of a God. It was interesting to say the least haha. Then it turns out that he had to get on the same bus as us. So he sat by us and told Stephanie she had Goddess/mermaid hair, took Sam's "Esmerelda's Fortune" cards thinking they had some profound meaning to him, told us not to ever smoke, told us of his girlfriend and also a bunch of doctrine from the, uh, scriptures in his head? He informed us that he had been diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder and suddenly the delusions about him being a prophet and maybe being God and having the third scripture text in his head made more sense haha.

Afterwards we were all very glad we had met him because he sure was interesting and added much more adventure to our day than we could have hoped for.
After that we rode a different bus to the Riverwoods where we began walking on the Provo River trail (which is paved). My feet were hurting so bad from the shoes I was wearing so I decided to go barefoot. This helped for awhile but then proceeded to blister the bottoms of my feet in addition to the blisters I'd received from my shoes previously. So we stopped at a bridge and watched the water for a bit. Then we went under the bridge and played in it even though the water was rather frigid. It was so beautiful with the sun glistening on the surface of the river.We spent quite awhile just lazing about under that bridge.

After getting bored of sitting on the rocks we climbed up and lay in the soft grass. The sun was setting and so  everything had a rosy glow. It felt nice, being there with two wonderful friends, just laying there having a good time talking and laughing.We ran around and played tag and had grass fights and said very silly things that I don't really even remember (mostly silly things said by Stephanie). Then we set off to the Riverwoods I love the lights at the Riverwoods at night. It looks so magical with them strung up from building to building.

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Saturday, Camille came home from Youth Conference and we watched Pride and Prejudice. I love that movie, it's definitely classic. But really, I like the BBC version so much better than the newer one with Keira Knightly. I love the actress who plays Elizabeth Bennet, I think she does a marvelous job. All the characters are perfect and the soundtrack fits the time period and the setting so well. I like that it's so lengthy because I feel like I get more into it than I do the other one. I wish I were more like Elizabeth Bennet, she's pretty cool.

Yesterday, I taught the 5-6 year olds again in primary but this time Aubrynn was able to come help me. It was really nice being able to have one of us do the lesson and the other try to calm the children down haha. I find though, even after teaching that particular class for three weeks, I really love them. They are so terribly crazy but adorable and so smart for their age. It's amazing how much personality they already have and how much they already know. I love the random hugs and when they show me proudly the pictures they've drawn. It makes me happy. I like their stories too... even though they are usually quite off topic. 

Now I am just sitting at work trying to figure out something useful I can do but blogging instead. 

Also, I turn 20 on Sunday. Whaaaat. I am most definitely too young to be that old.

And there is a galaxy bar sitting right in front of me on my desk. I am trying so hard to save it for later but I may give in to the temptation soon I am afraid.

I'm pretty bored in case you couldn't tell by this very long post haha.

Les Miserables

 

Saturday was a wonderful day because my mom, sisters, and I spent the day in Salt Lake City. We went shopping (which is always fun), ate at The Cheesecake Factory (which was most delicious), and then saw Les Miserables at Capitol Theater and it was amazing. Wicked is still my favorite though. Then we walked the streets of the city late at night in the pouring rain. Camille and I thought that part was pretty fun but I don't think coat-less Jamie Lyn really enjoyed it much.

So... yeah... that's that.

How to change the world.

I used to own a little charm bracelet that I picked up from Kohl's. Engraved on the little silver charm were Gandhi's wise words: "Be the change you wish to see in the world." Honestly, I've always liked that quote but I'd never really thought about it much until I started seeing it on my wrist every day. Pretty quickly it became my favorite bracelet (and I own many bracelets haha). I lost it several months ago but I think I still need that reminder sometimes.

I think sometimes we focus too much on what's sad in life and in the world. We remember the people who have hurt us and the things that haven't gone the way we wanted. We see the selfish, bitter, and hurtful people in the world and forget that there are good people out there too. It's something that's pretty hard to remember at times. These past couple of weeks I definitely was dwelling on the sad things in the world and I started to get pretty bitter and angry about them. This morning at around 6 am that Gandhi quote randomly popped into my mind. It helped me remember that even though the world is crazy and people can be so cruel, me being sad about it isn't going to change anything. When I become bitter about it all, I'm only adding to the problems. Maybe I can't change the world in a big way or change my friends' minds about things, but I can change myself and I can make that change be exactly the sort of thing I want to see happen in the world. We need more people who show unconditional love, kindness, acceptance, happiness, forgiveness, etc. We have enough depression and anger. I'd like to be the sort of person who isn't ignorant to the bad in the world but doesn't let it drown out the good and the beauty of things. And I will stop ranting now. :) Thanks for reading haha.


"Love is the only force that can erase the differences between people, that can bridge chasms of bitterness....If the world is to be improved, the process of love must make a change in the hearts of men." -Gordon B. Hinckley