Scientific Reason Why I Am Having a Hard Time Out Here at School

     So, this morning I got up and checked my email, just like every morning. I am subscribed to Dr. Oz’s Real Age, and read the short articles in the email I had received from them. One such article stated that, based off of 3 different studies, living with a pet has a considerable effect on one’s health. I had heard before that petting a cat lowered stress levels, or something like that, but this article mentioned a few benefits that I hadn’t thought of before, and upon pondering them, I believe them to be correct. These benefits are that one feels less lonely, is more extroverted, has greater self-esteem, and are generally healthier and happier.
    Though I cannot certainly cannot contribute my exceeding happiness at home to my cat only, I do believe she did provide those benefits, and I am now feeling a the emptiness that comes when such things are taken away. It isn’t really a secret--unless you do not really know me and assume that this just cannot be possible--that I do not really love social scenes. Don’t get me wrong--I love to socialize, but with those whom I can carry on a meaningful conversation. When I am home, every time I am in my room, my cat, Chrissy is in there. She is always either next to me, close to me, visible, or hearable.

 
    See what I mean? Before I came to college last year, I used to think that I loved being alone; as it turns out, there is a big difference between being alone, and just being with one’s pet. I do not really love to be alone. Instead, I greatly enjoy being away from others sometimes, but still with another breathing creature (as in pet...not like a creepy-crawly, slimy, slithery, creature...or rat, or bug, etc.) Furthermore, I do think that I am a little more extroverted at home than here. Sure, being at home is familiar, but I am more likely to want to have fun with some people I know at home. At school, even though I could go do something, I stay home more because when all of my flatmates are gone, there isn’t any noise, and it is nice to just chill without other people all around. I do not have a particularly low self-esteem, but I must say I have noticed a slight decline since arriving out here. Perhaps it is because pets look to you to care for them and love you back with all of their hearts; either way, I felt more confident in my academic activities--such as putting together an application--at home than I do here (though that may be partly because I now must balance classes and homework).
    Overall, I daresay that I felt healthier, even though I ate Anthony’s dessert fairly regularly, and happier at home than I do here. Obviously, my family has a massive part in that, but I think it would be unfair to not address the fact that pets really do benefit one’s life greatly because the social support they give is so pure and complete. (And yes, even though I like to pick on her, I would much rather have Ziva here than no pet).

So, here's to you Chrissy, my best pet friend forever.

 

It's a Pirate's Life For Me

   I have always loved to visit historical sites. My family and I have been fortunate enough to be able to visit several U. S. historic sites. Although I am extremely grateful to have been born when and where I was, the 16-1700s have always fascinated me. Despite the pretty terrible conditions then (if you were not upper class), there is a part of me that would really like to at least go back in time to visit for a bit. Something I find incredibly interesting is how other people live, or, even more interesting, how people lived. I find the more hand-made-, or rougher, objects of the time to be quite intriguing, especially because nearly everything--at least in North America--today meant for everyday use is factory-made. Also, the general appearance of buildings that were in the towns during those times are exceedingly charming, for the record, and the not-so-nice homes are interesting to see because the occupants way of life is so vastly different than it is for Americans today. Though life back then was certainly harder, in other ways it had benefits. For example: people tended to be a bit more productive because they were not glued to computer screens; this could lead to less understanding of the bad things in the world, or cause them to search out answers for themselves instead of Googling them. Now, I am not in any way condemning the internet. I love the internet, and I love Google, and definitely use it on a daily bases to look things up. However, I am saying that there was a simplicity to life (though everyday activities were, in many cases, more complicated) that I admire. It is not a lack of entertaining things to do that strikes me so much, but rather the lack of things to do that essentially waste time and clutter lives. Although you might disagree with me upon seeing the amount of things I have managed to fit into my apartment, I actually really love the idea of having very few possessions (in fact, a few years ago, I threw out a lot of stuff just because I didn’t have a really need for it and therefore didn’t want it cluttering up life). In today’s world, I think that this idea would be very difficult to put into effect. See, there are so many different things people own because they need them for a plethora of occasions. We have loads of clothing, make up and hair products, electronics, pictures, home decor, and accessories (or other miscellaneous possessions).
    In regards to clothing, we have work clothes, everyday clothes, nicer everyday clothes, formal/business clothes, and, of course, Sunday best. All of these clothing types are necessary, and it is necessary to have more than one outfit for each occasion. This is partly because this idea is etched in our society, however, we also have very high standards of cleanthliness (for which I am eternally grateful), which require us to wear fresh clothing--resulting in us washing our clothes often, which fades and wears the material. Okay, so that was a really long tangent about clothing, yeah? Getting back on track now: wouldn’t it be kind of nice if we had a handful of outfits that consisted largely of simple items? Fashion wouldn’t be such a big deal; instead, we could wear one of the few outfits we really liked each day.
    Moving onto make up and hair products--I am not going to lie, I like to use these products daily. However, I do think that there is a definite simplicity in not having to put on make up everyday to feel pretty. How nice would it be to just get some sun on your face and not have to worry about anything else (alright, so maybe a bit of eyeliner, mascara and lipstick)? The same thing goes for hair. My hair, being so fine, it doesn’t really look great if I don’t do anything to it--I do imagine that it would be easier though if no one bothered with hair styling too much. I would like to point out however that I am in no one recommending that we stop showering on a daily bases and such. Not even a little bit.
    Technology is amazing, it truly is. Obviously I am a fan of it as well--I am planning on majoring in Media Arts (film), I love movies, the internet, and my electronics. Honestly, when I am bored, I spend the majority of my time on YouTube. Furthermore, I--like nearly every other human being--have a Facebook, I also have a YouTube account, Twitter account, Pinterest account, and other accounts. The thing is, none of these sites are bad. In fact, they all serve a purpose and can inspire (I’m not thinking about Facebook when I say that), and connect us. The thing is, though these sites are entertaining and such, wouldn’t it be neat if we didn’t have all these accounts we checked every day? I am not saying we should stop checking every day to simplify our lives (though moderation is something that should be in place), I am simply musing about what life would be like if we lived in the present, tangible world only and not cyberspace. Also, without electronics (computers, iPods, etc.), we would certainly have less possessions that were were greatly attached to because of their importance or dollar value.
    Growing up in my house, home decorating and improvement is just a way of life. In fact, I redo homes in my mind on a fairly regular basis. As a result of my mom having such a talent for decorating, and watching design shows so regularly, I absolutely have an appreciation for home design. Now back to my thoughts: if we didn’t worry about design, if we just kept things tidy, but kept it very simple, wouldn’t we--like with the electronics--become less attached to material possessions? I feel that the fewer possessions trouble ourselves with, the less likely we are to  be so tied down to one living area; also, we wouldn’t have a need to feel burdened with watching out for so many items because there wouldn’t be so many to concern ourselves with. There are also other things that could probably fit into other categories, but those were the ones that came to my mind.
    “But Lindsay! Pirates have possessions!”, (Yes, this post is still tying into the pirates thing) to which I reply “‘But’ is an improper way to begin a sentence, and yes, pirates do have possessions”. However, because pirates are not the most stationary of fellows, they don’t tend to have a lot of material baggage with them. I find this incredibly fascinated, and admittedly, I glamorize this fact. How very simple it would be if there were a few, small yet precious items that we owed that we could just carry about our person all the time. No suitcases, just a few items that we really value, that have personal value, or that we simply enjoy. Being a pirate, that probably means that these items are ‘shiny’, but, hey, who doesn’t like shiny items? Do you see how this way of life could be happy because of its simplicity? More time to ponder on greater things (and, I suppose, travel the world) and less stress over keeping all of our things together.
    Alright, I am almost done--I promise. I am absolutely not suggesting that we all revert back to harsh times and throw our the amazing advances that we are able to enjoy today. The purpose of this post, I guess, was to write out some thoughts that I have had for a while. Though the majority of this did not focus on pirates specifically, I chose to use them as my example because I imagine that seeing the world would be quite an eye-opening experience. Pairing that with the simplicity of life that I wrote a novel about, you pretty much have a pirate’s life, yes? I am truly happy with the era I live in, and definitely appreciate the benefits that come with living during this time--if I weren’t born in this time, I have no idea what I would want to do with the rest of my life (in job terms). One last thought: pirates also get to use swords. Swords are cool--I really fancy them and would be pleased if I were able to become skilled in swordsmanship. Not to kill, of course, but to defend my life, liberty, religion...okay, that’s enough.
    If you seriously read this would thing, go get some ice cream or something; you deserve it.

Things I Learned After A Year At BYU

So, I made it through freshman year. Having been through another semester, I have learned even more, and since I posted about what I discovered after my first semester, I thought I’d do the same with this past semester (listed in no particular order).

1.) There are a lot of really great professors at BYU and I was fortunate enough to have all great teachers this semester.
2.) Dean Duncan (my Intro to Film professor) is brilliant. Seriously.
3.) Even if you find alternatives to the Cannon Center, eventually, even that food will get old.
4.) I like it when I can make homemade food. So do other people.
5.) Finals week won’t necessarily be stressful.
6.) Registering for classes for your sophomore year is WAY more fun than registering during freshman year.
7.) Apparently, in Utah, it can be sunny and 70 degrees on day and snow the next. Not even funny.
8.) Semester plans are cool...and save my life.
9.) Brother Parker is still amazing.
10.) History classes can be enjoyable if you have a great teacher who focuses on concepts rather than dates.
11.) Before coming to school, there were times when I wanted to be alone. Here, alone is...lonely. I have come to realize that when I meant “alone”, I meant “with Chrissy”. There is definitely a distinction.
12.) I can hit now--hard.
13.) Right now, even if things are not perfect, life is just brilliant!

Yeah, this is sort of a short list, but a lot of what I’ve learned this semester is related to outlook on life and such (learned from Dean). Do you really want me to go on a rant about that? Maybe I do a blog post on that later; no promises.

I'm a Crazy Seminary Enthusiast

Sorry; this one is going to be a long one.
Recently, my home ward has split with my seminary teacher called as Bishop of our new ward. Brother Bauserman will be really great in his new calling--especially with his insight into the youth--however, this news left me reeling a bit. I found it little hard to believe at first (although I had been freaking out a little bit about it before), especially because he had only been teaching seminary here for about 3 years. I am sad for those in his current class who won’t get to finish their seminary experience with him, most especially for my sister who only had him for about 3 months. I thought that with all this change and reflection, now would be a good time to recap things.
Brother Bauserman changed my life. Aside from my family, mainly just my parents, there are probably 5-10 people who I feel REALLY get me. Yes, other family members and leaders care for me, want me to succeed, and love me. However, I very few people TRULY ‘get me’. I feel as though when I get super excited about the Gospel, even members wish I would chill out, or stop ‘vying for attention’. Also, I have been fortunate enough to have heard from many inspiring people and have been able to apply things I’ve learned from them into my own life. However, in the top 5 most influential people in my life (aside from family, of course), Brother Bauserman is #1. Absolutely. All the way. No doubt. Although my upbringing definitely had massive impact on the [good] choices I’ve made in life, when I look back at who I was the beginning of my sophomore year of high school (my interests, what I liked to do, how I acted), I am so, so, SO very different than I am now. There is no doubt in my mind that I am who I am now because I was in Brother B’s seminary. Spiritually, I matured, making the lines drawn by the standards less blurry, my faith grew stronger, and my desire to be righteous has become much greater. I LOVE the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I LOVE Him, and I LOVE my Father in Heaven. The Gospel excites me more than movies (difficulty level: nearly impossible)! I am currently a Gospel Doctrine teacher in my ward and I look at what Brother Bauserman did to guide my teaching methods. Plus, I have a stash of brilliant handouts that I can use forever. If I pursue a Graduate Degree, it’d be in Religious Education. I’ve NEVER wanted to teach, but I do have a desire to teach teenagers the Gospel. Look at what one amazing teacher did for me. When I began seminary, I was a pretty average LDS teen, with unique potential, yes, but pretty much like most LDS teens. Now, when I get talking about the Gospel, especially what I learned in seminary, it’s hard to shut me up. Also, I hear from my [amazing] Book of Mormon professor, Brother Parker, that his class is way harder than seminary because you have to do more than just show up. I was so blessed to have been tested on the seminary material. Book of Mormon is my best class. Here’s a little bit about seminary with Brother Bauserman:
First off, Brother B is the best. End of story. Bye bye; see you later (Shrek...). He was always so excited about the material he was teaching; it was infectious. Nearly every time he ended class, he’d say we’d pick up “with the rest of the story” or tell us we’d discover what would happen to our hero the next day. Cliff hanger! Drove me nuts sometimes, but made me VERY anxious to get to seminary the next day...surely, I wasn’t the only one. Also, I could see that he really knew each student and worked with them in an individual way. Very cool. He challenged us and I grew. I felt bad because everyone else in the world who couldn’t learn from him too, but not enough to want to trade! Brother Bauserman challenged us to memorize our Scripture Masteries, and knowing those scriptures by heart has blessed my life (plus it’s fun when someone’s giving a talk and starts to say a scripture I know...I like to try and get through it before they do.....).
Honestly, when I was 15, I really didn’t like the Bible. That sounds kind of bad, but it was true. During Old Testament year in Seminary, however, Brother Bauserman brought the characters of the Bible to life! He had a way of ‘translating’ what they said into terms that I could understand and relate to. To this day, I have a great love and appreciation for people mentioned in the Bible. For New Testament year, I enjoyed learning about the Savior in a more in depth way, and I discovered a lot that I never knew before. Also, NT year, the Saint John Challenge was super fun: you say all the John Scripture Masteries, in order, as fast as you can in front of the class. Until about the last month, I had the fastest time. Book of Mormon year was the BEST year. My testimony grew in absolutely humongous leaps and bounds that year. That year, about a year ago now, was when I really, really, really gained a strong testimony. I also loved ‘diving beneath the iceberg’ to uncover doctrinal truths. That year was the year I decided to get 100% scripture reading for the year. I missed 1 day during vacation and was so crushed that I cried about it. Yeah.....However, I found out, once Seminary started back up again, that the vacation days didn’t count, so I ended up with 100% scripture reading. I also love the people in the Book of Mormon! Studying Ammon and his mission to the Laminates, I began to really start to gain a love for the Book of Mormon, and I think that learning more about Ammon in Seminary was quite possibly the start of my massive testimony journey that year. I could go on, and on, and on...and on, but you’d probably prefer that I didn’t. Finally, I remember the first year Brother B taught, he made the class--individually--pinky promise him that we’d get married in the temple. I thought that was really cool. I don’t break pinky promises anymore--it’s like life and death thing now because I was serious when I pinky promised Brother B, and if I break another pinky promise, that would almost make the temple one null and void, so I don’t do that.
So this was a really, really, REALLY long post, and it just scratched the surface. If you think my scripture-dorky-ness is a little strange, now you at least know why I’m this way. I cannot image who I’d be today if I wasn’t in Brother Bauserman’s seminary for those 3 years, and I consider it to be one of the greatest blessings I’ve received.