Feed the Flood

You know those people who listen to Christmas music anytime they want, even in the middle of the year? They just listen to it whenever they feel like it. I hate that. When you save Christmas music for Christmas time, it makes it more special. I get so excited every November to start listening to music because I've gone the whole year without it. By doing that, it also keeps me from getting sick of Christmas music during the holiday season. When I reserve it for the last month and a half of the year, I can listen to it every day and still not get my fill. I think holiday traditions are so much fun because they only happen once a year. If we were to do them whenever, we wouldn't be as excited when that holiday comes around. I also disagree with leaving Christmas lights up all year. Maybe people are just to lazy to take them down, but putting them up each year is part of the fun and when something takes effort, you appreciate it more. I'm excited for this Christmas season an...

I think the better we know ourselves, the happier we can be and the better we can deal with the curve balls life throws us. This blog post is inspired by another's classmates blog in which she wrote 24 things about herself because she is about to turn 24. I to will be turning 24 fairly soon, so here is my list of 24 things: 1. I don't know how I would survive without music.  2. I have a major sweet tooth. 3. I love babies. 4. I love the smell of fresh cut grass. 5. I pride myself in being creative. 6. I served my mission in Nicaragua. 7. I'm number 5 of 7 children. 8. I have an adopted sister. 9. My parents are currently living in Thailand. 10. Christmas is my favorite holiday. 11. I worked at Walt Disney World this year. 12. I like dogs more than cats.  13. I started my own a cappella group.  14. I have a lazy eye. 15. I have never pierced my ears.  16. I hate cilantro.  17. I have GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) 18....

I enjoyed this blogging experience. This is the first time I've ever done a blog and it was fun to choose things I'm interested in to write about. I can be rather opinionated so I enjoyed have the chance to share my opinion as well. I was actually kind of surprised that I got so much positive feedback via comments from my classmates. I wrote about some topics that some people would probably strongly disagree with (Black Friday, for example). I also learned that poetry can be a very effective form of rhetorical writing. I do think I should have planned out my time better in order to read and comment on other classmates' blogs over time rather than all in one day. I enjoyed reading people's blogs and seeing the wide range of topics covered. I'm not always a fan of writing. Sometimes it can be hard to get started, but once I do, it can actually be kind of therapeutic. It gives me a chance to express my thoughts and feelings. I think as I have written throughout thi...

When my sister, my parents, and I were on vacation in Nicaragua, we got the chance to go horseback riding and ziplining at a place that had 16 lines. I was a little nervous to go on a zipline in a third world country, fearing it might be unsafe, but this place was very professional and we felt very secure. We started off by riding horses up through the forest until we reached the first zipline. Other workers came to get the horses and we started on the ziplines. The ziplining guides were super friendly and even let my sister and I do a few tricks (with their help). I have never experienced anything more exhilarating than hanging upside-down and zipping over the trees, hundreds of feet above the ground! It was such a thrill! That evening the best part of the day happened. We were hanging out at the beach and my mom got word that one of the beachside resorts was releasing baby sea turtles into the ocean at 5pm. So at 5, we went over in front of the resort and joined the party that was re...

Kids these days have so many toys. My sister told me her kids have so many toys that they don't know which ones to play with so they sometimes don't play with any of them. Too many toys can be especially overwhelming for a toddler. If kids who are a little bit older get overwhelmed with their toys, however, they may beg to watch a movie or play on the ipad instead, and we all know too much of that can make kids hooked or obsessed. Perhaps parents get their kids so many toys because it's the first thing that comes to mind for birthday and Christmas gifts. But why not books instead? Or crafts? Or clothing? Maybe they start to build up too much clothing, too. So a better solution may be to give kids less gifts on birthdays and Christmas. I think back to when I was a kid and I got lots of gifts each birthday. But I also remember how ungrateful I was and how I threw a fit one year because I didn't think a tent was a nice enough gift for my "main gift". I think ...

Today is Thanksgiving. Tomorrow is Black Friday. What better time to express my opinion about Black Friday than today? Don't you find it strange that the day after Americans talk about how grateful they are for all they have, they go out shopping for more stuff? I find it rather ridiculous. Don't get me wrong; I understand people wanting to take advantage of a good deal on something they've been wanting to buy, but what I don't understand is people waiting in line for hours super early in the morning to get trampled by other shoppers in a rush to get one of a few on sale items. People have actually died in Black Friday stampedes! I can't believe people can get so aggressive competing for the chance to buy something (not even get something free) the day after Thanksgiving, or all days! It's madness. I don't see a problem with Cyber Monday. That you can comfortably do within the confines of your own home. I'm actually a big fan of online shopping becau...

The thesis statement in this article is clear: "The single most important thing that you can do for your family may be the simplest of all: develop a strong family narrative." He backs up this claim with quotes from psychologists and findings from studies. He describes how learning about their families contributes to child's sense of belonging. "They know they belong to something bigger than themselves." I agree that having a sense of family narrative helps children maintain an enlarged perspective. The author writes, "When faced with a challenge, happy families, like happy people, just add a new chapter to their life story that shows them overcoming hardship." Everyone knows that a story without any conflict isn't very interesting. Looking at their life as a story helps children to see the beauty in the hard times and to look at the bigger picture. I also agree that having a family mission statement is good because it gives the family a clearer ...

My reading goal for this semester is to pay more attention to the persuasive tools people use in their writing. A lot of times, I think I read an article that persuades me to think or do a certain thing without analyzing why it had that effect on me. I think the ability to be persuasive is a very important quality that will help me to be more successful. I also hope to be able to better identify ethos, pathos, and logos as I read. One of my writing goals is to be better at considering counter arguments and incorporating them into my writing. That became especially important in writing my research paper. Because I had not yet chosen a stance, I had to study both sides of the issue in order to decide what argument I would make. I was able to present and refute arguments from the opposing side to strengthen my argument. Another one of my writing goals is to write about things I'm passionate about in a way that inspires contemplation in the reader. It's not often that one perso...

Some parents never allow their children to have pets. Perhaps it's because they have allergies. I can't really argue against that. But how about parents who don't let their children have pets because they think pets are too much work or are too big of a mess? To that I would say that pets can provide important opportunities for children to learn to be responsible. When my sister was growing up, she told my parents she wanted a dog. They told her she could get one on the condition that she clean up its poop in the yard, feed it, and overall take care of it. The dog would be an outdoor dog, except when the weather was bad, the dog could come into the garage through a doggy door. Similar conditions were established when my sister and I wanted to take ownership of my aunt's dog that she had to get rid of. Although she would be an indoor dog because she was small and didn't shed (she had hair instead of fur), my sister and I were jointly responsible for taking her out ...

"By Divine Design" - Elder Ronald A. Rasband In Elder Rasband's talk "By Diving Design", he persuades us to follow God and to believe in his perfect plan. Throughout the talk, we can feel Elder Rasband's love for us, which makes us more inclined to listen to his words. He says to the audience, I "feel your strength and your spirits." He furthermore appeals to pathos by emphasizing the loving character of our Heavenly Father. He said, "Each of us is precious and loved by the Lord, who cares, who whispers, and who watches over us in ways unique to each of us." Elder Rasband establishes ethos by backing up his statements with scripture, such as when he said, "The Lord is in the small details of our lives, and those incidents and opportunities are to prepare us to lift our families and others as we build the kingdom of God on earth. Remember, as the Lord said to Abraham, 'I know the end from the beginning; therefore my hand shall...

What is the value of a seed? When planted, it will grow. If neglected, it goes to naught. The fruit you'll never know. But what about a different seed Within a mother's womb? Think ye it right, its future life, to sentence to the tomb? A pregnant woman in a crash, Whose life is then cut short, Has also lost her little one, Yet recognized in court. To rob a soul the chance to live Because of carelessness, Is a truly grievous issue That we must address. Thousands of people yearn to adopt, Their hope for a child not lost. Though long be the process, They do it for love and at a high cost. The giver of life, even God himself hath not granted power to take. He's gives and he takes, the Master of all End not what the Lord doth create.

Ryan Hamilton cracks me up. I think one of the things that makes him so likable is that he's able to poke fun at himself. He starts off his bit with, "Should we start with my face? I always look like this." He invites people to laugh at himself along with him. His sense of humor reminds me of Brian Regan, who I think it hilarious. In his "Happy Face" show on Netflix, his audience is a mixed bunch of people at a show in New York. I would imagine there are probably some LDS people in the audience who were drawn to the show because they know he's LDS. The audience likely comes from a wide range of religious and social backgrounds so he has to provide clean humor that those outside of the Church will also find funny. I do think he is persuasive because he gets a lot of laughs out of his audience. He provides ethos with his LDS audience by keeping his material clean and staying true to his religion. He provides pathos by laughing at himself and making his audienc...