The Lists that Govern my Life

Yes, I used this title already for a mission email. It's called recycling. Or just reusing. So in the 54 days I've been home from my mission, I've failed at keeping my blog. Sorry. And I know. I’m being one of those annoying people that use their mission as a point of reference for any mention of time. I can’t help it. Everything has suddenly become “before my mission” or “after my mission.” Or “during my mission.” But I wrote approximately 75 emails about that 18 month adventure. All of which were far more interesting than what you are currently reading.  But things are about to kick off speed because....SCHOOL STARTS IN TWO DAYS! Thus starting "the semester right after my mission." I think we all need some kind of reference point like a mission.  And not that school is actually more exciting than a mission, but it is something. Something grand. So what is there to be excited about for school? -history classes -...

Well. It's been a while. Approximately 18 months. Because of the whole give-all-your-time-up-to-teach-people-in-Germany-about-the-restored-gospel-of-Christ-for-eighteen-months. Yeah that thing that was wonderful and arduous and sometimes terrible but mostly beautiful that changed my life forever. And so here I am in America again, trying to apply the things I thought I learned but failing miserably because maybe I learned too much or maybe I still don't really accept this whole being-a-process thing or maybe I'm just a peon. But I'm working on it. You may ask, what kinds of things are hard? Actually you probably know what kinds of things are hard in life but I thought I'd list a few more RM specific just in case. Losing motivation to talk to strangers. Which was one of my favorite and least favorite things on my mission but I got really good at it. I don't know if it's the lack of name tag or what, but it just got a lot harder to greet everyone...

Today is brought to you by the number 26.   26 days until I enter the Provo missionary training center. Where I will stay approximately 26 days (or less) before I peace out to Germany (which includes both the act of bringing peace and leaving the US behind for 18 months, which is 26 -8. In case you wanted a stimulating math problem with the solution of 18 that included the number 26 .) 26. 26. 26. I ran out of things that are 26 after the first item (as you undoubtedly noticed), but it should nevertheless satisfy the average human's need for the number 26.  I am so excited. So excited that I tried desperately to somehow connect this blog post with the number of days I have left as a normal human being before I turn my life over to God for a while. I did a tolerable job.  I'm spending the week in Indiana with grandparents and other estranged relations. Except minus the estranged part. Though sometimes strange. Anyways, it's grand and I appreciate t...

So during the month of December, I make frequent references to Christmas miracles. At least once every couple of days, I exclaim, "IT'S A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE!" And even when the Christmas season is far past, I still suggest that all miracles are Christmas in nature. So here are some recent Christmas miracles in my life. I got all A's except for one A- this semester, which ensures a full tuition scholarship for when I come back from my mission. This is a miracle because I scored just short of what I thought I needed on my finals to get A's. The extra Christmas spirit lingering in the air must have bumped them up. My family got to be together on Christmas this year. For the first time in the three years. And for the last time in four years due to my mission and my little brother's. But we got to be together this year and it was marvelous. Logan missed out on the picture, but he was still there:) I am going to Germany in 39 days. If ever a Christmas miracle ha...

In case you forgot, I'm going to Germany in just over three months to serve an 18 month mission for my church. Sometimes I forget that too. And by that, I mean I never forget that fact of my life. Ever. Like Ever. However, my thought process is not "What should I eat for breakfast? BERLIN!" or "How long will it take me to write an 8 page paper? BERLIN!" I do not answer every question with Berlin and if I did, it probably wouldn't be in all caps all the time. That just sounds exhuasting.  My thoughts go more like this: "What Berlin should Berlin I Berlin eat Berlin for Berlin dinner?" and "I Berlin did Berlin really Berlin well Berlin on Berlin that Berlin test."   Life at BYU has become joint with upcoming life in north-eastern Germany. You probably Berlin think that's really distracting and are wondering how I'm focusing on anything else. Like school. And the 48 pages due in my German class next week. I will t...

It’s that time of year; the time for neighbors to become enemies and soccer moms to become a little more vicious. Time for political bumper stickers, rants against the current president of the United States on Facebook, and promises no one intends to keep. It’s presidential election time. And mission call time. But I’ll hold off on that for a couple weeks. TBA. Back to the presidential election. If you’re ever interested in running for office (why you would want to be a politician I’ll never understand), definitely keep reading, for I have all the secrets for obtaining and maintaining office. These lessons come from a study of US history as well as ads I've seen or heard. Special thanks to my US History professor, Mathew Madsen, for his excellent lectures and political advice. He’s definitely been my favorite professor this semester and would be an excellent coach for anyone interested in getting elected. In the 1830s. So here it is. ·      ...

Preface: As a freshmen mentor, I go to my students’ class about once a week. This week, I picked a great day to attend. Not just because the professor (who is brilliant) gave everyone a square of Amano chocolate, but because I had a fantastic talk with life during the class too (not aloud of course; I’ve learned my lesson there). Anyways, my students are working on a “Great Works” response, which is a reaction to some great piece of art, literature, or drama, but they didn’t really understand how to do that. So what is the solution to this misunderstanding? Eating chocolate! Correction: Tasting chocolate. Which is completely different. If you don’t know the difference right now, you’ll soon know. Chocolate tasting is an art like wine tasting; it takes considerable effort, time, and precision to make valid judgments. The students read a chocolate tasting guide (found at https://www.amanochocolate.com/articles/tasting-guide.html ) and then their professor gave everyone a piece...