Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Starting a Conversation

For this post, take as your prompt one of the earlier posts on someone else's blog. Find something that sparks your interest or imagination, and respond to what your classmate has said.

12 comments:

  1. So I chose one of Tandy's posts. Her post is as follows:

    "Well if I were to invite anyone I wanted to dinner I would choose any eligable bachelor who is deceased and preferable a rich pirate. Let me expound on why; he would be very entertaining with his arghs and eye patch, but most importantly he would look extremely similary to Orlando Bloom or Johnny Depp. Then with my amazing cooking skills I would win his heart with my juicy steak and potatoes and then he would confess where he buried his large fortune of pirate money. Then I would convert him to the church and we would live happily every after, (except he is dead)."

    Not only do I agree, but I would do almost anything to have that dinner! I have a strange love for pirates, especially Orlando Bloom and Johnny Depp. I have always loved the Pirates of the Caribbean movies! I also totally agree on the type of meal that Tandy has chosen. There is no better way to win a man's heart than through his stomach. The meal that Tandy describes not only sounds delicious, but sounds perfect for a pirate! Finding riches and converting him to the church would be the perfect way to end that perfect dinner! I've never heard of a better happily ever after!

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  2. This is something that Erin posted a few weeks ago that I thought was very interesting:

    The one thing that I love to study the most is the human body. I have studied it since sophomore year in high school and love it! I love the concept that our Heavenly Father has created such a complex, intriguing figure. Everything flows so well together and all of the processes that occur in your body all flow together, letting you live. I love seeing and learning how each part of your body works as a separate system, yet it still needs everything else in your body in order for you to survive. I also find it interesting that within each organ, and even each tiny cell, there are so many processes going on. The human body is one testimony to me that we have a Heavenly Father. How else could there be such a perfect, yet complex being?

    I could not agree more with this post! As difficulat and complex as studying the human body can be sometimes, it absolutely amazes me what a beautiful creation it is. On numerous occasions I have wondered how our Heavenly Father could be so smart that he could create something so intimate and deatailed. Not only our physical beings, but our emotional and mental capabilities as well. It is astounding! For example, a few weeks ago in my Organic chemistry class we were talking about stereoisomers. Stereoisomers are when you have a single type of molecule that can by structured many different ways. Each stereoisomer is the same molecule, it just is a different "shape." Our teacher told us that there are over 250 types of cholesterol molecules that can be created. Out of all of those, our bodies recognize and accept only one. Talk about amazing!

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  3. Last week, Britney wrote this:
    "I would say that one of the pieces of writing that has impacted me most is my journal. This may sound a little bit out of the ordinary, but I truly have gained more from writing in and reading through my old journals than anything else. One of the reasons for this is I find that when I write my feelings and experiences down, when I read them later I learn even more from them than I did when I was initially experiencing them. Rereading old journal entries can also fill me with love and gratitude as I gain a greater appreciation for everything that my Heavenly Father and Savior have done for me. Lastly, I am an extremely forgetful person. If I dont write something down than it doesn't take long for me to forget it forever. If it weren't for my journals, I would probably have only half as many good memories as I do now!"

    I absolutely love writing in and reading from my journal. I really liked that she (and Autumn as well) went a little out of the box and brought up their journal as a piece of writing that has impacted their lives. Some days writing in my journal is just a way for me to get all of my thoughts out so I can sleep, and most days it's just habit, but I know that I am so grateful when I have a consistent journal. Along with my own journal, over winter break, I had the opportunity to read passages from my grandmother's journal. Reading from her journal reminded me that writing down my testimony often is so important.

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  4. Okay so one of Brittany's posts about what her favorite book being her journal is the one I chose. I have only written a little bit in my journal the past years and most of it is either ridiculousness about getting a puppy, or complaining. I'm pretty sure that anyone that reads my journal in the future will think it is just a very sad handwritten book where the main character goes on one too many awkward dates or only writes on her birthday. Maybe after reading my own journal I will realize that I should start writing one for real. A journal should probably be something that you would want your children or grandchildren to know about you.

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  5. @ Steven Harolds post a few weeks ago
    "I'm pretty good at finding awesome deals for just about anything you might want to buy. I search internet stores a lot and have come up with some of my own search techniques to find the best deals out there. I get the large majority of the things I want that cost more than a few bucks for half off or more"

    This is so legit! There's not a better feeling that getting a "good deal." Not just something "on sale" or "clearance and yet it's still 1,000,000 dollar, but a real good deal. Whether it's a new pair of kicks, an electronic device, or even food. You bet I get the adds at my house every week, search them out, and head to the grocery store. ALthough, some of these stores that price food so low is for a reason, the foods terrible. So, I'll take the ads to man's best friend, AKA Wal-Mart and we all know they price match. So usually you get quality food and even cheaper than Wal-mart prices. I also find stuff I like in stores, etc and always head to the internet and find it for wayyyyyy cheaper 95% of the time. It's all about taking the time to find the good deal.

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  6. A couple of weeks ago Rhett posted about "The Message," a book he had read.

    He said:
    There was a book that kind of just fell into my hands that I began to read just because. After I started reading I, quite literally, could not put it down unless it was absolutely necessary that I put it down. It only took about two days to finish. The book was called "The Message". Long story short it's the first hand account of a man who fell into a coma and his spirit left his body and moved to the other side. During his time spent there he met many of the people who had died before him. They taught him about the importance of families and the potential future of America and what could happen if things don't change. The book puts special emphasis on the one principle that, if all people were to enact, could literally change the world: service. I actually read this book while I was serving my mission in New York only a few months ago, and of course that amplified the message of the book. It was only a few weeks after I read the book that Hurricane Sandy hit the east coast; and we, as a mission, decided to take off the ties roll up our sleeves and get to work serving people, doing for them what they couldn't do themselves. This was probably the greatest experience of not only my entire mission but of my entire life. Dropping everything and spending five weeks straight of just going out and serving people all day every day. It was then that the message of "The Message" really got to me and I learned from firsthand experience that if you want to be happy, serve others.

    First off, I would like to say that this sounds like a very interesting book to read. Not having read the book though, I still agree that a great way to be happy is to serve others. I had some experience with this a couple of years ago, because, being from Massachusetts, I not only was there for Hurricane Irene, which came by in 2011, but also the tornadoes that came through that same summer. The tornadoes touched down in my stake, and didn't effect any other stake very badly. However, because my stake had most of the damage, we were in charge of helping out, and we could go to non-members' houses in order to help them, and I had a lot of opportunities to carry various sections of trees in complete strangers' yards. However, I don't remember any pain, toil, or mumbling from that summer. However, what I do remember is giving my saturdays to complete strangers who really needed help with things that they couldn't do themselves, and working along side some great friends who I got to know better. That summer counts as one of my favorite summers so far.

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  7. When we were asked to talk about some literature that inspires us Britney reported that hers was her journal. When I read that it reminded me of my mission because I was able to write an entry every single day of my mission and I really came to appreciate the use of a journal in our own personal lives. Just like Britney I feel that I can learn even more from some of my own entries as I go back read and reflect upon what I was feeling at that time and how it still has an impact on who I am today. My writing in my journal may not be the most eloquent or flowery, but nonetheless it is something that is very personal and precious to me. This is my life story, a story that absolutely no one else in the entire universe shares, it is uniquely me. Specifically in my mission journal I can go back and find so many different feelings: happiness, joy, frustration, love. In each of those experiences I have learned, and refecting on them again allow me to continue to learn Because I took the time to write these experiences down I will never have to lose them

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  8. I liked Luke's comment on the "Out of the Best Books" blog post.

    he said the following:

    Well other than my o chem book, I haven't had a whole lot of spare time to pop open a book and sit down for a nice read. But, when I was a young lad, I did enjoy reading quite a bit and this may sound ridiculous, but some books that impacted me were the Harry Potter series. Loved those books. Its not like they transformed my spiritual life or motivated me to be a better person or anything like that. But they impacted my life because they were the first books that really stimulated a love of reading in me. I didn't particularly care for reading up to that point but as soon as I read those, I LOVED to read. And probably because of that, I read many many other books that have impacted my life as well. They kindled a fire inside. Which lead me to read other books and enjoy reading.

    I think he gives a great point about how literature can be beneficial. Though it may not influence someone's life directly, it can spark their interest in learning. I know that I had a similar feeling about reading not too long ago. I really didn't like reading much at all. Then I red the Hobbit for our high school-wide reading program. My mother had red it to me before, but I didn't understand the book very well until after I red it for myself. I loved it! Though the book doesn't really have much that is directly applicable to our lives, it sparked my interest in reading. Like Luke, not only was the book fun to read, but it gave me a desire to read more. I can relate to what Luke was talking about.

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  9. Luke said this:
    Well other than my o chem book, I haven't had a whole lot of spare time to pop open a book and sit down for a nice read. But, when I was a young lad, I did enjoy reading quite a bit and this may sound ridiculous, but some books that impacted me were the Harry Potter series. Loved those books. Its not like they transformed my spiritual life or motivated me to be a better person or anything like that. But they impacted my life because they were the first books that really stimulated a love of reading in me. I didn't particularly care for reading up to that point but as soon as I read those, I LOVED to read. And probably because of that, I read many many other books that have impacted my life as well. They kindled a fire inside. Which lead me to read other books and enjoy reading.

    I remember reading the Harry Potter books when I was in elementary school and that they wouldn't let people read them out of order, though I ended up reading the second one first. The books get people to read and that is respectable, but I think another reason why they are still prevalent is because of all the symbolism that can be found in them, whether J.K. Rowling intended it or not. We brought Harry Potter up in 11th grade English class and it was fascinating how one could explain archetypes and even Christ figures with the book. Even though it's more of a popular fantasy fiction series, it has a lot more to it. I agree that it does get people to read and to enjoy reading, but hopefully those people start to learn more and read deeper as time goes on to see how much can be learned from simple stories.

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  10. I'm going to mention Spencer's post from "Out of the Best Books"
    "Well, I'm going to mention poetry that has impacted my life. It has caused a flame of determination to rise up inside of me whenever I recollect upon its contents. It's called The Race, and it's by D. H. Groberg. It was about a man that was staring failure in the face and was receiving criticism from others where they were telling him to quit, but the man remembered a race where he kept messing up and falling. He would remember his dad's face and words that came to mind during that race and be filled with renewed determination to "get up and win the race" though winning meant rising from each time he fell. I'm a runner, so the pathos of Groberg's work is extremely effective for me."

    I also love this poem. I'm one of those people that gives up very easily. If something gets hard for me, I generally just give up and try something new. Probably because I'm a very lazy person. So, I try to keep a lot of quotes like this around to help me when I really don't want to do my homework, or exercise, or something like that. when I read it, I think, 'if he could do it, then I can too.' and I'll have renewed strength to do whatever it is I have to do.
    Also, as a side note, I love how poetry is so rememberable. I think its so much easier to remember a poem during a hard time than to even remember some scriptures. I still remember when my grandpa died, and one of the things that pulled me through it was reciting John Donne's poem "Death, Be Not Proud" to myself again and again.Especially the last line: "One short sleep past, we wake eternally / And death shall be no more. Death, thou shalt die."

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  11. Blog Post by Luke Taylor:
    Well other than my o chem book, I haven't had a whole lot of spare time to pop open a book and sit down for a nice read. But, when I was a young lad, I did enjoy reading quite a bit and this may sound ridiculous, but some books that impacted me were the Harry Potter series. Loved those books. Its not like they transformed my spiritual life or motivated me to be a better person or anything like that. But they impacted my life because they were the first books that really stimulated a love of reading in me. I didn't particularly care for reading up to that point but as soon as I read those, I LOVED to read. And probably because of that, I read many many other books that have impacted my life as well. They kindled a fire inside. Which lead me to read other books and enjoy reading.

    I have always enjoyed reading, mainly the Sci-Fi and Fantasy genres, yet, that was not always the case. Just as you have a point at which you started to enjoy reading in general - I distinctly remember the point at which I really started to enjoy the two genres I mentioned previously. As I said before, I had always enjoyed reading, and my ability to read was often of a higher level than those in my same grade. So, when I was in fourth grade, my teacher told me that she had a book that I should read. She took me down to the High School/Middle School library, and pulled out a book. It was called Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card.
    If you have never read the book, you are REALLY missing out. Go read it. Now. I greatly enjoyed the book, and it really sparked my imagination. I have read the book at least five or six times since, and I can't say that I would be the same person if I had never read it.

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  12. Okay, so I am responding to Ashlyn's "area of expertise" just because I completely agree!! She talks about how characters are portrayed through their clothing. I must agree that what people wear puts an immediate description and thought to a face; not saying its a bad thing; just true. How people wear clothes and what colors they wear symbolize their emotions. When people change their style, others around them start to wonder why, and that is because they way you dress yourself defines who you are and can make you unique.


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