Altruism

I was recently interviewed by a friend of mine, about altruism and brutality in human nature and behavior. My initial reaction was to say that although everyone does contain both altruistic and brutal tendencies, generally the altruistic side in people will outweigh the brutal side. Everyone contains the light of Christ, regardless of religion, background, or circumstance, and because of this light of Christ, people will have a natural inclination to do good. This has been confirmed to me in my life as I have noticed and been a recipient of the good and kind deeds of other people.
No victory in war, however, is complete. There is still the natural man within us all to contend with on a daily basis. This natural man is what can bring out the brutal nature, and this too plays out in varying degrees in everyone's lives. As I was reading my scriptures the other night I came across this scripture in Helaman 12:4, which reads, "O how foolish, and how vain, and how evil, and devilish, and how quick to do iniquity, and how slow to do good, are the children of men." This really struck me, because this completely contradicted my claim that people would be more inclined to be good than bad. If people are so slow to do good, and so evil and vain, then what causes people to do good in their lives? What is the determining factor in whether altruism or brutalism, good or bad, becomes dominant in someone's life? 
Is it simply the pressures of society that determine our actions? Religion? Family? Is it even possible for someone to be totally altruistic or totally brutal? The more I thought about it the more I realized that the two ideas are nearly impossible to separate. Take Les Miserables for example. Stealing bread = bad. Feed Starving Family = good. Defending Country = good. Killing people = bad. Lying to daughter = bad. Protecting daughter from dangerous past = good. It is almost impossible to do anything that is completely altruistic, and more often than not people that do even the most brutal acts see the effects of those acts as good. 
I do not know which is more natural to people; altruism or brutalism. I know that both have an effect. I know that both live in me. But I also know that I have agency. I have the power to choose which side I try to emphasize, although I may not be able to control all of the outcomes of my decisions. Perhaps this is what life is all about - living as altruistically as we can, recognizing when our actions bring negative consequences to others, and maybe someday through a process of elimination we will one day find ways in which we can be altruistic. 

Grammar

I never paid much attention to English grammar until I sat through a PSAT prep class. Before that, I would would just memorize a few rules and say the sentences out loud to hear if they sounded correct. I would say and write things like "everyone has their own book" and "the council made their decision" not realizing that it was wrong. the class taught me that "everyone" is singular while "their" is plural, thus the noun and verb didn't fit. Also, that when a group of people act as one, they are considered singular. This may seem like a basic grammar lesson, but it helped me understand the nature of the Godhead better.

I've always believed that the Godhead is made up of three separate beings, after all, Joseph Smith saw the Son standing on the right side of the Father. But some scriptures are worded funny and talks about them being one in a way that can be interpreted as being one being. I knew alternate explications, but it was still hard to reconcile the scriptures in my mind. Then I learned about the grammar rule that a group acting as a single entity is singular and all the doctrine clicked in my head: God is not God are. They are singular because they act as one so the Godhead can be referred to as He.

Grammar is important; it's there so meaning is clear. Note "Let's eat, grandma" verses "Let's eat grandma". The meaning completely changes. But, grammar should not be an obstacle rather than the map it is meant to be. That's partly why I hate capitalization rules. If it's the name of some one or something important, why shouldn't be capitalized? Why should the categories that some dead guys declared were "proper" be the only things that are capitalized besides for the first word of the sentence? Many nouns are proper in some cases and not in others.

A classmate of mine once asked me if God should be capitalized. I told him that it depended on what God was referring to. Was he writing about the God of Israel whom many people believe in; or was he writing about an idol, one of many images that some people believe or believed are divine? Capitalization in this situation is a tool that shows respect. That's how I think of capitalization: a way to show that something or someone is important and worthy of being considered proper.

Grammar, I've found, is a window to understanding. Without it, words would be useless. If language is music, words are notes and grammar is theory and suture, but sometimes for the stake of making a point, traditional theory isn't used. I will always remember a Churchill quote: "Grammar is something we must up with put".

Universal Application of Internal Controls

Internal controls are accounting procedures or systems that are designed to assure the implementation of a policy or to remove the opportunity for fraud. An example of an internal control is the way tithing is processed in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The rule is, tithing can only be handed to a member of the bishopric and that tithing must be counted and recorded by two members of the bishopric or the ward clerk. The controls limit the opportunity (temptation) for fraud.

Consider the principle behind internal controls: with reduced opportunity to make a bad decision, the probability of making a bad decision decreases. This sounds a lot like the idea of fleeing temptation. Think how modesty on at least some level is designed to reduce the probability of bad decisions. Think of the other counsel from church leaders on how to avoid temptation. The principle is widely-used.

I've found that reducing opportunities for me to make bad choices has helped me considerably in choosing the right. For example, I know that I have a tendency to spend too much money--more than I have sometimes--but I know that if I have no access to money, I can't spend it. I've found that just leaving my credit and debit cards out of my wallet, I spend less money. It's that simple, but it works.

The principles behind internal controls can be applied to aid in preventing bad choices. Identifying the factors that contribute to bad choices and then reducing them with rules or controls works.

Looking for a "Burning Bush"

This weekend I had the opportunity to attend Stake Conference. Although it was different from what I am accustomed to (I have never had to sit in bleachers during Stake Conference), the spirt that was there was the same that I have felt at previous church events. During the Saturday session, Brother Rasband, our Stake President spoke about testimonies. His comments not only made me think about my own testimony, but also about other aspects of my life.

Brother Rasband started his talk by sharing an experience he had at the Missionary Training Center. During fast and testimony meeting, many of the missionaries were getting up and explaining the moment or experience they had that resulted in them having a testimony. My Stake President was worried because he could not remember a moment in his life where he went from not having a testimony to having one. He believed in the teachings of the church, and believed in God and Jesus Christ, but had not had an enlightening experience that he could point to as where his testimony started. Brother Rasband then told us that although there are people that have special experiences, most of us don't, and that is perfectly okay. He told us that a testimony is not an event, and rather a process. As members of the church we should not look for the "burning bush" but should be aware of all the small blessings that come from keeping the commandments. Those blessings are how we know that the "seed" of the gospel is good and true.

After pondering about his talk, I realized that there are other things in life that occur in this same way. Knowledge does not come all at once. There is not one moment in your life that you can point to where you suddenly became knowledgable. Remembering this has helped me in my classes when I do not understand a concept right away. I know that learning is a process and does not happen in an instant.

Decisions, decisions.

There is a process we go through while making important decisions. Many of us, usually during the beginning of our freshman year, feel overwhelmed and unable to make our own choices. I honestly used to want my parents to just figure out my life for me; I didn’t want to take on such a big responsibility. Throughout this semester, I have felt a greater power and capability to make wise choices; I have discovered this power through my Career Explorations class and through every choice I’ve had to make as a new college student.

I have come to know myself better, which has helped me trust my own reasoning. Our Career Exp. class has been taught that values and priorities shape every decision, large and small. A guideline for making large decisions (like deciding on a career and/or major) is the identifying of hobbies, talents, and values, and then combining these aspects to create a life plan that will bring satisfaction and enjoyment. I have also learned to live with uncertainty. Although I am closer to realizing what I want out of life, I can see that there is no absolute “right” to every choice. I have learned not to worry too much about the decisions that I don’t need to make right now. I can plan for the future, but trust that things will become clear along the way.

Filters

                In high school, my art teacher had many sayings that were repeated so often that anyone in the class could say them back to you.  “Don’t be afraid of the dark” and, “Whose dogma did I run over with my karma” were two of those phrases.  Another was “Draw what you see, not what you think you see.”  It’s that last phrase that got me thinking.  By nature, people are limited.  It’s impossible for us to devote our full attention to more than one thing at any given moment, and there’s only so much that we can handle at once.  This limitation makes it necessary for us to prioritize.  We pick what’s most important and filter the rest of it out. 

                In psychology, we learned that this filtering and our perceptions of our environment is part of what makes us who we are.  Our environment helps to shape us, but because we can only focus on so much of it, we choose what parts of it will shape us.  In art, the filtering is usually a bad thing.  When my teacher told us to draw what we see, she was warning us against the common mistake of drawing what we think might be in front of us, rather than what is really there.  When you start to see what you want to, you lose the accuracy of the drawing.  In life, that filtering can also be good or bad.  Some people use it to filter out any good experiences.  They exaggerate the bad until it crowds out the positive parts.  That can also be flipped so that we are more aware of the good things.  The positive environment that we see can then help shape us to be more positive, happy people.   

The Words are too Much with Us

Last night, the kid in the room next to mine asked for help with a paper he was writing. We’ll call him Jim. I don’t claim to be particularly gifted, but I like writing, so I was happy to do it. He said he needed a hook, and I was coming up dry. What I came to was that he should use a quote—presently, however, someone else, who we’ll call John, from down the hall burst in, asking, “You still need a hook?”

John proceeded to provide Jim with creative and entertaining first and second sentences, talking all the while about how much he loved writing. It struck me, then, that I loved writing, too—and I’m certainly capable of a little creativity; I’ve used it before in papers. Why, then, did it not occur to me? Shortly after, I glanced over the draft of my rhetorical analysis and, with this new outlook, clicked my tongue in disappointment.

I’m not sure if it’s the scholarly essays I’ve been reading for various classes or just the Jane Schaffer Method, still stuck in my head from high school, but writing papers has become a chore, something I do mechanically (and, as a result, comparatively poorly). I have stopped applying my love for writing to the writing I do.

So, that’s a depressing revelation. I’m grateful for it, though, because it gives me the chance to denaturalize the way I write and consider it a bit more objectively. I do not for a moment wish to advocate turning a formal paper into a dog-and-pony show. I am disgusted with flamboyancy as much as I am with rigid formulaic-ism. It is quite possible, however, to achieve the ends of one’s paper and make the ride a pleasant experience for the reader. It just takes either a lot of skill or a sincere love for writing—both would be better, but an analysis of the comparative value of each, both separately and compositely is the subject of an extended investigation, which shall not now be imposed upon anyone.

BYU Spectacular: Where Cultures Gather

About a week ago, I had the opportunity to sing with the Men's Chorus in one of the most amazing experiences of my life (The BYU Homecoming "Spectacular" does indeed live up to its name). During the event, I had the opportunity to watch many different performances from individuals with many different backgrounds and cultures. The Living Legends group performed a colorful island ritual, and the Folk Dance team performed an energetic dance from Northeastern Europe. All the while, the Young Ambassadors represented purely American culture with songs hailing from the 50's and 60's.

These incredible productions caused me to think about how international the idea of opportunity is. It's corny, I know, but the idea is still intriguing. We have fought wars, crossed boarders, and compromised in the name of "opportunity." In fact, I believe that there is no other idea more applicable to transnationalism than "opportunity." It is such a strong ideal.

In Maslow's hierarchy of needs, he explains that Human beings will first desire the essentials (food, air, water, intimacy, etc) to survive. The very next thing that human beings need is a feeling of security: specifically, a need to be on solid ground. Thousands of people, all seeking the opportunity to have that security came to America, and we are so diverse in our culture today because of it.

It is interesting to see how the transnationalism of ideas was so influential on who we became as a nation.

History in the Making

After we had finished doing the advertisement analysis, I realized the comparisons between what we did there, and what we are doing in my Honors Civilization Music 201 class. In that class we discuss the different ways that the art reflected the culture of the time, and so we can see the ways that cultures developed just by looking at their art. Even if we didn’t have any papers about their history, we could make educated guesses. When I was looking at my ad, I realized that it had a lot to show about our culture in the picture. The person in the picture was holding a soda can, which a lot of people like to drink today. It also shows people sitting out in the sun on a blanket, which is what also a lot of people like to do. Anyway, as I was looking at the ad, I made the connection that just as I am staring at ancient art and learning more about those people, today we are making ancient history for people in the future. All of the art that we have could be indicative of the artist and the people who admired it. I realized that what I am learning about in my ancient civilization art class can also be applied into modern day art. It is the same way with all of our music, and ancient music, and photographs, and ancient portraits. Everything around us can be useful to some historian centuries down the road.

Jamey Jones

Understanding with Your Heart

As I was reading in 2 Nephi, chapter 16:10, it says, "understand with their ^bheart, and be converted and be healed."

This verse hit me hard as I had been struggling with some of my classes. What did this mean? how are we to understand with our hearts? Is that not what our brains are for? I pondered and asked these questions in my head. I wondered the difference between understanding with my mind, and understanding with my heart. Then I realized something; all this time I had been trying to learn with just my brain, relying on what we might call the "natural man" or I guess in my case, "woman", instead of relying on the Holy Ghost to teach me. I couldn't understand why I was doing so poorly in some of my classes, even though I was giving them full effort. It was because I was trying to understand the teachings of those classes with my head instead of my heart, when I should have been using both. As I began to study for my classes the next day, I found it easier to focus. I felt the Holy Ghost guiding me and I also found studying for these classes even enjoyable. Now you might ask: so what's the difference? The difference is that I've opened up my mind and I let the Lord open up my heart. It's as if I am learning through different "spiritual" eyes and I can see not only from my own perspective, but from the Lord's perspective as well. The difference is that I began to understand with my heart.

Sunk Costs

"Life's like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get." simple words of truth, one never knows what life will give to her. She can make plans and pay fees, but in the end, some other input has at least some control and sometimes makes those plans go "poof" (though the costs rarely do). Even so, as any economist knows, sunk costs are irrelevant. One can only decide what he or she will do in the future and he or she should forget what he or she paid in the past. Milk spills, all well. As disappointing as somethings are, life goes on and the best one can do is prepare to make the future the best it can be. Regret serves one rational and good purpose: to keep one from making the same mistake. Whether its losing a night of sleep, feeling sick on the night of an expensive show, buying a nick-knack that gathers dust will all it's friends, committing a sin, or being wronged, one must move forward because there's no room for redemption in the past. Now is the time to make the best use of all that is available; now is the time to repent and leave the sin in the past. Man's best laid plans go astray, it happens sometimes, deal with it and grow from it. There is joy in the journey, one only has to look a little closer to find it.

Broken Hearts and Helping hands

Year after year we hear of natural disasters, travesties of human nature, and destruction of morals. Year after year millions of people die, lose their homes, and are seen as less than others. This is only half of the story, the other half consists of thousands upon thousands of people who realize this and do there best to help. This past year Japan was hit by a tsunami that destroyed lots of homes and lives. Organizations all over the world sent in help, in the form of food, re-building crews, and medical attention. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints was one of the first organizations to organize and launch a service program. In the world today there are many crying wolf of the "atrocities" and horrible happenings. Yet there are tons of people out there helping others.

Isn't Accountability Motivating?

Why is it so much easier to stick with a fitness routine if you have a workout partner? Where do we get the fortitude to stay up all night finishing a paper right before a deadline? Why is it scarier to publicly commit to doing some difficult thing than it is to commit to it privately? The answers to these questions help us understand the power of accountability.

Accountability is a sense of responsibility to someone or for some activity. I felt accountable as a missionary for the time and opportunities I was allotted during my two-year service. I knew I would some day stand before God and accept full responsibility for what I did with what He'd given me. I also felt accountable to my mission leaders who received a report of my activity every week. The sense of accountability helped me always do my best.

I've noticed the power of accountability again in school, particularly in the deadlines and grading inherent with every course. There's a cost for poor performance so the motivation to perform increases. It's one of the most important facets of education.

I've studied and employed goal-setting ideas for over 6 years now with varied success. With a deepening understanding of the principle of accountability, I've recently recognized how often I'd left out some means of holding myself accountable to another person in past attempts at self-improvement. For my current goals, I've added a way to involve others in holding me accountable and it's given me a greater sense of responsibility. The power of accountability is once again proving true and powerful for me.

Relying on the Power of the Holy Ghost

In my Mission Preparation class we are studying how to teach by the Spirit. My teacher has continued to emphasize to us that we aren't going to teach investigators, the Holy Ghost will teach the investigators. Our sole job as a missionary our only purpose is to serve them and then to invite the Spirit to teach them. We must be living worthily and have an attitude of humility in order to teach with the Holy Ghost. For it is by the Holy Ghost that the investigators may know the truth of all things. I had heard this before in Sunday school but I had never deeply internalized it and fully realized the implications of this concept. I have always thought of myself as an eloquent speaker with an ability to articulate in a skilled manner. Thus I assumed that because of these skills I would be a great missionary. But now I see the folly of this thought. Based on my intellect, abilities, and articulation alone I will never be an effective missionary. However, based on my humility and worthiness to invite the Spirit as I teach with the Holy Ghost, I will be a powerful missionary. This epiphany of mine was further confirmed by a Conference talk in which the speaker gave the analogy of his daughter holding onto his back pocket in order to climb up a mountain. I know that as I learn to trust in the Lord and rely on the Holy Ghost rather than my own intellect, I will be able to climb the mountain of being a powerful missionary and an instrument in the hands of the Lord.

Necessity

A few weeks ago, I was waiting in a very, very long line.  As often happens when one is waiting, I started talking with the person in front of me.  The usual college introductions came up:  what’s your name, where are you from, what are you majoring in, etc.  When my reply to the last question was “illustration,” she gave the usual response.  She smiled and told me, “Oh, that sounds fun.”

While art is something that I enjoy, I sometimes get tired of people looking at art as the “fun” majors.  It often seems as if people just brush art majors to the side as the ones that just get to doodle for the whole class.  Many artists even tell of people asking them, “When are you going to get a real job?”

What people don’t realize is that art is everywhere, and that it is necessary.  People did art even before the first civilization.  When civilization did begin, art was incredibly important.  In fact, most of what we know of many ancient cultures comes from the art that they left behind.  Even today, we need it more than we realize.  In a speech to the Boston Conservatory, Karl Paulnack told a story about the concentration camps in Nazi Germany.  He says that the people there had “barely enough energy on a good day to find food and water, to avoid a beating, to stay warm, to escape torture.”  Despite all of that, they still made art.  Even those who were deprived of the basic needs of survival felt the urge to create music, poetry, and visual arts.

So is art fun? Yes.  Trivial? No.  Unimportant?  Definitely not.

A Global Church

At the Saturday morning session of General Conference, President Thomas S. Monson announced that six new temples would be built. The locations of the temples are France, Columbia, Wyoming, South Africa, The Democratic Republic of Congo, and last but not least, our very own Provo, Utah. With 135 operating temples in the world today, and 31 either announced or under construction, the globalization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is remarkable. With more than 14 million members worldwide, it is hard to fathom that the religion was founded less than 200 years ago.

It states in Doctrine and Covenants Chapter 1:11, “Wherefore the voice of the Lord is unto the ends of the earth, that all that will hear may hear.” This scripture is becoming a reality, especially with the invention of the Internet. It is now possible for people all around the World to watch General Conference on the Internet. When I traveled to Fiji a few years ago, I was able to do baptisms for the dead in the Suva, Fiji temple. I was amazed that such a small island would have enough members of the church to support a temple. It is truly a miracle to be alive in a time when the gospel will reach every corner of the Earth.

Beauty

The tiny forget-me-not flowers under the watchful eye of President Uchtdorf.
The magnificent stars that seem to shine brightest in the early hours of the morning.
Humility.
The artist delicately adding strokes to their painting.
The girl wearing a new outfit that breaks out of the norm.
Expression.
The clouds that bring both shade and rain.
The sound of rain on the roof, barely audible as you fall asleep.
Perspective.
The guy rockin' out to the music in his headphones as he walks by himself.
The person that goes out of their way to give a compliment.
Confidence.
The moment you truly understand how concepts link.
The feeling you get when you finish reading a good book.
Knowledge.
The times when you rely wholly on others for support.
The moment you know that everything will turn out right.
Trust.
A good conversation with someone you've never met before.
A reuinon with an old friend.
Relationships.
The joy when a baby is born.
The sorrow when a loved one dies.
Life.
Is.
Beautiful.

On the Enhancement of Cognitive Aptitude by Decreasing Velocity

I went for a walk recently. I was anxious over my imminent mission call. The time had come for bed, but I was not particularly interested in attempting to stop my runaway freight train of thought, which I supposed might lead to injury. So, I figured I’d walk until the train ran out of fuel (as they inevitably do). When I was younger, my family lived in Orem, and I had a vague idea of where the old house might be in relation to BYU. Thus it happened that, at 11:00 p.m., I set off down University Parkway in search of my childhood home.

To make a long story short, I found it and was in bed by 2:30 in the morning. What I learned was interesting. Previously, the territory I covered had been unfamiliar. I recognized a few landmarks (like the University Mall and Scera Park), but for most of the time, I was feeling my way around based on a general sense of direction. That struck me as odd, because I had certainly covered the ground before, many times—then the reason occurred to me. Prior to my midnight perambulations, I had only covered that distance by car at speeds no less than 25 miles per hour. Now, I could describe most of the way to you in detail, and would certainly recognize it if I saw it, and all it took was one walk.

I guess the human mind (at least mine) doesn’t process very well at 25 miles per hour or more. I also noticed that I never really felt lost as I walked, even though I didn’t know exactly where I was going. On the other hand, I am easily lost when going somewhere unfamiliar in a car.

Needless to say, I felt much better after my walk. I might paraphrase Henry David Thoreau’s, “Simplify. Simplify,” by saying that it’s nice to slow down to walking speed every once in a while. It seems as though life only accelerates, so I when I get the chance to walk, I take it.

When I Want to Make Tandoori Chicken

I love to cook, and I get virtually all of my ingredients at the BYU Creamery. It is fascinating (and somewhat frustrating) to see what is stocked there, especially when I am looking for international food. Overall, the Creamery is pretty good at providing international foods. They have Italian foods covered, most Mexican ingredients are easy to come by, and they even sell some Asian things. For example, I never would have guessed that they would sell kimchi, Korean spicy marinated vegetables, right next to the Pillsbury cinnamon rolls. I have also been pleasantly surprised to find coconut milk, a staple in Indian, Thai, and Southeast Asian cooking. However, when it comes to spices, the Creamery is woefully inadequate. Sure, it sells common things like cinnamon and black pepper, but spices like coriander, cumin, and turmeric are not stocked. This makes it very hard to make Indian, Mexican, and Thai food from scratch.

Granted, most college students don’t cook much from scratch. The Creamery stocks what people will buy. Apparently, BYU students buy kimchi, and apparently, BYU students don’t use coconut milk in tandem with other Indian ingredients. So what will I do for the rest of the ingredients for tonight’s dinner? I guess I’ll bike to Wal-mart.

Science

It
is actually rather fascinating seeing all of the different ways that the
sciences overlap one another. For
example, I am taking Biology 100 and Psychology 111 right now. In both classes, we have talked about the
same sodium ion channel within cells, although for different reasons. It was applicable in Bio because we were
talking about enzymes that can correctly bond with certain elements and that
can only bond with that specific chemical, and that the channel serves the purpose of keeping other undesirable chemicals out.
However, in Psychology we talked about it because that is how neurons
fire within the brain. The neuron
receives a stimulus and then lets in a lot of sodium ions to send the signal
down the neuron and into the next neuron.
That is how the brain communicates throughout the entire body, and how
the body sends messages to the brain. I
thought that it was impressive how often the sciences all overlap, no matter
how far apart they might seem, just as psychology and biology might seem. Although that is actually what scientists are
trying to do. They are trying to create
the Unifying Theory of the Universe by putting all of the different sciences
together to create laws that apply across all sciences. All of these similarities in the sciences are
used in many different ways, which just shows that one thing can serve several
functions across many different types of fields.

Jamey Jones

How big is a mole? 

In my Chemistry class we had a lab based off of the above question. The mole is a number amount of a substance, and with different substances or atoms the size varies. The mole is a way to deal with atoms of elements in a larger scale so that we can experiment and learn new things about the atom. The greatest thing about science is that we learn through experimentation and are constantly forming/reforming hypothesizes. 

The process of experimentation and forming hypothesizes can be used in our daily life. As a college student we can use it to better our daily routine and experiment and see what works best for us. It can be used to make changes in our life and behaviors. As we experiment we will form our own hypothesizes in our minds that will build our own personal thoughts and ideals in life, which in turn will affect our actions and behaviors. 

Just like in science where experimentation helps make a hypothesis stronger or change it and make it more, experimentation in our own lives will help make our own hypothesizes stronger and more valid. And will eventually build up a foundation to build upon and make your beliefs stronger than ever, but of course able to change with new experimentation and the forming of new hypothesizes.

Man-->Man. Man-->God.

Some people are blessed with the ability to ask for help. Along with this, some are blessed with the gift of imitating other people. I consider these to be gifts and blessings because they are something I have a hard time with, and too often I end up with the realization that if I had simply relied a little more on family, friends, and resources, I could have avoided a lot of trouble.

Stephen Covey says, “Interdependence is a higher value than independence.” Today, it seems like people are trained to think that “independence = strength,” and that asking for help or accepting offers of help is a weakness. But we can surely achieve so much more with a synergistic mindset than we can without the assistance of other sources.

Although we see a genius strike out with new scientific discovery or musical talent seemingly out of nowhere, to some extent they have drawn on the discoveries of others to rise to greatness. Although nations gain independence and are able to structure stable systems, develop technology, and draft constitutions, they are building on ideas conceived by other nations throughout the globe.

As we apply the concept of interdependence as individuals, we will be able to build on the knowledge we gain from our schooling, we will feel free to mirror the personality traits we admire in others, and we can grow in the faith that is manifested to us from our parents and church leaders. In the long run, we will become the people that future generations will look to for inspiration.

In most of my classes, I have learned about interdependence of humanity. On the other hand, in my Book of Mormon class I have learned about the dependence of humanity on Christ. Ultimately, something greater than the value of interdependence is the value of dependence on the Lord. He is the main source of truth and wisdom that we should look to first and always.

Refiner's Fire

I am a sloppy artist—an enthusiastic artist, yes, but a sloppy one. Raw shapes, lines, colors, and gradients spill right from my mind onto the paper; it is a joyous mess. I employ a very simple set of rules to each picture, and revise only until I no longer feel like I am breaking any of them. I am, however, a perspective animator; without correct proportions and an accurate sense of space, there is only a very slim chance entering the field. The dilemma I face is one I have noticed in many places: keeping that childlike spontaneity and enhancing it with structure and logic.

The first two weeks of the Figure Drawing for Animators course were like pulling teeth: I had to unlearn most of what I “knew” about drawing, establish a foundation of measurements and procedures, and then re-learn the creative aspect with the new rules in place. Oh, it was awful! It was dry and itchy and boring! But this is an ongoing process; I’ll be doing it all my life. I noticed that, once a handful of the new rules had set in place, the art that grew naturally out of my mind was better, somehow.

It does not surprise me that I am also a sloppy dancer; in Social Dance 180, the same thing is happening! That innocent, eager, creative part of me needs to be taught the “rules.” Through the courses at BYU, every aspect, every discipline of that creativity can be refined and made productive—and can, someday, support a family.

Now, about my writing…

--Posted by Sergio Benjamin Puente

Something Wicked This Way Comes....

A few days I decided to google up some information on my favorite holiday: Halloween. Every year I make a spook alley for the neighborhood kids, and so I thought that maybe it would be nice see where the traditional "spooks" I use come from. The first batch of information I dug up revealed a connection to Paganism and the Fall Solstice. I already new as much, but the next webpage revealed a bit more.

In the research I found that our traditional halloween customs are derived mainly from Northern Europe: Ireland and England in particular. However, some of our customs can be traced back to Italian roots. And, of course, there are many customs that have been created in America since the original idea was formulated. One tradition in particular seemed to have a clear travel pattern that was extremely interesting: the Jack o' Lantern.

The legend of the Jack o' Lantern originated in Ireland sometime in the 18th century. As the story goes, an Irishman by the name of Jack managed to trick the Devil into climbing a tree. As soon as the Devil did so, Jack carved a cross into the trunk, thus capturing the Devil in the branches. When Jack died, Heaven would not let him in for his sins, and Hell refused him for his trickery. So, he was forced to walk the earth forever. However, the Devil took pity on him (I know, it makes no sense) and gave him a small coal to light his path. Jack put the coal in a hollow turnip he had been eating, and thus created the first Lantern of Jack.

Because of its religious connection, the catholic church tolerated this tradition, and it managed to spread wherever the church spread. A specific example would include South America's Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead). During which ceramic skulls and gourds are hollowed out and lit (a tradition carried over by the Spanish Conquistadors). So in essence, the United States had the tradition coming to them from both its English/Irish/Scottish immigrants, and it's southern neighbors. Quite the interesting example of transnationalism, right? After all, what is more spreadable than fun?