Friday, May 29, 2009

Some Things of Note....

Just thought I would share some things I have been up to, nothing incredibly exciting, but since this is my "journal" (ha), i thought i'd write it down.

So a couple weeks ago, at work there was something called Summer University, which is just a couple days of workshops, and service projects, and activities for the Faculty and Staff at UVU. At first I thought it would be something that I would do just to get out of a little bit of boring office work, haha. When I went to it though, I found myself enjoying the speakers and workshops. My favorite was a keynote speaker, named Mike Schlappi, who is a paralympic athlete and has won 4 medals in basketball.




He became paralized in H.S. when he was shot accidentally by a friend. It really is amazing to hear peoples stories who have overcome so much and not just overcome it, but absolutley excelled in thier life in many ways. It makes me feel so inspired that I really can do whatever I want, no matter what I think my limitations are. The bullet that paralyzed him was stuck in his spine for several years until technology was more advanced and they could remove it. He said that when they finally took it out and he held it in his hand, he was able to let go of a lot of things, and move past all the things that upset him, and do what he wanted in life. He asked the audience to go home and think about what our "bullets" were in our lives. As corny as that sounds, I really wanted to think about it, and try to pin point something that was holding me back in my life, and try to overcome it. So I have, and I am excited to work on overcoming and getting past those bumps in my life. So what is your bullet in life??


The other thing that was of note, was last Friday. I went and volunteered at the MTC pretending to be an investigator for the missionaries who are learning ASL.


It was so fun! I loved it, for many reasons. It was the first time I had been back to the MTC since I was there 5+ years ago. (I can't believe its been so long) What a flood of memories! I saw missionaries sitting exactly where I sat not so long ago. Its weird becaue I sometimes forget that I actually went on a mission. I feel like it was dream, so it was fun to remember those feelings again. Also, it was so funny to see the missionaries struggle with teaching the lessons, and cute at the same time. They were so nervous, and it was so funny to see that one was SOO awkward and nervous, and the other seemed to want to take control(and he did) because he knew the other one was weird. :) oh memories. Plus, they were just BARELY learning the language so it was SOOOO slow and while there were a lot of hand and arm movements, there were not a lot of signs. haha. One kept looking at his companion desperatly for help in how to sign the door approach. They were SO nervous, poor guys. Luckily they only practiced door approaches in ASL, and then just taught the lesson in English. Anyway, it was fun and there seriously is a definite unique and amazing spirit there. I hope to go more often now. I was reluctant to go because I didn't want to be one of those return misisonaries who can't let go, but it really was a great experience. I can see why people enjoy teaching there.

Also, I finally moved. I live less than a mile from UVU, so its jus mins to get to work! I have my own big master bed and bath, and at a great rent. Its nice to finally get settled with all my stuff, but I can't believe how much "stuff" I have! I have 6-7 boxes I just don't know what to do with. I have accumulated and its so hard for me to let go!

Sorry this was long and boring, if you made it this far, you should get a small medal. And if you just skipped to the end... smart.

2 comments:

rachel said...

I like the idea of the bullet, and I think you and I probably have a similar one. Let's chat soon!

bethany jane. said...

um, you live very close to me. why don't we hang out? we should. we could have many a good time. (i read your blog by the way)...