Month of Gratitude: Music

With about ten minutes left of day #4, I'm going to write this quickly, post it, and update it tomorrow.

Month of Gratitude #4: Music

I have a number of friends who I'm sure will agree with me that music is essential in their lives. Whether it be for working, working out, to invite the Spirit, personal enjoyment, or even just to get in a certain mood, music is great and can make you feel a number of emotions.

My music library is full of a massive assortment of artists and genres, and I add to it all the time, based on recommendations from friends or just things I hear that I like. And I almost always have a set of headphones on me so I can enjoy some tunes while I'm on the go. It truly is something I'm grateful for, especially because of how diverse it is and how influential it can be for literally billions of people around the world.

Month of Gratitude: Movies

Almost forgot this today! Yes, this is technically being posted on the 4th, but I started this post on the 3rd, so I say it still counts.

Month of Gratitude #3: Movies

As I've stated a few times before on this blog, I am a huge fan of movies, owning a sizable amount in my personal collection. I love being able to delve into another world for a period of time and experience things that I might not be able to on my own. Yes, books, songs, and television shows can do the same thing, but movies are great because they're often able to help one better capture what the original writer had in mind.

I think a perfect example of this is the Harry Potter franchise; I love all of the books, and as soon as the first movie came out I was instantly a fan of Daniel Radcliffe's portrayal of the now world-famous character. We got to experience his transition of the plain world he knew to the magical castle Hogwarts with him. We watched him grow and mature alongside Ron and Hermione, and went through a lot of the same things they did as we followed them throughout the years. We rejoiced in his successful Quidditch matches, we cried with him at Dumbledore's death, and we felt that same relief after the demise of Voldemort. Obviously the transition from the page to screen doesn't always work perfectly, but when it does it is truly a – dare I say it – magical experience. (Yes, I went there.)

I'm going to write more about this tomorrow, so again I can just get this posted and head to bed. But movies are most certainly on my list of things I'm grateful for.

Month of Gratitude: My religion

Month of Gratitude #2: My religion

I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also known as the Mormon church. I've been a member of it all my life, with my parents raising all us kids in it. My mom's family has actually been members for generations, dating back to when the pioneers were crossing the country, but my dad was the first member of his family to be baptized and become LDS. He went on a mission to France shortly after he was baptized, and when he got home he decided to attend Brigham Young University (an LDS school) instead of Vanderbilt, and subsequently ended up meeting my mom there. I served a mission in southern Brazil, preaching and teaching others about my faith, and I'm immensely glad that I did, because I saw how much good it did in the lives of others. And now I'm at BYU as well, and I'm incredibly grateful for the clean, high-standard environment that it maintains. I've been to other university campuses (including a few in Illinois, one close to Provo, the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, and over the summer I went to one in Kentucky for a week of work) and by far this is one of the nicest I've ever been to. I feel that a lot of it, if not almost all of it, is because of the standards implemented by the Church.

Because of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in my life, I have a solid foundation of what to believe in. I can make choices that I know will make me happy in life. That happiness is brought about because I'm keeping God's commandments, and from reading the scriptures written by various prophets throughout the ages, we know that that happiness truly is one of the blessings that God gives to us. It's a tried-and-true method that I guarantee works, because I've experienced it for myself: living the Gospel and striving to keep the standards and commandments brings long-term happiness.

Does it seem weird at times, what we do? Does it seem restrictive? Church for three hours every week (longer for some, with meetings before or after the standard block of hours every Sunday). No drinking alcohol, coffee, or tea. No smoking or other drugs. No sex before marriage. No, no, no, no, no. Seems almost weird compared to the standards of the world today. But here's the thing: I don't even want to do most of the stuff we're "told" not to do. Again, we have standards in place not to restrict us but rather to remind us what things will keep us safe from harm, out of trouble, and in good spirits.

Do we believe some crazy things sometimes? Like the fact that our spirits existed before we were born on Earth, and that one day we'll all be resurrected? And that based on our actions in this life we have a chance to live with our Heavenly Father? And that we have living prophets who help us know exactly what it is we need to do in order to get there? That might seem crazy to some, but to me it makes a lot more sense than a God who just decides if people go to heaven or hell, that's it, no questions asked. Or believing in reincarnation, where after I die in this life I'll come back to life as some other animal somewhere in the world. And it makes a lot more sense, and is more comforting to me, than not believing in anything at all.

Seriously, there are times when I just look at the sunset and pay attention to all the vibrant colors, or the sun peeking out through the clouds on a rainy day. And I look up, and just think that there is no way that it was all just random happenstance. Someone had to have made all this. Someone organized it all, created it all perfectly. And whoever did... well, I'd like to live with him. Learn from him. Be like him, and be able to make some of the same things. Now doesn't that sound awesome?

I'm a Mormon, and I'm proud of it. Ask me about it some time, and I'll be more than happy to tell you about it.

Month of Gratitude: My family

With Thanksgiving coming up this month, I thought I'd take the opportunity to write down some things that I'm grateful for in my life. But I really can't narrow everything down to just one post, so every single day I'm going to write a post about the thing I'm thankful for. Hopefully in later years I can continue this trend, because I know there are more than just thirty things I'm grateful for. So I'll just jump right into it, then.

#1: My family

I come from a decent-sized family that's grown a lot in just the past few years. Both of my parents are still alive and well (Rich and Lisa), I've got an older brother (Chris), two older sisters (Lindsay and Katie), and a younger sister (Sarah). Chris is going to get married at the beginning of December to a fine woman named Amanda, and Katie has been married for seven years to her husband Joe. Katie and Joe currently have three kids, Claire, Caleb, and Evalyn, with a fourth arriving pretty shortly. We've also had a number of pets over the years, including a number of fish, a guinea pig, and a few dogs, all of which I like to include as family as well. And I have a number of aunts and uncles from both sides of the family, with so many cousins I can't keep track of them all.

There is a lot that I can say about my family, so it's hard to pick just a few aspects about them that I'm grateful for. But probably one of the biggest qualities that first comes to mind is that they're incredibly supportive. And it's the good kind of support, too; I feel like I've tried to make a lot of good decisions in my life, and any time I asked them for help (or even if I didn't) they would be there cheering me on with those good decisions. If I was ever making a bad choice, they'd show their concern and counsel a lot with me about what I was doing and help me try to get back on the right path. Even if I didn't show it then, those times that they helped me make the right decisions are some of the ones I'm most thankful for, because I can see where I would have ended up in a lot of situations if I went with those bad choices.

My family's often just fun to be around. A few weeks ago we had a reunion of sorts up at my parents' home, with almost everyone from my mom's side of the family coming to visit for a while. Despite not being familiar with everyone there, I felt more like I was at home than many other places I've been in the last few years. Pleasantly comfortable would probably be the best way I could describe it.

I consider my family members my friends in a lot of ways as well. I've spent a good amount of one-on-one time with each of them, whether it be to go see a movie, going out to dinner, taking a road trip, or even just hanging out and talking. I can think of specific times with everyone (at least in my immediate family) where we've spent time together to grow that personal bond.

I love my family, and words can't describe just how grateful I am that they're mine. And I get to be with them forever.