I posted this article on my facebook a year ago:
Yesterday I had a realization.
Christmas. What is it? Is it a single day? No. Is it a season? Not exactly. Is it an idea? Not only. Christmas is:
A gift from God. It is such a huge gift that we, as humankind, can have a whole time set aside where we are better people. We give more service. We think about others more. We are happier and more joyful and hopeful about life. We catch the big picture of things. God in his mercy gave us this time to know what it feels like to be truly Christlike.
And then it hit me: it’s not Christmas that’s the gift at all. It’s Christ. God gave us Christ to make our lives better and give us a chance to be happy and be saved. That is Christmas. It is Christ. And in this season is it any wonder that when we are focusing on Christ’s birth and life and example we are happier, more giving, more complete people? Christmas is also:
A lesson from God. If, during this time of being what Christians should be, we find ourselves happier and in love with life and helping others, why in the world don’t we do that all the time? Part of this life is to learn and grow and become Christlike people, and during Christmas God gives us a free sample of what it feels like. God is trying to tell us that we can have this feeling with us all the time.
Christmas is not a day or a season. It’s a gift and lesson from God. Christmas is Christ. Living like Christmas is the way we can follow Him to become more complete and happy and love those around us.
Friday, December 24, 2010
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Circle Circle Dot Dot
Want to do something epic?
Have someone stand in the middle of the floor. Stare into their face and pretend like you are a video camera, like a really nice one. Now, continually staring at their face, walk speedily around them in a circle, slightly below their head level. While doing this, hum some sweet theme song from Star Wars or Inception. It feels like the person you are circling is at some huge life crossroads and that they have to make a decision at that exact moment. Everything has come to this and they are at the point of no return. The decision encircles them and the suspense builds until....
Try it. It’s cool.
Have someone stand in the middle of the floor. Stare into their face and pretend like you are a video camera, like a really nice one. Now, continually staring at their face, walk speedily around them in a circle, slightly below their head level. While doing this, hum some sweet theme song from Star Wars or Inception. It feels like the person you are circling is at some huge life crossroads and that they have to make a decision at that exact moment. Everything has come to this and they are at the point of no return. The decision encircles them and the suspense builds until....
Try it. It’s cool.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Don't Cry Over Spilled Milk
I learned this week why that axiom exists. Spilled milk is definitely something to cry over.
It happened on my way home from WalMart. I had just finished grocery shopping and had to run into Best Buy for something. When I opened my trunk, I found that a tiny hole in my milk carton had leaked about 1/5th of the milk into the carpet of my trunk. I had always heard the advice/adage that spilled milk should be cleaned up quickly because of how it will sour and smell bad. But, myself, having never had the experience of spilling milk and leaving it soak, ignored the age-old wisdom. I figured it wasn’t much milk, it was only in my trunk, time would take care of it, etc..
Well I was wrong. The next day the whole car smelled absolutely putrid. And the day after that it only got worse. I was absolutely amazed by the power of a little bit of spilled milk. Eventually I went online and googled, “how to get sour milk smell out of car” and went to work with baking soda, vinegar, and various drying techniques. It took a few tries, but thankfully the smell has now been conquered.
But what a lesson. In life, don’t we do this all the time? Our parents, history, and society so often give us wisdom. Wisdom and advice about girls, cars, college, raising kids, etc. But until we actually experience something for ourselves or actually see a real problem, we don’t really internalize the message or lesson. We all inadvertently choose to “learn the hard way” most every time.
But in some ways I’m grateful. A car full of spoiled-milk-smell is quite an experience. So is getting a flat tire. Or getting dumped. Or finding out in…whatever way…that “ya know what….they were right”.
But honestly, take it from me. Clean up the spilled milk ASAP.
It happened on my way home from WalMart. I had just finished grocery shopping and had to run into Best Buy for something. When I opened my trunk, I found that a tiny hole in my milk carton had leaked about 1/5th of the milk into the carpet of my trunk. I had always heard the advice/adage that spilled milk should be cleaned up quickly because of how it will sour and smell bad. But, myself, having never had the experience of spilling milk and leaving it soak, ignored the age-old wisdom. I figured it wasn’t much milk, it was only in my trunk, time would take care of it, etc..
Well I was wrong. The next day the whole car smelled absolutely putrid. And the day after that it only got worse. I was absolutely amazed by the power of a little bit of spilled milk. Eventually I went online and googled, “how to get sour milk smell out of car” and went to work with baking soda, vinegar, and various drying techniques. It took a few tries, but thankfully the smell has now been conquered.
But what a lesson. In life, don’t we do this all the time? Our parents, history, and society so often give us wisdom. Wisdom and advice about girls, cars, college, raising kids, etc. But until we actually experience something for ourselves or actually see a real problem, we don’t really internalize the message or lesson. We all inadvertently choose to “learn the hard way” most every time.
But in some ways I’m grateful. A car full of spoiled-milk-smell is quite an experience. So is getting a flat tire. Or getting dumped. Or finding out in…whatever way…that “ya know what….they were right”.
But honestly, take it from me. Clean up the spilled milk ASAP.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
100 Girls
-----Reader: Please please please don't get offended from reading the following post. I don't mean it to be derogatory to anybody by any means. It's just a blog entry and some random thoughts, so please take it only as such. Thanks!
100.
It was a lot like New Years, or the day that I had been home from Taiwan for a year, or the day I became a teenager. It was a time for reflection. Last week I went on a date with the 100th different girl since I turned 16. Not 100th date, but rather the 100th different girl. Yeah.
Naturally, I ran some statistics on the data (I’ve been keeping a date log since I began dating). Here are the numbers:
-51 were pre-mission dates (when I was 16-18) and 49 were post-mission (21-22)
-88 were Mormon
-51 were roughly the same age, 37 younger, and 12 older (although it should be noted that most all of the girls I seriously dated in high school were older than me. As an RM at BYU it’s harder to come by girls older than guys).
-59 were Brunette, 30 Blonde, 6 Black, and 5 Red (most of the blondes were post-mission for some reason).
-27 of the 100 girls I dated are now married. Several are on missions.
-I averaged 2.81 dates/girl. So of course there were the few girls that I dated dated and took on 20 something dates and then a lot of the one-shot dates that took down the average.
It’s been interesting looking at patterns and thinking of how things ended, or how friendships are currently going with each one of them. Obviously I’m not married yet, and in all honesty I would love to be married and for everything to just fall into place. It'd be so nice to have one person to have fun with, take care of, get to know super super well, and love.
My sister Camille in many ways set the precedent. She married the 105th guy that she went on a date with. So maybe there’s still hope for me ☺. When she hit the 100 mark she wrote an interesting blog about ice cream. Many people in the world have not gone on as many dates as us Hancocks. It’s just in our nature to like to date. My little brother Braden will probably hit 100 as well. In likening dating to ice cream, many people in the world have partaken of a few ice cream flavors, such as chocolate, strawberry, and peanut butter. Because of this, it’s easy for them to pick their favorite ice cream because their mind remembers these flavors only. After having 100 different flavors of ice cream, however, it becomes very hard to pick a favorite. Every variation of chocolate, fruit, peanut butter, mango, caramel, sprinkle, cake better, and topping has been explored.
And so for now I’ll keep on going! I honestly don’t know who #101 will be, and maybe there won’t even have to be one.
But let it be written and let it be known, Travis Hancock has dated 100 girls.
100.
It was a lot like New Years, or the day that I had been home from Taiwan for a year, or the day I became a teenager. It was a time for reflection. Last week I went on a date with the 100th different girl since I turned 16. Not 100th date, but rather the 100th different girl. Yeah.
Naturally, I ran some statistics on the data (I’ve been keeping a date log since I began dating). Here are the numbers:
-51 were pre-mission dates (when I was 16-18) and 49 were post-mission (21-22)
-88 were Mormon
-51 were roughly the same age, 37 younger, and 12 older (although it should be noted that most all of the girls I seriously dated in high school were older than me. As an RM at BYU it’s harder to come by girls older than guys).
-59 were Brunette, 30 Blonde, 6 Black, and 5 Red (most of the blondes were post-mission for some reason).
-27 of the 100 girls I dated are now married. Several are on missions.
-I averaged 2.81 dates/girl. So of course there were the few girls that I dated dated and took on 20 something dates and then a lot of the one-shot dates that took down the average.
It’s been interesting looking at patterns and thinking of how things ended, or how friendships are currently going with each one of them. Obviously I’m not married yet, and in all honesty I would love to be married and for everything to just fall into place. It'd be so nice to have one person to have fun with, take care of, get to know super super well, and love.
My sister Camille in many ways set the precedent. She married the 105th guy that she went on a date with. So maybe there’s still hope for me ☺. When she hit the 100 mark she wrote an interesting blog about ice cream. Many people in the world have not gone on as many dates as us Hancocks. It’s just in our nature to like to date. My little brother Braden will probably hit 100 as well. In likening dating to ice cream, many people in the world have partaken of a few ice cream flavors, such as chocolate, strawberry, and peanut butter. Because of this, it’s easy for them to pick their favorite ice cream because their mind remembers these flavors only. After having 100 different flavors of ice cream, however, it becomes very hard to pick a favorite. Every variation of chocolate, fruit, peanut butter, mango, caramel, sprinkle, cake better, and topping has been explored.
And so for now I’ll keep on going! I honestly don’t know who #101 will be, and maybe there won’t even have to be one.
But let it be written and let it be known, Travis Hancock has dated 100 girls.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Punctuality
Aladdin: Princess Jasmine, you're very...
Genie: Wonderful! Magnificent! Glorious!... Punctual!
Aladdin: Punctual!
Princess Jasmine: Punctual?
Genie: Sorry.
Aladdin: Uh... uh... beautiful!
Genie: Nice recovery.
For some reason, I have always been deathly afraid of being late to things. I’m afraid of missing out on information or excitement, of letting someone down, of standing someone up, or of not respecting someone’s time, or whatever. No matter what the occasion- be it a practice, a party, a meeting- I have got to show up on time. The idea of being fashionably late has no appeal. If I say I'm going to be there at 5:37, then I will be there at 5:37.
Recently, however, I have started to realize that most of the world does not share my views. I tell people that something starts at 4, and they don’t come til 4:15. I show up to an event “starting” at 8, and it doesn’t actually get going until 8:45. So rare is the event that actually starts when it says it will. And even rarer is the event when all the participants show up on time. People either do not take the responsibility of checking the clock and managing themselves to show up on time, or else they purposely come late to make an appearance or play some silly social game.
And so I come to a crossroads. Do I conform to the world by showing up late to things and save myself countless hours of standing around waiting for people? Or do I continue showing up on the nose, feeling snuggly self-justified and slighty irritated towards others? Or do I mix the two by showing up on time and expecting others to show up late, thus not creating violated expectations when they are indeed late? It will probably have to be the third option. Maybe I’ll just always carry a crossword puzzle in my back pocket to save the time.
I don’t know. Is being late to things morally wrong? Is it a form of lying? I think in some ways it is. Or is it just culture? And is following a culture wrong? Can I blame a culture? Personally, I think Aladdin was right on—punctuality is a great trait for anyone and is a reflection of their respect to other people. Because think about it, every time you’re late you are making somebody wait on you. It’s basically saying, “yeah, whatever I am doing is more important than whatever you had planned.”
But I choose not to base any anger on a societal norm. Because anger is a choice, just as what we set our expectations to be is a choice.
Yeah, I’ll just stick with the crossword puzzle.
Genie: Wonderful! Magnificent! Glorious!... Punctual!
Aladdin: Punctual!
Princess Jasmine: Punctual?
Genie: Sorry.
Aladdin: Uh... uh... beautiful!
Genie: Nice recovery.
For some reason, I have always been deathly afraid of being late to things. I’m afraid of missing out on information or excitement, of letting someone down, of standing someone up, or of not respecting someone’s time, or whatever. No matter what the occasion- be it a practice, a party, a meeting- I have got to show up on time. The idea of being fashionably late has no appeal. If I say I'm going to be there at 5:37, then I will be there at 5:37.
Recently, however, I have started to realize that most of the world does not share my views. I tell people that something starts at 4, and they don’t come til 4:15. I show up to an event “starting” at 8, and it doesn’t actually get going until 8:45. So rare is the event that actually starts when it says it will. And even rarer is the event when all the participants show up on time. People either do not take the responsibility of checking the clock and managing themselves to show up on time, or else they purposely come late to make an appearance or play some silly social game.
And so I come to a crossroads. Do I conform to the world by showing up late to things and save myself countless hours of standing around waiting for people? Or do I continue showing up on the nose, feeling snuggly self-justified and slighty irritated towards others? Or do I mix the two by showing up on time and expecting others to show up late, thus not creating violated expectations when they are indeed late? It will probably have to be the third option. Maybe I’ll just always carry a crossword puzzle in my back pocket to save the time.
I don’t know. Is being late to things morally wrong? Is it a form of lying? I think in some ways it is. Or is it just culture? And is following a culture wrong? Can I blame a culture? Personally, I think Aladdin was right on—punctuality is a great trait for anyone and is a reflection of their respect to other people. Because think about it, every time you’re late you are making somebody wait on you. It’s basically saying, “yeah, whatever I am doing is more important than whatever you had planned.”
But I choose not to base any anger on a societal norm. Because anger is a choice, just as what we set our expectations to be is a choice.
Yeah, I’ll just stick with the crossword puzzle.
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Status
The other day in my acting class we were doing a thing called a “status exercise”. My teacher pointed out that all day long human interactions are based on “status” flexing its muscles, bending down to another, or dynamically changing. In this exercise, in a matter of moments, each one of us would say or do things to raise or lower our status within the group. Someone would apologize, give a compliment, admit to a weakness, feign popularity, give a command, submit to another’s suggestion, etc. The “status change” could be tangibly felt.
How do you talk to your little brother? In some degree or another it is influenced by the fact that your “status” is higher. Now say that your mother walks into the same room. I bet you that the way you act will change a bit, in some part to defer to her “higher” status. When I’m at college the dynamics and status’s of my life are different than when I’m home for Christmas in my parent’s house. Sometimes we call status names, like “Senior companion”, “Chief Executive Officer”, “Father”, “Manager”, “Director”, but most of the time status’ are simply felt, implied, and understood.
As a missionary in Taiwan, we saw this status fluctuation all the time. Taiwanese people in general think Americans are the bomb. They place an American’s status above their own and treat them well and defer to their actions or words. If a Taiwanese didn’t know I was a missionary, I received this treatment. As soon as he saw the missionary tag, however, they would often treat me poorly, ignoring me, cussing at me, or treating me like a child, since they were used to seeing missionaries and treating them this way. Travis didn’t change, but all of a sudden my status in the eyes of that person changed drastically. Don’t we do the same in restaurants too? A nice young lady would be treated very well in most situations. But once she’s got that “McDonalds” namebadge on and she is “slow” on an order or messes up, she is treated like someone with a lower status.
Status is different than “popularity”, although sometimes synonymous. High School most clearly defines status in terms of preps down to nerds and the totem pole in between. Some people feel their status is higher. Oftentimes the confident people will be the ones who act in the highest status. Maybe that’s why we dash on a bit of cologne or try to look or best or act certain ways—to give us that edge of confidence and that up in status among our peers.
Gender, race, personality (reds and yellows may feel their status is higher than others), and tons of factors can lead to influencing status. Relationships too are influenced by who “feels” in charge.
And again, status one way or another isn’t necessarily good or bad. This was simply an observation and something that is very real. So my invitation to you today is to analyze your relationships with your family, roommates, teachers, neighbors, waitresses, plumbers, and anyone else. And think about what your status dynamic with that person is, and if it’s where you want it to be.
See, status isn’t just a facebook term. It’s a way of life.
How do you talk to your little brother? In some degree or another it is influenced by the fact that your “status” is higher. Now say that your mother walks into the same room. I bet you that the way you act will change a bit, in some part to defer to her “higher” status. When I’m at college the dynamics and status’s of my life are different than when I’m home for Christmas in my parent’s house. Sometimes we call status names, like “Senior companion”, “Chief Executive Officer”, “Father”, “Manager”, “Director”, but most of the time status’ are simply felt, implied, and understood.
As a missionary in Taiwan, we saw this status fluctuation all the time. Taiwanese people in general think Americans are the bomb. They place an American’s status above their own and treat them well and defer to their actions or words. If a Taiwanese didn’t know I was a missionary, I received this treatment. As soon as he saw the missionary tag, however, they would often treat me poorly, ignoring me, cussing at me, or treating me like a child, since they were used to seeing missionaries and treating them this way. Travis didn’t change, but all of a sudden my status in the eyes of that person changed drastically. Don’t we do the same in restaurants too? A nice young lady would be treated very well in most situations. But once she’s got that “McDonalds” namebadge on and she is “slow” on an order or messes up, she is treated like someone with a lower status.
Status is different than “popularity”, although sometimes synonymous. High School most clearly defines status in terms of preps down to nerds and the totem pole in between. Some people feel their status is higher. Oftentimes the confident people will be the ones who act in the highest status. Maybe that’s why we dash on a bit of cologne or try to look or best or act certain ways—to give us that edge of confidence and that up in status among our peers.
Gender, race, personality (reds and yellows may feel their status is higher than others), and tons of factors can lead to influencing status. Relationships too are influenced by who “feels” in charge.
And again, status one way or another isn’t necessarily good or bad. This was simply an observation and something that is very real. So my invitation to you today is to analyze your relationships with your family, roommates, teachers, neighbors, waitresses, plumbers, and anyone else. And think about what your status dynamic with that person is, and if it’s where you want it to be.
See, status isn’t just a facebook term. It’s a way of life.
Monday, September 27, 2010
The Rise of All Conflict
Stop and think of the last time you got upset, mad, or bothered about something. With 99% accuracy I can tell you the basic cause of that controversy. VIOLATED EXPECTATIONS. In our mind we expect things to be a certain way. We expect our friend to treat us the way we would like, we expect to get that part we wanted in the play, we expect that that car next to us is going to stay in its own lane and not cut us off, we expect to not get the flu or the cold, we expect that our 5 year old sibling is not going to break the cookie jar. We inadvertently lay out all these expectations for ourselves and our world, and then without fail they are broken. And thus, with VIOLATED EXPECTATIONS there is controversy.
And SO, what you’ve got to do is change your expectation and you can be happy all the time. I don’t get mad or upset about things. Have you seen it happen? Bet you haven’t. The kid is 5, of course he’s probably going to break the cookie jar, so when he does break the cookie jar just enjoy the fact that he’s a fun little kid. It’s a highway---just pretend like the guy in the next lane first opened his window and said, “hey buddy, in about 4 seconds I’m going to drive in front of you and cut you off”. And then when he does, it will be quite a pleasurable experience. Therefore, I invite you all to do two things:
1. Clarify Expectations for others: tell that girl when you’re going to call and how often and she won’t ever get upset or anxious since the expectations have been laid. If you tell her, “hey I’m just going to call twice a week”, then when you don’t call her every day she won’t be mad or hurt at all. She’ll think you’re responsible. Tell your new roommate exactly what they should expect about your messy habits. I had a roommate at college who told us he would do the dishes when his turn came around, but he didn’t and everyone was upset (except me ). If he had told us right away that, “Hey guys, I have trouble doing the dishes and I probably won’t do them”, then we would have all felt pleasantly smart as we watched his prophecy come true.
2. Expect the Obvious: of course that kid is going to cry-he’s two. Of course it’s going to rain on the picnic day—and if you expected it then it’ll be again, a pleasant experience!
I'm not saying be pessimistic. Quite the contrary. But optimism is different than expectation. Run in smooth harmony with how the world is going and you'll be very successful.
On my mission in Taiwan my mission president Michael Hoer laid the underlying principles behind this theory and he is one of the happiest, most successful people I know. He has lived in a different culture most of his life and rather than trying to change the world around him to meet his expectations, he loves life and the Chinese culture around him, and makes sure to expect what is going to happen with the food, traffic, customs, etc..
Clarify expectations and have the right expectations yourself. Think again of that last time you were mad or had conflict and I bet that now you can see precisely why it happened. You expected one thing, perhaps subconsciously, and got another.
I am going to end this article in exactly 6 words.
See, wasn’t that a pleasant experience.
And SO, what you’ve got to do is change your expectation and you can be happy all the time. I don’t get mad or upset about things. Have you seen it happen? Bet you haven’t. The kid is 5, of course he’s probably going to break the cookie jar, so when he does break the cookie jar just enjoy the fact that he’s a fun little kid. It’s a highway---just pretend like the guy in the next lane first opened his window and said, “hey buddy, in about 4 seconds I’m going to drive in front of you and cut you off”. And then when he does, it will be quite a pleasurable experience. Therefore, I invite you all to do two things:
1. Clarify Expectations for others: tell that girl when you’re going to call and how often and she won’t ever get upset or anxious since the expectations have been laid. If you tell her, “hey I’m just going to call twice a week”, then when you don’t call her every day she won’t be mad or hurt at all. She’ll think you’re responsible. Tell your new roommate exactly what they should expect about your messy habits. I had a roommate at college who told us he would do the dishes when his turn came around, but he didn’t and everyone was upset (except me ). If he had told us right away that, “Hey guys, I have trouble doing the dishes and I probably won’t do them”, then we would have all felt pleasantly smart as we watched his prophecy come true.
2. Expect the Obvious: of course that kid is going to cry-he’s two. Of course it’s going to rain on the picnic day—and if you expected it then it’ll be again, a pleasant experience!
I'm not saying be pessimistic. Quite the contrary. But optimism is different than expectation. Run in smooth harmony with how the world is going and you'll be very successful.
On my mission in Taiwan my mission president Michael Hoer laid the underlying principles behind this theory and he is one of the happiest, most successful people I know. He has lived in a different culture most of his life and rather than trying to change the world around him to meet his expectations, he loves life and the Chinese culture around him, and makes sure to expect what is going to happen with the food, traffic, customs, etc..
Clarify expectations and have the right expectations yourself. Think again of that last time you were mad or had conflict and I bet that now you can see precisely why it happened. You expected one thing, perhaps subconsciously, and got another.
I am going to end this article in exactly 6 words.
See, wasn’t that a pleasant experience.
Wednesday, August 18, 2010
The Twilight Series: Not Just For Teenage Girls
Twilight.
The very word incites thoughts, memories, or feelings of love or hate, disgust or adoration, bliss or loathing. Whether you want to admit it or not, the 4-book series by Stephanie Meyer is a cultural phenomenon. It has changed pop culture and society much in the way that Harry Potter (but don’t freak out on me, I know not to the same extent) did a few years earlier and the way that Lord of the Rings did during its day. Edward, Bella, Jacob, werewolves, and vampires have left their marks.
I was out of the country when Twilight first hit and really had never heard of it, but the minute I landed in America in May ’09 I started hearing opinions about it. The most common phrases I heard basically alluded to the idea that if you liked Twilight and were not a junior high female then you were girly or misled or should have your “man-card” taken away from you. Bella’s character has been constantly called “weak and whiny”, and Edward’s, “creepy and stalker-like”. It appears to be the “popular” thing to do to criticize Twilight, because that’s what everyone else is doing. Much in the way that it is “popular” to think Wicked is the greatest thing since sliced bread (see two entries below). It’s so much easier to follow the crowd rather than really look at something and see what value it has.
The kicker though, is that most critics, willing to admit it or not, base their judgments solely on the first couple Twilight movies (which really do not do the books justice, and are admittedly tacky), maybe the first book (which I’ll be honest- took more self-motivation to finish than the other three by far), and what they’ve heard on the street. Ignorant criticism is childish and annoying. IF YOU HAVEN’T READ THE WHOLE SERIES, or at least a couple of the books, then how in the world can you criticize them. That’s like saying I hate the country of Luxembourg because of things I’ve heard about it, even though I’ve never been there.
So I decided to read them. No matter what the genre, if something is going to cause this big of a stir in the most powerful country in the world and it’s not super morally-backwards, then it deserves a shot. So for the past week and a half or so, I sucked (no pun intended) it up and read the series.
My observation: Twilight deserves most of the praise that it gets, and very little of the criticism. Here’s why.
-Above all, Stephanie Meyer creates a world and invites us in. I call it Harry Potter-izing us. The reason people loved Harry Potter so much is because JK Rowling painted a beautiful picture of the wizarding world and we all felt like we were a part of it. We got to go inside. And she based it on the premise that it truly is possible that wizards are here living among us and we were simply oblivious Muggles. Meyer did the same thing. I felt like I knew the city of Forks, the La Push Indian reservation, and the woods surrounding the little Washington town. It felt like Bella and Charlie, the Werewolf tribe, and the Vampire clans really existed. Meyer made it possible for mortals and these mythological creatures to co-exist. She created a world and made it easy to step inside it and lose ourselves in it.
-When I turn on “Terminator”, what should I expect? Fluffy bunnies and a cute little love story? No. I expect a bunch of shooting, action, and destruction. Stephanie Meyer did not falsely advertise. She made it blatantly clear that this was mostly based on a love story, much in the way that Romeo and Juliet is blatantly a love story. So it was not disappointing or gross or weird when Bella fell for Edward. Or when Edward did everything he could to protect her (hence, the stalker comments). Or when Bella lost a big piece of herself when Edward left (hence, the whiney Bella comments). It’s a love story, and a good one. What do you expect? Edward to not be protective when he’s so accustomed to killing things? Bella to just pretend like nothing happened when her first love dumps her out of nowhere? No.
-That being said, there was a lot more action and non-love story parts to this story then I think anyone expected. I did not expect the international Vampire council to rip someone’s limbs off and set them on fire, nor to consume 40 something tourists in the city. I did not expect detailed descriptions of Edward ripping two Bella-hunting vampires to pieces or of him being tortured to convulsions by the psycho vampire Jane. I did not expect the sweet action of Indian boys transforming into Werewolves, thinking as one body, and pursuing and killing newborn vampires by the dozens.
-This story has some amazing character development. Particularly in Bella. As many are so quick to mention, Bella can come off as annoying at first. But I think that’s the point. In the first book she is still a high school girl, although much more mature than most. She doesn’t fit in to school because she has already grown up and gotten past the unimportant high school drama, as demonstrated by a comparison of her to her friends Mike and Jessica. But yes, in the first few books she is a little selfish. She thinks of herself and of ways that she can be with Edward to please her. But she changes. She develops friendships with Jacob. She learns to help other people and sacrifice. At one point she nearly kills herself in an attempt to save the others. She learns what it means to be married and committed. And eventually she learns to be a mother. She is willing to die so that her child can be born. Her obsession with Edward becomes real love and she learns to share that with her daughter. In the ending battle it is Bella that saves everyone. She learns to develop an inner power to shield others, not worrying about the effects it will have on herself. I really came to respect Bella and the changes she made. Sure she was sometimes irrational, but for the most part I think she’s a good example to young people about helping others and learning what real love is.
-Meyer’s characters are believable. She creates such real characters, I’d venture to say even more believable than JK Rowling does. Bella’s father Charlie has such a distinct personality of the slightly-awkward father who loves his daughter but doesn’t know exactly how to raise her. Bella’s slightly emo attitude is, let’s face it, very common in today’s society. Jacob’s bright attitude and gradual infatuation and love for Bella make it feel like we really know who Jacob is. Alice Cullen is quirky and hilarious. Mike is every bit of the over-exuberant high school senior as I met every day at my own high school. Jessica is described perfectly in her focus on the tiny high school drama. And the Cullen family is remarkable. The wise and truly good Carlisle, the motherly Esme, the jealous beauty queen Rosalie, the self-evaluating Jasper, the perfectly described big brother Emmett. Even the nomad ex-Revolutionary War solider Garrett is like someone you’d find off of “The Patriot”. Part of the reason we can enter into the Twilight world is that the people in it are so real.
-Twilight is full of really clever humor. There were many a page when something really funny would come out of no where and I’d find myself reading it again, asking, “really? Did that just happen?”. Three of my favorites were in the movie theatre when Bella finds herself between Mike and Jacob, both of them with their hands on the arm rest facing up, ready for Bella to make any kind of movement so they could grab her hand. I love in the last book how people keep calling Bella’s kid Nessie, even though it’s not her real name. And when the narrative is coming from Jacob’s point of view it is hilarious. Some of his chapter headings include, “Good Thing I’ve Got a Strong Stomach”, “The Two Things at the Very Top of my Things-I-Never-Want-To-Do- List”, and “Sure as hell Didn’t See that one Coming”.
-The whole Team Edward vs. Team Jacob thing is not baseless. You really find yourself rooting for one or the other for most of the series. I didn’t realize that Jacob played such a huge role in the series. I love how he is there the whole time, playing different roles and always part of the story. Definitely my favorite character. Although, for the record, the 4th book landed me into Team Edward.
-Some of the vampires have special abilities and two of them provide a different view into things. Edward can read everyone’s thoughts. So all of a sudden we can know what each character is thinking. It’s a psychologically interesting observation. And Alice sees the future based on when people make decisions that affect the future. It was cool to see how one decision made now will affect what happens days or weeks or months down the road.
-There are many intricate symbolisms involved in the story. The most prominent one is that of overcoming our desires in order to do the right thing. They demonstrate this by Edward and eventually Bella overcoming their desire to murder people and drink blood and instead doing the morally correct thing. It takes sacrifice but it’s worth it.
-As a Mormon, I recognized many of our beliefs written in the pages of Stephanie Meyer’s own Mormon ideologies. Two of the most obvious being that we believe sex should be saved until after marriage, which I thought was very well portrayed. And the other being that we believe that if done right, a married couple can live together forever, even after death.
-My favorite part of the story was the werewolves. I loved the Indian legends, the genetics, and the technicalities of how they became werewolves. In the wolf form, they all shared each other’s thoughts. This book is full of people entering each other’s minds, which adds a whole new dimension.
Well that was by far the longest blog I’ve ever written, but I felt like it needed to be said. The Twilight series is excellent and now I can clearly see why it has had the impact that it did and continues to have. Sure, it’s not perfect. Sure, there’s romance. But there’s a lot more to it then people sometimes give it credit for. It’s worth the read and there’s a lot in there to enjoy, discover, and mull over. The ending is great and I left feeling like it was time well-spent reading those thick books.
Kudos to you Stephanie Meyer. Well done. If you write another series I’ll go and read it.
In the words of the vampire Garrett, “I came to witness. I stay to fight”. Twilight is seriously worth a shot.
The very word incites thoughts, memories, or feelings of love or hate, disgust or adoration, bliss or loathing. Whether you want to admit it or not, the 4-book series by Stephanie Meyer is a cultural phenomenon. It has changed pop culture and society much in the way that Harry Potter (but don’t freak out on me, I know not to the same extent) did a few years earlier and the way that Lord of the Rings did during its day. Edward, Bella, Jacob, werewolves, and vampires have left their marks.
I was out of the country when Twilight first hit and really had never heard of it, but the minute I landed in America in May ’09 I started hearing opinions about it. The most common phrases I heard basically alluded to the idea that if you liked Twilight and were not a junior high female then you were girly or misled or should have your “man-card” taken away from you. Bella’s character has been constantly called “weak and whiny”, and Edward’s, “creepy and stalker-like”. It appears to be the “popular” thing to do to criticize Twilight, because that’s what everyone else is doing. Much in the way that it is “popular” to think Wicked is the greatest thing since sliced bread (see two entries below). It’s so much easier to follow the crowd rather than really look at something and see what value it has.
The kicker though, is that most critics, willing to admit it or not, base their judgments solely on the first couple Twilight movies (which really do not do the books justice, and are admittedly tacky), maybe the first book (which I’ll be honest- took more self-motivation to finish than the other three by far), and what they’ve heard on the street. Ignorant criticism is childish and annoying. IF YOU HAVEN’T READ THE WHOLE SERIES, or at least a couple of the books, then how in the world can you criticize them. That’s like saying I hate the country of Luxembourg because of things I’ve heard about it, even though I’ve never been there.
So I decided to read them. No matter what the genre, if something is going to cause this big of a stir in the most powerful country in the world and it’s not super morally-backwards, then it deserves a shot. So for the past week and a half or so, I sucked (no pun intended) it up and read the series.
My observation: Twilight deserves most of the praise that it gets, and very little of the criticism. Here’s why.
-Above all, Stephanie Meyer creates a world and invites us in. I call it Harry Potter-izing us. The reason people loved Harry Potter so much is because JK Rowling painted a beautiful picture of the wizarding world and we all felt like we were a part of it. We got to go inside. And she based it on the premise that it truly is possible that wizards are here living among us and we were simply oblivious Muggles. Meyer did the same thing. I felt like I knew the city of Forks, the La Push Indian reservation, and the woods surrounding the little Washington town. It felt like Bella and Charlie, the Werewolf tribe, and the Vampire clans really existed. Meyer made it possible for mortals and these mythological creatures to co-exist. She created a world and made it easy to step inside it and lose ourselves in it.
-When I turn on “Terminator”, what should I expect? Fluffy bunnies and a cute little love story? No. I expect a bunch of shooting, action, and destruction. Stephanie Meyer did not falsely advertise. She made it blatantly clear that this was mostly based on a love story, much in the way that Romeo and Juliet is blatantly a love story. So it was not disappointing or gross or weird when Bella fell for Edward. Or when Edward did everything he could to protect her (hence, the stalker comments). Or when Bella lost a big piece of herself when Edward left (hence, the whiney Bella comments). It’s a love story, and a good one. What do you expect? Edward to not be protective when he’s so accustomed to killing things? Bella to just pretend like nothing happened when her first love dumps her out of nowhere? No.
-That being said, there was a lot more action and non-love story parts to this story then I think anyone expected. I did not expect the international Vampire council to rip someone’s limbs off and set them on fire, nor to consume 40 something tourists in the city. I did not expect detailed descriptions of Edward ripping two Bella-hunting vampires to pieces or of him being tortured to convulsions by the psycho vampire Jane. I did not expect the sweet action of Indian boys transforming into Werewolves, thinking as one body, and pursuing and killing newborn vampires by the dozens.
-This story has some amazing character development. Particularly in Bella. As many are so quick to mention, Bella can come off as annoying at first. But I think that’s the point. In the first book she is still a high school girl, although much more mature than most. She doesn’t fit in to school because she has already grown up and gotten past the unimportant high school drama, as demonstrated by a comparison of her to her friends Mike and Jessica. But yes, in the first few books she is a little selfish. She thinks of herself and of ways that she can be with Edward to please her. But she changes. She develops friendships with Jacob. She learns to help other people and sacrifice. At one point she nearly kills herself in an attempt to save the others. She learns what it means to be married and committed. And eventually she learns to be a mother. She is willing to die so that her child can be born. Her obsession with Edward becomes real love and she learns to share that with her daughter. In the ending battle it is Bella that saves everyone. She learns to develop an inner power to shield others, not worrying about the effects it will have on herself. I really came to respect Bella and the changes she made. Sure she was sometimes irrational, but for the most part I think she’s a good example to young people about helping others and learning what real love is.
-Meyer’s characters are believable. She creates such real characters, I’d venture to say even more believable than JK Rowling does. Bella’s father Charlie has such a distinct personality of the slightly-awkward father who loves his daughter but doesn’t know exactly how to raise her. Bella’s slightly emo attitude is, let’s face it, very common in today’s society. Jacob’s bright attitude and gradual infatuation and love for Bella make it feel like we really know who Jacob is. Alice Cullen is quirky and hilarious. Mike is every bit of the over-exuberant high school senior as I met every day at my own high school. Jessica is described perfectly in her focus on the tiny high school drama. And the Cullen family is remarkable. The wise and truly good Carlisle, the motherly Esme, the jealous beauty queen Rosalie, the self-evaluating Jasper, the perfectly described big brother Emmett. Even the nomad ex-Revolutionary War solider Garrett is like someone you’d find off of “The Patriot”. Part of the reason we can enter into the Twilight world is that the people in it are so real.
-Twilight is full of really clever humor. There were many a page when something really funny would come out of no where and I’d find myself reading it again, asking, “really? Did that just happen?”. Three of my favorites were in the movie theatre when Bella finds herself between Mike and Jacob, both of them with their hands on the arm rest facing up, ready for Bella to make any kind of movement so they could grab her hand. I love in the last book how people keep calling Bella’s kid Nessie, even though it’s not her real name. And when the narrative is coming from Jacob’s point of view it is hilarious. Some of his chapter headings include, “Good Thing I’ve Got a Strong Stomach”, “The Two Things at the Very Top of my Things-I-Never-Want-To-Do- List”, and “Sure as hell Didn’t See that one Coming”.
-The whole Team Edward vs. Team Jacob thing is not baseless. You really find yourself rooting for one or the other for most of the series. I didn’t realize that Jacob played such a huge role in the series. I love how he is there the whole time, playing different roles and always part of the story. Definitely my favorite character. Although, for the record, the 4th book landed me into Team Edward.
-Some of the vampires have special abilities and two of them provide a different view into things. Edward can read everyone’s thoughts. So all of a sudden we can know what each character is thinking. It’s a psychologically interesting observation. And Alice sees the future based on when people make decisions that affect the future. It was cool to see how one decision made now will affect what happens days or weeks or months down the road.
-There are many intricate symbolisms involved in the story. The most prominent one is that of overcoming our desires in order to do the right thing. They demonstrate this by Edward and eventually Bella overcoming their desire to murder people and drink blood and instead doing the morally correct thing. It takes sacrifice but it’s worth it.
-As a Mormon, I recognized many of our beliefs written in the pages of Stephanie Meyer’s own Mormon ideologies. Two of the most obvious being that we believe sex should be saved until after marriage, which I thought was very well portrayed. And the other being that we believe that if done right, a married couple can live together forever, even after death.
-My favorite part of the story was the werewolves. I loved the Indian legends, the genetics, and the technicalities of how they became werewolves. In the wolf form, they all shared each other’s thoughts. This book is full of people entering each other’s minds, which adds a whole new dimension.
Well that was by far the longest blog I’ve ever written, but I felt like it needed to be said. The Twilight series is excellent and now I can clearly see why it has had the impact that it did and continues to have. Sure, it’s not perfect. Sure, there’s romance. But there’s a lot more to it then people sometimes give it credit for. It’s worth the read and there’s a lot in there to enjoy, discover, and mull over. The ending is great and I left feeling like it was time well-spent reading those thick books.
Kudos to you Stephanie Meyer. Well done. If you write another series I’ll go and read it.
In the words of the vampire Garrett, “I came to witness. I stay to fight”. Twilight is seriously worth a shot.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
I. Hate. Mustard.
Mustard, celery, dried onions, baked potatoes. Nasty. My taste buds just didn’t agree with those textures, tastes, and ingredients. It wasn’t something I could help, right? It’s just who I was. Those were the foods that I did. not. like.
Then one day a few years ago I stopped and thought about it. Do I really not like mustard? Or did some bad experience as a kid just ingrain in my mind that I didn’t like it? Had it just become a natural reaction to see mustard and cringe? So I decided upon an experiment. I would eat the mustard, but with the mindset that I indeed did like it. I squirted it on my hotdog, took a bite, and was amazed by how great it tasted. My mindset changed, and now I’ll put mustard on sandwiches and hotdogs all the time. It was all in my head!
In the coming months I had similar experiences with dried onions and baked potatoes. And just last week I found a piece of celery on my plate, changed my mindset, and ate up. And it was good. Of course, eating pigs blood, fish eyes, and frog skin in Taiwan helped me soften up a bit, but it was really just my change in attitude that led these “detestable” foods back into my life. Now, I proudly brag to my mother that there is no food that I don’t like. All foods are good and offer some kind of value. Why miss out on a unique taste just because of a silly unconscious decision?
So lately I’m on this big kick: You can like any food if you decide to. It’s ALL in your head. And so now everyday when I hear someone whine about not wanting tomatoes on their burger, or wanting bottled water because the tap water is just not the same, or about hating diet but loving regular soda, or about someone refusing to eat sausage on their pizza or picking the mushrooms off---I just think in my head, “dude, get over it. It’s all in your mind.” Just decide to like things and you will!
Bon’appetit.
Then one day a few years ago I stopped and thought about it. Do I really not like mustard? Or did some bad experience as a kid just ingrain in my mind that I didn’t like it? Had it just become a natural reaction to see mustard and cringe? So I decided upon an experiment. I would eat the mustard, but with the mindset that I indeed did like it. I squirted it on my hotdog, took a bite, and was amazed by how great it tasted. My mindset changed, and now I’ll put mustard on sandwiches and hotdogs all the time. It was all in my head!
In the coming months I had similar experiences with dried onions and baked potatoes. And just last week I found a piece of celery on my plate, changed my mindset, and ate up. And it was good. Of course, eating pigs blood, fish eyes, and frog skin in Taiwan helped me soften up a bit, but it was really just my change in attitude that led these “detestable” foods back into my life. Now, I proudly brag to my mother that there is no food that I don’t like. All foods are good and offer some kind of value. Why miss out on a unique taste just because of a silly unconscious decision?
So lately I’m on this big kick: You can like any food if you decide to. It’s ALL in your head. And so now everyday when I hear someone whine about not wanting tomatoes on their burger, or wanting bottled water because the tap water is just not the same, or about hating diet but loving regular soda, or about someone refusing to eat sausage on their pizza or picking the mushrooms off---I just think in my head, “dude, get over it. It’s all in your mind.” Just decide to like things and you will!
Bon’appetit.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
"Wicked" Overrated? What?
In the years since it entered Broadway and began touring the country, I don’t believe I’ve ever heard a poor review about “Wicked”. This play depicts the events before and during the Wizard of Oz from the perspective of the witches. I’ve had friends and family travel hours, make weekend trips, and pay big money to go see it. Phenomenal they call it. Even before I knew what Wicked was, I was hearing girls croon to the songs “Defying Gravity” and “For Good” with starstruck eyes.
Well yesterday I had the chance to see it. Before entering the theatre I promised myself that I would give Wicked a fair chance and analyze it solely based on what I saw and heard, and not based on its reputation. My overall synopsis: Yes, ok, it’s good. But it’s not amazing. The plot was rather thin and baseless. Here’s the good things of the show:
The Good:
-The song “Defying Gravity”. Excellent lyrics, notes, and delivery. It was powerful, fit with the play, and I felt should have been the finale song. Great song! It’s the only song from Wicked that’s been stuck in my head since seeing the show.
-Galinda. Her character was cute and querky and hilarious. They hit this one right on the nose depicting a “popular” attitude of our culture. I loved seeing her development through the play as well. Seeing her change from being totally self-centered to truly caring for her friend was cool.
-The set/costumes/Broadway feel. Yeah, as far as all the technicality issues, they did a great job and made it very entertaining.
-Probably my favorite part of the show was how they tied in “The Wizard of Oz”. Like explaining why Dorothy had the slippers (“who steals a pair of slippers from a dead girl? What, were you raised in a barn?”, epic), how the tinman, scarecrow, and lion came to be, why the house killed Nessa, where and why the wizard was, the water “killing” the witch, etc.. I like clever things, and all of that was very well done. Kudos.
The Wicked:
-The main thing that bugged me was that Elphaba’s “drive” or “cause” to “save the animals” was not developed, explained, or shown. Ok, so she had a goat teacher. Yeah I get it that she was trying to help those who were “different”, but I didn’t really feel convinced as to why. Her whole life she wants to go see the wizard and then when he says one thing about putting the animals in cages, Elphaba goes off her rocker and becomes a fugitive. Then the second act we never actually see her saving animals or actually doing anything “good”. She shouldn’t have taken the hit so easily and so pointlessly from the Wizard or from Mrs. Morrible. That whole thing could have been done better.
-Elphaba always had such a, “I’m being persecuted but I’m a tough girl” attitude. It was annoying. The one time where she was refreshing and “real” was when she was in the woods with Fierra and said the line, “for the first time in my life, I feel….Wicked!”. That was cool and fun. But other than that her character never really developed or grew. She was what she was from the beginning: a good but misunderstood green person.
-On that note, the whole “be nice to those who are different” theme has been overdone by society and by media. The conservationist/racism/handicap thing was a little overbearing. Maybe if they had narrowed in. But instead we had a girl in a wheelchair, a girl with green skin, and repression of animals, OH and the repression of the Munckins by Governor Nessa. Lots and lots of repression in this flick.
-Speaking of Nessa: what the heck. I really did not see the point of her character. She had zero redeeming qualities, lived a tragic and bitter life, and then died. Even when we first meet her at the school, she is being snappy to Elphaba. She has low self-esteem that leads to her blindly accepting Broc, when her father dies she is a nasty governor, when she’s healed she is ungrateful to her ever-helpful sister, and when she gets crushed by the house I don’t think anyone in the audience feels bad. She was a miserable character who didn’t add much to the plot. Sure, she was different because of her handicap. But Elphaba and the goat man covered that “different” base and it was pretty unnecessary to add that piece.
-The Goat Man- besides one off-stage line shouted by the Lion, the goat man is the one time we hear animals talk. Maybe if we had seen more of them talk it would have been cool and easy to accept that ok, Oz has talking animals. But no, we’ve got a goat man who teaches at the school. What??? And he turns Elphaba into an animal-loving PITA member in the one scene they have together…in which he eats her lunch bag.
-The love understory was terrrrribly underdeveloped. They should have added to it or just taken it out. Here’s how it goes. Fierra is obviously a popular/slightly brainless guy. He apparently is a lazy jerk based on the scenes we see with him and his first song. Then out of no where, Elphaba’s spell doesn’t work on him (why???) when the whole class gets put under her magic, they save a lion cub together, and then all of a sudden they’re in love? Whaaaat? It happened too quick, there was no convincing in it, and he was also (like Nessa) a slightly pointless character. Same with Broc. So great, he goes to the dance and then SPENDS THE REST OF HIS LIFE with Nessa so that he can get in with Galinda. Whaaat? Then when Nessa’s legs are fixed, without even thinking Broc is like, “oh by the way, I never liked you. I liked that pretty girl for all these years. So…if we’re cool then I guess I’ll see ya later”. It was very unconvincing and very underdeveloped.
-The crowd has zero personality. They sway with the opinion of the Wizard or Galinda in a heartbeat. I did not bond to the chorus at all.
-The ending song was anti-climactic. It was slow and it left me wanting something more. And the lyrics bug me. “Who can say if I’ve changed for the better?”. So basically, who knows, maybe I’m a better person for it. Maybe not. No one can really tell. “But because I knew you I have been changed for good”. Isn’t “better” basically the same thing as “good”? I don’t know, kind of redundant/conflicting statements.
So in summary, I guess the main thing is a lack of motive in the characters. Motive is big for me and oftentimes it wasn’t presented very strongly WHY Elphaba was saving the animals, WHY Fierra loved Elphaba, WHY Nessa was always such a jerk, WHY they decided to bring a talking goat man into the story, etc..
After all that though, I am glad I finally got to see this show. It was a lot of fun and I’d love to see it again sometime. But I can honestly say that I don’t think it’s worth all of the hype that it has received. I’ve walked out of dozens of other plays and musicals (West Side, Les Mis, Phantom, Grease, Guys and Dolls, Pippin, South Pacific, Into the Woods, etc..) with a bigger since of completion and satisfaction in my chest. If characters from those musicals had a house fall on them, I might actually be upset.
And who knows, this review might not have changed you for the better. But because you read it, you have been changed for good. Yeah….do you see what I’m talking about?
And what’s with the talking goat?!?????
Friday, July 2, 2010
The Great Land
It’s a special place. The people are adventurous, the landscape is unbeatable, and the culture distinct. Alaskans have pride in their state, but it’s not like Texans. Texans have to be loud and boisterous about “everything being bigger in Texas” or whatever, but Alaskans know that they are awesome without even saying. It’s a silent pride, because anyone who visits will automatically feel and see the uniqueness and glory of this place. Cars are dirtier, beards are longer, grooves in the road remain from winter-studded tires, it’s never really dark (I’m going to miss having so many sunlight hours!), everyone is a good driver, the United States is referred to as the “lower 48”, and just about everyone owns a truck and a dog.
Going back home I feel a little braver. In Alaska there’s no distance too far, no adventure too tough, and no task too daunting. Alaska puts everything else into perspective and makes you realize that there is beauty everywhere and that the world isn’t so big after all. The people here welcome strangers, tourists, and summer workers with open arms—watching them leave at the end of the summer while the residents stay to tough out the cold, dark winter and keep Alaska running. During my job I would always ask the residents two questions: Are you originally from Alaska? No. How long have you been here? 20-30 something years. It seems that once people come here, they can't really go back.
I learned a lot from my job too. Working on call as a technician with pretty late hours taught me: I really can’t sacrifice evenings of social time!, doing handyman work brings a nice immediate satisfaction when done well, know what you’re getting into before you do it, and work as a team in whatever you do. I was alone a lot during the days, whether on a job or waiting for one, and that was tough. I definitely became better friends with myself, but I learned that it’s really a high priority for me to be around people and work and live together. I made many great, possibly life-long, friends while out here. Curtis, Devin, Stephanie, Emily, Rebecca, Gordon, Cohan, Lisha, Benji, Tanner, and Grace to name a few. The singles ward took me in and made me one of their own and gave me a family.
I’ll always remember my 2.5 months here in Alaska. It was such a blessing to be here. Forever I will recall Alaska as a beautiful, special, adventurous, tucked-away haven of the world. May God bless forever, The Great Land.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Assertive
My Grandma Hancock once told me a story about chocolate cake. According to my memory of the story, when she was a little girl one of her friend’s mothers offered her a piece of cake. Now did little Lynette want a piece of that big scrumptious cake? Of course she did! But in an effort to perhaps not sound rude, or not appear overzealous to inherit the prize, little Lynette replied, “I don’t care.” To which the friend’s mother responded, “you don’t care, I don’t care”, and put the cake away.
A phrase that has governed my life is, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take”. It’s so true! In most every venture, you’re going to be worse off if you never try. Every time you ask out a girl, every time you apply for a scholarship, every time you try out for a part, every time you ask for that last slice of pizza, every time you would prefer to do one thing over another, IT’S WORTH A SHOT! Because in not taking the shot you are guaranteed failure. What are you afraid of? Failure itself? Embarrassment? Who cares! Get over your pride and start living the way you want to and start going for the things that are going to help you and others out the most.
Now I’m not saying be aggressive and mean and step in people’s toes in an angry rage all the time. Assertive people are kind, polite, giving, and often the most successful people in the world. Think about it. Do you think that any president, effective world leader, or general got to where they are by passively “accepting their lot”? No way! Do you think they stepped on toes and stormed to their position? No way! They are assertive people.
So next time you see a pretty girl, go ask her on a date. Do what you want to do. Next time your friend offers you to stick around for lunch, then stick around! Of course you’d like a free lunch. They just offered it to you. They’ll probably enjoy serving it to you anyways.
Go get ‘em.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Confessions of a Gamer
Today I heard a sad confession from a co-worker. He’s been my hotel roommate for about a week now. He’s a really nice kid. Grew up in Provo, Utah, to a good family and he has a lot of great things going for him. But he has an addiction…
It was one of the saddest things I have ever heard. He’s not addicted to drugs. He’s not addicted to pornography. He’s not even addicted to alcohol or smoking. He’s addicted to gaming.
Every spare moment that he’s not at work he is on his computer playing in an alternate universe. His friends are online, his joys are online, his life is online. He explained to me that he lives two separate lives (in the real world and in the gaming world) and he likes his gaming world life better. And so it is the gaming world where he prefers to live for most of the day and night. It’s his shelter, it’s easier than real life, and he finds fleeting pleasures there, just like other addictions can bring.
Today he told me about how he hasn’t finished college because gaming pulls him away. He told me about his lowered confidence and fear of dating and marriage because of his lack of social interaction. He’s in his upper 20’s and he feels like he lost his chance for a regular job, a mission, a marriage because of gaming. He’s given up. It is a true tragedy.
I’ve been trying to help him in the past few days and I’m going to get him out on a date, out to church, and out into the real world. With the gospel of Jesus Christ it’s not too late for him to come back.
But this experience with my hotel roommate, who is seriously an awesome person and quickly becoming a good friend, has opened up a new avenue of thought for me concerning addictions.
When we think addictions we think of big, bad things like the above mentioned drugs and porn and yadayada. But what addictions, be it small or large, are preventing you or me from living our life fully? Is there a card game? A soda we’ve got to have every day? A TV show? Addictions are scary, tragic, and life-ruining.
So ask yourself today if you are in control of your life, and if the answer is no then get on your knees, and then get to work to make the most of every single day!
Friday, June 4, 2010
Travis Vankempen? Travis Nelson? Travis Tullis?
I am a Hancock. I always have been. It’s part of my identity. But when I got to thinking about it, I’m a lot of other things too.
My family and extended family KNOWS their family history. We can trace a line all the way back to Adam (Not even kidding). The other day I realized that the only thing that labels me a “Hancock” is the fact that the parents and grandparents in that line were all males, and therefore passed down that specific name. Having the name of Hancock leads to all kinds of questions like, “So are you related to John Hancock?”, or “I knew some Hancocks once. Do you know….”, or “Wow there’s a movie named “Hancock””, or whatever. All because that specific line was all males. I love being a Hancock and being labeled as such. But once I took to analyzing my 16 great-great-grandparents I realized that I’m just as much one of them, as I am a Hancock.
Say, in a hypothetical world (and some people choose to do this) that the maiden name was passed down one generation. Well then I’d be Travis Richardson. What if the maiden name of my dad’s mom was passed down? Travis Wolthius. Or the maiden name two generations. I’d be Travis Flake. You get the idea, but say you threw the 16 names of my great great grandparents in a bowl and picked one out. I could be named Travis Vankempen, Travis Nelson, Travis Stratton, Travis Tullis (nice ring to it!), Travis Kartchner, Travis Smith, Travis Veldhuis (how sweet would that be!), Travis Jansen, Travis Mortenson, Travis Adams (which was the names of one of my mission friends), Travis Leavitt, or Travis Hardy (like the Hardy Boys!).
That blows my mind! All of those names look so strange connected with my first name, simply because I’ve always been and always will be Travis Hancock. I’ve met many an Adams or Smith or Nelson but I or them never even think to look for common relatives, because I am a “Hancock”. I bet you less than 2% of people in the world know the names of their 16 great-greats, let alone relate to and realize that they are just as much their paternal great-great grandma as they are their maternal great-great grandpa.
It makes me wonder. If you lined up my 16 great-great grandparents--- whose genes have all mixed together in one way or another to make the person I am physically, mentally, spiritually, etc..--- I wonder which one I am most like. Kartchner? Jansen? Leavitt?
What’s in a name? A lot. But it’s important, and rather fun, to think about who you’re really made up of and what your name could be if society’s naming system was tweaked just a little bit.
My family and extended family KNOWS their family history. We can trace a line all the way back to Adam (Not even kidding). The other day I realized that the only thing that labels me a “Hancock” is the fact that the parents and grandparents in that line were all males, and therefore passed down that specific name. Having the name of Hancock leads to all kinds of questions like, “So are you related to John Hancock?”, or “I knew some Hancocks once. Do you know….”, or “Wow there’s a movie named “Hancock””, or whatever. All because that specific line was all males. I love being a Hancock and being labeled as such. But once I took to analyzing my 16 great-great-grandparents I realized that I’m just as much one of them, as I am a Hancock.
Say, in a hypothetical world (and some people choose to do this) that the maiden name was passed down one generation. Well then I’d be Travis Richardson. What if the maiden name of my dad’s mom was passed down? Travis Wolthius. Or the maiden name two generations. I’d be Travis Flake. You get the idea, but say you threw the 16 names of my great great grandparents in a bowl and picked one out. I could be named Travis Vankempen, Travis Nelson, Travis Stratton, Travis Tullis (nice ring to it!), Travis Kartchner, Travis Smith, Travis Veldhuis (how sweet would that be!), Travis Jansen, Travis Mortenson, Travis Adams (which was the names of one of my mission friends), Travis Leavitt, or Travis Hardy (like the Hardy Boys!).
That blows my mind! All of those names look so strange connected with my first name, simply because I’ve always been and always will be Travis Hancock. I’ve met many an Adams or Smith or Nelson but I or them never even think to look for common relatives, because I am a “Hancock”. I bet you less than 2% of people in the world know the names of their 16 great-greats, let alone relate to and realize that they are just as much their paternal great-great grandma as they are their maternal great-great grandpa.
It makes me wonder. If you lined up my 16 great-great grandparents--- whose genes have all mixed together in one way or another to make the person I am physically, mentally, spiritually, etc..--- I wonder which one I am most like. Kartchner? Jansen? Leavitt?
What’s in a name? A lot. But it’s important, and rather fun, to think about who you’re really made up of and what your name could be if society’s naming system was tweaked just a little bit.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Rhymes with Computer
During the past month, and for the first time in my life, I have been a commuter.
Everyday would begin and end with an hour-long drive to or from my destination in order to work. From this ordeal I learned two things:
1. It's important to me to live close to where I end up working
2. Once again, there's a whole new type of person that I can relate to better: commuters.
There are a few things that eat at me and it's just hard for me to work around. Gas money and time are two of them. I understand that it'd be nice to not live right in the city and have a slightly bigger house or pay a little less for it, but in the end I just couldn't do it. Two hours per day of driving and filling up a tank of gas twice a week just don't fly with me.
Today we were back in Anchorage working. The day seemed twice as long, stress was low, and I accomplished loads more! It's good to be home!
I'm grateful for the chance I had to learn from and observe the life of those millions of people who travel far to get to work everyday. Theirs is a different life. Theirs is the life of a commuter.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
My Dad's Stomping Grounds
Earlier this week I had a unique opportunity to make a legendery place come to life. I got to visit my dad's old playground and kingdom, Bartlett High School.
Growing up I'd always heard about the school, home of the Golden Bears, just outside of Anchorage. My dad was on the state-winning track team, starred in the play "Bye Bye Birdie", and had the time of his life winning friends, serving, and being elected as Senior Class President. I always knew Bartlett High existed, but with it being so far away I never knew if I'd ever actually see it.
When I got there I put my dad on the phone and for a good 45 minutes I got a personal tour via the phone of the old high school. He showed me the gym where he practiced pole vault, the stage he sang on, the "main place" area where he and his friends would hang out, the sports fields outside, and even a certain ramp where the hottest girl in the school had given him a nice big kiss. That was one of my favorites :)
It was so exciting to see it all! I felt like I was exploring part of my own past. I really feel that the person I am today is in large part due to who my dad was and is. It was like coming home and finding a piece of myself. My dad is my hero and it was cool to see the "early years" of how he came to be.
I'm really grateful I was able to go on that little fieldtrip to explore the land of my father: Bartlett High School.
Growing up I'd always heard about the school, home of the Golden Bears, just outside of Anchorage. My dad was on the state-winning track team, starred in the play "Bye Bye Birdie", and had the time of his life winning friends, serving, and being elected as Senior Class President. I always knew Bartlett High existed, but with it being so far away I never knew if I'd ever actually see it.
When I got there I put my dad on the phone and for a good 45 minutes I got a personal tour via the phone of the old high school. He showed me the gym where he practiced pole vault, the stage he sang on, the "main place" area where he and his friends would hang out, the sports fields outside, and even a certain ramp where the hottest girl in the school had given him a nice big kiss. That was one of my favorites :)
It was so exciting to see it all! I felt like I was exploring part of my own past. I really feel that the person I am today is in large part due to who my dad was and is. It was like coming home and finding a piece of myself. My dad is my hero and it was cool to see the "early years" of how he came to be.
I'm really grateful I was able to go on that little fieldtrip to explore the land of my father: Bartlett High School.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
One Year Ago
One year ago this moment I was flying over the Pacific Ocean from Taipei, Taiwan to Los Angeles, USA.
I'm no longer a fresh RM. I am back. I loved my mission and it meant so much to me. I love the people of Taiwan, my fellow missionaries, my mission President, and the experiences I had while I was there.
This day in many ways is more meaningful than New Years to me, because for the first time in my life I can distinctly remember exactly where I was, who I was, and what I had done one year previously from this point. New Years Days all kind of just fuzz together. The mission was such a distinct chapter of my life, and it so distinctly seperates my life before my mission and my life now. So it really gives me a day to sit back and analyze my life.
I've gone places that I hadn't planned on (New Hampshire, Minnesota, Canada, Alaska) and done things I didn't know I would (Murder Mystery, Into the Woods, EFY, major in film, buy two of my own cars, work as a technician). But could I have done more? My attitude towards a lot of things is, "How much can I fit into every single day/month/year so that I can look back one day and have nothing left undone". The anniversary of my return is exciting and rewarding realizing what I've done, but it's a kick on the butt as well. I could do more.
So now I pledge to myself that this next year is going to be even better. I'm not going to waste a second. There are things I told myself I would have done by now (learn the stock market, start a business, go to Europe) that mock me from the pages of my mission journal. I'll get them this time around. I will! I could have better spiritual progression as well. I could help more people. I need to better use my mission as a springboard to get higher and better and to be a better influence to those around me.
I'm grateful for this day, May 26th, and the implications it holds for my life. May we all do what we want/need/dream to do THIS day and THIS year and live with zero regrets.
I'm no longer a fresh RM. I am back. I loved my mission and it meant so much to me. I love the people of Taiwan, my fellow missionaries, my mission President, and the experiences I had while I was there.
This day in many ways is more meaningful than New Years to me, because for the first time in my life I can distinctly remember exactly where I was, who I was, and what I had done one year previously from this point. New Years Days all kind of just fuzz together. The mission was such a distinct chapter of my life, and it so distinctly seperates my life before my mission and my life now. So it really gives me a day to sit back and analyze my life.
I've gone places that I hadn't planned on (New Hampshire, Minnesota, Canada, Alaska) and done things I didn't know I would (Murder Mystery, Into the Woods, EFY, major in film, buy two of my own cars, work as a technician). But could I have done more? My attitude towards a lot of things is, "How much can I fit into every single day/month/year so that I can look back one day and have nothing left undone". The anniversary of my return is exciting and rewarding realizing what I've done, but it's a kick on the butt as well. I could do more.
So now I pledge to myself that this next year is going to be even better. I'm not going to waste a second. There are things I told myself I would have done by now (learn the stock market, start a business, go to Europe) that mock me from the pages of my mission journal. I'll get them this time around. I will! I could have better spiritual progression as well. I could help more people. I need to better use my mission as a springboard to get higher and better and to be a better influence to those around me.
I'm grateful for this day, May 26th, and the implications it holds for my life. May we all do what we want/need/dream to do THIS day and THIS year and live with zero regrets.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Pandora's Catch
I once heard a story. There was a mortal named Pandora who had a box full of all of the negative emotions, feelings, things, and ideas. The gods had put them in a box, knowing that Pandora's curiosity might get the better of her. I don't really remember most of the story, but eventually Pandora opens the box, and all of the little demons get out and infest the world. All except for one. Pandora manages to grab one by the tail and put it back in the box. It just so happened that she grabbed the most dangerous and destructive demon of all. It was forboding.
Hope is huge. Without it, I dare say the world and the people in it would cease to be happy. Say tomorrow was going to be a bad day. It just was. And you somehow knew it, 100%. Foreboding told you. Would today even be worth living? It'd be so hard to push yourself through the day, knowing that tough times and a bad day on the morrow awaited you. But that's not the case. We have hope.
No matter the circumstance, we can hope for a better tomorrow. We can hope that our favorite lunch will be served in the cafeteria, that the girl we like will catch on, that tomorrow work will go smoothly, that soon we'll be with people we love, that the trip we've planned to California is just around the corner. Hope is what gets us through.
One of my favorite questions to ask people is, "what are you looking forward to?" I love this question, and I learned it from my mother. I've always got to have something to put my eyes on, and that's really the trick to being happy all the time. Right now I'm looking forward to the peanut butter and jelly sandwhich in my car, my date tonight with a girl, sleep, church on Sunday, my vacation in July with the family, and many more distant events and goals. Yeah, today might be tough and I'll be working from 9 AM til 11:30 PM, but I've got hope.
Hope is my favorite Christlike attribute to study. It's HUGE and so crucial to mankind. That's really what the whole gospel is, right? We have a hope in the future that we'll be saved and reunited with our loved ones. Hope isn't blind wishing, it's trust and knowledge of things to come.
Hope is simply amazing.
Hope is huge. Without it, I dare say the world and the people in it would cease to be happy. Say tomorrow was going to be a bad day. It just was. And you somehow knew it, 100%. Foreboding told you. Would today even be worth living? It'd be so hard to push yourself through the day, knowing that tough times and a bad day on the morrow awaited you. But that's not the case. We have hope.
No matter the circumstance, we can hope for a better tomorrow. We can hope that our favorite lunch will be served in the cafeteria, that the girl we like will catch on, that tomorrow work will go smoothly, that soon we'll be with people we love, that the trip we've planned to California is just around the corner. Hope is what gets us through.
One of my favorite questions to ask people is, "what are you looking forward to?" I love this question, and I learned it from my mother. I've always got to have something to put my eyes on, and that's really the trick to being happy all the time. Right now I'm looking forward to the peanut butter and jelly sandwhich in my car, my date tonight with a girl, sleep, church on Sunday, my vacation in July with the family, and many more distant events and goals. Yeah, today might be tough and I'll be working from 9 AM til 11:30 PM, but I've got hope.
Hope is my favorite Christlike attribute to study. It's HUGE and so crucial to mankind. That's really what the whole gospel is, right? We have a hope in the future that we'll be saved and reunited with our loved ones. Hope isn't blind wishing, it's trust and knowledge of things to come.
Hope is simply amazing.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Car Tongues
So, you know how when you see something for the first time, every time you see it after that it is blatantly obvious and you can't figure out how you missed it before? Well it happened to me.
Maybe it's just an Alaska thing, but this one is killing me. Look at the front of a car. In probably 70% of the cars I've looked at lately, there's a little plug sticking out of the front. Just this little electrical plug dangling out of the grill of the car.
It's ridiculous! It looks like a little tongue hanging out- like a car is a dog waiting for a treat. I seriously can't take cars seriously now. I don't know if it's just me, or what, but go outside and look at a line of cars and look for that little tongue and I promise it'll make your day.
Maybe it's just an Alaska thing, but this one is killing me. Look at the front of a car. In probably 70% of the cars I've looked at lately, there's a little plug sticking out of the front. Just this little electrical plug dangling out of the grill of the car.
It's ridiculous! It looks like a little tongue hanging out- like a car is a dog waiting for a treat. I seriously can't take cars seriously now. I don't know if it's just me, or what, but go outside and look at a line of cars and look for that little tongue and I promise it'll make your day.
Monday, May 17, 2010
A Thing Called Home
Something is missing out here. It really is. Alaska is an awesome place, and it’s beautiful and fun and full of cool people. I’ve made lots of friends already and I’m sure it’ll get better and better. But something is missing and I realized what it was the other day.
It’s “home”. I don’t have a home here. More specifically, someone I can call home. In Ohio I have my family, in Utah I have my roommates, and on my mission I had my companion and district, but here there’s none of that yet. Yes, I have friends and co-workers, plus a really great friend that I’ve done lots with (she’s probably the closest thing to “home” for me right now), but no one to come home to. No one to share everything with. I’ll do things with friends and it’s great, but for most of the day I’m very much alone.
It’s funny, but I want someone to report to. Like at college I’d always tell my roommates where I’d be and they’d tell me where they’d be. You’d share everything with each other and be witnesses to each other’s lives. You always knew what they were doing and it added such significance. Here, I come home, perhaps text and call people, but don’t have anyone here to sit down with and say, “wow, that was a long day” or “you’ll never guess what I did today” or “how was your day?” or “I saw two moose on the highway!”.
This past week I went on perhaps the most gorgeous drive of my life and explored a brand new city. I went to the North Pole! I went to a pioneer museum! I saw the highest mountain in North America! It was cool….but it was empty. With no one to share it with, it’s like it never happened. It can’t be fully enjoyed. I really think that’s why people yearn to get married: so they can have someone to share everything with.
I’m not depressed and I really hate pity, but this is just an observation, as I mentioned my blog would be about: observation. I’ll stick it out and change something, or I'll leave—I believe in doing something about situations. I had planned on coming out here with my best friend, but that got changed at the last second and he wasn’t able to make it. But it’s been interesting realizing these past couple weeks what a “home” or “family” is and how important it is to survival and happiness.
So if you know someone who doesn’t have a “home” right now wherever they are, reach out to them and give them that little (actually, it's really big) piece that they need.
---appendum- Something has been done about it. I've made a plan, went to the temple, and am moving nice and forward. I love making plans. Life is just great, huh!
Friday, May 14, 2010
The Scent of a City
Cities are like people to me. In high school, on my mission, in college, and now in Alaska I have always loved road-tripping to a new place and getting acquainted with it like I would a new friend. Every city has such a distinct personality and feel to it. Be it Beavercreek, New York City, Mesa, Taichung, Provo, Los Alamitos, Cardston, Fengyuan, Anchroage, St. George, Zhubei, or Cincinnati, I love going in and figuring the place out.
I love trying to understand what it’s like to live in that city, to be FROM there. To understand what they do for fun, for work, for relaxation. Inevitably there are certain pieces of history, landmarks, or trademarks that each city’s citizens are proud of. After meeting so many people in so many places it’s easy to see that for the most part humans are all very similar. But each place gives a distinct seasoning to its people and makes them so much more appetizing and unique.
It’s been a fun week exploring the little town of Fairbanks, Alaska. The people are tough but kind and relieved for the summer to be here, the teenagers seem like they’ve got something to prove, and everyone seems content with the remote place in the world that they’ve chosen to live. I went to the neighboring town of North Pole to visit Santa, looked around Fairbanks’ bird observatory and their pioneer park, spent hours in their public library, and drove all around town working in various houses doing my job. The sun sets even later than Anchorage (last night at 1 am everything outside was still easily visible) and the people here are quietly enjoying their lives.
I love trying to understand what it’s like to live in that city, to be FROM there. To understand what they do for fun, for work, for relaxation. Inevitably there are certain pieces of history, landmarks, or trademarks that each city’s citizens are proud of. After meeting so many people in so many places it’s easy to see that for the most part humans are all very similar. But each place gives a distinct seasoning to its people and makes them so much more appetizing and unique.
It’s been a fun week exploring the little town of Fairbanks, Alaska. The people are tough but kind and relieved for the summer to be here, the teenagers seem like they’ve got something to prove, and everyone seems content with the remote place in the world that they’ve chosen to live. I went to the neighboring town of North Pole to visit Santa, looked around Fairbanks’ bird observatory and their pioneer park, spent hours in their public library, and drove all around town working in various houses doing my job. The sun sets even later than Anchorage (last night at 1 am everything outside was still easily visible) and the people here are quietly enjoying their lives.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Tools
What is it they tell you in science class about why humans are different than animals? Well among other reasons, the teacher almost always mentions that humans use tools to accomplish their tasks. How true that is.
Upon arriving at my week-stay apartment in Fairbanks, I discovered that it came completely “unfurnished”, meaning that there is literally nothing in the apartment except walls, drawers, and a mattress. And not wanting to buy a bunch of stuff since it’s only a week-long stay, I learned to get creative. I decided to treat it like a camping adventure, complete with a “no-shave” policy in effect until Sunday.
I fashioned my clothes into a web/blanket thing for night-time, used my work drill and pliers as a can-opener, two rolls of toilet paper as hot pads for the oven, a plastic spoon for all of my utensils, and an empty can of peaches for a pot/bowl.
So from this experience, I learned two things: we as humans definitely take a lot of things (like can-openers) for granted, and it’s simply fascinating to see what the human mind can come up with to serve as its “tools” in accomplishing everyday tasks.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
A Drive Through Alaska
Monday morning I received a text from my boss which said, "I need you in Fairbanks for a week. Pack your bags, k." And just like that, I had a week-long vacation/adventure in Fairbanks, Alaska!
The drive was beautiful. I drove through Denali National Park, home to Mount McKinley. I drove through beautiful trees, mountains, rivers, and hills to get here.
Seeing all of the beautiful sights made me think about how many square feet on this earth there are and how many I'll never get to see. Everywhere is beautiful in its own way, and it's so important to soak in the sights that we do get to see. If I hadn't have received that text from my boss on Monday, it's quite likely that I never would have seen the things I saw yesterday on that beautiful 6-hour drive.
The drive was beautiful. I drove through Denali National Park, home to Mount McKinley. I drove through beautiful trees, mountains, rivers, and hills to get here.
Seeing all of the beautiful sights made me think about how many square feet on this earth there are and how many I'll never get to see. Everywhere is beautiful in its own way, and it's so important to soak in the sights that we do get to see. If I hadn't have received that text from my boss on Monday, it's quite likely that I never would have seen the things I saw yesterday on that beautiful 6-hour drive.
Saturday, May 8, 2010
The Dishwasher Repairman
This summer I'm working as a technician. I've never been particularly handy with tools, cars, or fixing things and it's been a great opportunity to learn some skills that will probably be pretty...handy...in the future.
Anyways, I got home from work the other day and inside my apartment was a handyman fixing our dishwasher. Now in my life I've of course seen many a handyman, working at my school, my house, on the road, or wherever. But for the first time ever, I could RELATE to this man fixing my dishwasher.
All day I had been going into strangers' houses and digging into their walls at odd hours of the day, having half-hearted conversation, feeling tired and sometimes frustrated, feeling accomplished and proud of the work I had done. And now seeing this other man working on my dishwasher I realized that my avenue of "relation" and understanding technicians and handymen had been opened.
So what can we learn from this? I know that I learned it's important to at least try new things. Go be a waitor for a summer. Be a tour guide. Be a babysitter. Be an office assistant. Try teaching a class. In trying these things, even if we don't necessary love them, it opens our mind in completely new ways. It makes it worth it when you see that handyman in your apartment and can finally say, "man, I know exactly how you feel right now."
Anyways, I got home from work the other day and inside my apartment was a handyman fixing our dishwasher. Now in my life I've of course seen many a handyman, working at my school, my house, on the road, or wherever. But for the first time ever, I could RELATE to this man fixing my dishwasher.
All day I had been going into strangers' houses and digging into their walls at odd hours of the day, having half-hearted conversation, feeling tired and sometimes frustrated, feeling accomplished and proud of the work I had done. And now seeing this other man working on my dishwasher I realized that my avenue of "relation" and understanding technicians and handymen had been opened.
So what can we learn from this? I know that I learned it's important to at least try new things. Go be a waitor for a summer. Be a tour guide. Be a babysitter. Be an office assistant. Try teaching a class. In trying these things, even if we don't necessary love them, it opens our mind in completely new ways. It makes it worth it when you see that handyman in your apartment and can finally say, "man, I know exactly how you feel right now."
Friday, May 7, 2010
The Beginning
In the words of Proverbs, "Everything must have a beginning". Well here it is!
Life is full of chapters. High school is a chapter. Freshman, sophomore, junior, senior year are all chapters. A summer job, an adventure, a mission, a Christmas vacation, a relationship, a weekend away. We're constantly experiencing beginnings and endings, some coming quicker or slower than others.
Having just experienced one of these chapter page turns, I've decided to begin writing in a blog. In my communications class we learned about blogs here and there that get millions of followers and make big money. While that would certainly be swell, that's not the goal here.
At first I wanted to write something "different" that would catch the eye and make it one of a kind. But I'm not going to do that. This blog will contain my observations about life. Every day events will be put to type, not as a journal, but as an observation.
I recently watched the new movie "Sherlock Holmes"....and decided that Holmes is my new favorite superhero. He's remarkably observant. That's all it is. He observes everything around him and because of it he becomes powerful and efficient. He seeks to understand people, places, and events as they really are and learns to pick up on the clues that they present.
So as my summer in Alaska begins, so does my quest to play detective to life. To be successful in life you really only need to understand two things: God (and the world he created), and yourself.
Here goes!
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