Affect-ive Decisions

Hey guys. I done been thinking this week about the effects our decisions have on other people. I know a lot of times we say things to ourselves like "This won't hurt anybody..." or "No one will know/care," but the fact of the matter is that every decision you make can affect someone else. In my Book of Mormon class we talked about this in relation to Corianton, an individual in the book. Corianton was trying to teach some people about Christ, but when those people saw Corianton's actions they were disinclined to believe his teachings. My professor always says, "You teach who you are." We've all heard "actions speak louder than words" a million times, but how often do we really stop to think about it? A decision you make today could affect millions of people for generations...
One pretty big example of this is missionary work. (It all comes back to missionary work!) Every missionary touches thousands of lives, even if he or she only teaches a few people. It's like a ripple effect. One drop leads to lots of ripples.
So the moral of the story is, don't underestimate the consequences of your actions. You aren't always the only one who has to deal with them. Don't be selfish. Stop living for yourself and start living for others. If everyone lived to try and make someone else's life better, imagine how great the world would be!
GUYS, MAKE GOOD DECISIONS. DO GOOD THINGS.
I know you're all good people. :)


So let's get to the Thankful List, shall we?


*drumroll please...*

#1: Awesome friends and family!
#2: Getting to spend some serious quality girl-time with my mom and sisters :)
#3: Long weekends
#4: Free paint samples from Wal-Mart and a little Pinterest creativity:

#5: COUNTRY SWING DANCE!

#6: An awesome fiery-haired best-friend-dance-partner

#7: Good hair days

and, last but certainly not least...

#8: You! Because if you're reading my blog, you're awesome. And I appreciate it :)

Also, you should watch this video if you haven't already. The song is freaking neat-o. 

Have a fabulous day!

Missionary Prayer

Hello, Readers!
As many of you probably don't know, I am now a student at Brigham Young University in beautiful (and currently FREEZING) Provo, Utah. As a student of this wonderful institution, I am required (and blessed!) to take a religion course every semester. This semester I get to study The Book of Mormon, which is one of the key parts of my religion. It's really cool to get to study this amazing book and learn things about it I never would have known if I hadn't taken this class.
Anyway, the point is that part of my homework in this class is to write a forum entry every week on an impression or thought I had or something I learned in class or doing the reading. So this week I thought I'd share my entry with all y'alls :)
Since it's my second semester of the class, we're studying the second half of the BoM, starting with the book of Alma, chapters 30 and 31. In chapter 30, we are given an example of someone working with the devil's tactics to bring us down. Chapter 31 is the exact opposite - it shows us how to work with the Lord's tactics to bring others (and ourselves) up. It's a great example of missionary work, which I found really helpful this past week.
In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, we put a lot of emphasis on the importance of missionary work. Young men are heavily encouraged to serve a full-time, two-year mission when they turn 19 (or, if they choose, 18, due to a recent announcement by the First Presidency). Young women, while not under the same obligation to serve, are welcome and even encouraged to serve a mission if they choose. What with the recent news, there has been a lot of talk about missionary work, and I think it's important to remember that whether or not you choose to serve a full-time mission, you can always do missionary work. I found some verses in Alma 31 (specifically verses 26-35) to be really helpful in working towards being an effective missionary. Here Alma is praying to the Lord to help Alma and his companions be patient and have the strength to make it through their afflictions and to be able to help and serve the people (Zoramites) the way they need to. The biggest thing to remember is to love the people you serve and truly want to help them. If you get outside of yourself and truly try to put others before you, you'll find your life improving in so many ways. I heard a great analogy today, and I'd like to share it with you now. It's called:
THE PARABLE OF THE POPPER

"Behold at the time of harvest the ears of corn did bring forth kernels, which were dried and prepared for the popper's hand.  And then it was that the popper did take the kernels, all of which did appear alike unto him and did apply the oil and the heat.  And lo, it came to pass that when the heat was on, some did explode with promise and did magnify themselves an hundred fold, and some did burst forth with whiteness, which did both gladden the eye and satisfy the taste of the popper.
 

And likewise, some others did pop, but not too much.  But lo, there were some that did just lie there and even though the popper's heat was alike unto all, they did bask in the warmth of the oil and kept everything they had for themselves.  And so it came to pass that those which had given of themselves did bring joy and delight to many munchers, but those which kept of the warmth and did not burst forth were fit only to be cast out into the pail and were thought of with hardness and disgust.
 

And thus we see that in the beginning all appear alike, but when the heat is on, some come forth and give their all, while others fail to pop and verily become like unto chaff, to be discarded and forgotten."

I have no idea who wrote it, but it wasn't me, so don't give me the credit for it. I just really like how it shows us that magnifying yourself and sharing what you have helps other people be happy, while keeping all your talents, service, etc. to yourself doesn't help anyone, not even you. 

So there's your happy thought for the day. Whether you're a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints or not, you can find a way to magnify yourself and serve others, and when all else fails, just try to love the people around you. The rest will fall into place. :)

So, in the true Optimismus style, I now end with my list of Happys for today:

1. Big, ugly, comfy sweaters.

2. Colorful pens (especially the pink one)

3. Not procrastinating any more!

4. Finding a booth to sit at during lunch

5. Making new friends

6. A new beginning to make life what you want it to be :)

Go out there and make a happy in someone's life :)

New Year, New Year

So, I realize it's been quite a while since last I posted... What with being a brand-new college student, juggling classes and a job and getting no sleep and everything, it's hard to remember to post :P

So HAPPY NEW YEAR! 2012 slipped by like nobody's business... Holy cow, it seems like just yesterday I was freaking out about getting all my IB requirements finished and turned in by their January deadlines! (Which, by the way, I DID finish, and I got my IB diploma! *yay!*)

It being New Years and all, I figure I should make a resolution. I always forget to make an actual resolution, so maybe this year I should resolve to actually make a resolution... Hmm. Does that count? Probably not. I feel like I'm sort of copping out by saying something like "Well, I just want to be a better person and improve myself!" because, let's be honest, that's LAME. I also, however, don't want to make an unrealistic goal that I'll have a hard time keeping. Do you see my problem?

So here's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna be semi-vague, but kinda specific-ish. I'm gonna resolve, in the year 2013, to become better at saving money, develop closer relationships with my family, and also be better at remembering to update my blog. *cough.* So yay! Resolutions!

As is the style of Optimismus, I'll end the post with a list of things to be happy about :)

1. Having something to look forward to each day when I wake up, thanks to a very special someone <3
2. The new Les Miserables movie... Seriously, don't listen to anyone who didn't like it. It was amazing.
3. Roommates with whom I can have ridiculous dance parties and also gush about how handsome a certain student professor is.
4. A best friend with whom I can discuss all of the above, plus anything and everything else (assuming we're not giggling too hard to speak).
5. The best family EVER. 'Nuff said.
6. Having a whole year of possibilities ahead of me to have adventures, be myself, and just be happy.

May your new year be full of awesomeness! Go out and do something you love. It'll make you happy. :)