A Week of Wins

So... some things this week were less than ideal. But, for every down, there were a few ups! Here are some wins from a potentially loserific week:

• I finished my time consuming block class, and I picked up 2 new classes I love!

• Dani got me Chick-fil-a for dinner one night (and for those of you who don't know, this is one of the ways to my heart <3)

• I went to the farmer's market with Kristin, Aubrey, and Jordan and got some amazing peaches and delicious salsa! I love those girls :)

• Jannette and I may or may not have had a girls night with an exceptionally humorous trip to Smiths, and excessive amount of food, and an excellent bonding time

• I got to go hiking with one of my bestest friends. We started out on a trail and hiking up, but we found a path of rocks we couldn't resist, and so we climbed a good way up those, which was very exciting! Coming down was a lot harder, and I struggled.... but it was absolutely beautiful! I wish I had a picture of the mountains and colorful trees to post, but this video will have to suffice!

• I got to ride with Dani on her motorcycle and go play frisbee at the park. I started out atrocious, but luckily I redeemed myself by the end.... and she and Ben may have also made some dang good cinnamon rolls with pumpkin spice icing on top, that was definitely a plus as well!

• I spent some good quality time with Nicole shopping, and any time with Nicole also entails an ab workout from laughing, so we killed two birds with one stone!

• I also may or may not have gotten this picture from my sister, with a text that said, "Hope your day is looking as sexy as me ;)" ...yep. My family stinkin' rocks!

• My MCOM teacher actually thinks I am a good writer, (Which is monumental because the last writing teacher I had trashed my self-esteem) and I finished up a stressful block class, and picked up 2 awesome ones for the rest of the semester!

• I may or may not have a friend driving home with me for Thanksgiving and staying with me and my family! (fingers crossed!)

• I finally got past my stupid security questions for my iTunes account, and was able to buy this song. My friend Ross introduced me to it a few weeks ago after our 5k, and I am borderline obsessed with it

And the best news is, this week isn't even over! I also get to have breakfast with some friends, go shooting, make a movie for class, support 3 friends at their half marathon, go to stake conference, go answer questions for future London study abroaders, and in between all of that I am sure many other fun things will happen.

Basically, this week has the potential to be one of the lamest weeks... but it has turned out to be a very successful one! I have to best roommates in the world (and they have the best boyfriends), the best friends in the world, and the best family in the world. :)

Hands

The inspiration for this post came during this past summer at Subway, when my brother Elliot and I were comparing our hand sizes. I have some pretty small hands for an adult human being, and his hands are large.

Left: Elliot's index finger    Rightt: my index finger

Left: my pinky               Right: his pinky 

Left: my index finger           Right: his pinky

Left: his thumb                Right: my thumb

My hand on his hand

Left: my hand span       Right: his hand span

In Church today we were talking about service, and how we are the hands of God. My mind wandered to this incident, and the comparison of Elliot's and my hands. I was laughing about the huge difference in our sizes, and then I shifted my thoughts to us as spiritual hands.

Our spiritual hands our similar in the sense that we each have:

• A thumb(s up) to share support and encouragement with each other. 
• An index finger to point people in the right direction
• A middle finger for snapping, to get the attention of those around us
• A ring finger with a vein that runs directly to our heart, a.k.a. passion and emotion
• A pinky for promises and covenants, to keep our word and be someone others can rely on

Elliot and I compared our hands, examining each little part, laughing at the major differences in our hands, even though both consisted of a thumb, index finger, middle finger, ring finger, pinky, knuckles, palm, etc... Depending on the occasion, his hands might be more suited for the job. If we needed to grab something that slid in-between seats, my hands would be much more suited to reach in and grab the item. If we were needing to carry something large, his hands would be much more able to do so than mine.

What if I based my worth on how well my hands could accomplish what his hands can accomplish? If I was determined to open every jar, have the same sized handfuls, or be the ultimate winner at thumb wars. I would be a very sad person. It sounds silly that I would obsess over my hands being able to do the same as his hands, when mine are capable of just as many things, just different things. 

Why do we do this with us as spiritual hands? Why do we get so worked up over being able to do the same things as others around us, when our spiritual hands are different sizes? We are all important. All of us are God's hands, because we are all needed to do very individual and unique jobs, that others simply cannot do. 

I am God's hands. You are God's hands. WE are God's hands. Let's stop comparing and worrying. Nothing is wrong with your hands, unless they are idle. Use them. Let's make a difference.

If Only They Knew

I am a Health Education major. I am in my last year of classes, and this year I have been going into high schools and middle schools to observe health classes to learn how to teach and such. I am in middle schools this week and last week, and the unit that is being taught right now is nutrition and fitness.

I was observing a first period health class, and a discussion was going on about weigh gain, weight loss, and weight management. The teacher asked the class how they could lose weight, and almost unanimously the class answered, "anorexia." I was pretty disturbed by that, but the teacher shut that down and moved on.

Well, in the second period class, same discussion going on, same question comes up, and once again the class answered, "anorexia." Are you serious? I stayed for one more class period, where the same scenario took place.

I was thoroughly disgusted. These are children! Thirteen year old children, and they are all shouting out that anorexia is the answer to weight loss. And it wasn't only one or two students in each class, it was 3 out of 3 health classes.

Today, I observed a different teacher, and different students. This teacher asked me to grade some assignments for her, and I started doing so, mindlessly making sure everything was filled out. About 12 papers in, I noticed a word in all caps, "BULIMIA." I looked to see what the question was:

"What is an effective way to manage your weight?"

Manage your weight. Not even lose weight, but just to manage it. Shocked, I counted it wrong and wrote a little note about how that is unhealthy and dangerous. Next paper, same thing. I was floored! I finished grading and went back through the first half I had already graded, and about half of the class answered that bulimia was an effective way to manage your weight.

Who is teaching these children to destroy their bodies for the sake of a mirror? Who is telling them that it is okay to damage yourself physically and starve yourself in order to have a gap between your thighs? or to see your hip bones? Or to lose the bit of fat around your abdomen?

What about the emotional and mental scarring that comes from eating disorders? What about the strong disdain towards their bodies no matter how much weight they lose? What about the fatigue and inability to concentrate? What about the possibility of sickness, disease, hospitalization, and even death?

Why do the children not know that depression almost always accompanies an eating disorder? Why are they not informed that they can have their own personal "perfect" body by feeding it the proper nutrients and exercising? Why do they not know that happiness is not found in a reflection?

If only these sweet children could know how serious eating disorders are, and how dangerous they are spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and physically. Starving yourself or throwing up will NOT give you your desired effect. It will actually destroy what self confidence you do have.

Please, teach these children. If you have kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews, cousins, siblings, or any interaction with young people, correct this misperception.

That is all.