English 312

 In middle school I was insecure. I cared too much about what others thought about me and in turn I didn't always do the right thing. One situation still haunts me today. There was a girl Courtney who was different and eccentric. Because middle school is a mean place, she was the laughing stock of the school. I remember once someone even put a fake rat in her backpack because they knew she was terrified of rats. The thing I have regretted ever since was that I was a by stander. She wanted to be my friend badly! I was never mean to her, but never made an effort to be nice. I would do anything to avoid talking to her and when others laughed, I would chuckle along, never standing up for her. This continued into high school.  The other day I had an interesting dream. I was given to opportunity to apologize to Courtney and become her friend. I found in the dream that I thoroughly enjoyed her friendship. I woke up wondering why I had such a vivid dream about someone I hadn't seen i...

What is the meaning of suffering? Why do we have to go through life with different trials and challenges? My favorite book as a child was “We’re Going on a Bear Hunt”. It portrays a family who is searching for a bear and in order to get to the cave, they have to overcome a set of obstacles. Every time they reach a challenge they repeat, “We can’t go over it, we can’t go under it, we’re going to have to go through it!”  I feel this way with trials and suffering. There is simply no way to avoid certain struggles. However, I believe that as we “go through” challenges, we learn who we are. Through suffering we are refined and molded into the people that we are meant to become. We suffer so we can help others who suffer. I have found many times in my life that after a trial, I am able to help someone else go through something similar. We suffer because if life was easy, we wouldn’t know or comprehend true joy. The greater sorrow we feel, the greater capacity we have to feel joy...

FOMO: the reason why we go places when we don’t feel like it. The sinking feeling we get when we don’t have anything going on. Why do we as humans have a fear of missing out? What is the reasoning behind it? Let me tell you about an experience that I had the other night. I had plans with my boyfriend, and all the sudden they were cancelled because his car broke down. So, there I was sitting and doing homework instead of going out on a beautiful, warm, and clear Friday night. I decided to resort to my bed and mope to myself. While I was I was sitting there I decided to scroll through my Instagram feed. I started to feel really sorry for myself because I saw pictures of people out having fun and laughing and there I was, doing nothing. I had contracted a serious case of FOMO.  FOMO has the following side effects: moping, feeling sorry for oneself, deep cravings for a full pint of Ben and Jerry’s half baked, and severe overthinking. I got a sinking pit in my stomach and started ...

I believe that any form of communication can be persuasive based on what the communicator wants to portray. In fact I think that comedy is a very effective persuasion technique because it lightens people up and subtly mentions opinions and ideas without coming across as pushy or invasive to another person's opinions.  Ryan Hamilton in his bit "Happy Face" is an example of persuasive comedy. In his sketch, Ryan briefly mentions the fact that he's not a drinker. He pokes fun at himself for not being social because he is not a drinker. However, he also pokes fun at drinkers. He talks about how he can't be social, because when he goes to events and doesn't drink, people get embarrassed because Ryan actually remembers what they did the previous night. By poking fun at himself it shows his confidence and helps the listener feel more confident and comfortable with the fact that they are not drinking. I am grateful that comedy is around to persuade because it makes ...

I decided to do the 3-week challenge to write in my journal daily highlighting the positive aspects of my day. I was excited to start this, because for the previous month I had been feeling bogged down by school, work, and my dating life. Nothing seemed to be going right, and I would come home every day feeling physically and emotionally exhausted. Sick of feeling this way, I had hope that this experiment would work, and I would experience more excitement and joy in my life. Not only was this experiment a success, but I learned and experienced a new way of living that was better than I could have imagined! I will carry this attitude over in all aspects of my life, improving the quality of life for my future family. First, by keeping a positivity journal, I was able to have a positive impact on my relationships and the people around me. Instead of hearing me complain about how hard my life was, my friends and I laughed and smiled more together. I learned that my negativity was someth...

I have always been fascinated with God’s creations. In fact, my favorite place to be is on the peak of a mountain observing the exquisite scene set before me. Knowing I am one of His designs, I have learned to embrace who I truly am. When I sing, I sing loud. When I laugh, I can’t stop. Chocolate and chicken nuggets are my weakness. My biggest fear is the darkness. Although I am fiercely independent, I am still one hundred percent dependent on my Father in Heaven who has made me who I am.