Thursday, November 18, 2010

"You sing a sad song, just to turn it around..."

Yesterday was just a bad day. I say that, even though I know that I am blessed in so many ways and really have no reason to be sad. As much as I wish everyday was a day of sunshine, peach-filled crepes and happy endings, part of our progression here on earth depends on the experience we gain from not-so-great days. Bad days always have a way of reminding me of the things I know to be true and teaching me new things I've never thought about. I was thankful yesterday to have the knowledge that I have a Heavenly Father who loves me even when I don't get A's on tests or am just feeling lonely. I am thankful that Jesus Christ understands us more fully and intimately than anyone here on earth. I am thankful for parents that taught me how to become a prayerful person and have enough faith to put all my earthly cares at His feet and accept the answers I receive. I am thankful that the Holy Ghost is always there to give me small reminders of how blessed I really am. I know that days of sadness and frustration are part of the plan and make us stronger and more fit for the kingdom. Thank goodness for phone calls to family members, this talk, EFY music, good friends, the scriptures, and victorious BYU basketball games :)

Friday, November 12, 2010

Becoming Literate


Yesterday, I had a breakthrough. I had been in the library computer lab for hours and realized that I needed to leave the presence of loud obnoxious keyboards and Facebook addicts immediately. I didn't have a class for about 45 minutes, so I decided to take a look in the bookstore. I walked in the door and right away noticed a display featuring one of my favorite books, Tuesdays with Morrie. I turned the corner and saw another display of the most beautiful books I've ever seen. All of the classics that I've ever wanted to read were right in front of my eyes with hardcovers in gorgeous greens and blues. Each book had a different design in a complementary color embossed over the cover and spine. I'm pretty sure I stood there staring for a good 5 minutes before I realized they were in fact real, tangible objects that I could pick up and look at. I picked up a copy of Sense and Sensibility and flipped through the pages. I sat and opened to a random page and started reading. I was soon immersed in the lives of Marianne, Mr. Willoughby and Elinor and was almost late to my class. I hope that I can make this a regular occurrence because it made me so happy. Just holding the book made me happy. Having taken a Bookbinding class my first semester here at BYU, I know how much time and concentration would have gone into creating such a perfect book. Realistically, it was probably made in under a minute by big machines, but I like to picture an old gray-haired man sitting at a work bench under dim lights carefully holding each part of the book like it is a great treasure. I like to imagine that people who truly know the great value of books really do exist. I'm sure they're people like that out there. I hope to be one of them someday. Over the summer, I was able to visit an old book store in Yellowstone Park. They had a variety of new and antique books. I could have been there for hours. There is something almost reverent about holding a book with yellow faded pages and a slightly battered cover and thinking about the people who read this book. That's when I realized that I have a very strong fascination with books. I hope someday to have a large library filled with books. For now, I'll have to just enjoy my time reading in the bookstore.