NEWS

I am not one that has ever been super involved with watching the news. This is partly due to my busy schedule, partly because I don't have TV, so it's kind of an out of sight out of mind type thing for  me. I realize I probably should be more proactive about keeping up with the current events, but sometimes it is hard to have a desire. It often seems like all there is on the news is danger and violence and depressing issues. It really gives you a wake-up call when some event hits close to home and that event is spread all over breaking news. That actually happened this week for me. A relative that is a police officer was involved in the shooting that took place yesterday. Luckily he was not injured, but he was there when one of the officers got shot in the head. What a traumatic experience!

The NEWS can definitely be an excellent source of media, but as I mentioned above, it can often be depressing! I have realized that I should probably be better about keeping up with the current events so that I can be a better and more active citizen of this country rather than just a bystander. It does not solve anything to ignore what is going on, but we must educate ourselves so that we can be positive influences to those around us, including our future children.

LDS.ORG

I am amazed with the technology of the world today. Its growth is continually increasing at an extremely rapid rate. We are all aware that there is a lot of filth out there in the media so readily available to us by way of the new technological advances, but I am also very impressed and happy to say that there are also a lot of good media uses. I am happy to see that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has also been able to take advantage of these advances. So many online resources are available for us that have not been available in the past! Family History can be done at an accelerated rate, past and present conference issues are available to read, listen to, or watch, and programs for the youth and missionaries are available online to help spread the gospel. It is just a testimony to me that as the evil in the world increases, so does the amount of good!

Arrow

So I decided that it is NOT a good idea to get hooked on a new TV show while I am in school! I should have learned my lesson by now...lol. Recently (and by recently I mean the last week) my husband and I have started watching a new series on Netflix. The show is called "Arrow" and it is based on one of the comic books. It reminds me a little bit of batman but with a Robin Hood twist. It is the classic story- rich kid goes through traumatic experience that changes his life and makes him seek justice for his city. I enjoy watching shows/movies like this, but I haven't stopped to reflect until now as to whether or not working outside the law to fight crimes is moral or not. We are encouraged to be law-abiding citizens, but what if those working within the law need a little extra help? Is it ok to be a little bad to take down a greater bad? What is morally correct?

"The Middle"

When I woke up yesterday morning, I had a feeling it was going to be a very stressful day. Thursdays are especially long and I was feeling the weight of all of my school work building up along with my other responsibilities outside of school. As I was leaving my house, I realized that I needed to stop at the grocery store on my way to school and so I made a speedy stop in hopes of still making it on time to class. As I walked through the automatic doors at the entrance of the store, I heard in the background the song, "The Middle" by Jimmy Eat World. A smile immediately came across my face and a calmness swept over. I don't think any song would have this effect on me, but there is meaning attached to this song for me. First of all, my cousin is in the band. Secondly, since I am familiar with the song, I already knew the lyrics and the chorus rang true to me. Hearing the song reminded me that sometimes life is hard, but it just takes some time, and everything will be alright. This experience just reminded me of how powerful music can be!

In case you aren't familiar with the song, here are the lyrics:

 

"The Middle"

Hey, don't write yourself off yet
It's only in your head you feel left out or looked down on.
Just try your best, try everything you can.
And don't you worry what they tell themselves when you're away.

It just takes some time, little girl you're in the middle of the ride.
Everything (everything) will be just fine, everything (everything) will be alright (alright).

Hey, you know they're all the same.
You know you're doing better on your own, so don't buy in.
Live right now.
Yeah, just be yourself.
It doesn't matter if it's good enough for someone else.

It just takes some time, little girl you're in the middle of the ride.
Everything (everything) will be just fine, everything (everything) will be alright (alright).
It just takes some time, little girl you're in the middle of the ride.
Everything (everything) will be just fine, everything (everything) will be alright (alright).

Hey, don't write yourself off yet.
It's only in your head you feel left out or looked down on.
Just do your best, do everything you can.
And don't you worry what the bitter hearts are gonna say.

It just takes some time, little girl you're in the middle of the ride.
Everything (everything) will be just fine, everything (everything) will be alright (alright).
It just takes some time, little girl you're in the middle of the ride.
Everything (everything) will be just fine, everything (everything) will be alright (alright).

"For Better Air, Carpool Tomorrow"

Every morning I have about a 25-30 minute commute to work and school. Only this morning did I realize JUST how many ways I can be influenced by some kind of media in that amount of time! There are billboards and other types of advertisement signs alongside the roads, the radio, CD’s I could possibly listen to, among many others. The first sign I noticed made me laugh. It was one of those digital marquee boards on the freeway that says “For Better Air, Carpool Tomorrow”. Hilarious right?? Haha, ok I know it normally wouldn’t be. But seeing that sign reminded me of the time that I was playing Telestrations with my husband’s family. If you don’t know what Telestrations is, let me inform you. :)

 

Telestrations is a game where everyone starts out with a piece of paper and they have to draw an item that they have chosen, but nobody else knows what it is. Once they draw that item, they pass it on to the next person and that person has to write out in words what they think it is a picture of. Then that person passes just the words onto the next person. That receiver then draws what the previous person wrote down. And then you continue that cycle of drawing and writing until it makes a full circle back to you. At that point everyone takes turns showing everyone else how the very first topic evolved into the very last picture. Every once in a while it would be dead on, but USUALLY it would take a very funny twist and end up being something completely different. In a way this game is a little bit like the Telephone game. Wait, I think that might be why it’s called Telestrations!! Wow…I am a genius. 

What does this have to do with anything you might ask? Well, the reason I laughed when I saw that sign is because when we were playing that game, one of the topics was Freeway. My father-in-law was the one that had to draw it, and he chose to put on his picture the sign that said, “For Better Air, Carpool Tomorrow”. We all got a kick out of that and it has been a family joke ever since. I thought it was a very clever clue to help the next person guess what he had drawn (although I think he cheated a little bit because we weren’t supposed to use words in our drawings...lol).

 Long story short, the media is so prevalent in our lives, that in this case it was used as a symbol to help others understand what the big picture was. And what’s interesting is that we ALL understood his reference to that sign. Cool right?

Rather than risking my life by taking a picture while driving, below is a similar sign to get the "picture" ;)

The Ultimate Life

Since I have decided to major in Family Studies, it seems that everything in my life outside of school reminds me of what I have been learning in my classes. It is AWESOME! This semester I am taking a class called "Family Adaptation and Resiliency". Only after the first week of classes, I had a neat experience of my learning in action. Yesterday at Stake Conference, one of the speakers happened to mention something about families, in particular children, and what things help them be more resilient in life. Out of the 4 or 5 options that were given, the number one thing that researches have found to be linked with more resilience in children, was the children's desire to learn more about their ancestors. As I heard this, it made me reflect back on a movie I recently watched- The Ultimate Life. This movie was a sequel (and prequel) to the movie The Ultimate Gift. In the sequel, it talks about how Jason Stevens, the grandson that inherited his grandfather Red Stevens' foundation, gets so caught up in family business that he begins to put aside the most important things, AKA his relationship with Alexia. What brings him to his senses is a connection with his grandfather that he feels when he reads his grandfather's journal. Learning about his grandfather's life helps Jason re-prioritize his own life and helps him remember what is most important.

Although this movie did not have the best acting, the message behind it and the feelings I felt helped me remember that there are definitely good sources of media out there with good lessons to be learned, we just need to be proactive about finding them!