S1E5

Aloooha!

Week one of fall semester, done! Hee yeah! And I don't think it could have gone any better! Well, I take that back... I guess setting up for the 80s dance on Friday only for Marcus Wing's stage to be blown down and destroyed was kind of a downer. And there was the dude that showed up for the dance after drinking a Red Bull spiked with pre-work out that was pretty bummed when he found out he'd have to work off all that caffeine elsewhere. And I'm not a billionaire yet, so I guess things could have been better in that area too. But I guess it'll all come in time... Patience, right?

Ah, for real though. Being back in school has been the bomb. It feels so incredibly nice to be busy again. And I've been amazed at how well I've been able to balance things out so far this week. Between school, sleep, a social life, and (trying to find) work, I'm feelin' gooood. That could just be because it's the first week and a lot of classes were heavier on reviewing the syllabus (or in the case of my beginning tennis class, having all the rackets stolen over the summer and cancelling a couple days in a row) than actual schoolwork, but hey... I've got things under control so far. Stay positive from the beginning, right?

Let's see... What's made this week great... Well, I guess I hit a pretty big milestone. I'm at the age now where I start dressing like a hipster and making fun of my exes. This should be an adventure. Started off twenty-one last year a half a world away with crocodiles, Italian food, the Indian Ocean, Elder Mphaka, Elder Sieverts, Elder Mackie, and continuing on in one of the greatest callings on earth. It had ups, downs, diagonals, and everything in between, but all-in-all it was definitely the best year of my life so far. Twenty-two's off to a great start too. Between being in Logan with some of the greatest friends in the world (sorry to the ones living elsewhere rn), being able to FaceTime the fam bam in Hawaii, learning to use a selfie stick, Texas Roadhouse, someone who forgot all about Braden Hess, and a couple-days belated birthday lunch at Tandoori Oven... I don't think there's much else a guy can ask for. Twenty-two... Let the games begin,

Oh! So this was pretty cool. I've been walking to class basically every day. I've taken the bus a couple times, but I mean it's only like a 20 minute walk from Oakridge to campus, and the weather's way too nice to be spending too much time in a vehicle. Anyway, I was up on campus late one night cleaning up after high stakes bingo (one of the best parts of Week of Welcome, by the way). By the time I was able to make the trek back it was like 11:30, and there was a song stuck in my head... Can't remember what it was, but when I pulled my earbuds out to listen to it, I saw that the little rubber piece at the end of one of them was missing. Seems to happen a lot with the Skullcandies. Sigh... So I start looking for it on the ground without any luck, when all of a sudden a couple guys chilling outside their apartment came and offered a helping hand. We looked for a couple minutes, still with no luck, and eventually I was compelled to be on my merry way. They offered their condolences for my loss and we bade each other farewell. As I was walking away, I thought to myself, "If I had seen a complete stranger looking for something outside my apartment at 11:30 at night... Would I offer a helping hand?" I think all of us would like to think we would, but I don't know that we always would. It's so easy to make excuses instead of doing small acts of goodness in people's lives. And there's opportunities for it all the time. I guess we just have to be consciously looking for them and doing them. I don't remember those guys' names, and I'm still without my little rubber piece on one of my earbuds, but man... I sure did appreciate their willingness to help. If you were ever doubting that there are good people still in the world, fear not my friends... They exist.

Ah, and on kinda that same theme, it's Sunday right now. Church today was fantastic. Probably one of the most spiritually edifying meetings I've been to in a while. Perhaps it was the message, perhaps it was just that I was more engaged and willing to listen than usual today... Either way, I felt like I had found answers to questions I had. The lesson in Sunday school was on the Plan of Salvation and the Priesthood lesson focused on the Atonement. The elders quorum president... Eish, I can't remember his name, but I do remember he's from Bicknell, Utah, wherever the nic that is. Anyway, he was asking us how we're going to use the Atonement this school year, and the thought that came to me was for the day to day things... I mean, really, most of the time, we're not going to have grievous sins we need to repent of. And perhaps a lot of the time it may not even be things we're doing wrong, but things we could be doing better. If we're not spiritually where we want to be, if we feel like we could manage our time at school better, if we want to kick a bad habit, if we want to be more patient with people, if we want to be more outgoing... That's exactly what the Atonement's for. Christ doesn't just understand our suffering when we sin; he understands our desires and longings to do better when we feel like we're not reaching our full potential. He understands that we can be hard on ourselves and that it can be easy to get discouraged. But because of the Atonement, He's willing and able to forget our shortcomings as we resolve to do better the next time. If He can, can't we too? When we're not who we want to be, He'll help us get there regardless of our past. Once we realize that we truly can be who the Lord needs us to be, the windows of heaven are opened and we can see, and eventually reach, our full potential. Like the small, consistent acts of goodness of my earbud friends, reaching our full potential comes through small, consistent acts of self-improvement. It doesn't come all at once, but line-upon-line, precept-upon-precept.

Eish, I guess I'm getting a little preachy, eh? I dunno, I thought it was good stuff. I'm just excited for everything that lies ahead this year. Week one has been awesome, and I only see things going up.

Well, it's like 1:00 AM now. Game night with the cousins went a little longer than expected. I've got a run planned in the morning before the Labor Day get-together starts, so I should probably wrap up for now. Until next week!

Much love and aloha!

Dizzy

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