Always Learning

Aloooha!

When the semester ends and in an instant you have much more free time than you know what to do with, it’s amazing the things you’re able to start accomplishing. Things like going running for the second time in three months (the other time being over Thanksgiving break) or eating a healthier diet than peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and Little Caesar’s pizza or binge watching all the Star Wars movies. Probably the best thing to do, though, is reflect back on everything that’s happened since the semester started… Look at where you were then, where you are now, how you’ve grown, how you’ve regressed, what you’ve learned, what you want to stop doing, what you want to keep doing, what you want to start doing… Those kinds of things. Because if you’re going through life without learning from and appreciating everything that’s happening, what’s the point…?

A wise man once gave me this advice: “Learn from the past. Prepare for the future. Live in the present.” It wasn’t until much later that I realized he was quoting Tommy Monson. Go figure. But that’s kinda what this post is gonna be about. Reflections on this last semester and goals for the next. Buckle up, fam, because it’s been a wild ride.

My schedule was so eclectic this semester that you could have looked at it and not had any idea what I was majoring in. (To be fair, I guess I wasn’t totally sure about that for a while either.) Between upper division economics and biology classes, a chemistry class, an English class, a tennis class, and of course, a Western swing class, I was learning things that had almost no relevance to each other. That kinda sucked, but at the same time, learning a whole mess of different subjects gives you a really good idea of what you like and what you don’t like. I really appreciate the people who are into atoms and acids and bases and molecular genetics and stuff, I appreciate that their fields of study are incredibly important and relevant, and I applaud them for pursuing that. But after a month or so of genetics and chemistry, I learned that I really, really, really don’t care about the mechanics of what happens in my cells, and a career relating to that doesn’t appeal to me in the slightest. I’m much more interested in how society works, in how people behave and respond to incentives… Those sorts of things. Things I’d get to learn more about if I were to double major in, say, Economics and International Business. Hence, that’s the plan. ...for now, at least.

So the plus side to a bunch of different classes? You learn pretty quickly what you like. The down side? Well, you can’t really drop the classes you don’t like once you’re that far into the semester. You learn pretty quickly that learning material simply for the sake of performing well on tests is frustrating and demotivating, but you kinda gotta push through them to maintain your GPA.

I learned through experience that there is such thing as putting too much on your plate. If you spread yourself too thin getting involved in too many things, you won’t be able to excel in any one of them in particular. I covered this in another blog post, but this was definitely one of my biggest take-aways from this semester. Whatever you do, do it well, and don’t do too much. (Or still do, despite learning this lesson… Still low-key struggling with this one.)

I learned that the people you should always make a priority in your life are the ones that are always gonna make you a priority in theirs. These people are gonna be few, but that’s ok. They’re gonna be the ones that you’ll be golfing and skiing with when you’re in your 70s.

Perhaps the greatest lesson I’ve learned this semester (or maybe have had reinforced) has been a very real application of the principle of agency. To illustrate this, there’s an occasion in the Pearl of Great Price when the Lord takes Enoch on a walk and shows him all the inhabitants of the earth. At one point, Enoch sees that the Lord is weeping and asks him why. The Lord explains that he created us and gave us knowledge and agency -- the freedom to act for ourselves. He gave us the commandment to love, yet our carnal selves often choose to hate and be without affection, leading to the suffering of both the hatees and the haters. The Lord can command us in all things, yet he has not the power to force or compel us to do anything. For this reason, I believe, he wept. Not because he wants to be able to control us, but because he understands better than anyone that love and nothing else is what will ultimately lead us to happiness, and when we disregard this, we miss out on some very real and sublime blessings. That’s the burden that comes along with the gift of agency. Unwise decisions often result in suffering, yet allowing us to act for ourselves is completely essential to our progression. There are some things we simply must learn through experience.

Just as the Lord allows each of us to act for ourselves, it’s our responsibility to allow others to do the same. We may give advice to friends, and they may or may not heed it, but either way, we have to be ok with their decisions, even (or perhaps especially) if we know it’s going to cause them pain. If we take a look at our own track records on decision making, are any of us even close to being perfect? Not a chance. But our choices and experiences define who we are. So, here’s to becoming the best people we can be, one right or wrong decision at a time.

I know there’s more to reflect on this semester (like the amount of tacos or Indian food I’ve eaten), but this is all that’s coming to mind right now. We’ve got Revenge of the Sith to watch, so I probably ought to wrap up. I’m looking forward to the break, and I’m excited for next semester. I’m excited for classes relevant to what I want to make a career out of. I’m excited to know just what I’m gonna be involved in and dedicating my time to. I’m excited to spend more time with the people I love. And I’m excited to keep learning and stumbling my way through this wonderful, beautiful journey we call life.

Much love and aloha my friends. Mele kalikimaka!

Dizzy

Love and War, Humanity and Dance: Musings of a Western Swing Student on Universal Pictures' Bring it On

A wise man named Brandon Flowers once asked, “Are we human? Or are we dancer?” At the time, his sign was vital and his hands were cold. He ended up on his knees looking for the answer, though we’re unsure if he ever found it. Perhaps he never did. Or perhaps he did, but he wants us each to find it for ourselves. Of course, there’s the superficial answer to this question that most quasi-intelligent individuals should know. Being human and being dancer are not two mutually exclusive events -- most dancers are also human, although most humans are not also dancers (even if they think they are -- sadly, being proficient in “twerking,” “whipping,” or “nae-nae-ing” does not qualify you as a “dancer” in this sense of the word). But then, there’s the deeper answer -- the one that transcends our limited human understanding. Just what does it mean to be human? Or dancer? What do these titles say about who we are inside -- our characters? Although it may not answer these questions entirely, the critically acclaimed film Bring It On offers us several profound insights.

Bring It On tells the tale of a cheerleading squad that’s competing for its sixth consecutive national championship. To get there, they have to overcome many obstacles -- scandal, drama, and sexual tension, among others. In the end, they end up taking second place to a rival squad, but they learn a few things along the way. (And the guy ends up with the girl, so what more could you ask for in a movie?)

One of the most important lessons from the film can be summed up in one quote: “This isn’t about cheating. It’s about winning!” Charlie Sheen can attest to that, as can Donald Trump. In life, we all want to win, and we don’t have to cheat to get there. Charlie Sheen wins because tiger blood runs through his veins. Donald Trump wins because he speaks very loudly about his great ideas (like building a big wall). Neither of them cheat, but they’re winners! The same went for the cheer squads. Indeed, the Toros chose to knowingly cheat a time or two. Did they end up winning the championship? The answer is, sadly, no. They placed second. The Toros were not winners.

But as humans, we’re bound to mess up a time or two, right? We’re not going to be winners all the time. Sometimes we have to lose every once in awhile to appreciate the times we win. To borrow a scriptural term, we have to “taste the bitter, that [we] may know to prize the good.” (Moses 6:55) The Toros had never tasted loss before, having won six national championships. Perhaps in the sequels, this loss will play to their advantage.

Dancers are meant to be perfect. When Wednesday night at the Fun Park comes, a dancer is expected to reverse-cuddle-duck-out flawlessly. But what about all those times the dancer has fetched up to get to where he or she is? Do the spectators see that? Of course not! Behind the dancer is a slew of mistakes, and that’s what makes us human. Perhaps that’s what Brandon Flowers wants us to learn. Perhaps that’s what the writers of Bring It On were trying to teach us. And perhaps that, whether we realize it or not, is why we each took Western Swing this semester.