Reflecting on an Essay.... Eww

Soooo.... I just wrote this rhetorical analysis paper and may I just say, staying up all night to write it (procrastination is an easy trap to fall into) was not the greatest idea. Not only did I find it harder to focus (goodness I was tired), but I was more worried about just getting it done than actually making the essay really phenomenal, as I could've if I'd started earlier. Needless to say, this will not be part of my strategy for the next paper.

What I did do that was helpful was skim reading. I didn't read the speech this paper was on all the way through until after I'd finished writing the paper. That saved me a bit of time and I was still able to write my paper just fine. I didn't think skim reading would be so helpful, but thank goodness it is! I think that was by far the most useful thing I tried.

Another thing I want to do for next time is go to the writing center and get others' opinions on my paper. To me, the essay was just fine, but maybe having someone else read it would open my eyes to what's wrong with it. That would be really beneficial to me I think, especially since a lot of the time I don't see the errors I've made because I'm too ready to be done with the paper and don't always want to read and reread it.

So yeah. Next one will be better! :) I'm definitely not going to stay up all night--I don't want to fail it.

Strength in Stories

[Most of] My fantastic family in Thailand :)

So guys... I read this article that talked about how the best way to keep your family strong and together is to have a family narrative. First off, what is a family narrative? Well, it's your family's story. The story of your ancestors, your extended family, your good times, your bad times, everything. When I first heard this, I was curious as to why that is. I mean, how could just knowing stories from your family's history make that much of a difference? But here's the deal: knowing those stories helps you feel like you're a part of something bigger.

I don't know about you all, but knowing I'm part of something bigger and more important than myself makes me feel pretty cool. I feel more important, and also more responsible for adding to those stories, creating new ones to get passed down to my own kids and grandkids, and so on. I can't wait to see what kinds of stories will hold my future family together, but I know they'll be good ones :)

Let's Start Flooding the Earth

I love Elder Bednar. But then again, who doesn't? His recent talk, To Sweep the Earth as with a Flood, was absolutely incredible. He talked about flooding the earth with the gospel by using social media. Well that's what I'm starting to do here a bit. Anyway, in this talk he said something that really made me stop and think. He said that we need to be the masters of our technology and not become servants to it. It's so incredibly easy to become addicted to your phone or laptop or whatever. To spend hours upon hours checking Facebook, watching meaningless YouTube videos, tweeting. I know I'm guilty of this. I've had days where I don't get out of bed until noon because I'm on my phone texting and looking at Facebook.

So now this is me, challenging you, and myself, to become the master of your technology. Don't let it run your life. Let's all prove that we aren't slaves to our smartphones and tablets and whatnot. Let's all prove we're in charge and start flooding the earth.