Excitement

Hello wonderful readers!

I'm not the most regular blogger, but it is because I feel that in order to blog, something big or noteworthy should be happening. I don't want to just be a boring few paragraphs about the ins and outs of school, job-hunting, and so forth, so I wait.

And I've got the blogging spark again, so here I am.

It's interesting because I'm anxiously awaiting my mission call, and I've heard that there is a big chance it's coming this week. So naturally I'm freaking out and happy and excited and nervous all wrapped up in a big ball of emotions.

Preparing for this next step in my life has actually influenced me in a lot of ways that took a little while to notice fully.

I'm generally a happier person now. Things don't bother me as much now, and if I do get upset or offended, I'm fine and normal almost instantly. I find myself finding more enjoyment in activities such as listening to a hymn playlist at anytime in the day, or searching for LDS mission videos that range from opening a call to the MTC or returning home. I am finding it more difficult to focus on tasks such as television or Facebook, and find myself wandering elsewhere, sitting outside to listen to the birds, and contemplating the future.

My desires and goals are shifting from worldly to spiritual, and I like the changes. I like being able to sit outside and hear life thrumming around me. I ike to see the happiness and excitement of missionaries. I like to feel the Spirit after listening to a medley of hymns.

And it is truly an amazing feeling. I honestly can't wait to take this next step in my future. I can't wait to serve the Lord for 18 amazing months.

Remember that we're all here for a reason and outlook is everything. There will be hard times, and there will be great times, and either way, we are given these things for a reason! Keep your head up. You're awesome and you make a difference, even if you don't realize it yet.

Until next time,

~Melanie

Unintentional Motivation

Hey guys!

I know it’s been awhile and I won’t bore you with a long tangent, but I will just say I’ve been busy.

Lately life has been a little harder, but I think it’s due to stress, and a few other things. As some of you know, I recently put in papers to serve a mission for my church. (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.) I will probably be leaving around June or so, and am waiting for my assignment.

Ever since I made the decision to go, life has become more difficult. It seems like everywhere I turn, I’m faced with difficult choices, and difficult people.

But, then I found a folded piece of paper that I had written on and forgotten about. It was from December, and I had been texting a friend and seeking advice. I didn’t know what to do or where to turn. He had in turn, given me some advice that I wrote down, and now it has come in handy once again.

“Generally, when we want to do something good is right around when Satan starts working hardest on us and those we love. The trick, (and secret to life, really) is remaining firm in the path when that stuff comes. It isn’t easy, but if you remember that things will get better and trust in Heavenly Father, He’ll take care of us.”

I went about my day with those words in my thoughts, and found that not only are they absolutely true, but they also really work!

I decided to not dwell on the little things that come up in life. We have this one chance to go out and so something good, and to let little things bother you or get in the way isn’t the way we should let things happen.

Satan has no power over us unless we give it to him. He can’t control our actions or deeds without us first allowing him.

I’ve made this decision for myself, and honestly I know it’s one of the best decisions I’ll ever make! I’m proud to be a member of my church and will go and serve this mission gladly and with a purpose! I will no longer allow Satan to have a hold of my thoughts and try and dissuade me.

I’m a Mormon.

I know it.

I live it.

I love it.

And when I get my call, I’ll go forward enthusiastically and give it everything I have.

Thank you readers. And thanks to my friend who has continued to inspire me without even realizing it.

You guys are really and truly amazing.

~Melanie

Christmas

To begin this post, I just wanted to take a moment and express my thanks for this Holiday season. I truly love this time of year, and all that it means. We have the opportunity to gather as a family and perhaps friends, and celebrate our Savior's birth. We also have a  celebration of sorts and try to help and give to others.

Today was a little crazy. We went up to my cousin's house and then to another family members. The house was filled with various people I had never met before, and I figured it had the potential to be awkward, but after a few minutes, everything mellowed out, and it was actually pretty fun and I really enjoyed myself. The powerful ties of family are a small but amazing process. You may not know them, but you are related to them and therefore, you have ties with that person. You can laugh and joke and tell stories with each other, and you care about what that person has to say right away because you share a blood-deep bond with that person. It's something that can occur at any time of year, but I notice it especially around the holidays.

For the past three years, as I've gotten ready for Christmas, something has happened. As I prepare and try and decide what to get various people, a project usually comes up. Something home-made, with lots of thought and time. The first year, I made a pillow out of an old shirt for a family member. I was so excited for them to open my present after the hours I had spent planning and preparing, and couldn't help the grin that lit my face. When they opened it, I leaned forward to get a better view just in time to see the person's face fall.

"You ruined my shirt?"

Oh no.....

"It was old and you never wore it anymore... I thought that this way, you could keep it because you liked it so much!"

"No, you ruined it."

Well, oh well. There wasn't much I could do about it. So I moved on as best I could, (with frequent reminders from the receiver about the ruined shirt.)

Soon a year had passed, and I began planning again. I won't go into details, but know that I spent hours planning, prepping, and arranging special circumstances for this special home-made gift. When it was finished, I was so excited! I couldn't believe that I had completed an idea, I had first thought was impossible.

The person hasn't used it.

And now it's that time of year again. And I'm happy to say, that the same thing has happened. I got an idea for someone, and became really excited about the project even before I began. I've worked hard, and put my time into it, so I hope it is received well.

But the thing is, that if it isn't, I really don't think I mind. I've had fun preparing for this Christmas, and have had fun working on "my latest project." I am filled with the joy of completion, and look forward to giving this gift, even if I am unsure of how it will be received.

And that's really what Christmas is all about, right? The birth of the Savior was like a gift to all of us. Without Him, we have no way to return to our home in heaven. His birth took planning, preparation, and much, much more, and the receiving reaction of the world was mixed. It was a glorious day to those that believed, and it is now carried on and remembered in the present day. For those that didn't believe, than it was something less special, but that doesn't undermine its importance. The gift was given, and it was up to the receiver to react to it.

This year as we gather with our families, let's allow the gift of the Savior to be in our hearts and minds, and with us as we bring in a new year.

Thank you all for reading.

Merry Christmas, and a very happy New Year.

~Melanie Skidmore

Becoming Desensitized

Desensitized: To make (someone) less likely to feel shock or distress at scenes of cruelty, violence, or suffering by overexposure to such images.

Tragedy is all around us. It's told in books, movies, television shows, and more. We tell each other about the terrible things that happen to us or our loved ones and they nod their heads and say they empathize with our story.

Something happens and everyone stops for a moment to listen and give condolences, but then what? A day or two passes and no one cares anymore. Sure, they still empathize with your pain, but do they really care about what actually happened? A lot of the time the answer is not as pretty as it should be.

In today's world, violence and crime are almost encouraged. I went to a movie theatre and one of the commercials showed a man watching officers unloading a money truck, and it showed him imagining fighting them and stealing the money by force. Then his wife gets in the car and he calmly walks away with a smile on his face and the narrator tells how powerful you will feel by owning the car.

What?

You mean to tell me that if you own this car, violent thoughts are not only encouraged, but they also are expected and okay? No. No they're not.

People these days are growing up surrounded by violence. Almost everywhere you turn, something violent is being portrayed or told about and most of the time it's teaching the audience that it is alright and accepted.

Remember as a child, if a scary moment came on the TV, you would cower or turn away? Now if people are shot or stabbed or hurt in some manner on the screen in front of you, how do you react? Sure you may flinch, but does it really bother you? Or do you comfort yourself with the knowledge that it isn't real, and the people are just acting. Blame it on the "special effects."

What has happened not only this week, but this entire year is just sick and wrong. Shootings in movie theatres, temples, malls, and now even elementary schools! Is nothing sacred anymore? Can't we have one place- just one place- that we shouldn't have to be worried or suspicious of?

I'm not going to waste my time wondering and worrying about why these things happened. I'm going to focus my energy on how to prevent them. It has to start with you. With me. With our families.

The lyrics to a Michael Jackson song come to mind when I think about this.

"I'm staring with the man in the mirror,/ I'm asking him to make a change,/ No message could've been any clearer,/ "If you want to make the world a better place,/ take a look at yourself, and make a change.""

So that's what I'm going to do. I'm going to do the best I can, with what I have and start with myself. I'm going to be more positive and help the people around me. I'm going to listen more if someone needs to talk, and do the very best I can to help them in their moment of need.

So take a moment to really think about what's important and hold your family close this holiday season. Be thankful for what you have, and express it to your loved ones.

To quote Inception: "You never know how much time you'll have."

My prayers are with those affected by both the Connecticut shooting, and the Clackamas shooting. I hope that somewhere in this dark hour, the families will be able to find peace and comfort and the strength to heal.

~Melanie

Symbols

You're amazing. Yes, you. The person reading this is amazing because they (you) are looking at a screen and interpreting all of these little symbols and making them actual thoughts and identifying them as communication.

Look at the alphabet.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

That is the English alphabet and you know every one of those little symbols. It's amazing if you really think about it...

What makes an 'A' and 'A'? It doesn't look like it should sound a certain way, but we have been taught what makes this little symbol so important. We know what it sounds like, looks like, and its meaning. It can be it's own word, or it can be one part of a word.

And what is a word, really? A small little group of symbols we have defined as letters. Brilliant.

And then we take that small word and add more after a small space to differentiate between the individual words and make an entire sentence, or paragraph, or speech, or novel. Who knows what we can accomplish with our words?

The world is full of symbols and a lot of the time, the beauty of them goes by unnoticed. We have words, and numbers, and colors, and shapes! Everything around us is just bursting with beauty!

One thing I like to do when I'm waiting for the bus in the morning is to just take a minute and look at everything around me. Taking even one minute to recognise the beauty in the leaves, or the soft feeling of the wind on my body. The sound of a bird call, or even taking a moment to notice the miracle of a bird's flight.

But returning to symbols, it really is kind of amazing to see them. If you see a green light, you know it usually means, "Go."

When driving, the lines on the side of the road show you where you need to stay in order to keep yourself and others safe.

What time is it? A clock (Whether analog or digital) shows you the symbols you need to understand the time of day.

So take a moment and look around. What symbols are around us that we take for granted? What was carefully thought out and created so that people (you) could have an easier or better life because of it?

Or better yet, what hasn't been invented by man to do this?

If you look at a poison dart frog from South America, you can see its' bright colors in all shades of purple or blue or red, and what do they symbolize? They're a warning that the frog is poisonous. Bam. Another symbol.

You can have small symbols (like letters or colors), you can have natural symbols (like a poison dart frog), and everyone is familiar with iconic symbols.

If I were to use keywords, you would probably have the logo pop in your head.

Batman.

McDonald's.

Facebook.

These are pretty well known, and I'll take a big guess and say that the logos did pop into your head as you read them.

Anyway, those were just a few thoughts going through my head today...

Hope you all enjoyed.

~Melanie

Communication

I really do think this may become a regular thing... Now all I need are readers.....

I saw that my blog got viewed today... by someone in China. (If you're still reading this than great! But I'm not sure how someone found it all the way over there....)

I know this may sound silly, but I really do think that phones should have Meme buttons. Or at least Meme attachments or emoticons. Because sometimes when I read a text, a Meme pops into my head and it's all I want to send back to the sender instead of an actual answer.

I have no idea how the little pictures and comics were created and thought up, but they really are genious. They are the epitome of raw reation and capture it beautifully. (Most of the time, anyway....)

But on the other hand, if I feel that a picture is an adequete response to a text, then it just shows the downward progression of communication as a whole. We've gone from person to person communication, to hand-written letters,  to over-the-phone, to text, to email, IM, and now I just want to respond with a picture instead of actual words.
If you think about that, and then think about what our generation's children will grow up with, it really is a sad thing. We grew up with the basic telephone (landline) and as we grew up, cell phones became more and more popuar.

Now children are literally growing up in front of touch screens and electronics, and it's almost scary. They won't get the social skills needed if they learn to communicate primarily through technology.

I'm not saying that technology is a bad thing. I'm just pointing out that it's becomming more and more awkward to actually call someone on the phone. How sad is it, that when you call a friend they answer in a worried voice because to them, the only way you would be calling them is because it was to urgent to just text them or send them a message over Facebook? Ease of communication in a sense is increasing, but on the other hand, is getting a lot worse.

Lots to think about...

Anyway,

Until next time imaginary readers!

~Melanie

Becoming a "Whovian"

Well hello internet blog, it's been awhile.

My Fall term has ended and I am now on winter break. Woo!

So lately I have been spending a lot of time with two friends and yesterday they decided I needed to become a "whovian." I was vaguely familiar with the term, and knew it had to do with the show "Dr. Who" (Which I had never seen) and they were very enthusiastic about having me watch the show and become a fan.

So today I did. I got through two episodes, and although new to the world of Dr. Who, I consider myself a Whovian. My head is full of questions, and my mind is spinning trying to make sense of it all. But on a happy note, tomorrow I will continue the journey into the show, and catch up with the rest of the world on Dr. Who. (Probably not all of it, considering there are 7 seasons, but I'll begin to catch up.)

There are no space minimums or maximims on a blog, but considering it's 12:05 in the morning now, I think I'll keep this one short.

I'm also thinking about creating a vlog still, but I'm not sure yet. I'll try to keep you posted, but no guarantees.

And it also appears that I'm very forgetful. I have told friends that I refused to make a tumblr account, and have been saying that for the longest time. But tonight I went to the website (just to look up a friends blog) and I was already logged in! At some point I guess I've made a tumblr, but have never used it. Hm.

So as far as social media is concerned, I have (but don't neccesarily use) A Myspace, Facebook, Youtube, Tumblr, Fanfiction, Blogspot, Pinterest, Twitter, and who knows what else?

Who?

Doctor Who?

*groans inwardly* looks like the Whovian thing is already beginning.....