Double Date & BYU Basketball

P & I with  our free Jabari Parker t-shirts. They couldn't say his name or BYU's on them, but 6,000 t-shirted fans greeted Jabari, who attended the game Saturday night.

Dad, Mom, Me & P

My cute parents - who met at BYU 40 years ago this year!

My parents came down to Utah for Thanksgiving last week and we all went to the BYU vs. Cal State Northridge game Saturday night. The game was a really good one, close score and a ton of fouls. What was really fun about the game however was shopping at the BYU Bookstore and getting free tickets to the game, and taking P on a double-date with my parents. It was fun to be there with him as well as with my parents who were just a little bit silly, and cheering a ton, reminiscing on their days at BYU. They like Patrick as well which is really nice, they appreciate his sense of humor and handyman skills, and of course the way he loves their daughter. :)

Let Your Light Shine

Sometimes I worry if I let my light shine, I will come across as a prude or goody-goody, or at very least, didactic. I have come to realize over and over again, in situations where you have a relationship of trust, letting your light shine is essential.

I come in contact with youth everyday as a teacher, but we all come in contact with people in our sphere of influence all the time. Little examples we can set, or words of encouragement to do what's right, are never wasted.

I started a book last week, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, and it's sexually explicit. I stopped reading it and tossed it across my bedroom. A student of mine had asked me to tell her how it was, and she would tell me about the book Sold, she checked out from the library the same time I was checking out mine, and we would let each other know if they were appropriate books for nice girls like us. Haha. I got an e-mail late Friday night saying, Miss -----, my book was good and clean, how about yours? I e-mailed her back Saturday morning, don't read it, sexual content. She sent back and immediate, Thanks!

A male student of mine had me read a chapter of a novel he is aspiring to publish. He told me to skip the naughty scene he wrote on page 5. I told him he was better than that--he didn't need to write that in at all! He said sex sells--and I said you are better that, and you know it. You do not need to fall to least-common-denominator-appeal. I ran into him a few days later in the grocery store. He said hey, he re-wrote it and took the naughty parts out, and I would be proud of him because he wrote the next chapter and it wasn't naughty either. I told him I was very proud of him.

I noticed a very popular girl at the end of last year, cute, blonde cheerleader in a very modest dress at prom. I complimented her on her modesty and the next week at school took the time to talk to her mom about how proud I was that with all the immodest options available she had chosen to keep herself covered. Her mom talked of the fight she had had to make sure her daughter wore a modest dress. She teared up and thanked me for noticing and for pointing it out to her daughter who needed some encouragement to make good choices right now.

I'm not trying to toot my own horn, just to share what I am learning, which is people care when you notice they are doing what is right, and it shows them you love when you let them know you care enough about them to want them to make good choices.

I've been inspired by President Monson's talk "See Others as They May Become," from the October 2012 general conference:  See Others as They May Become

I pray that we will have the courage to extend the hand of fellowship, the tenacity to try and try again, and the humility needed to seek guidance from our Father as we fulfill our mandate to share the gospel. The responsibility is upon us, brethren." 

I'm an Addict

Now may be a good time to finally admit what I have always secretly known, I'm an addict.

I am, in fact, addicted to reading. I was sick last week with strep throat, a sinus infection, and a high fever. I took two days off of work and did nothing but sleep, hydrate, drug up, and read. From Thursday morning  at 9:30 a.m. to Sunday at 2:00 pm (when I go to church) I read a total of 864 pages. That would be 400 pages of James Dashner's The Maze Runner, and 464 pages of Robert M. Prising's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Mantience.

I have a problem. A smart problem. But a problem.

Mentoring an Editor

I was a little nervous this year about working with my new newspaper editor because I could just sense how much mentoring she needed. Teen girls in search of a solid identity need love and care. I always feel strongly the responsibility of being a good example, mentor and really, life-coach. It has turned out to be so wonderful. Watching her assume leadership and helping her assume leadership has brought me a lot of joy this year. I truly feel a sense of pride in her and her accomplishments, and really of my whole newspaper staff. We have worked really hard this year and our paper looks better than ever.

Most of us in our oh-so-cool Lion's Roar shirts

Compliment and constructive criticism day - always fun after a paper comes out!

Our special October edition 2012

I appreciate the hard times and good that come with a class of this sort where we work hard to produce a product. The other day one of the students said we are like family, and we are. They are my little school newspaper family, and as such sometimes I'm like their mom, sometimes their sister, their friend, or even their grandma when I call them out on something inappropriate.

Every year I think - this will be my last, I've mentored enough young writers, I can't possibly care for anymore students like I did the last, and every year I do.