The rising generation

We are the rising generation. We must be brave and courageous. We must be strong enough to endure to the end. God is counting on us to keep the spirit alive and spreading throughout the world. We owe the savior at least that much. We cannot rely on the testimonys of our parents and leaders forever. God needs us now. Give him your everything. Endure to the end, and you will be overwhelmingly blessed.

StarGirl

I read stargirl today, from cover to cover. I remember now why its one of my favorites. If you haven't read this book, its definitally one to add to your list!

"She laughed when there was no joke. She danced when there was no music.
She had no friends, yet she was the friendliest person in school...
She was elusive. She was today. She was tomorrow. She was the faintest scent of a cactus flower, the flitting showdow of an elf owl. We did not know what to make of her. In our minds we tried to pin her to a corkboard like a butterfly, but the pin merely went through and away she flew."

"She did not seem to notice. Of all the unusual features of stargirl, this struck me as the most remarkable. Bad things did not stick to her. Correction: HER bad things did not stick to her. OUR bad things stuck very much to her. If we were hurt, if we were unhappy or otherwise victimized by life, she seemed to know about it, and to care, as soon as we did. But bad things falling on her-- unkind words, nasty snares, foot blisters -- she seemed unaware of. I never saw her look in a mirror, never heard her complain. All of her feelings, all of her attentions flowed outward. She had no ego."

"I did not know what I would do if I saw her. I knew only that I was nervous, afraid. I was more comfortable with her as history than as a person... since september she had been a preformer -- unique and outrageous -- on the high school stage. She was the opposite of cool; she held nothing back... she was there for all to see."

"'The thing is, there's no difference anymore between me and the universe. The boundary is gone. I am it and it is me. I am stone, a cactus thorn. I am rain.' She smiled dreamily. 'I like that most of all, being rain.'"

"'I whispered.'
'Whispered? How'd you expect me to hear?'
'I don't know,' she said. ' I just thought you would.'"

"Then she took my arm as if we were strolling down a promenade and she said, 'scream, leo.'
'Huh?'
'Just throw your head back and let it all out. Scream your ears off. Nobody will hear you.'
'Why would I want to do that?'
She turned her astonished eyes on me. 'Why wouldn't you?'"

My off day at subway (Imma poet!)

So today was one of those days where it wasn't a bad day, but it wasn't a good day, it was just an off day. First off, I willingly woke up on time. then, I kinda enjoyed my english class (I usually hate my english class). I saw a human brain and had a hilariously fun time with josh in medical anatomy. I didn't fall asleep in math (possibly because we played bingo). i went to a lecture about sports medicine for extra credit during flex and lunch. I actually passed my foods test. I sang down the hallways with jacob. I was hurried home by ronnie (I didn't sit at the school chatting). I headed over to work a little early to buy Cari's christmas present (I'm the worst cousin in the world). This is where my strange work day begins.
I'm not gonna go into great detail about these stories, but if your interested to know you can ask me and I might tell you. Here is the list of strange things that happened to me at work today:
-hug in hallway before work from the kioske guy
-the quarter game. "Were just as uncomfortable as you are right now." :)
-arbys guy flirting
-12 year old flirting
-that awkward moment when you make HIM a sandwhich.
-seeing the latino divine comedy guy with the mustache
-the mentally ill guy. "Hello young boy!"
-random asking for drinks and extra food? What the crap is wrong with you people!
-the friendly old guys in the car. Just a pleasent hello!

Imperfections and all

There's a boy at my school named Corey. He has some kind of mental disability. He struggles concentraiting and often says exactly what's on his mind. He is in my seminary class. It has been a struggle for my teacher to try to keep everyone happy and spiritual and in control every day. Somedays there is no controling corey, and we just have to sit and wait patiently for him to give the time back to my teacher. Other days corey is just like everyone else, quietly listening and answering questions. Often when he gets up and shares his testimony he cracks a couple of punny jokes and then forgets his message and sits back down, or he'll pick a scripture at random, and somehow apply it to life with animals. Tuesday was different. He was his normal self at the beginning of class. Right after my teacher started the class, corey asked if he could share his testimony. My teacher let him. Corey stood up at the podeum with a sudden humbleness. His message was short, His thoughts were jumbled, and his words were out of order and confusing, but the message the spirit sent me was clear.
He told me that there are three perceptions. First, how we see ourselves. Second, how others see us. Third, how god sees us. The way we see ourselves is infected with the devils influince. We tell ourselves when we see ourselves that we are too short or too tall, too fat or too skinny, too white or too dark. The way others see us and think of us is tainted with unjustified judgement. The way god sees us is the only pure and untainted perception. No matter what others think or say about you and your worth and purpose on earth, only god knows your true and full potential. You don't have to be perfect. You have so much potential the way you are. Imperfections and all.

Thank you so much Corey.