I Love Personal Statements

Haha...I really don't love personal statements but you would think that I did based upon how much time I have spent writing them. As of five minutes ago...I have successfully submitted six grad school apps. It feels so good to have so many done. Unfortunately I still have three left but two are not due until march so I am not even thinking about those right now. All I have left on the other one is my personal statement so i am only 4-6pages away from being done with that one. I have decided with finals that this one will just have to wait until winter break and that it would be so much more fun to do it then! However, I am so glad that I got to submit all of mine online. It makes it so much easier and they have been emailing be when they get new parts of my application and tell me what parts are still missing. Good Luck to everyone that is working on their grad school apps and I am so ready to be done with the applying process and to begin being worried about if I got in and where I want to go next year!

More Info Please!

Dear Dan Glickman,

I sincerely appreciate all of the work that the Motion Picture Association of America does. I am glad that films are required to have ratings and that these ratings are readily available. However, I feel that these ratings do not provide adequate information as to the content of the film. Certain ratings send up red flags and warn viewers that the material may make them feel uncomfortable. However, I am frequently disturbed by some of the content that is portrayed in PG-13 movies. As an adult I don’t feel like the content is appropriate and certainly don’t feel like an early adolescent is mature enough to view it. There is a lot of discontinuity in the rating system and the amount of questionable material varies a lot in movies that have received the same rating.
I am not asking that the content of films be changed or that producers be banned from displaying certain things on the screen. I am not asking that violence and sexual content be eliminated from the cinema. However, as a viewer I am asking for the knowledge and warning of the content of a film before I see it. People have the right to know what they are viewing and choose for themselves if it something that they want to view. I realize that some people enjoy watching suggestive content and that others suggest that there are no harmful effects. By all means please allow these people to continue to watch theses movies. What I am asking for is the ability to know what is on the screen before I walk it to the theater.
What I am asking for is that film makers give a detailed list of the reasons that a film was rated a specific ways. I want to know what language, violence, and sexual content is portrayed. How frequently do these messages appear and what is their intensity. I want to know how much cursing I will hear and what violence I will watch. This will simply help me choose what movies I will be comfortable watching. I enjoy watching movies and would like to continue to be able to enjoy this form of entertainment. Instead of having to walk out of the theater or turn the movie off, I would like to know what I will be viewing before hand so I can simply choose to watch a movie that I will feel comfortable watching.
What I would like to see is a website that has a summary of the content of each film as it is released. In addition to the rating I would like some more information about the content of the film. More specifically, what caused this movie to be rated the way that it was. In essence what is a summary of the discussion that took place when the films’ rating was being decided upon.
As a future parent, I would like to know what I am allowing my children to be exposed to. As one of the two people that are mainly responsible for the development and actions of my children, I want to know what they are viewing on the screen and to be able to feel comfortable that they are being exposed to wholesome media. There are so many good films that I would feel at ease letting my children watch and I want assistance in choosing that which they will be exposed to. What I am asking for is more information as to the content of a film and the reasons why the MPAA has determined that it is not appropriate for all audiences.

Thank you!

Laptop Attachment

So the past few days I have realized that I am attached to my laptop and I don't think that I am able to function without it. I am spending the entire break(except a few hours on thanksgiving so I can eat yummy turkey) doing homework and working on grad school apps. I am surprised that this small machine can keep me busy all day. I spent hours and hours sitting on my bed typing away. I have no idea what I would do without my laptop and am so glad that I don't have to walk up to campus to do my homework. In the spirit of thanksgiving, I am grateful for my laptop. Not the work that I have to do on it, but the wonderful machine that makes my life so much easier.

Grad School Fun!!

So I am basically crazy and decided that it would be fun to apply to nine grad schools (what was I thinking)! Well to be completely honest, I think that applying to one is too much work but that's just me. But I had a very productive weekend and actually got two submitted. I was so nervous as I pressed the submit button and wondered if I had read over my personal statement enough times. Now I can't even tell you how many times I had read it but it still did not feel like enough. Oh well, I have decided that I have seven more that I can stress over and that I just have to let the last two go and know that it is all out out my hands now. Anyway I am very much looking forward to the thanksgiving break because I will be doing homework and applications nonstop! It should be fun and good luck to everyone that is working on their grad apps!!!

Papers, Papers, and More Papers

I don't know about you but this week seems to be my week of papers. I have a paper due in every class and I have five papers due in one class(okay they are only one page each but still that's five pages to write, single spaced!.) That comes to a grand total nine papers due this week ahhhhhhh!!!!!!!!! (But on a positive note I only have one more to write :)) Needless to say I have been using the media nonstop these past few weeks. I have become great friends with Psycinfo and have spent more time on there than I could ever want to. But I am grateful that I can do all of my research sitting on my bed with my laptop. I am glad that I don't have to use the library to find all of my journal articles. Although I am defiantly ready to be done with my week of paper writing I am glad that the internet has greatly eased the process!!!

I Love Football

So last night I watched the Colts and Patriots game and it was amazing. For starters I absolutely love love love football so that was good and then two amazing teams were playing each other so that made it even better. To be completley honest I like both the Patriots and the Colts but before the game I announced that I wanted the Colts to win but that I would be still happy if the Patriots won. I just love watching a good footballl game. The Colts started out strong and then it looked like the Patriots had it in the bag. I was almost sure that the Colts had lost it so i decided that I should probably go to ward prayer. Fifteen minutes later when I came back the score had changed and the Colts still had a shot with four minutes left. Well to make the story short the Colts ended up winning and all was well. I just LOVE football. Oh and I can't wait for the BYU game this Saturday. Go Cougars!!!!!!!

Media Makes FHE Easy

So for my Socialization across childhood class (SFL 351) we had to create an FHE lesson that could be used with small children. My group chose to do it on the Temple. I was surprised at how easy it was. The church website and the Friend made it simple to come up with a lesson, activity, and game. I was surprised at all the websites with really cute and fun FHE ideas. It was great to be able to look at what others do for FHE and then incorporate my own ideas. I don't have any children but I am so glad that when I need to plan weekly FHE that I will be able to use the media as I teach my children the gospel.

The Day The IPOD Died :(

So the other day I was out running and just after I hit my half way mark, my ipod froze. I was extremely extremely upset. I tried everything I could think of and nothing unfroze it. This has unfortunately happened before (at least I was not out running that time) and I had to wait for the battery to die and then recharge it. I realized just how dependent I am on music when I run. If it had died any earlier I would have turned around and called it quits but I was just starting to head home. The rest of my run was so boring and it seemed to take so much longer than it usually does. I am not the biggest fan of running but music makes it so much more enjoyable. I just blast the music and sing along in my head. Luckily it worked the next day and all was well. I really really hope that this never happens again because I don't think I am capable of enjoying my run without music!

It's Not All Bad

So for the sexual content assignment I watched the CES Broadcast, the Broncos and Falcons game, and John Tucker Must Die. I love the movie John Tucker must die but I am sad to admit that there is a lot of sexual references in the movie. I think it is a funny movie but I was upset at how frequently I had to write down a sexual reference. On a more positive note, the CES Broadcast was uplifting and invited the Spirit into my apartment. I am happy that sports games don't have sex in them(since I love watching sports and that is mostly what I watch on TV) but the Broncos are no longer undefeated so the game was a big disappointment.

CES Fireside

I personally thought that the CES fireside last night was amazing. I always love listening to President Uchtdorf speak. I really felt the spirit during the talk and think that this was a wonderful addition to my Sabbath day. This broadcast shows just how much good there is in the media and how it truly can be a force for good. I am glad that I was able to watch it in my apartment and that young adults all over the world were able to participate in this wonderful activity. I love that the church takes advantage of the wonderful advances in society and uses them to help spread the gospel. I am also grateful that I was able to go on the internet and re watch the talk again tonight.

Multitasking

So last night i had tons and tons of homework but I really wanted to watch the Cavs game. I knew that if I had the game turned on that I would accomplish nothing and my name and the date would be the only thing that would appear on the paper I was working on. I am so happy that the Cav's website updates the scores instantly so I could do my homework and every time I drew a blank(which lets face it was about every two minutes) I could check the score and see how my team was doing. For the record I was NOT happy with the score and I am currently not happy with the score of tonight's game, they have 4 min and 45 seconds to make me proud although it looks like tonight will be another disappointment...but I am happy that the Cavs understand that I have papers to write so they will let me check up on the score without watching the game haha!

Start The Day Out Right

So for the past little bit I have been trying to do what I can to "start the day out right." I have noticed that if I have a bad morning he rest of the day usually turns out bad. I am NOT a morning person at all and do not like waking up at all. I have started to listen to music in the morning and have found that this has impacted my day a lot. Once I get a song in my head I continually sing it through out the day. This has really helped to wake me up and get me excited for the day. A while ago I heard the song He'll Carry You by Hillary Weeks and I was really touched by this song. For the past few days I have been listening to it while I get ready in the morning and found that it has really helped me out a lot. It causes me start my morning by thinking about Christ and I think that spiritual music can have such a huge impact on us.

Power Point

Recently I have been reminded of how much I love power point! I have never disliked power point but I rarely think about how much of an amazing resource that it is. I love being able to access the power points from my classes and use them as I study. In another class I have to give a presentation and we are allowed to use power point. It is so nice to be able to flash up tons of information on the screen. It is very quick and inexpensive. I remember "back in the day" aka elementary school when we had to give presentations using a poster. It took a long time to write everything out and cut and paste pictures on in attempts to make it look presentable. It also is SO much nicer to be able to type things up instead of having to write out lots of information on the whiteboard.

"Man" Movies

So the other day I was looking through my roommates huge stack of movies and came across a movie that I had really really wanted to see but never got around to watching it when it was in theaters. I have wanted to see it but just never had. I just love it when things like that happen. Not only did I get to see it for free but I got to watch it on my nice comfy couch. In case you want to know what movie it was....it was Ironman. I loved it! It is exactly the type of movie that I love to watch. I like action and adventure and this movie fit me perfectly. I was really in a movie watching mood so I decided to explore the movie stack more and I came across Spiderman. Now I have seen this movie before but it was years ago. I saw it when it first came out and then my family bought it, but I don't think I have seen it much since. So i decided to continue my "man" marathon and watch it. It was good. It was not the best movie of all time by any stretch but I think I liked it more than the first time I saw it.

Guitar Hero!!!!!

Last class made me think a lot about how there is good in video games. Most of the time we focus on the negative aspects but I think that there are also positives. I think that some games can be great social activities. For example, I love the game guitar hero. A few years ago my younger brother got it for Christmas and it has been a great bonding activity for us. I am eight years older than him but this is something that we seem to really be able to connect over. We have tons of fun and are laughing and talking the whole time. It has also turned into a family event and it is something that everyone in my family enjoys!

Mormon Messages

The other day I was on the Church website and watched several of the Mormon Messages. They are all very inspiring and are wonderful short clips that have so much truth and power. If you have not watched any of them, I highly recommend that you check them out. They deal with topics like finding hope. They add new ones fairly often and are definitely worth the time. I also think that they are a great missionary tool and something short that you can share with someone else!

General Conference

This past week I have been reflecting on how grateful I am for the media. General Conference was amazing and I am so glad that I was able to watch it in my living room. It is not possible for all the members of the church to watch it together in Salt Lake, so I am glad that we are able to watch it through out the world. I am also glad that the talks are immediately posted on the internet. Even before the written manuscripts were published, we were able to go to the church website and re watch the talks. There is so much good in the media and I believe that General Conference is the perfect example of how the media can be used to benefit mankind.

Books! Books! Books!

My favorite book as a child was The Hatchet. The book is about a boy that is in a plane crash. One of the only things he has with him is his hatchet. I loved this book because it is full of action and adventure. I don't really like to read but I fell in love with this book. This book really helped to expand my imagination and it impacted my life because it increased my desire to read. My favorite book now is 1984. I read it back in high school and it is one of the few books that I actually remember. I liked the plot and thought that it was exciting. It impacted my life because it got me interested in the world of politics. The book is about a government that controls the people. I use to not be interested in politics at all and now I am more aware of the government and the control that it can have on its people.

Video Games!

I can not tell you how long it has been since I played Nintendo. I am a TV-holic but never had a strong addiction to video games. A guy in my ward has an N64 and just invited me over to play. I probably have not played since middle school and it was so much fun. We played super Mario smash brothers and it is a way fun game. I did really bad and was the least experienced of the four playing but I guess that is not necessarily a bad thing. As much as I love video games I am extremely glad that I don't have any in my apartment since I am pretty sure that I would come obsessed!

Uplifting Music

On Sunday I became better friends with YouTube and was able to find some very uplifting music. I am happy to say that there is some wonderful music that can invite the Spirit. I originally started listening to hymns but was able to find some other lovely music. My two favorites were songs called "His Hands" and "You Needed Me." I had a wonderful Sabbath day just listing to touching music and I was happy to find several songs that I just fell in love with!

Get This Song Out Of My Head!!!!!!!!

I always seem to be singing a song in my head and right now I am stuck on Miley Cyrus's song Party in the USA. To be completely honest I am not the biggest fan of Miley. My roommate played the song for me about a week ago and it has been stuck in my head ever since. It's not that it is a terrible song or anything, I'm just not into the whole Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus hype that many people are. I am looking for a new song to get stuck in my head and hopefully I will hear something good soon!

Win a Date With Tad Hamilton

The other day I watched Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! It is such a cute movie and I just love it. I was talking to one of my guy friends and he said that he did not like the movie since it was not practical. He prefers love story's that actually have some potential of happening in real life. Another one of my guy friends loves the movie so to each their own i guess. While I realize that I will not be meeting the man of my dreams through winning a contest, a girl can dream and I am always up for a romantic comedy. I know it is not realistic but it is a really cute movie and it is fun to watch it with other single girls while we discuss the world of love and dating!!!!

The Office!!!!!!!!

I am so excited for tomorrow.....because The Office season 6 starts!!!!!!! I can't wait and I think that this is going to be a great season. I am absolutely hooked on the show and can't miss an episode. For anyone that doesn't watch the office, it is not to late to start. You should watch tomorrow just to see if you like it and then can always so back and watch the past seasons. I am ready for a new set of episodes even though I can never watch the old ones too much. To anyone that doesn't like The Office...I have to admit that I was not the biggest fan the first time I watched it. Freshman year my roommates were obsessed and it was always playing in our living room. It took me a few episodes to see the humor but now I laugh non-stop throughout each episode. It is a great show and I can't wait for it to start up again!!!

TV Together Time

While I realize that there are negative effects from watching television, I think that there are several benefits that are frequently overlooked. I actually think that TV can draw us closer to each other. On Saturday I experienced just this. My roommate rearranged the living room just before the BYU football game started so our TV was unplugged and the mess made it so that it could not be plugged back in. The apartment across the hall had the game on and the door was open. I poked my head in and asked if I could watch the game with them. They said yes and more people joined us. I am in a new ward and have not met too many people yet so this was a great opportunity to met some new people. The game was amazing and I got to know some of the people in my ward better as we cheered together and analyzed the game. Watching the game together was a great bonding experience and we grew closer as we sat in front of the TV together.

Internet Dependent!

This week I have become very aware of how dependent I am of the internet. My laptop broke a few days ago so I have not had internet at my apartment. It is almost to the point where I don't know what do do with myself. The first thing I do when I get home is turn on my computer and the last thing I do before I go to bed is get on the internet. I also get online several times throughout the day. Not having a laptop for a few days has made me realize that I spend WAY too much time on it. I have had so much more free time and my days have been a lot more productive since I don't have my biggest distraction sitting in my room. I have had to plan out time to go to the library and schedule my media usage into my day. Although this has been a huge annoyance it has been helpful in making me aware of how much time I waste doing nothing on my computer.