The Results Are In....

Being able to share the personal essays and videos with my family and friends was pretty good.

I posted it on my ward Facebook page and got a couple likes and comments about my essay.  The cool thing was that a couple girls danced in BYU Luau with me this year so they really enjoyed it.  They also enjoyed a couple other people's videos as well.

I'm planning on sharing it with a couple friends when I get home for Christmas break.  I think sharing it with them in person will help our friendship because it's been a long time since we've seen each other.  This will also give me an opportunity to leave them with another invitation.

I shared it with my roommates and they liked my personal essay.  They know how much work I put into luau and so they enjoyed being able to read more of my back story to why I did it.  It brought us closer together since they're both moving out and this is our last time all living together.

I didn't get much feedback from the people I shared it with about wanting to read more personal essays.  They enjoyed the 5 second videos of other people's essays and have the link to check them out if they're interested.

Report Draft D- Videos

From our experience recording and distributing our videos in this effort, we saw a lot of potential for more accessibility in sharing as well as several flaws that might be best to work out before the next round.

We saw the most success in sharing video when the content shared was unfamiliar to the contact receiving it.  Having a video was useful when we tried to share other classmates posts with our friends but on the other hand this seemed to add little to the table when sharing our own content as the viewer was already familiar with us personally and didn't need an introduction to who we are per say.  In my experience it seemed to be more effective just to personally introduce the essay over the phone or in a more directly personal way instead.

Having videos also added to the overall feel of the website, as it made the blog feel both more complete and put together. It diversified our methods of displaying the content we worked on. As Mandy said on the report outline, "By having an introduction page we are welcoming viewers to our project and connecting our faces with our names. This personal appeal allows people to get to know us more, and shows we are real people (rather than just students doing an assignment for a class)"

One flaw we saw in the final video collection was that it really wasn't a good way to showcase our diversity. The visual composition was uniform and well-put together, but this uniformity came at the expense of more individualized videos that may have more visually intrigued viewers and prompted them to view more content. As Taylor pointed out, it would have been an asset to have "more of a variety to watch and having different scenes/locations would have given more personality to each essay and video"

In short, despite excellent production in the final videos the lack of individuality in display seems to have limited any particularly overwhelming or response from either viewers or students in reaction to video contribution. From the body of experience in the class so far, it seems fair to say that the 5-second videos were the more successful of the two and that we could easily opt for shooting those short clips alone. If we were to do this, it could more easily be arranged to film these independently and thus promote greater creativity and individuality.

Luau

My heritage and culture make me who I am.  I'm Hawaiian and Japanese.  

And It's Going Viral....

1. Family (non-member and member) - some of them have Facebook so I'll share it with them via that or email it to them.  They support and encourage me in everything that I do, so I'm sure they will watch the video if I personally ask them.

2. Roommates - they've been my best friends for the past 4 years so they will watch it.  They both are very intellectual and know how to give critical feedback.  When we're all hanging out we spend most of our time talking about memories and personal experience, so they will enjoy what they're watching and/or reading.

3. Ward members - my YSA ward had a Facebook page, so I'll post it there as well as reach out to people personally and ask them to watch it.  People in our ward are usually posting things on it so I know they'll watch it if I put up the video.

4. High School friends - this will give me an opportunity to talk to some of my high school friends again and share the gospel with them now when I wasn't confident in sharing it with them in high school.  I have specific people in mind to share it with from my high school friends so I'm excited to see what they think about it.

The Candor Experience

In Doug Thayer's novel Will Wonders Never Cease, we're able to learn what it's like to be a 15, almost 16, year old Mormon boy growing up in Utah.  Kyle doesn't grow up in your "typical" Mormon house hold and that helps shape him into who he becomes.  He talks about his Grandpa Hooper not going to church and swearing often.  He talks about his experience when he got a little intoxicated.  He talks about when his brother smoked marijuana that burned down a barn and his mom, Lucille, followed his brother around 24/7 for about two weeks.  These experiences aren't experiences people usually share in the Mormon culture.  That is something that I thoroughly enjoy about this fiction novel, the blunt honesty from all the characters.

Since Doug Thayer wrote his novel from the perspective of Kyle a 15 year old boy, he was able to get away with being quite honest throughout his novel.  Not only was Kyle honest about everything, but he clearly got it from his mother, Lucille.  Lucille is the Mormon mother every child should have.  She says it how it is and it's quite refreshing to hear.  In Mormon culture, most things pertaining to "scandalous" topics are hushed and not talked about or discussed.  Lucille is quite the opposite.  She is very open and honest about everything from sex to homosexuals to drugs and alcohol.  By Lucille being very open and honest about everything, it doesn't give the best depiction of how Mormon culture really is like in Utah, specifically.

I think overall Doug Thayer did a good job in portraying Mormon beliefs.

Accepting Someone Else's Insanity

I decided to make my video about someone else's personal essay.  I think it's easier to talk about someone else's video.  Hopefully you all enjoy it.  I'm excited to see how this all turn out.

Sharing a Cultural Experience

I was able to share my personal essay with my roommates.  I have lived with them for 4 years now and they know what comes with preparing for luau.  When I was able to connect that back to my grandparents as well at an experience from the Book of Mormon they really enjoyed it.  They were also able to think of their own experiences with their grandparents.  We spent the next 20 to 30 minutes talking about different experiences we all had with our grandparents.  It was really neat to have that experience with them.

Some advice they gave me was to be consistent with relating the Book of Mormon experience throughout my whole personal essay not just at the beginning or at the end.  But not to be too pushy about it but making small remarks to it.  Ironic enough, I'm performing in BYU Luau tonight and tomorrow night at 7pm in the Wilkinson Ballroom.  There everyone who dances is participating in my cultural experience and having one of their own.

Luau

At 5:45am my alarm went off and I thought I was going to throw my phone out the window.  My usual alarm singing, "Good morning!" to me made it a very terrible morning.  I literally rolled out of bed and made myself walk to the bathroom to brush my teeth, because no one likes morning breath.  Then I put on some decent clothing, which included a baggy white t-shirt, black sweats, a gray oversized hoodie, mismatched socks, and Nike Frees 4.0.  I dragged my cousin, who was my roommate, out the door of our apartment and we made the long journey to the BYU Wilkinson Center.

Unfortunately, I didn't realize that it was snowing.  We trudged through the snow now 5:55am on our way to luau practice.  The only good thing about this whole situation was that we lived across the street in the dorms so it was a fairly close walk to the Wilkinson Center.  The tricky part about this situation was the lights changing in our favor.  But at 5:55 in the morning on a Saturday we didn't really worry about cars driving by so we made our way across the cross walk while we had a Do Not Walk symbol.  We walked a little further down the sidewalk until we got to the doors of the Wilkinson Center.

That was always a glorious moment, stepping through the doors.  Warmth hit our bodies like a gust of wind.  Our cheeks started to get pink and rosy because warmth was returning to them.  Our fingers didn't hurt to move anymore because circulation was getting back into them.  We walked up one flight of stairs and down two hallways until we got to our practice room, third door on the right side. Now the fun part was about to begin.  Hawaii section luau practice.

By 6:10am we started warming up.  There were usually about 25 people there and little by little more people would start to trickle in.  To start our warm up, our instructor would put on traditional Hawaiian music, which was usually a man chanting during major beats of an ipu (which is a Hawaiian gourd dried out to become an instrument) and the dancing would begin.  I can always remember being confident at the beginning that I was doing pretty well, but 10 minutes into practice, I could feel the burning sensation starting in my legs.  It would usually start in my calves and lead up into my quadriceps and hamstrings.  It was never the good burning sensation, but I knew I was doing something right if my muscles were getting a good work out already.

By 6:30am we would break up into our smaller groups and start practicing our specific dances.  We went over the specific chants we had to repeat at the right time.  As we learned the different chants, our instructor would explain to us what each line we were saying meant.  Each time he would explain a line to us, an appreciation for my culture and heritage would spark inside of me. 

All those Sunday dinners at my grandparents house would flash through my mind as these words sounded so familiar.  I could remember the smell of my grandma’s cooking as we sat around the table with my older cousins waiting for her to finish cooking.  My grandpa’s Hawaiian records and CDs all stacked so neatly against the wall, like he had them in some particular order.  My grandpa sitting at the kitchen table taste testing the food before my grandma served it to everyone.  Everyone fighting over saying the prayer to bless the food because whoever blessed the food would get to go first, and who wasn’t hungry at this point.  All of these memories would flood my mind every Saturday as we would learn new chants and hula steps to make the perfect performance.

Two hours later, at 8am, practice would finally come to an end.  After two hours of dirty bare feet, sweaty faces, and aching knees, we would get to walk back home just in time to go back to bed.  This ritual continued on for the next three months every Saturday from 6-8am.  If we were really lucky, we would get to practice for an extra two hours after our allotted time and get home at 10am.  During the extra two hour practice, it was more relaxed and we were able to get to know each other better as we sat on the hard carpet floor sewing our skirts, making our head dresses, or practicing certain parts of the dances.

As the Saturdays came and gone, I realized something was changing.  I felt more connected with my ancestors, my heritage.  I was beginning to truly appreciate where I had come from, which made me think of countless stories that I had been told as I was growing up.  Learning about a group of people who forgot where they came from, but from a certain event changed their perspective and helped them to remember what was really important in their lives.  This was one of those events that helped me remember and appreciate everything my ancestors had done for me.  Bringing back to my remembrance the important things and helping me get back on the strait and narrow path.

The Sick and The Afflicted

It's always this time of year when people start to pass the cold around.  Once one person has it, it can't be stopped.  Sydney got sick about a month ago with the classic cold.  Fever, runny/stuffy nose, sore throat, the cough, etc.  She had it for about two weeks and it went away.  During that two week period, we didn't know if she would have her voice one day to the next.  This amused Jessica and I as we continued to make her laugh....on purpose.  Laughing is good for the soul, yet it seems to have the opposite effect on sick people.  We started calling her "the sick and afflicted" roommate.  So this continued on for two weeks until she got better and we had no more amusement.  Then the karma came and boy did it suck.

Last week, Jessica started getting sick.  She had the same symptoms as Sydney, fever, runny/stuffy nose, the cough, sore throat, etc.  This progressively got worse as the week went on and by Friday she was out.  Full on sick AKA the Sick.  Friday night I was working the high school football game as usual.  We ended up losing and we had to hurry around and get things taken care of so we could leave.  As I was rushing back to get things taken care of, my shoes decided to go for a small joy ride which made me crash and burn.  I was barely able to get up and hobble to my car.  I got home and realized I had stairs I needed to walk up and that took about 10 minutes.  When I finally got inside and put my leg up, Sydney looked at me and said, "The Afflicted".  Alas, it came back full circle.

The Struggle is Real

Internal Struggle

I can remember the day as clearly as if it were yesterday.  It was December 21, 2000 and it was around 8pm when my dad finally came to pick us up from my aunt's house.  This was a strange occurrence because my mom always picked us up during winter break.  I remember getting into the car and there was a different emotion that I couldn't figure out.  As we were driving home my dad tried to make small talk with us but it wasn't working.  I knew there was something going on that he hadn't told us.  About 5 minutes into our drive home, my dad finally told us what happened.  My grandpa passed away that morning.  When he told us, my heart broke.  I didn't hear anything else that was coming out of his mouth because I was in utter and complete shock.  This couldn't have happened.  I just saw him two days ago and he seemed fine.  How could this have happened?  Immediately, my 8 year old eyes started watering and I couldn't control it.  I exploded into a fountain of tears and uncontrollable emotion.  All that was running through my mind was what my grandpa would always say to me, "Alyssa, I can't wait until you turn 10 because then you'll be double digits."  How could he miss it by two years?  How could this happen?  Why would Heavenly Father let this happen?  My world crumbled that day and things have never been the same.

Scripture, Personal, and Powerful

The day was like any other day on the mission.  I was with my hardest companion and we were getting ready for personal study.  I remember praying that morning to know how I can help her or what I need to do to make this companionship work.  Almost immediately, I opened up the scriptures to where I was reading for that day.  It was Mosiah 23.  The verse popped out at me and just about smacked me upside the head.  It was verse 21, "Nevertheless the Lord seeth fit to chasten his people; yea, he trieth their patience and their faith."  Could the Lord be trying my patience and faith?  How can I gain more patience?  Questions swarmed through my head as I continued to ponder this verse over and over again until I realized I had been rereading it for almost 30 minutes now.  I decided to write down my thoughts and continue on with my studies.  But no matter how much I tried to move on, I kept coming back to that verse and this one question.  Do I have enough faith in the Lord to make this companionship work?

A Wilderness Quest

I realized that I needed more in my life besides school and work.  I needed to be more spiritually invested in my life.  I was talking to my best friend about this and she suggested we start going to the temple together every week.  Okay, I thought.  I could do this.  This is possible and even though I don't have a car, I can walk.  It's not that far.  So the journey began.  Every Tuesday, I would walk to the Provo Temple, participate in temple ordinances, and walk home.  This repeated habit continued for the rest of the semester.  I started to notice a difference in my life.  Little by little was becoming a happier person.  I still had some bad days, but overall I was more pleasant.  By the end of the semester, I realized what had happened.  I had come to know God more.  I had been going to His house every week.  Not only was I performing ordinances for others, but I was doing it for myself as well.  I had continued to invest in this great spirituality so much that I had been preparing myself to receive the ultimate test of faith.  I was going on a mission.

Fight for what is True

Example #1 - character:
In Alma 24, we get to know the Anti Nephi-Lehies by the decisions they make with burying their weapons of war and letting themselves get slaughtered by their brethren the Lamanites.

Just like Hailey was able to see how her mother's hands had been through so much by all the decisions she's made, the Anti Nephi-Lehies were able to make similar statements by the decision they made to bury their weapons of war.

Example #2 - plot:
In Alma 24 and 25, we read about the Lamanites coming to destroy their brethren and how the Anti Nephi-Lehies can't protect themselves and they don't have anybody to help them.

This reminds me of the Tree Trunk Trauma and how people are disoriented and don't know exactly what to do.  Things are in disarray at the moment but later things are able to be worked out.

Example #3 - dialogue:
In Alma 26, we read about Aaron rebuking Ammon saying, "Ammon, I fear that thy joy doth carry thee away unto boasting."  Ammon responds by saying, "I do not boast in my own strength, nor in my own wisdom; but behold, my joy is full, yea, my heart is brim with joy, and I will rejoice in my God."  Yeah, I know that I am nothing; as to my strength I am weak; therefore I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in his strength I can do all things; yea, behold, many might miracles we have wrought in this land, for which we will praise his name forever."

There is so much raw emotion in this between brothers and being able to see how much they want to help each other but don't always know the best way to say it.  In Julia's post about the coach having a disgusted look on her face and the attitudes of the other cheerleaders.

Connecting With Your Heritage

1. Physical experience
- BYU Wilkinson room on the third floor
- hard floors with thin carpet
- big group of people dancing together
- sewing our Hawaiian skirts
- work out clothes every Saturday morning practice
- sweating from practicing for 2hours
- dancing bare footed

2. Scenes
- luau practice every Saturday morning at 6am
- walk to the BYU Wilkinson in the snow
- dividing up into groups to practice together
- remembering the songs my grandparents would play when I would go to their house

3. Speech
- chanting the songs
- talking with the other dancers

4. Emotion in the moment
- happiness
- understanding
- joy
- connection
- remembering growing up
- friendship

5. People of consequence
- luau instructors
- other dancers
- my cousins dancing in luau

Continual Revelation by President Henry B. Eyring

President Eyring has always been one of my favorite speakers in General Conference.  His talk this conference was very touching and being able to analyze it has changed my perspective.  He starts his talk by addressing his main subject of continuing revelation and then gives examples/tells stories that relate well to his main subject.  There were a couple times in the stories where he got emotional.  We're able to see a personal attachment/meaning to why this is an important subject to him and how we can also have a personal meaning to it as well.

Even in one of President Eyring's previous General Conference talks we're able to see that he always tells stories/gives examples on why this subject is so important.  His audience is always broad and for everyone to learn how to apply it to their lives.  He always talks specifically to the people who are struggling with the matter he is talking about: personal and continuing revelation.  He says in his talk, "We need continual blessings of revelation from God to know what to do in our lives today."  He gives advice on how we can do that, by reading the scriptures, praying, going to church, etc.

This talk by President Eyring made me think of a talk that he gave in April 2012 General Conference.  In Mountains to Climb, he talked to a very broad audience and was able to make the people who needed to hear the talk just for them.  He also shared a couple stories that were personal, touching, and emotional.  The were all different stories that related back to his main topic of trusting in the Lord through our challenges.  President Eyring says, "If we have faith in Jesus Christ, the hardest as well as the easiest times in life can be a blessing."

I love how each of his talks are very personal.  He's able to speak to the appropriate audience.  He's able to share learning experiences.  He's able to get his point across so lovingly.  We're able to feel of his love for us and how we can continue to have that hope.

the SPIRIT

In every talk given in church, the speaker always pray that the Spirit will be there to take their talk to the hearts of the people.  This is a common theme in almost every talk, that we' will be able to learn by the Spirit.  In Elder Neal A. Maxwell's talk Teaching by the Spirit - "The Language of Inspiration", we read about how important it is that we prepare.  When we are prepared we are able to be better instruments in the Lord's hands so that we may convey the message to the people.

In Elder Jeffrey R. Holland's talk Souls, Symbols, and Sacraments, this is exactly what Elder Maxwell was talking about.  Elder Holland is speaking specifically about human intimacy but is able to break it down to the importance of keeping it sacred.

Throughout Elder Holland's talk, we are able to see that he likes to quote others when speaking about certain topics.  He quotes from the Wall Street Journal, the scriptures, other apostles and prophets, and others.  For example, he's quoting 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, "Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?  For ye are brought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's."  He is able to use their words to back up the important topics he is discussing about the sacredness of human intimacy.

Elder Neal A. Maxwell makes a very good point about speaking and teaching by the Spirit.  He says, "Teaching does not remove responsibility from the teacher for prayerful and pondering preparation.  Teaching by the Spirit is not the equivalent of going on "automatic pilot."  We still need a carefully worked out flight plan.  Studying out something in our own minds involved the Spirit in our preparations as well as in our presentations."  I love this quote because it just sums up everything.  Since he has everything all prepared his is able to follow the promptings of the Spirit that are given to him so he is able to convey the correct message.

Anti-Nephi-Lehies

In my reading, I decided to focus on the characters of these sections.  You have Ammon and his brothers, Alma the younger, and King Lamoni's father who all have a huge contribution to the story line but I mainly wanted to focus on the Anti-Nephi-Lehies.

King Lamoni's father sent out a proclamation so that Ammon and none of his brethren would be harmed as they went about preaching among the Lamanites.  There were a couple cities and lands where mass quantities were converted: the land of Ishmael, the land of Middoni, the city of Nephi, the land of Shilom, the land of Shemlon, the city of Lemuel, and the city of Shimnilom.  All of these people heard the word of God being preached to them and were touched in their hearts.  They didn't want to be known as the Lamanites anymore because they had all changed so they changed their name to the Anti-Nephi-Lehies.

We learn more about who they are because of the decisions they make after they become converted.  When the Lamanites are preparing for war against them it says, "Now there was not one soul among all the people who had been converted unto the Lord that would take up arms against their brethren; nay, they would not even make any preparations for war;"  The Anti-Nephi-Lehies had literally buried their weapons of war and didn't want to break the covenant they had made with God so they didn't do anything to prepare for war.  We later read that the Lamanites came and slaughtered about a thousand of the Anti-Nephi-Lehies, but after the Lamanites that had slew them had a change of heart and decided to join the Anti-Nephi-Lehies.

The Anti-Nephi-Lehies main characteristic is conversion.  These people weren't just going through the motions of what they had learned about from Ammon, Aaron, Omner, and Himni, but they had completely changed their lives.  Their example of enduring to the end and standing up for what you know to be true is undeniable amazing.  

The Simple Things

Growing up, speaking in public is a normal thing.  Primary programs, giving talks in church, bearing your testimony, etc.  One specific time I actually paid attention to a talk was on my mission.

Every third Sunday of the month, my mission president would invite recent converts to talk about their conversion story.  It was always such a powerful experience because of the unique circumstances these people came from and how the gospel changed their lives.  This particular Sunday, one of my recent converts (who got baptized a week before) was asked to speak about her conversion story.

She got up and started her talk.  As she was talking, I realized why her talk was so powerful.  Her talk was simple.  She doesn't have the best grammar, she stutters when she gets nervous, and she has a thick African accent.  But everyone was able to understand what she was saying because it was so simple.

Talks, lessons, presentations, are supposed to be well presented, but simple and easy for everyone to understand.  People go off about deep doctrine or use big words to look sophisticated, but they're missing the whole point.  Because she (and everyone else that night) spoke so simply, you knew it was from the heart, not something they threw together in 5 minutes to get it over with.  I've come to appreciate the simplicity in speaking and everything else because of this one experience.

Spiritual Enlightenment

In Orson F. Whitney's talk "Home Literature" he talks about learning and becoming an example to others.  While talking about learning he says this, "The spiritual enlightenment of a world, the salvation of the human race, the education, for this life and the life which is to come, of all who can be persuaded to enter the garden of God and partake, freely, of the precious fruits of the Tree of Knowledge, which, in the truest sense, is also the Tree of Life."  Orson F. Whitney inspired many people to be that example and help others come and partake of this gift that God has given us.

In Nephi Anderson's book Added Upon, the whole story line is exactly Orson F. Whitney's quote.  It's about everyone's own spiritual enlightenment journey through life.  In Added Upon, it's the story about the lives of a couple people through the plan of salvation.  Reading about their lives makes me think of our lives.  The different journeys everyone go through to become the person Heavenly Father knows we can become.  We each have a unique journey so we can "enter the garden of God and partake, freely, of the precious fruits of the Tree of Knowledge, which, in the truest sense, is also the Tree of Life."

Headmaster at Hogwarts

Since I can remember, I have been waiting for my letter to Hogwarts.  Growing up reading Harry Potter has been a huge part of my life.  I have been able to go through Harry, Ron, and Hermione's experiences with them as well as have some of my own life experiences.  I have been able get a good education from Brigham Young University just like their education from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.  But, before Harry, Ron, and Hermione faced He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, they were given help from one man named, Albus Dumbledore.

Just like Harry, Ron, and Hermione, we all have an Albus Dumbledore in our lives.  It could be our grandparents, parents, youth leaders, or even a teacher.  Whoever it is, they have always been able to give great words of advice.  In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry finds out how similar he is to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.  At the end of the book, Harry talks to Dumbledore about this concern.  Dumbledore, being the wise, old wizard that he is says this great quote, "It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."

We all have to make hard decisions in our lives and being able to rely on someone can be hard at times.  Just like Harry has been able to receive sound advice from Dumbledore, I've been able to receive advice from listening to General Conference talks, devotionals, paying attention in Relief Society and so much more.  All these things have continued to help me get through different experiences in my life.  As I continue to get older, one day people will turn to me and ask me for advice.  I only hope, that I'm able to give them the advice they need and be their Albus Dumbledore.