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.

Early Sharing Report- Segments

One way I've had success in sharing my personal essay so far is by sending a small section of it I think would be meaningful to the friend I have in mind.  With how busy everyone can be, especially around this time, I thought it would be a good way to be sure they would read it and from there become more interested in the experience or in reading more.  In sharing my essay in this way, it is has been easier to make a quick reconnection with some of the important people in my life and bond over something meaningful and connected to the gospel.  With nearly all of the people I've talked to we've been able to set up plans for further interaction in the future and I look forward to connecting more with them!

LA Lost and Found

Arriving in Los Angeles was like stepping into a new world

Following the path and pace set by Elder Rodriguez, I find myself looking often to the right and to the left, distracted by the sprawling downtown scenery of what will be my new life.  Still wide-eyed I redirect my gaze ahead trying to focus my all on keeping up with my speedy companion who seems to be in perfect harmony with the hustle and bustle of the street cars and high speed shift and flow of people and vehicles alike intertwining with each other under the dimly lit avenues.  Just this morning I had been on a plane.  Already I was flying through the streets, my gears jamming and struggling to lift me over rolling hills, my companion far out of earshot to hear me if I were to suddenly tumble off my borrowed and battered bicycle.  My voice would never reach him I thought as the LA soundscape smothered even the gong-blast beating of my heart in its urban orchestra.  I pray and I pedal harder than I ever have in my life, as I breathe in the exhilarating, new air of my new home.  Somehow I feel someone with me, listening to my unheard pleadings.  I am happy. And so is He.

********************************************************************************

On the Street

Gazing down the sunlit and beautifully dirty walkway I breathe deeply and lift my scuffed-up leather shoe into my first step of the day.  The young 18 year-old assigned as both my bodyguard and daily working partner matches my stride and follows beside me, creating a kind of symmetry from the hem of our sun-bleached slacks to the glistening paperback clasped in our hands.  “Hey elders!” the kids who live below us call out from their play on the lawn. We continue on expectant in our occasional glances and of someone to talk to and share our message with.  “Have you ever talked with missionaries before?” I say to one man, waiting at a stoplight.  “Do you have a belief in Jesus Christ?” Elder Dell asks a Hispanic woman, holding her daughter’s hand.  With each hurried excuse or reluctant acceptance of a card handout, my breathing slows to take in the day.  My brow relaxes and I take each step loosely, allowing my feet to fully interact with the firm pavement before lifting them up again. These days the crowds and clutter of urban living refresh my being, enveloping me into a rich and human world.  "Can we help you with those?" The woman moves on without stopping.  "Have a great day!"     This is their home and my home, my kingdom.  “Buenas!” The door clangs dull and empty and we hear no response to our greeting; I pull out my planner from my front pocket, once bulging but now ripped with the corner folded forward, and examine it quickly.  "Time to go see Manuel" 

Manuel

The old man swings the tall door wide, welcoming us in with the flies.  “Can we sit here?” my companion asks as we sink into the couch.  Manuel walks across the room and offers us lime and cucumber water which we sip while we listen and occasionally speak, more to guide than to actually control the conversation.  We marvel at the insights of this man, who orders books in the mail, who sells vitamins door to door, who lost his wife in Guadalajara, as he speaks of Nephi and his boat.  Somehow as he talks the experience and uncovered wisdom of a lifetime seem to intertwine so perfectly with the words of a book he’d never seen before last week.  He pulls out his spectacles to read a passage and we smile at him, listening to the beautiful words we know so well.

A Brave Little Girl

“Did you read?” we ask in spanish as she drags the small wooden bench to the front of the yard, her personal little blue book and red marking pencil tucked under her arm.  She sits down and nods, making a face that makes her eyes pop out and accentuates the small dimple in her chin when we ask her what she learned.  We laugh and with some coaxing she begins to tell us. About a man on a long path, how he found his family but only some of them would come to him to the tree. A beautiful white tree, with a fruit that tastes like happiness.  The young girl pauses, her thin long curls draping her cheeks as she rocks back and forth on her chair; “But how do you get to the tree?” She finally asks.   ‘I guess you’ll just have to keep reading”

To my surprise

I walk into the bedroom and see two suitcases spread between the twin beds, muffled rattling comes from the closet and a voice calls back “I’m packing!” to my confused, unfinished question.  I take some things from the bags and hang them up again but I’m far from sure I’ve convinced my friend as he silently clears off his desk.  We talk softly a while at a time, on and off as I leave the room every so often to give him space.  After several hours he paces slowly into where I am on the couch.  Without saying a word he spreads his bundle out on the desk and takes a seat, his blue book back in front of him.

At the End of it All

Breaking my gaze from the cabin window down the aisle from my seat, I turn and stand to let an older woman pass and take her place beside me.  We talk pleasantly a few moments, at which point she notices my badge and the conversation quietly halts.  “You’re a Mormon aren’t you?” she asks.  “Yes I am” I reply, breaking into a grin.

Author's note:  Writing this narrative was an attempt to make sense of my experiences in the strange and mystifying world of Los Angeles.  Description and narrative choice were made with the intent to reflect not only to the diversity and texture of the city, but also of my exhilarating and at times turbulent experience as a missionary.  Though there isn't one thing I would point to as what got me through the challenges of being a missionary (or the challenges of having to leave that life), I strongly believe that God is at the fringes of everything.  Being able to see that and experience God firsthand in the lives of so many everyday people was a beautiful experience.  I think it's the most beautiful thing in the world.

My Action Plan

1. My friend Mary.  She recently performed a story reading for some friends and I before she did it in her class.  My roommate actually already told her about my essay after hearing it and she said she would love to see it.

2. My sister Hannah.  Having just gotten back from my mission and going straight to school, I haven't had the chance to spend a lot of time with her but we have a good relationship and it would be a good excuse to skype.

3.  My old mission companion from Nicaragua.  He is one of my closest friends from the mission and could give me a good mission perspective on my essay.  I'm hoping to see him tomorrow, so maybe after we reconnect we can set up another time to get together over skype.

4. One of my roommates, Spencer.  I haven't ever really shared anything I've written with Spencer, but he usually runs his essays by me for suggestions and I'm sure he would be willing to do the same for me.  We're pretty tight so it would be fun to talk openly about it with him.  I could also share my essay in person with him since we live together.

5. My grandfather.  He really enjoys reading what I write and we talk often, I've never shared anything of this genre or with this kind of media component before so his feedback would be interesting.

6. Mauricio.  Mauricio lives in my mission and we still keep in frequent contact.  He speaks really good english so he would be one of the few people from Los Angeles I could share this with.  We talk over the phone fairly often but haven't skyped in a while

Detailing the Mormon Script: Thayer's Fictional Take on Our Reality

Thayer's fictional depiction of the mormon experience allows the reader to more objectively reevaluate mormon culture from a different viewpoint.  As we see the effect of mormonism on adolescent Kyle, through his thought process, speech and general outlook on his life it causes that some of the dilemas and particular difficulties of growing up in a mormon community become more easy to examine and deliberate.  In my reading of Thayer's novel, I certainly found myself reconsidering several of the trends and sometimes subtle messages commonly promoted and communicated in a mormon upbringing and environment.

By addressing these themes through a fictional narrative as opposed to a personal essay or non-fiction account of a specific person, Thayer is able to work with very real characters who at the same time act as subsets of stereotypical mormons that are influenced by our unique religious culture in a similar way.  Likewise, by taking the viewpoint of a Kyle narrated in the first person the reader is able to fluidly immerse his or herself in the actual thinking of the young man, thus experiencing more genuinely what it is like to be him as he experiences social pressures and goes through honest self reflection firsthand.

For me the most resonant moments in "Will Wonders Never Cease" are when Kyle candidly comments on his gut emotional reaction to the pressures and expectations placed upon him.  When he warns his friend, Mark, of the whole new world of responsibilities he'll be taking on upon joining the church many of the perceived expectations he voices, though exaggerated, ring true.  Although no one in the church likely tries to broadcast these messages as a script all mormon youth must measure up to, the fact nevertheless remains that mormon youth are expected to do and be more than nearly any other group, sometimes unattainably so.  It may not be commonly voiced with such honesty in most mormon settings (even Kyle keeps most of his feelings and observations to himself), but Thayer's decision to lay these issues out on the table with such candor makes for a compelling commentary on who we are and how we live in Mormon society.

Amateur Video- LA Lost & Found initial takes

So I just recorded this quick take of the run down on my personal essay up to this point- you can pull it up here.

First off I was amazed at how fast the time went in making a minute video, but I think that will make these kind of promos much more accessible for people that may come across them.  From making this video and from the ones I've seen posted so far I definitely felt it surpassed my expectations as being able to draw people in to the essay.  Just kind of hinting at the subject matter and previewing it in a personal way, really helped me to connect to it on a higher level even for people whose essay I had already read or seen parts of.  As it all comes together and we add production or even just plan out more of what we will say or to what kind of people we will be primarily addressing I feel that we can make this project much more appealing and attract viewers who could learn from and connect with our experiences.

Dude, Where's the Conflict?

As I read my essay aloud to my roommate, and before I heard his feedback, I made some inner observations of my own.
First, I really liked the beginning of my essay
AND
Second, I really didn't like the end

So I could kind of sense what I needed to work on and what I could build off of.  Thankfully, my roommate gave me some much needed feedback and direction into what I could add.  After asking a few questions, he told me that he thought the essay had a perfect for setup for where it needed to go but that it was missing something crucial- it needed conflict!

Although the beginning of the essay in a sense expresses the conflict of unexperienced newcomer facing a new environment, there is little in the later scenes to depict tension or struggle.  My roommate suggested that this could be way to enhance the essay.   While I'm not entirely sure how I will explore this dimension in my essay, it definitely made me think about the depth that could be added to the experience as I detail both the difficulty and struggle Manuel had to feel and overcome as he learned the Gospel as well as the inner struggle that I felt as we tried to help him to accept the message.  I look forward to examining my essay from these angles and adding to my writing in this way.  Although I was hesitant to want to share my essay initially, I walked away very benefited from the experience and open to sharing and receiving feedback from more people in the future.

Humanity Discovered in Will Bishop's "Moses und Aron"

As Will Bishop contrasts the two biblical figures of Moses and Aaron in "Moses und Aron" I found myself more deeply understanding not just the struggles and failings of an ancient people.  In his modernized depiction of the israelites the universal nature of man in all times shines through.

And so it was that God gave us Aaron
for Moses was slow of speech
and didn't look right in a business suit,
for we yanked on his bulrush-bred beard
and mocked him,

Bishop begins the poem in this way, characterizing the prophet Moses in an extended explanation for Israel's preference for his spokesman Aaron.  From the first lines, the poet establishes a scene that causes use to envision the two men in a modern context, as Moses is awkwardly shoved into a boardroom attire and Aaron steals the spotlight of prophet's sermons.  While Moses is characterized as humble and soft-spoken in his desire that "we might see God", Aaron seeks to "trim that burning bush into topiary" as he wows the crowd with his sleek image and public speaking.  This inventive imagery not only makes the characterization of Moses and Aaron more interesting, but also succeeds in characterizing us as human beings to be fooled only too often by glittering eye-candy and crowd-pleasing rhetoric that fails to truly satisfy the soul.

Oddly enough the plot of "Moses und Aron" does not explicitly show God's disappointment with the people for their choice of Aaron and relative indifference toward Moses- He gives them the spokesman they desire.  The poem isn't direct in its message but it does suggest the central theme that God gives mankind the promised land that they deserve, that man is allowed to face the consequences of determining his own fate.  Although the poem is not outward or obviously mormon in conveying this theme, the characterization of Moses and Aaron could be applied to our view of Joseph Smith and his humble circumstances and appearance when compared with other more flashy and populist preachers that abound in our time as well as his.

From this poem I felt like I gained a lot of insight into the way God works in governing his people.  Although He will always provide a clear and accessible way to obtain spiritual truth through His ordained prophet, that does not necessarily mean that he will require the unwilling to seek Him through that route.  Maybe because God is so perfect in respecting our agency he is willing at times to give man just what they choose, even when it isn't what is best for them.

Lost and Found- continued

In this revision and continuation of my personal essay, I tried to expand on the view of missionary experience and self-discovery through various different scenes.  I used the metropolitan wilderness description as a kind of opening into the essay and continued from there.  For future revisions I am hoping to develop more concrete themes, making the simple beauty of missionary life more evident.  One thing that I think would add to the essay a lot that I am struggling with at the moment is meaningful dialogue.






Following the path and pace set by Elder Rodriguez, I find myself looking often to the right and to the left, distracted by the sprawling downtown scenery of what will be my new life.  Still wide-eyed I redirect my gaze ahead trying to focus my all on keeping up with my speedy companion who seems to be in perfect harmony with the hustle and bustle of the street cars and high speed shift and flow of people and vehicles alike intertwining with each other under the dimly lit avenues.  Just this morning I had been on a plane.  Already I was flying through the streets, my gears jamming and struggling to lift me over rolling hills, my companion far out of earshot to hear me if I were to suddenly tumble off my borrowed and battered bicycle.  My voice would never reach him I thought as the LA soundscape smothered even the gong-blast beating of my heart in its urban orchestra.  I pray and I pedal harder than I ever have in my life, as I breathe in the exhilarating, new air of my new home.  Somehow I feel someone with me, listening to my unheard pleadings.  I am happy. And so is He.

********************************************************************************

Gazing down the sunlit and beautifully dirty walkway I breathe deeply and lift my scuffed-up leather shoe into my first step of the day.  The young 18 year-old assigned as both my bodyguard and daily working partner matches my stride and follows beside me, creating a kind of symmetry from the hem of our sun-bleached slacks to the glistening paperback clasped in our hands.  “Hey elders!", the kids who live below us call out from their play on the lawn. We continue on expectant in our occasional glances and of someone to talk to and share our message with.  “Have you ever talked with missionaries before?” I say to one man, waiting at a stoplight.  “Do you have a belief in Jesus Christ?” Elder Cox asks a Hispanic woman, holding her daughter’s hand.  With each hurried excuse or reluctant acceptance of a card handout, my breathing slows to take in the day.  My brow relaxes and I take each step loosely, allowing my feet to fully interact with the firm pavement before lifting them up again.  These days the crowds and clutter of urban living refresh my being, enveloping me into a rich and human world.  "Can we help you with those?" The woman moves on without stopping.  "Have a great day!"     This is their home and my home, my kingdom.  “Buenas!” The door clangs dull and empty and we hear no response to our greeting; I pull out my planner from my front pocket, once bulging but now ripped with the corner folded forward, and examine it quickly.  "Time to go see Manuel" 

The old man swings the tall door wide, welcoming us in with the flies.  “Can we sit here?” my companion asks as we sink into the couch.  Manuel, walks across the room and offers us lime and cucumber water which we sip while we listen and occasionally speak, more to guide than to actually control the conversation.  We marvel at the insights of this man, who orders books in the mail, who sells vitamins door to door, who lost his wife in Guadalajara as he speaks of Nephi and his boat.  We smile as he asks if he really will be ready next week, it seems so close to him but not to us.  In these few weeks of visits we know he’s ready. We know Manuel.

I slide the red-grey Bank of America card through the machine and accept the receipt with a warm “thank-you” as Elder Cox hands me my bagged groceries.  We briskly exit outside and to our bikes against the blue metal sign in the Food 4 Less parking lot.  Draping our bags over the handlebars we speed out and return to busy Santa Fe.  Almost six, and time to return to the norm of appointments and street preaching we hurriedly heat up black beans with corn tortillas to eat before we depart.

*********************************************************************************

The woman to my right folds her tray table down as I take my seat and slide my shoulder bag beneath the row.  We talk pleasantly a moment when she squints a bit and pauses, looking at my badge.  “What’s that you’ve got there?,” she asks.  I too pause. And then I grin.

Lost and Found

**************************************************************************************************************Following the path and pace set by Elder Rodriguez, I find myself looking often to the right and to the left, distracted by the sprawling downtown scenery of what will be my new life.  Still wide-eyed I redirect my gaze ahead trying to focus my all on keeping up with my speedy companion who seems to be in perfect harmony with the hustle and bustle of the street cars and high speed shift and flow of people and vehicles alike intertwining with each other under the dimly lit avenues.  Just this morning I had been on a plane.  Already I was flying through the streets, my gears jamming and struggling to lift me over rolling hills, my companion far out of earshot to hear me if I were to suddenly tumble off my borrowed and battered bicycle.  My voice would never reach him I thought as the LA soundscape smothered even the gong-blast beating of my heart in its urban orchestra.  I pray and I pedal harder than I ever have in my life, as I breath in the exhilarating, new air of my new home.  Somehow I feel someone with me, listening to my unheard pleadings.  I am happy. And so is He.

********************************************************************************

The Gossip

"I know we're not really supposed to say this... but Elder Tills is quite a climber," Elder Ordoñez begins, easing in slowly to the favorite pastime of the division of God’s Army stationed in Southern California.  "They say President really likes him, maybe enough to be next assistant."  Though startled at his seeming disregard to inspiration, I am glued to every word as he pauses masterfully to adjust his glasses before resuming the stream of scandalously new information.  We all lean forward in the Corolla to hear as he lowers his voice, “Elder Prince isn’t the angel President thinks he is either” he whispers reliably, the words dripping like golden honey from the tight corners of his mouth. "A complete bucket. And the letter he sent to Sister Shaw- I bet President doesn't know about their make-out sessions in the MTC...”  The hour drive to Santa Monica is reduced to an instant as we step out with our recommends in hand along with a new opinion of nearly every one of the 250 missionaries in the LA area.  The morning sure is beautiful I think to myself, wondering how I could have missed seeing it on the drive up here.  "Fetch I almost forgot about Elder Meyers- I'll tell you in the Celestial room,” adds Elder Ordoñez, looking back at me as he passes the inscribed "Holiness to the Lord" before entering the temple.  I follow him, already edified.