Report Draft: G - Initial Responses

In getting initial responses, it seems like not many people posted their personal essays publicly on social media. Because of this, we don't have many examples of casual responses (likes on Facebook, etc.). We did have a few people get likes on Instagram and Facebook though.

However, we did get a lot of personal interaction responses. Jeremy and Andrew both had similar experiences sharing with their friends. After good responses from their friends, both Jeremy and Andrew plan to talk to their friends further about their personal essays over Christmas break.

Tori, however, didn't have such luck. Tori tried to contact a friend through Facebook, but her friend was unresponsive. Without other contact information, Tori is still awaiting a reply. This is an example of how social media may have not been the most effective sharing method.

Scott sent a personal message to a friend who he had not spoken with for over four years. In the conversation he had with this friend, they reconnected and talked about getting lunch sometime with their childhood crew. Scott was glad that he shared his essay, since this gave him a reason to contact him.

Ryan Parker was able to connect with an old mission companion about a tough experience they both shared. They were able to understand each other better, and this helped them to relate more. However, Ryan's old mission companion asked him to not share the essay publicly on social media since it was so personal. Some essays may not be suitable for public exposure online.

Elijah had a good experience talking on the phone with a friend about his personal essay. Elijah noted that it was natural and personal to reconnect over the phone. These personal essays can be a good way to start conversations and renew old friendships.

Ryan W shared an essay by Viridiana with a member from Argentina who said he would share the essay with at least 5 people he knows well. This shows the great missionary opportunity that can come from such personal, natural essays that share our beliefs.

"The More You Share, The More You're Gonna Get"

- Song from All Dogs Go To Heaven.


I did get to read my essay to a few people personally and I sent it to a few people.

I haven't heard back from a few people that I sent it to, but the ones I read it to have really enjoyed my essay. One of the readers said she cried when she read it, and she would love to share it with her family.

The hardest part has been contacting some old friends. They will not respond to me, so I'm still working on that. I know she wanted to be really good at Spanish, and I wanted her to read Viri's essay in Spanish.

I have made contacts to see people over the break to have them read my essay. So I haven't completed it all, but I'm planning on meeting them.

Yesterday, I actually used an essay in my Sunday School lesson. I am a gospel doctrines teacher, and we were talking about Daniel in the Old Testament, and how he interpreted dreams. So I read them Mandy's dream from her essay and told them to interpret it. Obviously it was just an activity for me to start into Daniel's story, but I gave them the link if they really wanted to know what it was about.

It has actually been really fun to read everyone's essay and look for ways to share it. I'm excited for the break so I can see the rest of my people to share my essay with.

Meeting In the Living Room of Memories

Meeting In the Living Room of Memories

A Personal Essay by Tori Fawson

Flashback to the night my family gathered together for a different reason.


I opened my off-white bedroom door, hearing the familiar creak that would accompany it when it was two thirds of the way open. I walked down the hallway, avoiding the parts of the floor that seemed to cry in anguish when stepped on, towards my family room which had light protruding from it.

To Whom To Share, To Whom Not To Share? This Is The Question That Haunts Me. . .

Contemplating this project, I had a hard time getting three people. After I did, though, more names started popping up in my mind! I'm excited for a few of these people to read these essays. But I also miss my distant friends, so I'm more excited to talk to them again.

1: A good friend, Gavin H. Gavin is a high school friend that I have kept in a lot of touch with since I graduated. I have been helping him with his homework, and talking with him about his life a lot already, so it will be pretty easy for me to approach him about my essay. I would rather read it out loud to him, which I could see him next Saturday to do so.

2: A close friend, Karen H. Karen is a really good friend that I have made over quite a few months, but we've gotten closer more recently. She is one that I would probably share the link to, over Facebook to watch the video. I would also include the playlist, so she could see everyone's videos. I think she would really like it. She is also another one that I could easily share to, so I wouldn't need to do too much extra effort. I really look up to her, and value her opinion, so she is a great option for me.



Kendra F.

3: My friend Kendra F. I would rather her read the essay on her own time, than have me read it to her. She is also another friend that is from high school. I haven't kept in touch with her as much though, so I would have to text her and see how she's doing. I would do that for a while (a few days, at least) before I would bring up the essay. But she would be a great person to give feedback.


4: A distant friend Morgan C. I knew her my junior year of high school. She moved away the next year, so I haven't kept in contact with her as much. She separated herself from social media, and got a new cell phone number, but she checks Facebook pretty often. I could probably get her number if I messaged her on Facebook, and get updates on her life. She is a non-member, so the Book of Mormon aspect might interest her or push her away. When I knew her she was interested in the church, but I don't know how she feels about it now. I would definitely have to get to know her again before I would feel comfortable sending her the links to both the videos and essays (videos first.)

5: A former teacher, Shawna B. Being from a small town, everyone knows everything. Mrs. B was really close with my family, and so she knew what went on in my essay. I would like to send her this link to my essay; she always seemed to like my writing. She graduated from BYU and teaches English. She would be a great person to get feedback from.

6: A former teacher, Liz S. Liz was one of my best friends during my senior year of high school. She was a great mentor and teacher; really shaping my life. I haven't kept as much in touch with her as I would have liked to. I have seen her often since graduation, but not enough. I would have to text her (she was also an advisor to my Student Government class, so that is why I have her number. Not to be creepy or illegal or anything...) and see how she is doing before I would send her a link to just my video.

7: Ephraim T. One of my friends who is serving a mission right now. I would like to send him the essay and pictures from Keegan's posts. Ephraim is serving in Tahiti, so I'm sure he would relate to this essay. I think it would also help him recognize the beauty of where he is serving and the people around him. He would really love this essay.

8: Todd F. I would share with him Clark's essay about not eating the stale donuts. I would read him this essay the next time I go home. Todd would really relate to this essay, because he has told me a story about one time he went home teaching. The guy they were visiting offered Todd a peanut from a large bowl in the middle of the table. After he declined, the guy told him he just liked the chocolate on them, and he didn't like the peanuts. The guy had sucked all of the chocolate off and put the peanut in the bowl to offer visitors! He was really glad he didn't take one. So Todd would really get a good laugh out of this essay.


Portrayal Needs the Perfect Audience

"Will wonders never cease." That's what Kyle Hooper's mom, Lucille, would say to him whenever he did something surprisingly good in the new LDS novel from Douglas Thayer. Will Wonders Never Cease is about a fictional teenager named Kyle, who gets himself in a predicament, and has to realize what he believes to find the strength to survive.

I think representing Mormonism through fiction can be done quite well and accurately, but not all of it is going to be exact. What an author may create in their mind as to which LDS rituals should be insanely overdone in their novel may turn the reader away from the LDS faith. Especially if it was someone who is unfamiliar with Mormon culture. The same goes with the way Kyle Hooper sees his religion. I know that he is really starting to learn what he believes in this book and he's very sarcastic about everything, but there were many times that I felt like I should defend my religion. This book has to have the correct audience; the way that Kyle Hooper seems to make fun of it.

Personally, I would rather read a fiction novel over non-fiction more often than not. But take "Meet the Mormons" for example. If the stories in that movie were expanded with more details into a non-fiction book, I would instantly read it. Non-fiction would be a better way to portray the "Mormon experience" because it can provide real insight of real people and their lives. Sheri Dew also writes great non-fiction books on how the LDS religion works, her most recent one titled, Women and the Priesthood: What One Mormon Woman Believes. Non-fiction would be more accurate because of the ability to tell real stories, real experiences, real emotions, real solutions. Not just a scenario that was made up in someone's head.

Depending on the audience and the way they represent LDS culture, both non-fiction and fiction books can accurately portray Mormon experience. Will Wonders Never Cease needed a Mormon audience, who could recognize the sarcasm of Kyle Hooper's religious experiences.

Checkmate's Video Trailer

I chose to do my Teaser Trailer for Darren Torrie's "Checkmate" without incorporating the Book of Mormon.

I chose to focus on the friendship described, and how awesome the essay was on bringing memories to the surface about my own friendships. After about the 100th video, I finally was able to stop laughing at myself, and have my roommate record it, so I couldn't see my face. That's why I started laughing at the first. It took a lot of time to finally get to the point where I could publish a video, but I hope I conveyed the importance of Darren's essay.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEK4iSihs-I&list=UUMJl7Lsv_cFlOgTggKr5NYQ

Just in case that one doesn't work, here is another link:

http://youtu.be/JEK4iSihs-I

Finally Opening Up

My best friend and I at a beach in
Mexico.

Reading my personal essay to my friend, I was really nervous about what she would think. I don't normally talk about the subject I chose to write about, and she had moved before the scenario happened. She never really knew what I was feeling or what was going on because I had distanced myself from my friends, because in my 15 year old mind, that was being strong.

After running Color Me Rad.

She really enjoyed hearing my personal essay, and because she has been in my house before, she was able to have a better picture of my house. Even though she knew the design of my house, she still had a hard time taking in all the detail. She suggested I improve on the flow of my detail, and maybe change a few words to create a better description.

Finding hideous clothes for each other
and modeling them.

As I was reading out loud, I noted a few places where the flow between paragraphs needed a little fixing up as well. I needed to let loose on this paper, and really get through what I was trying to show. The essay seemed boring, even though there was a lot of detail. In reading it out loud, I even got a little bored. I'm going to see how maybe changing some details may make it, well, less boring.

After I was done reading the essay to her in the parking lot of a movie theater late last night, she asked a few questions about how I felt during that situation, and what was really going on. She had tried to be a good friend to me during that time, checking up on me and making sure I was okay, but I had pushed her out. I was always "okay." So it was nice to finally be able to open up to her, and deepen our relationship.

The True Meaning of Dispensed in Sarah Duffy's "Human Dispenser"

I connected quickly with the chosen poem; with part of my past that I don't like to relive. Sarah Duffy created a beautiful poem called "Human Dispenser," where she describes someone who pretended to come into her life to be her Savior and gave her more than she wanted, which swallowed her whole, metaphorically.

"You, my human savior, sent to justify my morals and this world
with yours. And why
You? As if you were a type of savior.
As if you actually wanted to."

This symbolism is important to Mormon culture. Our beliefs talk about an existence before this life, where a spirit offered to go down to Earth and die for mankind. He would willingly be our Savior. He "actually wanted to." This first part makes the reader think that the rest of the poem could maybe be about many Mormon aspects, but then cuts that thought short with the next line.

"I thought you did.
                                           That's what I get for thinking."


It was very interesting to me how quickly this poem turned from a glorified savior figure to a devil figure. Sarah talked about how it was all in the cards. The savior was actually the devil. She the fool. The third fortune card was a heart stabbed with swords. Swords that I think were words. The cards show that what we perceive is not always reality.







"I wanted both: ignorance and enlightenment. And you
Graciously dispensed them.

You, some kind of dispenser of knowledge."

There was irony provided in the want of both ignorance and enlightenment. It is almost impossible to have both. Yet somehow, she was graciously given them.

My favorite part of this whole poem was the line about the dispenser of knowledge. I had someone that came into my life, thinking that I needed to be saved. He was going to be my savior. At the time, I didn't know I was just a goal that needed to be reached. I gave my life to him, everything revolved around him and the knowledge he had. He had to establish a rank in our lives, he higher than me because he threw false knowledge at me that made me confused and "stupid." He "dispensed" knowledge at me that made me lose who I was supposed to be.

After a long, hard year, he used the second meaning of the word dispense, and he got rid of me like the scum he thought I was. I was left with only the swords of words he stabbed into my heart, and like Sarah, I was swallowed whole by his contents.

The title of this poem is called 'Human Dispenser." I don't think that this is the title because it was mentioned once in the poem as a person who dispensed knowledge. But because she was a human dispenser, one that was easily led off, used, and dispensed of.

 

(482 words, "Fire in the Pasture" page 149.)