Into the Eye of the Storm

{i'm the itty bitty plane}

My current school schedule looks like I am here at the Y just to play. Except for 3 serious classes, I am taking volleyball, springboard diving, basic vocal skills, and Beatles guitar instruction. Ha. Don't pretend you aren't jealous. It really is the funnest semester schedule I've ever had... except tomorrow I begin my tutoring with Altius. So on top of the funnest semester schedule I'll ever have, I'm going to stack my preparation for the biggest, hairiest, craziest test I'll ever have to worry about in my young adult life:

the MCAT.

Ladies and gentlemen, I am heading into the eye of the storm. Armed with nothing but my wits, a #2 Ticonderoga, a whiteboard and a sharpie, I will take an 8 hour multiple choice test in May that will largely determine my entire future. So wish me luck: I'm about to kiss my free time goodbye, and say hello to the textbooks.

{comma, space, frowny-face.}

To be honest though, I am exhilarated. This is a very big leap for me. I love to learn - and taking the MCAT will be the biggest academic challenge I've ever come up against. And on the other side of this test lies a wealth of knowledge I've been dying to learn my whole life: the mysteries of the infinitely complex human body, and how to help it fix itself. It was crafted in the likeness of the Creator Himself, for goodness sake!

{believe it or not, this is quite beautiful to me. this is what you're made of!}

So anyways, friends, when you want to hang out, but I have to study - remember that I'm dreaming of curing cancer, and don't feel bad for me.

Change I Love, and Change I Don't.

Change.

Fall to Winter.
Winter to Spring.
Spring to Summer, and back again.

I love it.

Moving to a new place.
Starting a new set of classes.
Meeting a new friend.

I love it.



And yesterday, I would have told you that I love change. But just now, I realized that when it comes to changing me, I don't love change.

And whenever I don't like something about myself or my situation, I'll sit and talk with my roommates about it, then I'll talk to my buddies in Salt Lake, then later I'll vent to an old friend, or ask my sisters for advice... and then do nothing about it. Why do I sit and watch TV when I know I'm falling behind in my schoolwork? I don't know. Why do I stay up late every night when I know I have class in the morning? I don't know. Why do I let my friends - even my best friends - really bother me without ever saying anything to them about it? I don't know.


But I tell you what. I like this scripture:

And because that they are redeemed from the fall they have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for themselves and not be acted upon.
Wherefore men are free according to the flesh; and all things are given them which are expedient unto man. And they are free to choose liberty and eternal life, through the great Mediator of all men, or to choose captivity and death, according to the captivity and power of the devil; for he seeketh that all men might be miserable like unto himself.

I am going to be an agent for change. I'm a fighter, dang it! Not only am I going to rock my New Year's resolutions, I'm going to manage my time way better, so I can do what I really want to, instead of what just seems nice at the moment.
We are free to act for ourselves and not be acted upon, right? To me, that means that it's time to stop blaming other people for things I don't like, and take matters into my own hands.


So, to whoever's reading this way-more-open-than-I-should-be blog post: you can achieve your New Year's Resolutions. But not if you start tomorrow. Not even if you start today. Start right now! Well, comment on my blog first, but then then get out and run that mile, throw out that bad music, and call up your friend you haven't talked to in a while! Not because you have to, but because you're free to do it.

{And to a certain friend: if you're reading this while you're on the toilet, I owe you a Frosty.}

And here's where I got the pictures.

2010!

I can't believe it!  It's 2010 already?

Well how about that.  Here are my new resolutions for the year, so I hope you keep checking up on me:

1 - Gain some WEIGHT!

     I weighed in at 136 lbs on the first day of the Year of Our Lord Anno Domine 2010, and I want to go out of this year weighing about 20 lbs heavier.

2 - Floss Daily

     Guess who maxed out his dental insurance with 3 root canals this year?  Yep.  Let's not do that again.

3 - Read My Scriputures Daily

     I'm going to finish the Old Testament this year.  I'm in Isaiah 56.  Isaiah is like the Shakespeare of the Old Testament:  everybody claims to love him, but I don't think anybody really understands him...

4 - Take the MCAT, Get Involved in Research, Get a Year-Round Job

     I know.  I know.  Three goals in one.  But I really have to do all three, and I didn't want more than 4 main goals, so I'm putting them all together!

So there you have it!  Those are my goals and I'm stickin to 'em.  I'm pretty excited about this year.  I feel like there are going to be some pretty epic things happening in 2010.  What are your resolutions?

2009

2009.

What a year. But I am even more excited for the next one!

True to my character, we are already 2 days into the new year and I haven't written a single resolution. I have been thinking about what I want to resolve, but haven't perfected them yet. Give me a day, and I'll post them tomorrow. It's not that I'm lazy, I'm just a perfectionist.

For now, I am simply grateful for this past year:

Two of my best friends in the whole world got married (and two more got engaged!); It warms my heart to see my best friends falling in love.

I took the most amazing class of my life - Human Anatomy - and it may change the course of my future as it's causing me to think more seriously about medicine again. It's crunch time, I need to decide within 2 weeks what to do.

I feel like I've grown a lot this year, and that I've slipped back a little in other ways - which is why I'm grateful for the new year: what a great time for reflection and a serious assessment of where I stand in my schooling, my family, and my relationship with God.

I don't know what wonderful things 2010 holds, but rest assured there is a year full of adventure awaiting all of us! Carpe Diem!

Ready? Breathe.

Joy to the world, finals are over!

Today marks the first official day of Christmas vacation. And a vacation it is. Though I have done approximately zero Christmas shopping, I feel like Christmas day is still an eternity away and there's nothing to worry about. Plus I kind of like buying stuff for friends and family.

I just need to share with everybody my greatest accomplishment:

I got an A in anatomy!

That class was so fun, breathtaking, spiritual.
Challenging.
Nauseating.
Worth it.

Unforgettable.

Thank you Dave for studying with me for hours on end even though you were already pretty much guaranteed an A in the class (whereas I got it just by the skin of my teeth). I know you did it for me. You're a friend in the truest sense.

Merry Christmas everybody!!

I'll Be Home For Christmas

Honestly. Who doesn't love the holidays?

This year, I am looking forward to:

Making candy with my mom

Playing Mario Kart Wii with my brother and sisters

Going scouching

Buying (and wrapping!!) Christmas presents

Making Christmas crafts (i.e. the Gingerbread House)

Going caroling to the oldest people in the world (we do it every year)

Christmas Eve
(this is another story, but in some ways, it's better than Christmas itself)

Exploring Temple Square:


Hot tubbing at the Luczak's Cabin

But I am most excited
to see my family.
To spend time with them,
to not think about school,
and to remember the reason for the season.

Thanks be to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
for penning my favorite Christmas hymn
and thanks be to Jesus Christ
for giving him a reason:


I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

I thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along the unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bowed my head:
"There is no peace on earth," I said,
"For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men."

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth he sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
With peace on earth, good will to men."

Till, ringing singing, on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime,
Of peace on earth, good will to men!

I can't wait to be back with my family for Christmastime. Just 2 more tests and a 10 page paper! Good luck on your finals, everybody, and Merry Christmas!

Changing Lives: VIDA Thanksgiving 2009 Sonora Project

Words will not explain it,
Pictures cannot capture it.
It is invisible,
Yet more real than anything you can see.
You cannot touch it, but it will touch you -
and touch you deep.
You cannot smell it
or taste it either...

but it will change your life forever.

This is love. This is what makes the world a better place. This is what I felt with the VIDA Crew down in Mexico. I encourage you to check out the website and become involved.

On November 20th, 2009, 16 volunteers, myself included, hopped into a car and began the 36 hour drive to Obregon Mexico, where we built a house for a family in desperate need. We also delivered over 600 lbs of donations and 4,400 dollars to the charities Fundacion de Apoyo Infantil (FAI) and to Casa Hogar Manos Unidas, an orphanage and safe house for underprivileged and victimized children. Thank you to everybody who made this possible.

Adrian and his wife will have a warm place to sleep this winter. They will have lights, and a bathroom. Eric and his wife are now much closer to finishing the extension of the orphanage, so that the teenage girls don't have to share the single girls bedroom with 25 other girls, some as young as 2 years.

I cannot tell you what a gratifying experience it has been to get to know these people, and to give a little bit - less than what they need, but as much as we could muster - to the impoverished people of Obregon. Sometimes, I think the best give we give them is the one they are best at giving back - our love. I arrived in Salt Lake City again on November 30th, a different man than the Spencer who left.

Ramon. I have probably a zillion other pictures like this one.
What the house looks like when it's done. I didn't build this one though.
Showin' our stuff.
Mixing cement for the base of the roof.