Finals!!!!!

One thing that everyone in college worries about is finals. I worry about them myself. You feel that you never know enough about the subject and that you are doomed to fail. One thing that my last Calculus Prof told us is that "No matter how bad you do, your worth in Heavenly Father's eyes is still great." His saying never really made me feel any better, but some things that help me get through finals are as follows.

Rest:
I can't stress this enough. Half of the stuff you learned will be gone if you are not well rested.

Study Groups:
Studying with others is a really good way to retain information and throw new ideas around.

Food:
Eating a well balance diet is important. How can you think of the test question when your stomach is growling

Recreation:
Your mind can only handle so much stress. Unwind, kick back, and play some four square!

LDS General Conference a Must!

     This past weekend, my church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, had a general conference. These conferences happen twice every year, and we get to hear from the President of the church, Thomas S. Monson

 

and many other members. I actually had the opportunity to go to a session in Salt Lake City. One talk that really struck me was called "Fatherhood—Our Eternal Destiny" by Larry M. Gibson.
                                      
He relates the story of a time when he went on an all night hike with his two sons. They walked 50 for so miles in 24 hours. When they arrived home, they all collapsed in various places from exhaustion. After Brother Gibson awoke, he went to see how his sons were doing. The younger of the two was alright. He said he never wanted to do it again. Brother Gibson expressed his love and told him how proud he was that his son could do hard things. He went to the elder son next and asked how he was doing. This son said the same thing as the first. "I never want to do something like that again . . . unless my son wants me too." This struck me like it struck Brother Gibson. His son understood what it meant to be a father, and he wasn't even married. He didn't have any kids. This made me think how I wanted to be like that when I am older and have a family of my own. His talk made me think differently than I usually do, and I really enjoyed it. I hope to hear more from him in the future.

Anime! do or don't?

     One thing that I really enjoy is anime! A lot of people don't like it because of the style or the silly looking characters, but the plots are all really well written and the characters are likeable. I have watched a few different animes in my life. They include:

Full Metal Alchemist:

Full Metal Alchemist - Brotherhood:

Sword Art Online:

Attack on Titan:

     The ones that I am currently working on are:

Tokyo Ghoul:

One Piece:

     All of these anime are extremely unique, and the plots to all of them are extremely good. I would recommend all of them to anyone. My favorite out of them definitely is One Piece. It is the most popular, longest running, most amount of episodes, and the most successful anime of this century. The story is about a boy named Monkey D. Luffy, and he wants to become the pirate king.

     In the decades before him, a man named Gol D. Rodger attained all the world had to acquire, hid it away, and was titled the Pirate King. He was eventually executed by the World Government. Before he was executed though, he gave a challenge to the world. He challenged everyone to sail the grand line (most dangerous ocean in the world) to look for it. Since then, countless pirates have left home to search for the one piece in hopes of becoming the new Pirate King.

     Luffy started his voyage, and along the way, he picked up the strangest, yet best crew around. It's a small crew of 9 members, but they get the job done. They go throughout the Grand Line and fight bad guys along the way. They get stronger and stronger after each encounter, and they even take a two year break from pirating to get even stronger. They have made many good friends along the way. Everyone from shop owners, other pirate crews, and even entire nations they have helped. In my opinion, Luffy will become the next pirate king. He just has to find the One Piece!

His crew consists of:

Monkey D. Luffy: - Captain

  

Pirate Hunter Roanora Zoro: - Swordsman

Cat Burgler Nami: - thief and navigator

Sogeking / Sniper King (aka Ussop): - sniper

 

Black Leg Sanji: - cook

 

Tony Tony Chopper: - doctor

 

Nicco Robin: - archaeologist

Cyborg Franky: - shipwright

 

Humming Brook: - musician

 

Off Time?

     So, the end of my semester is coming quickly, and I'm about to head home to work for the next couple of months. I'm trying to look for a job, but it's a little hard from over 1000 miles away. I have learned so many things this semester, but one thing that peaked my interest the most is computer programming. I wish I would have gotten involved in it sooner! It's a ton of fun. When the semester ends, I plan on teaching myself more about programming.

     I currently know C++. It's funny because is punny to other programmers. C stands for computer, and the ++ comes from a function in the program that adds one to any set variable. It's computers plus some!

 

   I plan on learning more about c++ and become fluent in it, but I also want to learn other ways of programming. After c++, I'll probably start with java script. After that, it will be python. All of these languages have things in common, but they are also different in there own distinct ways. I think it is really cool, and I want to know more.

Why personal narratives???

     For writing 150 here at BYU, I wrote a personal narrative for class. I wrote about something I don't talk to people about much, but it was something interesting to write about. I was intrigued about showing how we grew through it and not just telling about it. I'm really glad I received the opportunity to write it. I learned that telling our stories through writing can greatly impact how we view things in life. For example, if we write things down, it's easier to remember. If we keep journals, we will be able to reflect on what went good and what didn't.

     The paper was returned to me today and it was a 97%. It odd, by far writing is my best class. I actually like it a lot. I feel that I learn a lot of useful stuff in the class. My prof is also a champ (bonus points???). She's doing a great job, and I'll miss the class.

Personal Narrative

I was assigned to write a personal narrative for school, so here it is!

Something needs to Change

            Screech . . . CRASH! What had just happened? It was hard to see clearly and the smell of gasoline was strongly in the air. I looked around and saw the crushed heap of what used to be my car; a crushed brown Pontiac Trans Am. I look ahead and see a black Ford Focus with the back bumper smashed and falling off.  I have to escape! I don’t know how bad the damage is! What if my car is on fire? BANG! I kicked the door open and fall out onto the street. I start hugging myself wishing I would have brought my coat. What was I going to do now?

            Two weeks ago, my senior prom was the only thing on my mind. Prom was in three weeks and I had plans on going alone with the guys from my swim team. It was going to be a night to remember. “You can’t go alone! It’s your only senior prom!” There’s nothing that bothered me more than my own mother nagging me through her thick Hispanic accent.

            “It’s my prom! I can go alone if I want.” I argued.

             “Not when you are my only son and you live under my roof!”

            Why was I arguing with her? It seemed futile because she always got her way. Maybe I can persuade her and turn things in my favor. “Okay mom. I’ll take someone to Prom, but you have to pay for both of our tickets.” It was a genius plan in my mind because I could just take my best friend and not have to worry about paying for an expensive ticket.

            “All right, if you take a date to Prom, I’ll pay for both of your tickets.”

            I just won a war. It was an amazing victory against my mother, but now I was dealt with the aftermath. I had to find a date.

            Finding a date was harder than it looked. My best friend went to another high school, and it was too late to turn in the stupid forms for someone from another school to attend. I had to ask someone from my school. It seemed like everyone already had a date. Who could I ask?        

            “Kristopher! Are you listening?” my teacher yells at me.

“Sorry Mrs. Gardiner, won’t happen again.”

Hmm hmm hmmm! I look to my left and see my friend Haley chuckling at my misfortune. Haley is a pretty girl with long blonde hair. She is very nice and fun to be with.

 “It’s her!” I thought. I was going to ask her to Prom! I know I can have a good prom going with her.

After class ended, I caught up with her. “Haley. I was wondering if you had a date to prom yet. If you didn’t, would you want to go with me?” My hearth was racing. I didn’t know if I could take it.

     She finally responded. “I was going to go with my friends, but sure! It’ll be fun!”

     “That’s great!” I finally responded. “I’ll pick up the tickets after school.”

     “Oh, I already bought a ticket, so just buy one for you.” She interjected.

     Coming back to reality, I could feel goose bumps all over my body. There was all this flashing around me. A police officer must have showed up and was looking at the scene. Next thing I knew, he was giving me a ticket. It was for reckless driving, but it was only for $50. I could tell the officer was taking pity on me. At that moment, my mind started to race. How was I going to drive my date to prom now? Was this happening because I lied to my mom about the prom tickets and pocketed the change? How could I ever earn my parents trust back? If only I didn’t waste the money earlier, I could have still made it right.

     POP, POP, POP! I was hidden behind a tree with my enemies circling around me trying to shoot me. I could hear them stepping on every leaf and every twig on the forest floor.  POP! I hit one of them square in the chest. POP, POP! I hit another on their side.

“Kris! Do you have any more paint balls? I’m out!”

I swing my bag over to my friend Alex, but he’s taken out before he gets the chance to reload. The game finally ended with my team winning. It was a fantastic game. In that moment, I was glad I spent the excess money for Prom on paintball. If only I knew what would happen later that day. If only I knew I wouldn't have a car to drive to prom in anymore. Would I have lied to my mother and taken her money?

My father came to the sight of the crash to pick me up. He was happy that I was okay, but as the hours passed, his attitude towards it changed. “HOW COULD YOU BE THIS STUPID!? DIDN'T WE RAISE YOU BETTER!?” I have never seen him that angry. His face was redder than a tomato. It looked as if his head would erupt at any second. “YOU’RE DONE DRIVING!” I was heartbroken. With prom coming up and I had a job to drive to, I didn’t know how I was going to handle it all. My world seemed to be tumbling down.

If I never lied to my parents, would I have been in that accident? Would prom have turned out better?

“Kristopher . . . Kristopher!”

I was brought back to reality. I look up at my mother. She’s laying on the couch with our new puppy reading the newspaper. Can you go to the grocery store and pick up my tea?

Was I hearing her right? I haven’t driven in weeks.

“Are you sure? Is it okay with Dad?” I respond.

“Of course I am. Take the twenty from my purse and go.”

 “Okay mom, I’ll bring you back the change.”

Look Sister Steadman, No Hands! - research blog

For my writing and rhetoric class, I am writing a research paper. Its really cool because I have input on what I get to research. The only two conditions are that it has to be relevant to today, and it involves a family story. At first I had no idea on what I was going to write about, but I wanted to do something that is currently affecting my family, and something I would want to know more about myself. So far, I have read a lot of good sources, but not too much has hit the canvas yet. I have a good idea on how I want to structure my paper, but, like I've said before, not too much has been written yet. The following dialogue is an activity to help me write my research paper.

What is type-2 diabetes? If someone has type two diabetes, their bodies have trouble regulating their insulin levels. Their pancreas is the organ which creates and controls insulin flow that in turn regulates the amount of sugar in their blood. Does type-2 diabetes have a strong genealogical connection? Well, that's a terrific question! Many studies have been performed that seems to show that those who have family members with type-2 diabetes are more likely to get it. Well, if I will get it, what kind of symptoms will I start contracting. Well, if you think you are at risk of diabetes, a trip to your general practitioner might be in order, but some symptoms may include frequent urination, being very thirsty, weight loss, increased hunger, blurry vision, frequent skin or gum infections, fatigue and wounds may not heal, but sometimes, there may be no symptoms. What kind of treatment is there for people with type-2 diabetes? Treatment for type-2 diabetes is not easy on the patient. In include healthy eating, blood sugar monitoring, regular exercising and sometimes insulin therapy.

The prior dialogue has helped me gain good ideas on what to write about, I think I'll start my paper by saying . . .