3 Games of Glow in the Dark Capture the Flag and a Blessing

Sunday is always an interesting day out here with LDSBC. I have always associated Sundays with my mother hassling me to wake up, an hour in sacrament meeting with my family, an hour in class with kids ranging from the 8th to 12th grades, and an hour with girls I've known since I was 8. Here it is completely different. I wake up by myself infused with an urge to go to church for those three hours and get as much as I can out of it. I walk to church with my friends and for the following hours I am surrounded by my classmates. It is almost like another school day, the same faces, the same spirit felt by everyone, it is truly peculiar. But, I guess that we really are a peculiar people.
My experience out here has been unpredictable and impeccable. Through most of my education I have been the only Mormon in my school (but at one time there were 2 of us) but now I am one of almost 1,500. I go to school with the same people, I worship with the same people, and it is nice because the friendships made through one social venue are easily transferred into the other. This is unlike anything I have ever been through and I have always wanted to be a part of it.
About 25 of us played glow in the dark capture the flag tonight on school grounds and it was extremely fun. I love games where strategy is involved; I believe that it heightens emotions and the bonding between teammates because your plan is more than just to win but it is to protect the others around you, as well. A great friend of mine, Rosario, got very sick again and asked for a blessing from a few of the young men. We do not know exactly what is wrong with her except that it seems to re-surface itself whenever she is stressed. A blessing for the sick is something the men offer to bless those who are suffering to bring comfort and an ease to their pain. It is extraordinary to be in the room while a blessing is taking place because one can feel the spirit and the stories that come from the sick are truly incredible. I have heard of people who are given weeks to live leaving the hospital the day after a blessing with no trace of ailment throughout their whole body. I have seen people, like Rosario and Mia, in the utmost physical pain be given a blessing and walking out the hospital with a sense of comfort. It is remarkable.
I know that this faith is remarkable as well and makes people become better for I have seen it in myself.

Yeahhh, Bro,

It's 2:15 in the morning and we just got back from taking Mia to the hospital for stomach pains. Nothing was wrong just simple pain but the camaraderie that came from it was comforting. I feel that the members of the LDS can always get their "stuff" together when it's necessary and from that, one can feel a true and pure friendship. I felt that tonight and I'm sure that the others did.
The LDS Intermountain Hospital was the last place where I thought that I would make better friends, but once again I underestimated the affect of anything on everything.

You Can Only See My Eyes and My Teeth

So, this is a new venture; a blog. I feel like I have to think of something clever or innovative to make this interesting but it's not coming to me right now. But first, introductions. I am going to the LDS Business College in SLC, UT right now and I love it. I'm black but have been adopted into an all white family since I was a baby. I love to read, listen to music, hang out with friends etc. Maybe this will help me keep up on my journals or something productive but I don't know.

So my day went a bit like this:

I woke up at the last minute before my 8:50 class because the girls and I (the girls being - Ayesha, Lulu, and Mia) went dancing last night until about 1. I woke up with a fatigue hangover and the mundane urge for a bagel and cream cheese which I've become accustomed to since I've been out here. I picked one up on my way to accounting. Accounting is an interesting class; I'm one of eight girls. It constantly smells of axe and old spice with an overwhelming air of testosterone that I am not used to so early in the morning. Next, I headed down to the computer lab and made progress in my art history project. The project is going along well all I have to do is match terms to certain works of art of my choice, hopefully it goes well.

I had lunch with a few of my friends in the cafe. We spoke of dreams, sleepwalkers, and Mexicans who laugh in their sleep. Then, I headed to art history where the conversation revolved around the Greek nudes artists and audiences alike have come to revered. It has been said that the Greeks had a longing to find the perfect human form and realized that it did not exist in the natural world, therefore they resorted to stone and the Golden Mean. The Greeks believed that their bodies were a temple and that by showing it in its purest form, they can portray their standards. Some think that these statues were pornographic images for the rich but it is exactly the opposite. These Greek nudes show that we should strive for perfection and nothing less.

I believe that I am a quiet perfectionist; I strive for it and frankly, I do get upset when I don't achieve it but I dare not portray that to others around me for it tends to come out in other ways. I work harder, I get anxious, and I lose touch with what is important. I really have to work on this aspect of my life.

After school, I took a nap, cleaned my room, and am currently in Ayesha and Mia's room with Lulu (who is my roommate) these are our Friday nights and I love it.

Maybe I can use this blog to be perfectly honest and blunt with myself, maybe that can be my innovative thing - we'll see.

"Ready? Von, Thoo, Free"