I'm going to Guyana. Please help.

UPDATE:

my fundraising site is up!

I'm going to Guyana!

for two weeks. and i'll be camping. and hanging out with lots of sick people.

october 23-november 6.

i'm stoked.

[it's on facebook, too!]

What?

So over the past year, I've been trying to figure out what to do with my life. I took a CNA class- absolutely loved it. Then I worked for a few months with the school district, and in the spring decided to go back to the local community college. Spring and Summer quarters I attended part-time so if I had any migraine problems it wouldn't set me back in school. This plan worked excellently because both quarters I got a 3.9! Yay! Overjoyed, I quite happily signed up for Fall classes, ready to keep going.

And then there was that Sunday I sat in church and felt really strongly like something would come up this fall and I should withdraw from classes so I could devote myself to that opportunity. My thoughts were something like, "wha?!" So a few days later I took a big gulp and withdrew from my classes. Yikes! I thought and prayed about it and decided that hey, this would be a really good opportunity to do something I've always wanted to do-- go volunteer abroad!

I started researching various volunteer programs like crazy. After about a month of research I'd seen a few programs that caught my eye, but none of them occurring this fall. Then I got an email from Ve'ahavta. They told me that they had an upcoming medical trip to Guyana and were in need of a support person for their team and the information they had about me suggested that I might be a good fit for this role. The trip is scheduled to leave Oct 23, so would I please get back to them quickly about whether or not I'm interested? I took a weekend to pray about it and decided that this is something I really want to do and to go for it.

Well that's nice, Cassanndre, but what're you actually gonna do?

Well, this is so cool. Short answer: I'm going to be a support person on a medical team. My job will be multi-fold. Part of it will be to help our team leader logistically, make sure we don't forget anything on the little boats or airplanes (like medicine, tents, food, and other not-so-important items), and remind my teammates to stay hydrated and wear mosquito repellant. The other part of it will be using my medical skills and enthusiasm to learn by helping the doctors and nurses in the clinic. I will help with basic patient care (taking vitals, basic first aid, etc), triaging our incoming patients, and educating patients on things like hygiene, sexual health, diabetes, and preventative measures. I will also have opportunities to observe the doctors and nurses in action.

We will travel by "puddle jumper" (little plane), boat, canoe, and.... well, I imagine there will be a vehicle here or there :) We will be going to the rural Guyanese people who have less access to primary care and working with the local healthcare workers to meet the medical needs of each village.

If you want to know more in depth, check out the Ve'ahavta Guyana project information page.

You said "please help"... are you asking me for money?

Yes, yes, I am. I will be completely honest with you about this. And y'know what makes it great? I really don't have the ability to afford it on my own!

Are you crazy?

Yeah, maybe I am. However, I feel really strongly that this medical trip to Guyana is something my Heavenly Father is giving me the opportunity to do and it is something I really, really want to do. That's an understatement. I am enthused, excited, and committed to this trip. Worst case scenario here? I go to Guyana and am in debt to Ve'ahavta and arrange a payment plan with them to pay off the cost of the trip within the next year or so. I believe in working for a living as well as working to make dreams possible. I don't like the idea of debt and try to avoid it as much as possible. I feel strongly that if I do everything I can to prepare myself for this trip and take advantage of all of the resources available to me that I will be provided for- in whatever form that comes about. It might sound crazy to plan this trip on such short notice with such little resources of my own, but I am not ashamed of my situation nor my decision to go.

The cost of the trip is termed a donation (and thus is tax-deductible). It is typically $3,000 but because I'm awesome, Ve'ahavta has reduced it to $2,500 for me. What does this cover? This covers not only my personal airfare, food, in-country travel, insurance, etc. but it also helps cover the cost of the medical supplies we will be using and supplying the Guyanese people.

What do I get out of it?

Well, that depends on what you want out of it. If you want me to have a great time, expand my educational experiences, and help people- I promise you'll get that. You'll even get some people in Guyana who are healthier, happier, and more knowledgeable about taking care of themselves. Personally, though, I want to give back to the people who help me to go. I have a few ideas about this, and honestly, I can't think of one to make the single gift back to those of you who help sponsor me. So how about this? I'll give you guys a list of things I can do, and you let me know what you would like in return.

• a printed photo of guyana. your choice from my pictures of people and land. (since i am a photographer)
• a photoshoot of you, your family, your pets, whatever.
• professional editing or restoration of photos you already have.
• babysitting. (for an evening, a day, a few times a week, a month....)
• cleaning. with my special genetic-anal-retentive skills.
• a massage. (i have no training whatsoever, but i do have a reputation for awesome massages.)
• buy doTERRA oils from me at retail price (i believe i get 25% of your purchase). feel free to ask me about essential oils if you don't know about them or what might be a good fit for you. i love them. maybe i'll put a post regarding oils here on my blog sometime soon...
• caregiving. i am trained to be a nursing assistant. i can help you or a loved one in a number of ways, from personal hygiene and basic medical attention to preparing meals and rearranging furniture for greater accessibility. and many things in between.
• tutoring. i have extensive experience working with special needs kids. i also am a college student and can help with most subjects up to high school level. i took two years of ASL and can teach you basic sign language.
• anything else you can think of.

well that's nice that you can do stuff, but I only have a little bit of money. can I just get a picture or something?

Of course! And you know what, if 50 people donated $20, that would be $1000. Now, I probably won't be able to send an 8x10 glossy to each of those 50 people because that would get expensive. But if you want one, let me know and we'll make it happen. If you want an hour of tutoring or a small handful of photos edited, let's talk about it. If you want to just donate and you don't want anything in return, that's really sweet and I'll accept that, but please give me your address so I can at least send you a picture or something. Pretty much, I'm a reasonable person, and I expect that anyone who reads this is probably a reasonable person. Want to help me out? Let's talk and see what I can do for you!

I have more questions!

Okay, post them below, give me a call (if you have my number), or shoot me an email (cassanndre [at] gmail [dot] com). I will also probably come back and add more information as I think of things people might want to know/ I want to share.

a prayer for Kenya

It’s absolutely horrific. Satanic. Chaos.

Evil exists in this world, and it can be seen clearly in recent pictures from Kenya. Insight Kenya is well stocked with many pictures of the horror occurring. As I look through the pictures, I think more and more. These aren’t just pictures. These are moments of real peoples’ lives. People like you and me who trusted in the democratic process. People with families, hobbies, loves, burdens… It looks to me like Kenyans are all connected now by hate, whether it be the effects of others’ hate, or their own.

I don’t much understand politics. I have no passion for studying it, and I don’t grasp it easily. Politics’ often self-contradictory and ambiguous nature confuses me. I won’t pretend I do understand it. Nor will I pretend to understand the intricacies of Kenyan politics.

There are some things, however, which are easy to comprehend (even if they are not easy to accept).

Tension. Disagreement. Accusations. Cheating. Hate. Selfishness. Collapsed. Terror. Subdued. Crippled. Degradation. Cruelty. Evil.

These are the tragedies which have taken Kenya- and its people- hostage.

It is not only Kenya that suffers- or will suffer, however. Evil is found everywhere. The roots for this sort of situation, this barbarous brand of behavior, lie all around us, all over this world.

Kenya must be helped. Its people deserve better just by their very existence.

This evil must be prevented from invading more peoples’ lives. It must be stopped- eradicated.

It’s horrible- beyond description. No amount of searching a thesaurus would supply me with words to describe what I have only read and seen in pictures. It is wrong, base, unforgivable, and evil. It makes me cry.

But what can I do? How insignificant I am compared to all this!

For now, I will pray. I will pray for Kenya to rise triumphant out of this mess. For peace to be restored, differences bridged, and leaders who care for the people given power to care for their people. I pray for those injured, that somehow, despite all that has happened and may yet happen, they will find peace. That they will be able to continue their lives- doing more than just “moving on”, but integrating this experience so as to change themselves, and their country, for the better. Most of all, I pray that Kenya will overcome, and bring hope to the rest of the world that it is possible to triumph over the evil that threatens every one of us.

some Kenya blogs and whatnot I have come across and found informative- Insight Kenya, Kenyan Pundit, Thinkersroom, Kenya and Africa, Funua, Ushahidi. Articles/news reports are easy enough to find via newspapers, google, and these blogs themselves, so I’ll leave such finding up to you.

...worth it...

I wish I could put something insightful here. I feel like writing. I just don't know what to write about- while still having it mean something.
I've been thinking about "the future". 1) Where I'm going for school next year- tho I will probably stay home and finish off my AA. 2) If I will still be sick or not, and if (at least mostly) not, 3) Where I will work. I've been thinking I'd like to get trained as a CNA and find some sort of job as one (hopefully not in a nursing home- those places just kinda give me the heebie-jeebies), but I just recently started thinking about being a paraeducater. I think I would like being a para-ed, since that's almost what I was when I volunteered a lot in the spec. ed department last year. I have over 200 hours volunteering there, I think, and the teachers love me, so I think it wouldn't be too difficult to get a job as a para-ed for spec. ed at the local school district. Getting trained as an EMT is also an idea- one my step-dad finds particularly good (partly because he's currently being trained as one for his work in emergency management). I would like, possibly even love it. It would be great. However, getting trained to be an EMT is a lot more intensive and expensive than CNA training and passing the para-ed test combined. It would be great, but might be worth it putting off until I wouldn't have to worry so much about the cost.
We'll see how it all turns out. Heavenly Father will take care of me. I just have to keep reminding myself of that and also that trials are for my benefit. I can learn a lot from being sick, so I'd better take advantage of the opportunity. I guess that's the idea, for me, behind blogging. Sorting out what's going, what I think and feel about it, and- most importantly- what I can learn from it.
There are a lot of things I could complain about, but in the long run, complaining won't get me anywhere. That pretty much means I can't justify complaining. Dangit. (I'll probably still try and get away with it, though.)
So, what have I learned so far?
A good deal about health care, medicine, and my own body. I've learned what it's like to have people doubt your intentions. I've seen how wonderfully kind/compassionate/caring people can be, and thusly had wonderful experiences that I really wouldn't trade for anything. I've come to understand, at least a bit, how scary it is to be isolated from one's community. I'm learning how to take things as they come; to not try and micromanage every aspect of my life; to trust that Father has a plan for me. I'm learning about how to rely on other people for some things, and from that I hope to learn how to be reliable for others. I'm learning compassion and empathy. I've learned what it's like to have hopes dashed, plans changed. I'm learning a new system to evaluate a person's "worth". I'm learning to value the moment, and milk it for all I can- especially if it's a moment when I feel (comparatively) well. I'm learning how to be a realist, while still maintaining optimism. I'm learning how to smile when I feel like crap.
I'll come out of this a better person. The time that I can't serve or help others now will be more than made up for when I am well again and can use my new arsenal of knowledge to help people in ways I couldn't have without that "wealth of wisdom". Remembering that helps me, especially when I start to beat myself up about the things I'm not doing (can't do).
I just have to remember the thing that matters most about being sick- if this experience enables me to help/serve even one person, it will be worth it.

here nor there? be here

Someone else to add to my gratitude list. This Friend is one of those people who drops me messages here and there, usually when I need them the most.
Friend just told me (via internet) to "lemme know how I can help you!". I began a reply and a couple paragraphs into it, realized it was going to be a bit long, but I liked where I was going, so decided to continue and that I would post it here when I was done. Here it is:

and... Thank you! It gets sucky when I have to spend more time at home, and then passing sucky when people doubt (the severity of) my illness, and thereby question my character. ([Friend] mentioned to me that "people are starting to talk"... that was pleasant (sarcasm), and somewhat diminished my looking-forward to seminary, and I miss that place!!)
I guess what it is is that some days, especially those when I feel above averagely unwell and miss out on things, I just feel like I'm becoming isolated from people that live even just 5 minutes away from me. I've gone from seeing most of the people I care about almost every day- even multiple times a day- to once or twice a week, if I'm feeling up to it. At a time when emotional support and connection with my friends is most needed, it had become the hardest to get. My parents are really stressed out, and so [Step-Dad] isn't always able to be as understanding as I would like him to be, and my Mom doesn't always have the energy to help me out when I'm scared, stressed, or just sick.
I've been slacking on the "basics"- things like scriptures and prayer- when I need to be devoting more time to them. I know there is a lot of strength to be gained from them, but sometimes I'm just too tired to get up the motivation for it. I think I do well at having heartfelt prayers, but I need to have them more than just once a day, and to give more time to them. Gospel study is especially important, especially with me not being able to go to seminary or institute most of the time- I have a deficit to make up for.
I remember talking to someone my freshman or early-sophmore year, (I can't recall who it was) and saying something to the effect that if I were ever to get sick, my friends wouldn't let me get isolated. I had somewhat of an idealistic image of people rallying around me, and going out of their way to be supportive.
I don't doubt in my friends' ability to do this, nor do I doubt their good intentions and love, but I must realize that my previous idea was unrealistic. I have to alter that idea- if I were to have a severe, acute problem (such as might land me in the hospital), I am confident that my friends and community (I speak of the church and family community- which are pretty much the same thing) would rally around me and my family and be amazingly supportive, helpful, and well-intentioned. I have seen them do such before for other people.
It's different, however, when one descends slowly into bad health. There is no message that makes its way around the community- "So-and-so is not doing well and needs some extra love!" There is no sudden resection from all facets of life. The resection is gradual, and by the time people realize what has happened, they have become accustomed to it. There is no internal burn to go aid the person, to reach out. With a chronic illness, the aid is continually needed, and people- despite their best intentions and truly good natures- burn out, get lazy, busy, or simply distracted.
The world moves on- rapidly, radically, constantly- as the chronic illness sufferer fights the pull of isolation. The threads that tie one to society begin fray, sometimes even snapping, and the person can be left more and more isolated as the world moves more and more forward.
I know there is a way to fight this impending isolation, but I'm not sure what it is. Sometimes I even doubt that I would even have the energy to fight. It's tempting to just sit back and let the threads snap.
Despite this, I have decided to not give in to the loneliness. I will pick the threads that matter most- my God, my family, my dear friends, and my future- and devote my energy to maintaining and strengthening those. Let the other, lesser threads to the world, to life, fray and snap. I may yearn- and even cry- for them, but I can survive- happily even- without them.
You want to know how you can help? What would mean the most to me would be helping me to not become isolated. I am afraid of it. I am afraid that it will happen, and I may not even be able to stop it. Call me when you're thinking of me. Invite me to do things- even if you know I probably can't. Keep me updated and informed on the things I miss. Drop me an email, or a message on facebook. Read my blog and leave a comment. Take pictures for me. Stick up for me. Stop by randomly- just to say hi and maybe even hang out. You're always welcome, and will always be recieved with gratitude (just don't have very high expectations on the state of the house ;D). Advise me, counsel me, listen to me, love me. Most of all- don't just "be there" for me, because I can't always be wherever "there" is. Please- be HERE for me.

in progress... a special community (??)

So, I currently am not enjoying how my community essay is going along (the one about greenriver and seminary), so I am going to see what will happen if I change my subject entirely. I am toying with the idea of writing about the community in the developmentally disabled section of the special education division of my high school. I will edit this post as I come along with my writing, so just be aware that what you see now may not be what it'll look like in a day or two (until I tell you that I'm done writing it and have moved on to another draft). Also, I have initialized the names for privacy purposes, and I have changed details here and there (and will change more along the way) for the same reason as well.
~Cassanndre


"No hitting, no kicking.... No hitting, no kicking!!" I look over at M. as he leans forward in his chair, looking assertively into F.'s eyes.
"Good job?" F. asks, his voice low and garbled as if he were a human sublifer underwater.
"No, not a good job." M. states firmly. Not with malice, but with a stern and clear voice. M. points to the small room to his right, "go bounce", he says as he stands up and positions his body as a wall between F. and the rest of the room, so F. has nowhere to go from his chair at his desk but to the small room with the large blue ball on which to bounce.
A strange sight, I always think when M. works on correcting F.'s inappropriate behavior. F. is on the tall side of average, while M. is on the rather short side, being no more than two inches taller than my 5 foot 2 inch self. Very strange that someone as small as M. can so effectively head off aggressive behavior from F. I wonder what F. was trying to do this time. And how did M. spot it? Was it F.'s body language and hand moving forward ever so slightly, as if testing the water, that got M.'s attention? How does stay so constantly aware of every little motion of F.'s all day long? That must be exhausting... Is it rewarding to him? How does he know what to do?

Those thoughts are ones I wonder every day as I hear the well known phrase of, "no hitting, no kicking". I am used to this phrase, though it does not cease to set me wondering.
What is F. thinking when he tries to assualt someone? [note- by "assualt", I mean behave in a way that could cause himself or someone else physical harm.] Is he aware that his behavior will cause another person (or himself) pain? What is he thinking? F.'s behavior is so different from behaviors that I normally exhibit or see exhibited in my family and friends- so much so that I can barely even fathom what his thought processes are. The one thing I am reasonably sure of is that when F. behaves in whatever manner he behaves in, it makes sense to him. It may not make any sense to me or M. why F. is more prone to assualting when M. drinks something in front of him, but I am quite positive that hitting and kicking are perfectly reasonable reactions to whatever stimuli it is that F. is reacting to- at least, they are perfectly reasonable to F. To M. however, F.'s behavioral specialist, and to every other employee in the special education department, it just doesn't make sense.

burp!
"T.! Did you just burp?" I ask, my eyebrows raised in suprise, chin tucked in, and lips pursed in a playful but persistant smile.
"I-oh-oh," T. slurs, his voice dipping and rising as most peoples' do as he lifts his shoulders with his palms raised up.
"You do too know, T." I give my best imitation of my mother's reproving look.
"Oh-oooooooo!!" T. swings his arm in a disappointed surrender, as if saying "dang it! you caught me!".
"what do you do when you burp, T.?" I suppress a smile, trying to be serious and also patient as T. processes.
"I-oh-oh." T. smiles. I love his smile. It's one of those smiles that I'm sure at first sight makes mothers light up with joy and pride for their child.
"You do too know." Pause. T. looks at me. Nothing. "Excuse me," I say and model the sign with my hands. "Say it or sign it, please."
"Oh-oooooo!" Just as I expected- the one word he should use the most, he usually refuses to use.
"Oh-oooooo!" I mimic, eyes and mouth wide open as I play along. I then sign EXCUSE-ME very clearly for T. "Do that, please, and then I'll stop bugging you about it."
T. stays in his seat, hands folded on his lap. He shakes his head briefly.
I sigh. "You know I'm not gonna leave you alone about it until you say 'Excuse me', so you should just say it now and you can go back to your snack."
A blank stare. Then, a few minutes later, after some coaxing, I see some movement. I almost missed it, but there it is, half-hidden beneath his desk, T. is signing EXUSE-ME.
"Is that 'excuse me', T.?" I ask in surprise and extreme interest, leaning forward in my seat.
T. shrugs, and smiles.
"That was, wasn't it?" I nod my head in approval.
T. hesitates, and then nods briefly.
"Yay!! Thank you, T. for saying EXCUSE-ME!! Good job! Hi-five!" T. sticks his hand up like a tree, and I reach forward and give him a hi-five.

16 November 2006

Today I worked with D. on the concepts of empty and not-empty. I know that he understands the concepts, because when he walks up to a bin to recycle that turns out being empty, he turns around and walks away. However, the fact that many thoughts, or concepts, like that can be expressed with things called words, I don't think he realizes. Oh, he knows that if I point to me he says "Cassy" and point to him is "D." and point to the teacher is "R." and to that one student, "I." "T." "S." etc. Although he usually needs some prodding along with that, as well.
I point to the recycling bin full with papers before D. picks it up.
"What's in there?"
D. looks up at me. "Doo-ga-doo-ga-doo-ga!" He mumbles; his pitch wavering like a broken stereo. I remember what Mrs. B. told me- that reaction can mean that he is confused and doesn't know what to do.
"You know this. Look in. What's in there?" D. looks in. "Something, right?" I show him the sign.
"suh-ding" D. repeats.
"Something, good! Show me with your hands; say it with your hands." I repeat the sign. D. repeats me.
GOOD-JOB I sign. "goo jah" D. says in response.
"Yes, good job!" We repeat the exercize. "Go ahead and empty it now." D. grabs the bin and empties it into the four foot high, round recycling receptacle. He then sets the bin down.
"What's in there, D.?"
He looks at me. "suh-ding." He's repeating what I told him before, exhibiting that he doesn't understand the meaning of the word.
Patiently I explain. "No, nothing. Nothing." And I show him the sign. "What's in there? D., look. What's in there? Nothing."
"nuh-ting"
"Good! Sign it with me, please." I show him the sign. "What's in there, D.?"
"nuh-ting!"
"Good job. Sign it please." He signs NOTHING.
"Good job! Hi-five!" D. smiles faintly and gives me a high-five.
I look around and spot a piece of paper. I grab it and stick it in the bin. D. makes a move to remove it to his receptacle. I sign, NO. STOP. WAIT. He stops and stands in front of me, looking at me, then the bin, then back at me. I point to the bin. "Look at it. What's in there?"
"nuh-ting" He's repeating what I said before again.
"No." I grab the piece of paper, show him, shake it around and drop it back in. "Something" I stress as I show him the sign.
"suh-ting" he says, and SOMETHING, he signs.
"Good! Good Job!" The inside part of my fingertips of my right hand touch my mouth and then my hand moves down until the back side lands flat in my left hand. GOOD JOB.
I take the paper out. "What's in there, D.?"
"suh-ting" He's still repeating.
"No, nothing." He says it. I sign it. D. signs it. I put the paper back in. "What's in there, now?"
"nuh-ting"
We work on this for a few minutes, until a magical moment. The paper is in the bin. "What's in there, D.?"
"suh-ting" he says. I take the paper out quickly.
"What's in there now?"
"nuh-ting!" D. says.
"Yes!!!!! Good job! Nothing's in there! Good!" And I give him a double high five. Progress.
However, I find ten minutes later when we work on the concept again, I have to repeat teaching it to him just as before. Except for one small detail. He gets it more quickly this time.

fulwiler's revision sequence for essay two

on page 328 in On Writing: A Process Reader by Wendy Bishop, Toby Fulwiler says that in doing a revision of an essay one should focus more on action, dialogue, detail, and minimizing summary and judgements.

Cassànndrè Sager
Whetham Engl 110
Fulwiler’s Revision Sequence
12 November 2006

5:20 and the alarm buzzes at me like a bee. I swat at it, successfully gaining myself a few more minutes of snoozing time. 5:40 and I hear my brother in the shower. I should probably get up. A few minutes later I’m eating breakfast and reading my scriptures. Then pulling my clothes on and negotiating with my belt to buckle in the right spot. Grab my bag, my flute, my water, a quick glance at the mirror, and I’m out the door- still wishing Mom would let me drive to the church. Oh well, at least I get “shotgun”.
Arrive at the church and it’s 6:20. I’m late. Again. I get out of the car and join the ten or so other students spilling into the church foyer and joining the pool of students standing and chatting there.
“Hi Cassànndrè…” Courtney says almost shyly, but I know better than to believe she is.
“Hey Courtney! Christine! Why aren’t you two in class yet, huh?”
“’cuz I don’t feel like it yet!!” I give Christine “the look” in response. “I’ll be there in a moment!!!” She exasperates, sounding defeated.
I nod at students from other classrooms, saying hello to some, on my way to my classroom. Past the stairs, the restroom, the drinking fountain…. There’s the door. Grab the handle and slowly open while peeking through the crack. Are they saying prayer? No. Good. I open the door the rest of the way and hesitantly step inside, keeping my hand steadily on the door as it closes- I don’t want to be too much of a distraction. I head to my seat, sit down, take out my “triple-combo” (book containing three different sets of scripture. A “quad” has for sets of scripture in it- including the Bible), pen, paper, and water bottle. I then grab the hymn book and turn to the right page and fumble while trying to sing the alto line for a certain song. Marianne turns back to look at me and I can tell from her glare that she’s thinking to me, “you’re flat!!!” Get over it, Marianne. Of course I’m flat. I’m always flat. You know this. So move on already!! Gosh…. The student attempting to conduct the music at the head of the room finishes spelling his name in the air in cursive and tries to make the end look like he really is ending the song. He grabs his scriptures and opens to a random page (this is an interpretation of one’s assignment of giving the daily “spiritual thought”), finds a verse of scripture that has been marked by himself sometime ago. He reads it out loud, and stumbles through some sort of explanation of what the verse is getting at and what it means to him.
“Uh… the spiritual thought today is on James ….. er, one…. Five…. ‘If any of you lack wisdom… let him ask of God… that giveth to all men .... literary…. No, literally?.... oh, thanks, Josh… liberally and …. What Michael? Oh, upbraid… eth not…. And it shall be given… him.’” A pause. The class looks at him as he shifts his weight…. “Um… this scripture is an important one…. ‘cuz, um, if we ever like have a question about something about the church or school or whatever… yeah, we can ask God about it… and he won’t um…. Upbraid us… which is nice, ‘cuz I don’t have enough hair for a braid anyhow. Um… Amen.” And then the opening prayer is started.
TIME-OUT!! Are you confused, Reader? Where are we, you ask. A church. Make sense, can I go on with my story yet? No? Fine, what’s your next question. Why the heck are we at a church at six thirty in the morning on a weekday? (I actually didn’t tell you about the weekday part, reader, I forgot that detail, so I’ll tell you now. It’s a weekday. Doesn’t matter which one, really… just a weekday.) Oh, so is that why you’re confused, Reader? We’re at seminary. Okay, there I answered your question, let’s go. What? You mean to say that you don’t know what seminary is? That’s weird… Oh well, I guess I can explain it to you. Every morning on weekdays I wake up at this time and go through the above ritual to attend seminary. Seminary takes place in the church because it is a church class the high school students of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It’s like a Sunday School class, except for the fact that it’s not on Sundays. I learn about my religion, the scriptures, and Church history at seminary. There, is that better now? Can I go on with my story, now? Oh good, thank you so very much. Okay, where was I? Oh, right. ACTION!!
“Today,” Sister Utterback tells us “we are studying ‘D and C’ sections 35, 36, and part of 37. That’s a lot to cover, so pay attention everyone, okay? Spencer… pay attention. Thank you. Yes, you too Derek. Thank you, David.” Many of the class members are chatting quietly while Sister Utterback delivers her lesson. I shoot them an evil glare here and there, somewhat reminiscent of my freshman days when I really was perturbed by their babble. Now it doesn’t bother me much, just as long as it doesn’t get out of hand and I can still concentrate on the lesson.
In all truthfulness, the students aren’t that bad. They participate in the lesson. “What do you think is being said right here?” Says Sister Utterback. A few students raise their hands and volunteer answers. “Good. Can you think of any ways that you can relate to what happened in this scripture?” We all think very hard (except for the couple students that are sleeping very hard), but most of us come up empty, and those of us that don’t are too shy to offer our opinion. Sister Utterback volunteers her own example of how (for example) her sons were like Nephi and Laman and Lemuel, with one son eager to do the chores asked of him, while the other two sons complained and continued to watch cartoons. (In the story with Nephi, Laman, and Lemuel, Nephi went and did what his father asked him to do, while Laman and Lemuel basically sat on their butts complaining about having to do soo much that they really didn’t care about and didn’t see a point to doing.) “What are things that each of us can do to be more like Nephi and less like Laman and Lemuel?” She is standing at the whiteboard, pen in hand, ready to write down whatever answers we produce. We know some answers- the answers that are normally given to questions in church like these. The answers are colloquially referred to as the “Mormon Standard Answers”. Read your scriptures, says one student. Pray every day, says another. Go to church every Sunday. Go to seminary!!! (This answer gets a look of appraise from the teacher.) Listen to my parents. Listen to the prophets. Choose the right (the teacher just writes down “CTR” on the whiteboard for this one).
The class ends with a prayer, and I go throughout my day thinking about Nephi, and remembering what Sister Utterback said about being like Nephi, not like Laman and Lemuel.
I walk from the church to the high school, where I go for orchestra first period and to be a peer tutor second period. I then walk home from school and get on the computer. Time for my college classes.
I type in the password to actually use the computer. My step-dad is very protective of his computer, and more-so of us, his kids. He doesn’t want us getting on the internet and accessing inappropriate material, so he locks the computer when he doesn’t want us going on. I happen to have a password that will get me logged on, but with minimal “security clearance” online- basically, my online activity is severely restricted. However, that doesn’t bother me much, because everything that is restricted I don’t surf for anyhow.
Open up Internet Explorer. Thinking of a friend of mine who hates Windows and who calls Internet Explorer, “the evil blue ‘E’”. What a silly boy. F6 takes me to the URL address field. Greenriver.blackboard.com I type, with what I would like to feel is lightning-quick speed. Login. And Now I’m at college.
My English class offers the most peer interacting opportunities of my three classes. In Pyschology we are enoucarged to interact in the student interaction section, however barely anyone does. In my history, the only possible interaction would be to reply to other peoples’ discussion posts. (Which aren’t really necessarily discussion-type of posts, that’s just what they’re called. They’re basically just responses to a discussion-type of prompt.) However, in English, there are many activities that require interaction with the other students. I enjoy this, actually- it is a nice change of pace to me. Many times I don’t like the effort of such assignments as peer reviews, but I do appreciate the oppurtunites to get to know the other students through reading their work. It is a very peculiar thing- what you discover about people through their writing.
Jen says it’s time for another crappy rough draft. Jen is the teacher. If I were in high school I’d be calling her Ms. Whetham; in seminary it would be Sister Whetham; but here in college, she says to call her Jen, and so I am on a first name basis with a teacher I have never met.
I write about very personal things in this class sometimes. Especially in my freewrites and in this essay. Yes, this essay especially is a difficulty for me. Why? Well, I suppose the fact that I’m writing about seminary makes it difficult. You see, feelings about my religion come easily for expression surrounded by church members. However, even with other church members around, it is rather difficult for me to articulate these ideas and feelings, while still trying to be curteous to others’ beliefs and slightly aloof emotionally, so as to not cause anyone uncomfort at the intensity of my religious “ferocity” or whatever. I have a stigma- do not discuss church topics in school. The fact that I have “church” spelled all over this paper is an interesting thing for me. Quite a change. Not orthodox.
So, Jen says to work on our crappy rough drafts. The only things is, she doesn’t say “crappy”. She uses tha awful “s-word”, which is okay, because I’m sure it’s not a bad thing to her, but to me, however, it is out of place. Little things like that are big differences to me. I am so used to polite and curteous young men to interact with. When I begin to regularly set foot on the college campus, will the men/young men there be curteous? Or will they just continue babbling about sex and breasts as do most high school boys? I am preparing myself so that I will not be surprised when I enter on to the college campus.
I am sitting at the computer typing typing typing. I have been reading today and doing chores. It is late and I am tired and hoping that my state of conciousness will not affect my writing too severely. As soon as I finish this essay, or essay revision (whichever), I will submit the work to my English class online. And look, I’m done. So now it’s time to copy and paste.

runnning with scissors

what did i do?
1) I started out on Thursday at Russell Ridge Center- a home school resource center for home schooled kids. Marianne pritned out the assignment and I went and printed out my essay- well actually, both my rough draft and my memory draft. This was because I couldn't decide which one to do, so I chose them both. I cut 'em out (that was pretty fun...) and started looking at them, until "Mom" Chesley looked stole them from me and looked them. I was somewhat ambivlanet about this activity just because I was thinking it was a pretty "far out there" activity. However, afterwards, I found that I really enjoyed the power of cutting up an essay- I showed it my sister, "Hey Mary, guess what all of these scraps of paper are?"
"what?"
"my essay"
"what?!!"
That was pretty danged funny. After cutting it up, I shuffled 'em and read through them and started placing them in piles of "mostly about seminary" and "about semianry and greenriver" (i had focused a great deal on seminary, so this was a good dividing idea because it got rid of the unneeded ones quickly) I then went through the others and continued to seperate them until i had an idea of paragraphs i wanted to keep. i identified my core paragraph, and then identified body paragraphs by what they talked about and grouped like paragraphs togethoer.
2)conceptual revision? well, I learned athat there are different ways to play with paragraphs in essays, and that often you have some gold in an essay, you just need to mess around with it, perhaps even destroy it a little bit....
3)I think my new essay flows better and is bit more focused than previously. Especially as far as different topics, I grouped the paragraphs togethor and then filled in some weaker spots or changed sentence structures a bit here and there, so it most definately flows better, and is more focused as well!


Running with Scissors

As human beings, each person belongs to a number of communites. Some people belong to sports teams, others book clubs, service organizations, and the list goes on. Most people also belong to more than one community as well. I belong to many communities- including the communities of Greenriver Community College and LDS Seminary.
Greenriver is an academic institution. Seminary is a theological class for high school students of the LDS faith. Greenriver offers a wide variety of classes for students to take to either become qualified in a degree of their choice or to transfer to a University or large College. Seminary is an early morning LDS church class for high school youth that provides a community of support for helping youth in upholding their standards.
On my first day of seminary, I had only been in Kent for about two and half months. I didn't know anything about anybody, and so I just showed up to the class that some lady in the church foyer told me to go to. So, I showed up there. For two days. And finally I realized, that I happened to be the only freshman in that class! Whooops! Whathappened? Well, I ended up finding the appropriate class (which drove me creazy with soo much noise going on and obnoxious freshman boys, and the other part was the teacher- Bro Sellers- who had been in the military and knew how to handle obnoxious young men. Most of the time. There are somethngs that they don't- no, can't- teach in the military- getting a posse of 14-15 year old boys to be quiet is one of them! Oh how I detested those young men for talking that year! And destested I truly did- how dare they talk and ruin the lesson for me?
My first day of Greenriver was quite different actually- since all of those classes were online, I had to wait the dreadful wait until noon when the classes opened online. This was awful. I checked at eleven, just to see if they'd open earlier by any chance. Of course they didn't. I then was bombarded with class information like sylabbus' and class due dates and my first assignments.... it was scary!! But also very exciting- to be in control of my education and to have soo much learning to learn ahead of me!!
Another thing about seminary and Greenriver that differs, is the atmosphere. i've only set foot on the acutal campus a couple of times, but my impression of it is that it's a lot more "loos" than seminary. That makes sense, however. For example- we don't swear in seminary. Part of it is because of all the people that e xpect each other not to, and the other part is that we're all in the church, and that's how we show respect. That part is that most of us just think it's plain silly to swear.
The first time I fully realized this particular difference between greenriver and seminary was in my english 110 class. Within the first scouple of weeks I was given an assignement to read an essay by some author about crappy rough drafts- except the word "crappy" wasn't used- the "S-word" was used in it's stead. I looked at that assignment and did a double take. Crappy (but not "crappy") rough drafts?! Okay, I suppose that it's considered alright to use language like that in college. I'm extremely uncaccustomed to it, but I guess Ican see where they're coming from.... (If you saw the rough draft of this essay, you'd see how it's title "crappy rough draft") In seminary, such language isn't even considered being used because everyone kneows that it's an unacceptable practice. This one apsect of Greenriver i've had to adjust to, knowing that many people don't consider such language inappropriate and don'ot share my opinions conerning it. I now brace myselc mentally for english 110 every time I access the class online. I don ejnjoye this class, don't get me wrong- I enjoy writing and haven't enjoyed it so much I htink in a very long while; however- it woudl be nmice if i didn't have to worry about what peopole are going to say and whether or not it willl be appropriate.
With (for example) young men from my semianry class, I ahve no such worries. I know that if I am around them they will not say anthing inappropriate- no wswaring, cussing, vulgar language, dirt jokes, secual innuendos- none of that which when I hear it makes me cringe. What's also nice is, for example, in mycomtemporary world issues (CWI) class last year, a boy named Isaac from my semianry class was in it with myself. And we would talk about different htings in tat class that tend to be very convtroversial matters. I aboslutely loves it when we broaches a topic like that and when a slightly "skewed" (to my opinion) opinion was offered, Isaac and I could just glance at each other and grimace- our thoughts echoing one another. What a lovely feeling of reassurance!! To know that I am not alone in my opinions and beliefs, or views.
A similar experience happened in my freshman history class. Mr. Larsen (during a unit on Greece) drew an excessive amount of attnetion the the male genitalia on a greek statue in a picture, and also the female "endowments" (that's what we'll refer to the breasts as)- the upstanding LDS boys in my class looked way and groanded at the taecher's audacity. With these young men, I don't have to worry about them viewing my body as an object to be admired that being the sole reason they enjoy my copmpany. I iknow that while they might struggle with viewing my body as such, the fact is that in this struggle they continue trying to do their best in choosing the right.
I'm quite sure that Greenriver's population would not enable such feeligns of security- such backup in making wise decisions. But that's okay as well, because that is not Greenriver's nature, nor its purpose. Seminary's purpose is to lift and support and teach its students and help them to lead better, happy, righteous lives. greenriver's purpose is to produce good, well-educated citizens. Both noble causes, but very different purposes at work behind them.
They type of people at greenriver and seminary vary as well. seminary's students are mostly all mormon, which means that they all have the same standards that each is encourage to uphold. We have expectations of conduct from one another. Greenriver is much more diverse than semianry- consisting of many different ethincities (semianry's students are mostly "white", USA-born students). What an interesting these two institutions make!
At greenriver much of what I learn is brand new information. Knowledge I have never encountered before, and in each online class, different moethords of handling the classroom. Whears in seminary all of the classes and different teachers are organized mostly the same. At greenriver, teachers have much more say in the control of the structure of their class.
in semianry i hear many thigns which i have been taught growing up. every now and then there will be a fact that i have never heard of before, but usually i am reminded of previous lessons- "oh yes! I remember learning that..." and then what I learned before is expounded upn.
every year in seminary, we also start out with hat is known as "The Plan of Salvation". we talk about the pre-mortal life, life on earth, and death, and what it all means and what the purpose of each is. for greenriver, classes, there is no such overarching theme- except for maybe the existence of a syllable...
There's one other difference between greenriver and seminary. greenriver has teachers that rae experienced (in most cases) in teaching and pretty much experts in their fields (know whatthey're talking about from tons of experience). semianry can have a wider-range of teacher skills. for example, i had a Bro Dysart for semianry last year. He taught very interesting lessons, but at the beginning of the school year it was quite obvious that he lacked the knack for adding the necessary interest for teenagers in his lesson. Because of this many of his students ended up leaving- probably for a "better" teacher. Through out the yaer, bro dysart would occasaionally have a different teacher ocme in and teach his students and he's watch with us and I think what he was doing was learning how to teach us well. Over the yera he became a much more adept teacher- focusing his lessons more and making them of an extreme more amount of interst to the audience. It was a spectacular experience to witness.
Both greenriver and semianry have their perks, but between the two institutions, I prefer seminary. this is just because of the nature of the class. people may say that seminary tdoesn't taech anyhting that cna't be taught at home or at church. that is true, but seminary provides and unequlaed ppurtunity for daily teaching in an enviroment with other peopeple whome the students can realte to and interact with, thus providing and unparalled support which the likes of cannot be foudn at home or church. people may say that semianry is useless. it is not. as any semianry student- most will say that they notice how starting their day of f with seminary changes the whole outcome of the day.

essay 2- memory draft

November 6, 2006- Engl 110- Memory Draft for essay #2

Greenriver Community College and LDS Seminary each have their ups and downs. Seminary is very early in the morning, and the students don't get to pick their classes (in most cases) or class times. Greenriver is much more flexible- allowing for picking different classes with different teachers at various times. Seminary teaches about the gospel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, aka, the "Mormon Church". It has four years of study (for four years of highschol) which rotate every year- what is being studied rotates, I mean. For my friend Kaitlyn, her freshman year she studied the Old Testament, then the New Testament her sophomore year (my freshman year), the Book of Mormon her junor yea, and now the Doctrine andCovenants this, her senior year. That's the "real" order of things in my opinion, but it really doesn't matter what order it all comes in, as long as one gets all four years of instruction.
Every year in seminarywe start out with what is knownin the Church as The Plan of Salvation. We talk about the pre-mortal life, the veil, life on earth, death, and life after death and living throughout the eternities. For Greenriver classes, there is no such overarching theme that stretches over each course. The only things that are reliably shared in each and every class at Greenriver would be syllabus'!
In seminary, I hear many things which I have been taught growing up. Every now and then there will be a fact that I have never ever heard of before, but usually I reminded of preivious lessons- "oh yes! I remember learning that…" and then what I learned before was expounded upon.
At Greenriver, much of what I learn is brand new. Knowledge I have never encountered before, and in each online class, different methods of handling the classroom. Whereas in seminary all of the classes and different teachers are organized mostly the same. At Greenriver, teachers have much more say in the control of the structure of their class. Not that I have anything against the teaching methods of seminary, I am just noting a difference. And that is all.
Greenriver is much more diverse than seminary. Yes, seminary has students of many interests and backgrounds, but we all have the uniting factor that we are LDS. Since moving to Kent, WA- all of my close friends have been LDS. It's interesting how back in Snohomish most of my friends were not LDS, but here, the vast majority of them are. I love that, I really do. I also like how there is seem to be a good number of running start students at Greenriver- students my age. That is comforting- to know that I am not the only "youngin'" in a class of mine.
My first day of seminary, I had only been in Kent for about 2 and half months. I didn't know anything about anybody, and so I just showed up to the class that some lady in the church foyer told me to go to. So, I showed up there. For two days. And finally I realized, that I happened to be the only freshman in that class! Whoops! What happened? Well, I ended up finding the appropriate class (which drove me crazy with soo much noise going on and chit-chat) and that felt a bit more comfortable, I worried less about falling asleep. I think part of that was the talkative and obnoxious freshman boys, and the other part was the teacher- Brother Sellers- who had been in the military and knew how to handle obnoxious young men. Most of the time. There are some things that they don't, no- can't- teach in the military- getting a posse of 14-15 year old boys to be quiet is one of them! Oh, how I detested those young men for talking that year! And detested I truly did- how dare they talk and ruin the lesson for me?
Now, I occasionally lean over to Marianne in Seminary and chat with her. Or pass notes about whatever comes to mind… It's pretty dang humorous.
Another thing about seminary and greenriver that differs, is the atmosphere. I've only set foot on the actulay Greenriver schoola couple of times, but my impression that it is … a lot more loose than greenriver. That makes sense, however. We don't swear at seminary, Part of it is because of all of the people that expect each other not to swear, and the other part is that we're in the church, and that's how we show respect . And the last part of it is that we think it's plain and silly to swear.
I remember the first week of last year's seminary class. Brother Dysart (who was a new teacher, I'm completely sure) got frustrated with some young men who were chatting in the back of the room. So, what does he do? Lifts up his arm, and makes a pass at the man in the middle of this chat group. It hits Derek Titus. Poor Derek.. Actually, that's an exaggeration. It just about hit Derek Titus. Brother Dysart didn't start out as a very skilled teacher, either.
That's another difference between Greenriver and seminary. Greenriver has teachers that know how to teach (at least one would hope they do at least!) and are pretty much experts in their fields. Seminary can have inexperienced leaders. It was pretty obvious that Brother Dysart didn't know what he was doing sometimes. I find it extremely extraordinaly interesting, as well as occasionally boring. But, I got to see him improve over the year. Some students decided to go to other classroom, because they thought that it was boring in Brother Dysart's class. They felt that they didn't learn anything. I learned that people can grow. And it was fascinating to watchy as Brother Dysart's style of teach grew to a comprehensible type.
The type f people at Greenriver and at Seminary vary as well. Seminary's students are mostly all Mormon, which means that they all have the same standards that each is encouraged to uphold. We have expectations of conduct from another, which involve (at times) being obnoixus, and other tiems are when it is time to be quiet and just listen to the calm, soothing music. What an interesting comparision these two make!

essay #2- crappy rough draft

Cassànndrè Sager
2 November 2006
Essay #2- crappy rough draft

As human beings, each person belongs to a number of communities. Some people belong to sports teams, others book clubs, service organizations, and the list goes on. Most people also belong to more than one community as well. I belong to many communities- including the communities of Greenriver Communtiy College and Seminary.
Greenriver is an academic institution. Seminary is a theological class for high school students of the LDS faith. Seminary is an early morning LDS church class for youth that provides a much-needed community of support for upholding church standards, values, and morals. Before proceeding very far, here’s a synapsis of what seminary is.
. It is an early morning class for girls and boys in high school with the course curriculum foundation in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (the LDS Church, or the “Mormon Church”). There are four years of seminary- the Old Testament, New Testament, Book of Mormon, and Church History/Doctrine and Covenants.
Students learn about the text and also about how the information therein applies to them- the scriptures are personalized. In doing this, students learn good values.

I have not been a student at Greenriver for very long, but in my experience thus far the community is vastly different from my seminary community.
The first time I fully realized the difference between Greenriver and seminary was in my English 110 class. Within the first couple of weeks I was given an assignment to read an essay by some author about S***** rough drafts. I did a double-take. S***** rough drafts?! Okay, I suppose that it’s considered alright to use language like that in college. I’m extremely unaccustomed to it, but I guess I can see where they’re coming from… (Do you see how the title of this essay is a crappy rough draft?) In seminary, such language isn’t even considered being used because everyone knows that it is an unacceptable practice. This one aspect of Greenriver I’ve had to adjust to, knowing that many people don’t consider such language inappropriate and don’t share my opinions concerning it. I now brace myself mentally for English 110 every time I access the class online. I do enjoy this class, don’t get me wrong- I enjoy writing, and haven’t enjoyed it so much I think in a very long while; however- it would be nice if I didn’t have to worry about what people are going to say and whether or not it will be appropriate.
And on that though, there is something to be said about the friends I have from seminary. Many teenage boys in high school (and many teenage boys and young adult males in college, as well, I’m sure) like to engage in conversations which, to say the least, are not very appropriate in the least bit. Around these sorts of people, I feel uncomfortable, always on my guard, thinking are they going to say something that makes me feel uncomfortable? If so, when? And how am I going to avoid having the conversation go further down that track? This is a very stressful way to feel when interacting with other people. It is difficult to be casual, easygoing, and to enjoy the young man if I constantly worried about what he’s going say and if I will need to direct the conversation in more appropriate paths of conversation.
With young men from my seminary class, I have no such worries. I know that if I am around them they will not say anything inappropriate- no swearing, cussing, vulgar language, dirty jokes, sexual innuendos- none of that which when I hear it makes me cringe. What’s also nice is, for example, in my contemporary world issues (CWI) class that I had last year, a boy named Isaac from my seminary class was in it with myself. And we would talk about different things in that class that tend to be very controversial issues. I absolutely loved it when we broached controversial topics which, being LDS, Isaac and I had our set-in-stone opinions concerning. Sometimes other students would say something concerning these topics that was a little off-color. I loved that simple glance at Isaac where I saw him glancing back and grimacing, his thoughts seeming to echo mine. Was that really necessary to say? Or when in Mr. Larsen’s class our freshman year, Mr. Larsen drew an excessive amount of attention to the male genitalia on a Greek statue, and the female “endowments” (that’s what we’ll call the breasts)- the upstanding LDS boys (who, by the way, are in my seminary class) looked away and groaned at the teacher’s audacity. With these young men I don’t have to worry about them viewing my body as an object to be admired and that being the sole reason they enjoy my company. I know that while they might struggle with viewing my body as such, but the fact is that in this struggle they continue trying their best to do what’s right.
That last idea is part of the reason why most of the seminary girls dress modestly- even for school dances like homecoming, they find dresses that do not plunge too low and also which have sleeves (if they don’t have sleeves, they make their own sleeves or wear a little jacket over their dress). The boys respect girls, do not swear, and aren’t interested in viewing inappropriate material. Many/most of these students work hard at school, and work at keeping a long-term perspective of how their choices today affect their life possibilities in the future.
You see, being LDS, we have values, and standards, and morals and we try to adhere to them like tape, sticking upfor what we believe in. But sometimes, Sunday worship service and Sunday school just aren’t enough. In our society which can be so corrupt and vulgar at times, we often need daily uplifting. Daily reminders of who we areand what we stand for. Seminary does this for today’s LDS youth. It helps us at this critical deciding time in our lives to stick to what we believe and stand up for it.Of course, in my example about the young men being upstanding, that goes two ways. I know young men who are extremely thankful for the large amount of girls who dress and behave modestly. Some of them like to say, “modest is hottest!!”, which always gets a laugh, but is also nice for the young women to hear. They don’t feel pressured around these good LDS girls to think about sex or other inappropriate behaviors. They are able to concentrate on the girls’ personalities instead of being distracted by their more physical endowments.
Thus far in my college experience, Greenriver has a bit of a different atmosphere. Which is alright- Greenriver is not an LDS school, and so I realize that it’s quite silly to expect it to live up to my standards of right and wrong and such. That’s okay. I don’t have a problem with the Greenriver is conducted, though I must say that I don’t prefer the manner in which the freedom of speech is being carried out. Sometimes I wish for a Freedom of Hearing law. I have the freedom to not hear what I don’t want to hear… J
Between seminary and Greenriver, I prefer seminary. This is just because of the nature of the class. . People may say that seminary doesn’t teach anything that can’t be taught at home or at church. That is true, but seminary provides an unequaled opportunity for daily teaching in an environment with other people whom the students can relate to and interact with, thus providing an unparalleled support which the likes of cannot be found at home or church. People may say that seminary is useless. It is not. Ask any seminary student, most will say that they notice how starting their day off with seminary changes the whole outcome of the day.
Seminary gets me started in the morning. It gets me started thinking critically and in making good decisions through out my day. I had to choose between seminary and Greenrvier, I would chose the first in just a couple heartbeats. Why? Although I love Greenriver, I believe that seminary has a greater influence on my life- on the choices I make and what I grow up to become and what sort of person I grow up to become.

essay map for essay #2

November 1 essay map

Essay map for essay 2-

*Seminary is an early morning LDS church class for youth that provides a much-needed community of support for upholding church standards, values, and morals.
It’s important to say this because seminary is a very important part of LDS youth’s lives- much more important than some people think. If people are aware of the good that seminary can do, it is hoped that they will be more supportive of it. It is a great augmentative force in LDS youth’s lives which reminds them of choosing the right and also gives them the opportunity to interact with other youth who have similar standards, thus forming friendships which are conducive to living a good, happy, and healthy life.
*To be convinced by my claim the first thing the reader needs to know is what seminary is. The reader needs to know this because that’s what the essay is about, and most people don’t know what it is. It is an early morning class for girls and boys in high school with the course curriculum foundation in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (the LDS Church, or the “Mormon Church”). There are four years of seminary- the Old Testament, New Testament, Book of Mormon, and Church History/Doctrine and Covenants.
*The next thing my reader needs to know is what seminary teaches. That is important because it’s also what my essay is about. There are four years of seminary- the Old Testament, New Testament, Book of Mormon, and Church History/Doctrine and Covenants each comprising one year of seminary instruction. Students learn about the text and also about how the information therein applies to them- the scriptures are personalized. In doing this, students learn good values.
*The next thing a reader needs to know is what the typical seminary students are like- their personalities and life choices. Most of the girls dress modestly- even for school dances like homecoming, they find dresses that do not plunge too low and also which have sleeves (if they don’t have sleeves, they make their own sleeves or wear a little jacket over their dress). The boys respect girls, do not swear, and aren’t interested in viewing inappropriate material. Many/most of these students work hard at school, and work at keeping a long-term perspective of how their choices today affect their life possibilities in the future.
*The next thing my reader needs to know is counter arguments for the usefulness of seminary. Sometimes people may say that not all Mormons are good, and so the examples of seminary students I gave are the exception. Well, those examples are not the exception- they are the rule. It is a minority of seminary students that I know who do not stick to the standards taught to them and who make poor life choices. People may say that seminary doesn’t teach anything that can’t be taught at home or at church. That is true, but seminary provides an unequaled opportunity for daily teaching in an environment with other people whom the students can relate to and interact with, thus providing an unparalleled support which the likes of cannot be found at home or church. People may say that seminary is useless. It is not. Ask any seminary student, most will say that they notice how starting their day off with seminary changes the whole outcome of the day. They feel happier and do better at school and get along with people better. All this because they have seminary in the morning to start their day off right. If attending seminary can produce such results, then it must needs be a good thing.

essay structure invention

November 1, 2006- Engl 110- essay structure invention

PART ONE
Essay structure invention- “why?”

Why does my interpretation of this phenomenon of seminary matter to anyone besides me?
It lets people know about seminary, about the youth of my church. About how much we care about our religion and our beliefs and our standards and what sorts of techniques the church uses to raise its youth well. And you don’t need to be Mormon to come to seminary. So perhaps some people will have their kids come to seminary with us. That would be pretty cool. Maybe if more people came to seminary they’d start making better choices in their lives, and do better in school, and be happy and stuff. I know that I am extremely biased
It is a support for parents, church leaders, seminary teachers, high school teachers, seminary students, and upcoming seminary students (aka “seminary students to-be”). Why is it important to them? For parents- well, parents wake up at six o’clock in the morning to drive their children to seminary. Their children loose sleep for it. I think that expressing the value of seminary reassures these parents that their sacrifices are for something good- that in sacrificing an hour or so of sleep, they allow their children to have a daily experience which is beneficial to their daily lives.
Seminary teachers would benefit from hearing a student express the value of seminary because sometimes being a seminary teacher can be a thankless job. I do not know this from first-hand experience, however, I am aware of it through watching teachers. One day last year Brother Dysart got extremely upset- upset for him at least (it was pretty calm compared other peoples’ tempers that I’ve seen; he must just be a very placid sort of man)- because he had worked hard at his lesson, and what was the class doing? Well, one third wasn’t present, another third was sleeping, and the last third (excepting maybe two students) were talking. I felt bad for him (especially since I was one of the talking students…). It was the only day that he ever got upset with us like that. It really was. Freshman year Brother Sellers had a hard time as well. He had a bunch of obnoxious freshman boys who like to think they’re funny (okay, so they are actually pretty funny, I’ve realized now that they and I have matured a bit, but at the time I just got annoyed with them for detracting from my learning experience), and who would spend most of seminary talking. Poor Brother Sellers.
Such a previously explained explanation would benefit seminary students and seminary students-to-be because it will show them how seminary can impact their lives and how beneficial it can be for them. And also how much many current seminary students enjoy and reap great rewards from attending, and learning in, seminary.
Four hundred and seventy nine words. That’s not enough! Okay, so now it’s four hundred and ninety eight words. Fantastic. I’m done. (501)
Well, in conclusion, why is this topic important? ‘cuz it’s good to know what’s going on, and it’s also good to reassure people that things they do (or can do) are for their benefit. The end.
Essay structure invention- “what?”

What evidence shows that seminary being a good community for high school students is true?
The fact that high school students who attend regularly and who are willing to benefit from the class, are generally happy people who work hard at doing well in school and at being good people.
Isaac, Spencer, David, and Derek are pretty happy young men. They come to seminary in the morning often tired, but still retaining their good sense of humor. This was especially so today when Sister Utterback said that she brought donuts for the class. “Yeee-es!!” said Isaac. He, David, Spencer and Derek pretty much went very quickly over to the donuts. But it’s not just about donuts, you see, it’s also about behavior outside of the classroom. While I may not be well acquainted with all of these four boys, I do feel comfortable around them. I know that if I am around them they will not say anything inappropriate- no swearing, cussing, vulgar language, dirty jokes, sexual innuendos- none of that which when I hear it makes me cringe. What’s also nice is, for example, in my contemporary world issues (CWI) class that I had last year, Isaac was in it. And we would talk about different things- like gay marriage- in that class that tend to be very controversial issues. I absolutely loved it when we broached the topic of gay marriage and I was able to exchange a look with Isaac, and could tell that he was thinking, “ugh… gay marriage is not right; and I don’t really want to talk about it”. Or when in Mr. Larsen’s class our freshman year, Mr. Larsen drew an excessive amount of attention to the male genitalia on a Greek statue, and the female “endowments” (that’s what we’ll call the breasts)- the upstanding LDS boys (who, by the way, are in my seminary class) looked away and groaned at the teacher’s audacity. With these young men I don’t have to worry about them viewing my body as an object to be admired and that being the sole reason they enjoy my company. They are not that worldly.
You see, being LDS, we have values, and standards, and morals and we try to adhere to them like tape, sticking up for what we believe in. But sometimes, Sunday worship service and Sunday school just aren’t enough. In our society which can be so corrupt and vulgar at times, we often need daily uplifting. Daily reminders of who we are and what we stand for. Seminary does this for today’s LDS youth. It helps us at this critical deciding time in our lives to stick to what we believe and stand up for it.
Of course, in my example about the young men being upstanding, that goes two ways. I know young men who are extremely thankful for the large amount of girls who dress and behave modestly. Some of them like to say, “modest is hottest!!”, which always gets a laugh, but is also nice for the young women to hear. They don’t feel pressured around these good LDS girls to think about sex or other inappropriate behaviors. They are able to concentrate on the girls’ personalities instead of being distracted by their more physical endowments.
Essay structure invention- “how?”

How does the thesis stand up to the challenge of a counter-argument?
How does the introduction of new material affect the claims I’m making?
Possible argument: these students are just raised to be good students, and seminary doesn’t make a difference one way or the other because that’s just who they are.
Possible counter-argument: wrong. These students may or may not have good parents who raise them well, and may not have other good environments to be in in order to have their standards upheld. And if they do, well, good for them. However- seminary makes a difference because it reinforces what is taught at home and expounds on that. Often nowadays parents don’t have much time to sit down with their kids and teach them about their religion and in-depth teach them about good standards and values and morals and about how to uphold those and such. This is unfortunate, but it happens. Students come to seminary and learn things that parents don’t teach them at home (whether that be because of neglect to teach or just lack of time or knowledge). We are reminded about how bad choices lead to bad consequences and given scriptural advice concerning these matters as well. Seminary supports what a student already knows and does, making it easier to live making good decisions.
Possible argument (including new material): there are seminary students that don’t make very good choices- that do drugs, have sex, etc. yet they attend seminary regularly. Obviously seminary doesn’t make a difference in their lives.
Possible counter-argument: these students don’t care about seminary. But it’s more than that- they don’t follow their religion, and since seminary is a support to religion and faith, there must be faith and a willingness or conviction to follow what they know is right. Students that don’t have that attitude, that willingness or conviction, don’t have anything for seminary to augment. They go to seminary and very little of the lessons taught there affect them because they are not willing to accept them.
Possible argument: seminary just teaches a bunch of religious “hoo-ha”, or junk.
Possible counter-argument: seminary doesn’t teach a bunch of religious “hoo-ha” (that is soo fun to say!!). It teaches our religion, and that includes things like having good standards and integrity. Good standards such as being honest and hard working and respectful towards people. Keeping good care of your body- not drinking alcohol (ever), doing drugs, we even talk about getting enough sleep! (of course, most of the seminary students have a lot of trouble with that one.) The students in my seminary class that “walk the talk” (act on what they believe) are great students. They follow the counsel of the president of our church and study hard and work hard and uphold their standards.
I like my seminary class, and no one can convince me that it is a worthless class. I like going to the church in the morning before school and starting my day off learning about my religion and about the scriptures. I like the people that I meet through seminary and how they give me a support group for staying true to what I believe.

essay #2 invention- seminary community

A Little-known Community
Essay #2 invention for Engl 110
Cassànndrè Sager
29 October 2006
There is a community that is well-known among those who partake of my culture. Outside of my culture, people have rarely heard of it. Many times they do not understand why people choose to be a part of this community (of course, some people in the community itself don’t quite understand why they must be members of it, but that is another topic for another time).
It is not an ethnic, cultural, or interest-based community. There are Hispanics, Caucasions, African-Americans, Asians, Indians, and just about any race you could think of- in my community. Some play instruments, others play X-box. Some play both. Some want to grow up to be doctors, others engineers, software developers, musicians, accountants, mothers, fathers. Some have six siblings. Some have none. Some are gregarious and popular. Others are introverted, and not well-known. Even others still are made fun of by the general population. Some moved 7 times in their lives before the age of 18. Others have lived in the same house all their life. Some come from wealthy families that own nice cars. Others require financial aid for their groceries.
What could this incredibly diverse and unfamiliar community be? What ties all of these people together? It is seminary.
Is seminary really that diverse? Is it really that unfamiliar? And while we’re at it, asking questions about it- what in the world is seminary?!!
Dictionary.com offers ideas as to the definition, some of which come very close:
1. a special school providing education in theology, religious history, etc., primarily to prepare students for the priesthood, ministry, or rabbinate.
2. a school, esp. one of higher grade.
3. a school of secondary or higher level for young women.
4. a place of origin and propagation: a seminary of discontent.
5. A place or environment in which something is developed or nurtured.
However, none of those definitions tell you much about my seminary community. Before I attempt at a definition which not even a dictionary can achieve, perhaps I will try a different route to explaining this community.
5:20am. 97.3 is blasting music in my room, telling me to wake up, or else. I wake up, somewhat, and press the snooze button until about 5:30 or 5:45 (depending on what time I went to bed the previous night…). Then I get dressed, get breakfast, make myself pretty, nag my brother about being ready on time, tell our parents we’re just about ready, get my younger sisters awake and in the living room for family prayer. The elder of the two is on the couch with her huge quilt bundled about her, looking like a giant purple slug, within two minutes. It takes the younger about 3 minutes to be convinced to open her eyes. Another 2 to sit up. Then another 3 to actually get out of bed. (I am exaggerating this very little.) Parents come out. Family prayer. Then Mom or Dad take my brother and I out to the car (“Do you mind if I have shotgun, Rob?”), and then we’re on our way in the dark to the church building, arriving there within three minutes.
By now it’s usually about 6:15 or 6:20. We are late. Again. Why are we always late? It starts at 6:15, is it really such a problem to be ready at 6:10 or 6:05? We were on time everyday last week, why not this week? Oh well. It doesn’t really matter, I rationalize, because everyone else is usually late, too. Entering the foyer, there are several students my age who are procrastinating. We stand around a chat about school, dances, and how tired we are. I break through the little crowd and find my way to my classroom. (My classroom is one of the larger ones and actually has a piano because it happens to be where the young children go during church on Sundays.)
On days that I am (miraculously) early, Sisters Utterback and O’Neill are standing at the head of the classroom, talking, or finishing up last minute preparations for their lesson. That is not today, however. So I quietly walk in, trying to close the whining door softly behind me. There is a student with a Hymn book in hand pretending the conduct the music with the other. I watch, amused, as she spells her name in the air in cursive- nice try. Good thing no one’s watching her conduct anyhow. Since most of us are still half-asleep we mumble more than sing the song. Then the same student gives a devotional- I short, spiritual thought to start the day, and is followed by another student who says the opening prayer.
By this point I am at my table beside Marianne, feeling glad for the opportunity to complain about how my family made me late to seminary- again and how my parents still won’t let me drive to seminary. Today is Sister Utterback’s turn to teach the lesson.
“Good morning! Did you all get a lot of sleep last night?”
The awake students grunt. The ones that are working on catching up have their heads on their desks. Sister Utterback shoots the latter a sympathetic yet stern look- one only a mother could master.
“How did the football game against Kentlake go last night? Did Kentwood win?” Today Isaac, Derek, and Spencer have a funny story to share about that. They engage us in their tale of being caught by the security guard for drinking. Sister Utterback laughs at this. You must understand, dear reader, that these three young men were not actually drunk, nor have they ever considered drinking once in their lives. This is why the story is so remarkably funny. They are the least likely to be suspected of such a crime. The security guard pulled them aside from the bleachers and asked them,
“Have you been drinking?”
He gets a chorus of quizzical looks, followed by a slight pause, and then “no.” He looks at them suspiciously, wondering whether to trust these possible juvenile delinquents, but finally, after a bit of conversing, decides that they are perfectly sober young men, and releases them to enjoy the rest of the football game.
Derek gets a bit excited in the midst of telling this story, saying, “I was thinking ‘dude, we’re Mormon! we don’t drink! We don’t even watch R movies!’” (An aside- the type of “Mormon” that Derek is referring to is the type that actually follow their beliefs and stick to their standards.)
Sister Utterback allows the class a few moments of laughter and chatting (remember- she’s a mother, but also a teacher, and so knows how to handle us obnoxious sleepy-heads quite well). Then she grabs our attention and says, “That was a very funny story, Derek. Okay everyone, grab your scriptures, we are in Doctrine and Covenants section 29 today. Aubrey, will you read a verse from Matthew for me before we go into D&C? Thank you, the verse is….”
And the lesson finally starts. At 7:00am we have a closing prayer, and then all of the students leave for school. The teachers pack up their belongings and leave not too long afterwards. And the church is quiet.
What are the lessons in seminary about? They vary, depending on what scriptures we are focusing on. They are lessons that are centered around faith, repentance, gospel ordinances, consequences, long-term perspective, endurance, standards, integrity, respect, gratitude, knowledge, serving others, divine nature, individual worth, serving God, and many other such topics.
Dictionary.com wasn’t too far off the mark when it gave the definitions of, “a special school providing education in theology, religious history, etc.,” and “A place or environment in which something is developed or nurtured.” Seminary is where youth of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (also known by the common nickname of the Mormon church; often abbreviated to the LDS church) gather to learn daily about their religion and to be supported, nurtured, and instructed in living happy and fulfilling lives.
Many youth dislike seminary, or have days when they don’t want to go. However, we all eventually realize that it pays off. When asked what’s so good about seminary, many youth say something along the lines of, “it gets me through my day. I love starting my day with it because it just starts me off on the right foot. I notice a big difference on days when I go to school but don’t go to seminary- everything is harder and I don’t feel as good or happy.” Also, in the long run, these youth learn good standards and how to maintain them, thus eventually becoming successful adults who make a difference in the world.
This is the community which I am a part of every morning. This is the community that I loose a full hour of sleep for each morning. This is the community that I would never trade. This is seminary.