10) Remembering High School

One neat thing about my family is my grandparents, parents, and I all attended Lehi High School.  This past summer, my grandma got out her high school sweater with her name and seminary pin on it.  She also showed me her graduation ring and and gave it to me after my graduation.  My mother often shows me pictures of her and her rifle-twirling team in the old Lehi Auditorium.  As I have looked back, I think I got to do some pretty great things during my time there.
 




I was a member of the Synergy Dance team and got to go with them to New York.  We saw Time Square, Rockefeller Square, the Statue of Liberty, and we got to watch the April 2014 General Conference in the New York Temple building.  We also saw the 9/11 memorial, Broadway, and Central Park among lots of other fun things.

I got to be a T.A. for dance company and watch them perform in the strangest places.

























I participated in Senior Prank Day.  We all layed down and "fell asleep" during school.

One of my favorite memories is of Senior Night.
After graduation, we all came back to the high school and stayed there all night!


 There were hamster ball races in the gym...


                                                                    






Rock climbing wall outside..

















Lots of food and decorations...















And friends!














Many of my friends and acquaintances from Lehi High School are all around the world right now. It sure is fun to be able to have all these pictures to remember all of the fun we had together at Lehi High School.

9) General Conference Analysis

 I thought General Conference was very good this past October.  I was able to spend some time with my parents and grandparents that weekend, and it was very relaxing.  On Sunday afternoon, my mother and I decided to drive up Provo Canyon and visit Vivian Park for a while.  We listened to Conference on the radio and got to see the fall leaves.  It was on the radio that I heard one of my favorite talks.

The talk that stood out most to me this Conference was Elder Bednar's talk titled, "Come and See."  It was the first talk I remember hearing that is directed to those who are not currently members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.  And although it was given for non-members, I believe it was still meant for members to hear.  

In the Ensign, the subtitle for the talk is "The Church of Jesus Christ always has been and always will be a missionary church." As I listened, I was reminded of all the reasons we the gospel.  Just like the little boy in the story that rubbed ointment on all his friends, when we find good things that make us feel good, we want to share it with others because we love them.  This talk was a great reminder to share the gospel because it brings us and our families happiness.


www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/10/come-and-see?lang=eng#watch=video

8) BYU Experience

I remember what a worry wart I was as I endured through the vigorous application process for Brigham Young University. During the week I worked on the application, my cousins from Colorado were visiting, it was the week of Thanksgiving, and I was in the school play.  I hurried from practices, to interviews, to family activities.  It was very exciting.  It was such a blessing when I read my acceptance letter. What was next?

I started working at the Creamery Outlet at the beginning of October.  It is my first job.  I get to run the cash register, stock milk, sweep the floor, put donuts and cookies in the bakery case, and scoop ice cream.  Overall, it has been a pretty good job.

My greatest 'aha' moment has been realizing the great impact this short experience in my life will bring to my current and future family.  I know that it is my job to be the best student I can be right now, and  I see many improvements I can make.

I can start on projects earlier, read my assigned chapters when they are assigned, go to bed earlier, eat better food, and exercise more often.  Although these may all seem like obvious improvements, they are pretty difficult goals and it takes experience to learn their true value.

Overall my BYU experience has been exciting.  I have always liked to be home, and this has been my first major adventure away from home.  Although I have missed laying down and watching TV, my experience has been positive one because I've made friends, learned a lot, and accomplished more than I thought possible.  I am very grateful for my teachers, neighbors, friends, and family who have have supported me and helped me all along.

7) Fear of the Front Narrative

The time long anticipated for was near, and the pack of children pushed harder and harder towards the door. RING! The bell rang, the door opened, and the children stomped forward. It was a STAMPEDE! Before I could step one foot inside the school, I was violently pushed to the linoleum floor.  One minute I was standing, and the next minute I was flat on my stomach! I layed there helplessly as the kid stampede ran over me, stepping on my arms and legs with extraordinary force.  Wet from the snow deposited by dozens of tiny snow boots, I attempted to escape.  As the majority of my first grade classmates passed over, I discovered that my shoes were missing. The shoes had been thrown right off my feet!

*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *    *

Hardly a sound was heard across the desolate landscape of the schoolyard that day at recess.  The arctic wind blew fiercely as it whistled across the playground and muted any effort of sound.  Snowflakes were fluttering to the ground like a white table cloth being spread across the kitchen table. Not even the old kick balls sent over the fence into Powell's backyard could be identified underneath the blanket of snow.  The swings rocked, lonesome in the wind, as we huddled in front of the school doors of Lehi Elementary in a penguin-like formation.

 

"What time is it?" asked my friend Sara.

"When do we get to go inside?!" came the voice of the boy who always smelled like potato chips.  We all looked hopeful towards Mrs. Hobbs, the recess lady, as she studied her watch.

The reply was consistently, "A little while longer."

Luckily, my mother made me wear the coat my grandmother gave me for Christmas. It was (as most things my grandma gave me) two sizes too large.  I slipped my hands inside the draping sleeves to protect them from freezing and shattering right off my hands like in the movies.  I did not want to turn into a human popsicle. 

The anticipation grew as the population of kids grouped around the door increased.  Fortunately, I was one of the first ones to take my position in front of the pack.  I enjoyed the shelter of the building against the north-easterly wind, and the fact that I would be the first to enter the warm interior. Little did I know that I would be the subject of a historical stampede of elementary school children.

After the bell rang and I was trampled over, I tried to regain my senses as I searched for my shoes and gathered my belongings.  My coat was more stamped with foot prints than Abbie's lunch box with star stickers. I feebly recovered and survived the journey back to Miss Lavelle's first grade class.  Never again would I stand at the front.

*   *   *    *   *   *   *   *  *   

Today is Thanksgiving, and Grandma is reporting all of the sales she saw on the five o'clock news last night.  My mother looks up from a sink full of dishes as my aunts and uncles discuss their shopping plans. I cringe as the inevitable question approaches.  "Are you coming with us?" Aunt Crystal inquires. 

 I look back and forth between my mother and grandmother and reply, "Are there going to be snow boots?"

Although I wish it were, completely avoiding crowds is not possible.  I too have had to wait in line at the D.M.V., school assemblies, and community gatherings.  As others participate in the Thanksgiving Day shopping sprees, early morning sales, and other events that involve large crowds, I believe you will find me at the back of the line.

6) Reflective Essay

I chose to write my research paper on a family story, and I think there were several pros and cons to doing so.  The good thing about choosing a family-related topic is I could ask members of my family about their experiences.  My grandpa also had binders full of newspaper articles, paperwork, and journal entries related to my topic.  I had so much information to draw from for my essay. An abundance of information was a good thing as well as a bad thing because I did not have to spend much time searching for information, but I spent a huge amount of time sifting through and trying to organize information. The con of writing on a topic about my family story is I cared so much about every word and sentence because I wanted to turn in a paper that would make my family happy.  I felt more worried writing about a family-related topic than I would have if it were a topic of less importance to me.
If I were to change one thing about my experience on this research paper, I would have started earlier and wrote for a longer period of time.  As we started to work on this paper as a class, I found myself relaxed the first few weeks and then a sudden panic.  I realized that sources I skimmed over were not actually useful to my topic.  I did not study my sources as soon as I should have. I wish I had time to think more about how I wanted to use them. On the other hand, one thing I would not change about my experience is all of the things that I learned.  Although I am far from being an expert, I feel like I am almost to the point of being a scholar on my subject.  I feel like everything I read delivered similar information and I could talk about this topic for an hour or more. 

5) Revised Research Paper Thoughts and Thesis

Many thoughts have been circling around in my mind regarding this research paper.  At first, I thought I was going to research the "Indian Placement Act."  However, when I started exploring this topic, I discovered that I could not find a good amount of sources or information, I think mainly because it was a church act installed by President Kimball that lasted for a short period of time.
Then I started pondering what other subjects could be found in my family history.  I finally asked my grandparents what they thought I could find some good information on.  My grandpa took me out to his shed and gave me a large binder of papers about the "downwinders."  The "downwinders" refers to those who were exposed to the radiation from atomic testing in the 50's.  The government allowed atomic bomb tests to be conducted on the desert of Nevada, the radiation then exposing populations in Nevada and Utah.  Grandpa Cawley grew up in Flowell, Utah- a small farming community near Fillmore.  My drafted thesis is "the decision of the United States government to engage in atomic bomb testing in Nevada negatively effected the lives of many people in both Nevada and Utah because their exposure harmed livestock, caused cancers, and diminished the trust of the American people."
Other ideas I have thought of is: how did it affect both Americans and the government? Did the compensation the government gave later on help the people feel better?  Another way to word the thesis is "The atomic bomb testing in Nevada created feelings of distrust in the American people towards the government because the exposure to radiation harmed livestock, desolated the environment, and caused cancers."
I hope to talk to my family much more on this topic and include some quotes from my grandpa and his journal.

4) Thoughts on Research Paper

My dad is the youngest of five children.  His closest sibling in age is seven years older than him, just like me. With the majority of her children grown, my grandma accepted the call to house a Native American as a part of President Kimball's Indian Placement Program.  My dad recalls the Native American, Leroy, being mean to him and unenthusiastic about being in a strange home.  I would like research if all Native Americans felt this way, or if there were successes in the program.  What impact did this act have on the lives of the Native Americans (their culture, their families, their education, etc.). Also, what impact did the act have on the families the Indians stayed with?  I also would like to look in my dad's family journals and talk to my aunts and uncles about this topic and see what else I can learn.

What questions do you want to answer with your research paper?

What purpose do you have in sharing your narrative? In other words, how do you answer the, "so what?"

What is it exactly you're trying to discover?

How does this affect you?