College life

I recall seeing a video about how our educational system is based on 18/19th century principles such as memorizing and test taking. This (and other experiences that I have had on campus) gave me the desire to write about all my negative and unfortunate experiences dealing with the college life due to the system and bubble (I bet a handful of you understood that). However, I decided to go an opposite route and narrate the wonderful things about going to college. 

First off, I have had the unique opportunity to work for the grounds administration. I do lots of special projects that have taken me to almost every foot of campus (I do wish that I could take a tour of the utility tunnels someday...). College campuses everywhere are so beautiful and unique. I can only find a handful of pictures from BYU, and even they don't do it justice. Some interesting facts i've learned-

• The grass is always green and weedless because BYU takes great care in making the soil that goes under the grass. They also do a great job spreading fertilizer.
• There are hundreds of employees  that work year round to maintain everything. They replace thousands of bulbs each year and tens of thousands of flowers. I think Disneyland is the only comparable landscaping atmosphere. 
• Most of the buildings at BYU are heated and cooled by hot and cold water. The system uses the temperature of the water to blow into the buildings. I've had the opportunity to walk into these heating/cooling units. Its pretty awesome and extremely efficient.

Anyways, take a look around next time you're on a campus somewhere. Breathe in deeply, and enjoy the atmosphere you are in. Chances are, its a whole lot nicer than most other places you could be.

Second, There is something so invigorating about being in a learning atmosphere. All campuses are created as centers of learning, research, and development. It seems like any random week can contain lecture from professors at Oxford, Harvard, and the other prestigious universities. The faculty members are connected with the rest of the world and many are willing to give you a 'leg-up' into it. Think about this: why do successful tech companies call their headquarters 'campuses'? Its because they recognize the power of having a learning, growing, and empowering atmosphere. 

In the past, I have been frustrated about the competitive nature of some college campuses. People can get self-absorbed in what they are doing, and one can feel completely lost around a campus. However, I now recognize the importance of the competitive atmosphere. It helps me to push myself and meet the level of others. I hope that we all get the feeling of rising together, even though we never talk to one another.

The lessons that one can learn by 'living' the college life reach way beyond academia. Here are some life's lessons that money cannot buy.

• How to function on 4 hours of sleep...for consecutive nights
• How to sneak food without anyone noticing
• Betcha didn't think you could finish that 8 page paper in 4 hours; Well, now you know that you can
• Can you imagine how many lessons you have learned by people-watching around campus (especially at a place like BYU)? There are so many things that one ought not to do out in the open...or what not to do or say to others
•  You can do better than ramen and boxed dinners
• You will never choose to live without a washer and dryer in your home somewhere
• Getting a degree is important so that you don't end up working as parking enforcement anywhere

I feel really honored and blessed to be in a college atmosphere. I'm glad that we accept the importance of these campuses and support them through private or public means. 

Owls

Due to a popular fantasy book about a teenage wizard (ok, I'll stop sounding politically correct, I worshipped the Harry Potter series about as much as the Islamic religion studies the Qur'an), many may think that this blog has something to do with that. However, my affinity for a certain creature in this series has come from personal interest and emotional response from seeing such majestic creatures. No, it doesn't have to do with dragons or hippogriffs.

Yes, I did take this picture. Unfortunately, I have so far become acquainted with owls only during bird shows.

In Brasil, I lived in a small home that bordered a large field. At night, we saw silent, dark, almost ghost-like creators flying over this field back and forth in search of small prey. One of them decided to fly right over my head and into the back of the house. As it flew over, I could clearly see its face and dark, beady eyes for a split second. I couldn't believe such a beautiful and majestic creature could come so close to me. Until that moment, I had never seen an owl (I'm sure I did at the zoo, but I never have any memories of seeing one until that point). A few months later in a completely different city and state, I saw a different owl fly overhead, again making a split-second eye contact. It gave me the chills seeing such a beautiful bird flying silently over my head.

Turns out, I could (and hope) to take care of one someday. Most people start out by doing falconry, then they can expand and specialize in hawks, eagles, or even owls. If anyone has ever become familiar with any birds of prey, they know how amazing it is to see them and learn how they live,  and how amazing they are at flying.

Again, I got the picture from a bird show I attended.

The owl above is a barn owl. Out of all the owls, this one's flight is the most silent. It may seem like he doesn't have ears; however, he can hear best out of all the owl family. He is rare in Utah, but much more common up north. I hope someday I can have one living at or near my house. Some are bred in captivity, but most farmers up north can build a box for the owls to roost in and wait for the owl to come.

Anyways, I thought I'd share that life goal with you! If you ever see an owl near UT county, let me know. I'd love to learn how to see them around here.

Criticism

Yesterday I had a sad moment of irony. I was at a college up on Salt Lake shooting a promo for their new academic program (ps...It sounds cool, but I am totally not an actor; I'm merely an extra who looks college-aged). The building in Salt Lake was 10 floors, minus the parking structure. On our way down in the elevator from 9 to L, we stopped at almost every floor. Toward the bottom, the elevator was full. To all of us, it felt quite ridiculous when we stopped on floors 6, 5, 4...etc.

The third floor came up and all of us felt the familiar stopping sensation in our stomach. Under my breath, I exclaimed, "Now really, who needs to use the elevator for two floors! Wouldn't the stairs be better at this point?" Only three people closest to me heard. Luckily, they knew me, because what happened next painted me in a terrible light. Because, of course, who would try to enter the elevator so close to the lobby level? A skinny-legged college kid who's only mode of transportation was two 24' wheels attached to the side of his chair. He rolled toward the elevator, noticed how full it was, then slowly rolled backward to catch the next elevator. We watched the door close and continued on our way down, feeling that my prior comment was both unwarranted and grossly ironic.

I honestly think most inspirational speakers are in wheelchairs. They don't need to mention how hard life can be because we already imagine it ourselves when we see someone in that situation. However, they are inspirational because most don't curse their fate. Who could they criticize? All the people who park in their parking spots? Those who use the larger restroom/dressing room at the mall?

It seems like there are plenty of healthy, normal people who feel criticized and abused in the most minute ways (e.g. the media's coverage of certain events). They create criticisms and prejudices for themselves and their community/family/race/religion/anything really. We probably all fall into this category sometime in our lives.

Mark A. Hicks, illustrator

Fireworks (the non-romantic kind)

Yesterday my wife and I had a "fun" experience. An aerial firework went awry. Not like a dud, but like an aerial pointed the wrong direction. I guess that one of them, the first one, ignited before it could leave the chamber. The rest of them (I counted 6) shot directly toward my wife and her family.


One of the shells hit her knee. She described it as a rock hitting her, which seemed appropriate given that her little nephew was tossing rocks. However, the tirade of sparks that exploded to the left of us solved the mystery. We then proceeded to see colors explode all around us. There was at least one funny moment as I reminisce: one of the girls that was with us tried to run in the opposite direction, with her purse held behind her rear as she squatted over to protect herself. Imagine the mental image of a girl trying to defend herself from an onslaught of bombs with her purse.


 My reaction surprised even me. I just sat in the chair calmly, not reacting to what was going on. I wasn't sure what to think at the time, because my first thought was, "Oh, its just this one that mis-fired." As more and more shot out, I didn't know whether to run or stand still. I didn't start to worry till after the firework was done. I wish that somehow, the back of my mind, I had thought to dive behind the chairs and protect myself and the others. I'm too calm; I don't react really rashly to anything. 

My wife's knee had a massive red spot where the firework singed her, but she healed just fine. 


 Fireworks can be fun, but I never thought that I would feel the fear of a mortar barrage while watching them.

The Trouble with Tradition

Recently in the state of Utah, the republican primary was held. In this primary, the same state senator that has been in office 36 years was voted through. In my own humble opinion (I like to think that it is open-minded and learned), I believe that anyone who researched any further into the matter would find him to be an unsuitable candidate. The man is 78 years old! His opponent was a freshman in politics and probably could have brought much to the table; his only downfall was support from the tea party. However, I feel the bulk of the win in this ancient senator's life is due to tradition. If anyone cared about more than tradition (i.e., the state of the country, the interests of the people) they would not have voted him in again.


Tradition can be a wonderful thing. As Tevye once put it, "Tradition helps us to keep our balance."  If anybody has ever been to Utah, especially the Utah County part, you will notice how much we resemble Tevye and the rest of his community. 


Nowadays, tradition seems like it ought to be something of the past (no pun intended). Take these examples:


(Disclaimer) This is not to fault anyone in particular. I place no blame or hard feelings on the people who might be mentioned here. These merely reflect my view on the downside of tradition.

Family: My parents always tried to instill in me the importance of household chores (hereafter referred to as 'jobs'). I remember never being able to go outside of the house to do anything until my jobs were done. As I grew older, I would watch my younger brothers and sisters learn the hard lesson that I learned from my parents, that is: doing your jobs is the most important thing on earth (P.S., doing your jobs is not the most important thing on earth). My favorite memory is my coming home to my youngest brother shrieking in the kitchen because my mom duct-taped him to the stool in front of the silverware basket. This forced him to precariously sit with no leg movement and unload the silverware, hoping that he wouldn't wiggle the stool and fall over. 


If I acted the same way as my parents, I might teach my children the same lessons that I don't feel are as important as others. I'd probably do my own thing and expect my kids to clean without me helping or setting an example (and all you parents know how well it works to throw your kid in a room and yell "Dont come out till its clean!"). But, because I recognize that teaching hard work by cooperation and trust works better than expectation and duct tape. The tradition stopped and changed into something better.


Business: Any business that has been around for years and years (and hasn't failed) knows this simple truth. To stay in business, you need to keep up with trends and innovation. To be fair, I have to agree that there are traditional lessons such as treating your customers well, but the bulk of failing companies lack innovation.

Government:.....I dont need to say much with government, but their old fashioned partisan arguments are bothering much of the silent majority. The tradition of politics keep things from working.

Whenever I personally hear someone say that I should do something because they have done it 'for years' or because they 'grew up doing it that way', I immediately become skeptical. Traditions should be kept due to their principles and benefits and not their common occurrences. Too commonly we look forward to the false sense of security that comes from tradition. Would that we could all "think differently."

I decided that I should start to keep my blog up again. I have read so many interesting articles and blogs lately, and it has inspired me to keep up on my own. Some of the best and objective news I see comes from blogs and NPR; they really connect people to other people. Most of the media really see the world in a pessimistic spectrum. There is a lot to be sad about, but because humans are inherently good, we can all still find interesting and wonderful things to learn. My title that I created as a 16 year-old will stay as I continue my posts: Always Look Up.


To reintroduce myself, I am now a legal adult attending college pursuing an economics degree. I plan to work my way into business sooner or later. I attend Brigham Young University for college which naturally designates me as a "mormon." I guess I'm more formally a "member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints." I have to laugh every time I see a performance of "The Book of Mormon" on broadway or any other mormon parody. Let's face it, there are lots of fun idiosyncrasies about mormons, and bravo to all those who found the market and made money off of it.
I consider myself independent but I tend to favor the more conservative base. However, there are plenty on both sides who both get it right, and more who get it completely wrong. 


I like soccer, tennis, frisbee, Jazz music, and reading non-fiction. I have a bad tv watching habit as of late, and I think I could go back to more outdoor activities. Any questions?




Jeff, a character from Community (NBC) said ,"Helping ourselves is bad, and helping each other is good...just stop thinking about whats good for you and start thinking about what's good for someone else." Now, I think its great that we can still watch TV every once in awhile and see a worthwhile message such as Jeff's. The message itself is important, but I think the greater lesson we can take from it is this: Anything can be good and worthwhile as long as we look hard and not give up.


These words are very cliché and deserve to be written on the tab of a fortune cookie. However, the inherent message is true. In TV, the fictitious and unrealistic world of TV, there is still some good life lessons that we should all take to heart. I remember my parents and relatives talking about how innocent the world of TV was. We would watch some of the old black and white shows of the 50's (think "Leave it to Beaver" and "I Love Lucy") and hear about how wonderful the lessons they taught. 


I was born in the 90's and have seen the content on TV change since then. I feel like TV has evolved to take on all of the problems of today. Whether they control today's content or merely cover it, I don't know. However, the unrealistic worlds that were created back in the 50's were about as unrealistic as the sitcoms created today. I hope we recognize that we have to decide what we learn from any TV shows, experiences, or situations. Our personal philosophies are important. However, they are becoming mere whispers in a world where only certain messages are getting louder.

That's why I feel like its important to have blogs, journals, and other personal ways of expressing our views. It keeps from conformity and allows us all to continue to see personal good in the world around us.