General Conference Weekend

Once again it has come and gone, and as is to be expected I am left with a sense of nostalgia for family, excitement for the future, and a better understanding of who I am, and where I need to be going in life. This conference was special because I got to attend a session with my family. Being in the conference center is always a treat, but being their with family is a unique and fulfilling experience.

After the first session we spent time at my Grandpa's house which has become one of my conference traditions. We ate delicious food and enjoyed an afternoon of family and conference fun. We continued a budding tradition of post-priesthood pizza that I believe started my freshman year of college when I went with my Grandpa to the Priesthood session.

Sunday has now come and gone and I could hardly believe it when President Monson said goodbye and adjourned the conference for six months.

I learned so much in these past two days I feel as though I entered the first day of class and received a syllabus for the next six months of spiritual instruction. I have a full time load of things I need to learn and apply as I study the messages again and attempt to put the personal guidance I received into practice. I feel even more excited for this set of coursework than I do my University coursework. I am determined to apply what I learned and to ace this semester of spiritual university.

I know that the Lord will tutor us personally and give us experiences that will allow us to learn and apply the spiritual lessons we learn from His prophets in general conference.

To The Lion King

Thanks for taking me back to my childhood. I could almost remember the first time I watched you in the theaters. That was a long long time ago. But I'm glad you brought me and my awesome sisters together for a few hours to enjoy the vibrant colors of the jungle. Oh, and tell the Hyenas and Zazu thanks for making me laugh. We'll have to meet up again sometime, and maybe you can introduce me to some of the other awesome plays.

John

17th Annual Office of the Gaurdian Ad Litem and CASA Conference

This week I attended the State-wide conference for the Office of the Guardian Ad Litem and CASA. This was my first time ever attending a legal conference. While many of my fellow CASA volunteers were dozing off during the State of the Office address I was totally enthralled by the office strategy to work with the Utah Legislature to get the annual budget approved. When they started talking in Legalese and reviewing important statutes, I felt right at home and reaffirmed my commitment to attend Law School.
Later that evening we had a very fancy catered dinner with multiple courses, including salad, the main course, and dessert. The food was gourmet, but one thing I found funny was how the main course plate appeared rather empty with the small piece of chicken and side of green beans and potatoes that appeared with it. When I received it I felt somewhat nostalgic for a home cooked self served meal with hearty portions. The upper class fancy dinner scene was an enjoyable experience, but I really felt like I would feel more at home in the less formal environment of my college dinner group where we sit around the living room sharing the highs and lows of our day. The key note speech was done by a judge who looked like she could have been Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s twin. It was a great experience, and I’m glad that I took off work and class to play lawyer for a day.

Dance Sport Championship

This week has been a series of unexpected events, leading to a dramatic Dance Sport Championship competition. I’m in a social dance class this semester and we have the opportunity to compete in a competition against all the other social dance students. The competition isn’t required for the class and I didn’t think I was good enough, so I decided not to compete. But then this Monday I got an unexpected opportunity when one of the other competitors from my class had to drop out. I accepted the invitation to dance with Stephanie, and the dance preparation began. When we started practicing I couldn’t remember half the Cha Cha steps and was really worried. Even up to the day before the competition I kept forgetting our routine halfway through.

Then came the day of the competition; it felt like the Olympics with five qualifying heats leading up to the quarterfinal call backs. When I got to the check in place to get my number I found out they didn’t have me on the list! So I was shuffled over to a line for same day registration and was entered into the competition there. This meant that I had one of the last numbers and would be one of the very last couples to enter the floor.

So here is where I have to relate this to speed skating. Everyone knows that what lane you’re in matters; if you’re on the outside you’ll be skating from the back trying to pass everyone to get into the front. This is where you put it all on the line with the risk of wiping out and knocking down half the other skaters with you.

Krista, my dance teacher, taught us the importance of quickly making our way to the center in front of the judges in order to be in their eye and get our name circled as one of the advancing couples. In the first round we made it to the middle of the floor with some space around us and advanced to the second round where we also made it to the middle and advanced to the third round of competition.

By the third round they had already eliminated all the people ahead of us who were letting us slip by them to get to the middle. So here when we walked on to the floor we were cut off from the middle and ended up in the corner away from the judges (The outside lane of the speed skating track). As the music began we started our routine, and at the precise moment we began to make our pass. We danced our way through several couples and right in front of three judges! Yes! We had made the move and we advanced to the fourth round.

By now they had whittled down the competitors from the initial 177 couples to 86 couples. So we were competing against the top fifty percent of the competition. We were still stuck with our number entering the floor second to last. And this time as we made our way to the floor we were cut off from the center and boxed in on the front and on the back. It was time to go big and miraculously dance our way to the front or go home. The music began and we started our routine smoothly making our way to the part where we could travel towards the judges. But when that moment came, figuratively making our turn on the outside, we clipped another dancer and lost the rhythm. It was over, our glimpse of gold faded like the setting Sun.

Stephanie and I had a blast and made it farther than I had ever imagined going into the competition. While a couple weeks ago I figured dancing just wasn’t my thing, today I think I’d better take another dance class sometime just for the fun of competing in another Dance Sport competition. And maybe, just maybe I’ll go for the gold!