Favorite Classes

As I approach graduation in April, I can't help but think about the hundreds of hours I've spent sitting at desks. Some of these hours were better spent than others. By the end of this semester, I will have taken a total of 52 university classes. I was talking to my husband tonight about the classes we enjoyed the most as BYU undergrads, and I thought I'd make a list here of mine.

Philosophy 205: Deductive Logic, Dr. Codell Carter

I took this class the 2nd semester of my Freshman year. I actually added it at the last minute when I decided to take it instead of American Heritage and when I was still considering a Philosophy major. This class was the first time I studied something that I not only enjoyed, but was really, really good at. I had never really considered myself analytically-minded before, but when I realized how easily the subject material in this class came to me, I thought of my brain and the world in which it existed entirely differently. I've been a TA for this class for 5 semesters now.

Religion 122: Book of Mormon II, Drs. Kay and Earl Stice

Since I thought it would be a good idea to get all of my religion credits out of the way my Freshman and Sophomore years (wrong), I didn't get a chance to find the "good" religion professors. I picked religion classes based on who got the highest ratings on ratemyprofessor.com (wrong again). But luckily I fell into this class. The Stice brothers are accounting professors and Bishops, and they co-taught this class. I loved it because they actually taught the Book of Mormon according to the Book of Mormon. Not the Book of Mormon according to [religion professor] or [obscure/not-so-obscure GA].

Women's Studies 222: Into to Women's Studies, Sharee Bench

This was the very first class I ever sat down in at BYU. I loved the discussion, the book, and the topics. I feel like it gave me a great springboard to study specific topics in Women's Studies and Feminist theory throughout my career as a student.

Philosophy 300: Philosophical Writing, Dr. Codell Carter

So I'm probably biased because this is the professor I work for, but this was the only class I've taken which actually taught me to be a better writer without following some tired formula. Most of the "work" was done outside of class to be turned in, and the in-class portion was comprised of discussions about anything and everything related to writing. I've reviewed my writing before this class and after this class, and there is definitely a marked difference in the quality.

Biology 100: Principles of Biology, Dr. St. Sinclaire

I'm going to be honest: I took this class twice. The first time I made a C in it and wanted to replace my grade. That first time, the class was taught like you would imagine a biology class being taught: a thick textbook with small print and weird graphs, boring lectures, and an is-this-over-yet lab. But the 2nd time I took it I discovered they completely changed the curriculum. The class focused on general scientific literacy rather than specific topics in biology. We read a biography on Charles Darwin, a book on contemporary neuroscience, and a book about the discovery of DNA, among others. It was fascinating the 2nd time around. I loved that the biology department realized the need for university students to become more scientifically literate, a very practical skill that is on it's way of being eradicated in modern society, against the backdrop of issues in biology.

Statistics 121: Principles of Statistics, [I don't remember the professor...]

Like Biology, I thought this was one of the more practical classes I've taken at BYU. I think that factor, along with it's analytically-based intellectual challenge, is what made me like it so much. I feel like it goes right along with the importance of scientific literacy: knowing how to understand the quantitative analysis of research is so important to making decisions based on the results of social and scientific studies.

The Myth of Effortless Beauty

This happened on my facebook today:

I posted this status as a sort of tongue-in-cheek remark 1) about how I'm too lazy/cold to bother shaving my legs and 2) in sarcasm about the stereotype that men and women "let themselves go" upon marriage. However, I was particularly interested in the three men who declared my status as "TMI." As any good philosopher would do, I thought of other similar hypotheticals and how one might react. I ended up with the postulate that if a man bragged about Movemeber, he would not receive a response of "TMI." If he posted about shaving his legs, he would probably just be called gay (which is another topic on misandry and inherent homophobia in social constructs of masculinity entirely). I guess I missed the memo that women shouldn't publicly talk about shaving their legs. So this got me doing some research.

What I discovered what a social phenomenon called effortless beauty. This essentially says that women should always be socially attractive and presentable and hide the effort behind it. It comes from the idea that women's bodies are inherently obscene, and much more so than men's (E.G. why it's okay for men to go topless in public and not women). And because her body is obscene and is yet required to meet the beauty standards of her society, she must not discuss how she manipulates her body to meet those standards.

I also think the TMI could come from the fact that I haven't shaved my legs in almost a month and therefore don't currently meet standards of attractiveness. We live in a culture where it is expected that women be objectified by society, even if there are men who consciously don't objectify them (which, by the way, there are). We dehumanize women by compartmentalizing them into body parts. We live in a culture where society somehow has a right to the objectification of women (see: victim blaming and catcalling), even if a large population of men necessarily don't. When a woman chooses not to shave her legs (or smile when a man asks her, or conform to weight standards, or says "no" when a man asks for sex), she is infringing on society's right to objectify her. It's being taken for granted that it's totally okay for society to put women on a pedestal when the women do conform to their standards of physicality. And only when that is taken for granted is it wrong for women to infringe of society's rights of objectification.

My husband also pointed out that because I am married, I am no longer sexually available to any other men, which is another way I (and other monogomously married women) infringe on men's rights to objectify.

I had a friend who waxed her upper lip and chin and was mortified to let anyone know she did that. She (and so many other women) fall into this idea that the people around us have a right to our attractiveness and a right not to know how it got there. Thus, the myth of effortless beauty.

Which is why (some) men don't want to hear about a woman not shaving her legs.

I can see why this post could be construed as anti-man, but I'd like to here offer that my brand of feminism (and that of many, many other feminists) doesn't see men as the enemy. Rather, the enemy is the false and harmful social constructs of masculinity and femininity to which we are bound. However, I do think it's interesting that those who called my status "TMI" are men.

Some thoughts on the Occupy protests

I'm empathetic toward the cause of the Occupy protesters and those who support them. I really am. To say that there isn't greed and corruption in large corporations and that these corporations don't have rich lobbyists paying off Congresspersons is a blatant falsehood. I get it. I really do.

But setting up camp isn't going to help anything.

Protests are used for awareness. That is their purpose. To let the public know, "Hey, this is going on, we don't think it's cool, and you shouldn't either." I think the Occupy protesters have done a pretty good job achieving this goal. I would venture to guess that everyone, even those apathetic to current events, know that there are people camping out in various parts of the country to protest something having to do with wealth disparity. So why are they still there? It bothers me when I see facebook friends complaining about how the police and city officials are making protesters leave, saying that their First Amendment rights are being violated, when some research into why they are actually being forced to leave yields actual violations of the law: usually illicit drug use, public intoxication, and sexual assault (there was one group I read about which asked persons who had been sexually assaulted to not report it to the police, which made me sick). Now, are the police crossing the line by using unnecessary force to remove protesters in some cities? Probably. I won't deny that.

I think the biggest question those who support the Occupy cause should ask themselves is what to do next. I propose a few things: there are enough supporters that if everyone chipped in money, they could buy a fair amount of stock in a company which would give them a fair vote in who is on the board of directors for that company. Or they could hire lobbyists to petition Congress in their favor. That is how you change a corporation. Protesting, at this point, does nothing.

With all that being said, I'd like to add here that I am a capitalist. I think the best economic system is one that rewards hard work, efficiency, personal responsibility, and ingenuity. My generation has a huge problem with entitlement. We are the generation of participation ribbons and "everyone is a winner." We like to believe that we are entitled to high-paying, low-labor jobs. I see this entitlement in both sides: in the Occupy supporters and in those who do have opportunity handed to them without work. I think the real change that needs to happen is a shift from entitlement to responsibility in the collective of selves of this country.

How to Not Feel Terrible

So this morning at 6:30, I drove to Nathan's. We had plans to hike up to the hot springs (a 6 mile hike roundtrip) to enjoy the hot water and each other's company. By the time we parked the car at the trailhead, I wasn't feeling well at all. I had to stop and take a break a few times during the hike up, which I've never had to do before, just to catch my breath. I was freezing and generally felt terrible. When we got up to the springs, we couldn't find a pool that was a good balance between not warm at all and molten lava hot, so we ended up soaking for like half an hour. As I stood up to leave, I immediately felt like I needed to throw up. Nathan gave me a blessing, and we walked back to the car with me stopping along the way.

Afterwards, I fell asleep on Nathan's couch for 5 hours.

Rather than actually being sick, I think my irregular sleeping patterns, lack of sleep in general, horrible eating habits, and overall stress levels have caught up with me. So today was kind of a wake up call that I need to start taking better care of myself in order to feel better, so I present:

Shelley's 7 steps to not feel terrible (and actually pretty good)
-Go to bed and wake up at the same time every week day. In bed at 11 and up at 7, which makes for 8 hours.
-Eat breakfast everyday. A granola bar on the walk to campus does not count. Waking up at 7 (my first class is at 9) should allow plenty of time to eat breakfast.
-A veggie and a protein with every meal, and making sure this happens in variety.
-Instead of focusing on not eating junk, focus on eating healthy snacks.
-Read the Scriptures and pray every day.
-Yoga every day.
-Prioritize what needs to be done every day and stick to those priorities to keep from feeling overwhelmed.

Plans

So, many numerous updates since the last post.

I am no longer double majoring in Philosophy and Journalism. I decided the Communications department was more trouble working with than it is worth, so I dropped that major, officially declared my Logic minor, and I'm working on my application to graduate in April with a Philosophy degree. This semester I'm only taking three classes: Statistics, Accounting, and Thai. The first two are for preparation for a possible business school future, and the third is mostly for fun.

Also, this probably isn't news to anyone who probably reads this, but I've been engaged for about three weeks. Here's the whole story:

Nathan and I had been in each other's peripheral vision since April of this year. A mutual friend of ours was live-blogging General Conference via Facebook statuses, and we both joined in. I sent him a friend request, he added me, and we occasionally chatted/commented on each other's posts for a number of months. I told Nathan about a week before coming to Provo that I wanted to hang out. We went and got lunch my first Saturday back in Provo, were both thoroughly awkward, but continued to talk/see each other. It wasn't long after that we both realized that we really, really liked each other. We were both very attracted to each other's intellectual pursuit, bibliophilia, and nerdy humor, among many other things. And then we realized that this is what happens when you find the person you're supposed to marry. So on a Tuesday morning, sitting in my car outside of the Provo Temple after we spent time inside, he asked me to marry him. And I said yes. And then we sat there, enjoying the surrealness of it all, asking each other, "so, did that really just happen?"

We are getting married on December 28th in the Dallas, Texas Temple.

I think the biggest thing I've learned this year isn't the best door approach when tracting, or how to calm down an angry patient on the phone, or how to calculate z-scores in statistics. The biggest thing I've learned this year is that Heavenly Father allows us to experience really difficult things, including huge changes of seemingly faultless plans, so we know how to appreciate the things He gives us instead. And He always manages to pull through with things we didn't know would be better.

Most of all, I'm so glad to have learned through experience that God plans things according to a wider paradigm than my own.

Ah, Provo

So I've been in Provo for officially more than a week. There was a lot of hassle/anxiety last week with trying to find somewhere to live and being homeless over the weekend, but looking back I can see at least 2 good things that came out of that homelessness. One of these days I'll be able to consistently keep the perspective that future retrospection always yields recognition of blessings and mercy during difficult times. I'm living in an apartment 2 blocks from campus (yes!) for a little more than I wanted to pay, but it's newly renovated, so I won't complain too much. Apparently the management is awful, which I've already sort of experienced, but I'll make a conscious effort to stay out of their way and need as little as possible from them.

I am so ready to start classes/work on Monday. I might be an editor for Aporia, BYU's student philosophy journal, this semester. So I'll be doing that for 5 hours and TAing logic for 15 hours a week. And 3 classes. This semester is pretty much going to be awesome.

My plans this week pretty much include some odds and ends getting ready for school, sitting by the pool reading, going to the Temple, and hanging out with a new friend.

Thank you, Provo, for your existence, your fabulous school, and the wonderful people inside of you.

Also, 22nd birthday in 13 days. Woo!

Counting Down

I spend way too much of my time counting down.

Counting down until school starts. Counting down until my last day of school. Counting down until I leave for Washington. Counting down until I get on a plane back home. Counting down until he gets home. Counting down until...okay you get it.

I think this is because I'm never satisfied with the present. I've acknowledged this and am trying to get better at it. At any given point in time, we only have one present. It is logically impossible to make the present move any faster, so why can't I appreciate it more?

Tonight I was trying to appreciate the present. It was a nice Sunday night, I was hanging out in my pajamas doing productive things like laundry and cleaning my bathroom. For a while I was enjoying myself, but then I lost focus and found myself dwelling on, "Only 5 more days of work and I'm done. Tomorrow is my last Monday. Just one more Monday to get through."

Counting down seems to be my default with my present-enjoying being a conscious decision. I really am trying to figure out how to switch the two. I've been good lately with spending my evenings after work doing things I enjoy rather than dreading another day of work coming up. I know that my current phase of counting down until Utah will only ultimately yield in more counting down until something else after I get there. Or maybe I can make my pre-fall semester countdown my last.