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.

30 Days in Pictures: Day Twenty

Day Twenty – A picture of somewhere you’d love to travel



This is Powell's Books in Portland, Oregon. It takes up an entire city block. This would entertain me more than any beach or foreign country.

The girl who read about the boy who lived

So I'm finally joining the human race.

I'm reading Harry Potter.

I got the first two books super cheap from half.com a while back. I wanted to wait until I finished The Hunger Games to start them. I just finished the first book, and I wish I would have done this sooner. I remember the first book coming out when I was in 5th grade, getting on the waiting list at the library, but being super ADD and not being able to get past the first 10 pages. I feel kind of let down since I already know some of the big plot twists, but I'm excited to read them nonetheless. I've already ordered books 3 and 4 from half.com, and I'm starting on book 2 tonight.

"The trouble is, humans do have a knack of choosing precisely those things that are worst for them." Oh Dumbledore, you could narrate my year.