There Is Good

This story is just so great, I wanted to share. You can read it here or go to this URL. The website is really cool because you can hear the man actually give a first person account of the story. It's good to know that there is good.


http://www.npr.org/2008/03/28/89164759/a-victim-treats-his-mugger-right

A Victim Treats His Mugger Right

Julio Diaz has a daily routine. Every night, the 31-year-old social worker ends his hour-long subway commute to the Bronx one stop early, just so he can eat at his favorite diner.

But one night last month, as Diaz stepped off the No. 6 train and onto a nearly empty platform, his evening took an unexpected turn.

He was walking toward the stairs when a teenage boy approached and pulled out a knife.

"He wants my money, so I just gave him my wallet and told him, 'Here you go,'" Diaz says.

As the teen began to walk away, Diaz told him, "Hey, wait a minute. You forgot something. If you're going to be robbing people for the rest of the night, you might as well take my coat to keep you warm."

The would-be robber looked at his would-be victim, "like what's going on here?" Diaz says. "He asked me, 'Why are you doing this?'"

Diaz replied: "If you're willing to risk your freedom for a few dollars, then I guess you must really need the money. I mean, all I wanted to do was get dinner and if you really want to join me ... hey, you're more than welcome.

"You know, I just felt maybe he really needs help," Diaz says.

Diaz says he and the teen went into the diner and sat in a booth.

"The manager comes by, the dishwashers come by, the waiters come by to say hi," Diaz says. "The kid was like, 'You know everybody here. Do you own this place?'"

"No, I just eat here a lot," Diaz says he told the teen. "He says, 'But you're even nice to the dishwasher.'"

Diaz replied, "Well, haven't you been taught you should be nice to everybody?"

"Yea, but I didn't think people actually behaved that way," the teen said.

Diaz asked him what he wanted out of life. "He just had almost a sad face," Diaz says.

The teen couldn't answer Diaz — or he didn't want to.

When the bill arrived, Diaz told the teen, "Look, I guess you're going to have to pay for this bill 'cause you have my money and I can't pay for this. So if you give me my wallet back, I'll gladly treat you."

The teen "didn't even think about it" and returned the wallet, Diaz says. "I gave him $20 ... I figure maybe it'll help him. I don't know."

Diaz says he asked for something in return — the teen's knife — "and he gave it to me."

Afterward, when Diaz told his mother what happened, she said, "You're the type of kid that if someone asked you for the time, you gave them your watch."

"I figure, you know, if you treat people right, you can only hope that they treat you right. It's as simple as it gets in this complicated world."

Produced for Morning Edition by Michael Garofalo.

Questions and The List

Have you ever been so sure about something that you knew for a fact that it was the right thing to do? And then something happened to make that thing you were so sure about harder. Then another something happened that again made things more difficult and made you a bit unsure. Then yet another something happened and you really question what on earth you are doing and if it was the right thing. How are you supposed to look at this? From a religious standpoint, I know that when something is right and God has confirmed it, that thing is often bombarded with trials and difficulties because Satan doesn't want it to happen. But from the same standpoint, what if the thing that you thought was so right really isn't and all of the trials that are in the way are really there as a wake-up call for you to help you realize what you are doing isn't the right thing. Then what? When something feels so right and so wrong at the same time, what are you supposed to do? These are the questions that haunt me.

On another note, I have a list. This list is of things that I am very thankful for recently.

The List:
1. Prayer - self explanatory.
2. My family and how they are always there for me - They are always there supporting me and helping me with whatever they can even though I am not living with them anymore.
3. Friends who ask "How are you?" and actually want an honest answer - I have some great friends who really care about me and will listen and talk to me.
4. Friends who trust me enough to tell me what is going on in their lives. - It feels good to be trusted and to know that you can be there for people just like they have been for you.
5. My mom - Moms really are just great! My mom will let me call and cry to her on the phone and just talk to me even though she knows I am being ridiculous.
6. Hello - Don't you love it when you are sitting in class and someone comes up and sits next to you and says "hello" or turns around in their desk just to say "hey." I love that!
7. Peer support - Its good to know that you are not the only person struggling with the latest crazy Aural Skills or Anatomy assignment.
8. Ice cream - BEST COMFORT FOOD EVER!
9. Vampire Diaries with Kristy - Mostly I'm obsessed/grateful for this one because it's time spent with my roommate where we both giggle about all the cute guys on the show and laugh at the relations to Twilight and just spend time together.
10. Eating lunch/dinner with MacKenzie - I love this because MacKenzie is so funny and we laugh like crazy every time we go eat! Best way to spend a meal - the food really doesn't matter when you are in good company.
11. Lauren's recent obsession with Taylor Swift - It is so fun to walk into my room at any point during the day and see Lauren sketching and singing to T Swift.
12. Phil Collins - Yep I'm obsessed! Listening to him right now!
13. Train - I love Train right now too.
14. 70's music - Thank you choir! I cannot wait for this concert!
15. Skype - Skype is great! I got to see my old roomie Shayla and my cousins Kennedy and Jay this week because of Skype. It's great!
16. My rainboots - Pink cheetah print for $7. Can't get much better than that!
17. Letters - I love getting mail! One of the best parts about having so many friends/family on missions is all the letters! So great!! That and of course the fact that they are serving the Lord.
18. Being able to talk to my brother - My brother left for Korea on Wednesday and so I got to talk to him for a few minutes while he was in the airport. He said a prayer in Korean and it was SO cool!
19. My blanket that my mom made for me and my teddy bear from my grandma - I just love cuddling up with them!
20. Choir & Music Therapy Ensemble - I have such great friends in both of these classes and I can just let go and be a bit crazy and have fun in both. Great friends + Fun = My favorite classes.
21. My summer job and that now I won't be going by myself - I am so excited to go to New York and to be a counselor (and maybe a music teacher) at Camp Huntington! And Sydnie got a job there too so now I don't have to go alone! I am so excited!!
22. An enthusiastic pianist - I am the Relief Society chorister at church and we got a new pianist and she gets really into the songs and plays them with a lot of enthusiasm and it's great because when she plays that way the Relief Society sings that way too and it's a lot more enjoyable!
23. My ipod - sometimes I tune out the world. Sad but true! I like rocking out to my own music sometimes!
24. Cooking - I've done some experimental cooking within the last week or so and it was very fun! The meal plan is great but I do enjoy cooking every once in a while.
25. My car - I like having the ability to leave if I need to. Especially since I'm now the only roommate with a car.
26. Awkward people - I love awkward people! They are just so fun to be around and to talk to! I'll admit I'm an awkward person sometimes.... maybe that's why I love them so much!
27. Thursdays - I have a class at 9 and a class at 10:30 and then I'm done by 11:10. It's nice to have a day without too many classes
28. Orange - Orange stuff makes me smile. I see a person in a bright orange coat or an orange backpack and it makes me happy.
29. The shower - Showers are great! I don't have anything else to say about it.
30. Best friends - The ones who you can go a long time without seeing and then when you do see each other again it's like there was no time in between. The ones who somehow always know when to call or send a text saying something sweet. The ones that you've been through a lot with and who will be there for you even if they are angry with you. I'm related to some of these friends of mine and I'm not related to some of them. Thank you to those people! You are great!

I think it's healthy to write lists of things you're grateful for every once in a while. For myself, I know that I sometimes need to step back and look at all blessings that I've been given and to say thank you -- both to those who are the blessings, and to Heavenly Father for giving them to me. In my institute class we talked about tender mercies from the Lord. Little blessings. Things that we take for granted sometimes. I challenge anyone who actually reads this blog to write a list for yourself. Let those people who are blessings in your life know it, and remind yourself about all you've been given. It's a good thing and it makes you feel great! (I speak from experience)

Roommate Girls Night

How do you throw the perfect girls night? This was the question that ran through the minds of my roommates Kristy, Mackenze, and I last night. I decided to Google girls night essentials. Google said:

Things You'll Need:

• cups
• pitcher
• alcohol
• soda
• chick flick

....um yeah. The alcohol part didn't really fly but we figured this was a good start.

Next step: Walmart run. Kristy and I went to Walmart to pick up the needed girls night items. We spent about $25 on candy, Orange Julius ingredients, ice cream, and cookies. Good start? We thought so. Were we done yet? No way! When we got back to the apartment we decided that we needed a good movie and pizza. While Kristy was chatting on the phone, Mackenzie and I went on the search for the "movie." What movie you may ask? Mama Mia, of course!! After a few stops, we found it. Movie - check. Pizza - ________. Lucky for us, USU gives out coupon books to the students. And guess what one of the most common coupons is for..... Pizza! Perfect? Yes. So we went through the coupons and picked our perfect match. Fox's Den Pizza. One large pizza, breadsticks, and a 20 oz. fountain drink for $9.99. Here is where we encountered our first problem. Who would call the pizza place to make our order? ....turns out it was me. [random side note: I HATE calling people on the phone.....] So after one of the most awkward phone conversations of my life we had the pizza ordered. 35 minutes to wait. Now what do we do? Break out the drinks! I must admit, I make a killer Orange Julius. We even rimmed our glasses with sugar to make them look fancy. Yummy!! *knock on the door* Pizza is here!! I hope the delivery man is cute!! .....nope. Let's just say that I didn't find my prince charming that night. With pizza in hand, now it's really time to party! We start the girls night playlist and eat more calories than should be allowed. We watched Mama Mia and Stardust. And by the time these two movies were finished, it was about two in the morning. Guess what we did next.... yep, we went to bed. Our girls night wasn't an all-nighter but I think it was still a great success!! Thanks girls!

How Long Is This Supposed To Take??

ac·cli·mate

verb
\ˈa-klə-ˌmāt; ə-ˈklī-mət, -ˌmāt\

ac·cli·mat·edac·cli·mat·ing

Definition of ACCLIMATE

transitive verb

: to adapt to a new temperature, altitude, climate, environment, or situation

So I've been in Logan for a little over a semester now and I'm just wondering when I'm supposed to "acclimate." I thought things were going pretty well.... That is until I walked outside this morning and got hit by the Logan cold breeze. BURRRR!!!!! It's the clear blue sky days, the ones that look so inviting, that surprise me every time!

Mother Nature... you got me again.

Sometimes it's just what you need.

My dear friend Lauren Cottle posted this and I just love it so much that I decided to share.

"It was meant to be that life would be a challenge. To suffer some anxiety, some depression, some disappointment, even some failure is normal.
Teach our members that if they have a good, miserable day once in a while, or several in a row, to stand steady and face them. Things will straighten out. There is great purpose in our struggle in life."
-Elder Boyd K. Packer

And this is just something else that I found that I think fits perfectly along with it.

"Our Heavenly Father, who loves us completely and perfectly, permits us to have experiences that will allow us to develop the traits and attributes we need to become more and more Christlike. Our trials come in many forms, but each will allow us to become more like the Savior as we learn to recognize the good that comes from each experience. As we understand this doctrine, we gain greater assurance of our Father’s love. We may never know in this life why we face what we do, but we can feel confident that we can grow from the experience."
-James B. Martino

2010 In Review

Wow what a year! This has definitely been one of the big ones for me! I decided I would do a little year in review for my blog but I decided to do it with pictures instead of writing it all out. I know I can't possibly put up all the pictures but I figured that a few here and there will have to do. Enjoy :)

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