8 Hours

Am I a good student? Sometimes, I don't know. I'm, unfortunately, a huge fan of doing enough work to get a respectable grade but not putting my whole self into the project. I think this comes from 12 years in grade school where I could skate by with little to no studying and end up with pretty decent grades. Did I leave high school with a 4.0? Nope. Do I care? Not really. And sometimes, it makes me wonder if I care ENOUGH.

Well, this summer, I have decided to change that.

While I'm in Cambridge, I have decided to dedicate myself (yes, REALLY dedicate myself) to my studies. Does this mean I won't have fun and know when to take a break? No. It's just that my pattern will be flip-flopped; normally, I play a lot and take a break to study. :) Not this time--I'm determined to put forth an incredible amount of effort, and totally kick butt in my classes. I know I didn't get into this program because of my grades. I got in because of the faith and confidence of my professor, and his stellar recommendation. So, I have decided to live up to his expectations and leave Cambridge feeling like I did everything I possibly could to live up to his recommendation.

To be honest-I'm excited about this adventure. It will be fun to see what I can actually do when I... well, STUDY.

So, Derek and I are going to test out President Brigham Young's advice: 8 hours of sleep, 8 hours of play, and 8 hours of work. Everyday (except Sunday) I will dedicate at least 8 hours of my time to studying.

Ok-I wrote it down.

Now it's official.

Check back with me in a few months, and I'll let you know how it went.

Drop Everything

A fellow student of mine shared this spiritual thought in one of our classes today, from President Boyd K. Packer's talk "Teach the Children." It struck me, because I think a lot of people drop what they're doing to help others. And I hope I can do the same. Here's what David shared:

“Years ago I served on a stake high council with Emery Wight. For 10 years Emery had served as bishop of rural Harper Ward. His wife, Lucille, became our stake Relief Society president.

“Lucille told me that one spring morning a neighbor called at her door and asked for Emery. She told him that he was out plowing. The neighbor then spoke with great concern. Earlier that morning he had passed the field and noticed Emery’s team of horses standing in a half-finished furrow with the reins draped over the plow. Emery was nowhere in sight. The neighbor thought nothing of it until much later when he passed the field again, and the team had not moved. He climbed the fence and crossed the field to the horses. Emery was nowhere to be found. He hurried to the house to check with Lucille.

“Lucille calmly replied, ‘Oh, don’t be alarmed. No doubt someone is in trouble and came to get the bishop.’

“The image of that team of horses standing for hours in the field symbolizes the dedication of the bishops in the Church and of the counselors who stand by their side. Every bishop and every counselor, figuratively speaking, leaves his team standing in an unfinished furrow when someone needs help.”