A few nights ago Alex and I stayed up talking until well after midnight. We were talking about how interesting it is that we feel so close as roommates despite the fact that we communicate so much less with each other than we did with past roommates. How, when we barely talk to each other, could we have become friends so fast?
Alex made two points I had never really thought about:
First, we've come to know each other by simply watching each other. We see what we're like by what we do. We don't judge each other from frivolous conversations about the weather or school. You see someone do the dishes, and you are so grateful. Someone gives you a hug because you look down, and you love them more for it. We're more observant.
Second, it is REALLY hard for us to do anything when talking to each other. I'm starting to get to the point where I can listen to music and still understand what someone is signing to me. But reading a book, doing homework, making dinner, etc., is very hard to do while someone is talking to you. When one of us starts to talk, everyone stops what they are doing to focus on them. We pay attention, because we have to. So often we talk to people while they are watching a movie or reading a book, and they only half listen and respond. I'm guilty of that. However, here we "listen" to each other because we need to, and it makes such a difference in our relationships with each other.
I won't always live here, but I hope I can carry those lessons with me for life: the importance of observing the actions of others and showing gratitude, and focusing on others when they are trying to communicate with me.
I am so grateful for the opportunity to live with such wonderful friends!
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Burning Meeting.......uhhhhh....I mean Fireside
Last Sunday we had the opportunity to attend a fireside at the Marriott Center with Elder Oaks and his wife as the speakers. We sat down by the Deaf/Hard of Hearing section so we could watch the interpreter. It was a lot of fun! I picked up some new vocabulary (such as tolerance and patience). Both talks were wonderful.
The closing hymn sung by the choir was "I believe in Christ". Watching the interpreter sign the song was beautiful. Afterward we went home to a wonderful meal that Alex cooked for us!
At the end of each day we have roommate prayer. I still remember when Rebekah, Alex, Destiny and I met so I could show them what the Alta apartments looked like. We gathered in the laundry room at the end to pray together about how we felt. Destiny said the prayer. I understood about 2%...maybe less. Now, with each of us taking turns praying, I understand closer to 95%.
After that we have a group hug (with Darci hitting all of our heads w/ her hand), followed by a cheer Destiny taught us. It wasn't until a week after we started the tradition that I realized the cheer involves our hands being in the "I love you" shape.
I love my roommates!
The closing hymn sung by the choir was "I believe in Christ". Watching the interpreter sign the song was beautiful. Afterward we went home to a wonderful meal that Alex cooked for us!
At the end of each day we have roommate prayer. I still remember when Rebekah, Alex, Destiny and I met so I could show them what the Alta apartments looked like. We gathered in the laundry room at the end to pray together about how we felt. Destiny said the prayer. I understood about 2%...maybe less. Now, with each of us taking turns praying, I understand closer to 95%.
After that we have a group hug (with Darci hitting all of our heads w/ her hand), followed by a cheer Destiny taught us. It wasn't until a week after we started the tradition that I realized the cheer involves our hands being in the "I love you" shape.
I love my roommates!
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Darci and I
Tuesday evening I really wanted to hike the Y, but didn't really want to go by myself. Darci is training for a marathon, so she decided to run to the base of the hike and meet me somewhere on the trail.
By the time we met the sun had already set. We sat on the Y looking out over the night lights of Provo. It was gorgeous. The Provo Temple really stands out. It was so peaceful and quiet.
Valerie met Darci on Monday and described her as being "Such a delightful person!" I would have to agree with that description. She is just so nice and so sweet! It was fun spending more time with her.
I love my roommates!
By the time we met the sun had already set. We sat on the Y looking out over the night lights of Provo. It was gorgeous. The Provo Temple really stands out. It was so peaceful and quiet.
Valerie met Darci on Monday and described her as being "Such a delightful person!" I would have to agree with that description. She is just so nice and so sweet! It was fun spending more time with her.
I love my roommates!
Monday, September 5, 2011
Talent time
Yesterday Darci and I were having fun playing our guitars together. She would even occasionally switch over to her ukulele. Destiny played along with us for awhile as well, and then Rebekah tried to learn how to play a bit. Destiny kept apologizing and saying it had been a long time since she last played the guitar and that she preferred the piano.
Today is Labor Day, so we've been home doing homework for far too long. We decided to take a break and listen to Destiny play the piano. She is AMAZING!! Darci sang along as well, and her voice is gorgeous!
We decided that someday we're going to have a talent night and all of the roommates can perform. I personally think we should start a band.
Roommate bonding
Last night after Ward Break the Fast my roommates and I drove up to near the Temple. Destiny has a friend who lives right next to it, so with permission we spread out blankets and sat on the lawn with an incredible view of the Temple and impending sunset.
Together we talked about what we'd discussed in Church (which was how we knew God loved us, and how we felt when we thought about it). Afterwards Destiny invited each of us to share how we had gained our testimonies. What an amazing experience! It was so wonderful to share with each other our struggles and doubts, and how the Lord guided us in so many ways.
It was so peaceful. There's something so profoundly powerful about the beauty of silence. We were able to share our faith and our love for God without adding our voices to the surrounding noises of the occasional car or passerby.
The view was amazing! As the sun set the Temple was surrounded by picturesque hues of pink, blue, and gray on the horizon; the mountains surrounding everything.
What wonderful roommates I have! As Destiny said yesterday, perhaps the Lord didn't bring us together so that we could learn ASL. Perhaps He brought us together because we have so much to learn from each other. I think she might be right.
Together we talked about what we'd discussed in Church (which was how we knew God loved us, and how we felt when we thought about it). Afterwards Destiny invited each of us to share how we had gained our testimonies. What an amazing experience! It was so wonderful to share with each other our struggles and doubts, and how the Lord guided us in so many ways.
It was so peaceful. There's something so profoundly powerful about the beauty of silence. We were able to share our faith and our love for God without adding our voices to the surrounding noises of the occasional car or passerby.
The view was amazing! As the sun set the Temple was surrounded by picturesque hues of pink, blue, and gray on the horizon; the mountains surrounding everything.
What wonderful roommates I have! As Destiny said yesterday, perhaps the Lord didn't bring us together so that we could learn ASL. Perhaps He brought us together because we have so much to learn from each other. I think she might be right.
Sunday, September 4, 2011
A new chapter in my life has begun...
Last winter semester I started receiving e-mails from Rebekah about the possibility of creating an ASL House. A desire to learn ASL has been growing in me since I was 11, having learned basic phrases during an Achievement Day activity. I was excited at this new opportunity, and a correspondence began that resulted in the apartment I live in today.
As the end of summer approached my nervousness grew. I knew communicating in only ASL would be just as hard as communicating in Spanish when I first moved into the Spanish House had been. When I met Darci for the first time, I asked her if she was scared or excited to start using ASL all the time. Her response--"I'm terrified!" I had to laugh; it mirrored my feelings exactly.
But what an amazing experience it has been so far!! My vocabulary has grown, my grammar is slowly starting to improve (very slowly), and my eyes are being opened more and more to the beauty of Deaf Culture.
There are six of us living together, all pretty basic ASL students except for Destiny who has been studying to become an ASL interpreter most of her life.
Oftentimes when people seem a little uncomfortable when they meet someone who is hard of hearing. They're not sure how to act, who to look at, etc....At first it kind of annoyed me. Then it saddened me. Then I realized that I had been just like them a few years ago. Even a few months ago to be honest. It's always uncomfortable to not understand what is happening and not know how to communicate with someone. That's why I love learning languages. I love removing that barrier.
All in all, I am so excited for this semester! The frustrations of not being able to fully express ourselves or completely understand each other as roommates will be far outweighed by the appreciation for and understanding of Deaf Culture and ASL that we will gain, the experiences that we will have, and the love that we are developing for each other through this experience. Already I feel like we are a family.
As the end of summer approached my nervousness grew. I knew communicating in only ASL would be just as hard as communicating in Spanish when I first moved into the Spanish House had been. When I met Darci for the first time, I asked her if she was scared or excited to start using ASL all the time. Her response--"I'm terrified!" I had to laugh; it mirrored my feelings exactly.
But what an amazing experience it has been so far!! My vocabulary has grown, my grammar is slowly starting to improve (very slowly), and my eyes are being opened more and more to the beauty of Deaf Culture.
There are six of us living together, all pretty basic ASL students except for Destiny who has been studying to become an ASL interpreter most of her life.
Oftentimes when people seem a little uncomfortable when they meet someone who is hard of hearing. They're not sure how to act, who to look at, etc....At first it kind of annoyed me. Then it saddened me. Then I realized that I had been just like them a few years ago. Even a few months ago to be honest. It's always uncomfortable to not understand what is happening and not know how to communicate with someone. That's why I love learning languages. I love removing that barrier.
All in all, I am so excited for this semester! The frustrations of not being able to fully express ourselves or completely understand each other as roommates will be far outweighed by the appreciation for and understanding of Deaf Culture and ASL that we will gain, the experiences that we will have, and the love that we are developing for each other through this experience. Already I feel like we are a family.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
God's will...
"But may thy will be done, and not mine..."
It seems like such a classic phrase of many prayers. We ask for what we want, and then we tack that last part on, knowing that everything is ultimately in God's hands. Yet, do we ever stop and think what God's will really is?
God's work and His glory is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. He wants us to become like Him, and for us to enjoy all of the blessings He has to offer. He understands that mortality is a necessary part in our journey to attain perfection, and that the refining trials we face here are indispensable in that learning process (though far from enjoyable for us or for Him). His will is that we might become like Him. He does not take joy in our sufferings or pain. How could a perfect Father in Heaven desire that we should suffer? He would surely take away our pain were it not for the fact that He understands the importance of this mortal experience in shaping and teaching us.
When we allow trials to soften our hearts rather than harden them, the benefits of our trials far outweigh our losses. Christlike attributes such as patience, faith, hope, and charity are developed. Our appreciation for and understanding of God's plan and our Savior's atonement is enlarged. In short, we could not be perfected without life's trials.
Our attitude should not be one of, "may thy will be done, and not mine". God's will is that we might be perfected through the trials of mortality so that we might return to His presence worthy of eternal life. That should be our desire as well; to learn from the curve balls life throws at us and to become perfected through our experiences here on earth.
In trials, I pray not simply that God's will be done, but that I might understand His will, that I might learn from the trials I'm called to go through and become perfected through them. I pray that my will and His will may become one.
It seems like such a classic phrase of many prayers. We ask for what we want, and then we tack that last part on, knowing that everything is ultimately in God's hands. Yet, do we ever stop and think what God's will really is?
God's work and His glory is to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man. He wants us to become like Him, and for us to enjoy all of the blessings He has to offer. He understands that mortality is a necessary part in our journey to attain perfection, and that the refining trials we face here are indispensable in that learning process (though far from enjoyable for us or for Him). His will is that we might become like Him. He does not take joy in our sufferings or pain. How could a perfect Father in Heaven desire that we should suffer? He would surely take away our pain were it not for the fact that He understands the importance of this mortal experience in shaping and teaching us.
When we allow trials to soften our hearts rather than harden them, the benefits of our trials far outweigh our losses. Christlike attributes such as patience, faith, hope, and charity are developed. Our appreciation for and understanding of God's plan and our Savior's atonement is enlarged. In short, we could not be perfected without life's trials.
Our attitude should not be one of, "may thy will be done, and not mine". God's will is that we might be perfected through the trials of mortality so that we might return to His presence worthy of eternal life. That should be our desire as well; to learn from the curve balls life throws at us and to become perfected through our experiences here on earth.
In trials, I pray not simply that God's will be done, but that I might understand His will, that I might learn from the trials I'm called to go through and become perfected through them. I pray that my will and His will may become one.
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