Yesterday started off on the wrong foot. I was super cranky for no apparent reason other than the skies were gray. But it ended up being a nice day, full of little surprise blessings!
-I arrived in SLC for my classes only a little late but, most importantly, safe after driving through torrential rain!
-One of my late classes was cancelled so I got to go home early, which ended up being a HUGE blessing since it turned out I had forgotten to turn off my lights and the car's battery was dead! So glad I didn't have to deal with that in the dark!!!
-Grandpa lives close enough to come help me when the car stalled, and it didn't take too long to jump-start the little Mazda Miata. Such a wonderful Grandpa!!!
-The rain stopped just long enough to jump-start the car so we didn't have to get wet.
-I made it back safely in spite of the rain pummeling the freeway on the way home.
-Sweet Bain made dinner (and smoothies) for me.
-We decided that watching a movie to relax was a "good" enough excuse to stay up past bedtime
-Nice evening with my best friend. :).
Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Saturday, May 18, 2013
Dishes Puzzle
Call me crazy, but I enjoy washing dishes. It's relaxing. But my favorite part is organizing dishes on the rack for drying. I can fit a TON of dishes in a tiny space (see below for proof). Trying to fit dishes onto a tiny rack feels a lot like putting together a jigsaw puzzle, and I've always loved putting together puzzles. For the first few years of college I worked as a supervisor in the MTC dish room Smelly? Definitely. That was the worst part. Gross? Sometimes. Fun? Oh yeah!!! We had much more fun than anyone else in the cafeteria did! It was there in the MTC dish room that I discovered how relaxing washing dishes can be. It was also there that I perfected the art of squishing tons of dishes into very small spaces. :)
It's hard to tell from these pictures how many dishes there are stacked up on this one little rack. But trust me, it's a lot! Just ask John!!!
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Together Again
The Robinson Clan is together again for the summer! The exciting thing is that with Alyssa graduating from High School in a couple weeks, we'll all be in the same singles ward! Yesterday we walked in the rain to an El Salvadorian restaurant to get Pupusas to eat, yum!!!! On our way back we stopped by Brad's favorite shop ever, the Great Salt Lake Guitar Factory. Great day!!! :)
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Books & Little Girls
Recently John and I read an excellent article entitled "How To Talk to Little Girls" by Lisa Bloom In this article, Lisa Bloom points out the fallacies in our typical interactions with little girls. She points out that in our conversations with little girls, we often tell them how cute they look, focusing on appearances and teaching little girls that we value how they look. She points out the consequences of emphasizing appearances:
"Teaching girls that their appearance is the first thing you notice tells them that looks are more important than anything. It sets them up for dieting at age 5 and foundation at age 11 and boob jobs at 17 and Botox at 23. As our cultural imperative for girls to be hot 24/7 has become the new normal, American women have become increasingly unhappy. What's missing? A life of meaning, a life of ideas and reading books and being valued for our thoughts and accomplishments."
After reading the article, I realized that Lisa is correct. I work with children and adolescents at an acute psychiatric hospital, and many of them have an unhealthy focus on their appearances. Some of them have eating disorders or disturbances, and many of them fixate on looking a certain way or being perceived as "hot" or "sexy". Instead of placing their self-worth on the mind, or positive personality traits, many of these girls place their self-worth simply on how they look. This negatively impacts their self-esteem and self-identity. To combat this, Lisa makes the following suggestions:
"So, one tiny bit of opposition to a culture that sends all the wrong messages to our girls. One tiny nudge towards valuing female brains. One brief moment of intentional role modeling. Will my few minutes with Maya change our multibillion dollar beauty industry, reality shows that demean women, our celebrity-manic culture? No. But I did change Maya's perspective for at least that evening.
"Teaching girls that their appearance is the first thing you notice tells them that looks are more important than anything. It sets them up for dieting at age 5 and foundation at age 11 and boob jobs at 17 and Botox at 23. As our cultural imperative for girls to be hot 24/7 has become the new normal, American women have become increasingly unhappy. What's missing? A life of meaning, a life of ideas and reading books and being valued for our thoughts and accomplishments."
After reading the article, I realized that Lisa is correct. I work with children and adolescents at an acute psychiatric hospital, and many of them have an unhealthy focus on their appearances. Some of them have eating disorders or disturbances, and many of them fixate on looking a certain way or being perceived as "hot" or "sexy". Instead of placing their self-worth on the mind, or positive personality traits, many of these girls place their self-worth simply on how they look. This negatively impacts their self-esteem and self-identity. To combat this, Lisa makes the following suggestions:
"So, one tiny bit of opposition to a culture that sends all the wrong messages to our girls. One tiny nudge towards valuing female brains. One brief moment of intentional role modeling. Will my few minutes with Maya change our multibillion dollar beauty industry, reality shows that demean women, our celebrity-manic culture? No. But I did change Maya's perspective for at least that evening.
"Try this the next time you meet a little girl. She may be surprised and unsure at first, because few ask her about her mind, but be patient and stick with it. Ask her what she's reading. What does she like and dislike, and why? There are no wrong answers. You're just generating an intelligent conversation that respects her brain. For older girls, ask her about current events issues: pollution, wars, school budgets slashed. What bothers her out there in the world? How would she fix it if she had a magic wand? You may get some intriguing answers. Tell her about your ideas and accomplishments and your favorite books. Model for her what a thinking woman says and does."
For the last couple of months I've made a conscious effort to attempt this. During my interactions at work and with little girls in the neighborhood and community, I've been asking about what they are reading. However, I haven't limited this to little girls, I've also been asking the little boys at work what they are reading and what they like about what they read. The first time I asked the question to the children at work, there were mixed reactions. Some of the children were really excited to talk about the books they were reading, while others didn't know how to respond--perhaps they had never been asked the question before.
One particularly poignant reaction was from a little girl who had been sexually molested at a very young age. Although she's only 8 or 9 years old, she is constantly striving to act and be treated as if she is 17 or 18 years old. However, her perspective on how older women act has been very skewed by her life experiences. She believes that to be a teenager or adult, she must be "sexy". She constantly checks her appearance in the mirror, tries to sway her hips as she walks, and dances as "sexy" as possible to the music playing. She talks about who she thinks is "hot" and which boys she wants to kiss. I always try to steer the conversation away from these topics, but have never been successful. Until I asked this little girl what she was reading.
At first the little girl was surprised that I asked her what she was reading, but then her face lit up! With a huge grin she told me she's reading "Mrs. Piggle Wiggle's Farm". I grew up reading Mrs. Piggle Wiggle, and I love those books. We talked about the book and what a funny person Mrs. Piggle Wiggle is for a full 15 minutes! It was incredible to see the difference it made by simply asking this little girl what she is reading.
Some days the kids at work aren't reading anything, and sometimes it's hard for them to focus on having a real conversation about the mind. However, I am going to keep trying, keep asking them about what they are reading, what they like about it and why. I want to promote placing value on the mind beginning when girls are young to help change the culture of sex being placed on women in society.
For the last couple of months I've made a conscious effort to attempt this. During my interactions at work and with little girls in the neighborhood and community, I've been asking about what they are reading. However, I haven't limited this to little girls, I've also been asking the little boys at work what they are reading and what they like about what they read. The first time I asked the question to the children at work, there were mixed reactions. Some of the children were really excited to talk about the books they were reading, while others didn't know how to respond--perhaps they had never been asked the question before.
One particularly poignant reaction was from a little girl who had been sexually molested at a very young age. Although she's only 8 or 9 years old, she is constantly striving to act and be treated as if she is 17 or 18 years old. However, her perspective on how older women act has been very skewed by her life experiences. She believes that to be a teenager or adult, she must be "sexy". She constantly checks her appearance in the mirror, tries to sway her hips as she walks, and dances as "sexy" as possible to the music playing. She talks about who she thinks is "hot" and which boys she wants to kiss. I always try to steer the conversation away from these topics, but have never been successful. Until I asked this little girl what she was reading.
At first the little girl was surprised that I asked her what she was reading, but then her face lit up! With a huge grin she told me she's reading "Mrs. Piggle Wiggle's Farm". I grew up reading Mrs. Piggle Wiggle, and I love those books. We talked about the book and what a funny person Mrs. Piggle Wiggle is for a full 15 minutes! It was incredible to see the difference it made by simply asking this little girl what she is reading.
Some days the kids at work aren't reading anything, and sometimes it's hard for them to focus on having a real conversation about the mind. However, I am going to keep trying, keep asking them about what they are reading, what they like about it and why. I want to promote placing value on the mind beginning when girls are young to help change the culture of sex being placed on women in society.
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Change
My final semester at BYU is drawing to a close, and I'm faced with a lot of decisions concerning my future. While I am excited to conclude my undergraduate education, and I'm excited to enter a new chapter of my life, change is also intimidating.
I work at the Utah State Hospital, an acute psychiatric inpatient care facility, and this morning I was reading an article written by the superintendent. In this article, he discussed change in our individual lives, pointing out that so often we forget the very thing we discuss with our patients to help them deal with change: change can be a great opportunity for growth and happiness.
I'd like to share a couple of quotes which the superintendent shared which were particularly poignant. The first of these quotes is by a philosopher who said, "If nothing changes, nothing changes." This is so obvous!!! Why is it so easy to forget that if we want our life to change, we have to CHANGE!!!!? We can't expect to retain the same routine and have changes for good, we must make changes to have change in our life!
The next quote is by Elbert Hubbard, who points out that: "The greatest mistake you can make in life is to be continually fearing you will make one." Sometimes I get caught up in worrying that I will make the wrong decision. I procrastinate make a decision for long periods of time, only to miss out on opportunity. Sometimes in the future I look back at a decision I feared to make and laugh at my own fear. I can see the good that has come from making a decision, and I sometimes wish I wouldn't have wasted so much time worrying about the decision.
A leap of faith is exactly what it sounds like--a stretch! Yes, it is uncomfortable, and yes it can even be painful. But when we make the changes necessary to change without fearing we will make the wronge decision, we will make progress in our lives. We will experience blessings and opportunities. And we will ultimately find growth and joy resulting from change.
A leap of faith is exactly what it sounds like--a stretch! Yes, it is uncomfortable, and yes it can even be painful. But when we make the changes necessary to change without fearing we will make the wronge decision, we will make progress in our lives. We will experience blessings and opportunities. And we will ultimately find growth and joy resulting from change.
Friday, March 22, 2013
Spring Snow
The 2nd day of spring began pretty miserably--grey, cold, snow, and backslides. But then I noticed that underneath the snow, the first blossoms of spring are peeking out!!! Winter ends and spring begins, habits are broken and new ones are formed, difficult times turn into blessings in disguise. It just takes time. And it will be worth the wait.
Thursday, March 14, 2013
The Opening and Closing of Doors
Sometimes I lose my perspective.
Sometimes I don't know where perspective has gone, or how to get it back, I just feel discouraged.
Sometimes life falls perfectly into place, but more often than not life can be a struggle.
The last few weeks have that way for me, it felt like every door I expected to go through has been closed. Since high school, I have wanted to study physical therapy for graduate school. I am finally graduating with my undergraduate degree in exercise science and German from BYU this April. During the fall semester, I spent a lot of time and money applying for graduate school only to not be accepted. Of course I was upset, angry, disappointed and discouraged.
At the same time, contrary to what my mind was thinking, I felt at peace with the results. I felt that everything is taking place for a reason. Although I felt like God is in charge and everything will work out, I've had a lot of ups and downs as far as my emotions and acceptance of it all go.
A couple of weeks ago my awesome home teacher shared a general conference talk with me. In it President Howard W. Hunter talks about the opening and closing of doors--what to do when one opportunity is closed and another opens. He says the following on the subject:
"Where one door shuts, another opens, even for a prophet in prison. We are not always wise enough nor experienced enough to judge adequately all of the possible entries and exits. The mansion that God prepares for each of his beloved children may have only certain hallways and banisters, special carpets and curtains that he would have us pass on our way to possess it.
"At various times in our lives, probably at repeated times in our lives, we do have to acknowledge that God knows what we do not know and sees what we do not see." -President Howard W. Hunter ("The Opening and Closing of Doors" General Conference October 1987)Bir
This talk really hit home. I've been so frustrated that MY plan isn't working out, that I wasn't taking the time to find out what GOD'S plan is for my life. So one door has shut, but another door will open. One of my life's most common lessons is that it is all about timing. Timing is crucial in every aspect of my life, and often God's timing is not the same as my own timing.
This last week I finally stopped moping and decided to DO something to move forward and progress in my life. I've been looking more seriously into my options, though it sometimes feels overwhelming because there are so many options! Which physical therapy programs should I apply to or reapply to in the fall? Should I apply for alternative graduate programs as well? Is there a different career path I should pursue? What should I do this summer to prepare for graduate school? Should I find another part time job, retake some classes, find another internship, or should I shadow different health professionals?
One thing I do know for certain, is that everything will somehow work out. Someday at a time and in a place I will look back and see the blessings which have come from the closed doors. I will see the doors which opened permitting roads and journeys which have led to my growth, development and happiness. I once posted my favorite poem on this blog, but as it is relevant to this topic I will post it again.
The Road Not Taken
Sometimes I don't know where perspective has gone, or how to get it back, I just feel discouraged.
Sometimes life falls perfectly into place, but more often than not life can be a struggle.
The last few weeks have that way for me, it felt like every door I expected to go through has been closed. Since high school, I have wanted to study physical therapy for graduate school. I am finally graduating with my undergraduate degree in exercise science and German from BYU this April. During the fall semester, I spent a lot of time and money applying for graduate school only to not be accepted. Of course I was upset, angry, disappointed and discouraged.
At the same time, contrary to what my mind was thinking, I felt at peace with the results. I felt that everything is taking place for a reason. Although I felt like God is in charge and everything will work out, I've had a lot of ups and downs as far as my emotions and acceptance of it all go.
A couple of weeks ago my awesome home teacher shared a general conference talk with me. In it President Howard W. Hunter talks about the opening and closing of doors--what to do when one opportunity is closed and another opens. He says the following on the subject:
"Where one door shuts, another opens, even for a prophet in prison. We are not always wise enough nor experienced enough to judge adequately all of the possible entries and exits. The mansion that God prepares for each of his beloved children may have only certain hallways and banisters, special carpets and curtains that he would have us pass on our way to possess it.
"At various times in our lives, probably at repeated times in our lives, we do have to acknowledge that God knows what we do not know and sees what we do not see." -President Howard W. Hunter ("The Opening and Closing of Doors" General Conference October 1987)Bir
This talk really hit home. I've been so frustrated that MY plan isn't working out, that I wasn't taking the time to find out what GOD'S plan is for my life. So one door has shut, but another door will open. One of my life's most common lessons is that it is all about timing. Timing is crucial in every aspect of my life, and often God's timing is not the same as my own timing.
This last week I finally stopped moping and decided to DO something to move forward and progress in my life. I've been looking more seriously into my options, though it sometimes feels overwhelming because there are so many options! Which physical therapy programs should I apply to or reapply to in the fall? Should I apply for alternative graduate programs as well? Is there a different career path I should pursue? What should I do this summer to prepare for graduate school? Should I find another part time job, retake some classes, find another internship, or should I shadow different health professionals?
One thing I do know for certain, is that everything will somehow work out. Someday at a time and in a place I will look back and see the blessings which have come from the closed doors. I will see the doors which opened permitting roads and journeys which have led to my growth, development and happiness. I once posted my favorite poem on this blog, but as it is relevant to this topic I will post it again.
The Road Not Taken
By Robert Frost
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the ones less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
Life is full of unexpected twists, turns, struggles, but also unforeseen joys. I am grateful for some of the positive turns my life has taken during the last couple of months. I am also very grateful for the wonderful friends and people who I have in my life. I am looking forward to seeing the roads which my choices now will lead me along. I am excited to see the doors which will open during the next year as I continue to prepare for the future.
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