Slothful

Enjoy:

A Call to Class

I feel like I never hear the end of girls begging for guys to be gentlemanly. How often have I heard girls complain that guys don't treat them with respect, don't open doors, that "chivalry is dead"? Every time girls watch the movies set in a time when men courted ladies and took them for walks and asked their father if they could date their daughter and wore lapels, girls swoon. We're goners, I tell you. Yes, we. I would be lying if I said I didn't do all the things listed above.

Call me old-fashioned, I suppose. If I had to name my opinion on dating, it would probably sound very old-fashioned to people. Personally, I like to call it being classy.

I mean, yes. By all means, we girls need to flirt. We can't stay hidden in our rooms watching re-runs of "Once Upon A Time" and "Young Victoria" over and over again with our roommates, then expect our complaints about no men in our lives to be valid. I'll be the first to admit I struggle right there.

We should make sure guys know we are available. We need to get this idea out of our head that romances will always start like they do in the movies - sudden eye contact, a demure little smile, and suddenly he's taking you on endless dates (which all ends with a big misunderstanding that is resolved in the middle of a thunderstorm/traffic jam/work presentation). That's not how it works, ladies. In fact, I think that in most cases, if that happened to you in real life, many girls would find it sufficiently "creepy" (a word that is good for an entirely different blog post, because we girls have started using it way too much).

But. I also believe that if the girl is letting the guy know she's open to dating, the guy should, for the most part, make the first moves.

Call me crazy.

The problem is, not everyone agrees with this. The problem is, there are plenty of girls out there who are willing to throw themselves at any man that walks past. The problem is, so many guys are used to the idea of not having to do any work, and getting all the benefits. Yes, not all guys - please don't think I'm making a huge generalization here. I know there are exceptions, but let's not pretend there hasn't been an increase in this mentality, and a huge predicament has arisen.

I saw this on pinterest tonight:

via

Interesting, huh?

Boy, this got me thinking. And it's totally right.

Yes, guys need to improve. But yes, girls need to improve, too. We can't expect to have these incredible "gentlemen" lining up to meet us if we don't act like ladies ourselves. I'm not saying we have to wear dresses all the time, not have opinions, and stop voting - no, I think we've progressed in wonderful ways over the past century.

But how can we expect men to treat us with respect if we don't even treat ourselves with respect?

That's why I wrote this whole things, kiddos. Because I think we need to bring a little more class back into our society. I want you to start acting like you're a gentleman if you're a guy - open doors, take girls out on dates, be sincere, don't objectify, and show respect.

And if you're a girl, you better add some more class to your life and stop whining. I don't want to hear about your woes with boys that don't treat you with respect if you don't treat yourself with respect. Show them that you deserve it. Treat your body with respect so they will too.

Don't give them any room to possibly think of you in any other way than what you are - a lady.

cake, the HP way

Once upon a time I loved Harry Potter.

I mean, present tense - love. But since we're talking about a time in the past here, we'll stay in the proper tense.

Also, for several years now, I've had a birthday once a year! Crazy, it's like I'm some freak of nature.

Okay okay. So obviously I have the coolest friends, right? Because they put two and two together:

16th Birthday:

17th Birthday:

18th Birthday:

The 16th and 17th birthday treats were made by my friend Kendra, who is exceedingly awesome and does things like this for all their friends on their birthdays (and incidentally, if you meander on over to her blog, you will find a post about some of those cakes. which really isn't very incidental at all if you think about it, because i obviously just read it and was reminded of the fact that i've never shared the beauty of my cakes with my blog stalker friends yet).

The 18th was made by my friend Carlie, and had an entire full-swing surprise party to go along with it (complete with Quidditch, of course).

Now you might begin to glimpse how awesome my friends are. Do I feel some jealous animosity?

Bed

In order to cure myself of this terrible disease I have called Naprastination, I am not allowed on my bed during the day time.

You see, I have a good amount of free time once my classes finish each day. And by free time I don't mean really free as in I don't have any homework. Because I definitely have homework still.

But.

Instead of spending my free time, you know, doing homework, I just take a nap.

Lots of naps. Really long ones. Really really great ones.

But then I get to bed later because I've taken a nap and am not very tired. So then when I wake up at 6:30 for my 8 o'clock class, I've only gotten 4 to 5 hours of sleep. My body doesn't protest much, though, because it's expecting a nap later in the day.

And oh, for shame, I give in.

Until this week. I have now started being on my computer ONLY at the desk.

I am not allowed to sit on my bed.

I am not allowed naps.

I have to get to bed early.

It's worked fairly well so far, except today I was really dumb and decided to do some reading on the bed. Not IN it, because I knew for sure that I'd be a goner in 7 seconds. But just... you know, perched on top of the covers. I kept drifting off.

And I have been a little bit drowsy in my English class. Which is terrible, since it's one of my harder classes (I actually have to work at English again).

Anyway.

Guess what's calling my name right now?

You got it, my bed.

I will resist.

Always

Sometimes, I am overcome with the immensity of the world around me, and depth that I cannot even begin to fathom. I am so complex. Me. That simple word carries with it so much meaning, for me. Meaning for me that is different for others, for people do not view me in the same way I view myself. Perception.

It can be overwhelming to think about the complexity and depth in my life. What experiences have shaped me, what trials have refined me, what people have influenced me. Who I have loved and who has loved me. I am a book that never ends, but continues on and on at a consistent rate. I am not capable of writing this book, because even I do not understand myself. And then there is the complexity of my existence before I came to Earth, something I will not fully grasp for some time.

I heard a girl describe it as a movie. Almost every human being I interact with is just an extra in this movie of my life. But then, everyone has a movie of their life. All those extras are the leads in their movie called Life. And to them, I am nothing more than an extra. So quickly I try to understand the depth behind each person I see, the complexity behind their life. I fail, of course, because I am human. I cannot understand. My mind is soon overflowing with ideas of Marriott Centers full of extras and 7 billion movies being made right now. Some are just beginning, some have reached the calming resolution, the falling action. But no matter what point of the movie we are at right now, it's going. And it's not going to stop.

Despite the vast number of people on this planet, the vast number of movies being made, I am loved. I am known. Me, a complicated girl who doesn't even understand her own feelings well enough to write a book. I have a Heavenly Father who loves me and knows me right down to the white birthmark by my collarbone. And he knows you too. Do you hear me?

He knows you.

I promise you that. Out of 7 billion people living their lives and starring in their movie, he knows and loves you. He is constantly watching your movie, rooting for you all the way.

It saddens me to see people who don't understand this. People who lose hope because of loneliness, who forget their potential, who doubt the loving God who created them. I yearn to reach out to these people and show them how happy they can be, to explain to them the incredible exalted state they can eventually obtain. I hurt for them when this is not understood.

It is easy to blame God when things go wrong. So simple to turn tearfully away from him, saying, "How could you do this to me? I thought you were good. I thought you were loving. I thought you cared about me. I can't understand why you would ever let this happen."

What needs to be understood is that God does not forces these cruelties upon us. These trials help us, it's true. But the mentality that God is taking each one and putting it before us needs to be put aside.

We live in a fallen world. Things will be hard no matter how good we try to be. In fact, it seems the better we try to be, the harder things will turn out. The wicked and the hardships and the temptations will hit us hard, they will try to pull us down and lead us away from true happiness. Let us not forget that God has provided a way out for us. The way is his son, Jesus Christ. The means are his eternal and infinite atonement. An atonement that makes it possible to be understood.

People complain that no one understands them, and for the most part that is true. We've all been in a situation where we attempt to describe a hardship to a friend, only to have the response be, "I know how you feel," while they proceed to tell you about some trial they themselves have faced, oftentimes one that seems completely different from the one you are trying to cope with. We have all had times where we wanted nothing more than to interrupt them and say, "No. That is not how I feel. That is not the same situation." Of course, we've been on the other side of that, too. It's natural for us to try to find a relating emotion with offering consolation to a friend.

These comparisons can be so similar they almost seem identical, but they never truly are, due to the people they involve. The depths and complexities of me and my friends will never be exactly the same. So the only person we can truly turn to is Christ. He alone has known exactly what it felt like for you to have that loss, to experience that broken heart.

He won't mistake you for someone else, he won't make a completely unrelated analogy, and he won't ever forget you. He will give you a warm embrace and whisper, "I know." And then He will weep with you.

He is there, and He always will be.

He is not going anywhere.

Fail

The tweets went like this:

@AnnaELewis: My newest attempt to productively finish my homework involves Christmas candy. #watchouthomework

@Sorr20 (roommate): "@AnnaELewis My newest attempt to productively finish my homework involves Christmas candy. #watchouthomework" Your hw isn't scared ;) #failing

@Sorr20: I love my roomie @AnnaELewis & watching her attempt to study.... It always ends in ZZZzzzzZZZ's... #BetterLuckNextTime :)

...yeah.

Of George Albert Smith

"His religion is not doctrine in cold storage. It is not theory. It means more to him than a beautiful plan to be admired. It is more than a philosophy of life. To one of his practical turn of mind, religion is the spirit in which a man lives, in which he does things, if it be only to say a kind word or give a cup of cold water. His religion must find expression in deeds. It must carry over into the details of daily life."

Someday

I will spend a week in the a cabin that is tucked away in a mountain.

I will read, and eat, and that's about it.

Possibly my husband will be there too, and if that's the case, he'll be doing the same.

But for now, I'll just work on this college thing.

Slacker Pass

Yeah, if I had a slacker pass, I'd (virtually) hold it out to all you and have that as an excuse for my hiatus in blogging the past few weeks.

Yeah, well, I don't.

All I have is some weak excuses:

"I had a lot of really important things going on. Things like sleeping and reading books and re-reading other books and eating delicious food and staring at walls."

"My computer was just... sitting there. And the books were next to it... and they won out."

"My mom was sick." (No, this has nothing to do with my lack of blogging, I know.)

"The Christmas tree was nicer to look at than blogger."

"It was my parents' 25th anniversary."

"Christmas."

Yeah, so... we'll just skip those, shall we? Because we both know that I'm not fooling anyone.

I'm pretty lazy.

So, yeah. 2011 came and went. It went by in a whirlwind. Seriously, was it a full year ago that I was sitting in my friend's basement feeling like I was going to throw up and trying to celebrate the new year? Okay yeah that was such a terrible new year's eve. I stayed there until about 12:10, then left and went to bed.

Party animal, you know?

This year I'm going to be better.

I know that sounds like such a vague resolution. And truthfully, it is. But I've worked some of the specifics out in my head, and I will continue to do that. I just don't think I'll post it on the internet for all to see.

Actually, it's not that I'm embarrassed about them, or feel like they're super private or anything, but I just know you don't want to read it.

I just read a multitude of "resolution" lists and "what I learned this year" lists and it bored me out of my mind.

Oh, I mean... no offense if you did that. Total respect to you. It just gets tiring after a while, so I'll save you from this blogger's list.

You're welcome. And bully to you for reading this far! More respect to ya.

Instead, just think about your personal resolutions for the 2012, I guess.

I think I'll go watch a movie now.