Information Overload

Image credit: Pam Roth

I don't want you, the reader of this blog, to think that just because I'm the writer means I have to do all the work. Actually, I'm going to put you to work right now. I need you to count the number of movies, albums, and books that were produced, released, and/or published in the year 2009. Oh, and while you're at it, watch, listen to, or read every single movie, album, and book from 2009. Kinda intimidating, huh? You're just lucky that I'm not making you read every new blog and magazine and watch every new TV show and play every new video game.

The point is that the world is full to the brim with all sorts of information and entertainment. I try to keep up with stuff that's going on in the world, but sometimes I get overwhelmed by how much stuff is out there. And since I'm thinking I want to work with books or movies when I grow up, I feel a little wary about adding to the already overflowing pot of entertainment.

Trees in the Wind

Image credit: Sigurd Decroos

A few months ago, a friend got me hooked up with being a substitute aide at a preschool. (Best. Job. Ever.) Before I started, I thought that since the kids were so young (3-5 yrs. old)  the classes would be loosely structured, and the kids would mostly just play the whole time. There was a lot of playing, but the schedule was surprisingly adamant (surprising to me, at least). Every teacher ordered their agendas differently, but they all had the same basic elements (opening circle, snack time, play time, recess, etc.), and each teacher did the same order every day.

My friend told me that the specific schedule was very important, but I didn't believe her until right after spring break. The first few days back were crazy because the kids had gotten used to their at-home or on-vacation schedule and they needed time to get adjusted back to the school schedule. After those few days, I definitely understand how vital routine is to suppress total chaos.

My New Sports Analogy

Image credit: Jason Antony

Lately, I've been thinking about a movie that my bishop had the youth in my ward watch a few years back. (I have to mention my bishop because he said he was worried that I would mention him in my blog, and then I told him I'd be sure to include him at some point.) The movie was Facing the Giants. It's a Christian movie which basically compares the gospel to football. It's a good movie; very inspirational, funny, good morals, etc. In particular, my bishop emphasized a scene where the coach puts a blindfold on one of the players and challenges the player to crawl across as much of the football field as he can with another player on his back. The player ends up crawling across the entire field, and it turns into a teaching moment for the coach.

Anyway, for some reason, I started wondering what I would do if I were in that player's shoes. Let's say that by some miracle I feel a desire to be on a high school football team, I make the team, and I stay on long enough to make it to this moment. Would I crawl across the entire field? I don't think so. You see, towards the end of that player's crawl, the coach gets down into his face and yells at him constantly. "Don't give up! Don't quit! Do your best, your very best!" That would drive me insane. Seriously, I would just drop down and quit right then. Why? Because football is just a game; it's not life and death. That's when I finally understood the main problem I have with sports movies and analogies: sports are not about winning and losing. They're not even about how you play the game.

Mormon Swear Words

Swear words. I remember starting to hear kids say them in the later grades of elementary school. The number of swear words I heard per day peaked during junior high and dipped considerably in high school. But there’s a certain group of words that I’ve heard consistently throughout my entire life: Mormon swear words.

Yeah, that’s right, you know what I’m talking about. Those words that aren’t swear words but sound similar enough that you know what words they’re replacing. If everyone knows exactly what you’re not saying, then are Mormon swear words any better than the actual swear words?

Growing up, my mom had an unwritten list of “garbage words”—words we weren’t allowed to say. Swear words were on the list, naturally, but so were most Mormon swear words, mean words, and even words that we said too often (i.e. annoying words). I must confess I have said mean words upon occasion (sorry, Mom) and one Mormon swear word that inexplicably escaped the list, but other than that, I’ve been pretty good at not saying the garbage words. Yes, I am tempted to use these words upon occasion, but I feel I’m not tempted as often as I hear people say them.

The Great Facebook Popularity Contest

Image credit: Ben Earwicker

I log onto Facebook and see that John Doe has requested to be my friend. John Doe, John Doe . . . do I know any John Does? Let’s see, 3 mutual friends, ok, and . . . 1,825 total friends! How did he get so many friends? I had to really stretch for the, well, less-than-200 friends I have.

Even though I know it’s silly, I can’t help but wonder what’s wrong with me and what’s right with John Doe that makes him have so many more friends than me. Then again, who is this John Doe? I don’t think I actually know him. Does he, perhaps, request to be friends with people he doesn’t know just so he has more “friends”?

Popularity contests are not a new thing in our culture, and they start early in most people’s lives. In student government elections, students don’t vote based on platforms (not that there are many available platforms in school); they vote for whoever they like the most. And honestly, I don’t think things change much as we grow older. Yes, politicians can have radically different views and opinions, but for the most part, people simply vote for who they like or who their friends are voting for, if they vote at all.

Don’t Hate Me

Image credit: Arleynd Soca

My 11-year-old neighbor once said something that has stuck with me: “I know you, Craig. You hate to have people not like you.”

The more I’ve thought about it, the more I realize that she’s totally right. I do hate to have people not like me. Like, seriously, it really bugs me. I mean, I’d like to think that I’m a reasonably likeable person. I’m a little quiet (a little too quiet), I try not to be rude or sarcastic (well, not overly sarcastic), and I’m pretty funny. (Did you hear the one about the—oh, wait, never mind.) So when people don’t like me, I get a little irritated. And sometimes, I go out of my way to get them to like me. Which, as far as I can tell, has never been successful.

Take for instance my 11-year-old neighbor. I feel like I’m pretty good friends with the whole family. I feel like the girls are the little sisters that I never had, and the boys, well, kind of remind me of my own brothers. But despite the fact that I’ve hung out at their house fairly frequently over the past couple of years, the 11-year-old still gives me a coolness rating of 50%—a failing grade.