Going Back to School

schoolclipart.biz

I remember saying I wanted to go to BYU in middle school. Now is my chance! I have enrolled in the Pathway program where I can go to school online along with having a group to meet with once a week. This is a less expensive way to earn my bachelors degree with support from reputable university. I get to start in September. I can't wait!

Freedom or Cost of Being Annoymous

clashdaily.com

A few weeks ago, I noticed that I was becoming more and more negative. I was able to trace this bad feelings to my experiences on Facebook. Having a variety of people on the friends list, I was bombarded with ugliness towards people who have differing opinions. I didn't like how I was feeling, and I needed to find a way to feel better.

The last Sunday in June, I went to church feeling so negative, I didn't know how I was going to make it through three hours with a lot of people. My Heavenly Father knew I needed help. The opening song was "The Star Spangled Banner." As we stood up and sang, tears ran down my eyes. I was reminded of my rich family heritage and the freedoms we truly enjoy. I felt peace as my eyes were opened to the changes I needed to make.

I made the decision to take some much needed time away from Facebook and spend more time researching my family history. I have found the record of an ancestor in the Revolutionary War. This was an exciting find that I don't think I would have found if I had continued spending my time reading the debates on Facebook. 

We live in a great country where we can voice our opinion on decisions made by government officials without fear of being prosecuted. To go along with that freedom, we have online forums where we have a way to express our feelings and have that opinion "heard" by more people while remaining semi-annoymous. With this wonderful freedom comes responsibility. We have to think about how other people feel about the things we are saying. I am all for standing up for your beliefs, but why do we have to do that by belittling others?