So the Blogging Drought Begins

Well, it's here. In less than an hour, I will be set apart as a missionary to the Missouri St Louis Mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. I will be an ambassador of the Lord. I will be on the Lord's time. I'm very nervous, but so excited. I know that this is where I need to be. Before I go, let me share with you my testimony.

I know that Jesus Christ is my Savior and Redeemer. I know He lives. I know He is the very begotten son of a loving Heavenly Father who knows each of us. I know that His plan is for us to return to Him. This has been made possible by the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I love Them and want to serve Them with all of my heart. I know that these truths which we understand were restored to the earth by the prophet, Joseph Smith. The true priesthood is on the earth today. I have felt its power as I have exercised it worthily. The Book of Mormon is convincing evidence that Joseph Smith was a prophet, that he restored the priesthood keys, and that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the Kingdom of God on the earth. By reading the Book of Mormon, we invite the Spirit into our lives.

Most of you know that I am a very logical person. I don't think I'd call myself a skeptic, but I definitely appreciate evidence. Among logical people in the world, religion is not a popular topic. Many believe that you can't "prove" the points of religion. I contend quite the opposite. In Moroni 10, we are promised that if we will ask with a sincere heart, real intent, and faith in Christ, we can know if the Book of Mormon is true. By the very nature of that promise, a witness of the spirit is logical evidence that the Book of Mormon is true. I have read the Book of Mormon, and felt the spirit witness to my heart that it is indeed true.

I love you all so much. I will miss my family and friends so much, and I'm sure there will be tough days when I really miss home, but I have been called by a prophet of God, who communicates directly with my Heavenly Father, to serve the people of St. Louis. I'm not going to let them down. Pray for me, as I will pray for you. May the Lord bless you all as you keep his commandments and the honor covenants you have made.

See you in two!

Pictures

Once upon a time, in the land of mission preparation,

Okay, something kinda ironic about me. I have given thousands of shots to myself. Literally, thousands. The shots that I give now, for my insulin pump, are not that much smaller than the shots you get for an immunization like a flu shot, tetanus, Hep A, whatever. The shots that I give myself do not freak me out. It's not my number one hobby, but it takes me about 3 minutes, and no big deal, doesn't really hurt that bad.

When it comes to doctors/nurses giving me shots, I get freaked out. I don't know what it is. It might be that the vaccine going into you hurts way worse than insulin going into you. It might just be that I'm not in control, that someone else is stabbing me. I don't know, but whatever it is, I don't like getting shots from other people. Kinda weird, I know.

So I need to get my hepatitis A and a tetanus (am I spelling that right?) booster before my mission. So this morning my mom calls our general practice doctor and makes sure that I'm good to come in and get those immunizations. For the reasons stated above, I was not in the least excited about this, but I want to be a missionary, so I agreed to go in.

My mom actually called in twice just because there was a little miscommunication about what records I needed to bring, what immunizations I needed, etc. Anyway, I went in today, checked in at the front desk, let them know what vaccines I needed and everything, and they sent me to the waiting room to fill out a big, long insurance page and sign for my dad. After all of this, the nurse opens the door and calls my name. I had actually just finished saying a prayer asking Heavenly Father to help me to be brave (yep, just like a Kindergartner, you better believe it). And as I stand up to head back, the nurse informs me that they don't have two of the vaccinations that I need.

"Uh...I only need two. Hep A and a tetanus booster."

"Yeah, we don't have either of those."

"Uh...okay."

"When you come in for your appointment on Monday, we should have them, and we won't charge you again."

"Uh...okay."

"Thanks for coming in!"

Seriously? You couldn't have told my mom when she called in? Or maybe the second time she called in? Perhaps when I came to the front desk? Maybe before you had me spend 20 minutes filling out insurance information? The detail that YOU COULDN'T HELP ME didn't seem relevant until then?

That's poor customer service, folks.

Trust me, I was once a customer service rep.

So Here I Sit

So here I sit in a mostly empty dorm room.

I think about the memories I've made and the people I've met.

My ears are still ringing from the roar of the crowd as Jimmer sinks a three.

My butt is still sore from sitting through 5 and a half hours of testimonies (yes, in one day).

My abs still hurt from hours of laughing with FHE sisters and ward members.

My mind is still full from cramming for finals.

My emotions are confused, wondering where the time has gone, unsure whether to be anxious for the future, or sad to leave the past. I've been looking forward to being a freshman at BYU since I was in the womb. Now it's over.

I'm forwarding my mail onto Farmington, my heart on to Missouri.

I'm going to miss this place.

New Playlist!

So if you haven't seen, I just put a new playlist on my blog :) I thought it was time for a change. I tried to pick a variety of songs so that hopefully everyone will find something they like :) Here's what I picked and why:

1.Forever; Chris Brown
This song reminds me of several things. It reminds me of the episode on the office when Jim and Pam get married and they play this at their wedding. Haha I laugh every time I think about it. Plus, it also reminds me of being in the flash mob with Elizabeth at the BYU basketball game that I posted about a little while ago. So fun. It's just a great song, and a clean Chris Brown song (which is rare).

2. Hallelujah; Shrek (not really by Shrek, but it's from the soundtrack)
I've been obsessed with this song lately. It's just a sweet song with sweet lyrics, great vocals, and a seemingly good message, though I haven't really read into the lyrics all that much...

3. Piano Man; the greatest songwriter of our age, in my opinion, Billy Joel
Ah, probably my all time favorite song. I don't even know what to say about it. Classic. Beautiful. Genius.

4. Hotel California; Eagles
This song is just a great acoustic guitar song with thoughtful lyrics, which many think is referring to drug addiction. I've looked into it and the Eagles all swear that it isn't...Who knows. Either way, it's not a bad message, it's saying that you can't escape it once you start. Not promoting drugs. No worries.

5. Tonight; FM Static
Boy-band-ish. Cliche. 90's. Love it. Reminds me of certain people and certain experiences that I've had.

6. All These Things That I've Done; Killers
I pretty much just like this song for the middle part. "I got soul, but I'm not a soldier." That section was on a BYU football video that they played before the 4th quarter to get everyone pumped in the stadium. So sweet. The rest of the song is alright too :)

7. Let It Rain; Living Things
Back in the day, my dad found a song called "Bom Bom Bom" by Living Things. I always loved it and it was just a sweet rock song. I showed it to my friend who liked it so much that he found some more stuff by them, and introduced me to this song, which has become one of my favorite rock(ish) songs.

8. Angel; Shaggy
Haha just a sweet, reggae-type song. It also reminds me of certain people and my senior year. Love this song.

That's all for now, have a good one :)

Not Meant to Embarrass (though it probably will)

This is my dad.

My dad is an amazing man.

I could write for pages about my dad.

I won't.

One interesting thing about my dad, he worked really hard in high school as a wrestler and (as is the case with most wrestlers) got very strong. This strength came from hours in the wrestling room and gym. My dad has broad, strong shoulders. He's just built strong. My dad doesn't go to the gym anymore (sorry dad, secret's out) but he still looks like he does push-ups every night. I wish I had inherited this. I don't show the muscle that I occasionally have when I do buckle down and work out. And I usually just don't have any muscle.

Tonight my roommate (who was a linebacker and wrestler in high school and is built somewhat like a tank. or train.) convinced me to suck it up and do push-ups with him. Needless to say:

I'm a wuss.





(But just wait, in a month, I'm gonna be HUGE.)





(Yeah, right.)

Some pictures and comments and thoughts

This is a ridiculously sweet picture I took of my all-time favorite soccer ball. I broke nearly every juggling record I ever had with it. Then I brought it to one of my games and the opposing team stole it. But hey, it will live in memory forever through this picture. I think it'll be the face of the World Cup someday.

This is me getting tipsy on New Years. With Martinelli's. :)

This is probably my all-time favorite picture. It's just so....us. I love Nate. He cracks me up all the time. It's not a flattering picture of me by any stretch of the imagination, but I just love it.

This is me with Lee Essig, one of my greatest friends. He's in Lima, Peru right now, and by the time I'm in St. Louis, he will have already been out for a year. Lucky dog. I miss him.

As long as we're talking about people that I miss like crazy, this is Adam Barlow. Probably my greatest friend. He leaves the MTC for Mozambique in 3 days.

Little known fact, I'm actually a Death Eater. April Fools. I'm actually Harry Potter.

Waiting in line for the...UNLV (?) game. I think. I'm pretty sure. I slept in a tent on freezing cold concrete in the snow, rain, and sleet. My memory is a little hazy. I'm pretty sure it was UNLV. And don't worry, I've got my loyal cougar shirt on underneath the neon jacket. I was just freezing outside. Also, why am I shrugging my shoulders? Anyone?

Well the underlying theme here seems to be things I will miss on my mission (friends, family, Harry Potter, BYU sports, Martinellis (?)). And it just wouldn't be complete if I didn't include waterskiing. Hopefully I'll get to go at least once before I leave, but I'm going to miss waterskiing. A whole lot.

Well I didn' mean for this to be a downer post. At all. So let me show you how I feel about my life. See this picture? SO happy that it's literally frightening. Are you not legitimately scared that my overenthusiastic self might just jump right through the computer screen and latch onto you, causing sever damage from exposure-to-unbelievable-joy? I know I am.

Have a nice day, everyone. Love ya :)

Experiences I will never forget

Being in the epic flash mob (seen here) with Elizabeth during the Wyoming game.

Spending 3 days with just me and Nate in my apartment over Christmas break. I would have been very lonely without him.

Taking Matt to his soccer game and leading him in warm-ups.

PPIs with my dad.

So many long talks with my mom. And laughing about all of the good times we've had.

Nate being just as excited about me breaking 1000 as I was.

Matt's celebrations. Everything from his TOPS soccer games, to basement football, to the primary program.

Texting Elizabeth. Even if she did get a phone before she was 16 ;) I actually really like texting her :)

Analyzing BYU football, BYU basketball, Nate's soccer, my own soccer, march madness, bowl games, commentators, high school sports, church basketball, USA soccer, and so much more with my dad for literally hundreds of hours.

Getting hot chocolate with my mom after a freezing soccer game. And seeing how excited she was/is for my mission call. And going and getting mission suits with her. And knowing that she'd defend me and stand by me no matter what. (I really love my mom :)

Quotes over the years:

"You'll have to excuse your mother, she thinks she's musical." -Dad

"SORRY GUYS! I JUST TOOTED AND IT'S PRETTY BAD!" -Elizabeth

"Nanuts" -Matt (his version of "Numb Nuts")

"Holy Hail!" -Mom

"I don't want to read scriptures! It's just a book about a bunch of righteous people!" -Nate

So many more, but that will do. And I know you had to be there for most of these, but this post is more for me than for you :)

12.5 Random Thoughts at 12:50 AM

Doesn't Mr. Clean look like a rough and tumble kind of guy? Can you see that muscly, bald, tank on his hands and knees washing the kitchen floor? I sure can't. False advertisement, I say.

It's funny how a mission call can have so many effects on you. One minute, I smile and think, "I can't wait to be a missionary." The next, I think, "Oh my. I better call Mom and Dad right now. I can't do it. What do I know about missionary work? Who am I to preach the gospel? I'm unqualified and unprepared." Luckily, I have a firm testimony of prayer.

I have long, heated conversations. With no one. Just me. Versus myself. I'm pretty good at winning these arguments.

Girls are SO much different than boys. I know this isn't groundbreaking. Just an observation, thank you very much.

Even though one of my roommates is super weird, I feel very blessed to have formed the relationships that I have with my roommates. They are great men of faith. I am very proud to say that I come from Kimball, 209.

Every morning (lately), I wake up with a random song stuck in my head. It's never the same one and varies from Rebecca Black (is that her name? The super annoying "Friday" song on youtube?), to Billy Joel, to Akon, to primary songs.

Blackberries bloom beautifully.

Did you hear that the makers of YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook are all teaming up to create the ultimate social networking site?? Cool, huh!? It's going to be called, YouTwitFace.

I've been listening to Herod the Fink lately. Yep. Christmas songs. I love them. And I'm going to miss them.

Over the summer, I had a job painting a fence for a family in my ward (it was a big fence). I often find myself wishing that I was back in the sun, the smell of paint strong in the air, and music (or Harry Potter 7 hehe) blasting in my ears. I loved that job.

I have dreams on a regular basis that I get to play pick-up basketball with Jimmer Fredette. He's usually impressed by my three-point shooting.

Good friends are the greatest blessing. Man. There are so many good people in this world. It amazes me.

I was just thinking that sunflowers

Of BYU, and not just the basketball team :)

Okay, first of all: that game was outstanding. If we can continue playing like that, we could make a deep run in the tournament. Knock on wood.

Okay, now that that's out of the way.

On facebook, after the game, a kid that I went to high school with (who I have a lot of respect for) posted several things about how much he hates BYU. He attends Utah State and loathes BYU. I just want to address a couple of the things he said he hates about BYU.

One thing he said was that he hates how BYU fans/students are brainwashed. Now, I will be the first person to say that the reason that I am a huge BYU fan is because my parents are. I was dressed in a BYU sweatsuit shortly after birth. I went to my first BYU football games before I had my first birthday. I've grown up with BYU in my blood. I don't believe this is brainwashing. Our parents teach us and as we grow up, we idolize our parents and tend to think like they do. Brainwashing involves things like teaching kids that if you bring down Americans and die in the process, you'll go to heaven. Brainwashing is knowingly taking away an individual's ability to see right from wrong--sports opinions do not fall in that category.  Sports are a lot of things. They are entertainment, a way to teach life lessons, a way to express yourself, and so much more. However, the team you cheer for is not a decision of right and wrong. No matter how die-hard I am, nothing can change that fact.

Second, he said that he "hates BYU's rules."

I looked through his pictures, and he has lots of photos of himself at the BYU-Utah State football game wearing a shirt that switches the first letters of BYU and the most offensive vulgarity. It is very interesting to see his view on rules. I believe that the truth sets us free. I believe that when we live righteously, we are not restricted, but have more freedom. Freedom from addiction, freedom from spiritual death and the loss of the spirit. 

I don't expect everyone to love BYU or to share these viewpoints. Let me just exercise my agency to say things that I love about BYU.

I love that I have a class entitled "Missionary Preperation."

I love that I get to learn about science and controversial topics from a gospel perspective.

I love that a lot of people at BYU are striving to be their best selves and live righteously.

I love so much about BYU, beyond sports. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and I respect his as I hope he respects mine.

Oh, and I love Jimmer Fredette. :)

Last Night (slash morning) At 3 AM

2:58 Loud noise. Like someone just banged a pan down on the burner in the kitchen.
2:58 I'm awake.
2:58 I become aware that I need to use the bathroom (it's a diabetes thing, needing to pee in the middle of the night)
2:59 Drag myself out of bed.
2:59 Notice on my way to the bathroom that the kitchen light is on and someone is singing in the kitchen.
3:01 Relieved.
3:01 Stop in kitchen and poke my head in and ask groggily, "Jonathan, it's 3 in the morning. What are you doing?"
3:01 Jonathan answers, "Making some beans."
3:01 Me: "Uh. Okay. Try to keep it down."

I have such a weird roommate.

Just some thoughts

Whoever came up with the name Cheese Whiz needs to be fired.

I am going to miss BYU sports. More than I should.

If I had the motivation that I get about once a month (to work out) all the time, I'd be buff.

Fresh laundry is wonderful. Putting it away blows.

I hope I will be a good missionary.

I have amazing family. Immediate and extended.

Mission calls rank very high on the list of "Biggest Distractions for BYU Students who know they should be studying"

Jimmer Fredette is the best college basketball player in the nation. No matter what happens tomorrow (or today, technically).

I miss Adam and Lee and Sterling and Alex and Sam and Brad and Jared and Sean.

Life is great. I'm truly blessed.

Thanks for checking in :)

If I could have a conversation with my Junior High/High School Self

Luckily, I had most of this figured out by my junior year. I've posted similar things before, but this has been on my mind. I'm going to write this in a seminary lesson/self lecture format. Perhaps a little contrary to the title, this is really what I wish I could tell the whole student body at Viewmont High.

To make a claim: The truthfulness or untruthfulness of the gospel is, without a doubt, the most important question that we face here in mortality. There are those who say, "The LDS church is good. There are good people who are members. The Book of Mormon is a nice book with some good principles." Quite frankly, these people couldn't be more wrong. The church is either true, and is everything it claims to be, or it is a lie. If the Book of Mormon is true, then Joseph Smith is a prophet, and this is the only true and living church on the earth today as it claims to be. There is no middle ground, no "It's a nice idea." It is what it claims to be, or it isn't.

Because of this fact, finding out for ourselves if the church is true or not is of utmost importance. Whether the church is true or not will affect nearly every major (and many minor) decisions in our lives. It simply does not work to just "not be sure." Of course, there is a time in all our lives that we must ponder, and before we get our answer about the truthfulness of the gospel, there may be a time that we're "not entirely sure yet." But this is the one exception. I challenge you to take both Moroni's and Alma's challenges (Moroni 10:3-5 and Alma 32:27). Even if you can "no more than desire to believe, let this desire work in you." The Lord has promised that if you really want to know and you ask sincerely, He will give you an answer. Take Him up on it. Test the promise.

At some point, you will feel a "great anxiety over the welfare of your soul" as Joseph Smith did (not an exact quote, I'm going from memory here). The sooner this desire, this anxiety, takes place, the sooner you will find an answer to this ultimately important question. Let this desire occur now. Wait no longer to have a sincere desire to know truth. It will set you free, I promise.

Now, for those of you who already feel confident about the truthfulness the gospel:
Turn to 2 Nephi chapter 8. (Yay for understanding Isaiah!) Here, Isaiah talks about how the ideas of men and their opinions, will waste away. As someone who has graduated, let me tell you a simple truth: Your experience at Viewmont High School can only matter in two ways (in terms of eternal salvation) (by the way, this is Josh speaking, not church doctrine): 1. There are those who find good friends at Viewmont High. Their friends encourage them to make good decisions. Ultimately it is because of the good friends they made in high school that ensured their spiritual safety. And 2. There are those who, because of the opinions of men and because they want to be cool or liked, will compromise their beliefs and standards. They will fall prey to an ultimately more experienced adversary who wants nothing more than to see us fall into his traps. Because of the childish social pressures at Viewmont High, these individuals forfeit their promised mansions in the Kingdom of God.

After graduation, the social life of Viewmont High vanishes as quickly as it appeared on your first day as a sophomore. Nobody cares who kissed who at that party, or how awesome everyone on the basketball team is, or what that one girl said to offend your best friend's girlfriend. Now this is not to say that the social aspect of high school is evil or bad. It is not--if it is viewed with an eternal perspective. I have close friends from high school and I cherish their friendship like I do the relationships with my own family. I do not regret getting involved in the social atmosphere in order to gain favor with these friends who I now consider brothers and sisters. However, if there is any person or group that you are associated with that influences you to compromise your standards or beliefs, drop them. They are not worth your time. This is your eternal salvation we are talking about. I know how hard it can be to make a decision to change friend groups. At the time, it seems like it matters SO MUCH. But keep an eternal perspective, friends.

There is a challenge at Viewmont High to "walk the line." Interpretation: everyone (it seems) is trying to be good, but not "too good". In general, there aren't major drug problems, there aren't major gangs, and you don't have to worry about weapons being brought to school or your personal safety as you walk to class. In fact, most everyone could be classified as "good." But no one wants to be a "goody good." It is considered SO uncool for one to actually enjoy seminary or to actually turn off a song because it is suggestive. That's just too good. I would submit: What is "too good?" Is it possible, with an eternal perspective, to be "too good?" Are we not commanded? "Be ye therefore perfect." (Matthew 5) Strict obedience to the commandments, my friends, is nothing short of the Celestial Kindom.

So drop them. Get rid of the influences in your life that are preventing you from becoming who you can become. To be honest, it will be hard; I have an aunt who had an idiot boy at her high school make her life a living hell all throughout high school. I don't blame her one bit for never wanting to have to relive that time in her life. High school kids are cruel and devilish. I can't promise that you won't be judged for doing what is right. In fact, I can promise that you will. But you will be blessed for it.

Please, my friends, let us be examples of the believers. Let us live worthily of the spirit. Let us be who we want to be. As has been said by much greater men than I, we have been chosen to live at this time. We are not here by mistake. We cannot, must not, allow our royal heritage be wasted because of the opinions of hormonal, illogical, carnal, sensual, and devilish teenagers. Rise above. The wrong shall fail, the right prevail. The question is, which side will you be on? Make the decision today. The time for indecision has passed and now it is time to rise up.




Sorry for how long-winded this was, I just have had this on my mind and wanted to put it down in writing. If you made it this far, you get the best news of all: My call was sent today!! :)

My mission papers are in

Guesses as to where I am going are currently being accepted. No prizes currently being offered. Sorry. Talk to my boss and convince her to pay me 30 dollars an hour and then maybe I'll be able to chip in some prize money.

Love you all :)

It doesn't do it justice...

But this is some idea of what it's like to sit in the student section and get pumped up before the game.

First Thought Paper for Mission Prep

Four years ago, my home Stake became the first Stake in the United States to put on the Stake Youth Conference called “Moroni’s Quest.” The youth conference was similar to Pioneer Trek, but instead of reenacting what the pioneers did, we all dressed up as Nephites and Lamanites, and spent 4 days reenacting the Book of Mormon from start to finish. I was 14 years old at the time. I remember the spirit being very strong and that my testimony was strengthened of the Book of Mormon.

This last summer, my Stake again put on the Moroni’s Quest conference and I had a chance to be involved a second time in this great event. This time, however, I received an assignment to be Nephi, son of Lehi, in the reenactments. All of the reenactments were pre-recorded, to avoid the risk of lines being forgotten and to help the whole program to run more smoothly. I had a couple different recording sessions and about a week before we were to set off, I felt that my part was essentially done. Come to find out, the director of the reenactments wanted all of the actors to have their lines memorized, in order to make it more real for both the audience and for us as actors. I was not very excited by this proposition, because Nephi had A LOT of lines, and I was uncomfortable enough as I am nowhere near a lover of theater.

Grudgingly, however, I put the recordings of my lines on my ipod and began listening to the recordings while I worked for my Bishop during the day. After listening to the recordings countless numbers of times, I found that the story of Nephi, taught to me since my primary days, began to change. I began to hear the voice of the Lord speaking to me, Nephi, commanding me to slay Laban, build a ship, and explaining how it was to be done. I found that the words of Nephi to the Lord asking for “strength, that I may burst these bands with which I am bound” became my own words and my own prayer, pleading with my Heavenly Father to forgive me of my weaknesses and shortcomings. I realized that Nephi was not born with faith. He had to trust in the Lord and the adversary worked to shake his faith just as he does today. I found it easier, in my personal reading, to liken the scriptures to myself because I now see the characters as people, the stories as accounts of real events.

After the first day of the conference, I was exhausted in every way. I had been up early for rehearsals and then gotten the plates, killed Laban, built a ship, passed the plates to my brother, Jacob, and died. As I got in the tent, anxious for some rest, my fellow priest quorum brother asked if he could read a chapter out of the Book of Mormon out loud, because it helped him focus on the words more effectively. Initially, I was irritated. We had just spent the last 18 hours reenacting the Book of Mormon! Why would you be anxious to read it now? As he read, however, the spirit fell over our tent in a way that I had never experienced before. His testimony and faith in daily scripture study, no matter what the circumstances, strengthened my resolve to read the Book of Mormon more diligently.

On the final night of the conference, we experienced the climax of the Book of Mormon. We were blindfolded by our leaders, and led through strange paths and were deafened by the sounds of thunder and lightning. After a time, we were instructed to remove the blindfolds. As our eyes adjusted, we saw Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, coming down the hill to meet us. I was called as one of the twelve disciples, and partook of the sacrament, administered by my Redeemer. I saw the change in the countenance of my fellow Nephites and Lamanites as He walked among us. I know that He lives. I know that the Book of Mormon is the record of His people in the Americas. It really is true.

Player Of the YEAR!!

Seriously?

BYU played Colorado State Saturday night. We beat them. But here's the thing that got me.

Jimmer Fredette scored a quiet 42 points.

Is that possible? A quiet 42?

But seriously, he had 21 in the first half that were great. He was playing his game, shooting the long-range, getting to the rack, all that jazz.

In the second half, he matched it, but with very little fanfare. Watching it with about 20 other freshmen in the lobby, EVERYONE was asking, "What happened to Jimmer?" and "Why isn't Jimmer scoring?"

He's incredible. I can't get over it. 42 points? That's absurd.

Beat the Aztecs!

The Very, Very Earliest Beginnings of a Potential Story I'm Co-Writing with a Friend and I May Have Stolen From My Dad, I can't remember for sure

Shady.

That was the only way to describe him.

He appeared on rainy days on State Street in Bakersfield. He was always headed east, and always wearing a large, grey trenchcoat. His physique was altogether forgettable. Medium build, bland features, bland hair. He walked all hunched over like a timid high-schooler.

A regular occurence on campus

Almost every day when I'm walking to class, I hear some people who I'm approaching talking to each other. I think, "Oh that's cool, I wonder what language that is."

Seconds after I pass them, I replay the conversation in my head, trying to decipher where the duo must have served missions/be from. Then I realize.

That was English.