Empty Light Socket "Happy" - Pharrell Williams "How to be Yours" - Chris Renzema "Follow Your Leader" - John Reuben "everything i wanted" - Billie Eilish "Saturday" - Twenty One Pilots "Motion Sickenss" - Phoebe Bridgers "Seasonal Depression" - Pink Laundry

1. Casper WY hosts an event called Art Walk every summer, during which the residents and businesses of downtown take to the streets, drawing all over the sidewalks with chalk, having sales on certain items in-store, and buskers gather up their talents in hats and buckets and tin cups. Festivals of this kind, which are hosted on the street, are not as commonplace as they are enjoyable. The construction of American city streets makes it fairly difficult to keep events going all the time. I’ve come to realize by going to farmers' markets, street shows, visiting Europe, and through festivals in general that streets, while great for speedy traffic, are not so conducive to a healthy community. 2. During my high school years I had the freedom to explore college classes because I was homeschooled. I tried out several different departments ranging from Drafting and design to Computer Science, to Political Science. One of the very first classes I signed up for was German 1010, simply because my sister had taken classes from that instructor and really like him. Charles was his name, and he sparked an interest in the German language in me that I’m still pursuing, but more than starting me on an academic journey, he became my friend. A good teacher is fair to students. A good teacher is organized, effective, and concise. A great teacher is one with gusto. A great teacher reflects and shares the joy they’ve found in their craft onto their students. Charles was the first professor I had who spent time with his students outside of the classroom, in a friendly, coffee hour setting. He was personable, intelligent, charming, and had an amazing mustache. I will always think of him fondly, as a mentor, rather than a professor. Relationship is one of the most important things a teacher can give to a student. It breaks the cold barrier of academia and lifts up true education. 3. I have spent many an hour with my sister, an artist, casually painting, drawing, sculpting, making mud pies as children, and generally creating things. No project is too small or too large. I’ve spent as little as a few minutes on a small canvas and called it done, to as many as several days working with her on construction, murals, or other large-scale projects. She currently resides in an old, small town that has seen many a livelier day than today. No Art Walks live in this little town, but the mayor and many of the board members at various tables have great ambitions to revive the dampened spirits of the historical main street. A potential project which has actually been discussed is developing a massive mural to add some much-needed color and charisma to the old drab bricks. Public art is a simple, yet practical way to awaken the imaginations of people, and livening up old buildings is a good place to start. 4. Failure is a misleading word for many people. The way in which the human mind works is such that with each failed attempt, the neurons are reinforced in a positive way. When there is nothing but success, there is no reinforcement, and thus no learning that takes place. I have failed numerous times at numerous activities. I fail in little ways every day when I practice writing, music, or programming. Every little mistake I make is a learning moment, which helps me better identify the path forward. I grew up in a way that taught me to be observant of the ways other people fail, and learn also from them. Even from a young age, my parents taught me to strive for perfection, but recognize that it could never be achieved. I seek to fail whenever I can, and when the impact would be mild so that when the impact would be substantial there is no hesitation in my step. Failure is refinement, and refinement is a painful process when it happens in large amounts, so I look to refine the small things. “Details make perfection, and perfection is not a detail.” - Da Vinci

I don't have a sob story of how terrible I was or a magical reversal of "myself before Christ". I've only ever experienced the nearness of God. My entire life has been spent around loving, caring people who had strong faith, and inspired curiosity in me. That’s not to say I’ve never experienced sin; separation from God, or rebellion against his design. I’m just keenly aware of it when it happens, and I intentionally used future tense here because I’m not done messing things up. Thankful, Christ already forgave my future idiot self too. I say that people have inspired curiosity in me. I mean to say that I’ve developed a hunger for knowledge. I want to know everything! Even in the areas that I find no interest, namely the natural sciences, such as biology. I find bio absolutely boring. Nonetheless, while I study it, I want to know exactly why everything happens in the way it does. I have to reconcile everything. That fact is an odd one, because I’ve come to accept, and be fascinated by many paradoxes, which cannot be reconciled logically. Things like the Trinity, predestination vs free will, and Jesus Christ being 100% man and 100% God trip up the rational thinking mechanism in my mind, and spark a want to understand, as well as a sense of awe for the divine and spiritual. That “want to know” has been nurtured by many folks in my life, in the Church, in my academic experience, and among my family. One of my first college professors planted a love of languages, which I am still passionate about. The professors of math and science that I’ve taken classes with were extremely enjoyable, and helpful, despite my lack of interest in the subject matter. Then, there have been those in the Church, who taught me to be social, to see the value in people, and how to show them love and kindness. The first time someone in the Church opted to make me his disciple, I was about 14. He began meeting with me every week, teaching me to study God’s word, and would bring me to other appointments with him. I learned how to use sarcastic humor and dad jokes from him, and to try and put a smile on the faces of those around me. That remains a goal of mine every day. Kindness is paramount, as it is one of the greatest ways to display Christ’s love tangibly. Comedy is simply a way of making people feel more comfortable. Comfort is vital if you want to bring out the best in people or see the good in them. This is something that I love to do: encourage people to be their best selves. That’s not a simple thing to bring about, and it’s not a one-time thing. It’s a journey, not everyone wants to take it. Even so, because of the curiosity I have, the desire to know all of the things, and the goal of showing Christ’s love to people, I continue to try and inspire good in others by causing joy to appear on their faces. I’ve heard that it’s more difficult to stay angry when you force a smile, and eventually, that smile becomes sincere. It is my hope that when people experience the taste of joy or see it overflowing on my face, they’ll want to find the source of that joy. The well-spring of joy is love, and love is God. When one finds Christ, one’s outlook shifts from sliding toward death to running toward life. There is no simpler truth that I’ve found than this, and no story of change is better than the change which is found through the joy of life in Christ.