On Education

As I have continued reading Whitman, I have been a little pulled this way and that, to a point where I am not wholly sure where I stand in my opinion of him. There are times when I really agree with what he is seeking to teach, and others where I feel he is completely off the mark, or perhaps I stand at a point where I don’t quite see it from his point of view, but in the end, that is what makes him human. It was his intention to be understood and read as a real person, and nobody completely agrees with anyone all of the time. I really like his ideas on note taking and education. There is a unique quality to the organic growth of self-education, and I feel that I could learn and alter my own learning to accommodate some of the ideas that I have drawn from Whitman. It says that Whitman was exclusively self-educated from the time that he was 11 years old. In all honesty, shouldn’t we all be self-educated? If we are not, we fall victim to the system, and go through the public education system with some growth, but not actualizing our potential in becoming responsive and thoughtful beings. We are creatures of circumstances as opposed to creators of circumstance. Self-education is not something that happens to us. It is a state of being and a method of living. We should all be seeking knowledge in all of its forms, and supplement our self-education with the advent of structured formal education. We should develop a desire for acquiring knowledge and understanding the world on a uniquely personal basis. It is all a question of how we choose to fragment and assign our time. Each of us is doled 24 hours each day, and there is no roll over for time that is not used each day. Sometimes I feel like Emerson as he described in “Days” when he said that the daughters of time come bearing their diadems and offer gift to each person, and how sometimes he only has time to gather a few simple herbs and spices from among the most valuable gifts, and watches them depart at the end of the day, silent and full of scorn. It is a pretty intense vision of how I even use my own time. So, as Whitman instructs, it must be an actual change in the fundamental way that I view and interact with life. Learning must be an active and organic thing. Growing from the very way that I live, and as previously stated, supplemented by my formal education.

Feeling the Spirit of Whitman

Walt Whitman. Now there was a man for all seasons. The guy pretty much died from being himself, much like William Morris of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. The thing about Whitman was that he wanted readers to really know WHO he was, or at least the version that he made himself out to be. He was the original blogger, coming out with his hard blog, Leaves of Grass back in the mid-1850's. One of his greatest fears was that one of his books would ever be shelved and left to gather dust. You take his writing outdoors, and it takes an enormous breath and begins to relate volumes of thought to you. Take a look for yourself, but make sure you are doing it outdoors. :)

SHUA IS GOING TO BE AN UNCLE!!!

Well, the vow of secrecy has been broken! I can finally announce that I am going to be an uncle! My older Sister, Jessica, is 9-weeks pregnant. She is due late september, and that means I will pass into a new family role!!! UNCLE!!! HOORAY!!!

Back to the Old Grindstone...

Well, EFY was fun... I gotta say, it is weird not having to memorize 300 names this morning. Also, I was kinda nervous. Maybe jittery is a better word for it, but I hadn't really had that feeling since the beginning of summer for my first week as a BC. I'm sure that it will wear off in a few days. New faces, new places. All of my classes seem to be off to a good start, except for the fact that the publishing culture is making a killing off of the books I have to buy... The price of knowledge I suppose. I'm excited! It is going to be a great year!

Adventures in Yellowstone

I had this WHOLE WEEK OFF from EFY, and so I spent it up in Yellowstone with my little Bro, Matthew! It was a rockin' time! We started a game where we would get points every time we saw an animal. Matthew won. He has an eagle eye! I really love Yellowstone. It is a gorgeous place! I try and go there each summer to just get out of the hustle and bustle of life. (Next summer, I want to go backpacking through there, so if you are interested, let me know...)

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We started off at about 5am, and worked our way up to Jackson, Wyoming, where we

ate breakfast, and saw our first animal!

We got really clos

e to a full grown ELK!!! Matt

hew was imitating it, so I think that is the reason that it didn't get nervous, seeing as Matthew looked just like one...

~~~

...We also had another

interesting character in our midst: Don Quixote's cousin, Twizzler Julio

The weather was splendid, and we got the chance to take in the beauty that surrounded us. Each night we wrote in our journals,

and drew pictures of

t

hings that had particularly struck a chord with us.

We saw

Old Faithful, and even named a few geyser's of our own.

This one we named

FIREBALL GEYSER... ------------------>

It rained our first night there, so when we woke up in the morning, we decided to make a quick stop by the "comfort station". It is so incredibly nice that they have those there...

AND THEN WE BRAVED THE COLD!!!

All in all, it was a good trip! I love my little bro sooo much. It was good to just spend some time with just him having fun, drinking hot chocolate, imitating buffalo, almost burning our tent down when the gas stove exploded, and chasing each other in the rain. I am so grateful that our family is forever! I wouldn't have it any other way!

The Birth of the Blog

Well, it is official, I have started a blog! This week was so amazing tho! I LOVE being an EFY Counselor! It is so awesome. I thought that it was good last year, but the kids have just gotten even better. Hopefully, I am able to bless them in some small way, but I feel that I am blessed even more by them. That is the interesting thing about trying to help each other out. The one is blessed by recieving, but on the other hand, we are also blessed as we are allowed to give. I am so grateful for all of the opportunities that I have. Life is good. Last week some girls came running up to me, squealing at the top of their lungs, "SHUA!!! Wait!!! We have a question for you!" I waited for them to arrive, and then they asked, "We can't figure out whether you are cool, or just a nerd! What are you?" and I simply told them, "Myself." I love being myself. It makes me happy. Because being myself involves the Gospel, and I love it! Every second of it!