It’s funny how we deal with pain, how we avoid pain. Some people commit suicide. Some people run a marathon. Some people chase after what hurts them most. Sometimes I hide from it. I walk away. I put my headphones in and I search for something to alleviate it but I never find what it is I am searching for. Sometimes I chase it. I try to corner it. I follow what hurts me most. I try to rid myself of the pain by increasing the pain. Sometimes I think I can overcome it on my own. Sometimes I pretend there is not pain. I do crazy things. I run, I walk, I fight…I fly…try to fly. Pain, it teaches us to love to love. It teaches us what we handle. It teaches us what we can handle without.

America? What is it good for?

The greatest issue in America is that we’ve changed what America originally stood for. We came to America to chase the American dream. This dream became skewed as time went by. For some it was to find religious freedom, others sought to be their own person and there were some who were in it for the money. Our original reason for being an American was to pursue life, liberty and property. Being an American meant being free. While there is much good in America there could always be more. Our dream has changed, its become jaded. We become concerned with things that aren’t important. Our focus, our unity, has disintegrated. We focus on issues such as what celebrities are hottest and if Michelle Obama’s wardrobe. We wonder why our country is in debt? Look where we put our money. If we were to unite and realize what was important then maybe this country would again be living the dream. We wouldn’t have to worry about keeping Mexicans out and coming up with superior weapons but instead we could make decisions that were right. Our decisions wouldn’t be selfish. We would do things because its right and not because someone is gracing our palm with gold. The greatest issue in America is that we are no longer American.

Why an internship in D.C.?

Experience. that’s what its all about. College will give you a boost up on the scale of scavengers looking for a job now-a-days who doesn’t have college background at my age? I want this internship for the experience, for the bragging right and because I want to be diversified as possible.

I chose D.C. for an internship because it’s the nations capital and I can commute there every day from where I live. Every day I learn something new, I become something better and all this happened in a small town called Rexburg, Idaho. I can’t imagine what impact D.C. would have on me and what impact I would have on D.C. I don’t just make small changes, I make phenomenal changes in life. I want this internship because I want to learn and I want to play a role in this nation, I want to have an impact on this nation, on the world.

My experience isn’t too minimal for being only 19. I started college at 17 and I immediately enmeshed myself in my College paper for the past three years. I started out as a writer and now I am in a paid, editor position. I’ve also worked for a concrete company in the Marketing department where I used designs and came up with creative ways to sell concrete. I also did a lot of hand on work while at the concrete company. They also rehired me that winter to produce a training video for their company. Last summer I wrote for a local paper in Maryland, The Enterprise. I covered the opening ceremony of the Point Look out Open House and interviewed a senator. My other stories ranged from a local doll club to a 50-year high school reunion. But my experience isn’t limited. I also worked part time for two summers at a gynecologist. I worked with patients, filed, wrote legal documents for the doctors and I even entered lab specimens into the computer—exciting, I know.

I’ve grown and I keep growing but my experience so far can only get me so far and I feel that an internship will help me to become diversified, experienced and a more rounded person. I know that this internship—and this may sound cliché’ but its ever so true—will be the icing on my cake.

I don't want to conform

Do it. Do it because you want to. Don’t do it because everyone else does. I don’t want to be a follower. I want to explore things for myself. It’s just as the scriptures say. I need to study things out in my mind. I can’t follow the opinion of the person next to me.

I want to do something because I want to do it, not because I feel pushed into it. When I keep the commandments I do it because I love God, not because society is watching me and telling me to. I don’t ever want to do something because everybody else does; although, I am very guilty of it.

Its ok to do what everybody else is doing but don’t do it because you want to conform or because society expects it. Of course there is the rule of always following the Lord’s will but if you don’t like pizza then don’t eat pizza. Eating pizza isn't a commandment. I really love cheesy love songs. I usually hide that fact but really why should I? Because society scorns being mushy? I think not. I’ll listen to love songs when I want and everyone will have to deal with it. Why should I smother myself in what everybody else likes?

What love really takes...or something

I think since it’s almost Valentine’s day that I have every right to write a love column, right? Seeming to have no romantic inclinations means that I should be allowed to write this column. But despite popular belief, I am a romantic and I have many romantic inclinations…*wink wink* *nudge nudge*.

I have even fallen into what some would consider love. But our idea of love, in terms of relationships between a man and woman—you know the kind that leads to….well other things.

But there’s more than one type of love. When you’re talking to your friend and you say, “I really love my boss,” does that mean you want to have their babies? No, it means that they’ve earned your respect and friendship. The love that you are experiencing with your boss –at least I hope this is the love you’re experiencing—is called philos. Philos is one of the three types of love that will create a perfect “spousal” relationship. So, If you are wondering if the person is right for you then see that your relationship has eros, philos and agape.

I learned in my Prep. For Eternal marriage class—yes I did take this class—is lustful love. It’s what attracts a male to a female or vice versa and if you’re lucky it will go both ways but you had better trim your nose hairs first. A relationship should have a lot of chemistry. Physical intimacy will become essential and it’s something that only you and your spouse will share. Its something special and sacred. But a relationship needs to consist of more than just sex in order to survive the eternities because eventually you’ll want to do more than just…well….you know…that.

And so this is where philos comes in. Philos is the love that is shared between friends. So essentially philos is friendship. If you want your relationship to work out then you need to have friendship. A woman needs a best friend – not a dog—to keep a relationship going. They always say that humor is what keeps a relationship going and if you can’t have a real conversation with the person you love then maybe you’ve got a problem or maybe you need to work on your social skills...

So there’s the two things but what could the third possibly be? The last type of love is the best. Its unconditional love and its called agape. It’s a selfless love. You love that person no matter what. You don’t expect them to love you back, you don’t expect them to reciprocate, you don’t expect them to love you or expect to get anything out of the relationship. It’s the way a mother loves her child. Agape, simply put, is just unconditional love.

Your relationship needs to be more than just friends, more than just sex. It needs to include all three aspects of love in order for it to be perfect love. Your relationship may not have all of these aspects down to a T but if there all present then perhaps you are on the right track. Happy Valentines and happy hunting.