Balance

I keep saying that I'm going to start writing again, but I feel like this time it is going to stick. When I was first coming out, I wrote a lot and it helped me process what I was feeling. I'm looking to do the same now. I have noticed that I'm starting to struggle with living in NYC. It throws me off balance and brings out the best and worst in me. I've always known that I need to escape the city, but now it is becoming more and more necessary. Every weekend, I want to get out. I want need to be in nature.

I learned this lesson on my recent escape from NYC to Switzerland. Switzerland was one of the most gorgeous places I have ever visited. There were mountains, streams, lakes, waterfalls, rolling hills, fields of flowers, delectable food, lovely people, and so much more. I spent four of my days hiking in the Swiss Alps. One day, I sat down next to a waterfall and contemplated and reflected on my life. The next day, it was on top of a mountain. Another day, it was on a cliff side. The last day was swimming in a glacial lake. I discovered that I love and hate NYC. This is nothing new to me, but I didn't realize it was so polarized now. There used to be areas of grey, but now those grey areas are starting to turn into black and white. I don't want this to happen and I'm trying to figure out how to turn those areas into grey again and be fully happy living in this city again--I have at least 4 more years here.

I also learned that I need to be in nature or near a lot of nature to have the best balance. My elements are water and earth. Those things bring me the most happiness and connect me the most with nature and God. Switzerland was perfect for this connection. I was so at peace and so joyous during this time. I was able to think about my worries, life, goals, morals, values, beliefs, etc. with a clear and open mind. But once I returned to NYC, I lost sight of some of those insights. I'm desperately trying to maintain those insights and find balance.

These are a some tasks that I'm working on to maintain my balance and keep insight flowing:

1. Stick with swimming on the master's swim team (I have practice tonight)
2. Spend less time on social media and the Internet
3. Leave the city for nature at least once a month
4. Read more
5. Wake up earlier to have "me" time with no interruptions
6. Consider going to church again
7. Focus on what's most important in my life... family, friends, and loved ones

I hope that things will fall into place and my life will become balanced again.

Hello!

*Ding dong*

Hello! My name is Elder Llewellyn, and I'd like to share with you the most amazing book! (From the opening song, but with my name place in it).

Back in May, I went to see The Book of Mormon. I'd like to say that I absolutely loved it! I know that a lot of people in the LDS community have said some awful things about it, but I'd like to say that they have inflated their opinions to extreme views. Also, I highly doubt many of the critics have seen the show.

There were some aspects that I didn't like of the show. They all were around the vulgarity of some of the characters and songs. I felt that some of the things said or sang could have had the poor language taken out. That being said, I can see why the language was in there. People do a lot of swearing and for some it is just a part of their vocabulary. So it seems to me that the writers were staying true to the "missionary" experience. I've never served a mission, but I'm sure that some people who missionaries try to visit have run into many people with colorful language.

Now, here is why I liked it and why I differ from most of the LDS critics. It's true that the writers poked fun at our quirkiness (they also poked fun of a lot of sensitive issues), but we do the same with movies like Singles Ward. The truth is that we make fun of ourselves in the same way as they were poking fun at us. I don't see anything wrong with this because I was taught growing up that we, Mormons, are queer folks that are different from the rest of the world. It's ok that we are different and it's ok to poke fun at our quirkiness. The writers were trying to portray Mormons as a unique group of people and they were able to accomplish this, but it wasn't in a demeaning fashion. I thought that they portrayed the LDS Church in an excellent light.

Many people have said that they do a bad portrayal of the Church, but I disagree. The writers showed that missionaries, while they may be innocent, are going out to places like Uganda to try to better the lives of and to give hope to many people. Throughout the musical, it shows the progression of how the missionaries are changing the lives of a town. The people are no longer dismal and angry; they transform into a people full of hope of a better life and they are striving to better their lives. Isn't that what missionary work is all about? I'd say that these missionaries did a wonderful job doing it.

Other critics have said that missionaries aren't as innocent as was portrayed in the musical. I'd like to say that they are. I'm sure when missionaries are going through the MTC that there is some education of the area, culture, and "trials" that people face, but learning about them is completely different than actually experiencing them, especially when you come from the homogeneous state known as Utah or Idaho and the surrounding states. When the missionaries arrived in Uganda, they were completely horrified at the situation--they couldn't believe what was going on. The missionaries that were already there had lost hope in spreading the Gospel and were waiting until their two years were over. Soon the newbies had experiences that caused them to question what they were doing there. Each situation caused one to lose more and more faith because he didn't realize that the world was unfair. He seemed to imagine the whole world to be like the US, specifically Orlando. It took him a long time to realize that the world is not all butterflies, unicorns, and rainbows. Eventually, his mission companion helped him realize that the world is not always fair and that they can actually change the lives of a whole town for the better.

Finally, a lot of people have said that they don't show the correct doctrine. While this is partially true, most of what they say is true. The writers had to change a few doctrines so that people of other beliefs could relate and understand; however, these changes were not so far away from the actual doctrine. Imagine trying to teach someone who has no knowledge about the Church everything in a couple hours. Can you do that? Of course you can't. That is why they changed a few things to make it more "mainstream" Christianity.

Overall, I absolutely loved the play and I have bought the soundtrack. It always makes me smile. Also, I think that this musical and the current Mormon.org (I think) ads in NYC is giving the Church a lot of publicity, which could in turn cause more people to be interested in learning more about the Church.

Move-Ed

Sorry that I haven't written for a very long time. A lot has been going on, I have been on many adventures, and I haven't had the desire/much time to write. Nevertheless, here is a quick update with a chance of a longer one later. I'm not keeping any promises...

I have moved on to a whole new part of my life. I was admitted in Mount Sinai School of Medicine's MSTP (MD/PhD) program! I moved up to New York last Friday and I have almost completed my first official week of school. I'll be in the city for at least the next 8 years. So far, I'm loving it here and I'm loving school. Everything that is currently happening to me is exactly what I want and need. Life is good right now.

Here are some keywords to describe my adventures in New York: apoptosis, big sister, programmed necrosis, Central Park, site-seeing, TNF, U-Haul, NYPD, food, DNA fragmentation, parents, and fireflies.

NYU

I interviewed at NYU back in December. They put me up in a very posh hotel in midtown. I would love for my apartment to look like my hotel room. It definitely fit my decorating style. As promised, here are some pictures of my room.

My lovely bed. Notice the lime green double border on the pillow and the great mixing of colors on the throw blanket and bed stool.

TV/Entry way: LOVE the lamp!

I need a green chair like this...

The lovely bathroom.

Best shower I have EVER had in my life! I want one of these real bad!

I definitely approved of this hotel room and NYU! I could definitely see myself going there!

New York, Again!

Also in October, I had another chance to head to New York. This time it was to visit my friend Neil. He was there on business. I also got to see Michael, which was great. We mostly went shopping and ate delicious food, so I didn't get very many pictures. I almost forgot my favorite part of the trip... We were walking around in the meat packing district and found an old, abandoned warehouse that an art show decided to move in to. I recognized the style of the art from Madonna's latest art montage. I came to find out that this artist met Madonna and had worked with her a lot to create some amazing pictures of her, one that was chosen for her recent album. I was jealous of the artist and I want to meet Madonna so badly! It's too bad that I didn't run into her at the art exhibit.

This is me in front of a very cool statue in the financial district. It reminded me of a balloon animal.

This was in the Diesel store. I pretty much loved the pink army men attacking the woman. It reminded me of Gulliver's Travels. Oh, the best part was the man parachuting down to the scene too.This is Neil hanging out with his best friend Chewbacca at FAO Schwartz. PS That place is pretty much awesome with everything a little kid wants. They had separated gummy bears by flavor. Seriously, who does that?

Labor Day Weekend: New York

I woke up at the crack of dawn to leave Mollie's house on Monday. It was sad to say goodbye to her, but we had a jolly time together AND we will be getting together more often (or at least I want to). I started my drive to New York. It was the most uneventful drive of my life, but I still had a lot of fun. It was good to see scenery of New England since the last time was in utter darkness. I really love New England and the east coast.

I eventually made it to New York and I didn't have to pay any tolls to get in! I don't know how I managed that one, but Barbara was a great help. I stopped by my friend Michael's apartment on the upper west side. It was a very unique area. I think this area is the little Mexico of New York. He had a rocking apartment and I loved what he did with the little space he had. He still has work to do and I think it will turn out nicely. I also met his roommate who is also a great, genuine guy. It was good to get to know him and hang out with Michael. We hopped on the metro to go down to China Town for lunch. On the way, we ended up at a very cool lighting store, which Michael was dying over because he wanted to make some awesome light fixtures for his apartment. We finally arrived at a dumpling shop and met up with two of his friends. We had delicious dumplings for under $5. It was definitely one of the best lunches I've had for that cheap. I order boiled chicken and mushroom dumplings and they were delightful! I also had little Asian women trying to sell me cute baby turtles. I did not buy any turtles, but they were so cute and it is something I regret now.

After that, we headed about the town. We stopped in a few stores for shopping and then ended up at Central Park. I've only been to Central Park in the dead of winter. It was good to see it lively and full of people. The highlights of Central Park were the Bethesda Fountain, pigeons, and pond turtles. I loved the Bethesda Fountain! I wish I had my camera with me. It was so beautiful in summer. The water flowing out of the fountain with the lily pads and cattails was very peaceful despite the crowded area. If I lived in New York, I could definitely find myself studying there and just hanging around there. The pigeons... How I love pigeons! I have no idea why I love pigeons so much, but I enjoy chasing after them and trying to catch them. Plus big city pigeons tend to be bigger than normal pigeons so that adds to the fun. Finally, I loved the turtles in the pond. They were also cute, which caused me to regret not buying the turtles from the little Asian woman. It would be fun to have a little pet in my apartment. I think it would add a lot to it and make it less lonely to come home every night. I'd have someone to greet me every day! That is something that I truly miss about home. Someone to greet me and bother me, even though I hated it back home.

After staying in New York a lot longer than expected, I drove home. I didn't get stuck in any traffic, which surprised me. I guess I was lucky or something. Also, I was lucky I did not lock my keys in my car again. That would have been no good. My labor day weekend was most excellent! I loved every minute of it, except the hour and a half that my keys were locked in my car and while I was lost in New York. Thanks to everyone for making it such a great weekend!