11: The Journey of my Research Paper

The research paper was nothing like any of the other research papers I've written.  First, the topic of this paper was based off of something that happened or affected my family in the past rather than some random topic that was assigned.  This allowed me to research something that really held a significance to my life.  Because of this interest, I certainly worked harder on this paper and found joy in doing so.  I learned what my parents experienced and perhaps more about how it influenced them to be the wonderful people they are today.  I researched Study Abroad and the outcomes of participating.  Since so many students are going on study abroad these days, I've wondered why and if they really are beneficial.  Since my parents also experienced a study abroad.  I wanted to find out how it might have changed their lives.

One thing that went really well for me in my research was my annotated bibliography.  Although it took me a long time to go through all the articles I found, I was able to write up summaries of each one and I used them to review what quotes I wanted to include in my paper.  That saved me a lot of time in the long run.  For my first draft, I also did a rough outline of the quotes I wanted to include and the ideas I wanted to write about.  This helped me focus my paper to the few points I wanted to make.

One thing I discovered while writing is that even though my final topic and thesis sounded really straightforward and narrow, I realized I could go so many directions within my topic.  I found so much information about my topic it was really hard to know what to focus on in my paper.  One thing I did with this was talk to people and to myself.  I asked myself what I would like to find out if I was reading my paper as if I didn't write it.  This helped me focus my ideas on what was most important and what maybe would be the most interesting for people to read.

The journey of my research paper served two purposes: it allowed me to understand more about how I came to grow up in the United States and how a study abroad would benefit me in my life.        

10: Enjoy the Simple things in Life

I decided to live home during my first year of College and I am so happy I did because I absolutely love being able to see and be with my family every day.  Along with this, I also decided to remain in my home ward rather than go to singles ward.  I can assure you that I've received many remarks about this decision, some understandingly and some not.  However, I just felt that this was right for me.

As a result, I have the possibility to be called to serve in many areas of the ward.  I received a calling this week to serve as a primary teacher!  I found out that I will be teaching the sunbeams and there are 4 bight sunbeams in my class and I am so excited.  I love little children and I think that sunbeams are cute and they are so happy most of the time!  As I thought about why they have this bright aroma around them, I realized that it is probably because they know how to enjoy the simple things in life and are very quick to forgive and love other people.

Christ taught that we should become as a "child, submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love, willing to submit to all things which the Lord seeth fit to inflict upon him, even as a child doth submit to his father."  Children are such great examples of these Christ-like attributes and I think I might be learning more from them than they will be for me.  The thought then came to my mind, "Well, then why am I their teacher?  After all, they aren't baptized yet, they have no sin, they are pretty much perfect."  Somehow I feel like I, an imperfect person who is trying her best to become the best she can be, am not in a position to teach these children who may be the greatest examples, aside from Christ, of Christ-like attributes in the world.  I feel very blessed to have the opportunity to teach these children and to let them know the Love that God has for each of them.  I am also so glad I have the opportunity to understand and teach the gospel in the simplest ways.  After all, the gospel is so wonderful and it really is so simple to understand.        

9: Revised Topic and Thesis for Research Paper

Initially I wanted to do research on Tiananmen Square because that affect all of China and eventually led to the citizenship of my parents in the United States.  However, after much thought and conversations with my mom, I decided that Tiananmen Square was not a good topic for me so I have revised the topic for my research paper.  The topic for my research will be about Study Abroad instead of Tiananmen Square.  The reason behind this is that my parents initially came to the United States to pursue a higher education.  That along with the many opportunities nowadays to go study abroad in another country led me to wonder if they really are good experiences to have.

Thesis: The intent and duration of a student's participation in a study abroad varies from person to person and from major to major; however, students who participate in study abroad programs increase their individual confidence, increase their understanding and respect for the cultures in the world, and are better prepared for future opportunities in a global world.  

8: An EXTRA Semicolon

An extra semicolon is all it took to mess up my code

Yesterday I finally completed a page of coding for my Computer Science class.  We were learning about Javascript so I was trying to add Javascript into my code.  The goal was to make a pizza order form depicting the size of the pizza as well as the topping choices with an image of the pizza that would adjust depending on the choices that were selected.  I had been working on this particular assignment for over two weeks and just couldn't get to work correctly.  Finally, the due date was getting near and I decided to just go ask the professor for help.  After all, the professor is all-knowing (at least in my assignment) and I was sure he could help me sort out the problem.

I'm somewhat embarrassed to admit that going to see a professor for help intimidated me and always has.  I was worried that I would be seen as a fool because maybe the problem was just a simple little mistake that nobody would ever make.  But seeing as I could not solve the problem on my own, I needed some help.  Well, walking into his office, he was just the happiest guy ever.  He did make me feel dumb or stupid for needing help with my little coding assignment.  He sat down and went through all that I've done to try to find what was throwing my code off.  After a couple hours (yes, it did take this long)  he finally said, "A-ha!"  I got so excited and I could only hope that my problem was solved forever (at least for this assignment).  He showed me the problem and believe it or not, I had inserted an extra semi-colon at the end of one of the lines.  Yes, a SEMICOLON.


It seemed so dumb that a little thing like an extra semicolon could throw everything out of whack and I was kinda annoyed by that.  But really, this is just a simple metaphor of life.  This extra semicolon is exactly related to the mistakes we make in our life, and while it is still there, we can't move on in our life.  We may feel dumb for making this little mistake and sometimes it takes more than just ourselves to make it right.  My professor is like the bishop who, despite my worries and insecurities, made me feel welcome willingly helped me sort out my problem.  Now why didn't I just go into the professor earlier instead of mulling over my assignment for two weeks?!  If I sought help earlier, then I could have moved on to my other assignments.  I know we make mistakes and I know that it is best to repent, to make it right, and move on because there's no way we can continue to grow with mistakes hanging over our shoulder.  I'm so grateful for the mercy God has given me to repent and try to become a little better every single day.  

7: "Loving Others and Living with Differences" - October General Conference 2014

A week ago today, I was sitting in my home experiencing one of the most wonderful times that only happen twice a year: watching General Conference.  Conference is absolutely so amazing and I love it so much because we get the privilege to hear prophets and apostles speak to us in behalf of God.  So in reality, everything they say comes directly from God to his children here on earth.  Because it would be impossible for me to highlight each talk that was given (that would require a super, super long post) I will write about one of the many talks that stood out to me.

In Elder Dallin H. Oaks' talk entitled "Loving Others and Living with Differences," he explains how we as should be treating those who do not share the same beliefs that we do.  Elder Oaks presents his principles in an easy-to-follow, logical way that helped me understand why we need to love others even though it is sometimes hard.  The physical copy of his talk on lds.org, is separated into six sections which organizes the ideas he presents.

He starts his talk by reiterating the second great commandment: "love thy neighbor as thyself."  I find it interesting that he did not directly quote the first great commandment.  He quoted the second commandment, which leads into his talk.  He asks the question "Why is it so difficult to show Christ-like love for one another."  I immediately began thinking why but before I got very far into my thought, Elder Oaks presented the answer: "because we must live among those who do not share our beliefs and values and covenant obligations."  This statement made me analyze whether or not this really was the case in my life.  As with my case, I'm sure many other people began analyzing their own life when Elder Oaks asked his question.  His question was used in a way to get people to start thinking so they would be more receptive to the things he would say next.

Throughout his talk, Elder Oaks presents several key ideas, each presented in its own section.  In each section, Elder Oaks stated his principle; gave examples of how it applies, whether in Christ's life or in our own lives; and then followed up with a sentence or two that reiterated his principle. This format helped me understand how his principles can be applied in my life.

The first principle he stated is that we must avoid contention.  Quoting from the scriptures to illustrate his point, he says:

“For verily, verily I say unto you, he that hath the spirit of contention is not of me, but is of the devil, who is the father of contention, and he stirreth up the hearts of men to contend with anger, one with another."  3 Nephi 11: 28-30

His second principle is we must not compromise or dilute our commitment to the truths we understand.  In other words, as Elder Oaks stated at the end of this principle, 

A follower of Christ will be firm in the truth.

The third principle is that sometimes we will sometimes be confronted by sinful behavior.  Sometimes being called "bigots" or "fanatics" as a result of holding out for right or wrong.  But we should be persons of goodwill toward all.  Again at the end, Elder Oaks says

When our positions do not prevail, we should accept unfavorable results graciously and practice civility with our adversaries.

Elder Oaks fourth topic is about how we can apply those the principles he talked about before.  Once again, this section shows examples of how we can apply the principles in our life.

Elder Oaks then finishes with a short reiteration of the principles he mentioned and concludes with the understanding that our

Savior's commandment to love one another like he loves us may be the greatest challenge [but we should] seek to live it just the same.

Elder Oaks presented his talk in a way that really made sense to me in my mind.  His principles stayed with me because he would state it, give examples, and restate it.  If you haven't watched/read/listened to conference or missed sessions, you can find all the talks here.  I encourage you to review and study the talks!    

6: Research Bainstorming

In 1989, there was an incident that took place in Tiananmen Square in China.  This incident became known throughout the world as a massacre.  My parents were immigrants from Hong Kong who came to the U.S. for college.  According to the law, students who come to the U.S. need to return back to their home country after completing their education unless they can apply for a Green Card.  if they are able to get a green card, then they would be allowed to stay.  The application for this Green Card is a really long process and not everyone is granted.  I wanted to know how my parents were able to get the Green Card and stay in the United States.  Upon asking, I found out that the government in the U.S. issued Green Cards to Chinese people who immigrated to the U.S. following the incident at Tiananmen Square.

I still need to find a focus for my research question but some of the questions going through my mind now is what happened at Tiananmen Square.?  What was the protesting about?  Why is China trying to keep the incident quiet?  Who was in the wrong - the government or China?  What effect did it have on the other families/citizens of China?

Please comment if you have any comments :) or suggestions or ideas.