I picked up an old journal the other day and it made me laugh and cry (seriously). Here is a poem I wrote when I was 13 (I didn’t edit it)

Why when some people are put to a task they achieve?
and why are others who are put to a task simply leave?
An achiever has heart wants to be the best
A leaver is lazy just wants to rest
Are you an achiever or a leaver?

I found my journal entries a lot of fun and educational to read and I rededicated myself to the journal writing program. For me it works best to write something everyday, even if it is a sentence or two, I still write something on boring days so that when something important or substantial happens, I am already in the habit of writing something daily.

“Teach the children well” is more than a catchy song. I learned this lesson intently as I watched a video from a friends blog that informed me that there is a wrong way and right way to tie your shoes, and how to tie your shoes the right way. I learned that I have been tying them the wrong way for over 25 + years, which has resulted in my shoes coming untied quite often. After I learned the good news, I went around my work office and felt it my solemn responsibility to correct the 25% of people who also tie their shoes incorrectly. I then went to my father and found out that (surprise!!) he too tied them incorrectly. I learned firsthand the importance of teaching your children well. If we think it isn’t important to teach the right things, or to behave the right way, we don’t understand the principles that Elder Maxwell taught when he said “All are free to choose, of course, and we would not have it otherwise. Unfortunately, however, when some choose slackness, they are choosing not only for themselves, but for the next generation and the next. Small equivocations in parents can produce large deviations in their children! Earlier generations in a family may have reflected dedication, while some in the current generation evidence equivocation. Sadly, in the next, some may choose dissension as erosion takes its toll” (Ensign 1992 )

I am just deeply grateful that in all the important lessons of life my parents have taught me the right way in word and example.

Here is the video that has improved my life.