Clean your windows, and your perspective.

Pres. Monson's address during the Relief Society Meeting of General Conference was inspiring. For those of you who missed it, he talked about charity, and how we need to charitable towards others.  I enjoyed his story about the woman with the dirty window, who thought her neighbor hung out dirty laundry every day until her husband cleaned the windows and the clothes appeared clean. He showed how it is often our negative perspectives of others that make them seem unsatisfactory to us. It made me think about the way I see others. Pres. Monson's talk inspired me to try to be less judgement and more loving to those around me, even when I am having a bad day.

A Child of God by Henry B. Eyring

My favorite part of Elder Eyring's talk was his forth characteristic of great learners: the learner "expects resistance and overcomes it". This part of his talk struck home with me I have had an experience with overcoming resistance in my education. In my junior year of high school, I decided to take an ap chemistry class. Unfortunately, I had no idea what I was getting into. The interminable amount information and the hours of study required to understand the information was incredibly challenging. Within the first month, over half of my classmates, including my friends, had dropped the class. I was put under pressure to follow them. I had to make a choice to stay in the class to learn and challenge myself more than ever before, or take the easier way and drop it. I chose to stay, and that has been one of the smartest choices I have made because I was able to discover my love for chemistry.