So it has been almost a week since my last blog entry.

Nothing has changed much. How sad.

Since the last time I updated was Saturday, I think I shall mention all the important things that have happened. It should be fairly short.

Err. I worked 1 ten hour shift on Sunday, which was pretty radd cause I got penalty rates (hell yeah!). And it was a surprisingly fast shift, too. So yay!

Monday was uneventful as always, and I had extension english after school, which is always just so much fun. [/sarcasm]. And to be honest, I can't even remember Monday. Tuesday passed in a similar fashion, and I THINK (I can't remember) I talked to a teacher about Extension History. And I hyave no idea why I just mentioned that. It isn't as if anyone reads this anyway. Meh.

Wednesday... was all right, really. I only had two classes (PDHPE and Drama) and then I headed over to the shops for lunch with some coollike peeps. A.K.A friends. That was pretty cool. So yay.

Thursday was boring as usual. And I stayed behind for an hour to study for maths with my maths teacher. Joy. But it was pretty helpful. And it was procrastination from doing my English essay, of which I have only done my introduction, so I wasn't going to pass up the opportunity.

And today was just boring and URGH. Somehow, and I really have no idea how, I have hurt my neck. I can't even move without being crippled in pain. And I have a netball semi final and work tomorrow. JOY.

I really want to get a laptop. I'm going to get one really soon, and then I won't have to deal with any of this sharing computers crap. I hate it, and it gets so frustrating because I swear all my siblings and I do now is fight. Rawr.

So now, here I am at 10:21 pm, writing a blog entry instead of doing my English Essay. Yay for procrastination! And I honestly cbf right now. Lol.

I don't know what else to talk about. So have fun.

xo

Title: Elementary schools should not waste their limited resources by teaching children a second language, especially since so many children are still struggling to master the most basic reading, writing, and arithmetic skills.

My answer:
America is a country of immigrants. Today, it is not uncommon for children seeing classmates from different cultural backgrounds in the classrooms. It is very likely that most of their classmates speaks a different native language at home. Among the common ones are Spanish, Mandarin, or Japanese. The school system of United States started teaching children a second language years ago to promote cross-cultural communication. However, due to limited resources, some may claim that teaching a second language adds more burden to many children who are already struggling to master the most basic reading, writing, and arithmetic skills. Actually, teaching a second language not only benefits the children in the individual level. It also helps to create a peaceful and understanding society.

Children who know a second or third language may connect better with their classmates who come from different countries or speak different native languages. Learning a second language will help them later in their career. United States is a multi-cultural society. It is very likely that they will meet with clients or co-workers who speak different languages. Understanding a client or co-worker's language will help in communication and improve understanding.

Learning a language are not limited to grammar and vocabularies. Learning processes such as reading books, listening to songs, and watching movies help the children to understand different cultures. It promotes the appreciation of different cultures and world views. This will help the children to be a better world citizen when they grow up in the future. They have the ability to tolerate and understand different cultures and customs.

The people who are against teaching a second language might argue that the school already has limited resources and the children are already struggling with other subjects. Learning a second language enriches a students development. A lot of multi-cultural countries such as Malaysia teaches three languages in elementary schools. From my experience as a student from Malaysia, I saw many students who were able to achieve academic success although they had to master three or even four languages. Learning a second language is just like learning a different subjects. Together, these subjects: Science, Art, History, Mathematics, and Languages help to shape a well-rounded individual who are able to contribute to the society.

In conclusion, limited resource and struggles of children are not valid reasons for the elementary schools to abort teaching children a second language. Understanding a second language will help the children to appreciate different cultures and world views. Its benefits outweigh the challenges. It is essential in shaping a peaceful, productive, and harmony society.

~~ End ~~

Thank you for your time for reading it. Please leave me some constructive criticism :).

Sincerely,

Kai Wen

Human grandeur - what is it exactly and does it actually exist? I could hardly express an adequately universal opinion on the topic, as this is a notion far beyond explicitness. However, drawing on the “Man is a measure for everything” maxim, I can state my understanding that I do believe in human grandeur and I can clearly recognize it throughout the pages of history and even in my own everyday experience.

Passion is essential and inevitably everywhere in our world. It may be light and benevolent, or dark and malevolent. Quite often we give way to egotism and anger and do things hurtful to others. Nevertheless, is it not the most beautiful happening when one acknowledges their mistake and repents for it? And even more marvelous when one is requited with forgiveness and accepted back, and loved? As for me, it is. The ability to rue or pardon the harms once vigorously and mindlessly induced is a bliss, which should be most valued. It is the very thing that proves human soul superiority over low passions and differs good-hearted, capable of real relations individuals from the ones weak in true love.

Another victory over innate passions is endurance in situations of severe distress. A lot of people in world history expressed such respectable and excessive strength of will. Starting with Socrates, who stood for his adherence for truth and refused to avoid his death sentence through bribed escape and ending with the beggar from my neighbourhood, who refused to overstep his principles not to steal in order to avoid starvation, a person can easily fill their list of spiritual guides and strive for being better. I am far from the idea that everyone can achieve similar volitive results, but it is something obviously and definitely peculiar to men – to keep their virtues even in great sufferings.

Yes, human grandeur does exist. I find it every time I see an individual sustaining victory over our imperfect human nature and doing the right thing. As Alfred Lord Tennyson once remarked: “The happiness of man in this life does not consist in the absence of, but in the mastery of his passions.”

Ambition is one of the most valued qualities of our time. Nevertheless, the time we live in, however advanced it is said to be, is also a time of severe human disgrace. People know more, but think less; they own more, but disvalue what they have; they strive more, but remain unsatisfied. So where in this paradoxes-torn world does ambition take place and is its role so good as it is supposed to be? According to me, ambition is a graceful gift, but having its thorns in the forms of arrogance and hypocrisy.

Ambition is among the main catalysts, elevating a person in their career and every rise in social or economic status inevitably brings the most human sin - namely - haughtiness. Starting with the creation of the Babylon Tower and ending with my mist of boredom at school today, life offers us a various number of examples confirming this thesis. Can something be done to prevent the matter in question? I presume no. One who is determined to climb the ladder of success should also be prepared to meet the disappointment of both his and his audience’s behaviour.

Another trait career-hunting is stained with is hypocrisy. However socially revered candour is, when matters come to money and acquisition of any kind, egoistic people often disregard their principles and, although committing a moral crime, intentionally cheat and manipulate in order to achieve their goal. This I find inexcusable and wrong. For me sincerity in my relations is of grave importance and I do my best to preserve it this way. Alas… I strongly doubt it is the same with most people.

Concluding the above-exposed, in my opinion ambition is very similar to any remedy – overdosed its effect is quite undesirable. I believe that in order to keep the fragile balance between conscience and success, one has to stand for their principles and not violate them, except in extreme situations. A man’s happiness, after all, is not so much connected with their material winnings, as with their spiritual comfort.

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Мое есе по Английски, оценено на 6 :) Лично аз много му се радвам, защото поуспях да вложа стила на писане на Оскар Уайлд, който е наистина невероятен! :D

Running with Scissors

As human beings, each person belongs to a number of communites. Some people belong to sports teams, others book clubs, service organizations, and the list goes on. Most people also belong to more than one community as well. I belong to many communities- including the communities of Greenriver Community College and LDS Seminary.
Greenriver is an academic institution. Seminary is a theological class for high school students of the LDS faith. Greenriver offers a wide variety of classes for students to take to either become qualified in a degree of their choice or to transfer to a University or large College. Seminary is an early morning LDS church class for high school youth that provides a community of support for helping youth in upholding their standards.
On my first day of seminary, I had only been in Kent for about two and half months. I didn't know anything about anybody, and so I just showed up to the class that some lady in the church foyer told me to go to. So, I showed up there. For two days. And finally I realized, that I happened to be the only freshman in that class! Whooops! Whathappened? Well, I ended up finding the appropriate class (which drove me creazy with soo much noise going on and obnoxious freshman boys, and the other part was the teacher- Bro Sellers- who had been in the military and knew how to handle obnoxious young men. Most of the time. There are somethngs that they don't- no, can't- teach in the military- getting a posse of 14-15 year old boys to be quiet is one of them! Oh how I detested those young men for talking that year! And destested I truly did- how dare they talk and ruin the lesson for me?
My first day of Greenriver was quite different actually- since all of those classes were online, I had to wait the dreadful wait until noon when the classes opened online. This was awful. I checked at eleven, just to see if they'd open earlier by any chance. Of course they didn't. I then was bombarded with class information like sylabbus' and class due dates and my first assignments.... it was scary!! But also very exciting- to be in control of my education and to have soo much learning to learn ahead of me!!
Another thing about seminary and Greenriver that differs, is the atmosphere. i've only set foot on the acutal campus a couple of times, but my impression of it is that it's a lot more "loos" than seminary. That makes sense, however. For example- we don't swear in seminary. Part of it is because of all the people that e xpect each other not to, and the other part is that we're all in the church, and that's how we show respect. That part is that most of us just think it's plain silly to swear.
The first time I fully realized this particular difference between greenriver and seminary was in my english 110 class. Within the first scouple of weeks I was given an assignement to read an essay by some author about crappy rough drafts- except the word "crappy" wasn't used- the "S-word" was used in it's stead. I looked at that assignment and did a double take. Crappy (but not "crappy") rough drafts?! Okay, I suppose that it's considered alright to use language like that in college. I'm extremely uncaccustomed to it, but I guess Ican see where they're coming from.... (If you saw the rough draft of this essay, you'd see how it's title "crappy rough draft") In seminary, such language isn't even considered being used because everyone kneows that it's an unacceptable practice. This one apsect of Greenriver i've had to adjust to, knowing that many people don't consider such language inappropriate and don'ot share my opinions conerning it. I now brace myselc mentally for english 110 every time I access the class online. I don ejnjoye this class, don't get me wrong- I enjoy writing and haven't enjoyed it so much I htink in a very long while; however- it woudl be nmice if i didn't have to worry about what peopole are going to say and whether or not it willl be appropriate.
With (for example) young men from my semianry class, I ahve no such worries. I know that if I am around them they will not say anthing inappropriate- no wswaring, cussing, vulgar language, dirt jokes, secual innuendos- none of that which when I hear it makes me cringe. What's also nice is, for example, in mycomtemporary world issues (CWI) class last year, a boy named Isaac from my semianry class was in it with myself. And we would talk about different htings in tat class that tend to be very convtroversial matters. I aboslutely loves it when we broaches a topic like that and when a slightly "skewed" (to my opinion) opinion was offered, Isaac and I could just glance at each other and grimace- our thoughts echoing one another. What a lovely feeling of reassurance!! To know that I am not alone in my opinions and beliefs, or views.
A similar experience happened in my freshman history class. Mr. Larsen (during a unit on Greece) drew an excessive amount of attnetion the the male genitalia on a greek statue in a picture, and also the female "endowments" (that's what we'll refer to the breasts as)- the upstanding LDS boys in my class looked way and groanded at the taecher's audacity. With these young men, I don't have to worry about them viewing my body as an object to be admired that being the sole reason they enjoy my copmpany. I iknow that while they might struggle with viewing my body as such, the fact is that in this struggle they continue trying to do their best in choosing the right.
I'm quite sure that Greenriver's population would not enable such feeligns of security- such backup in making wise decisions. But that's okay as well, because that is not Greenriver's nature, nor its purpose. Seminary's purpose is to lift and support and teach its students and help them to lead better, happy, righteous lives. greenriver's purpose is to produce good, well-educated citizens. Both noble causes, but very different purposes at work behind them.
They type of people at greenriver and seminary vary as well. seminary's students are mostly all mormon, which means that they all have the same standards that each is encourage to uphold. We have expectations of conduct from one another. Greenriver is much more diverse than semianry- consisting of many different ethincities (semianry's students are mostly "white", USA-born students). What an interesting these two institutions make!
At greenriver much of what I learn is brand new information. Knowledge I have never encountered before, and in each online class, different moethords of handling the classroom. Whears in seminary all of the classes and different teachers are organized mostly the same. At greenriver, teachers have much more say in the control of the structure of their class.
in semianry i hear many thigns which i have been taught growing up. every now and then there will be a fact that i have never heard of before, but usually i am reminded of previous lessons- "oh yes! I remember learning that..." and then what I learned before is expounded upn.
every year in seminary, we also start out with hat is known as "The Plan of Salvation". we talk about the pre-mortal life, life on earth, and death, and what it all means and what the purpose of each is. for greenriver, classes, there is no such overarching theme- except for maybe the existence of a syllable...
There's one other difference between greenriver and seminary. greenriver has teachers that rae experienced (in most cases) in teaching and pretty much experts in their fields (know whatthey're talking about from tons of experience). semianry can have a wider-range of teacher skills. for example, i had a Bro Dysart for semianry last year. He taught very interesting lessons, but at the beginning of the school year it was quite obvious that he lacked the knack for adding the necessary interest for teenagers in his lesson. Because of this many of his students ended up leaving- probably for a "better" teacher. Through out the yaer, bro dysart would occasaionally have a different teacher ocme in and teach his students and he's watch with us and I think what he was doing was learning how to teach us well. Over the yera he became a much more adept teacher- focusing his lessons more and making them of an extreme more amount of interst to the audience. It was a spectacular experience to witness.
Both greenriver and semianry have their perks, but between the two institutions, I prefer seminary. this is just because of the nature of the class. people may say that seminary tdoesn't taech anyhting that cna't be taught at home or at church. that is true, but seminary provides and unequlaed ppurtunity for daily teaching in an enviroment with other peopeple whome the students can realte to and interact with, thus providing and unparalled support which the likes of cannot be foudn at home or church. people may say that semianry is useless. it is not. as any semianry student- most will say that they notice how starting their day of f with seminary changes the whole outcome of the day.

As human beings, each person belongs to a number of communities. Some people belong to sports teams, others book clubs, service organizations, and the list goes on. Most people also belong to more than one community as well. I belong to many communities- including the communities of Greenriver Communtiy College and Seminary.
Greenriver is an academic institution. Seminary is a theological class for high school students of the LDS faith. Seminary is an early morning LDS church class for youth that provides a much-needed community of support for upholding church standards, values, and morals. Before proceeding very far, here’s a synapsis of what seminary is.
. It is an early morning class for girls and boys in high school with the course curriculum foundation in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (the LDS Church, or the “Mormon Church”). There are four years of seminary- the Old Testament, New Testament, Book of Mormon, and Church History/Doctrine and Covenants.
Students learn about the text and also about how the information therein applies to them- the scriptures are personalized. In doing this, students learn good values.

I have not been a student at Greenriver for very long, but in my experience thus far the community is vastly different from my seminary community.
The first time I fully realized the difference between Greenriver and seminary was in my English 110 class. Within the first couple of weeks I was given an assignment to read an essay by some author about S***** rough drafts. I did a double-take. S***** rough drafts?! Okay, I suppose that it’s considered alright to use language like that in college. I’m extremely unaccustomed to it, but I guess I can see where they’re coming from… (Do you see how the title of this essay is a crappy rough draft?) In seminary, such language isn’t even considered being used because everyone knows that it is an unacceptable practice. This one aspect of Greenriver I’ve had to adjust to, knowing that many people don’t consider such language inappropriate and don’t share my opinions concerning it. I now brace myself mentally for English 110 every time I access the class online. I do enjoy this class, don’t get me wrong- I enjoy writing, and haven’t enjoyed it so much I think in a very long while; however- it would be nice if I didn’t have to worry about what people are going to say and whether or not it will be appropriate.
And on that though, there is something to be said about the friends I have from seminary. Many teenage boys in high school (and many teenage boys and young adult males in college, as well, I’m sure) like to engage in conversations which, to say the least, are not very appropriate in the least bit. Around these sorts of people, I feel uncomfortable, always on my guard, thinking are they going to say something that makes me feel uncomfortable? If so, when? And how am I going to avoid having the conversation go further down that track? This is a very stressful way to feel when interacting with other people. It is difficult to be casual, easygoing, and to enjoy the young man if I constantly worried about what he’s going say and if I will need to direct the conversation in more appropriate paths of conversation.
With young men from my seminary class, I have no such worries. I know that if I am around them they will not say anything inappropriate- no swearing, cussing, vulgar language, dirty jokes, sexual innuendos- none of that which when I hear it makes me cringe. What’s also nice is, for example, in my contemporary world issues (CWI) class that I had last year, a boy named Isaac from my seminary class was in it with myself. And we would talk about different things in that class that tend to be very controversial issues. I absolutely loved it when we broached controversial topics which, being LDS, Isaac and I had our set-in-stone opinions concerning. Sometimes other students would say something concerning these topics that was a little off-color. I loved that simple glance at Isaac where I saw him glancing back and grimacing, his thoughts seeming to echo mine. Was that really necessary to say? Or when in Mr. Larsen’s class our freshman year, Mr. Larsen drew an excessive amount of attention to the male genitalia on a Greek statue, and the female “endowments” (that’s what we’ll call the breasts)- the upstanding LDS boys (who, by the way, are in my seminary class) looked away and groaned at the teacher’s audacity. With these young men I don’t have to worry about them viewing my body as an object to be admired and that being the sole reason they enjoy my company. I know that while they might struggle with viewing my body as such, but the fact is that in this struggle they continue trying their best to do what’s right.
That last idea is part of the reason why most of the seminary girls dress modestly- even for school dances like homecoming, they find dresses that do not plunge too low and also which have sleeves (if they don’t have sleeves, they make their own sleeves or wear a little jacket over their dress). The boys respect girls, do not swear, and aren’t interested in viewing inappropriate material. Many/most of these students work hard at school, and work at keeping a long-term perspective of how their choices today affect their life possibilities in the future.
You see, being LDS, we have values, and standards, and morals and we try to adhere to them like tape, sticking upfor what we believe in. But sometimes, Sunday worship service and Sunday school just aren’t enough. In our society which can be so corrupt and vulgar at times, we often need daily uplifting. Daily reminders of who we areand what we stand for. Seminary does this for today’s LDS youth. It helps us at this critical deciding time in our lives to stick to what we believe and stand up for it.Of course, in my example about the young men being upstanding, that goes two ways. I know young men who are extremely thankful for the large amount of girls who dress and behave modestly. Some of them like to say, “modest is hottest!!”, which always gets a laugh, but is also nice for the young women to hear. They don’t feel pressured around these good LDS girls to think about sex or other inappropriate behaviors. They are able to concentrate on the girls’ personalities instead of being distracted by their more physical endowments.
Thus far in my college experience, Greenriver has a bit of a different atmosphere. Which is alright- Greenriver is not an LDS school, and so I realize that it’s quite silly to expect it to live up to my standards of right and wrong and such. That’s okay. I don’t have a problem with the Greenriver is conducted, though I must say that I don’t prefer the manner in which the freedom of speech is being carried out. Sometimes I wish for a Freedom of Hearing law. I have the freedom to not hear what I don’t want to hear… J
Between seminary and Greenriver, I prefer seminary. This is just because of the nature of the class. . People may say that seminary doesn’t teach anything that can’t be taught at home or at church. That is true, but seminary provides an unequaled opportunity for daily teaching in an environment with other people whom the students can relate to and interact with, thus providing an unparalleled support which the likes of cannot be found at home or church. People may say that seminary is useless. It is not. Ask any seminary student, most will say that they notice how starting their day off with seminary changes the whole outcome of the day.
Seminary gets me started in the morning. It gets me started thinking critically and in making good decisions through out my day. I had to choose between seminary and Greenrvier, I would chose the first in just a couple heartbeats. Why? Although I love Greenriver, I believe that seminary has a greater influence on my life- on the choices I make and what I grow up to become and what sort of person I grow up to become.

Essay map for essay 2-

*Seminary is an early morning LDS church class for youth that provides a much-needed community of support for upholding church standards, values, and morals.
It’s important to say this because seminary is a very important part of LDS youth’s lives- much more important than some people think. If people are aware of the good that seminary can do, it is hoped that they will be more supportive of it. It is a great augmentative force in LDS youth’s lives which reminds them of choosing the right and also gives them the opportunity to interact with other youth who have similar standards, thus forming friendships which are conducive to living a good, happy, and healthy life.
*To be convinced by my claim the first thing the reader needs to know is what seminary is. The reader needs to know this because that’s what the essay is about, and most people don’t know what it is. It is an early morning class for girls and boys in high school with the course curriculum foundation in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (the LDS Church, or the “Mormon Church”). There are four years of seminary- the Old Testament, New Testament, Book of Mormon, and Church History/Doctrine and Covenants.
*The next thing my reader needs to know is what seminary teaches. That is important because it’s also what my essay is about. There are four years of seminary- the Old Testament, New Testament, Book of Mormon, and Church History/Doctrine and Covenants each comprising one year of seminary instruction. Students learn about the text and also about how the information therein applies to them- the scriptures are personalized. In doing this, students learn good values.
*The next thing a reader needs to know is what the typical seminary students are like- their personalities and life choices. Most of the girls dress modestly- even for school dances like homecoming, they find dresses that do not plunge too low and also which have sleeves (if they don’t have sleeves, they make their own sleeves or wear a little jacket over their dress). The boys respect girls, do not swear, and aren’t interested in viewing inappropriate material. Many/most of these students work hard at school, and work at keeping a long-term perspective of how their choices today affect their life possibilities in the future.
*The next thing my reader needs to know is counter arguments for the usefulness of seminary. Sometimes people may say that not all Mormons are good, and so the examples of seminary students I gave are the exception. Well, those examples are not the exception- they are the rule. It is a minority of seminary students that I know who do not stick to the standards taught to them and who make poor life choices. People may say that seminary doesn’t teach anything that can’t be taught at home or at church. That is true, but seminary provides an unequaled opportunity for daily teaching in an environment with other people whom the students can relate to and interact with, thus providing an unparalleled support which the likes of cannot be found at home or church. People may say that seminary is useless. It is not. Ask any seminary student, most will say that they notice how starting their day off with seminary changes the whole outcome of the day. They feel happier and do better at school and get along with people better. All this because they have seminary in the morning to start their day off right. If attending seminary can produce such results, then it must needs be a good thing.

PART ONE
Essay structure invention- “why?”

Why does my interpretation of this phenomenon of seminary matter to anyone besides me?
It lets people know about seminary, about the youth of my church. About how much we care about our religion and our beliefs and our standards and what sorts of techniques the church uses to raise its youth well. And you don’t need to be Mormon to come to seminary. So perhaps some people will have their kids come to seminary with us. That would be pretty cool. Maybe if more people came to seminary they’d start making better choices in their lives, and do better in school, and be happy and stuff. I know that I am extremely biased
It is a support for parents, church leaders, seminary teachers, high school teachers, seminary students, and upcoming seminary students (aka “seminary students to-be”). Why is it important to them? For parents- well, parents wake up at six o’clock in the morning to drive their children to seminary. Their children loose sleep for it. I think that expressing the value of seminary reassures these parents that their sacrifices are for something good- that in sacrificing an hour or so of sleep, they allow their children to have a daily experience which is beneficial to their daily lives.
Seminary teachers would benefit from hearing a student express the value of seminary because sometimes being a seminary teacher can be a thankless job. I do not know this from first-hand experience, however, I am aware of it through watching teachers. One day last year Brother Dysart got extremely upset- upset for him at least (it was pretty calm compared other peoples’ tempers that I’ve seen; he must just be a very placid sort of man)- because he had worked hard at his lesson, and what was the class doing? Well, one third wasn’t present, another third was sleeping, and the last third (excepting maybe two students) were talking. I felt bad for him (especially since I was one of the talking students…). It was the only day that he ever got upset with us like that. It really was. Freshman year Brother Sellers had a hard time as well. He had a bunch of obnoxious freshman boys who like to think they’re funny (okay, so they are actually pretty funny, I’ve realized now that they and I have matured a bit, but at the time I just got annoyed with them for detracting from my learning experience), and who would spend most of seminary talking. Poor Brother Sellers.
Such a previously explained explanation would benefit seminary students and seminary students-to-be because it will show them how seminary can impact their lives and how beneficial it can be for them. And also how much many current seminary students enjoy and reap great rewards from attending, and learning in, seminary.
Four hundred and seventy nine words. That’s not enough! Okay, so now it’s four hundred and ninety eight words. Fantastic. I’m done. (501)
Well, in conclusion, why is this topic important? ‘cuz it’s good to know what’s going on, and it’s also good to reassure people that things they do (or can do) are for their benefit. The end.
Essay structure invention- “what?”

What evidence shows that seminary being a good community for high school students is true?
The fact that high school students who attend regularly and who are willing to benefit from the class, are generally happy people who work hard at doing well in school and at being good people.
Isaac, Spencer, David, and Derek are pretty happy young men. They come to seminary in the morning often tired, but still retaining their good sense of humor. This was especially so today when Sister Utterback said that she brought donuts for the class. “Yeee-es!!” said Isaac. He, David, Spencer and Derek pretty much went very quickly over to the donuts. But it’s not just about donuts, you see, it’s also about behavior outside of the classroom. While I may not be well acquainted with all of these four boys, I do feel comfortable around them. I know that if I am around them they will not say anything inappropriate- no swearing, cussing, vulgar language, dirty jokes, sexual innuendos- none of that which when I hear it makes me cringe. What’s also nice is, for example, in my contemporary world issues (CWI) class that I had last year, Isaac was in it. And we would talk about different things- like gay marriage- in that class that tend to be very controversial issues. I absolutely loved it when we broached the topic of gay marriage and I was able to exchange a look with Isaac, and could tell that he was thinking, “ugh… gay marriage is not right; and I don’t really want to talk about it”. Or when in Mr. Larsen’s class our freshman year, Mr. Larsen drew an excessive amount of attention to the male genitalia on a Greek statue, and the female “endowments” (that’s what we’ll call the breasts)- the upstanding LDS boys (who, by the way, are in my seminary class) looked away and groaned at the teacher’s audacity. With these young men I don’t have to worry about them viewing my body as an object to be admired and that being the sole reason they enjoy my company. They are not that worldly.
You see, being LDS, we have values, and standards, and morals and we try to adhere to them like tape, sticking up for what we believe in. But sometimes, Sunday worship service and Sunday school just aren’t enough. In our society which can be so corrupt and vulgar at times, we often need daily uplifting. Daily reminders of who we are and what we stand for. Seminary does this for today’s LDS youth. It helps us at this critical deciding time in our lives to stick to what we believe and stand up for it.
Of course, in my example about the young men being upstanding, that goes two ways. I know young men who are extremely thankful for the large amount of girls who dress and behave modestly. Some of them like to say, “modest is hottest!!”, which always gets a laugh, but is also nice for the young women to hear. They don’t feel pressured around these good LDS girls to think about sex or other inappropriate behaviors. They are able to concentrate on the girls’ personalities instead of being distracted by their more physical endowments.
Essay structure invention- “how?”

How does the thesis stand up to the challenge of a counter-argument?
How does the introduction of new material affect the claims I’m making?
Possible argument: these students are just raised to be good students, and seminary doesn’t make a difference one way or the other because that’s just who they are.
Possible counter-argument: wrong. These students may or may not have good parents who raise them well, and may not have other good environments to be in in order to have their standards upheld. And if they do, well, good for them. However- seminary makes a difference because it reinforces what is taught at home and expounds on that. Often nowadays parents don’t have much time to sit down with their kids and teach them about their religion and in-depth teach them about good standards and values and morals and about how to uphold those and such. This is unfortunate, but it happens. Students come to seminary and learn things that parents don’t teach them at home (whether that be because of neglect to teach or just lack of time or knowledge). We are reminded about how bad choices lead to bad consequences and given scriptural advice concerning these matters as well. Seminary supports what a student already knows and does, making it easier to live making good decisions.
Possible argument (including new material): there are seminary students that don’t make very good choices- that do drugs, have sex, etc. yet they attend seminary regularly. Obviously seminary doesn’t make a difference in their lives.
Possible counter-argument: these students don’t care about seminary. But it’s more than that- they don’t follow their religion, and since seminary is a support to religion and faith, there must be faith and a willingness or conviction to follow what they know is right. Students that don’t have that attitude, that willingness or conviction, don’t have anything for seminary to augment. They go to seminary and very little of the lessons taught there affect them because they are not willing to accept them.
Possible argument: seminary just teaches a bunch of religious “hoo-ha”, or junk.
Possible counter-argument: seminary doesn’t teach a bunch of religious “hoo-ha” (that is soo fun to say!!). It teaches our religion, and that includes things like having good standards and integrity. Good standards such as being honest and hard working and respectful towards people. Keeping good care of your body- not drinking alcohol (ever), doing drugs, we even talk about getting enough sleep! (of course, most of the seminary students have a lot of trouble with that one.) The students in my seminary class that “walk the talk” (act on what they believe) are great students. They follow the counsel of the president of our church and study hard and work hard and uphold their standards.
I like my seminary class, and no one can convince me that it is a worthless class. I like going to the church in the morning before school and starting my day off learning about my religion and about the scriptures. I like the people that I meet through seminary and how they give me a support group for staying true to what I believe.