What is a Friend?

Dictionary.com defines "friend" as:

1.

a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard.

2.

a person who gives assistance; patron; supporter: friends of the Boston Symphony.

3.

a person who is on good terms with another; a person who is not hostile: Who goes there? Friend or foe?

4.

a member of the same nation, party, etc.

5.

(initial capital letter) a member of the Religious Society of Friends; a Quaker.

I'm not so sure about ALL of those definitions applying to me, but I'd like to think that I'm at least a 1, 2, 3, and 4 for a lot of people (an easier way to say that would have been: "I would like to think that all but number 5 apply to me for a lot of people." But that wouldn't have been the first thing that came to my head when writing this out, so it wouldn't have been as genuine :D)

So, as far as definition #1 goes, how does one become a friend? And what is this that people call a "true friend?" What must one do? How does one acquire the feelings of affection or personal regard? Sincerity, love unfeigned...? But how do these things enter into us...?

I suppose it's like most attributes you acquire in this life. President Boyd K. Packer, President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, has taught: “True doctrine, understood, changes attitudes and behavior. The study of the doctrines of the gospel will improve behavior quicker than a study of behavior will improve behavior.” If we are to internalize the attribute of friendship, we ought to study the doctrine behind friendship, or, as defined, feelings of affection and personal regard.

Or, is it something only to be acquired after time spent together, learning about one another and serving one another. I believe strongly that the greatest motivator in this world is Charity, or the "pure love of Christ." Preach My Gospel, the manual for missionary service, states that: "You will develop charity as you look for opportunities to serve others and give of yourself." So, is friendship, built on love, developed as people serve one another?

How is one to become a friend? And what is all this talk about "true friends?"

There is a comment feature on this blog for a reason :-D These are questions to be answered :-D I hope that you are all doing well! Just look at the Bright-Side of Life. It's the only thing bright that wont blind you after a long gaze :-D It will only make you see more clearly!

*LoNG - Random thoughts... Inspired by a friend :-D

Disclaimer: I hope I don't offend anyone who is in love with facebook or texting... I don't HATE them, I just think they have a purpose and we ought not use them for more... (Not that I'm perfect... :S)

Elder Oaks said in a recent Stake Conference: "When technology is a slave, it's good. When it becomes a master, it's bad. When something good becomes a priority over that which is best, that thing becomes bad."

I've been thinking for the last few days that I need to write in my blog about a few things... I read a friend's blog today and there were a few posts that were pretty random. I concluded that it is ok to be random on blogs, because if you don't like it, it's your fault for reading it! Ha!

I think Facebook is like a habit forming substance. Which pretty much means it's against the Word of Wisdom. The more you use it, the more you use it.

The more friends you add, the more status updates you get.

The more comments you make on status updates, the more responses you get.

The more pictures you upload, the more comments you have to reply to.

The more applications you add... Well, I don't add applications, but I'm sure they're pretty big time-wasters too...

If you appear online, you have a million people who start a chat with you.

etc.

etc.

etc.

I do believe that Facebook has it's benefits. It's a great way to find a friend you haven't talked to in a long time. It's a good way to plan events. There are good benefits, but for those who over-use it, it is like a black-hole. You just get sucked in. Luckily, this hasn't exactly happened to me. I'm on the computer a lot, so my activity isn't low, but I have striven to avoid the addiction that many people have so unfortunately fallen under. I'm sorry, but I'm not all that interested that currently you're tying your shoe... Not to be rude, just saying... Maybe, like I said on this post, if I don't like it, I don't have to read it... Hmmmm.... I could be a little kinder I suppose...

I feel a very similar way about texting. I don't believe that texting conversations are actually conversations. Texting does serve it's purpose. It's good when you're not really in a situation to talk on the phone for whatever reason, but to spend an hour on a conversation that could have lasted 5 minutes seems a little silly to me. Now, there are also times that I don't particularly want to get up and leave what I'm doing so I can talk with someone on the phone, so I text instead. But most generally, my rule of thumb is: If you text once and get a response you need to respond to (beyond just "goodbye"), call them!

Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of technology. In fact, I'm majoring in Electrical Engineering at BYU. But with my fanness of technology I also have an understanding of it's dangers. A very wise man once told me while on my mission: "There are barriers that are up when talking with someone on the phone or in person. These barriers keep us from saying things that we ought not say, or don't really mean (or both!). These barriers are not up when chatting or texting." I totally believe it. It makes complete sense to me. Aside from this (and also almost a part of this) you can only take a friendship so far without actually associating with someone in person. You can't really learn who they are online or through texting. We need to go back to the old-fashioned way of developing friendships. Let's spend some time together, play games, laugh, sing, dance, do fun stuff. We'd just be sitting in front of the computer talking to each other on Facebook anyway.

I recently got a really big project from someone, which is going to prove very busy and lucrative. :D As some of you may know, I ripped Mom's CDs to the computer and put them on her iPod to replace the 300 CD changer that we had for listening to music on the entertainment system (unfortunately, after taking all the CDs and putting them away, the iPod kinda broke... So she needs a new iPod, if anyone's getting a new one, I'm sure she'd love your old one if it still works!). Well, I started doing pretty much the same thing for my good friend Rachel Ashby's mom. Sister Ashby was pretty pleased with my work and sent an e-mail to her friends telling them about what I've done. Two hours later I get a call from Julie Whitehead. Sister Whitehead taught my sister Kimberlee clogging many years ago as it turns out! As a clogging instructor, you collect quite a bit of music. Somewhere around 600 CDs I'm guessing. So, now, I'm working from home, running around to all the computers in the house ripping these CDs all over the place! $0.50 per CD. Which, if I were doing it on just one computer that would be about $3 - $4 an hour, but with the speediness of my computer and the other two (and possibly three soon with Debbie's) computers, I can go quick enough to make about $13 an hour :D It's pretty awesome! I also have a number of things to do for Mom and Dad. I'm staying pretty busy :-D

I've recently been making a lot of new friends. As much as I really really really wanted to get down to BYU, I'm starting to regret that I can't take some of my new friends with me. I've been going to the temple Wednesday mornings to do baptisms quite a bit, and those regulars are becoming pretty good friends :-D. I guess this is the way it goes though. You make friends, then life takes you away and you make new friends. It's pretty sad though. You can get pretty close to people, then torn away. Sometimes life can not be fair.

That's what it felt like when I came home from my mission. I wont bemoan this subject as I've done previously so very much, maybe too much... But everyone's moved on, so I need to as well. Keep the old friends as much as I can, but get some new ones wherever I am. I have great examples of this. There's one girl that I've met who's the greatest example of someone who can meet everyone at a party in just a manner of minutes. I'd like to be more like her.

I spoke in Sacrament Meeting today. It went alright... It was basically the same as my homecoming talk (that's what they wanted). I didn't have near as much time as I would have liked... But it's always good to reminisce about the mission :D

I finally got a home teaching route! I was able to go home teaching today and it felt pretty sweet. I felt a little bit like a missionary again... It was a little bit awkward, but I'll get over it. Home teaching is a little bit like missionarying, but a bit different too... Hard to describe...

Well, I hope that all is going well for everyone. Life is as splendid as you make it out to be. And just remember, no one ever injured his eyesight by looking on the bright side of things! And that's the Bright-Side of Life!

P.S. I'm not a fan of my phone - Samsung Reclaim... Lots of problems. One of th biggest being it's really slow and doesn't hold very many texts at all, so it's always telling me to delete unwanted messages... It's pretty annoying... But the fact that it's a phone, it functions (mostly), and it was free, and it's blue.... That's the Bright-Side of Life! :D

My life in a nutshell...

It's been a bit since I last wrote. I thought I'd write a quick summary of my life. This is what my week generally looks like on a normal basis as of right now:

Then between all those, I work for either the Ashby's (making music videos for their family vacation pictures, or doing other computer stuff), Midnight Productions (making videos of the plays and other productions going on in Twin Falls), or Mom and Dad (doing work around the office and house), or I'm practicing the piano :-D. It's pretty good. I'm starting to come up with a routine, which is nice. I'm starting to get used to the idea of being home (though still, at times, I am shocked again that I'm actually done with my mission, just last night I had another dream of me being a missionary, ha ha). So, that's Kent's Life in a nutshell. I'm pretty happy to be a part of it! And that's the Bright-side of life!

Running and Rediscovering Technology!

Last night, we had an Institute BBQ. It was a lot of fun. We started off building temples with cardboard! It was great. Tyler Thoroman came too. We worked with a few other people and made the best one there! We also played games like Apples to Apples, Clue, and Pit. Had a lot of fun.
For the last few mornings, I've gone running by/into the Snake River Canyon. It's been great! I had been thinking about going running in the mornings to stay fit and it's a pretty good stress reliever too. I never have really been much of a fan of running, though I was in cross-country in Junior High. But, thinking about that, combined with my brother-in-law Jacob Sybrowski giving me all kinds of grief about how he's going to live 15 years longer because he's eating healthy and exercising regularly, made me get started. It's been great, and having the Canyon to run into has been awesome. It's a beautiful view!

You may or may not recall how before my mission I was extremely into the goings-on of Google. I wrote a blog regularly (for a year maybe?) on the new things Google was doing (I was the first major Google Blogger to post about Google buying out YouTube, my ratings sky rocketed that day!). Well, yesterday was the first day that I really looked around the Google goings-on again, just out of curiosity, and it shocked me what I found!

Google Voice is a new product that Google is putting out which is basically e-mail for phone. There are several awesome features (all of which are displayed in fun animations on the Google Voice YouTube page). These features include: Voicemail Transcription, One number for all your phones (and you can make settings depending on who's calling to where the call will be connected to (i.e. home, cell, work, or all... OR NONE if you don't like that person ;D)), Personalized Greetings (so you can do one voicemail message that's you rocking out to a song or something for your friends, and then a more professional one for your boss ;D), International calls for $0.02 a minute!, texting through e-mail (it will appear to your friend like it's coming from your phone), share voicemails, block callers, screen callers, Mobile App, and simple Conference Calling. All-in-all, it's pretty amazing what it can do. Currently, it's on an invite basis only. If anyone reading this has a Google Voice account and has the option to invite a friend like the beginnings of Gmail, I would love an invite! I've applied for one! (Yes, you may call me a nerd...)

Google Wave is so incredible it's hard to describe. In face, the video they have for it is an hour and a half long! (So I haven't even scratched the surface of what it can do). Essentially it will likely change the way that we communicate from e-mail, to texting, to collaborating on any kind of project, to blogging, to just about anything. It's pretty amazing what it can do. If I understand it right, it's mostly meant for live conversations between more than two people (though two people can do it themselves as well.) It's pretty convenient when planning a trip with a lot of people, or working on a project. Because there's a lot to it, and it's also pretty new, I haven't really had opportunity to look at it much quite yet, but I've applied for an invitation to this as well and hopefully I can get into it because it looks pretty amazing.

Picnik.com is an online photo/image editor that has highly sophisticated features and combine that with Google Chrome as an extension and all of a sudden you have a really useful tool for editing and sharing photos and images on blogs and social networks (like Facebook).

It's pretty amazing what online technology can do now! You forget that you're even on the internet. At the rate we're going it will be pretty incredible where we are technology-wise in 10 years from now! Let's hope that we don't forget how to place a normal call and actually talk to a person. And that we go out and do something social and active with our family and friends! There are definitely some pretty amazing pieces of technology out there, but none of them compares in value to actual communication and real (not Facebook) friendship! And that's the Bright-side of life! :-D

Comments

For the last week or so, I've felt pretty sad that nobody has commented on my blog yet. In fact, I planned on writing a post totally dedicated to buying a candy-bar for the first person to do so. Well, today, my Sister-in-law Kim posted on the family blog, saying that she was having trouble commenting on my blog! For some reason, my blog was a little messed up and so you COULDN'T comment on it!

I have found myself a little lacking in knowing how to operate this machine we call a computer like I once was able. So, after a bit of struggle (and I still can't get it to display my "about me" gadget, even though it says that it is), I was able to fix the comments problem (the bright-side of life), so now you CAN comment on my blog if you feel so inclined! I'd love to hear from you!

I had a good evening. I walked by the canyon with my new found friend Sara. It was really neat. We went a little bit late, so it was getting pretty dark. But the lights from the parking lot illuminated the canyon well. It was pretty beautiful. You could see the Temple all lit up too. It was pretty awesome. I have felt a little sad that I must remain here in Twin Falls whilst many of my friends are down in Provo at BYU. But this evening, the Lord stretched forth his infinitely merciful hand, and touched my life. Twin Falls is not bad at all. I take it for-granted because I've lived here my whole life. The Snake River Canyon is beautiful. I know this is where I need to be.

I saw an Apostle of the Lord yesterday, Elder Oaks. I went to my sister's Stake Conference down in Provo. I shook his hand and said "Elder Oaks, it's very wonderful to meet you. My name is Elder Dodds." Ha ha, I caught myself and said, "I'm sorry, I just returned from my mission, my name is Kent Dodds." He smiled and replied, "Where did you serve?" I told him the Missouri Independence Mission, and he smiled and shook his fist approvingly, then said, "Thank you for your service." As I walked away, I responded, "Thank you for yours." I felt a little silly, but I guess out of all the stupid things you could say, that was a pretty good one. And that's the Bright-side of life! Ha ha.

So my plan is to stay here in Twin Falls until school starts. I just really feel like this is where I'm supposed to be. So, I'm going to make the most of it! I hope that you're all doing well!!! Feel free to comment on this one!

This is Elder Oaks talking to my Sister and her old Missionary Companion :-D

Bright... despite...

Today, I came down to Utah for the Women's Chorus Concert. I was also going to go to the Salt Lake City Temple with a friend. I also was able to get an interview setup for a job as a Customer Service Rep at a place called Sewell Direct. AND I had a friend who I was going to visit in Salt Lake City. So I was really excited about this trip down to Utah. Well, everything was going great... Right up to the point where I was getting pretty close to my friend's place when the car started acting up a little bit. The gears would take forever to shift, and when they would, it would jerk the car into gear... I was a little worried about it. Then it hit really hard after pulling forward from a stop-light. Well, when that happened, the little fun light came on "Service Engine Soon."

Hoping that it was just the car overheating or something, I stopped the car and had some breakfast with my friend. Well, when I came back out, it seemed to be doing alright. I was a little more cautious in the way that I drove, and I was able to make it to my sister's with minimal problems. When I left my sister's to go to my job interview, it wouldn't kick into reverse... Luckily, I was able to roll down the driveway and get out... But if anyone knows much about cars (not me), you know that losing reverse in your car is a REALLY bad sign for the transmission. I FILLED MY CAR UP WITH GAS, then found the business. The interview went pretty well. I think that I'll get hired there. I have a few more things to do, and a second interview to go through, but it went well, so that was great.

Well, by this time, the car was still not better, and I thought it wise to have it looked at, so I called my sister and asked her where I could go, she gave me a good place and when I got there, they told me.... My transmission is BROKEN! The WORST part of the car to break (except maybe the driver... lol).

So now, I'm here in Provo, with a broken car... But there's a bright-side to life, the driver's not broken! Yay! So, my weekend is a little shot, but it's ok... I'll be alright. I just thought I'd write this all out. I feel a little lonely. But, I'm going to my sister's for dinner, so that will be awesome :-) And that's the Bright-Side of Life. :-D I hope that your day has been better than mine! And if not, call me, and I'll make it better :-D

Life is pretty Bright! :-D

Life is beautiful. What a wonderful thing. I realized that my last few posts have been a little down. It got me thinking and I realized how awesome life actually is. Why in the world would we ever complain about this wonderful gift of life we've been given? So, I've decided to put down a few reasons for why there's a Bright-side in my life :-D

1. I have the gospel in my life. I was born in a family where I was taught the gospel. Where I was taught what the purpose of this life is, and how to accomplish it. Though what I know and have been taught hasn't always been reflected in what I do, because of God's wonderful plan, it covers those points where I slip up, and that's the Bright-side of life!

2. I have the best, most supportive family and friends ever. I sometimes wonder if it's altogether fair. Whether or not it is, I'm so grateful to have you all!

3. I had two years to serve Heavenly Father. You've heard enough about why that was so awesome :D

4. There's a Temple in TWIN FALLS!!! That's so awesome. I love going to the temple. Or even passing by. It's awesome to give a quick wave to my golden buddy Moroni every now and then :-D.

5. I have lucrative sources of income for while I'm waiting for school to start in the Spring. That's a total blessing. It's also awesome because it gives me at least a little bit of a routine to tide me over until I start school.

6. I have tons of opportunities to help other people, and make others happy. That makes me feel so good. I love you all and if you ever need someone to help you feel happier, just give me a call and maybe I'll tell you a story about a marshmallow, called Mr. Schmo :-D

Those are just a few of the many reasons why life is awesome. I would list more, but I know you have other things in life to do, and I need to go to bed! Life is beautiful, as hard as it sometimes may be... When you don't have joy, try smiling, maybe that smile could be the source of your joy! And that's the Bright-side of life :-D

Feeling a little mission sick...

This morning I reported to the Stake High Council. Then I gave a fireside for my home ward youth which essentially consisted of me standing in front of them for 45 minutes telling mission stories. Then I went to the mission Prep Class for the stake to help with the practicing and to share another mission story.

So, needless to say, I was thinking in retrospect about my mission today, and it made me really miss how awesome it was. Oh boy. What a wonderful experience. I couldn't have done anything better with the last two years of my life than what I did. I miss the people out there so much. I miss wearing the name-tag. I miss the set purpose. I miss having a companion. I miss the routine.

But you know what? At the same time I'm so happy to be home. I have so many opportunities to do amazing things with the principles that I learned serving a mission. I have a lot of things ahead of me. Reading the blogs and facebook, and talking with friends, I know that school is pretty rigorous, and though I know it will be difficult, because I know that it must come, I look forward to the challenge. Learning how to apply the spiritual things that I learned with a more temporal twist. I'm super glad to have so many great family and friends who are so willing and able to support me when the going gets tough! I love you guys! And that's the Bright-side of life!

Sunday Morning, and I'm doing fine!

This morning I went to report to my Stake High Council. I actually missed my first reporting date (don't ask)! It was a good experience. I reported with Josh Hathaway, who had served in the New York Rochester Mission. I thought that was very interesting. A missionary reporting from where the church started, and another reporting from where the church will end up. Pretty neat.

I finished my Mission Slideshow. I wanted to post it up here. It's basically the best two years of my life so far summed up in 8 minutes. I hope you enjoy it! The mission was the best thing that happened to me... And that's the Bright-side of life!

Wow, neat :D

I just thought I'd put this on here. I thought it was be pretty cool. The church is doing a lot of advertising, I know, but it's really neat to see one of their ads! I was setting up my Michael Buble playlist when I saw this:

So Many Changes...

Recently I've been feeling minor frustration. At times when I try to do things that I used to do quite well, I find myself lacking in ability. It's like I'm getting OLD!!! But I know that's not it. I've been away from most of these things for two whole years. I have a hard time forgiving myself though. When trying to play a song on the piano I used to be able to play very well and easily, I find myself struggling to hit the right cords. When on a date, I find myself not knowing how to act or what to say, or how to interpret my feelings. When trying to do some project on the computer, I find myself forgetting the processes and programs that I would use to accomplish the task, and if I do remember that, I forget how to USE the programs, or the program doesn't exist anymore! I can be hard on myself sometimes.

I feel like I have come home to a different person with a different personality. That I'm not the person that I was before my mission (for which I'm grateful despite the difficulties). I feel that I have to rediscover myself.

If that weren't enough, everyone and everything else has changed too. I feel like I have been reborn, but in a blindsided sort of way. Without warning I entered into this new world.

Luckily, I have wonderful friends and family who care for me deeply and are willing to put up with my awkward, strangeness for a while. (THANKS!) I sincerely believe that this wont last forever, and I'll get used to it. I think the worst part of all of this was that it came upon me by surprise, and I didn't realize it until recently. When that wears off, I'm sure I will be just fine, and, I hope, better than I was before. And that's the Bright-side of life :-D

P.S. Happy Birthday Antonio Vivaldi!

The Bright-side of life

Today, I got home and was seriously intent on heading straight to bed when the computer called my name, ever so faintly but with great force, and I was immediately lead to my e-mail and Facebook! I spent the next several minutes ensuring that nothing life changing had occurred since the last time I checked it... Three hours ago... And, as it turned out, a little something important had happened.

That's not a part of my story though. Somehow, I was led to Lisa Harris's blog. I read some of it and was intrigued. I have been planning on starting a blog of my own, but I've been through that before and didn't want to get back into it. But after reading, I decided that I would like to make a blog.

Thus, here I am. Making my first post.

Basically, my purpose in creating this blog is to keep a record of the main events of my life, to keep me positive, and help those I love who read this blog find the Bright-side of life (hence the title). Life is too hard to make harder by counting the bads and complaining. While there will likely be venting here and there, I will strive with all I can do to finish off with the Bright-side of life.

In my life right now. The most important thing for me to do is make sure I don't slip far from the level of spirituality that I attained while serving the Lord for two years. It's been difficult. But I'm pleased to say that thanks to prayer, study of the scriptures, church attendance, and temple attendance, I have been doing quite well. It's amazing that the basic seminary answers for all questions about "what to do to stay on the strait and narrow" really are "answers." That's the Bright-side of life!

Another thing that I'm going through right now is making certain that I can make enough money to go to school this Spring. It's been a long and difficult rode. I am happy to have such wonderful Family and Friends who are so kind and giving as to help me find work. I still haven't found work for an actual company. But I'm in a place right now that I believe the Lord wants me to be in. So I'm doing just fine! And that's the Bright-side of life!