We each have our own standards, whether high or low!!

"Questionable scenes come on tv all the time. What do you do? You get rid of it. You delete it. You’ve got to have a delete button in your life. You shouldn’t have to sit there and say, 'Should I look at this, or should I not?' You can’t rationalize and say, 'Well, maybe just once. Maybe I ought to experience or see a little of it so I know what it is.' You simply turn it off." Elder Hales

Last week in one of my classes, the professor played a movie for us. It was an HBO film and it was very intriguing to watch. The movie was "The Iron Jawed Angels", with tons of famous actors and actresses, and it represented 1920 when women gained the right to vote. So we're all into the movie, when the "love" music started playing, and you could tell what was coming next. The professor said, "Oh ya- I forgot about his part. If any of you don't want to watch, just don't look for the next couple of minutes. Is everyone ok with that?". Silence. Dead silence. No one said a word, so it turned out to be the most awkward moment EVER. The professor said, "No one's going to answer? Good- because we are all adults and are not childlike enough to not be able to handle it." OH MY. I grabbed my purse and said, "I think it's time for a drink." And I left. There was no way I was sticking around to watch some pornographic bathtub scene! You can call me a child all you want!! One of my classmates told me later that it was only a couple minutes long, but whether it was 2 minutes or 20 minutes, it was way too long for me to sit there and feel uncomfortable. So that was that and I got my drink, taking my time, and went back like 15 minutes later. We finished the movie (it really was a good show), had a test on what the video represented, and went home. One friend from class said he was surprised I left and my sister told me I was dumb for leaving (hahaha! I love Jill!), but it was over and done with so I forgot about it. Until my grade came out....OH MY.

2 weeks ago I had a 96%, but now I definitely DO NOT have that anymore because I got an incomplete for the test. WHAT?? I didn't make that big of a scene when I left- I just left. And I came back, so it's not like I didn't watch the whole thing. OH MY- I guess I should have stood up and starting giving a talk on abstaining from sexual relations!!! =) Seriously though, I don't care that everyone else watched it- I just hate feeling uncomfortable like that and I didn't want to watch it. Even if it was only 1 scene. So now I'm freaking out that I won't get any credit for the test and I hate the world and I hate school and I want to live in the temple all day long! I know, I know- it's a little dramatic. But I'm scared to talk to the professor and ask her why there's no grade for the test. BLAH! So I'm guessing that this is the part where I have to learn how to be proud of my standards (even if they are a little high!!) and I need to make sure I did everything I could have for the test. I hope there's some other mistake that I'm not thinking of and if I really did offend someone by leaving, I guess I just accept the Incomplete grade and know that I did what I knew was right for me. Man- I wish I was still on my mission. =)

ONE DECISION AFFECTS THE NEXT by Elder Robert D. Hales

'This cumulative process occurs when people lose their standards. They say, “I’ll just have one social drink.” Taking one drink makes it easier to take the second, and they keep rationalizing their behavior, and eventually they lose their priesthood, the influence of the Holy Ghost, and their values. It’s all cumulative. Pretty soon they’ve lost everything. You don’t know that the first drink may lead you to become an alcoholic. You don’t know that the first pornographic image you look at may become an obsession and may take your life from you—your mind, your spirit, your body. You may think, “I can take one extra pill, right? That isn’t going to hurt anything.” By your very conduct, people will know who and what you are. They will know what you will accept and what you won’t accept. It’s how you dress, it’s your demeanor, it’s how you conduct yourself."