Also...

This was on the back of my meal ticket at the Flying W Ranch this weekend:

I do not choose to be a common man.

It is my right to be uncommon—if I can. I seek opportunity—not security. I do not wish to be a kept citizen, humbled and dulled by having the state look after me. I want to take the calculated risk; to dream and to build, to fail and to succeed.

I refuse to barter incentive for a dole. I prefer the challenges of life to the guaranteed existence; the thrill of fulfillment to the still calm of utopia.

I will not trade freedom for beneficence nor my dignity for a handout. I will never cower before any master nor bend to any threat.

It is my heritage to stand erect, proud and unafraid; to think and act for myself, enjoy the benefit of my creations and to face the world boldly and say, this I have done.

All this is what it means to be an American.

— “My Creed” by Dean Alfange

Creativity

After reading other people's blogs (namely my two BYU friends'), I have discovered that I'm not very poetic. I do find beauty in simple things, and I would rather relax in the shade on a warm day than sit inside, and I'm painting a picture.....but my soul is not artistic. Most people seem to associate talent in the arts will creativity, but I am here to tell you that this is fallacious. Yes, fallacious.
My entire life, I've been pretty darn good in music, writing, and art. I can sing like a lark, write like Cummings, and paint a rather life-like portrait. Well, almost. The thing is, people expect creativity to automatically come with these gifts. Experience and headaches have shown me that I cannot write a song. I've written some lyrics before...but they're not worthy of sharing. Believe me. And I paint from pictures. People like Whistler are geniuses to me. I have two ideas on why creativity might be tied to artistic talent in most people's minds:
Creative people are generally drawn to the arts. If they're not drawn to the arts, they're usually steered there. The arts are the perfect outlet for creativity, though most other areas benefit greatly from creativity. The arts embody creativity...right?
Also, the arts and creativity and you know, all the cool stuff in life, are tied to right-brain activity in popular culture. This isn't actually completely true...but if most people think it so, then it must be. Right? I tend to use both sides of my brain equally, at least according to a quiz I took on Facebook once.
The thing is, I have an analytical, technical mind. There's a reason I love math! I suppose it is a kind of creativity, just not one associated with my more...noticeable...abilities. The thing is, creativity isn't really something I miss. Sure, I wish I could write a song about my feelings or even just memorize a song, but I can enjoy the works of others by playing or getting inspired from them.
To quote one of my favorite movies that I watched last week, "the receptive nature of the creative facility just astounds me."

Montana + No TV

Haha it's been exactly a month since I last updated.
So I kinda have a job answering questions on ChaCha. It's kinda cool because I get to learn interesting things, like last night I learned that the International Space Station only travels over a certain part of the US, and I live in that certain part! It passes over Denver almost every day, so I'm going to go look for it tonight. I'm so excited. Oh wait. I can't. IT'S CLOUDY. Ugh. I'll have to remember tomorrow.
And I'm tutoring a girl for the ACT! We're setting it up right now, so hopefully it all works out because I'll make a lot of money. It'll be great. Except I have no idea what I'm doing...how do I tutor for a test that I didn't even study for? Oh well. I'll figure it out. Practice tests. Haha.
So my family was in Montana for the 4th of July and for my uncle's wedding. I love Montana. It's like a different country sometimes...at least with my family. I'm pretty sure my great aunt and all of her progeny don't own anything nicer than cargo shorts. It's also kind of awkward when your fifteen year old cousin flirts with you. Always fun times in Montana. :)

Playing baseball on the 4th-from left to right:

My sister Emily, my second cousin Sebastian (the flirt), Barkley, my future aunt's cousin's child, my dad, my future aunt's dad, and my grandma

the show!

the place where they had the wedding was gorgeous

Eddie and Amanda

Three of my uncles

I love this cake :)