You are NOT your grades.

I have heard that phrase about 87 times in the last week. Almost every professor, T.A., and member of the administration has said it. One professor even went so far as to make us camel shaped sugar cookies to celebrate grades and class rankings coming out for us first year law students. She calls it "hump day." (Camels have humps. Get it?) Rumor has it that they even have a suicide watch for all us law students. Scary, I know. With all the looks of sympathy, I could tell that all the faculty and administration were really worried. They were worried that those who got low grades would go suicidal and those that got great grades would become prideful. I can understand why they were troubled.

This semester I have met some of the most hard working, bright, interesting, and amazing people. Every one of my classmates has an amazing life story and an incredible mind. I have learned so much from them. So what do you do with a group of amazing people? How do you distinguish who is the best and who needs to try a little harder? You grade on a curve and then rank them. It's a cruel system. However, I can see the purpose of it. I can also see how, if one didn't have the proper perspective, it could affect their psyche negatively.

Hence the message . . . YOU ARE NOT YOUR GRADES.

I appreciate the message. It's true. Although grades do measure an aspect of our performance, they do not measure us as a whole. In fact, when you look at the time you spent in that one class getting that grade, it is a very small portion of your life. After all, what makes a person? Letters on a transcript? I think far more important things make us who we are, such as:

How we treat/care for our families

How we treat strangers

How we help others

How we care for ourselves

How we serve our communities

How we make the world more beautiful

How we serve our God

So, remember, you are not your grades. (Whether you are still in school, or not. There are always other ways the world tries to grade us.) You are SO much more than that. You are full of talent, gifts, and promise.

I'm not saying this because I got bad grades. I have a strict don't ask/don't tell policy. But let me say, I didn't fail any classes, and that was what I all I dared to hope for. I am happy with my scores and feel proud of what I accomplished.

Now . . . on to next semester!

Be RESOLVED

2010 is here and with it the usual hopes of a better year and becoming a better person. January 1st means making a list of things I want to do better, things that will make me better. I was on my honeymoon this January 1st, and with adjusting to marriage, moving to a new apartment, and getting back in the grind of law school, my resolutions have been slow forming. No worries. I have all but forgotten them.

For me, resolutions require inspiration. Often inspiration comes from others as resolutions become the topic of conversation. This year, however, New Year resolutions have seemingly gone out of style. People just aren't making resolution like they used to. I have seen all kinds of resolution fill ins. Instead of making actual RESOLUTIONS, people are creating themes for the year. They pick one word that will be the undercurrent for their "growth" this year. OK. If that makes creating a goal easier for you...go for it.

Some I have spoken to have said that they don't believe in resolutions. Why make a list of things to accomplish if I will never accomplish them? Why set myself up to fail? To this I say, if you never try, you have failed already.

This leads me to believe that people don't get what resolutions are. A Resolution = A GOAL. Making resolutions is more than just writing a list of things you want to accomplish. It is making a plan for how you will accomplish it. Unless your resolutions are specific and time bound, of course you are going to fail at them. You haven't give yourself any responsibility to achieve it. You haven't provided the way for you to achieve it.

Now don't be too hard on yourself when making these goals. If your favorite pastime is sitting on the couch watching T.V. and you haven't put on sneakers in 10 years, saying you are going to work out at the gym two hours a day, six days a week is a pretty hard place to start. Maybe that can be your end result, but start with something smaller. It's OK to start slow. How about just making a goal to go on a walk everyday. There, that's more manageable and you are less likely to drop it after two weeks.

True, you don't need the start of a new year to begin setting goals. Heck, I've waited 20 days to put mine down on paper. But let's not say we aren't going to even attempt at being better people; that we aren't even going to address making changes in our lives. For when we stop trying to be better, that is when we become worse. We never stay the same. We are either growing or shrinking, moving forward or back. And unless we continue to progress, our families, our communities, our nation, our world won't progress.

So dust off those ambitions! Break out those aspirations! Make a plan today for who you want to be and how you will get there. I know this is A LOT easier said that done. But we CAN do it! It is in us. As George Elliot said, "It is never too late to be what you might have been."

Wedding Pictures!!

Our photographer, Alyssa Jule Photography, posted a sneak peak of some wedding pictures on her blog. Check them out!

http://www.alyssajulblog.com/2010/01/megan-joe/

Video of our Snowy Wedding Day

My amazing uncle and videographer, Michael Jensen, made this incredible video of our wedding day. As you can tell, it started to snow about three minutes into the picture/video shoot. It was SO cold! By the end my fingers and toes were completely frozen and my dress was soaked. It was worth it, though! I could not have asked for a more beautiful day. Thanks Uncle Mike for capturing our wedding day so beautifully. You're the best!

http://sacramentowedding.blogspot.com/2010/01/let-it-snow-megan-joe.html