I don't really have a modern day hero
Oh hey!
Do you? Hi lol
I dunno Not like the answer they're expecting probably
It's kinda a weird question I mean like I could say that some of my family members are like hero's to me
Yeah that was exactly my answer
but it's not like "oh i'm devoted to this person and would do anything for them"
Like some of my grandparents are really cool And I admire them a lot Or there's a few public figures or celebrities that are cool that do cool things
Yeah
But it's not at all like I wan't to emulate everything they do Or like I admire everything about them
For sure
Ok but on that note who are some people you admire? Public figures or well known people maybe
hmmmmmmm I admire entrprenuers in general
Yeah that's a good one They sacrifice a lot usually And it takes a lot of dedication and work
The fact that they are willing to give up something for a chance to make a profit is super awesome
Yeah, and not just to make a profit but to bring something into society WHether that's a product
Yeah
Or a service
thats what I was just gonna say
Or innovation
that most of the successful ones are able to make a difference in some way shape or form
And they can take a lot of flack for not being proffitable at first
mhm
And then later when they are proffitable people complain that they're a sellout Or that they're only motivated by money Which to be fair, is true for some businesspeople
but they have also worked really hard to get to where they are
But There's a lot of them who aren't as affected by those things as they're made out to be Yeah
Like there are a lot of really big business owners like Bill Gates and such
Yeah (that was meant as a prompting yeah, to hear the rest of what you're saying)
who are super awesome for the most part because they have done so much for the world technologically and they seem like nice people
I'm not just saying yeah to the fact that there are a lot of big business owners haha
but I mean I also don't know everything about them haha
Yeah, there's always different corrupting forces when someone gets big in their field though Whether that's acting Or tech entrepeneurship It's really hard to avoid those influences
Yeah, that is so true and has been seen so much in media
But there's always some who do avoid it and those people are a nice reminder of how it can turn out good Even through all the corrupting influences
My like ultimate dream for Computer Science is that I could become an entreprenuer and someone who is able to help those around them more than if I just worked a 9-5 job
Yeah, that's really cool
but the likely hood of that is fairly low that I could actually become successful and be able to fulfill that
So that what you do is greater than the sum of it's parts sort of Well, I think you can without making it huge You can still be doing enough that you make more of a difference than you could on your own And it doesn't even have to be through tech I like hearing about technological advancements that take a really important device to the modernized world
That is true, I could even just franchise some stores or something and find ways to help others through that Yeah me too
And makes it so cheap that all kinds of 3rd world countries can use it
I love reading about technology and it's possibilities and how it has changed the world
Like there was this one story I remember About a professor that developed a hand-powered centrifuge. It costs like 9 cents to make And it's just cardboard and a little glass tube and some string
that is so cool an industrial centrifuge is so expensive
But it enables people to separate blood samples so they can analyze it for anomalies and infected cells. Yeah they are And the other part of that project was that He made a microscope That cost less than a dollar to make
not to mention that they require power and there are still lots of places that don't have heavy access to energy to power something that would also be super handy
And could be assembled from a laser cut wood pop-out kind of kit And a little plastic lense SO together, you could separate your blood And then analyze it for anomalies And diagnose some really fatal diseases that they have a really hard time treating in those countries
that is awesome because I mean of course people using that people most likely wouldn't have found anything like undiscovered but it would allow so much more research because so many more people would be able to work on the projects
Yeah that's true too And, to what you said about owning a small franchise and helping people with that I think that's really true too One of my grandparents own quite a few apartments and condos But they don't operate them for a profit
That is so awesome
I mean, they use them for retirement money because they need income of some sort But they don't try to maximize their gains from them They fill them usually with people who need them
I know some people who own a Great Harvest and they use a lot of their leftover money for donations and they donate the bread that they would have thrown out (at least some) That is super awesome
That's so cool
If our world was full of people like that our society would be so amazing
Yeah and my grandparents also go to a lot of the people who have lived in one of these places when they need someone to do work SO they can give them work opportunities Yeah for real I like stories of people who are not only generous
I'm not sure how economically stable our nation would be, but I think we would make it work and there would be so many people who need something like that
Because you can be generous AND get what you want most of the time if you have the resources
definetly
But I like hearing about people who are ALL the way generous Like I remember this pioneer story about a family who was pretty well off in england
haha those stories are definetly so inspiring
And they sold their farm and everything they had And they could have bought a team of oxen and a covered wagon and still had funds to give some to other pioneers traveling with them But instead they bought enough handcarts for a whole company of people who couldn't afford a handcart
That's crazy
And they themselves went across the plains in a handcart instead of an ox-driven cart
I wish I could say that I would do that for sure but when it comes down to the moment I don't know what I would be willing to do
Same It's so easy to be really generous and also splurge on yourself
Oh yeah for sure
I like the image of the CEO of IKEA
Oh yeah?
From what I've heard he lives in a really modest, fixer-upper house
I don't think I know that reference
And he drives like a 1999 used car Nothing horribly unusable but not new or flashy, just gets the job done Basically he's way rich
haha for sure
And he could spend a ton on himself But he chooses to just live with what he really needs He's not forcing himself to live in the slums for no reason
That is so awesome that he has the stability to realize what he actually needs
I know It's hard to be reasonable about it Like you could go to far the other way
Oh yeah for sure
And drive a car that breaks down half the time And live in an awful run down place almost for the show of being humble
Yeah, I mean it kinda all comes down to who people really are
But he is just really realistic about it, I'm sure if his car get's too rundown to make sense, he'll sell it and buy another used, but working well car. Anyways yeah I like to imagine that I'd be like that
That's so awesome Yeah me too
I think the best way to make yourself think like that is be genuine about it
I think if I ever became really rich I would get a modest home and stuff.
Because when you see the need of different people
Mainly because I want to put my focus on helping others and my fmaily
Yup, exactly
And if my future children grew up in a crazy rich home who knows what could happen also cleaning a huge house would be a pain haha
Anyways when you see the need, you feel a little bad being not all the way generous Haha yeah I totally agree with that about future children I would like to find the balance Because on one hand, they won't learn life lessons if I shelter them a bunch and make their life great and easy
yep
But on the other hand, if I artificially impose difficulty on them, they won't learn the lessons either Like I heard a story of some kids who moved a pile of bricks from one side of the yard to the other every single summer
I have spent so much time thinking about this it's so funny that we're having this conversation because I haven't ever actually talked to someone else about it
Haha same actually Anyways, these kids parents had them move the bricks because they wanted to teach them hard work But if it's hard work for no purpose, I think the kids would tend to push back against it Or do it begrudgingly
I know that I definetly would have
And it's not the same as just really learning hard workl
even for kids especially
Yup I agree
even if they can see a good reason they tend to push back
My parents were always into the idea of gardening
yeah?
Because it's a lot of work, but it's also real work. You're working to cultivate plants It's not like you're just doing work for work's sake But there's real motivation and lessons you can learn
Gardening is probably the number one way I learned hard work
Yeah? That's so cool I'd say the same for me
My mom and grandma are both super into gardens and I have helped in them so much
That and house repair projects THat's awesome It's the same with me
When I was little my mom took me and my sister to a garden store and she had us each pick out a plant
MY grandparents bought the lot of land at the center of their block and turned it into a giant garden Yeah? *My not MY "MY" sounds like I'm getting competitive haha
Then she had us involved in planting it and caring for them and I still go and look at my plant from like 10 years ago so much haha
Wow for real?
it's all good
It's still around?
Oh yeah
What plant was it?
It's a bleeding heart flower
That's awesome
I also got a green lantern plant but those spread like crazy so we had to get rid of it sadly
I don't know what that is but I'm sorry you had to get rid of it In addition to just work, gardening teaches you other important lessons Like you learn how to nurture And how to be consistent And you learn things about nature and life
It's a little plant that grows a "flower" that blooms in the fall and it makes little lantern looking shapes that are really cool for thanksgiving Yeah
Oh that's cool
I definetly want to keep growing plants when I have my own house
Me too
Actually within the first week of coming to college I had to go get some plants So i got a bamboo plant and an aloe vera
Haha me too! I got an alovera and a basil
Easy to take care of and so awesome oooooooooooooooooooooooh I was thinking about herbs
I love basil
basil is a good choice
Oh and a rosemary actually But it was a little sprout and it's not big yet
rosemary smells so good I really like how aromatic fresh herbs are
Yeah, when I was little, my mom would make herb bread with chopped rosemary in it and it's one of my favorite smells
That sounds so amazing oh my gosh
Also, I love the alovera because it's way low maintenance But it keeps growing
oh yeah That's why I picked it and the bamboo
And when it's bigger I plan on slitting it into a few different plants And I've thought about trying to harvest the gel sometime
Because they don't have to be wattered too often so if I have to leave for the weekend or something they would be fine
Yeah I read alovera needs water like every 3 weeks in the summer and less in the winter
Yeah, and bamboo is great medicinally
So that's what I do and it's growing great
that's crazy I don't really keep a time
Well, me neither haha
I kinda just water it when the dirt feels dry deeper in the pot
But I try to do it about that frequently Haha yup
How bug is your aloe vera big mine is a little bigger than a fist
Hmm, I'd say the biggest leaf is about 11 inches long
that's definetly bigger than mine haha i think mines like 6 ish
HAha. I bought it at IKEA when it was probably about 6 inches tall So I had a little headstart And I bought it over the summer so it's probably been longer
Yeah I've had mine for about a month or so
Some day, I like the idea of having a bunch of hanging plants in a sunny room of my house Or the back porch or something Kind of like an Italian restaurant look
Yeah if I ever have lots of money I'll probably invest in like a glass room or something where it could just be relaxing chairs and lots of plants
Ooh a glass room that sounds cool
and no tv or anything so it could just be a relaxing room
Yeah
One of the people in my old ward had one and it was such a cool place to go into
Yeah?
Especially for little kids
That's awesome
Like babies
Someone in my old ward did too
because then they can get sunlight but it's not too hot like in the middle of the summer
I don't remember who though I've only been in it a few times Oh right, I didn't think about that That's a good point The person in my ward didn't have a glass room, just a room with a lot of plants
It's also a really great place to study
Like a LOT
haha
It felt like a really well groomed jungle But it was awesome
That would be really cool to go into
Yeah
That must have taken so much work haha. Especially since you can't throw anything on the ground
Seriously It reminds me of the visitors center at the botanical gardens in the city I lived in when I was younger We lived in georgia and the botanical gardens were amazing
Oh i wish I lived in like a desert climate
Yeah?
so nothing was natural besides tumble weeds
Haha, yeah
so botanical gardens aren't very popular there
Those are cool but I can't say I like really dry places as much
especially since we don't have an easy winter either
Georgia was way hot though.
That's true
My favorite climate I think is a nice temporal forest That gets some rain But it's nice and cool usually And still has a ton of plants
Oregon woot
Yeah probably.
That is my favorite climate
I've never been there but it sounds awesome I've always wanted to visit the amazing shoreline forests there
It's basically what you described They get a decent amount of rain and snow
I saw some clips of one in national geographic one time and it looked heavenly
But they also have fairly mild temperatures most of the time
The trees were HUGE Yeah that sounds sweet
What kind of trees A regular forest or like redwoods
I think this particular forest might've had some breed of redwood
Because there are the redwood forests in california sequioia maybe?
It was part of an ancient forest that existed before pangea or something
Huh interesting I really want to go to the redwoods
It wasn't sequioia I've been there It's amazing too I went there this last summer too
Cool
It's really magical
I really like nature haha
Same
I edpecially enjoy climbing trees especially One of my friends has a willow tree and I would just climb to the top of it and just sit there and stare at the stars at like midnight one of my favorite things
There are cool touristy sites like the tallest tree in the world and stuff. But some of the best walks are the ones through the open forest, not paved or anything and those
was that
are amazing
SO true
That sounds awesome
I don't know if you have ever been in one
I haven't
but if you ever get the chance go to a bamboo forest
I haven't seen a ton of willows tbh
Willow trees are really cool but yeah bamboo forests So amazing
Yeah? I've never been in one
especially if you go when there is some wind
Why is that? Does it make a cool sound?
So you know when the wind is blowing trees make the rustling sound
Yeah> ?
So, in a bamboo forest they make that sound because they have leaves but the bamboo will also hit each other lightly and make a hollow high pitched clinking sound And it's so cool to hear it because it is like all around you
Wow
and just a bunch of little clicks as they're all hitting each other
Now that you say it I think I've heard that before But I've never seen it in person
You probably have
heard about it rather Not heard it
I heard it in background sounds of things before But it's so cool to see it in person
Yeah I bet Are there any bamboo forests in the continental US?
ummmmmmmm not sure
I remember bamboo to the side of the highway in Georgia sometimes
I saw it on that trip to hawaii
But not like, a FOREST
I wish I could send pictures it was cool
That's really really cool
There might be one close by if you saw some on the side of the road
Yeah, thats the thing about these chats You start having good conversations and you can't keep doing it Or share pictures or personal info or anything And you can't choose to chat with someone to continue a conversation later
As we were driving up to the place we saw a bunch on the side and then a couple miles into a hike we found the forest Yeah that's true
Oh That's really cool Are there other trees mixed in?
Not in the middle
Or is it just bamboo forever? That sound so amazing sounds
in the middle you see the bamboo and it's just bamboo forever
Have you visited the aspen forests here?
hmm
Like up behind mount timp
I don't think so
Oh you should
or at least I don't remember
Especially right now when the leaves are changing
how far away is it
You can drive up towards sundance, like 15 minutes away
oh wow I'm definetly gonna need to try and go
And keep driving past sundance, that road is called the Alpine Loop And you can drive all the way around the mountain on it It just winds up and up And at some points theres other trees, at others it's just thousands of aspens. And if you want you can pull out at the occasional pull-outs and go for a walk
That's awesome are there usually people up there?
It's a little chilly up there so bring a jacket
haha
Some but it's not crowded Like you can easily find a quiet spot
I wrote the details down so I'm definetly going to need to go there It's so hard to not mention church in these conversations oh my gosh
Haha yeah, it is. I've talked about it a little but I can't say much
Yeah
Because it's supposed to be not specific to the church but religious stuff is fine
Yeah but I keep wanting to mention stuff about the church haha
You know, if you want, another chatter came up with a clever way to exchange phone numbers without leaving them on the chat And we did it and it worked
haha
And then we could talk some more without being restricted
I'm good with whatever This has been fun
Well if you want to I can find the site before we end the chat here Yeah it has It's fun to have good, real conversation Like about interesting things and thought's you've had
I agree This thing is kinda like pen pals haha
Hahaha yeah it is
Fake names or aliases
Except not everyone on this site talks the same way
and conversations about random stuff
So some people are way more surfacey and conversations are kinda short
That's true, there are several people who are just trying to get points
Ugh yeah That's stressful
That's how I started but at this point I'm just having fun haha
same. I wish there was a good way to incentevize conversation without letting it get in the way of conversation It would be cool if, after this research project, they published this site as just a chat site
That would be so awesome oh my gosh
And people could talk like this, BYU students, with screen names and stuff. And if you want there could be a little button where you can save a person's screen name to chat with later
Yeah That would be so awesome
That's a really good idea I think I wonder if it could happen
Maybe I should learn how to make an app if they take it down haha
Maybe not with this site specifically but yeah I actually do app development
That would be such a fun thing to have for byu students specifically Haha
Yes I agree
that's awesome It could even try to be something to connect the 3 byus
I've never done a chatting app but I'd be willing to try if I had the resources and funding
Not sure exactly how that would work
Ooh yeah! That's a great idea
But that would be so cool
I wonder what department would be interested in getting that going I would totally pitch the idea to them
Either the psychology or the computer science most likely
Yeah I bet the cs department would support keeping this around if they had a good way of still being able to use the chat data
Yeah
Like maybe there's a little button you can switch on when you start talking about church stuff or personal stuff, and it makes it so it can't store those chats
Yeah
But they can still use the other chats
That's true
I don't know, you wouldn't want it to be too complicated because then people wouldn't use it
But I'm not sure if people would even switch back and forth unless there was some incentive But maybe some would and some data would definetly be better than none
Yeah I don't know Or if the conversation isn't for research, at very least BYU itself might like the idea of networking students together like that
And I mean if nothing else I would totally create something like this but it would take me some time and byu supplies each student with a free domain if they want it to develop projects
Yeah, that's true. I'd totally help with a project like that honestly. It's unique because people can more readily be themselves when it's just anonymous chatting It's different than social media or even talking in person It's more substantive
For sure
Which is cool because in other places on the internet, anonymity makes people less genuine and more mean spirited sometimes
It also could be a really great for some people who have a hard time approaching people to make friends
Yeah, I agree I'm kind of like that It's not super bad But I definitely have introverted tendencies
Haha same I took a personality test and im literally 50% introverted and 50% extroverted ok it's 51% introverted but yeah
Hahaha. The main thing of it is, I can approach people fine. And make conversation. But it feels like it takes a longer time and more conversation before I really KNOW someone And so a lot of it before that point is kind of mechanical
Basically for me it's like I'm ok with talking to people but I just can't do it all the time like others
Maybe not mechanical but it's not as natural. Yup yup. I know what you mean
Can relate Haha
You ever watch star trek?
Not a ton
I haven't much but it reminds me of this one scene with data You know, the one who is actually a robot or something
Yeah? yep the android or whatever
And he's trying to learn how to make small talk That's all, just sometimes I feel more like I'm doing it because it's what people do And I'm emulating it Because it doesn't feel the same as real conversations like this
Yeah I feel that
Or in person with close friends Such is life I guess
So I have some good friends who I'm not rooming with but I like to hang out with them But they are all very extroverted
Yeah?
And so I like to be over there a lot but they also like to have some of the people I don't know over and I'll hang out with them but it gets kinda awkward because I'm awkward
Haha yeah I know what you mean
I like smile and try to be friendly and everything but yeah
I guess for me it's hard if it doesn't feel like there's a PURPOSE
Oh yeah for sure
Like if they're over for homework or a project And it feels structured Than I'm fine
Some of the strangers I've met at school that I've gotten actually close to are my roommates and the people in my Japanese class
Otherwise it's like "I have to provide all the structure for this interaction? Goodness that's a lot of work"
THAT IS SO GOOD HAHA But yeah I agree When people meet me in school and stuff I bet they think I'm extroverted
Yeah I know what you mean
Because I'm a very happy person and I'm fine with talking about school
Yup mhmm.
But when I'm hanging with friends It's different
Yeah totally I didn't actually know this about myself until later in highschool Because at first I spent a lot of time in robotics club And those people became my friend group
That makes sense
And 1. We were usually working on robotics stuff so it provided structure 2. they were all nerds in similar ways and we just talked about nerd stuff and it was fun
Yeah, I totally can relate with that That's kinda how I met my best friend we were nerds together
But then part way through highschool a few of the core members of that group kinda started going different directions And a few of them left the church and started being pretty anti-church
Awwww
And it just wasn't the environment I wanted to be in anymore So I kinda left
Yeah, that's always hard
Yeah
I was kinda like that with some of my friends senior year
So before that point, I didn't really think about my socialness because that group was my fallback And I didn't have to try and interact with other people if I didn't feel like it But then after we stopped hanging out, I noticed that if I wanted to interact, it was usually a very conscious thing With effort and work Anyways, yeah?
Yeah, I think I realized at the beginning of high school because of my cross country team. Because we had so many people that I didn't know
Oh yeah
So when we had team activities I tended to stick to the people I knew and talk to them
Yup
And was awkward around a lot of the rest of the team
Yeah
Especially the ones who had pretty opposite views of the church
Senior year I tried out a few new activities
I mean some of them were pretty cool and they were all nice but it was weird like what?
Where the people there were all just good people Like cross country and choir Those two mostly
Cross country is honestly such an amazing sport
And I made some good friends but it was a little late and to little time for me to make either of those a new friendgroup Yeah it is
People are all so supportive because we all suffer together haha
Yeah it was cool I ran with younger people mostly because I joined later There was like 2 other seniors on the JV team But I still liked the other kids I ran with
Like in football people only cheer for their team and sometimes get aggresive towards opponents. But my cross country team we cheered for everyone and it was so cool
And kind of bonded with a few of them Yeah!
Yeah, I've moade some amazing friends on cross country who I bonded with pretty heavily
I remember one race I fell into pace with another kid and we literally ran the whole race together
But I also was on the team for a while
And at then end we had a kick and he beat me by like a second but it was cool We never spoke a word but we had totally bonded
That triggers so many memories
Or another race, I fell into pace with a kid on my team I had never run with
Of me and the person I ran with Yeah?
And we started passing people, we would split apart and pass them on either side And then close the gap and run a little faster It was fun and invigorating
I'm literally getting goosbumps oh my gosh
It really is such a team sport. Almost more than football or something like that What memories of yours come back?
So I had this person who I ran with who is like one of my favorite people now We would run together during work outs and would have fun Like one time we quoted incredibles throughout the entire run
Hahaha that's awesome
and another time we sang disney songs (which was so hard out of breathe)
Oh man I bet I need to start running again It's been a long time
but races were so fun because we were both so competitive and about the same speed and so we would race each other and try to push each other
Yeah? That's so fun Oh yeah that's the best
And if one of us was having a bad day we could still have a decent time because we weren't about to let the other get to far ahead
That's awesome
He was the grade above me and is another reason why I decided to stop senior year because I knew it wouldn't have been as fun without him But it's okay I had a great time with swim and my job
Yeah that makes sense
And I definetly agree I need to start running again
Just out of curiosity, what was your best race time?
the website that has most of my times says 17:36 for the 3 mile but i think it was little faster than that
Oh that's pretty fast I only ran for one season but I never got below 22
Not on my team haha. I was actually like 20 on the team or something ok maybe more like 16 but our team was super fast
Wow yeah Our varsity was really good. The three fastest were all sub 15
It was my goal to get on varsity but I got injured way too much
Oh I'm sorry that's a shame
It's ok haha I really enjoyed watching people race
Yeah?
It was super cool my senior year my team (that i wasn't on at the time) won state and went to nationals and I got to see one of my really close friends race in it
Oh really? That's so cool
Well I'd love to keep talking but I should probably go. I'm gonna go to the swim meet at 5
Nike Cross Nationals?
Yep!
I should too. Before you go though
?
I'm kind of curious if I saw your friend
are we allowed to say our high school names? eh whatever
The lead runner on our team actually won Nationals last year so I watched the race
Kamiakin Although I guess the jerseys at nationals didn't really say the team names huh
Oh cool! I don't recognize the name Anyways, you gotta go But it's been great chatting!
Yeah I need to go Yeah for sure it's been super fun Till we meet for the fourth time haha
Haha. Later!