And they say that age is just a number...

Who's "they" anyway?

Growing up, I've heard it said that when it comes to relationships, that age is "just a number."
The implications being, of course, that in courtships, the difference in age between people doesn't matter. Now, I've never really thought about age difference when it concerns dating because most of the girls I've dated or been on fun dates with have usually been my age (22) or a couple of years younger (19-21).

A few weeks ago, Kathy Benson, a fellow student in my physical science 100 class, came up to me after class and said she had some interesting news for me...

Before I go any further, I might add that Kathy is mother who's children are all out of the house and her husband is a Bishop in one of the (many) BYU wards. Anyway, one day she told me, "Fred! I have this friend that I really want you to meet. She's cute! She's fun! And I have told her ALL about you! What do you think?"

I replied, "Well Kathy, sounds good... Talk to her and let me know what's up..."
To be honest, I didn't think to much about at the time as I figured that the arrangement would never take place; either Kathy would forget about it or I would. And I know that I most definitely would...
This past Monday before class, Kathy walked up to me with her phone in hand and said, "Ok, Fred! Here's Mary Beth's number. She is expecting a call from you. This is now out of my hands. By the way, Fred, Mary Beth is 24 years old."
(Oh man... this is serious... I'm actually supposed to call her?! Freak! Oh man.... Um.... Wait! What?! She's 24?! Really?! Sweet!)

I replied, "Oh, ok Kathy. Sounds good...."

Kathy asked, "Fred, would you like to see what Mary Beth looks like?"

Hesitantly, I replied, "Yes..."

Kathy proceeded to log in to her Facebook account and show me pictures of Mary Beth...
I stared at the computer screen with my jaw dropped all the way to the floor...

Later that evening...

I thought about what I would say when Mary answered the phone...

"Hey Mary! This is Fred!"
(No, that doesn't work... I don't want her to think I'm some overly excited freak...)

"Hello, is this Mary Beth?"
(Of course it is, you idiot!)

"Hey! Mary Beth? Hi, this is Fred..."
(maybe that could work. perhaps a combo of the three...)

Now, I don't remember how the conversation went as far as what was said, but it suffices to say that it went well. Mary Beth and I talked for a few minutes and even shared a few laughs. A date was set and that is now what I await. Let's see what happens...

This morning when I woke up, I looked down at my phone and was surprised to see that I had received a text message from Mary Beth...
(Oh great, she must have seen what I looked like, on Facebook. Damn! She's probably texting me because she's no longer interested in going out on a date with me).

Hesitantly, I opened the text message. It read, "Ha ha ha. best message ever."
Confused, I thought for a moment about what she was talking about. I realized that she was referring to the voice message I had left her when I had first called her.

I replied, "Well thank you, ha ha. I tried pretty hard to leave a solid message lol."

She responded, "ha ha ha I can tell. BYU's English department is doing wonders for your speech!"
(Man, I haven't even met this girl and I like her. She's got a solid sense of humor...)

For the rest of the day, Mary and I exchanged some texts...
The date is set for Tuesday Feb 16, 2010...

I've heard it said that "Age is just a number..."
What are my opinions on this saying? Well, I don't have one...
Come Tuesday, however, I will know for sure...

Wow...

WOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So, it's been a few months since I've updated my blog... Where has the time gone? What's going on?

To those who are interested, I will attempt to answer those questions. However, I may omit some answers...

Well, October was a VERY interesting month...
A friend and I began dating steadily and said relationship ended shortly thereafter. However, our friendship remained strong. But of course, I messed up; I made a mistake and my friend was deeply hurt which caused me great anguish. Looking back at the time, I see now that I was a coward and acted as such. I've never felt anything for a girl as much as I have for this particular friend. Currently, I am fighting to fix things. It seems that I break things often...

I'm trying to be better... I really am...

Also in the month of October, I came down with the SWINE FLU... Would y'all (sorry, I served my mission in the South...) like to know what was even crazier?! I GOT SICK ON MY BIRTHDAY (OCT 23)! Needless to say, it was a miserable day...

Next was the month of November...
November was pretty uneventful except for the one fateful Sunday...
Let me make something clear. I've NEVER doubted my testimony about the LDS church. EVER. Nor have I EVER felt anger towards the Church or any of its members.
However, there was one Sunday where I left church both angry and offended. Let it suffice to say there was a lesson taught concerning certain doctrines and the way that the lesson was taught was inappropriate. I may also make it known that I was not the only person who felt this way that day at church. In an attempt to gather my thoughts, I drove to the Provo LDS Temple and sat in the parking lot. I called my mom and of course, mothers make everything better. Shortly afterward, my anger began to fade away...

Can someone tell me what historic event occurred within the LDS church in 1978?
Of course, it was that all men (regardless of race and if worthy) were allowed to receive the priesthood. It had been known among circles as the "Priesthood Ban." Prior to 1978, all African-American men and men of African decent were not allowed to hold the priesthood. Now to be clear, I'm not black. However, I am Dominican and as such, I have African decent in me (my dad is a black Dominican and my mom is a white Dominican). Had I lived before 1978, I would not have served a mission and I probably would have not be accepted to BYU. I have never questioned why that "ban" existed, albeit I've been curious. However, within a period of 2 weeks in November, I was asked by several different people (Mormons and non-Mormons) what my opinions concerning the issue were. It was then that I decided that I wanted to investigate the issue more. My Church History professor at BYU was kind enough to lend me a biography about President Kimball's (the prophet at the time of the revelation) life that was written by his son. Reading that bio answered some questions but also led to new ones...
Since then, I've dropped the issue...
Why?
I have a testimony of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Joseph Smith, and the Book of Mormon. That is all that matters.

December was a great month! Fall semester ended and I spent Christmas with my family! 'Nuff said.

Well, now its January and Winter Semester 2010 has started. Poli Sci 200 and 377 are taking up all of my time, but I truly love those classes. Physical Science 100 is hard (I've never been a man of science) and New Testament is VERY interesting. All in all, things are great and I'm moving forward with my life...

See y'all soon...

Friendship... Above All Else...

In my interactions with friends (those who are both close and abroad), family, and everyone in between, I've come to the realization that I talk... A LOT... Those who know me, know of my love for the opposite sex. To make this a bit more clear, I'll quote Brian Fantana from the movie: Anchorman, "Don't get me wrong, Ed... I LOVE THE LADIES!" However, there have been occasions where I have become attracted to some of my closer friends (who were girls, just to make that clear), and I have witnessed that such an attraction can jeopardize my friendship with said girls.

They always get away...

I have a close friend. Her and I have been good friends since our days in high school together. This girl will remain nameless, albeit, I'm sure she'll know who she is if she reads this blog.

Let's call her Jessica...

In high school, as our friendship blossomed, I began to have feeling of attraction towards Jessica. One fateful day, I expressed those feelings to her and she replied by saying that those feelings were not mutual; we were just "friends." I was hurt but nevertheless, I didn't want to jeopardize my friendship with her. Luckily, I didn't scare her and we remained friends. For the 2 years that I served as an LDS missionary in Virginia, we kept in contact through letters and e-mail. Upon returning home, I reestablished contact with Jessica and we began hanging out again.

In our many insightful conversations, we have discussed why it is that we are such close friends and it has been quite refreshing... For example, we are very honest with each other. We genuinely enjoy each others company, and there's never been a moment of awkward silence between us; neither of us finds those moments to be as such.

In recent events, however, I have done some things that have upset my fair lady. I want her to now that I am sorry. I apologize for my odd behavior and I can only hope that our friendship endures...

Let me head in another direction for a moment. During the summer, I went on several dates with a special girl. With each date, I became more and more attracted to her; I found that everything about her was just great. One night, we decided to talk about our situation. She informed me that she wanted to date around some more, but that she could see us "going somewhere" in the future. I told her that I would wait for her to make up her mind...

1 month later...

This special girl and I had a talk, recently. I wanted to inquire about where our relationship stood. To make it a short story, she initially told me, "I want to date you, Fred. I want to be your girlfriend... But right now, I can't... I just want you to be my friend..." AH! GASP! Once again, friends!

But I have come to a very direct realization...

BEING FRIENDS IS OK! With my friend, Jessica!... IT'S OKAY TO BE FRIENDS! With this special lady... If we date in the future, that's fine... but... BEING HER FRIEND IS JUST FINE!

I have realized that Friendship is the most important thing... above all else...

What are your thoughts on friendship?

The Beginning of The End?

Well, on August 11, 2009, I took my last final for the summer term here at Brigham Young University. As I walked out of the testing center (one of the most hated buildings on campus, at least on my part), I looked forward to a two week break in which I would finally have time for my own personal endeavors and pursuits. Mind you, these things included sleeping in, reading good literature, amongst other activities. But, nevertheless, my time was finally my own! I thought to myself, "You know what? For two weeks, life will be good to me." Little did I know at the time that that thought (is that considered alliteration?) would be far from truth. As my semi-vacation began, opportunities to help people arose and I found myself involved in many endeavors that took me away from the comforts of my bed. Everyday, there was some new thing that needed to be accomplished; some new task, a new person to help, or a new problem....

Than, suddenly, I found myself lying awake in bed, staring at my ceiling...

The time was 12:01 a.m. and in seven hours I would wake up to my first day of Fall Semester at Brigham Young University. My first thought was, "How did it come to this? Where did those two weeks go?" There was an inner struggle within the confines of my young consciousness until (unknowingly, I suppose), I drifted away to sleep.

2 days later... (which reminds me of the random French guy on Spongebob Squarepants whose occasional voice over is quiet humorous... But I digress...)

I have now been to all the classes which I will attend for Fall semester and I feel a little more confident than I had previously been feeling. Albeit, ECON 110 still scares the wits out of me.

It's going to be an interesting semester...

I have made some personal goals that will stretch me (both metaphorically and literally) and I may not make it. Nevertheless, wasn't it Yoda who once said to a certain aspiring Jedi, "Do or Do not... There is no try..."

Finals Week...

Well, here at BYU, it is finals week for the summer term. In my case, I have 3 finals to take care of and as such, much studying is required of me. It's times like these, that I ask myself, "Why am I in college?!" Then, I remember that I want to be a professional... something! Of course, an education is necessary. As finals week has begun, I have reflected on how anti-social I become. I disregard friends, family, and even food for as long as I can. Acts like these aren't healthy, but I see no alternative. I often wonder if in times, I'm in the right frame of mind. Is this an overreaction to the stresses of finals, or a common occurrence among other college students as well? I imagine I'm not the only one...

I'm new at this so please, be patient...

Hello everyone, my name is Federico Jose Rodriguez. Albeit, amongst most of my close friends I am known simply as "Fred", "Fedex," or "Hey you, with the afro pick in your hair!" My parents are from the Dominican Republic, and I was born in Puerto Rico. After my parents divorced and my mother joined the LDS church, my mom and I moved to Miami, Fla. In Florida, I learned English and it would soon become my first language (thus replacing spanish). In subsequent years, my mother and I would move to Burbank, Ca, then back to Puerto Rico. Following a brief stay in Puerto Rico (one year to be exact), it was decided that my mother would stay in Puerto Rico to watch over the family business and that I would be sent to live in Draper, Utah with my sister and brother-in-law. The next three years in Utah would be a learning experience as I was forced to conform to live in a (mostly) Mormon society, in a (mostly) white state. Let me make this clear, I am no racist; I'm merely making an observation. It was just that I had never lived somewhere quite like Utah (those who have moved to Utah from elsewhere know what I'm talking about). After graduating High School, I set aside two years of my life to serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Virginia. Those 2 years were a wonderful experienced as I served from November of 2006 to November of 2008. Since my return, I have been going to school at Brigham Young University where I am currently a sophmore. I am a Political Science major with moderately liberal views (in a mostly conservative church) and I plan to minor in Communications. Well... that's a little about myself!

Well, I'm new at "blogging", but it's something I'd like to start doing. A thought occurred to me this evening, "all's fair in love and war." Is this true? What does that saying actually mean? Let me know!