So I was thinking the other day (I was playing the piano at the time) about people who are conceited. Ok now this subject confuses me.

When you are trying to describe a conceited person (not that I am encouraging this as that would be gossiping...) if you dig deep enough you realize that that person is overconfident. However, if you dig deeper, you could see that they are actually really insecure. The same things that made them seem confident in the first place could also make them seem insecure. Let me give an example.

Ok, for the sake of this whatever-it-is, let's say that this person wears very nice clothes. Now this could be an insecurity and it could mean nothing at all. It could just mean that they like (and can afford! haha) nice clothes.

So if they can afford nice clothes, that probably means that they have some money. This may be something that can give them a confidence boost. (In which case it would be a CAUSE of conceit, not an EFFECT).

Now say that this person is very athletic and good at their sport(s). This could also be a cause of conceit. The effect would be that they would show off their skills. However, if they are showing off, does that mean that they are insecure and that they have to show off so that they can use peoples' reactions to define them, which could, again, cause conceit. So the cycle continues.

Ok. Now it's getting confusing.. Allow me to confuse you just a little bit more.

This person has many friends, which is another thing that could potentially be a cause for conceit. Now going back to their clothes, could it be possible that the reason they wear these clothes is to impress their many friends? Now this of course depends on the type of friends the person has, but let's just say that yes, this is possible. Which could mean that this person uses their clothes to define them, which would be an insecurity. Because, honestly, a person who is secure and confident doesn't really care about the clothes they wear anyway. But not all the time.

Ok, so this person's general appearance is very nice to look at, not just because of their clothes but because of his/her face/hair, etc. This person is very attractive. Now let's say it's a girl. All the guys like this girl. This could make the person conceited, but it could also make the person feel insecure, as if she has to put on a show for all of them.

I did research on self-esteem for a school project, and I learned that there are three classifications of people with low self-esteem. One of the classifications is known for their fear of failure. Now this person seems to me like they could potentially be very afraid of this. Their many gifts and securities could end up as a liability.

Now, this isn't all of the examples, but going off of this, what do you think? Is there really a conceited person out there? Or are they all really insecure? I suppose it's possible that there could be, but they have so many ironic liabilities, that even if they were, there's no guarantee they could ever stay like that. They're too vulnerable! I don't know. I seriously confused my self and I probably just confused you now too! But comment! Tell me what you think!

My Teddy Bear

Teddy bears, as most people know, are very common things. Most people have one or have had one sometime in their life. Why do humans have such an attachment to teddies? I think it's because of the unfaltering, unfailing protection and support that they provide.
Fear is a concept that we learn as very young children. Some of our first fears were somehow associated with monsters lurking under our beds or in our closets. And when we were afraid, our first instinct was to find protection. Thus, protection or safety was another concept that we learned early in our life. As young kids, we had teddy bears and night lights to get us through these rough nights. Some of us still do. (Guilty!)
However, as we get older we start to depend less on stuffed friends and more on other, less tangible things. When burdens of the world start to weigh down and we begin to feel that fimliar suppression, we need something to turn to. Despite the temptation, there does come a time when we must graduate from teddy bears. Some people turn to enlightenment that the scriptures bring, some depend on books and novels with plots that they can lose themselves in.
I've come to realize that other than the gospel and my Savior, the most trust-worthy, comforting thing I have to turn to is music.
There is something about chord progressions and rhythms that provides a protecting distraction that cannot be broken by hardly anything. Every time I sit down at a keyboard and begin to play, the tension from my mind and my muscles is carried away with each tone and is replaced with inspiration and solutions. The instrument is at my control.
I am so grateful for this gift that God has given this world. It is one the greatest things God has provided us. I am grateful for the opportunity I have to express myself through music. I'm grateful that Heavenly thought to create these grown-up teddy bears to get us through the hardships of this world, and I'm grateful for every time that I have reached a solution through music.