Genuinely Giancarlo

Hey guys, it's been a while. I haven't been writing very much lately, and the things I have started to write have somehow never turned in to final, finished blog posts for multiple reasons, one of the main ones being that I try too hard to make each post as perfect and refined as I can. So today, I just want to share a few things I've been thinking about lately without worrying about whether each thing is right or whether it's finished or not. I hope that's okay. Over the past few days, I've been thinking a lot about happiness. Yes, the ethereal state of satisfaction and cheerfulness we all strive for. Happiness is a complex topic, but I want to offer some of my simple thoughts on the subject because, well, that's what I do here. Feel free to take what you want from this reflection of mine. 1. You control your happiness, mostly. This one is something I've been going back and forth on for a long time, but I think this is the most accurate way I can say th...

I've spent a lot of time searching for the perfect words to put into this post. I've been thinking a lot and trying to construct these sentences without flaws. But each time I worry about making a mistake, I just stop because I'm too scared of saying something wrong. But today, I am going to say what I feel I need to say without worrying whether the words are perfect or not. Today, I want to start a discussion about racism in the United States. I understand and fully confess that I, a straight, white male born into a middle-class family and raised in a predominantly caucasian region in the United States, am probably not the best source for first-hand experiences about issues of racism or really any sort of prejudice in any way. I have benefitted from certain privileges that not all people have, and while this frustrates me because I know that I'm not better than anyone else and I don't deserve those favors, I feel it would be unfair if I didn't make it clear fro...

Hey guys, it's been a while. Two days ago, I took my last exam and I officially finished my first semester of college. This semester turned out to be a lot different than I expected it to be for a lot of reasons, but I'm still pretty happy with the way things turned out. I learned about what college is like, about myself, and more than anything, I learned that things aren't always going to go the way you think they will, and that's okay. One of the things that I definitely did not see coming during this semester was the switch that my university would make from traditional, in-person classes to going fully online. Of course this wasn't really a choice the university made just because they wanted to, but the way things are going in the world required them to. I can't speak for anyone but myself, but in my experience, online classes aren't bad but for some reason they feel a lot less real than in-person classes. It would have been really hard for me to de...

If I had to describe life in one word right now, it would undoubtably be weird . I don't know how else to describe it. Life is just so strange. A lot of people are sick throughout the world and because of that, most major events are cancelled, my school is online, and I'm not supposed to leave my house unnecessarily. I was woken up a couple days ago by the fifth largest earthquake in Utah's recorded history. Life just feels dramatically different than how I would have guessed it would feel at this point. This isn't like any other time I can remember in my life, and I bet it's a time like no other for a lot of people throughout the world. COVID-19, or the coronavirus, has changed a lot of things about daily life for a lot of people. Some of those impacts are small and insignificant, like people not giving as many hugs or handshakes. Some are bigger, like making people dramatically alter their plans or putting jobs on hold or closing borders. A virus that we still ...

It's 9:00 PM on a Friday night. I'm a freshman in college, my homework is finished, and I'm totally down to go out and party with friends because, well, isn't that how you're supposed to spend a Friday night? But I'm not at a party. I don't even have plans to meet up with anyone. I am alone in my room, writing a blog post that I'll publish but not publicize because sometimes I want to talk but not be heard. Sometimes I just want to convert my thoughts into keystrokes at my computer and send them into the void with hopes that they won't be forgotten, regardless of the lack of readers. Because that's not what it's about. Why am I here instead of out with friends? I like blogging, but this is prime hangout time. The best time. I can blog whenever I want, so why now? In a few hours my school is going to have a fun event that I wanted to go to but I can't seem to find the willpower to actually get myself to go. What's the deal? Wel...

Seven hundred and thirty days ago I grabbed my suitcases, took a plane to Mexico City, and began my period of missionary service for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints . During the time that I was serving, I was not able to update the blog, hence the lack of posts during the last two years. I have, however, returned from the mission and as I am now able to update the blog again, I would like to begin with a few things I learned during my time as a missionary, a few changes I made or am making, and my view for the future.   Let me begin by explaining what a mission is and why I served one. In the last chapter of the book of Matthew in the New Testament, Jesus Christ leaves his apostles with a simple but very important task. He says : "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: "Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even u...