The Best Work of Art

It's going TIBIA okay.

I ULNA want to be with you.

I hope you find this HUMERUS.

I OVARY acted.

Get it?

Hahahahaha. This week we're talking about Anatomy. Why?

Because I am taking it as a class this semester at BYU and it has been my favorite class I have ever taken. Yes, even better than that 5th-grade class I had where I adopted a pet snake and named it Kata. I know, who knew? 

Let's just start with a funny story because when you study anatomy, there's always something funny that comes up.

The other day we were studying about the reproductive system and my friend Theo (male) was having a hard time understanding the female organs and how it all worked together. I proceeded to explain that females "eggs" are fertilized then grow in the uterus. 

Keep in mind we were on the quiet floor of the library

And Theo says "wait." 

*pause* (he's thinking real hard about this one)

Then he says "YOU GUYS ALWAYS HAVE YOUR EGGS?" 

hahahahahahahhaha. So many head turns, it was a good moment.

I can confidently say that out of all my classes, I am really sad this one is ending. When I signed up for it, I was so nervous because all I heard was that it was really hard, extremely time-consuming, lots of studying and no social life...

WELL, THEY WERE RIGHT. It's been all of that and more,

.....but what they don't tell you is that with all of that stuff set aside, it is a class that will spiritually increase your testimony that God is the ultimate engineer. 

SO. There is a type of cell in our bones called an osteoblast. Its specific job is to secrete matrix to build bone.

BASICALLY, they make bone. So if you break your bone, they'll be there to fix it.

I was curious one day in my anatomy lecture class about osteoblasts, so I rose my hand and asked the question. "How do osteoblasts know when it's their turn to start working to build bone?"

The response I was given is what made me want to write this post.

My professor said, "We don't know. Many people have tried to find out, but we don't know. The osteoblasts just know .... and they do what they're responsible for doing."

I remember just being in awe at the fact that our bodies know their purpose and their responsibilities.

The reason this class has had such an impact on my life is because it has taught me amazing things about the human body, challenged me in multiple ways, and I have gained such great friendships because of it.

LET'S BE HONEST. When you study with the same group of people 5 days out of the week, for months straight, sometimes until 11:30 at night, you get to know their crazy side.

Like that one time Veronica, Andrew and I were playing anatomy jeopardy in a study room (we get really competitive... or Veronica and I just team up) and people had to come in and tell us to be quiet because we were being too loud....

Waking up at 6am to go to the cadaver lab to study, and realizing that we're all delirious. Or going at 7pm and staying until 10pm.

Constantly memorizing the heck out of everything you've learned and trying to understand how it all fits together.

Moving your body around like a crazy person to see all the angles of the muscle you're looking at.

Forgetting your gloves.... -_____-

Wearing a new perfume... Formaldehyde.

Or when you make weird acronyms to remember stuff.

Amy - Amine
Peed - Protein
Pulling - Peptide
Suzie - Steroid

OR, that other time when you all realize that you have had no sleep .. so anything and everything is funny to you and you can't stop laughing.

Sharing snacks because you've been on campus all day and you're starving.

BUT, all joking aside... It has helped me to gain a greater appreciation for the life that God has given me and the gratitude to have a body. I never really took too much thought to the blessing of having a body until this class.

"I marvel at the miracle of the human mind and body. Have you ever contemplated the wonders of yourself, the eyes with which you see, the ears with which you hear, the voice with which you speak?  No camera ever built can compare with the human eye. No method of communication ever devised can compare with the voice and the ear. No pump ever built will run as long or as efficiently as the human heart. No computer or other creation of science can equal the human brain. What a remarkable thing YOU are. You can think by day and dream by night. You can speak and hear and smell. Look at your finger. The most skillful attempt to reproduce it mechanically has resulted in only a crude approximation. The next time you use your finger, watch it, look at it, and sense the wonder of it." Gordon B. Hinckley

This quote is exactly what I have cultivated this semester in my anatomy class. The mechanics of the human body are unlike anything else created by man and how blessed we are to have our bodies and to know that they are gifts given to us so we can learn, make mistakes, grow and develop. There are moments when the human body can overcome things you would never expect.

"The body then is necessary for progression and for obtaining a fullness of joy. Having a mortal body indicates that you chose righteously in the premarital state. The body is not merely a mobile unit for the head nor a carnal vexation for the spirit, as some believe. Rather, it is an integral, powerful component of the soul, for "the spirit and the body are the soul of man." Being privileged to know about the literal embodiment of God and the progressive nature of the body gives us a rare vantage point from which to comprehend and enjoy its tremendous capabilities."

BABIES. We learned about them last week and oh my, are they incredible. At week 2-3, these little humans have already formed the sections required for the future formation of organs and limbs. By week 8, all the organs are formed. From there, through nourishment from the mother and a safe environment, they grow.

Be good to your bodies. Take care of them. Love them. They were a gift and they should be treated with the most respect! We were created in God's image... how indebted we are to know that.

SO SO SO SO grateful to be at BYU. To have taken this class and to have learned the things I have. It was my favorite part of this semester.

And to Theo, Veronica, Andrew, Michelle, Natasha, and Brielle.

THANK YOU. You guys are the best.