Perspectuus

I was born in a small town where the main economic driver is oil and gas. It’s a very conservative town and county. It’s predominantly Mormon. My family wasn’t rich, by any means, but we weren’t poor. We were within our means. We had money and we spent what we had. We never went above and beyond anything. I was always taught to work for what you want. Don’t ever ask for anything. If you can afford it, you can have it, basically. My family owns the oldest existing restaurant and now the official oldest existing business in the basin. It’s pretty cool. I was raised in that business since I was old enough to walk. I could walk around the restaurant and help my grandma and grandpa. When we were doing banquets, I put the little crackers on the plate, and did little things and they’d give me a dollar or pay me in Diet Coke, or whatever. I was always taught to work for everything that I had. In high school I was in student government and went to the activities, but on a Friday night, if all my friends were hanging out, I was working at the restaurant, instead. I thought that was more important to do.

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My parents raised me to be me. They wanted me to be whatever or whoever I wanted to be. When I was growing up, people would ask, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” My answer was always, “A chef”, which is what my dad was in the restaurant, or, “A doctor”. My mom works in a doctor’s office, so I was like, “I’ll just do what my parents do, right?” As I grew up, I learned that there are other options out there. Being LDS, they raised me to try to be a good person. People don’t believe that we accept everyone - but we are taught to love everyone. My grandpa that passed away and owned the restaurant was the nicest guy you’ve ever met in your entire life. He taught me to say what you want to say. Say things from the heart, but don’t purposely try to hurt people. Don’t dance around your thoughts. They basically taught us to be good people, to only do honest work and to work for what you need. Never expect something to fall in your lap. Always work towards a goal. Aim high. If you don’t make it, you’re at least better off than not even trying.

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Beyond the titles I am given, I would say I’m a dreamer or a creator. The reason I got into event planning is because I love Disney. It’s not because of the attractions or things in the parks. I love Disney because of the way it makes you feel. The ride is fun, but I honestly love standing in the queue to get on the ride more than the ride, in most cases. You’ll never be in a Disney movie. You’ll never be a princess or a king, or all these characters, but for that minute, you feel like all your worries are gone. You feel like you’re something else that you could never be. It’s so cool to have that experience, to be transported to a different place, through using all five of your senses. That’s what event planning is. For 90 minutes, I can transport someone to a completely different world that takes them away from their hard day at work. If they’re having a rough day at home, for 90 minutes they are having the time of their life. They forget about everything else. I like to create those moments for other people.

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Someone who does not truly know me would probably describe me as a white, male, Mormon, Trump supporter, and a hard-core Conservative. I have resting bitch face. Most people I’ve gotten to know say, “I thought you were the meanest guy ever.” “You don’t want to talk to anyone”, “You don’t like to do anything”, “You stay in your space, get your job done and go home.” “No fun, no anything.” I have been told that I am anti-LGBTQAI+ people, which is not true. I’m very vocal about supporting the President and I love America and everything it stands for. I feel like people see that in a negative light, and that I hate everything that walks who is not a Trump supporter, but I think that’s how people that don’t know me perceive me.

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When somebody first meets me, I want them to think that I’m a caring person, that would do anything for anyone, because I would. If anyone asked me, I’d be more than willing to help them out, and to reasonably do anything I can do to help them. I am conservative and I believe what I believe, but I’m open to hearing other thoughts. It doesn’t mean I’m going to change but I love learning why you believe something. I hope that they listen to me too and see my side of the deal. They don’t have to change at all, but just understand where I come from and I can understand where they come from. You just have to be willing to see that people are people, at the end of the day.

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With Trump his whole campaign is Make America Great Again, and put America first. I really believe that he’s done that. By doing that, he’s helped our economy, he’s helped us in our hometown a little bit more. America is the big brother, right? Everyone always comes to us, to help with humanitarian needs or in a war or whatever it might be. Everyone always looks to the United States. I think it’s a good thing to be that.

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People make campaign promises, but never keep them. They pet the pretty pony, and say what they need to say to get into office. He’s done everything that he said he was going to do. All of his campaign promises, he’s done them. He’s done exactly what he told us he was going to do. He’s not well-versed and his tweets do bug me but I like that he’s not scripted. He’s a human being. Anyone in America can be the President of the United States, should they choose to run and to take the necessary actions. He has a very successful business. He’s retired. He’s basically serving the nation for free. He gives all of his paychecks to organizations. He just gave his last one to the National Park Service. Yeah, he’s done some crappy things in his past. Everyone has. No one is perfect. I think he’s proved that you can make a change. I’m not saying he’s God or anything because that is farthest from the truth. He’s still polarizing. I think he’s proved that he’s the American dream.

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OPPOSITION PARTIES

There are so many times when I feel I can’t say what I think or feel, because it’s “wrong”. It’s not. It’s what I believe. It might be wrong to you, but what you believe might be wrong to me. It’s fine, but don’t tell me it’s wrong. Just say, “Okay, I don’t agree”, but move forward. There’s not a lot of listening that happens on the democratic side and that really bugs me. There’s also a lot of expectations. People expect something just because they're alive. I think there’s more of an appreciation for things when you pay for them. I hate handouts. I hate participation trophies.

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ABORTION

I am against abortion. I totally believe that everyone has the right to live. Should an individual become pregnant and not be able to care for the child, there are so many people out there looking to adopt. I can see both sides. The mother shouldn’t have to carry this child if they don’t want to. At the same time, this child is a living thing. It doesn't deserve to be killed. I can see if an individual is raped and the baby is conceived in a very negative way, then I’m a little more understanding. That’s nine months that you have to live with this child. I can understand that. I would never want to be put in that situation. Late term abortion is terrible. I can’t even imagine being that doctor that cuts up a baby. I hate kids. Honestly. I’ll love mine, whenever I get married, I’ll love mine, I’m sure. I’m definitely not a baby person, but breaks my heart to see that happen.

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LGBTQ+ RIGHTS

I’m not anti, by any means. Some of my friends belong to that community and I would do anything for them. I have a cousin who, growing up, denied that he was, but you could tell that he was just by actions. I’m totally okay with that. I do feel like we actively have to find the token person for show. It’s fine, but I feel like if I don’t have an “allies” pin, there are a few people that are like, “Oh, wow, he definitely hates the gays.” It’s not true. I think if you want to normalize something, just be like everyone else. If you’re gay, great, go off and do your thing. I’m straight. I’m going to go off and do my thing. I can’t say I feel like it’s forced upon me because it’s not. I feel like if we’re not actively trying to include them, then people assume we are automatically “anti-them”. We’re anti- “that community”, which we’re not.

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RACIAL MOVEMENTS

Maybe this is my “white privilege”, but I never really saw it as an issue. Granted, I am in a predominantly white, Mormon environment. I feel like we’re moving backwards. Slavery happened and it was a terrible thing, I’m not saying it was good at all, but you learn from the past. History tends to repeat itself, unless you can learn about it and move away from it, right? It happened, we made a change, and now I feel like we should move away. We’re moving backwards. Things are becoming so destructive and it’s creating more of a divide than there was. I’m not saying there wasn’t one, but I didn’t see it as much. Now there definitely is a divide and it’s not in a good favor.

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CAPITALISM

I was raised to work for what I need and what I have. I don’t feel like the rich should have to pay for the poor. I feel like the rich have worked their way to earn what they have and they should be able to keep it. Will I ever be a millionaire? No. Am I jealous of that? Sure. Is my life bad because I’m not a millionaire? No. I have what I have, and I have what I need to survive. I’ve worked for that.

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CLIMATE CHANGE

I’m all for recycling. I’m not saying climate change isn’t real, but it’s not as big of a deal to me as it’s been led on to be. Wasn’t it next year that California is supposed to fall into the ocean? Isn’t that one of the original claims?

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In my environment I’m not seeing that much of a difference. Rural towns are much different than city's. We don’t have smog. We have clean air here for the most part. I don’t think that we are controlling the weather. If we have a dry year, I don’t think it’s because of man-made issues. I don’t think it’s because of pollution. If we were supposed to have rain this year, God would have given us rain, right? That’s what I think. I’m not saying that climate change isn’t real. Sure, it’s a real thing, but I don’t think that it’s as serious as it’s being led on to be. I think we can all do our part to recycle.

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A Dreamer, A Creator

"I am a conservative and I believe what I believe, but I am open to hearing other thoughts. It doesn't mean I'm going to change, but I love learning why you believe something."