Which Do You Choose?

Kimball is ALWAYS doodling, probably his favorite hobby. He came to show me this piece of paper and I was properly shocked and impressed. So many observations for an 11 year old!

The large box is labeled good on the bottom with a host of people flocking to the box. Within the box is youtube, snapchat, tiktok, and shows 93 million likes. On top of the big box it says BAD in large letters but isn't visible from the people's perspective. The small box says good all around it and contains family, fun, sports, mistakes, learning, fitness, sun, and art with only a few people running to that box.

I thought Kimball had a real keen perspective on how he views the world and the people around him. I can't explain how many people he's said has received new smart phones, smart watches, new playstations, new VR sets, etc. from Santa. All these kids are in his class and he feels left out because he's the only one without these gadgets. Last week some kids were calling him poor because he doesn't have a phone and while this does bother him (the teasing) I was very happy to see how he really feels from this drawing. I explained to him how even if he did have a phone, it wouldn't be smart and would not have any social media or editing apps; the phone would strictly be used for calling or texting only certain individuals. We have talked about the online world and predators who pose as children/friends/classmates and the grave dangers behind that. We talked about having good mental health and hours of phone usage isn't healthy physically or mentally and the toll it takes on our emotions. We talked about what things in life really matter, what things really bring genuine happiness and help us grow in all aspects of our lives. It was a really good conversation and of course, this conversation happened before he drew this picture. I guess some parts of what I said actually stuck with him.

This picture is also very similar to Lehi's dream which he didn't realize until I told him. It brought up a really good conversation about why we need to hold on the iron rod and really follow the promptings of the Holy Ghost. I'm so thankful for Kimball and even though his anxiety is difficult for both of us to deal with, he's such a sweet and very smart boy.