Hate Mail.

I received this comment on by blog regarding our recent trip to Cancun. I have to admit at first I was amazed someone could be this rude. However, I realized there are some people out there that enjoy criticizing others in order to make themselves feel better. The last few days have actually made me come to feel bad for the person that wrote this. It makes me wonder who hurt them so badly that made them feel like they need to reach out and hurt others? Instead of being rude, I am going to simply respond to his inquiries.

"Does it bother you that you once had tremendous ambition in the field of business (a perversion inherited from your mother, no doubt) and now, thanks to another handout from your irresponsibly wealthy parents, you rob the desperate through deceit, giving them false hope through your multi-level marketing scheme? That you idolized Alan Greenspan and now you sling soy candles? Do you choke on cognitive dissonance by saying your 'testimony has been strengthened' after taking a luxurious trip paid for by your wanton plundering? What morals do you subscribe to, exactly? That your ornate lifestyle is paid for with the blood of the poor? How is this OK, even within the framework of your absurd religion?"

No, it does not bother me that I have ambition in the field of business, finance, and law. I am very proud of this, and hope that my future kids will have ambition and passion in whatever they choose to do. Life is about learning from your experiences and doing what is right for you. Finance has blessed my life and given me the opportunity to learn all aspects of the economy. However, I want to further my education and study financial law. This is not a bad thing! You could argue that this was inherited from my mother. She is after all very successful in what she does. However, to call ambition a perversion is ridiculous. My mother is an amazing person that has given hope to many breast cancer patients, and fed hundreds if not thousands of people through the company that she has started. I can only hope to have such an affect on people through my actions. The For Every Home business that she started is not scheme. It provides opportunities for Women to create their own business and remain at home with their kids.

My testimony in the church was not strengthened by the "luxurious trip" to Mexico. It was strengthened by seeing a different culture and the ruins that were left behind in the Mayan cities. They had immense faith in the religion, and had knowledge that was unheard of that time. If you have read the book of Mormon you can see the correlation. My morals are based on my personal experience throughout this life, and the Mormon church has provided me with a path to help me find myself. I can guarantee you that the morals I have are far better than the ones that you subscribe to.

"To connect the Mayan civilization with the Book of Mormon shows a level of ignorance so willing and so cloistered that I'm surprised you're able to function outside of Utah at all, given the relative lack of pudgy, white, wealthy faces you surround yourself with constantly. That you don't faint upon seeing a minority at the grocery store is a wild success, your definition of progressive."

You are correct. Utah is mainly white. However, do not pretend to know who I associate myself with. Color of skin, weight, and wealth do not define someone. I enjoy meeting people from every culture and race. It brings different ideas and ways of thinking to my life and I assure you, I survive just fine outside of Utah. I have on three different occasions lived overseas and in New York where you currently reside. There are people throughout this world that will only befriend you after they review your resume. I choose to not associate myself with those types of people and it sounds like you may fall into that category. Although it sounds like you will not associate yourself with anyone that has a different background than yourself. This is very narrow minded, and will not provide the opportunity for learning in your life.

"It is one thing to never know struggle. To never raise a finger; to have your life paved in gold by your parents, your grandparents, whoever. It is quite another to perpetuate this unfairness by manipulating human hope and nature to sustain your bleached and tanned and superficial and hollow existence."

Again, do not pretend to know my life and my struggles. While my parents could have supported me through college, I chose to take my own path. I worked full time throughout my undergraduate career. I paid for my rent, my food, and my clothes. I am not taking a hand out from my parents to go to law school. I am taking out student loans! My life as well as my family's lives have not been paved in gold. We have had many problems in life. The difference between us and you is that we support each other and help each other through our struggles to become better people. I would not call this superficial. In fact, look up the definition of superficial. One of the definitions is "Concerned with or comprehending only what is on the surface or obvious" I believe this pertains to you, not me.

"You should be miserable. You and your privileged husband should be miserable because you're miserable and petty people. You're boring and evil. Convince yourself otherwise through your obscene globetrotting. That you're not ordinary because you're in Rome and you're not ordinary because you're in Cancun. But you are. Like most people, you are nothing but a product of the system you were born into. You earned none of this. None of this. You are a decorated husk of a human and nothing more."

The best part of your rant is that I am not miserable, but I believe you are miserable. I cannot see how these actions can make you happy. You point your finger at me trying to put me down, but do you really believe that this makes you special instead of ordinary? I would argue not. It makes you like most people in this world. You would rather point out someone else's flaw rather than look at your own. Calling me ordinary does not hurt my feelings, I am happy to be ordinary.

Now, I want to thank you. I am a product of the system I was born into. I am happy for this! My family and friends are amazing! I am blessed to have them in my life. I am grateful to learn from my parents, and the church. These are people and institutions with high morals. I am happy to associate myself with them.

Lastly, you claim to help people through criticising them. If you are so proud of this fact, then why do it anonymously? Are you afraid someone might criticize you? You want people to look at their lives but you are afraid to look at yours! What goes around comes around.