Avid Reader and Religious Nut

Who is Ashley Nelson Rands? Well that is me! It was difficult to look around my house and find just a few objects that represent who I am.

The image on the right displays a lot about myself. It is an image of the Savior Jesus Christ and the Book of Mormon and Bible. I grew up a member of the Christ of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. This image and these books of scripture represent my beliefs and my priorities. My religion has shaped who I am. What I have done with my life has been mainly because of my religion. I have carried this particular picture of the Savior with me throughout my life. It was my mother's when she was a little girl. I look at it and think of her and then I think of how valiantly and diligently she has taught me throughout my life to be a good person, a good christian.

The second artifact from my home was this picture of the Mt Timpanogous Temple and a star with wood shavings in it. Now this star has a lot of significance in my life. When I was a little girl my primary had an activity that involved helping build this particular temple. Afterwards we each received a star with wood shavings in it. It was my most prized possession. Around the same time my grandmother was in a car accident and was confined to her bed. I would ride my bike every day to visit her. One day I gave her my star to help cheer her up. She kept the star throughout my life and displayed it in her home. Every time I would come to her house I would see this star and remember what I did. She gave this star back to me in this last year. This star represents to me of what sort of character I have. It is a symbol of my devotion to my family and describes my love for everyone. I have always tried to be kind to people. My husband would sometimes say that I am "too nice". I like pleasing people and serving them. I look at the star and remember the service that I rendered to my grandmother and my desire now to always look for service to others when I can. (I also got married in this temple).

This artifact from my home is my diploma from Brigham Young University I graduated with my
Bachelors in English. I think my degree placed strategically next to these books represents a lot of who I am socially. I have always loved books. I love reading and writing. I spend many hours reading books and also writing. I love writing creatively as well as academically. That was one of the reasons why I decided to major in English. My time at BYU really shaped my life. I look back on who I was before BYU and who I am now. I haven't changed drastically in my personally but rather I have become more confident in who I am. I feel like my thoughts have developed and I have a more well rounded individual. Since attending BYU I have developed a thirst for knowledge and helping my family with their own writings.

This last artifact is my family. I think my family comes second to religion on the impact that it has had on my life. My family has been my center. My family is my priority in life. I recently was married and now my family has just grown even larger. I have always been close to my family. My friends would look at me strangely because I considered my parents to be my best-friends. I still do consider them to be my close friends. Spending time with my family is what I enjoy doing most in my life.