Almost 5 years ago, my parents "made" me apply to BYU to keep my doors open. This seemed like a ridiculous request to me because I was and had always been planning on going to the University of Utah. I had grown up going to sporting events with red ribbons in my hair, watched the Utes race through the final four in 1998, and have continued to cheer on their football team even though I eventually made the decision to attend the big BY instead of the U.
And though I registered for classes begrudgingly, I have always been aware that I made the right decision to come here. I just haven't known why.
Well, as graduation was (falsely) creeping up on me, I realized that I have had experiences and met certain people that have made nearly being disowned by my Grandpa (the die-hard Crimson Club member) worth it:
1) I applied to the art program. I found something I was relatively good at and have excelled in a competitive environment. I also met Robert Marshall, Wayne Kimball, and Joe Ostraff--all professors who have changed my life dramatically.
2) I got to live in King Henry by Tyler and all of the 39ers. Everyone thought Tyler and I were dating until close to the end of the year...we weren't.
3) I have some of the best and funniest dating and NOT dating stories of anyone I know.
4) I got to live with Lizzie, Catherine, Megan, and Stace in Liberty Square. Mariah Carey Christmas anyone?
5) I lived in foreign language housing and fell in love with Spanish (even though I may not have spoken it all the time while there).
6) I met Becca, my near-clone. She married Tyler.
7) I went to Italy and met/had adventures with some of my best friends all over that blessed country.
8) I found a job that I love more than going to school.
9) I have been in a place that helps build my testimony instead of keep it stagnant (not to say that students at the U don't have testimonies or anything like that of course). This environment has helped with personal growth even though it has hurt my GPA (my worst grade is in Book of Mormon. Funny how that works).
10) M&M
11) I fell in love with family history.
12) I have had wonderful roommates (separate from Scandal Square, which was its own entity): Becca, Erica, Natalie, Jenny, Kristin, Jenny, Rachel, Bekah, Anne, Sarah, Eli...
13) The Quarry. Rock climbing until I can't hold on anymore.
14) Thursday girls.
All of these things, in no particular order of course, have shaped me over the past few years. And though I will always claim Utah as my number one team, BYU has slowly crept in and established itself as my number one school.
I never thought I'd say that.
