Just a year ago I was a terrified high school graduate. I knew that in a month in a half I would be heading to a school that was 2,000 miles away from my hometown to Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. I was excited for the new adventure, but had no idea what the year would bring. From the moment I set foot on that campus, as nervous as I was I knew this was where I was meant to spend the next chapter of my life. I had an incredible freshman year and made memories and friends that I will cherish forever. This blog post is dedicated to all of the reason why I love being a BYU cougar!
1. MY FRIENDS. I made friends with some absolutely incredible girls in my first year of college. We came from areas all around the country. I was raised in Virginia. Kate was raised in Kansas. Anna was raised in Utah. Samantha was raised in Missouri. Alyssa was raised in California. Kaylee was raised in Connecticut. And so on and so forth. However there was one thing that brought us all together: our faith. All of my friends and I have strong testimonies of the Gospel. We attend church every week to strengthen those testimonies. It is such a blessing to be able to talk so openly about my beliefs with them. Even though we were raised in completely diverse areas of the country, we were all raised with the knowledge of the Gospel. The principles and teachings of the Gospel are the same no matter where you go. We were all raised with the same standards. I learned firsthand that the Gospel has the power to bring completely different people from completely different backgrounds together. I am so very grateful for these girls and the memories that we have made! I know that there will be many more to come!
2. DEVOTIONALS. Every Tuesday at 11 am BYU's campus essentially shuts down. There are no classes held, the Cougar Eat and Cannon Center shut down, and the student body flocks to the Marriott Center. Or sometimes to their dorm rooms to watch online. Anyways, I got so much out of these devotionals! I got to be in the same room as two apostles (Elder Oaks and Elder Andersen) and our prophet President Monson! It was truly an incredible experience to see the Marriott Center more packed than I had ever seen it before or since with BYU students anxious to hear the words of the prophet of the Lord! I couldn't help but tear up when the entire room fell silent and stood out of respect and love for the prophet as he entered the arena! Tuesday Devotionals are an extraordinary opportunity and oftentimes was just what I needed to get through the week! More than once I felt as if the messages delivered were specifically for me! What a blessing!
3. CLASSES. One of the things that I love about BYU is really being challenged academically. I feel each an every day that I walk into my classes that I am getting a truly high quality education! My professors know so much about the subjects that they teach! I know that I am not alone in the fact that there were MANY times I was on the verge of a breakdown in the Testing Center trying to conquer difficult tests, but there was not a single class that I got absolutely nothing out of! In addition, what sticks out in my mind isn't the times that I looked at that blasted TV screen and a bad score flashed. I remember the times when a score I was proud of flashed and the feeling of accomplishment and relief that followed! Especially the time when I took a test on St Patrick's Day, got a score I was extremely happy with, and was greeted outside the door by a nice group of people with donuts and juice!
My favorite classes were my religion classes! I took two semesters of Book of Mormon this year. As I am rereading the Book of Mormon again this summer, I am absolutely amazed at how much more I am really comprehending and soaking in. My testimony of the truthfulness of the book has been strengthened so much!
4. THE CAMPUS. Oh my goodness. BYU's campus could not possibly be any more beautiful! I am in awe of how gorgeous the buildings are! My favorite is the Spencer W. Kimball Tower, known to the students at the SWKT (pronounces swicket). It is by far the tallest building and sits smack in the middle of campus. I know I for one am not the first to use it as a landmarker to help find other buildings surrounding it! Their are always flowers planted and campus is just so beautiful! One of my other favorite things about campus are the signs at the entrance! There is one that says Brigham Young University: The World s our Campus. The other says, "Enter to learn, go forth to serve." I love that we are being encouraged to use the knowledge that we gain at BYU to serve!
5. THE MOUNTAINS. No matter what time of year it is, the mountains are GORGEOUS! I love when they are covered by snow in the winter! My dorm room overlooked the mountains and it was a beautiful sight to wake up to every day! I also hiked Y mountain and the view was incredible!
6. SPORTING EVENTS. There is so much school spirit at BYU that one can't help but catch the fever! I absolutely LOVE going to football games in the huge LaVell Edwards Stadium and cheering on the team! One time we even rushed the field! I felt like a celebrity standing on the field with a girl I had recently met who happens to now be one of my best friends! Basketball games were incredible too! The whole student section stands the whole time and everyone is so anxiously engaged in the game! It is just an incredible feeling and an amazing thing to be apart of! I feel apart of something bigger than myself and it's truly amazing!
7. STONE COLD SOBER. Finally, I take pride in the fact that every single year my school is voted the Number 1 stone cold sober school by Princeton Review! I just love being at a school where we come up with creative and inventive ways to have fun without the use of alcohol. I have absolutely no interest in partying, and being surrounded by people who feel the same way is a true blessing and has led to some amazing and lasting memories! Well now you know a little more about my school and why it means so much to me! I can't wait to go back in August and see what my sophomore year has in store!
1. MY FRIENDS. I made friends with some absolutely incredible girls in my first year of college. We came from areas all around the country. I was raised in Virginia. Kate was raised in Kansas. Anna was raised in Utah. Samantha was raised in Missouri. Alyssa was raised in California. Kaylee was raised in Connecticut. And so on and so forth. However there was one thing that brought us all together: our faith. All of my friends and I have strong testimonies of the Gospel. We attend church every week to strengthen those testimonies. It is such a blessing to be able to talk so openly about my beliefs with them. Even though we were raised in completely diverse areas of the country, we were all raised with the knowledge of the Gospel. The principles and teachings of the Gospel are the same no matter where you go. We were all raised with the same standards. I learned firsthand that the Gospel has the power to bring completely different people from completely different backgrounds together. I am so very grateful for these girls and the memories that we have made! I know that there will be many more to come!
2. DEVOTIONALS. Every Tuesday at 11 am BYU's campus essentially shuts down. There are no classes held, the Cougar Eat and Cannon Center shut down, and the student body flocks to the Marriott Center. Or sometimes to their dorm rooms to watch online. Anyways, I got so much out of these devotionals! I got to be in the same room as two apostles (Elder Oaks and Elder Andersen) and our prophet President Monson! It was truly an incredible experience to see the Marriott Center more packed than I had ever seen it before or since with BYU students anxious to hear the words of the prophet of the Lord! I couldn't help but tear up when the entire room fell silent and stood out of respect and love for the prophet as he entered the arena! Tuesday Devotionals are an extraordinary opportunity and oftentimes was just what I needed to get through the week! More than once I felt as if the messages delivered were specifically for me! What a blessing!
3. CLASSES. One of the things that I love about BYU is really being challenged academically. I feel each an every day that I walk into my classes that I am getting a truly high quality education! My professors know so much about the subjects that they teach! I know that I am not alone in the fact that there were MANY times I was on the verge of a breakdown in the Testing Center trying to conquer difficult tests, but there was not a single class that I got absolutely nothing out of! In addition, what sticks out in my mind isn't the times that I looked at that blasted TV screen and a bad score flashed. I remember the times when a score I was proud of flashed and the feeling of accomplishment and relief that followed! Especially the time when I took a test on St Patrick's Day, got a score I was extremely happy with, and was greeted outside the door by a nice group of people with donuts and juice!
My favorite classes were my religion classes! I took two semesters of Book of Mormon this year. As I am rereading the Book of Mormon again this summer, I am absolutely amazed at how much more I am really comprehending and soaking in. My testimony of the truthfulness of the book has been strengthened so much!
4. THE CAMPUS. Oh my goodness. BYU's campus could not possibly be any more beautiful! I am in awe of how gorgeous the buildings are! My favorite is the Spencer W. Kimball Tower, known to the students at the SWKT (pronounces swicket). It is by far the tallest building and sits smack in the middle of campus. I know I for one am not the first to use it as a landmarker to help find other buildings surrounding it! Their are always flowers planted and campus is just so beautiful! One of my other favorite things about campus are the signs at the entrance! There is one that says Brigham Young University: The World s our Campus. The other says, "Enter to learn, go forth to serve." I love that we are being encouraged to use the knowledge that we gain at BYU to serve!
5. THE MOUNTAINS. No matter what time of year it is, the mountains are GORGEOUS! I love when they are covered by snow in the winter! My dorm room overlooked the mountains and it was a beautiful sight to wake up to every day! I also hiked Y mountain and the view was incredible!
6. SPORTING EVENTS. There is so much school spirit at BYU that one can't help but catch the fever! I absolutely LOVE going to football games in the huge LaVell Edwards Stadium and cheering on the team! One time we even rushed the field! I felt like a celebrity standing on the field with a girl I had recently met who happens to now be one of my best friends! Basketball games were incredible too! The whole student section stands the whole time and everyone is so anxiously engaged in the game! It is just an incredible feeling and an amazing thing to be apart of! I feel apart of something bigger than myself and it's truly amazing!
7. STONE COLD SOBER. Finally, I take pride in the fact that every single year my school is voted the Number 1 stone cold sober school by Princeton Review! I just love being at a school where we come up with creative and inventive ways to have fun without the use of alcohol. I have absolutely no interest in partying, and being surrounded by people who feel the same way is a true blessing and has led to some amazing and lasting memories! Well now you know a little more about my school and why it means so much to me! I can't wait to go back in August and see what my sophomore year has in store!
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