Picking up Speed/Remember

Only in Provo....
Would I leave my cellphone and dorm keys on the lunch table without worrying about people stealing them.
Would my classes start with a prayer.
Would guys practically sprint to open doors for any girl.

So, I think I'm starting to get the hang of the whole college thing. First off, we had last Monday off because of Labor Day, and that was really nice. It gave me time to do all my homework and also have some fun, especially since I did a lot of it when I had no classes on Friday. I started off my Monday with helping Katherine practice for her ballroom dance class. And by helping, I mean playing proper music from my computer without watching so that she would not be embarrassed. Meanwhile, I was desperately trying to finish my online training for work (I ended up not starting until Wednesday night anyway). After a while, we decided inside was boring, so we grabbed my snuggie and found a nice patch of grass outside. It felt so nice, and instead of finishing our last bits of homework, we napped on my snuggie in the sun. It must have looked funny, both of us knocked out with our computers up and running, because I vaguely remember someone saying, "It doesn't look like they're doing homework..." After about an hour long nap, we made our way back inside where I had a rather fantastic idea, if I do say so myself. We complained at lunch how people rarely came up to sit with us, so we decided to make a sign!

However, we didn't have to use it for dinner because it was so crowded. We ended up just sitting with completely random people, which is always really fun. Then, we went off campus. Whoa, I know, pretty intense, right? We're rebels.

At the beginning of the week, my roommates and I were completely anti-social and unproductive and had two movie nights in a row. The first night, we watched Hunger Games because my suite-mate Amanda had not seen it yet and I had it on my laptop. It was a blast- we set the laptop on the fridge and spread out blankets and pillows on the floor and all tried to cram between the two beds. Not necessarily the most comfortable position in the world, but still very fun. The next night, we watched Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows because Meredith hadn't seen it yet. We set up the same way, but this time we watched it in Megan and Amanda's room. Each time we ate a bunch of snacks, such as popcorn, ice cream, pretzels and peanut M&M's.

It's kind of hard to tell what exactly is going on, but you get the general idea of our setup.

On Tuesday I got all my paperwork filled out for work, made my uniform deposit, and began more online training after my classes ended for the day at 1:20. I also went to my first campus devotional that morning. It was fantastic. They had President Samuelson and his wife speak, and while they both did a fantastic job, I particularly liked his wife's talk about dragons. She talked about how on maps, they would have the phrase "Here be dragons" to point out perilous areas, and how life is full of dragons. We need to try to stay away from these dragons as much as possible.

Wednesday, I had the most intense dance workout so far. We did so many crunches, sit ups and stretches that I was sore for days. It was fantastic! I absolutely love my dance class. It feels so relaxing to me. Then, I tried to finish all my online training, but didn't have time. I went up and explained and was allowed to work because I had gotten the most important things done- like my paperwork, uniform deposit, and the other online training. I loved it! I was shown how to clean the vents in the grill area, how to clean the long drains, how to polish walls and had so much fun listening to music while doing so. It is the most relaxing job, and the people there are almost as awesome as the people I work with back at Barbecue Street.

Miss everyone I used to work with!

Thursday, I finished my classes for the week and was so ready for the weekend. And then I realized that it WAS the weekend for me! Because I have no classes on Friday this semester! Ever! Therefore, I used the rest of the day to be completely productive and do homework. Also, it rained and there was... A DOUBLE RAINBOW!! Megan and I flipped out, ran down the halls screaming about it and went straight outside in the rain to take some pictures. Believe it or not, some people did not understand why we were so excited. But it's pretty amazing, right?!

Okay, so you can't see it very well. But it's there!

We freaked out about that for a while, quoted that double rainbow all the way across the sky video and pretty much just giggled. And then, I stayed up late with Meredith because neither of us have classes Friday!

Friday, I slept in because my throat had been feeling sore and my nose was stuffy, and then I did my laundry. We cleaned up our room and bathroom and then worked on homework. However, while we were cleaning our rooms and bathroom, Megan noticed that there was a large rectangular tray full of ice. We quickly took it outside and smashed it on the ground, laughing hysterically and probably having too good of a time destroying that ice.That night I went to work and learned about the scariest, grossest machine ever called the Auger. It basically takes all the leftover food from the Cannon Center and turns it into mush. Luckily, I didn't have to clean it. I just watched and learned as someone else cleaned it. Then, after work, Meredith, Megan and I went to the creamery (Amanda was out on yet another date!) to get some ice cream. We all sat on the round circular thing outside the Cannon Center, complaining about how we haven't gone on dates yet and how guys have not really been talking to us. Megan was complimenting and trying to talk to every guy that walked by, and they kept practically ignoring her. Grumbling and frustrated, she said hey to two guys passing by and almost died trying not to laugh when they turned around and said hi back. They ended up coming back to our dorm lobby with us and playing Taboo with a group of people, and one of the two guys asked Megan for her number. Score for Megan! Then, we stayed up interrogating Amanda about her date because she got back at around two.

On Saturday, Megan and I got up at five thirty because the Horses For Healing program was leaving at six fifteen in the morning to go to Salt Lake for the Utah State fair. There, we washed and groomed the four horses they brought and got them ready for their show. They all placed!

 Buck, all cleaned and getting ready!

 Mickey, all handsome and ready to go!
Mickey was abused before he came to this barn, so it took a long time to wash him. I'd say it was worth the effort though, wouldn't you? And he's such a sweetheart!

 Sapphire! She got a little scratched up on the way to the fair, but you can't see it in this picture.

Cinnamon! He is so patient and obedient.

 We left at eleven and got back just in time to eat lunch, change and freshen up and rush to the football game. We only stayed until halftime (I know, it's shameful) because it was pretty hot, we were exhausted, and we were slaughtering Weber State. Megan and I made our way back to our rooms and I watched the rest of the game on the computer while finishing some reading for my classes. I was curled up in a blanket all day because I felt pretty miserable- I was getting attacked by my throat and nose- and dreading having to go see a movie for class that night. I ended up dragging Katherine along, and I feel bad about that now. Because it was dumb. Maybe it was because I was sick, but I just didn't get it. I didn't like the characters or the plot and it exhausted me even more trying to figure it out. 

I was supposed to go watch Spirit with Amanda Miller after the movie, but I just didn't feel good and ended up having to cancel. Being the awesome friend that she is, she understood completely, wished me well and we rescheduled. Nevertheless, I have been listening to my Spirit soundtrack practically every minute in order to get ready to watch the movie.

On Sunday, I had to go early to church because of an interview with the bishop. I got there promptly on time- 10:30- and accepted a calling as a Visiting Teacher Supervisor. I also got a ticket to watch the Brigham City Temple dedication from the Marriott Center. I was done by about 10:45, and my church meetings didn't start until noon. Instead of walking back to my dorm, I sat on a bench near the building and read my scriptures. Let me just tell you, the campus is so beautiful when it is quiet and you have time to appreciate it because you aren't busy between classes and no one else is distracting you. 

See what I mean?

Church itself was also amazing. They had our Elders Quorum presidency speak, and it is apparent why they were called to serve in that capacity. They all did amazingly well, and seem like very put together guys. One even asked my suite-mate Amanda on a date, so that makes him even more awesome. The rest of that day I spent reading for classes, eating a delicious dinner with my roommates and skyping with people back home. Another highlight was talking to my best friend, Brad, even if it wasn't for just too long. I even managed to finish all the homework I had nearly forgotten about.

Oh! I almost forgot! After church, we were walking by this ugly patch of ground in front of our dorm and got an incredible idea. We ran back to our rooms, grabbed a ruler and Meredith (founder of the idea) drew this on the ground:

Yeah, boy! Deathly Hallows sign!

Monday, I woke up early because we had a cleaning inspection that evening and I do not have a bunch of time on Mondays to come back to my room. So I cleaned, put the finishing touches on my biographical sketch for my genealogy class and headed off to classes. I came back after my BOM class and ate quickly, cleaned some more and set off for the rest of my day. My biology teacher is still nuts. This time, towards the beginning of his lecture, this girl interrupted him and yelled, "THERE'S A SNAKE ON THE FLOOR!" He looked around, found it, picked it up and said, "Thank you for pointing that out. It would have been really sad if I had stepped on it." Then, he proceeded to explain that he had caught this 'friendly snake' in his mother-in-law's garden and was keeping it for the week because it was cool. Then he shoved it in his pocket and said, "This is the first time I have carried a wandering garter snake in my right hand patch pocket. Ever. It's a good day!" After routinely checking that it was there, he put it in a little cage and passed it around the lecture. I will admit, it was kind of a cute snake. My dance class went well again- my teacher complimented my turns, so I guess I have my aunt Carrie to thank for that! :)

Today, I went to classes and got to talk about Harry Potter in both. Not gonna lie, it was pretty awesome. Then, I came back and had lunch with a girl in my writing class and a boy in my ward. We had fun talking about music, movies, hobbies, etc. Then I came back to my dorm and reflected on September 11th. I remember that just around that time, I was in second grade and we had a forest fire outside my elementary school. I was terrified that it was another terrorist attack, and was so glad to be home. I will never forget seeing those images on the news and wondering what movie it was, never forget the feeling I had when my mom explained to me that it was real. To this day, I still don't understand why it happened. All I know is that I will never forget. I am so thankful that I attend a university where they hold a flag ceremony in the morning to honor those who lost their lives that day, and to honor the heroes of our country. I am so thankful to live in the United States of America, and so thankful to live in a country where I can freely say 'God bless America!'

"The attacks of September 11th were intended to break out spirit. Instead we have emerged stronger and more unified. We feel renewed devotion to the principles of political, economic and religious freedom, the rule of law and respect for human life. We are more determined than ever to live our lives in freedom." -Rudolph W. Giuliani

"Time is passing. Yet for America, there will be no forgetting September the 11th. We will remember every rescuer who died in honor. We will remember every family that lives in grief. We will remember the fire and ash, the last phone calls, the funerals of the children." -President George W. Bush

"You can be sure that the American spirit will prevail over this tragedy." -Colin Powell

"Even the smallest act of service, the simplest act of kindness, is a way to honor those we lost, a way to reclaim that spirit of unity that followed 9/11." -President Barack Obama

I will never forget September 11, 2001.

Just the Beginning

The first few things I have learned about Provo:
(If you've already seen this on facebook, feel free to skip it.)
1. There are tons of Mormons here.
2. There are tons of gingers here.
3. BYU has been named the most "Stone Cold Sober" university for the 15th year in a row.
4. People play sardines inside campus buildings.
5. People are ridiculously friendly.
6. Being from the South qualifies you as "exotic."
7. People scream, "FOR NARNIA!" when committing the most common crime at BYU.
8. The most common crime at BYU is jaywalking.
9. People shamelessly belt Disney songs, interrupted only by an hourly Harry Potter reference.
10. Every day is game day.

Hey everyone! I've been out here at BYU since August 16th, and let me just say that I love it! The campus is great, the dorms are great, the professors are great, the students are great, etc. Oh, and they have actual mountains here. Like, huge mountains that are visible every way you go on campus. It's freaking awesome.
I got here a few weeks early to participate in a program called "Late Summer Honors." You come early, sign up for a class and get a class credit for it while being able to stay in the dorms, get to know your way around campus, meet other freshmen and have fun. For instance, we had FHE on Monday where I was the reigning Twister champion for my group (fist pump). We also had an Amazing Race activity to help us figure out the campus, with stops at all the important places along the way- the library, the bookstore, the testing center, etc. Tuesday night we had a fantastic dance. Let me just say that all the LSH kids knew how to party! It was hilarious and awesome, a great way to end the week. The first two days of the camp, I stayed in Chipman Hall with a girl named Katherine as my roommate. She is a ginger, loves to read and write, likes the same movies and music I do, she's from the east coast, she is actually in the same hall I'm in for the whole school year, and her best friend's name is Bradford. Coincidence? More like twins separated at birth. I'm so glad that I knew somebody in my actual hall (in David John) before moving in there. As for the class part, I took a class called "Shakespeare in his Time" and got to really study Shakespeare. Our final was a performance of a scene, and my group did amazingly well- we were comedic and totally in character, and we actually had a choreographed fight scene! Needless to say, it was a great first impression of BYU.
My awesome mom flew out here with me, and stayed here for 9 days to help me get settled in. She was so incredible even from the first moment we were there- not many moms would take their daughters to a Walmart at midnight to use a gift card (thanks, Sears clan!) to buy things forgotten/needed. She started helping me right away. It was amazing- especially when we fought with the bed frame to try and raise my bed so my suitcases could fit under there. It took about two hours, but our mighty muscles prevailed. She took me shopping for supplies, went to Chili's with me, helped me in every possible way imaginable (from figuring out the intimidating laundry machines to buying ridiculously expensive textbooks to giving room decorating advice) and didn't think of herself once. She truly is the best mom in the whole world.

Didn't we do an awesome job?

After LSH came NSO (New Student Orientation) where all the freshmen move in before the semester starts, meet in Y-Groups and get to know the campus better. Everyone in my Y-Group had signed up for the honors writing class, so they were all so fun and easy to talk to. It was great to be around kids all day that wanted to be writers and loved to read, people that I could relate to. I didn't go to all of NSO, however, because I already knew most of the things that were going on from stuff we had been told at LSH. So one day, Junyi, Amanda and I all had fun running around and shopping together with the awesome help and advice from Sister Miller (my mom had left earlier that day) and her sister. Amanda and I tore apart Target (pronounced Tar-jay to make it feel fancier) loading up on school supplies before kidnapping Junyi and racing through Ikea to see what great deals were available there. The best part was that we all got to eat at the Brick Oven after. I must say that I highly recommend the chicken Alfredo pizza, with mushrooms and bacon. It was delectable! The next day was spent getting ready for classes, mapping out routes for each day and going to a fabulous dance party outside the Wilkinson Center that night, complete with an outdoor dance, ping-pong, Mario-Kart, karaoke, and a cheesy dating game. My roommate and I left early with some friends to watch the movie Hot Rod.
My roommate moved in at the beginning of NSO, as did my suite-mates, and I was so glad to not be alone in my dorm room anymore! My roommate's name is Meredith, and she is a native of Utah. She is tons of fun to be around, and she has already introduced me to so many great people and helped me to understand their inside jokes. She's taller than I am by a few inches, has gorgeous brown hair, plays tennis like a beast and loves the color orange. My suite-mates, Megan and Amanda, are equally awesome. Amanda is an orchestra dork like me and plays violin like a boss. Megan loves blasting Disney music and freaking out about horses with me. It's gonna be a fun year with these girls!

Meredith and I at the football game!

The first week of school was much like the first few days of high school- here is the syllabus, let's read the syllabus, here is what your first assignment is, etc., etc. On Mondays and Wednesdays I have Book of Mormon, Genealogy and Family History, Biology and Jazz Dance as my classes. My biology teacher is crazy- no joke, he licked the chalkboard on the first day of class- and I missed my first dance class due to a tragic episode with disappearing tights and misguiding maps. However, the dance instructor also missed the first day of class so it was no big deal, and my awesome friend who recently moved here from GA got some tights for me! Tuesdays and Thursdays I have honors English and honors Writing, with an extra class called Honors Seminar on Thursdays. For my writing class, we have to do a semester long service project, write a research paper about it and do a presentation. I am so excited because I will be working with a program called "Horses for Healing" to complete my service project! Anyways, overall I'm taking 15.5 credit hours (14.5 if you take out the credit I got from LSH) and it's a good amount for me.
The end of the first week was epic- the first BYU football game against Washington State and we won! GO COUGARS!! I spent the first half with Katherine, then joined my roommate who was closer to the action after halftime. It was a fun night, especially since both my roommate and I do not have classes on Fridays, and could stay up late without any repercussions. Friday was spent doing laundry, assignments, and job hunting. My suite-mate, Amanda, and I went up to the Cannon Center for a job interview and both got jobs! (Insert a celebration dance here.) As soon as I get all the paper work filled out and my training done, I can start working. Friday night, my roommate went on a blind date with some friends and didn't get back until around three a.m. Not that I was awake or even woken up- she was very sneaky. I went to a dance with Katherine called "The First Big Thang" and it was pretty entertaining. We are fantabulous dancers. After that, we came back and watched "Treasure Planet" in our pajamas.

Pumped for the first football game of the season!

That brings us to today, which has been spent doing assignments, trying to figure out job logistics, cleaning with Meredith while also blasting music and bonding over goofy facebook pictures.
I miss everyone back home in GA, although the weather has been kind enough to send me a bit of rain to make me feel at home. I'll see y'all before you know it!