College Graduate!!! My College Journey

So, I decided it was about time to update my blog. Here is an account of my journey through school after high school.

After high school I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I felt like everyone else had direction and I was just lost in the abyss of life. You know when you get to the end of something and people ask whats next and where you visualize yourself in the next five years. I never have known how to answer that question. The next part of my life was not something that I had mapped out or that I could have mapped out, but it was a journey that took me to some surprising, but amazing places. One of my favorite movies, Dan In Real Life, taught me something that I think is key to life. You have to plan to be surprised and, boy, has life brought me surprises. 

In the fall of 2004 I started attending the LDS Business college. It was a very small school with enrollment around 1,500, located right in the middle of Salt Lake City. I loved living in the city and going to a small school. Plus I was rooming with my best friend, Heather. During my second semester I got a job working at the church office building cleaning the kitchen and working at banquets on the side (which was my favorite part because I met so many amazing people while I was there).  I had the opportunity of working at many banquets were General Authorities (Leaders of the LDS church) attended.  One of the biggest things I learned while working at the Church Office Building is that they are real people and they really live what they preach and believe.

(Taken a few years after I left the BC)

My time at the LDS Business College ended after my third semester. After getting sick I decided to take some time off of school. This was not what I wanted to do, but what I needed at that point to time.

I spent the next year after the LDSBC at home. I started out with a part time job taking care of Addison. Addison was 4 months old when I first met her. She was born with a brain defect and had no use of her arms. The doctors told her parents that it was likely that she would be a vegetable for the rest of her life. What started out as a part time job turned into a full time job. I started doing therapy with Addison at home and taking her to different appointments. It was such a joy working with her and I saw so many miracles. I can still remember the day I saw Addison lift her hand above her to play with a toy. Now Addison is active child that is capable of doing much more than they ever thought possible. I learned a powerful lesson during this time in my life. Miracles do happen and we can overcome so much more than what we think.

(Addison in her Halloween costume)

Taking a year off was the best thing I could have done, but I soon felt like it was time to move on in my life. While I was visiting my sister and her family in South Carolina I was standing on the back porch of their house and thinking about life when I got the overwhelming feeling that I needed to go to BYU Idaho. May I add that this was probably the last place I wanted to go to school. I had visited Rexburg right after high school graduation and had told myself that I would never go to school there. I have discovered that you should never say never because you usually eat your words, or at least I do. So, I applied, got accepted for Winter 2007, and headed off to Rexburg.

Rexburg was incredibly cold and snowy. Being from Boise I am used to the snow melting off which is not what happens in Rexburg. I decided that I wanted to go into Child Development. I loved my time working with Addison and wanted to work with children. I can't say that Rexburg was the happiest place for me, but I did learned a lot about life. The first part of my journey there was hard and lonely, but I soon was introduced to three amazing girls through my sister; Whitney, Hannah, and Chelsea. We had some great times and quickly became fast friends and even roomed together my last semester. I am not sure I would have survived Rexburg without them. I met some great people, but wasn't content with life and felt like something was missing. My last semester was probably my hardest there. To put it bluntly it was the darkest time in my life up to that point and I was not happy.

(Me, Whitney, Hannah, and Chelsea) 

I decided I needed a change so, I decided to apply to other schools and transfer. While applying to other schools I applied to BYU Hawaii for their visiting student program. I to this day don't know why I applied and can honestly say I had no intentions of actually going. With in 48 hours I found out that I was accepted to BYU Hawaii, it was at that point that I actually thought about it. BYU Hawaii was never on my list of places to go. After a lot of thinking I decided to go to Hawaii for a term. I felt like I just needed a change of pace for a while, but I had no intentions of staying.

In April 2008 I got on a plane and flew across the ocean to the start of a journey that would change me more than anything else has to this point in my life. Moving to Hawaii didn't take away all my problems. In fact the first part of the term was hard. Sure it was great being in Hawaii, but it wasn't until the later part of the term that I really started to love it there. I met some amazing people and soon grew to love the culture there. The term came to an end and I got back on a plane and flew home. It took a lot for me to get on that plane. As I flew across the pacific ocean I knew that I had to go back. I knew that my time at BYU Hawaii was not over and that the Lord needed me there.

I applied to BYU Hawaii again and was accepted to go back for Fall Semester. The next almost four years of my life where some of the hardest and greatest. I switched majors halfway through from Special Education to TESOL Education (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) and then my second to last semester I decided not to become a certified teacher and to get a certificate in Intercultural Peace Building. It was the best decision that I think I made about my education even though it may not seem logical.  I owe a lot of who I am today to the Peace Building program and the amazing people that I was able to interact with. When I had gotten my certificate I was blessed with peace and the knowledge that, that was one of the reasons and the things I needed to do while at BYUH. 

I have always loved the beach and spent lots of time there. In fact almost every Saturday as long as it wasn't raining you could find me playing in the water, sand, and sun. I worked hard at school and became very involved. Prior to this time you would find me hiding in the back of class and to shy to get involved in anything. In Hawaii I found myself and soon became active in Student Leadership. I started by volunteering at different events on campus. I was asked by a friend who was in the Student Leadership Presidency to be her Executive Director. I was involved in almost everything that happened on campus during that time and I loved it. I found I had such a passion for being involved and I soon gained more confidence. 

I soon found myself in the Presidency as the Executive Vice President with Nick Narayan as the President and Chase Carlston as the other Executive Vice President. It was a tough year with a lot of growth but I had great experiences working with our BYUHSA team. During that year I was involved with many things on Campus. I helped with activities and worked with the Administration. I also was privileged to speak at devotional. It was an amazing experience although completely outside of my comfort zone.

(Chase, Nick, and me)

Tough Times Don't Last, Tough People Do!
(Link to the Devotional)

(Marcus, Jimmy, Irene, Destinee, and me)

I could not begin to tell you what BYU Hawaii means to me. I wish I had to words and the abilities to share, but I am at a loss. In the Book of Mormon there is an account of people that come to know their Savior at a place called the waters of Mormon.

Mosiah 18:30

30 And now it came to pass that all this was done in Mormon, yea, by the waters of Mormon, in the forest that was near the waters of Mormon; yea, the place of Mormon, the waters of Mormon, the forest of Mormon, how beautiful are they to the eyes of them who there came to the knowledge of their Redeemer; yea, and how blessed are they, for they shall sing to his praise forever. 

This is how I feel about BYU Hawaii. I met some of the most amazing people and some of my closest friends there. I became something more than what I was. I came to know my Savior and my Heavenly Father. I would not be the same person I am today if it wasn't for this journey and all of the people that I met along the way. How grateful I am that things don't go as we plan and the knowledge that Heavenly Father has a better plan for us than we could ever dream up for ourselves.