Hey everyone! I wanted to start this blog so everyone from home can keep up with me here at BYU this year. I'm really excited to be here and to share my experiences with you with this blog. I'm sorry I don't have any pictures in this one, but I don't have a camera and my dad took his with him. Next time, hopefully, I'll be able to put some up of my dorm and my roommates and any other cool things about campus.
So this week has been jam packed! I left early Monday morning to start my modern-day trek to Utah. My dad stayed a little while to talk to my sister and get a few last minute things. Because I was waiting for him and was super excited to get going, I left some pretty important things at home: the scriptures for my roommate, Tanner Schenewark, and me. There were a few more things, but I think I can live without them for a little while. We left Huntington, WV, at about 11 in the morning and got a quick bite to eat. We took turns driving until late in the evening. Before we stopped for dinner, we noticed that none of the town names looked like the ones on the map. I turned out that I had taken us on an hour detour north.So, we stopped for dinner and adjusted our schedule accordingly. we stopped for the night in Davenport, IA.
The next day was super long. We woke up early to make up some time and tried to make it to Winterquarters for a short stop by lunch. We made it to the town, but a road we needed was closed with no detour. My dad drove in a circle for about an hour until he got frustrated and had to get out of the car. We had tacos, then kept driving. We drove through some of the most boring land I have ever seen. Everything was flat and corn. There was no civilization for miles. Trying to stop was the worst, though. We tried to find a place to stay in several towns in NB, but all of the hotels were full. We ended up driving until 3:30 in the morning and stopped only about an hour from Salt Lake City.
Wednesday was a really nice day. We drove the last hour to SLC and visited Temple Square. I was so surprised by all the traffic and the huge lanes. It's very different from driving down a two lane road in downtown Chesapeake with two other cars behind you. Apparently, people in Utah don't believe in speed limits either. They were flying! After visiting Temple Square and Deseret Book, we headed off for Provo. It didn't take too long for me to unpack my things and make my apartment home. My dad and I made a very much needed Wal-Mart run (I think my dad was going through withdrawals). We picked up almost a hundred things for my dorm and food to cook. For dinner, we met up with Tanner for a some In-n-Out Burger. Tanner's father recomended it to my dad, and I am very glad he did! They're hamburgers and fries are so fresh you can taste it! That is definitely a date-stop. My dad stayed the night in my dorm while I slept on the floor.
I woke up early on Thursday to take my dad to the airport. We said our good-byes and a tear or two were shed. It was cool to find out that he was flying with Elder Holland! I had to drive back to Provo and get ready for New Student Orientation. I was a little late and didn't get to meet with my Y-group before they left, but got very lucky and ran into them on the way to the Mariott Center where we were have Convocation. We listened to the University President and Student Body President. Next, we had lunch in our groups. They were huge lunches! Even I couldn't finish it all. We took a tour of campus after we had finished eating, and I was thoroughly exhausted. I almost went back to my dorm and went to bed. I decided instead to go to a meeting about the honor's program and selecting a major. I cooked spaghetti and meat sauce for my roommates that night. I think I have already won their hearts! One of their friends said she was jealous I couldn't be in her dorm. After dinner, we went to a Tradition of Honor presentation that talked about BYU's Honor Code and explained some of the reasons why we set such a high standard for ourselves. Finally, we headed to LaVell Edwards Stadium for a really cool pep rally. Our whole class was seated in the shape of a Y and we had our picture taken. It was the first time in over a hundred years a class had their picture taken like that. It was also the first time that I got to see Cosmo the Cougar! Everyone got pumped up for the upcoming sports, especially football. Everyone just went crazy! I slept well that night.
We started out the day on Friday with our first devotional. We heard from the head of the religous studies classes. He shared some really nice insights. There were some more presentations about things to do at the Y and we met with our Freshman Mentors. Mine is a really nice girl named Erynn Scott. I think I'll be able to learn a lot from her. There was a vollyball game going on in the evening, so they had a big party at 4:30. They ordered 900 pizzas. They had so much that people were taking multiple boxes with them. I took 2, but saw a guy take 5. After some pizza, I took a nice nap. It felt so good to rest.
Saturday was a day to get things ready for school to start. I got all of my books. I got as many used as I could and even rented a couple. It ended up being $313. In the afternoon, I (poorly) played a little basketball and worked on some laundry. I was worn out and took another nap. Then I made another Wal-Mart run and made a menu with Tanner. I got back late to an awesome dinner Tanner made. I also ended up going to my first BYU dance. They were having it outside, but it got rained out and everyone moved inside the Wilkinson Student Center, where they were having a comedy show, karaoke, and had a few games set up. I got to meet some people and had a pretty good time.
Sunday came early. Church started at 8:30 this morning. We started in Elders Quorum and Relief Society. the room we were in wasn't nearly big enough. People had to stand or sit in the floor. We also took pictures for our ward directory. It made me think it'll get used as a dating menu. In sacrament meeting, we hear from our bishopric and their wives. It was a really spirit-filled meeting. In the afternoon, we had a meeting with all of the other guys in our building. Bryan, the Resident's Assistant and one of my roommates, led the meeting. They had a neat tem building game that was really fun to watch. Now, it's just time to relax until our ice-cream social tonight and ward prayer!
I'm going to update this next week, so watch for it! I miss all my friends and family from back east. You can write to me at my dorm or shoot me an e-mail or message on facebook. I'd love to hear about what is going on with everyone!
this is my mail address:
Stephen Welch
93 Rogers Hall
Provo, UT 84604
