The End is Near

Well, today is the last Sunday I'll have as a freshman at BYU. I am excited to be finished, but sad to go. It has been a year for me to learn and grow, but it's gone so fast that I haven't done everything that I wanted. But, I am very grateful for the opportunity that I have had to be at Brigham Young.

I've done a lot of things since I moved out here in August. I better learned what career I am interested in pursuing and how to get there. Living without my parents has made me take on greater responsibilities for taking care of my house, and made me develop my culinary skills. I am also very proud that I have learned to play the guitar in only a few months. Elder's Quorum activities have given me the opportunity to have some friendly competitions and see just what I can do. My friends made sure that I had plenty of fun dates! Even busting open my eyebrow wasn't too bad. I think that most importantly, I have gotten to grow my testimony of Jesus Christ by being able to attend the temple regularly, teach in church, and take classes on the Book of Mormon.

I think that I owe everything good that has happened to me here to the wonderful people around me. I have had the privilege of being a part of the Provo Young Single Adults 48th Ward. I am thoroughly convinced that we have the best ward in the stake, if not the entire church. They have befriended me and taught me meaningful lessons. Parker Evans has shown me what it means to work hard and the amazing results you can achieve. Kati Briggs and Sadie Meyers have taught me that happiness is a choice, not a result of your circumstances. Brandon Quinn has demonstrated going above and beyond your call of duty. And my roommates have shown me how to be patient. These are only a small set of the many teachers I have had the pleasure to call friends. I hope that I can keep in touch with all of the people who have touched my life in this freshman ward.

It's true that it hasn't all been easy. I had trouble with the classwork. Sometimes I struggled a little financially. Making friends didn't come as easily as I had hoped at first. I even had to get thirteen stitches in my eyebrow! But, despite all of this I would not change any of this experience. I have loved getting to be a BYU Cougar!

Happy Easter!

Last night, I had one of the coolest Easter weekend experiences of my life! My roommate, Tanner, got tickets to go to a concert at Temple Square in Salt Lake City. Some friends and I went on a date to hear the Temple Square Chorale, which consists of auditioners and first year members of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. They did a Requim, which was all in Latin (thankfully, the translation was all in the program), and several other awesome Easter songs. It was really edifying to be able to spend two hours thinking about the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I was moved to tears more than once. After the concert, I saw the statue The Christus through a window of one of the visitor centers at Temple Square. I almost cried again thinking about how wonderful it is that Christ loved me enough to pay the price for my sins. This concert was one of the greatest testimony building experiences I have had!

Also, I recently had my camera returned to me, so tell me what you want pictures of here or on facebook! I'd love to let you all see what it's like here at BYU!

Winding Down Sure is Hard

Well, the end of another great semester at BYU is coming to a close. Instead of getting to kick back and spend a lot of time with my friends like I would want, we have all been very busy. Just in the last couple of weeks, I have taken 4 tests and written a paper. Now, these aren't like the test back home that I could ace without putting any thought into it. Tests at the Y are much harder and I have had to really buckle down. Thankfully, I have done really well on all of them! I don't know about my paper, since my TA has 25or so to grade. I think I did really well, though.

Not only has school been busy, but I have had to work hard in my calling as Family Home Evening Group Leader. I've had the opportunity this semester to work with Erinn Tollman, one of my FHE sisters, to plan out some fun activities for our dorms. Since we only have a few weeks left, Erinn and I decided to really make some fun activities to close the semester out. Everyone was busy last week, so our plans to take family photos fell through, but I bought ice cream for everyone and we had a fun time! In the next couple of weeks, we are going to have a service war, a big party, a game of capture the flag, and all around fun.

Because I've been so busy, General Conference seemed to be timed perfectly. I was the best to be able to listen to prophets. The choirs were all amazing and invited the Spirit so well. I'm not going to lie, I did fall asleep during two sessions, but what's Conference without a little nap here and there? Today, my friend Matt Maddix invited me and some other guys to his house for lunch. It was probably the best food I've eaten since Christmas! I'm very grateful to the Maddix's for inviting me into their home. I think that the theme that stood out to me most during Conference was to learn my duty, expecially the "why," and then do my best to fulfill it.

Same Old, Same Old

I know I haven't put anything up for a couple of weeks, and I apologize. It's just that not a whole lot has gone on these last couple of weeks. I've just been doing what I do.

This weekend was pretty fun, though! On Friday, Tanner invited me to a St. Patrick's Day dance at a retirement home. I didn't want to go at first, but I had a good time once I got there.

Tanner got me out again on Saturday! We went up to Salt Lake to see the Orchestra at Temple Square play some nice songs. The had a special soloist from the University of Utah join them for some Rachmaninoff. It was really nice to hear some good music.

But, that's really about all that I've done. I'm looking forward to seeing my cousins this weekend, though!

"Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured"

No matter what happens, there is no reason in life not to be happy. This is a nice thought I had this week. I realized that recently I have been doing a lot of smiling. Just walking down campus, I'll have the biggest, goofiest grin on my face and I love it! That's not to say that my life is perfect. This week has had it's challenges, but I chose to have a good attitude, be thankful for what I do have, and just be happy.

On Tuesday, I didn't realize that my Book of Mormon test closed at 2 o'clock. My plan was to take it after all my classes at 3, so I missed it. That could have really messed me up for the class and ruined my day. However, I decided not to worry and quickly got in touch with my teacher. He was kind enough to let me make it up, but with 15% of the grade taken off. I was fine with that; that's better than what I deserved. I should have gotten a 0, but instead I scored a 92% before the deduction. I'm happy that I could rob justice a little!

Tanner wasn't too happy with me that night though. I could not sleep, no matter what I tried. I got a drink, used the bathroom, adjusted my pillow, got another drink, and flopped around in my bed like a fish on the bank of a lake. I just couldn't sleep! I soon realized that it was because my ear was hurting. My first thought was, "A clean ear is a happy ear," and soon had the most hygienic ears around. No matter what I did, though, the pain was still there and I could not sleep. I ended up going to the student health center to find out that it was an ear infection. For the next couple of days, I felt like I was standing sideways and could only hear half of what was going on around me. But, I thought how wonderful it was that I could get it taken care of so soon and how glad I was to have working ears most of the time.

All the time, I see or hear people complaining about small things. I wish that instead we would focus more on things that bring us joy, the opportunities we have to fix the things that bother us, and the small gifts we have everyday. Even though people may do things to us or situations become a little more difficult than we may desire, the choice is ours to be grateful or bitter.

Owned!

These last couple of weeks have been pretty busy! I had my first big test for American Heritage, and I was freaking out! It was the most I have studied for any test. I worked really hard on the test to make sure I knew what they were asking. I prayed before and after my test that I would do well and remember what I studied. I expected somewhere between 50 and 70 percent, but I got the biggest surprise of my life when I looked at the results. I got a 94%! I think I had the second highest grade in my TA's sections. I felt pretty awesome after that!

Also, I got to play in a Heritage Halls videogame tournament. I played Super Smash Brothers for the N64 with my friend, Brandon. We were a little intimidated by the other participants histories, but felt good about what we did. We ended up playing my roommate, Bryan, and his teammate in the second round. We had three lives, and they killed us first, but we beat them both once. But, no one killed either of them until they got to the finals. When they were there, they had five lives and they both only lost life again. Bryan told me after the tournament that we played better than anyone else they had played. That made me feel pretty good, too!

I also had the opportunity to teach all the guys in my hall the haka! It's a Maori war dance from New Zealand. The national rugby team there does it before their games and it has been a couple of movies. We are planning on doing it before our next Rogers vs. Shipp competition. I think it should be pretty awesome!

Other than all of that, not much has happened. I hope everything is going well where all of you lovely people are!

Incapacitated

I have had a lot on my plate the last couple of weeks! The biggest thing is having to go to the hospital for the VERY FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE!!! I remember it well... It was a cold, dark Friday night; you know the kind. Now, to depart from my film noir telling of the story, some friends and I were going ice skating for a date at Seven Peaks Ice Arena in Provo. I was looking forward to it! I don't get to ice skate very often, but I always love it when I do get to go. We got our skates and went around the rink a few times, just to get a feel for the ice. Then, my date, Lindsey, and I decided to make things a little more interesting and tried to learn how to skate backwards. She had been skating a lot, so she picked it up pretty quickly. I, however, looked like I was trying to do the chicken dance. So, then we tried spinning. I was doing alright and decided to try a high-speed spin. This time, it didn't turn out so well. I had gone too fast, which made me lose my balance. When I started going down, I decided to break the fall with my face. Catching yourself with your hands is so old-school. I didn't hit any skates or anything, but my eyebrow split open. I thought I had just gotten a nose bleed, so I pinched my nose and skated off the ice. Thinking about it now, I'm kinda surprised that I was still coordinated enough to get off by myself. I learned pretty quickly that it wasn't a bloody nose and that I'd have to go to the hospital. Some friends and Lindsey came to the ER with me; I needed someone to drive and Lindsey is a pre-nursing student so seeing the muscles in my face was fascinating. We ended up staying there for a couple of hours. I think it's because I only said my pain was a four instead of something worse. I really couldn't feel a thing, though. It hasn't hurt me the entire time, only itched. I thought I'd make use of my time, and learned the name of all the staff that checked on me. There was Doctor Symonds, Colby, the PA, Melissa, and Amberly. Dr. Symonds put 13 stitches in my face, and we were headed back home. It didn't swell until Sunday, and then I looked like Quasimodo from the Hunchback of Notre Dame. It wasn't so serious that my back was misshapen, but my face was pretty gnarly. It healed up pretty quickly, though, and I am practically back to normal. My left eyebrow is just a little thinner and when I furrow my brow, it doesn't come down as far as my right eyebrow. I should be alright, as far as long term effects go. And I even got a good story out of it!

Other than that, I had my first big tests of the semester last week. I got a 95% on my Math test and a 70% on my Chem. I'm not too upset by either of those. I know that I can improve in Chem, so that's my goal!

Also, I was able to go to the Provo Temple on both Thursdays. The first week was a pretty dreary day and every was a little glum, but I was as happy as could be!

Finally, two of my friends got their mission calls! Jared, my roommate, got his call to Ukraine and a new friend this semester, Aaron, got his call to Hong Kong. The cool thing about Aaron's is that he's always said that he wants to go to China. I can't wait to get my call! I don't care if it's to North Dakota! I'll be excited to go anywhere.

I'm a Dad!

Yep, that's right! I am a dad..... of my Family Home Evening Group! I just got sustained in church today to be group leader and I'm already going! I met with the female group leader and got some pretty good planning done. We have activities planned for the next couple of weeks and a big list of possible activities. I am looking forward to working in this calling and getting to know everyone better. I also started my new hometeaching route today. I am teaching Brandon Quinn and Dillon DeSpain--two of my good friends-- and Jessica Bodero and Emily Welch. I am not related to Emily, but there are some interesting coincidences! We'll be talking about our families and mention and name and the other will say that they have some relative with that name! It gets a little crazy sometimes!

For hometeaching today, I prepared my lesson from the First Presidency message in the Ensign. It's about the ABC's of living an abundant life. They are Attitude, Belief, and Courage. The story of my junior track season fit perfectly with the lesson, which is nice because I love telling it! I am always amazed at what people can accomplish if they decide to work hard, have confidence, and keep working toward the goal despite obstacles. If you want to hear the story about that season, just ask and I'll tell! It's a little long to put up right now.

I did finally get the classes I want, but now I have a lot of make-up work to do. I just need to buckle down and get to it. For my American Heritage class, I have to write my first essay. I'm not worried about choosing a good topic because they are provided. I'm not worried about not finding good support for it. I'm not even worried about not meeting the word count. I am worried that I'll write too much! We only have 750 words to make a convincing arguement about a pretty deep topic. I just hope I can defend my thesis well in that amount of space.

That's my church and academic life. Now, as far as social goes, I had my best bowling game this week at a ward activity on Tuesday. I bowled a 109, beating my previous record of 86. I think it was my dancing between each frame. It was just a bunch of fun being with a bunch of friends. Time for some bad news, now. I have not been on a date this semester. Don't worry too much, though! I'll do something this weekend!

Also, I was planning on going to Grace, Idaho for a friend's mission farewell. Parker, my friend who was going to drive me, checked the weather on Friday and saw that Grace had a severe weather warning. That night, a ton of snow dumped on us. We didn't even have any warnings! I can only imagine what driving to Idaho would have been like. I saw a pretty funny video on Youtube of a bunch of people driving in Bountiful, UT. There were plenty of small wrecks, tons of sliding, and even a 360 spin! If you want to check it out, you can search for 400 North Bountiful Utah in youtube.

Long Time, No See!

Wow! Thanksgiving was a while ago! I'm sorry I haven't posted anything for a long time. Finals started almost immediately after the break and I did lots of studying with my friends. And it was actual studying! I stayed in the library until 2a.m. a couple times! After last semester ended, I got to go back to good ol' Chesapeake, OH. It was great to be home, but not so great for keeping up with blogs. We only have dial-up and it takes half and hour just to check e-mail. So, I decided to skip a couple weeks there. I was working at Chick-fil-a almost every day during the break, so that took up a lot of time. I was glad, though, to have the time I did with my family! I had missed my amazing parents, my beautiful sister, and crazy little brother! I also got a cool surprise to see my big, married sister over the break too! It's still weird to think that she's married... I also got to hang out with my awesome Grandpa Bob! I missed his traditional Thanksgiving dinner and was glad to get to make it to Christmas. I'm grateful for all of the gifts I got from everyone, even if it was just a smile as I walked by.

It was nice to be home, but I'm back at school now. I moved into some new dorms at the end of last semester and they are like four star hotels! The bathroom lights turn themselves on and everything! They're not perfect and lack the "homey" feeling the last ones had, but I am glad to be in them! One downside is that there is almost no parking. It takes longer to walk to my car than it would to walk wherever I'm going.

As far as classes go, they aren't really. I wasn't able to make a payment at the end of last semester, so now I have a hold on my account. I applied for another loan, but it is taking forever to go through! Until I get the loan, I can't switch my classes. Until I switch my classes, I don't know what homework to do. I am going to start attended the classes that I want to be in, just so I don't get killed in the next couple of weeks. Even as it is, I will be in a social coma: dead to the world, but alive inside. I have gotten to go to my Book of Mormon and American Heritage classes and love them both! Everyone talks about how awful American Heritage is, but I have enjoyed it so far. I haven't had to write any papers or take any tests yet, but I don't think those will be so bad, either. I've already learned a lot about foundings of governments, problems faced governing people, and some basic motivations considered. I'm looking forward to a good semester!

In church today, I got to teach the lesson in Elder's Quorum. I taught with a partner about President George Albert Smith and the title of the lesson was "Love they Neighbor as Thyself." Reading and preparing for this lesson really encouraged me to be more like President Smith and Jesus Christ by going out of my way to serve others. It's so important to love and serve.

Hopefully, I'll be able to do better this semester about keeping up on this! I love you all!