This Is College

Well, I suppose you could say that I made it! Twelve long years of school completed, (fourteen if you count kindergarten and preschool) ...and now I'm back again for another four to six! How marvelous.

But I like it here. BYU really is a nice place to be, especially since I am so familiar with the area. It practically feels like home! And home as now become home for some 2,000+ more freshmen besides me. Granted, classes haven't started yet, and to be honest, so far it has all felt a lot like EFY all over again. But that's okay! Because EFY is awesome. And I'm not sure if I'm completely ready for classes to start. But they will, and when that time comes, I will say a prayer and dive in.

My roommate's name is Isaac, and he's from Canada. Pretty cool huh? His ethnicity is actually Turkish, and he's not a member (as of right now). He has been investigating since January though! So I hope that I will be able to answer any of the questions he may have, and that I will be able to show him the depth of my testimony through my actions. He's definitely in the right place though, surrounded by the gospel. I wish everybody could have this opportunity and be as open to learn as he is. He's such a great kid.

One of my goals for college is to be more social than I was in high school! So I plan on going to more of the events going on here than I did in college. Now, that doesn't mean I'm going to go to EVERY one, because I doubt I will ever get to that point (and frankly I really don't want to either!). I'm content being who I am, but I realize that I should step a little further out of my shell for a little bit here. I gotta work on remembering people's names! That's gonna be a big thing. I can talk to all the people I want, but if I can't remember their name, (which I usually don't...) then it won't really matter haha. So that's goal number two!

I really love how much BYU is centered in the gospel. It surrounds everything here! It's going to help me so much in preparing for a mission. One of the things that really hit me during freshman orienteering happened during a devotional we all had Friday morning. They were showing a video documentary made about the history of BYU, and one of the quotes somewhere in the middle of it stood out far above the others. I can't give it justice by just summarizing, so here is the actual quote, with the bolded part being the thing that stood out to me:

Zina Young Williams, the dean of women of the Brigham Young Academy in Provo and a daughter of Brigham Young. The academy was less than a decade old and was experiencing serious financial difficulties that, if not resolved, would mean its closing. After listening to Sister Williams’s plea for help, President Taylor took her hand “in a fatherly way” and said:

“My dear child, I have something of importance to tell you that I know will make you happy. I have been visited by your father. He came to me in the silence of the night clothed in brightness and with a face beaming with love and confidence told me things of great importance and among others that the school being taught by Brother [Karl G.] Maeser was accepted in the heavens and was a part of the great plan of life and salvation; . . . and there was a bright future in store for . . . preparing . . . the children of the covenant for future usefulness in the Kingdom of God, and that Christ himself was directing, and had a care over this school.” [Leonard J. Arrington, ed., The Presidents of the Church (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1986), pp. 108–109]

I know that that statement is true. I know the gospel of Jesus Christ is true, and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is the only church on the face of this earth that contains the fullness of God's plan, His words, and His love for His children. That is my testimony, and I'm so proud to be part of the newest class of Brigham Young University! Go Cougars!