One Semester Down, Only Seven More to Go!

Wow - it has indeed been a very long time since I last blogged. But with a new semester comes a chance to start new again! I quite like the beginning of semesters actually. I can make of the next few months whatever I want to. So let's see...what have I been up to? Well maybe I should start way back where my last blog left off...last November.

This was Nichelle beating me up after taking her yellow belt
test for jiu jitsu. She's a real ninja now...

The most important thing that month happened during the third week of the month...yes, you guessed it - RIVALRY WEEK. Wow. It was so amazing to be here on campus as a student. I still sometimes find myself in the dazed freshman stage, hardly believing that this is all real. Afterall, BYU is what my focus has been on my whole life - it's what I've always wanted to do with my life. Now the future seems so open, so uncertain. Anyway, back to rivalry week. I think that pictures are all that will suffice at a time like this. Words just can't explain...

YAY! Rivalry Week! Nichelle and I
may or may not have matched all week...
Look we are friends!
The fans storming the field after the game...there's no better feeling.

I tried to offer comfort to my very sad ute friend.

Sigh...good times. That game was one of the funnest games I have been to at Lavell Edward's Stadium. Moving quickly along to December. As December drew near I was torn between my excitement for Christmas break and my anxiety for finals week. The fear of the unknown was what really got me. As it turns out, however, the anxiety was worse than the actual event. Finals week turned out to be not too bad. My roommates and I pulled mattresses into our living room and had a week-long sleepover. My days were composed of studying, playing with roommates, studying, eating, sleeping, studying, and taking tests. Sure the studying and taking tests thing wasn't my favorite, but overall not too bad of a week.

Christmas break...Christmas break was amazing. Two weeks with absolutely no obligations, expectations, or stress. Of course by the end I was ready to go back to my life at college, but it was great while it lasted. I loved being with my family again and seeing friends I haven't seen for a while.

Richard, Courtney, Nichelle, and Me skiing over the break...

Nichelle and I on the ski lift.

Spending a day with Mary and Em and Steph was the highlight of my break. It felt so...right to be back with them. I had almost forgotten how much fun it was to have all four of us in the same place just having fun. I've been so lucky to have such amazing friends come into my life. Being with them again made me realize how much they really meant to me and how much I really did miss them. It was so cool. It also reminded me of how easy it is for me to laugh when we are together. It doesn't seem to matter what we are doing - it just makes me happy to be with them again.

It did surprised me how much I really missed being here at BYU. I realized that in just one semester BYU really has become a home for me. I love the people I've met, the friendships I've gained, and the memories I've already made. It made me grateful for the circumstances that allowed me to come here. I know it's where I'm supposed to be and I'm ready to make the most of my time here. I can't believe I really have one semester of college behind me - I'm officially a college student now.

With winter semester comes another exciting stage in my life - attending BYU basketball games, sitting in the student section, as a real live student. This is Nichelle and Courtney and me at one of Nichelle's first college basketball games...


So far this semester has been going well. Some think I'm crazy when they hear that my schedule involves Math 343, CS 124, CS 235, and Physics 121 all in the same semester. But I am loving it. I'm starting to get more specific in my studies and it's awesome. No English or geography or history or art classes to get in the way! Don't worry though - I still am well rounded. One of my favorite classes is my self defense class that I'm taking with Nichelle. Now I know how to defend against her... :) Maybe someday I'll decide on a major....But for now I'm just trying to make the most of here and now.