Posted by admin on August 28th, 2008 filed in
BYU
So, I’m now here at BYU with all my stuff unpacked, my desk organized, and a sunburn starting to glaze my skin from all the walking and orientation that we’ve been putting in over the last few days. I’ve been to every building on campus, I think, and will be spending tomorrow between getting Nate’s piano setup, taking a walking tour of all my classes, and taking a nap. So, I’ll start on Wednesday and Journal in a few things about what’s been happening.
Wednesday was spent getting everything put together. That morning, my mom gave me a haircut, we started packing (That took forever – I never realized how long packing could go). We finished by about 11:45 and headed out to jump start my fridge and pick up a few last-minute items. It was frustrating because I had been doing laundry earlier in the week, but for some reason everything in the darks came out absolutely reesty. It was very gross, so I left it at the house to get another wash/dry (My Mom dropped it off on Thursday). After shopping (Finished at about 1:30) I took my Mom to Olive Garden to thank her for all her help (I had to snatch the check before she could pay for it). It took about 45 minutes to move everything back in, and then it was off to new student orientation.
So, without going through with all the finer details of NSO (haha, everything is an acronym), I’ll fire off the basic gist: I’m in Yellow 3. Nate and I think the program feels a lot like EFY minus cheers and escorting, so he’s avoiding attendance (It helps that he has work and a lot of stuff to iron out school-wise before Tuesday rolls in). They have good food on a regular basis for NSO participants. My group leader, Jessica Helms is from Alabama and has a sweet accent to match, but she’s having trouble keeping all the new students in the group, let alone helping them orient themselves. I appreciate what she’s been doing, though, as it’s helped me (touring buildings, answering questions, etc.).
Tonight was crazy. Traditions of honor is basically “Honor Code 101″ including skits about the code, what it is, what it means, and why we have it. Jericho Road performed a few numbers to illustrate using your career/talents as an example for the church (your testimony, essentially), and then we had a prayer (love that, it never gets old). The on-stage band then warmed up again and the production manager got on to tell us “normally, you would all leave, however tonight [forgot his name] has a song to sing for the woman he loves.” And then he broke into a really sweet song for his girlfriend. The freshmen girls were screaming, the RM’s were getting nervous, and he built to a climax (it was cool, because all the Y leaders were on the floor waving lights, the Marriott tech crew had the lighting system well cued and managed, and the sound was great). Then, he popped the question, on his knee, with a ring box. The freshmen females imploded with joy, the RM’s hung their heads in despair since this was going to become a standard, and the happy couple snuck off the back of the stage to talk about the event. Needless to say, it was pretty neat.
Christie, Mikayla, and I walked back home and I got situated for the night in my apartment (Yes, that still sounds cool to me). I did help them with their internet (”That’s against the honor code!”) and sat in their front room chatting it up.
I think this place is the best. I’ll be honest: I was a bit skeptical about the whole “Bubble” mentality, the spiritual blending of knowledge, the very different culture, along with actually moving out and everything. But now that I am here, have met new people, have been to devotionals, and have caught a glimpse of the BYU experience, I’m totally excited for what there is ahead of me. It’s going to be demanding, but it’s very much going to be worth it. And, I think I’m going to follow my Comp Engineering, JD/MBA route like I thought I should a few years ago. First, though, I need to get through this semester and a mission.
I’m very excited for a potential job I’ve applied for on campus. It’s in the Richards building doing System Administration tasks. I’m really excited for the athletics facilities, however. The pool, weights, and track are all open to students, so I’m totally going to take advantage of that before or after work. I always feel 150% better when I’m regularly exercising, and I can get into the habit this semester but have the convenience of it being right next to my job.
As for the blog, I plan on putting a lot more time into this thing so the people back home can stay up to date on my comings and goings.
Leave a Comment