hey there.: the year of 'perfect ten' in review- day six.

the ten of '10- take 6.

i began my college education at an amazing university.

really this story begins with my college application process. i applied to four colleges- byu, byu hawaii, marietta, and dixie state.

these were my initial thoughts-

dixie i could get a scholarship to and it would be the cheapest, plus i could live with grandma and grandpa, plus i love st. george, plus i could work at the store. dixie was a front runner for quite some time.

byu might be too much for me, and plus its what people expect from me, and that bugged me. i didn't want my choice to be assumed. too much meaning too much of what i'm not used to. keep in mind i was the only lds student in my high school for quite some time. well, all until my senior year.

byu hawaii would be way fun! and warm. but its far away.

marietta had an awesome leadership program and had offered me a scholarship. it was different and would be random but that would make it even neater. (like my logic?)

but these were my final thoughts- dixie was too high school, byu was cheap and has a top notch business program and would be a refreshing atmosphere, byu hawaii was far away and if i got home sick i was soooo in trouble, and despite the scholarship marietta was still expensive.

so. there you go. byu it was. and it felt so good to decide that. and since i've never looked back.

I LOVE IT HERE!

i don't think i can stress that enough. i love my life here. i love my friends, my classes, my surroundings, and the spirit that is ever present.

it's amazing what a difference it makes to be a religious university. i study the book of mormon as a two credit class! did you know that technically every byu grad graduates with a minor in religious studies just because of the religious class requirements here? (thank you brother marsh, my new book of mormon teacher, for telling us that today (: )

i love being with kids that allow me to let my guard down a ton. i don't have to worry about staying home because there is nothing "appropriate" going on that weekend. quite the opposite actually. i don't have to ask my friends to stop swearing. i don't have to worry about what movie we'll watch that night. the list goes on and on. but most of all my friends here understand and can talk about religious topics with me. not that i know too much but most of the religious conversations we have end up being my favorite of the day.

at the same time, i should not discredit my friends at home. they're amazing and i loved where i grew up and the people i grew up with. they're like family to me and i love them so much!

i'm so thankful that i'm here and i'm with these amazing people and i'm learning so much and loving it even more. so weird. maybe i'm just happy today. who knows.

here's some pictures of the journey here :)