My First Days of College (Part 1)

I went to the grocery store this evening and it took me twice the amount of time to get across town. Everyone is back and getting ready for school to start next week. So, you know me, and if you’ve read this blog since the start you know I’m very nostalgic. I always think about what I was doing a year ago at this time. Two years ago. Three. Four… You get the picture. Well, let me tell you what I was doing five years ago (plus the months right before it).

In October of 2006, I received a letter with a return address in Provo, Utah. It was my acceptance letter to BYU. I got home from school and couldn’t wait to open it, so I opened it right there on the couch by myself. I broke into tears as I read the words because it meant that there was an end in sight. There was an end to going to a high school filled with kids completely unlike me. By the end of my Senior year, I couldn’t handle all the parties, all the cussing, all the cheating, all the drinking. I couldn’t handle seeing one more friend throw away their values for temporary popularity and pleasure. I’m not saying I hated high school, I just was so excited for the opportunity to go to a school that was like EFY all the time. And for a high school Mormon girl, EFY was the best place in the world!

One afternoon, late in August, we packed my brother’s car up I said my goodbyes. I’ll tell you what. I still remember that feeling of saying bye to my parents. I remember looking at them from the car for the last time as they stood on the driveway. I felt like I was too young. I wasn’t ready. But there I was, moving thousands of miles away across the country. My whole life was changing.