b.y.u.

background info: sometime last winter semester i got an email saying i was an upper classroom with the supposed adequate "requirements" to qualify to be a y-group leader, if interested. it would be an excellent opportunity to serve! at first, i almost trashed my email from some byu head-honcho that i didn't know, but something made me stop and think. i remember my y-group experience. i remember my y-group peers and leaders. actually, my best friend and soulmate in the entire world KENDALL HUTCHISON (who is celebrating her first wedding anniversary already) and I met in our y-group. so naturally, i decided to write a few short essays to apply and within a week or two i was informed that i was chosen to serve. i was actually very excited for this opportunity! 

the volunteer work took up most of my first week in provo when i was trying to move all our things into our new apartment, however it was well worth it, i'd say. i got to take the new freshman students on tours all across campus, with a little booklet of interesting facts about byu campus. i got to share my tips about secret computer labs or secret couches for napping. the students are still so excited to be moving away from home and starting their new free adventures and they inspired me! i also got to attend the first devotional by my all-time-favorite-ever religion teacher, Brother Todd Parker. man, i just loved his classes so much. 

the best part of the whole experience for me was reflecting on my own feelings about byu. everyone knows how much i love this place, but why?

i think a lot of it is because when i left idaho, i had a huge hole in my heart. my grandpa had just passed away, and drake had just left on his mission. i was so lonely and lost. i had been so attached to drake that i almost didn't know how to function without him. i was being a huge baby. and i felt like there was this huge hole in my heart. instantly, i could feel the spirit on campus. the happy people, the warm weather, the opening prayers before class. seriously, the spirit is pretty thick. somehow, a little bit of my heart began healing and realizing room for growth and betterment of myself.

and of course, i met kendall on day #1 in my y-group. she was as gorgeous as ever, and so sweet and kind. all i can say is this: God had a plan for us to meet and become best friends. i believe that firmly with all my heart. instantly we matched our complete schedules together and moved in with each other. this girl helped me find all the fun things life could be (even without drake) and her love and acceptance of me definitely helped me get over the things i was going through. 

there was so many times that while talking to the new students about the honor code that i came to understand and appreciate it better. while touring through the education in zion exhibit that i've already spent hours researching and written three papers about, i felt the spirit bear such a sweet witness to me of the importance of this school. this university took a lot of sacrifice and work to become what it is now. there was a plan for it from the beginning. everyone here is here for a reason, and if it weren't for the thousands of saints that gave up so much for us, we wouldn't be able to experience the sweet blessings at byu. i just am so overwhelmingly grateful for this great university and campus in my life.

I'm somewhere in the upper right hand corner with my y-group!

i have really grown up in the two years i've spent at byu. i have come to know myself, i have grown and stretched and become a person better than i was when i left high school. it was here that my testimony grew such an incredible amount. it is here that i learned how much i really love the gospel and know it to be true. it was here i took the time and effort to study more closely the scriptures and develop a closer relationship to my Savior. the culture in provo, utah is just so different than anywhere else i've ever been. to be surrounded by people with such amazing testimonies and spirits that shine from their eyes is incredible. so yes, that big huge hole i thought i felt in my heart went away. byu and the people and the experiences and the testimony i gained here filled my whole heart overflowing. my testimony of missionary work increased so much the more i learned about the gospel, and my desire for drake to serve righteously increased. my loneliness without him was replaced with feelings of pride and joy in his work. i was happier than i ever thought i could be.

i still am, i am happier than i ever thought possible!