Life in the Fast Lane

My blog has often dealt with things that are connected to my church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Occasionally it serves as a sounding board for the humorous aspects of my life. I’d like to add another dimension to it. Sure, it will still have traces of the others, but this blog is dedicated to my personal life over the past month while being at school. I’ve had friends ask me what I’ve been up to and to use my blog to update them on my life; here it is.

I flew to Utah on New Year’s Eve Eve. I was really happy to be reunited with old friends I hadn’t seen in so long. On New Year’s Eve, a group of us went to the mall in Provo for First Night, a big party to celebrate the new year. Jesse, Alli, Craig, Linzy, Hailey, and myself were in this motley crew. While we didn’t really get to do many of the activities around the mall, we did have a fun time. There was a dance, and we got our groove on.

I started classes a few days later, and I was hit by a freight train. I’m in several classes, but two of those are chemistry and physics. It’s been 5 years since I have done any chemistry. I haven’t done physics since the pre-existence! Physics has been hard for me to grasp, but I am doing better. Hopefully my next test comes out better than my last one. I’m also in a Foundations Capstone class. It’s pretty much a random class that’s mandatory; however, I tend to enjoy it. We discuss a lot of moral issues. Case studies are a big part of each class. It gives me an outlet to vent not just my opinions but things that people don’t consider all the time. People in that class love me or hate me. But I enjoy looking at many different aspects of issues. This one is just fun to get people riled up.

Once again, I am involved in the Heber J. Grant Program. See this video to gain an understanding of what we do. To put it in a nutshell, we provide an opportunity for those who have been raised in difficult environments or had other disadvantages overcome those social, physical, spiritual, and personal issues and create a success from what they’ve been given. I am currently serving as the Area Director of the Mentors Area. Basically, every new scholar that comes on campus is paired with a student who has been here for a few semesters. This mentor helps the new student find his or her way around campus, informs about different services offered at the university, and is an instant friend. My duty is to help facilitate these pairings and solve issues that arise. We also have a pilot program in Boston where we provide mentors for high school-age students to prepare them for college life. We also train the mentors and serve as a communication tool for direct contact to the scholars of the program. I get to work with 4 coordinators and 8 mentor managers. They are wonderful people. I work with my coordinators more directly, and I could not survive without them. 

Two weeks into the semester, I took a weekend trip to Phoenix, Arizona. It was a blast! I had never been before and had heard good things about it. Eve Mabry, a Tennessee friend of mine that is now a Arizona resident, took me and Kirsten Whitbeck to a place called the Mystery Castle. Frankly put, it’s a house built by a man that was dying of tuberculosis. He left his family to die in the desert and figured he’d build his daughter a “castle” until he died. Well he lived for another 15 years and ended up dying of cancer. Upon his death, his wife and daughter were notified about the house, and they’ve lived there ever since. It is quite...... eclectic. That’s to say the least. It was a fun little attraction. 

I also got to hang out with a couple of my boys from EFY, Justin and Jason. I was their counselor during week 10. It was so neat to get to be around them again. They’re such good kids. We went to the Mesa Temple. That temple is so beautiful! We also watched the Joseph Smith movie in the visitors’ center. One of my favorite things of that trip was being able to have scripture study with Jason. I love scripture study, but I love it even more when I discuss what I study. He’s such a bright young man. I got to spend a lot of time with his family, and it helped me see how important raising your children with gospel principles is. They are such great people.

I got called as the Family Home Evening Coordinator for my ward. I didn’t think that it would be a lot of work, but it has its challenges. I have a sister I work with to ensure FHE runs smoothly each week. Each apartment has a coordinator, and that person gets together with their assigned apartment and plans out specifics for that week’s activities. I also have to oversee the once-a-month visit to a bishopric member’s house. I love FHE, so it’s a good thing for me.

With all of this, I resigned myself to not having a social life this semester. However, I was pleasantly surprised when I went on a date with a friend I had in the Heber J. Grant Program. I got quickly interested, and several dates later we became official. Rachel Emmot is her name and being awesome is her game! She’s a senior that’s a health science major. We’re very different in our interests, but we get along famously. Like I said, we’ve been friends for about 8 months already, so it’s like being with a best friend when I’m with her. Our dates are a ton of fun. We’ve gone to the movies, out to eat, ice skating, to get hot chocolate and cupcakes, and done other fun stuff with both of our friends. My favorite thing we do is take walks. If you have never been to Rexburg, you must understand how cold it can get at night. The wind blows and blows and blows. Although it is cold, it is well worth the dialogue. We talk about anything and everything. She is so good to me.

I hope this gives you an idea of what I’ve been doing since leaving my confederate abode. To sum it up, my life is great right now. While I have hard things to do, I have more blessings than ever before. I truly feel as if my cup runneth o’er. Life is happening to me, and it’s happening fast. But I’m enjoying this trip down the autobahn.