4 years down, 4 more to go...

Last Friday Scott and his sister, Heidi, graduated from Brigham Young University. I am so proud of him (and her). Scott has worked hard to keep up his good grades even though he has already been accepted into dental school. Graduating is a huge accomplishment. I keep asking Scott how he feels and all he can think about are the 4 years of dental school ahead of him. I know that when I graduated I felt liberated, and wish that he felt some sense of accomplishment. When I walked in August I was still finishing up an online class that I needed to meet my last graduation requirement. However, I still remember the relief I felt walking out of my last class EVER at BYU. The day of my last class was the day I received a promotion and the day that I went from working the graveyard shift to working day shifts. It was also my 1 year anniversary of being married to Scott.

Scott and Heidi graduated at the same time but on different parts of campus so we had it arranged for Scott to walk with Heidi at hers. When they got to Scott they hesitated because they were trying to figure out the relationship between him and Heidi. Scott just stood there on a stage with an, "Well, this is awkward" face. Man I love that boy.

Scott & I

Steve & Heidi

The wind kept blowing Scott's tassel.

Scott was mad that the cap was going to mess up his hair, and kept complaining about how stupid he looked in the cap, but I think he looked much better with it on. 

Being at their graduation made me think about the time I spent at BYU.  I loved my time at BYU. That is where I met some of my best friends Suzanne and Allie, and it is also where I met Scott. I was challenged spiritually, mentally, and sometimes physically depending on where I parked. I was able to gain a stronger testimony and meet people who lived the same standards as I did. BYU had a major role in helping me become the person that I am today. 

I am grateful for how everything worked out for me to come to BYU. In high school I knew that I wanted to go to College but I didn't really know where I wanted to go. All I knew is that I didn't want to go to BYU. Being from Provo, only the kids who were too afraid to leave home or the really goody-goody kids went to BYU, at least that was my excuse for why I would never go to BYU. 

I remember one of my friends, Marinda, telling me that the deadline was coming to apply to a few schools and thinking, "What? You've already applied to college?" I didn't realize that you applied so far in advance, so I scrambled to set up an appointment with one of my counselors so they could help me figure it out. He urged me apply to BYU, even if it wasn't a school I had intended to apply to. 

I applied to only 4 schools, Arizona State, University of Utah, Utah Valley State College, and BYU, hoping that I would make it into at least one of them with my mediocre grades.  My first acceptance was to UVSC, I was just relieved to know that if all else failed I would at least be able to go to college somewhere. Then I received my ASU acceptance and then my U of U acceptance. My step-mom, who I was really close with at the time, urged me to go to U of U, her alma mater. She even took me on a tour of the campus. I was having a hard time choosing, should I move far away from home and back to Arizona or stay in Utah and go to University of Utah? I had forgotten about my application to BYU until I came home from school a couple weeks later to find a letter waiting for me. I knew that a few of my friends from school had already been wait listed, so I was expecting to get the same letter. When I read the first line of the letter Congratulating me on my acceptance I was overwhelmed with the feeling that BYU was where I needed to be. I was a little frustrated. That was the school I didn't want to go to in the first place. In time I got used to the idea and made plans to go to BYU. Looking back on it and knowing what I do today I wouldn't have had it any other way.