Exactly one year ago...

One year ago from today I was on BYU's campus as a student for the first time. I was scared to death, didn't want to be here, didn't want to meet new people, didn't want to start classes, and I just wanted to go home and have a normal summer break like all my friends. A few days later I was wondering what I had got myself into. I didn't even know how to go inside the Cannon Center, so I didn't eat dinner Saturday night or eat the next morning. On the first day of classes I got lost on campus somewhere down by the Richard's Building and was late for my first class, which was English at 8 a.m. and lasted two hours, three times a week. It was the worst. The rest of the week wasn't much better either. And then I finally started hanging out with some people from my freshman academy group. At first I thought they were all weird and I didn't want anything to do with them, but they all turned out to be pretty cool. College started to be more fun. We went ice blocking every week, went to the Skyroom Cafe when our dining cards got maxxed out, and played night games around Helaman Halls. Today I talked to a few of the people that I met on my first day and it's crazy to think that it's been a whole year. I still remember the names we had to make up for ourselves to "help" us learn each other's names. There was Joking Jake, Joshing Josh, Magical Melinda, Tiny Tara, Grinning Gwen, Ecstatic Erica, Leaping Lindsey, and of course myself, Masculine Michael. Or maybe it was Musical, or even Muscular. Either way, they all apply. Anyway, I've endured classes that probably haven't helped me at all, like American Heritage and Human Development. I've had roommates from three different countries. I've had spaghetti and grilled cheese sandwiches at least once a week, and either Lucky Charms or Honey Bunches of Oats for breakfast every morning. I've had enough midterms, finals, projects, readings, writings, and study groups to last me about two years. But there are some things that I am going to miss. My daily 30-minute walk to campus and back, mint brownies from Sugar 'n Spice, the bell tower ringing "Come, Come Ye Saints" every hour, seeing "Y Mountain" every day, studying in the library until midnight when they start playing classical music, night games on campus, pranking innocent EFY kids, and sleeping wherever and whenever I got the chance. I could keep going and going but I don't want to bore you :) Now I am getting ready to come home for good, only to leave it again to come back to Provo once more. And then it's off to Virginia where I will spend the best/hardest two years of my life. BYU, you've taught me a lot and even though I thought I would never say it, I'm going to miss you. See you in two years.

Just a quick update...

Just three more weeks until I leave! I can't believe it has come this fast. It's really hard to focus on school AND getting ready to leave at the same time, but it has helped keep my nerves down. I have my last midterm on Thursday and then one more week of classes, one last trip to Idaho, back down to Provo, finals, back to Idaho for a long weekend, and then back to Provo. It's going to get hectic very fast.

The Past Year

Exactly one year ago, I was getting ready to do this...

A month later, I was getting ready to come here...


I got to eat food like this...


And tried to get as much of this as I could...


I've seen my fair share of celebrities...


And I even became a celebrity myself!

http://academy.byu.edu/newsDetail.jsp?id=71

I've had enough of these to last me for a while...


And in less than 5 weeks, I'll be getting ready to come here!


One big year of change, don't you think?

A Story for the Ages...

By now you all know the story of how I got my call, but here are some pictures of the quickest, most exciting, most boring trip to retrieve that mission call.

After calling five or six friends to see if they wanted to come on a quick road trip, none of them could go! But I knew my good friend Lindsey would. She was in class so I kept calling and calling until she finally walked out because she thought I was going to be telling her where I was going, but not quite... After some quick explaining and persuading, she left in the middle of a class and skipped another class to come along for the ride!

I know he wasn't thrilled to come and probably could have spent his day doing something else, but I couldn't have asked for a better twin to come along for the ride!


After a long 3 1/2 hour drive, I finally had it!!! But with the daunting thought of having to drive back with that envelope screaming at me, I decided to drive back so I wouldn't be tempted to peek. All I knew was that whatever was in there was going to tell me my future for the next chapter of my life! And despite rumors that I looked before I opened it with everyone waiting at home, I did NOT look! (That's right Candria. I do have self-control.)

Richmond, Virginia: Here I come. (And Brittany, Andrea, Amy, and any other family that I may "run into." Cards, new ties, and goodie packages are always welcome!)

P.S. Thanks to everyone for waiting up so late for me to get back, it meant a lot! And sorry for all the late-night phone calls...

And the winner is...

ONE person guessed stateside. As a winner, you are officially invited to my farewell. Anyone else who voted is invited too!

It's been a crazy week, so sorry for the long boring post. After a hectic weekend with an unplanned trip to Utah and back in one day, the time has come to start yet another semester, or term in this case, of college. My roommates are a little crazy. One of them is from Nigeria. He's about 5'4", has a thick accent, and likes to smile and laugh a lot. Before he says anything to me, he says, "My friend..." It makes me laugh. The other one is from Nepal. Yeah I didn't know where that was either. I've seen him once since I moved in on Monday. I'm sure he's pretty cool...? Classes are going pretty well so far. On Tuesday when classes started, I couldn't find my first class, tennis. It brought back horrifying memories of my first day last June when I was wandering around the Brick Oven trying to find the JFSB. I knew there were stairs somewhere, but I had no clue where to go. Anyway, I skipped tennis and waited until noon for my next class. Usually when I go to the JFSB (my home away from home) I have to wander around trying to find a place to study. Today, I felt like I was the only person in the whole building. At noon I went to the JSB for my next class. It was the same room where I had class last summer. So I went in, the class was full, and we waited for the teacher to arrive. At about 12:30, after half the class had left, a nerdy but helpful student realized he had the professor's office phone number in his phone. I'm still wondering why, but hey, he called and the teacher was there five minutes later. He was really nice and apologetic, but after 30 minutes of apologizing and giving every excuse that came to his mind for being late, it started getting old. So yeah, first day was off to a great start. My next class was right after the last one and right across the hall. So of course I was there before everyone else. I started talking to my teacher and found out that he served in the Richmond Virginia Mission! He was really nice and it was a good class. So that is how my first day turned out, pretty crazy. Now I have 7 more weeks of school, a mission to prepare for, a farewell talk to write, farewells to attend, finals, and then the MTC. Life is great.

Never judge a book by its cover.

This is probably one of the best videos I have seen in a long time. It's great to see ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Especially when we are so quick to judge people and then are quickly proven wrong. Enjoy! (And sorry for the strange link, YouTube is blocked.)

My bad...

Ok ok ok, I've heard your complaints and have made another poll. I think I have the whole world covered now.

Vote!

Here's your chance to vote on where I am going on my mission (see poll to the right.) My papers are in as of last night so now I just get to wait!

Festival of Colors!

Today was the annual Festival of Colors at the Hare Krashna Temple in Spanish Fork. It was so much fun! We got their really early so we walked around the temple and looked at the llamas, the same llamas that I saw at the Llama Festival last year at the same place. Anyway, they had a bonfire with a "witch" that they burned and then everyone threw colored chalk powder at each other. It was hard to breath and see because we were all in a giant powder cloud. It was definitely the funnest thing I have done this year so far!

They told us that we couldn't get high from the powder, so I had to take a whiff.

Only in Utah

Only in Utah will you see people laying out and working on their tans as soon as the weather gets above 50 degrees. Same thing for Idaho, but it's more like 30 degrees.

Mission Call!

Ok it's not mine. Sorry to disappoint, just wait another month or so. BUT Brock, my roommate, got his call today. Well... I got his call. I was the one to get it out of the mail box and tell him, but he was in class. So just as a good roommate should, I had some fun with his call with some good friends of ours. Our conclusion, mostly to start a rumor on Facebook, is that he is going to Jakarta, Indonesia.

A Day of Firsts

I ate my cereal with a fork for the first time.
I was late to Nutrition for the first time this semester.
I fell asleep in Nutrtion for the first time.
I went to Devotional for the first time this semester
I did go-uh to the Moa for the first time today to eat.
I looked at an art exhibit for the first time.
I got to sit at a table in the JFSB to study for the first time. (Usually they are taken)
I got sunburned for the first time since Hawaii.
I aced a midterm for the first time.
I got an exclamatory remark by my test score for the first time. ("Fantastic!")
I walked to and back from campus for the first time in a long time.
I turned the AC on for the first time this year.
I ate yogurt with a fork for the first time, because I am still too lazy to wash my spoons.

Whale Watching

This was probably the coolest thing we did on our trip. The guides said it was one of the best tours that they have done. We saw everything!

The video is a little long, but it shows two males fighting (?) and then a lot of fin slapping at the end, you can actually hear the slaps.

Maui pictures...

This was Black Rock where we all, well me, Kirk, and Brant, jumped off.
The beach...

I thought this was funny. We also saw a car that with a sign that said

"We are NOT in the last days!"

Colton, Me, Lonni, and Kirk before we started our cold

bike ride down the mountain.