BYU

I'm thankful for BYU. I should probably stop right there because it will be difficult to elaborate in a short blog, but I can try. I've always known I was going to BYU. There was never really a question, except maybe when I saw my score the first time I took the ACT... yikes. But I took it again, and all was well. I didn't even apply to any other schools. I was scared like any other freshman on their own for the first time, but even then I was so excited to finally be where I had spent my whole life planning to be. The whole experience had it's ups and downs, but mostly ups. I tell the "down" stories because they make the "up" stories a million times better. I struggled, I worked hard, I had a few unwilling all-nighters. I was disappointed, and even heartbroken many times. But holy cow, I found some of the best friends anyone could ask for, including my eternal best friend. I finally got to sing in what has to be one of the best choirs this WORLD has to offer. Not only on campus, but in Nauvoo, and Jerusalem I was taught and befriended by some of the most brilliant minds in the world. I get to claim Nauvoo and Jerusalem as places I LIVED once, not just visited. I took classes that inspired and changed me. I got to sit at the feet of Prophets and Apostles in devotionals and firesides. I got to really know myself, and change myself. I would have done that anyway, but I'm so glad I got to do it at BYU! The whole experience was so much more than a degree.

As a side note... I'm also grateful for BYU's automatic undergraduate re-acceptance policy. More on that later :)