The Joys of BYU

I applied for exactly three schools last year: Princeton University, Yale University, and good ol' Brigham Young University. I received rejection letters from all but one.

At the time, that was the worst possible thing that could happen. Princeton was my first choice. It just seemed so perfect to me: great academics, beautiful campus, far away from home (no offense), tons of smart kids to meet, etc, etc. So when I found out that I had only been admitted to BYU, my fall-back school, I was little less than devastated.

Then I got here, and my mind has been completely changed. Sure, there are plenty of negative sides to being a 17 year-old at the Mormon-est college in the world. Heck, sometimes, I wonder what in the world I'm doing here. But to be completely honest, I am ridiculously happy that I had to come to this place. Here are some of the reasons why:

~ This really is a beautiful campus. Every building is different, and I especially love the JFSB. It's gorgeous.

~ There are approximately 17,000 male students are here. Enough said.

~ Many of my classes begin with a prayer. Although some people are, for some reason or another, opposed to this, I'm quite a fan.

~ I randomly see guys on unicycles at least once a week. This brings me great joy for no reason whatsoever.

~ My entire ward is less than a minute's walk from my apartment.

~ Everything I learn reinforces my testimony of Jesus Christ. Funny how people think being educated should do the opposite. . .

~ People are ridiculously creative about date and hang-out ideas. Some activities in which I have participated: late-night mini-golfing with broomstick handles, marshmallow gun capture-the-flag, making newspaper outfits and going to Wal-Mart, several adventures on the roof of my apartment building, throwing paper airplanes from the second floor of the student center, unforseen Latin dancing, epic Love Sac battles, and, just last night, I sat in a hot tub with some good friends sipping Martinelli's from fancy wine glasses. We even put the bottles in a bucket of ice (well, snow) for effect and tried to coerce other innocents into joining us.

~ The Cannon Center. Who says a cafeteria has to have terrible food? Seriously, that place is legit. And did I mention all-you-can-eat?

~ We actually have good sports teams. This is quite a new experience for me (no offense, Anoka), and it sure makes it a lot easier to have school spirit.

~ Well, I'm sure there are many other reasons, but I probably should get ready to go to work now.