Goodbye BYU

Well, I finally did it! I finally graduated from BYU! I have a B.S. degree in Home and Family Living. There were so many times I thought that I wouldn't even graduate. I started in the fall of 2004 and graduated in the fall of 2010. 6 years! Granted, I had some major interruptions like an abusive marriage and subsequent divorce and years of depression.... BUT I have risen above that and the extra time spent was great for learning life lessons and enjoying the single college life. Well, I thought to commemorate this momentous occasion I would write some of my favorite memories from BYU and some of the things I learned. There are a ton of things for both lists but I'll share some of them on this blog.

Fave Memories
The yearly homecoming parade every fall right outside of my apt complex. The ward would all sit together and cheer very loudly for Cecil O.
All the amazing and life-long friends I made who taught me so much and helped me through some hard times.And who I had a ton of fun with!!!
Random roommate dance parties. (Doing the Nance pants move!)
Going to Disneyland twice. Going on roadtrips, seeing Wicked, the beach, San Fran, etc.
Driving the Alpine Loop every fall and listening to Disney music.
Living in redbrick 390 every summer!!! All the roommates I had there: Candice and Kaitlen, Alyss, Lisa, Dara, Melissa, Katy, Amy, and all the other girls who moved in later.
Playing Nertz, singing musicals, and swimming every single day that one special summer.
Spending Wednesday nights at the Allen house sewing my quilt and crafting with Meredith!
Making "home videos" and watching them with Heather.
Midnight Wendy's runs.
Singing and making up songs with Gavin and Alyss.
Throwing Nicole her 19th birthday party and her birthday present from Ava....
Sitting on Y-Front's porch and swinging. Laughing crying and meditating there.
Some of my favorite classes: History of Interior Design and Architecture, History of Apparel, Family Recreation, Religion in the Home, the cooking class and my singing class.
Watching AFV with Rica and Heather. And watching Pysch!!!
Temple hopping with Kamila and eating at Kneaders!
Just hanging out in the "back yard" at Monticello into the wee hours of summer nights.
Provo "road trip" with Sarah, Nancy, Heather, and Rica.
Switching beds every night and watching GG's with Chelsea, Nic Nac, and Cristina.
The pajama pant incident with Kaitlen and Krissy.
Buzzing Rachel's head!!

What I Learned
How to love others and most importantly myself.
That I am a good person and I am courageous.
That I don't have to get perfect grades. (I still graduated!)
That it is possible to forgive, and it's also possible to learn to love those you can't stand! (with a lot of time and effort and prayer!)
That the temple can teach you so much and it can help you be your best.
That Heavenly Father has a plan for me.
That I can make friends who love me.
That sewing and statistics are really hard!
That I am beautiful and Heavenly Father loves me.
That life is hard, but I can do hard things.
How to stand up for myself.
How to communicate hard things with others.
HOw to recognize a douche bag!
How to learn and study better. How to teach.
That BYU is hard!
That I can't depend on others to make me happy. Just myself and the Lord. (Others can help though.)
That I don't want to live in a desert.
That I shouldn't be so afraid of failure that I don't even try.
Not to judge someone right away.
That all the trials I went through are preparing me for a better future.
Just how important the gospel is to me.
That boys are just plain different from girls!
AND...
That your mother is usually right!