Graduation and Reflection

Since I have some time right now, I've decided that I would use it to post a well needed update about what has been going on in my life.  My semester is pretty much over.  I finished my last few assignments today and although I still have to go to class tomorrow, I just have to turn in my paper.  I kind of have mixed feelings about being done.  I graduate on Friday which I'm excited for but I'm also really nervous about leaving the place that I've called home for so long.  These past four and a half years have been at times really long but at the same time have gone by really fast.  I have learned so much about myself, not only educationally, but I have been put through different situations that I didn't think that I was strong enough to handle.  When I was going through these struggles, I didn't think that I would ever live through them, but looking back, I realize that I have grown so much through these trials and I thank Heavenly Father for allowing me to experience them.

This past semester has been an up and down one.  It started off really rocky.  Having just gotten back from Ecuador, I wanted nothing more than to be back down there with the kids that I love so much.  I felt this void in my life not being around them.  I thought about them constantly which made it even harder to be away from them.  I didn't want to be in Rexburg at all.  I admit that it created this rut.  I didn't really feel any desire to make new friends when I would be leaving them after three months.  If it weren't for my roommate Kelsey, I never would have gotten out of that rut.  We tell each other constantly that we saved each other this semester.  She had some trying times herself this semester so every day pretty much we helped each other keep a positive attitude and reminded each other to be happy.  Although I still miss my kids terribly and want to be with them again, it has gotten easier to be home.

Around midterms, I finally realized that I still liked being in Rexburg.  I decided to enjoy the rest of the semester.  I still didn't really feel the need to make new friends.  Instead, I wanted to spend as much time with the friends that I already had, the people that I love, for my last few weeks.  I have done that and it's been great.

Now it's about time to say goodbye.  I have come to realize that once I leave Rexburg on Friday, I won't ever be back... at least not to live.  I want to come back and visit as long as I still know people who are here.  It is really sad to me that I have to say goodbye to the one place besides my home in Washington that I know the best.  I know almost every thing about Rexburg.  It is the one place where I can't get lost.  I have so many memories of this place that have been running through my mind the last week or so.  I have decided to write them down for my memory's sake. 

• Meeting my roommate Claire on the day I moved into my dorm.  She popped out of her bedroom and almost scared me to death.  It was a start of a very close friendship.  She was the best roommate I had that fall semester.
• Winter semester: Breanne moved in.  That was the start of an even better friendship.  To this day, she remains one of my best friends.  I love her like a sister and I can still talk to her for hours about anything.
• Breanne and I running through knee deep snow in the gardens.  Breanne would randomly stop and fall backwards into the snow.  We got so frozen but it was so fun
• Me, Breanne, our roommate Tiffany, and our guy friends Matt, Aaron, and Gabe playing football, frisbee, and chicken on the intramural field outside the MC.  We would also go stargazing on that same field.  The next year that field was torn up in preparation for the new assembly hall.  It is now a construction site
• Shelley, Millie, Allira, and me walked to Wal-Mart and took crazy pictures all around Rexburg on the way home.  
• The Warren Smith ordeal.  Although at the time I didn't think I would ever get over him, I am grateful for the chance to go through that.  Before then, I had never experienced real heartbreak and now that I have gone through that, I believe that I am a stronger person than I once thought.  I now know that I can go through anything as long as I trust in the Lord.  Also through this experience, I realized how much I need the Lord.
• Fall 2007: best apartment ever!  My roommates and I bonded right from the start.  Kelly, Marianne, Shandee, Heather, and Jenni are definitely some of my best friends.  I love them so much.
• Apple shmear with Kelly, David, and Derek.  Kelly and I found a whole sack of rotten apples in our apartment so what better way of getting rid of them then busting their guts out with a tennis racket.  The funniest part about it was when Derek got in the way and Kelly and I smothered him with rotten apple bits.
• Twenty questions with apartment 31
• My 22 birthday party.  By far the best birthday party I had in college.  My roommates took me out to dinner and when we came back, I found that all of my friends had decorated my apartment and were all there to celebrate.  I was very surprised.
• My trip to Ecuador has probably been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.  While there, I learned a lot about the love of Christ that I didn't know before.  I expected to go down there and be an influence and an example to the kids that I was around but I probably learned more from them than they ever learned from me.
• Rooming with Kelsey this past semester has been awesome.  We were both going through challenging semesters and we leaned on each other for support and advice.  We have been friends for almost three years but I can honestly say that we have grown so much closer this semester.  We have confided in each other a lot this semester and I have greatly appreciated her advice.
• My international health class.  I don't think that any class I have taken has inspired me so much.  My teacher is so passionate about the subject and by taking this class, I have received a greater passion for helping other countries.  It reaffirmed to me that there are people who are suffering more than I could ever know and I really believe that Heavenly Father instilled this passion into me so that I can help others feel of his love.  My teacher said that international health is a way to bring others to Christ.  It is important to spread the gospel to the world but it is also important to fulfill the temporal needs of the people. 

Although I will miss BYU-Idaho very much, and although I am terrified of what is to come, I look forward to the future.  There are a lot of unknowns but I know that I will be able to face them with my head held high.