You Know You're At BYU When...

I thought I'd do a funny post to commemorate surviving my third day of school. I've absolutely loved every second of BYU, and it's definitely been a dream come true! Since the campus has such a unique population, it has some strange idiosyncrasies that set it apart from anyway other campus. I present to you the first of my "You Know You're at BYU when..."s. All of this is true and has occurred in the past week or so. 

You know you're at BYU when...

1.) A bunch of people who have never met end up playing an elaborate game that involves hitting people with newspapers. (comment if you've played this game!)

2.) You are playing Catchphrase and someone quotes a scripture as the hint. "Come on, guys, it's in Mosiah? Like the opposite of happiness?"

3.) Your roommate's psychology professor happens to be the one and only Elder Van Pelt from The Best Two Years. Office hours might become "can you autograph my copy of the movie" hours if word gets out on campus. 

4.) At church on Sunday they announce the new ward boundaries with stuff like "May Hall 2030 to May Hall 2333 is in the 111th ward of the 8th stake...."

5.) Practically every building on campus has the word "Smith" in it. Not confusing at all. I have totally never been lost. 

6.) Right across the street from the campus you can find a ring shop. Better check its return policy first.

7.)  The campus paper has a debrief on how to do a "ring check" BEFORE flirting with someone. And a bridal gown ad is on the back of the school magazine.

8.) You walk into the Wilk and there's some master pianist jamming to "You've a Friend in Me", and he's got half the people in the room singing along under their breath. 

8.5) ...then you walk outside and there's a folk band playing. Sure, why not? Cool!

9.) The Creamery puts out a special edition of the famed BYU chocolate milk to celebrate another nomination for BYU as the "no. 1 Stone Cold Sober" university. 

10.) The Cannon Center is closed for half the day on Fast Sundays. Whelp, that's one way to incentive obedience. 

Why I am Here

Why
We sit in the Marriot Center, still waking up
Knees pressed awkwardly
Against the people in front of us
And we listen...
Why are you here? asks our president
Why are you here,
And not Susan from St. Louis
Who had 301 volunteer hours
And played three musical instruments
In her school's marching band?
Why are you here
And not Barker from Boston
Who watched all the BYU football games
Hoping to someday transfer
From his living room chair
To the living energy of Lavell Edwards?
Why are you here?
And not Peter from Provo
Who wanted to follow the footsteps
Of his three big brothers
And prove that he's just as smart
As them?
Why are you here? asks our president
Who are you trying to become?
How are you going to change the world?
We sit in the Marriot Center, wide awake
Heedless of our awkward knees
Our ears listening to a voice that can't be heard
A voice that's still and small
When finished, we walk out, quietly, solemenly
Then go about the day, as usual
His questions echo through my brain as I walk
And as I wander around later, hopelessly lost
On my way to dinner.
My questions have no answers
But I'm holding my breath
And holding on to hope
That I'm going to be something great
Because this is where I'm supposed to be
I'll find my purpose, my passion, my mission
The reasons why I'm here
I owe that much
To Susan and Barker and Peter and them
And most of all
To me
Why am I here? I don't know yet
But I promise you
I will

My Magical BYU Origin Story

It was destined to be the best day of my entire high school career right from the start.
For my eighteenth birthday, my parents had bought me a Universal Studios pass, and my friends Lina and Elyse had bought one as well. This was incredibly life-changing and earth shattering for us because Universal Studios had recently acquired the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. The three of us are the ultimate fans; we take Potterheading to a whole new level of seriousness. It was literally a dream come true to be able to visit.
So on this obviously fairly normal day, the three of us clamored into my mom's van and drove to Universal Studios. Technically, Harry Potter land itself wasn't opened yet, but Lina had heard rumors on Twitter that the park was undergoing a soft opening. That meant that for a few random hours each day, Harry Potter World would open to visitors, allowing the workers to test run the rides and visitors to get a sneak peak. We were crossing our fingers and hoping that we would get lucky and be there for the soft opening.
One of us must've drank Felix Felicis in the morning, because as luck would have it, Harry Potter World was open in all of its gloriousness. We were literally having mental breakdowns being in the real Harry Potter World. I think we cried (well, I know Lina cried, but that's another story for another day). We excitedly went on the Hippogriff ride two times. We then headed to the Forbidden Journey ride, pretty much melting from excitement and pure joy. The ride's line alone was a dream come true, like the Harry Potter books in the flesh, and the ride itself exceeded any possible expectations. We ate at the Three Broomsticks... browsed products in Honeydukes... shared butterbeer... conversed with wizards... died of happiness.
The three of us were in line for Ollivander's when I got a text from my mom asking if I had heard if I'd gotten into BYU yet, since other people already had. My heart literally stopped. I battled between curiosity and fear as my fingers hovered over my mother's text, but curiosity won over. I shakingly scrolled through my phone and opened the mail app. After refreshing the screen about fifty times, I found a BYU email sitting innocently and sweetly in my inbox. Fantastic. Hesitantly opening it, I found a link with some instructions. At this point, I was practically hyperventilating, and despite Lina and Elyse's attempts to figure out what was going on, I was too nervous to say anything coherent. I just willed my spotty data service to work faster. Finally, finally, I saw the words, "Congratulations on your acceptance into BYU!" and I was filled with unspeakable joy. Here I was, in the land of my dreams, holding an acceptance letter to the school of my dreams, surrounded by the two best friends who are better than any dream. It was literally the best day ever.
I can honestly think of no better way to find out I got into BYU. It was magical. It was particularly special to share the moment with my two best friends. I took my first step into the future with Lina and Elyse, and I knew that that meant they were going to be my forever friends, no matter the miles or the years between us.
P.S. At Ollivanders, I was later picked to choose a wand. There was no ka oi, nothing better.