College Years: Part 1

Since I was about 14 years old, I had always dreamed of going to BYU-Hawaii. As a family, we went to Hawaii on vacation, and being the hormonal, boy-chasing teenager that I was, saw all those beautiful men over there. Hahaha! We visited the campus for church one Sunday, and also the Laie temple, which is GORGEOUS! From then on, I was sold. I bought the picture of the Laie temple and put it in my room. I hoped I would be accepted one day. But then, as I became older and heard of how many people did not get accepted into there, I tried to be realistic about the situation. I decided I would probably end up going to BYU Provo in the end, which is a very nice school as well.

I prepared myself, and got ahead, for my entrance into college by taking some college courses while still in high school. My high school had a program that made it possible to attend nearby college classes, at a discounted rate, and get both high school and college credit for my work. I took classes at Northern Kentucky University as well as Thomas More College, in separate semesters. In addition, I took AP Calculus, which, upon passing the AP test at the end of the year, counts toward college credit as well. By the end of my Senior year of high school, I had about 33 credits, I believe, which put me already at a Sophomore level in college.

When it was time to apply for colleges, I applied for BYU Provo, BYU Hawaii, Utah Valley University, and Utah State. After hearing all of the stories how many people didn't get into BYU-Hawaii, I wasn't actually sure if I should apply, but thought I would anyway, for kicks.

When I checked for an online result of my application (after checking multiple times), I saw that I had been accepted into BYU-Hawaii! I could not contain my excitement as my eyes filled with tears. I told my mom, and she started crying as well. When I prayed about if that was the best choice to attend college, I felt very confident that it was the college for me.

Over the summer after my senior year, I visited my sister, Jenny, who was living and attending BYU-Idaho with her husband and son at the time. I stayed at their place and enjoyed every minute of it. I loved the feeling of the Spirit that was on that campus. I loved the people there, and the students I had met. I decided I would defer my BYU-Hawaii admission until the Fall Semester (I was supposed to start mid-summer, a.k.a. First Term, there) and give BYU-Idaho a chance for the Summer. It was a blast! I met some amazing friends, including Tiffany, Savannah, and Beatriz. We had so much fun together just acting crazy and attending classes together, other than my random bout of bronchitis during the term.

Rexburg, Idaho Temple (It's so much bigger than what I was used to, which was the Louisville, KY Temple!)

At Mesa Falls

At Yellowstone National Park- we were trying to smile, despite the smelly, hot gas coming from the earth

With my nephew, who was 18 months old at the time.

But, that summer came and went quickly, and before I knew it, it was time to leave for BYU-Hawaii. I has heartbroken to leave my best friends, but in my heart, I knew BYU-Hawaii was where I was meant to go. So, with my mom flying along to help me, I packed up my bags and headed for Hawaii.