Time to catch up.

Hey there. It's been a while. What have I been up to, you ask?

• great weather
• farmers markets
• snow cones
• stand-up comedy
• mentor meetings
• studying outside in the bugless grass
• dance performances
• playing in the rain
• art museum visits
• football games
• hiking
• waterfalls
• hiking waterfalls
• more football games
• church
• "family" Sunday night dinners
• ward prayer
• tunnel singing
• basement sardines
• exploring in places of buildings that we probably aren't allowed to be in

Oh and I guess

• school

I turned in my first few college papers over the past two weeks and have my first exam this week!

Hello September.

I failed to post about my second day of school, which was very different from my first day. So here's a quick overview: I started the day with chemistry, the professor is super cool and just recently got his doctorate. I've looked through the textbook and I'm pretty sure I can handle it. I then had anthropology. The professor is a weirdo, what he talked about seemed interesting, but all the books we have to read are super boring. Last was human development. The professor was nice, she was really into what she was talking about. It's going to be a tough class because we have a lot of research papers, but I think it will be the most interesting of my classes. I'll let you know in December.

Friday night Hannah, Lauren, Erin, Kelsey, and I went to the theater on campus and watched Monsters University for $1 and we were laughing the entire time, as was the entire theater. It's very different watching it before college as opposed to once you're in it! We then hit up a party for about 10 minutes but decided to head back to the lobby. Weekend nights in the lobby are awesome because they are full of people. So we walk in and there is a group of 30+ people playing signs, and a group of about 20 guys in the corner playing guitars and singing awesome arrangements of songs. It's such a cool environment. We had so much fun! The rest of the night was spent doing spontaneous things and laughing until we thought we were literally going to throw up.

Saturday was game day!!!! vs. University of Texas, which was extra exciting for me. The game started at 5 and the gates opened at 3, so we got there at 3 to ensure good seats in the student section. We got great seats and sat around for about an hour until it suddenly got dark. We watched a massive storm cloud roll over the south end of the stadium (where we were seated) and it began to get cold and crazy windy. Then it began pouring and we were soaked before we got to the portal to go under the stadium! Long story short, we got there at 3, went under at 4, went back into the stands at 6:20 to watch the game (still soaked and cold), and got home at 11. We ended up sitting in the end zone next to the band so that was fun! It was a very different experience going to a football game and being a part of the regular audience!

(might I add that BYU beat UT 40-21) (sorry Katie)

I'm pretty sure that storm was the beginning of the cold fronts, because the highest high this week is in the low 80's. I am excited to wear autumn/winter layers because they rock but I am NOT ready to be cold haha!

I'm doing pretty good on keeping up with my assignments, although it is only week one! I can't imagine what's in store. I have made a lot of friends and bonded with the ones I mentioned, but I am still looking forward to having best friends here!!

First Day of College!

Well today was the day I have been awaiting for over eighteen years: my first day of college! I woke up at a beautiful 6:30am to get ready and was out the door by 7:15, which is impressive for me. I walked outside and to my surprise I was cold and wishing I had a sweater! After grabbing some breakfast I began my trek up "freshman hill" (the hill that separates the dorms I live in from campus itself) and realized just how heavy my backpack was haha! My first class of the day was Preview to Nursing, which is a 2 hour class but luckily is only once a week and lasts 8 weeks. I met some new people and the professor was super sweet. But for the past few days I have begun to have doubts about whether this is really the profession I want to pursue. I hope that at the end of this course I will have determined whether to stick with it or not, because if so, I have to begin applying to the nursing program in February!

I had a two hour break so I made my way back home. I opened the door and found my roommate, who had thought she had a 9am class but later realized she had looked at the wrong day. She doesn't start until 1 on Tuesdays (lucky)!! We talked for a bit and then headed out to grab lunch. My second class of the day was Book of Mormon. The professor is super awesome and is all about teaching on a personal level rather than being oblivious to our thoughts and needs. He also told us that he is going to teach more about the doctrinal framework rather than specific details, which I think will be a lot more interesting and meaningful in the long run and I am happy about it.

My third class was 10 minutes later and in the building next door. I walked into what was expected to be a large section, considering it was held in a lecture hall that could hold 150+ students, but to my surprise there were less than 50 students. I sat between a guy and a girl, and soon came to the conclusion that I was probably the only freshman in the room. Weird. But after hearing from the professor who is cool in the way only a dorky physics professor can be, I am not as nervous about that class as I was walking in.

After school I came home and took a short nap, video chatted with some of my best friends, and got to work. SO. MUCH. HOMEWORK. Once I was done I wanted to go do something fun and my roommate was out, so I headed down to the lobby. There was a big group of kids who obviously knew each other (probably in the same ward) but I made myself go hang out with them. Those guys and girls were super nice and fun and we played extreme spoons for nearly an hour. I really hope they are down there tomorrow night because I want to be friends with all of them!!

Labor Day Weekend

Between orientation and the beginning of school, I seriously had nothing to do, especially since my roommate was gone for the day. I did laundry and watched snippets of the football game, went over to my friend's dorm across campus, and went to eat dinner. I sat by some girls that I recognized from the laundry room and we ended up going to the soccer game together! Some of Hannah's (my roommate) friends caught up with me at the game. And OF COURSE we won against Nebraska.

After the game, some of my friends and went bowling and to a party! The party was fun, and they even had those inflatable things they have at elementary school carnivals, and they are just as fun when you are in college vs. when you are in 3rd grade!!

Sunday was alright. I went to church in the morning, and it was really different because instead of having it in an actual church, each class was held in a classroom in a building on campus. In our church, where and when you go to church is determined by where you live. Each division is called a ward, and a cluster of wards is called a stake, and so on. Because there is such a high concentration here at BYU, there are a ton of wards. For example, I am in the 107th ward in the 8th stake. And that's only the ones on campus (mostly freshmen). Despite the fact that we were in classrooms and it was silent because there were no little kids talking to their parents or babies crying, I really enjoyed church. I liked being at church with people that are actually my age! After church my roommate left again and went to her aunt's house. Since I don't really do anything on Sundays, I ended up sitting in my room for a few hours and got a little homesick after taking my habitual Sunday nap. I decided to grab Jenga and go down into the lobby. People started staggering in looking for something to do and I made a bunch of new friends! We made it to 26 stories high, which I have never personally seen happen. Later that night we had a ward social and I met so many cool people, even someone from Zimbabwe! 

Monday was pretty boring because it was Labor Day and so everything was closed. Everyone slept in and took their time getting ready. Some of us decided to go geocaching, and went searching for the cache nearest our dorm. Unfortunately, we couldn't find it! We are definitely going again! 

In the evening, we had a ward social and again I met more people! I can't wait to get to know them all better. Towards the end of the social it started sprinkling so people started leaving. No more than 5 minutes later, we were in a complete downpour and still on literally the opposite side of campus from our dorms! We all ended up running all the way home in the pouring rain. In the end we were soaked and laughing! 

Orientation Weekend!

These past two days have gone by insanely quickly, yet they feel like a month! So technically Wednesday was move-in day so I showed up in the early afternoon to meet my roommate since I had already moved in. Her name is Hannah and she is super sweet!

Thursday morning we got split into Y groups (smallish groups) that we would spend the next day and a half with. Convocation kicked things off. We heard from the dean of the university about how the primary goal of BYU is to help us grow not only intellectually but also spiritually. It is so cool that every meeting begins and ends with a prayer, even classes. From there we went through rotations of library scavenger hunts, museum activities, peer mentor meetings, campus tours, and so on. We then had a meeting that helped us better understand the Honor Code, which is a code all students abide by that consists of being honest, modestly dressed, alcohol free, and so on. Thursday evening we met at Lavell Edwards stadium and put on our new shirts and formed a "Y" for our class picture. Check it out! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AdCYsw2ec4&feature=youtu.be) Immediately after we had a HUGE dance party with crazy strobe lights, free food, crowd surfing, the works. It was super fun, and I was grateful that I didn't have to worry about anything stupid happening. 

Friday morning we began with a devotional about how the Lord wants to help us and that asking for help is not a sign of weakness. No matter what situation we are in in life, if we ask Heavenly Father for help he will grant it, so long as it is for a righteous cause and is part of His will. We then separated from our groups and went to college-specific meetings. Let's just say the purpose of the nursing meeting was to scare the pants off of some people. The nursing program at BYU is and extremely grueling experience. For example, once a week you will be in lectures from 8-5, another day you will be in a simulation lab from 8-5, and a third day you will be working a shift in a hospital from 7-7 under the advisement of your professor. The remaining two days of the school week are for studying, working, and taking any other GE classes you did not complete your freshman year. Oh and let's not forget to mention that out of 160+ applicants per semester, only 64 max are admitted. And you basically have to be in the top 5% of the school. So yeah that's cool and all. I know that a lot of girls will drop because they are scared and that people will also struggle academically because they just don't care enough. But it is still a scary situation. I think I can do it, but I know that if next June I get an email saying that my application was declined, that it isn't in God's plan for me. 

I then ventured to the service fair that was put on by Y-Serve, the main service club that has 68 service programs, seriously any program you can think of, they have it. I signed up to be in the freshmen service corp, which basically does a project once a month with different clubs so you can kind of get a feel for what kind of clubs you'd like to be a part of. I also signed up to get more information on an elementary/junior high tutoring, a big brother/big sister program, and a program that helps at a school for autistic adults. I am seriously so excited to get involved in these programs because I find true joy in helping others.

Tonight was the evening of traditions. Many people hike "the Y" on this night, but it was super hot today and the line to get in a van to take you to the trail head was about an hour and a half long. So some of my friends and I decided to opt to hiking it later in September. Instead, we went to the planetarium which was WAY COOL. Every time I go to one I am in awe. We then went to the Museum of Art which had some really neat stuff. We then headed over to a field where there was a dance, ultimate frisbee, all kinds of things going on. Late at night they announced our class' ice cream flavor: Cosmo's Peanut Butter Crunch!

I've made a lot of new friends from all over the country, and even one from England! I really can't wait to go to church on Sunday and meet the people that I will be with all the time. It's fun meeting new people but I am anxious to be at the point where I know who my best friends here are. 

The Big Move

Last Saturday I began my journey to Provo, Utah! The drive with my mom took two days, and honestly there is not much to look at on the way here. It's mostly just desert with a few cool rock formations here and there, so I was pretty stoked about getting here as you can imagine haha!

Our first night here (Sunday) we started driving up Squaw Peak Trail, a popular overlook of the city. My mom made me drive so I could get a feel for how driving up mountain roads was. It was terrifying! The road was steep and really windy and I was literally driving on the edge of a cliff with no guard rail.

Because move-in day is technically Wednesday, we decided Monday and Tuesday would be set apart for running lots of errands. Since I had to pack all of my stuff into only one car and also fit my mom's suitcase in there, I couldn't buy some things until I was here. There were also a few other things to get taken care of. So Monday morning I went and got my student I.D., picked up my textbooks, and went to the doctor to get a meningitis shot (yay)! We decided to drive by my dorm and when we did, discovered we could move into my room early!! We were able to quickly get all of my stuff into my room since there was no one else there to hog the elevator (I'm on the 3rd floor) or the cart! I love how my room turned out. My goal was to make it a little "homey" so it would be comfortable and inviting so others will hopefully feel welcome! Of course, I will be making minor alterations every now and then, I already have a few in mind ;)

The rest of Monday and Tuesday were spent setting up my dorm room and shopping! I am a little nervous about meeting my roommate and the rest of the girls on my floor tomorrow, but mostly excited! I know that things shouldn't feel awkward because no one knows anybody (for the most part) and everyone needs friends, including me! Thursday-Saturday I have orientation so I will meet a lot of people that way too. I cannot wait to start making connections and creating friendships!

Time.

Hi! My name is Marissa, my family calls me Riss and my friends call me Mar, but you can call me whatever you want. Right now I am awaiting my departure to Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah next weekend! How odd it feels to be done with high school but not yet part of the college world.

This summer I have learned two lessons:

• Time doesn't fly when you have nothing to do.
• Time appears to have flown when you suddenly have something to do.

Repeatedly I have found myself excruciatingly bored this summer and wishing that August 24th would magically show up and that I would be on my way to Utah. 

But in these sweet last moments I long to go back in time.

I recently watched five of my best friends leave our hometown in Magnolia, Texas to begin their journeys at Rice University, Baylor University, Texas A&M, and University of Houston. Eventually I will watch the others leave for University of Texas, Sam Houston State University, and TSTC. Thank goodness for Google+ hangouts, because I have grown so close to these people, and especially in the past year!

I was so sad to say goodbye because although I know I will see them again, I know things will never be the same. But I am also very excited for them! I know what wonderful and beautiful people they are and I know that God has great things in store for them.