Top Ten Top Ten
I’m horrible at writing in my journal, but I want to remember the wonderfulness of my experience here at
Spiritual Moments
10) Book of Mormon Journal: One of my Book of Mormon professors made us read every day from the BOM and write about it in a Journal. It was a really good experience and forced me to ponder about what I read. I hope I still have that Journal somewhere K
9) Fall 2007 Stake Conference: I think this Stake conference really resonated with me because a lot of the talks were about life after college (or maybe that’s what I read into them). One of my favorite talks was about
8) Devotional, “How Great Thou Art”: My first devotional at BYU during Late Summer Honors, a quartet sang a beautiful rendition of this song, and I still remember the wonderful spiritual feeling that I had that God knew me personally. It was a big blessing especially since I worried about being a very small fish in the big pond of BYU.
7) Come Thou Font of Ev’ry Blessing, Acc 402, Junior Year: The dreaded “Junior Core” of accounting classes was really weighing on me. The class right before Thanksgiving, Prof. Monte Swain played us a clip of all the BYU Choirs combined singing this song. This peaceful and wonderful feeling just washed over me and I felt like I COULD pass my accounting classes without having a nervous breakdown.
6) General Conference, April 2007, Saturday Afternoon session: This was just after Grandma Bortolussi had passed away and I felt like so many of the talks spoke to me directly and comforted me. I remember watching this session in my apartment and just crying. After the session was over I just had to kneel and say a prayer of gratitude for the wonderful feeling of peace that I felt.
5) Mission Prep Sunday School class, Sophmore Year: I truly believe my bishop was inspired to have this class. My roommate Kara and I went to this Sunday school class, it really strengthened my desire to go on a mission.
4) Freshman Scripture Study Group: Alison Whiting, Taylor Hall advisor had a weekly study group meeting. She was a returned missionary and a great example—the things I learned in this class have stuck with me and I think this class helped me better understand what it means to have a personal relationship with Heavenly Father.
3) Music Room Prayer, Freshman year: A dear friend was in the hospital with a serious condition and I couldn’t do anything to help her. I went down to one of the Piano rooms in the basement of Taylor Hall and just prayed for her, a really simple prayer. I felt the Holy Ghost so strongly, like arms wrapped around me, comforting me. This experience is one of the ones that helped me understand how the Holy Ghost speaks to me.
2) Serving in the RS Presidency with Lauren, Jane, and Tara: Really blessed to know such kind and wonderful people, and learn from their examples of pure and Christlike service.
1) MTC and My Mission: I count this as a BYU experience since the MTC is in
People I’ll Remember
10) Professor Bob Crawford: Not because he was a good professor. The only professor I had at BYU who made fun of his students and did not care if they learned anything. If I am ever a teacher in ANY setting, I hope to not repeat his bad example.
9) All the BYU Democrats friends I made, especially those tried by the fire of the Cheney protest.
8) Bishop Smith: Without doubt, the best Bishop I had at BYU, he knew each of the ward members and cared about each of them. Just a really good, kind man and a truly generous spirit. He was a really good example of seeking the lost sheep and taking care of those who were still in the fold.
7) Sister Goff: The wife of our ward clerk in Bishop’s Smith’s ward. She was such a great lady, knew a lot about music and helped me so much when I was choir director/ward music director. She managed to support me in my calling without making me feeling like I was bad at it.
6) Professor Pinegar, Finance professor: Though I don’t like finance, Professor Pinegar was the exact opposite of Professor Crawford. He cared deeply about his students’ success and was the best business professor I had at integrating spiritual subjects into class. He also still remembers my name when I see him, 1 ½ years after I had him as a professor.
5) Professor Scott Cooper: Took a really great international economics class from him, and then worked as his research assistant. It was a great experience because I had a good mentor relationship with a professor. Professor Cooper forced his research assistants to critically examine their assumptions, and I really improved my writing skills.
4) Jessica Jones (even if she is from
3 & 2) Kara Merrill and Lauren Major: Can’t rank one of these girls higher than the other. Both of them are my roommates this year, and I’ll be brief: BEST ROOMMATES I EVER HAD. They are fun girls and I’ve enjoyed this year SO SO much thanks to them.
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Best Classes I took at BYU
10) American Heritage: the religious propaganda notwithstanding, this class was fun, if only because I dearly love American history (and the professor showed clips from the Simpsons).
9) Honors 200 (Freshman writing): I liked this class, and it did prepare me well for college level writing. I still think about things we discussed in this class (deconstructing the meaning of the Family Proclamation’s choice of words, for example).
8) MBA 509 (Professional Communication): a really “easy” class, but full of practical knowledge about how to give better presentations, write clearly, and answer questions well.
7) PL SC 150 (Comparative Gov’t): Donna Bowen, who taught this class, is a Mid-east expert and a fabulous and engaging lecturer. I took the class on the cusp of the
6) Russian classes: Yes, I am a huge Russian nerd now. I loved my Russian culture class when I came back from my mission, as well as the grammar, business language, and literature classes I have taken since.
5) MBA 632 (Social Entrepreneurship): When you read a book for a business class called “Building Zion,” that’s just plain awesome. All about how to use business principles for good instead of filthy lucre.
4) MBA 582 (Business Ethics): I really liked Professor Vernon, who taught this. It was a class full of discussion and grey areas and different opinions, which I really enjoyed.
3) Acc 200: Ahh, the joy of the first accounting class I ever took. There I learned the immortal maxim which will shape my career (“Debits = Credits”). Norm Nemrow is amazing.
2) Acc 523 (Tax Research): At the time, I probably didn’t appreciate this class because I took it before all my other tax classes. But, it has been extremely useful because it taught me how to read the internal revenue code and write research memos, stuff I will be doing a lot in the years to come.
1) Rel C 211/212 (New Testament): Stephen Robinson was an amazing teacher and I read the New Testament with different eyes thanks to him.
Silly Things (some of which I won’t miss)
10) Craziness related to marriage. For a statistics class, we did a survey of wedding ring prices and percentage of girlfriends who “Dear John” their missionaries. Bishops admonish people to get married as soon as possible. Front page newspaper articles are written about marriage trends, dresses, rings, etc. People get engaged after dating for weeks. Provo Mormon culture is so silly.
9) Snowmen. People build snowmen around all the statues on campus, it cracks me up.
8) Pedestrian traffic director. There used to be a unique individual who would dress up in a multi-colored wig, dance around to his boombox, and “direct traffic” between classes. He did it just to bring a smile to people, and it’s people like that that make me laugh.
7) Paper airplanes: for Acc 210 we got to fly paper airplanes through the atrium of the Tanner building. Mine crashed and burned (figuratively).
6) Chalk circles. The BYU Honor code has a phrase in it about how Karl G. Masaer (one of the 1st BYU presidents) would never step outside a chalk circle if he had given his word of honor that he wouldn’t. So people like to draw chalk circles around his statue. I’ve also see people throw hula hoops over him.
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4) Soapbox: I don’t know what happened to this, but it was basically a box that they set up in Brigham square with a microphone. Anyone could get up there and say silly things like “people who have two earrings in one ear aren’t good Mormons.”
3) “When the Saints go Marching In”: I don’t think they play this tune when the library closes anymore, but this music is what I remember from staying the library til midnight during Sophmore/Junior year.
2) Divine Comedy. Not the book, the BYU comedy group. I think they’re hilarious, kind of a Mormon version of SNL.
1) Letters to the Editor/Police beat: the two best parts of the Daily Universe newspaper. The Police Beat is usually hilarious because it involves things like people calling the police to report suspicious people loitering who turn out to be BYU students waiting for their ride.
Foods I Associate with BYU/College Time
10) Pizza: for some reason, my taste buds evolved during college, and I like pizza now.
9) Cornbread in applesauce: I know this sounds strange, but this was one of my favorite things to have for breakfast freshman year. It’s good, I promise.
8) Water chestnuts: I had no idea what these were until I got a salad with them in the Cougareat. I really liked them freshman year, because I would use my meal plan to buy salads sometimes.
7) Funeral potatoes: this is more of a
6) Sconecutters: another great
5) Homemade Oreos: Kara taught me how to make them Sophmore year. Yum!
4) Creamery Ice Cream: I love the names of their flavors, and it’s so delicious.
3) Fresh bread: Almost every morning Sophmore year, I would buy a mini-loaf of hot, fresh white or wheat bread with honeybutter at the Cougareat. So dang good.
2) Subway sandwiches: the on-the-go lunch of college champions.
1) BYU Mint Chocolate Brownies. Chocolate, minty goodness.
Memorable Events
10) Senator Reid’s visit! How awesome is that – the U.S. Senate Majority Leader is a MORMON (and a Democrat, too, as a bonus!).
9) Hunger Banquet: a good visual image of inequality. A few people get a really good meal, a few more get pizza, and the rest of the world (representing the third world) gets rice and beans. You learn about poverty and the money donated goes to help people!
8) September 11th: This happened about 1 ½ weeks into my Freshman year. Still remember where I was when I heard the first plane had crashed, and then the second. It was a confusing and scary time, for sure.
7) Iraq War (pre- and post- faculty panels): Before the
6) Dinners with the Gongs: these were really fun when I was a freshman/sophomore. They were like mini-McLean reunions.
5) Honors Conference with Richard Dutcher: not sure if this was Freshman, Sophomore, or Junior year, but this Honors Conference was really thought-provoking and inspired me with more desire to be creative.
4) Opening Ceremonies at the Olympics: so fun.
3) BYU/Utah football game, freshman year. We won by like three points in a close game at LaVell Edwards stadium. Everyone rushed the field, it was an incredible moment of energy.
2) Cheney protest: I won’t bore you with the details you already know.
1) Graduation!!!!!!!! (if I don’t flunk out)
Nature Appreciation
10) Snow in springtime: almost every April I’ve been here, it has snowed, and it’s a really pretty sight to see budding trees covered in snow. It reminds me of the Russian phrase “White Whiteness” to describe a snow/ice storm.
9) Sprinklers: Many times walking down from campus at night, I have gotten the wonderful surprise of sprinklers. I guess that’s what happens when you live in a desert.
8) Flowers on campus: the grounds crew works really hard to plant pansies, daffodils, and all the beautiful flowers that BYU, I enjoy the flowers every day.
7) My
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4) Driving across country: Now, the plains states are boring, but driving through Ohio/West Virginia in the springtime is beautiful
3) Snow on
2) Deer, 2 a.m.: Coming home from the library one night during Junior Year, I saw two deer on Masear hill. It was a beautiful and peaceful sight.
1) Provo Canyon/Sundance in the fall: beautiful leaves and sweet breezes.
Service
10) BYU Dairy Farm: during late summer honors, they bused us down to the Spanish Fork farm for a service project. In the rain, in a field of mud & cow manure, with old tools and wet clothes, we got to scrape old paint off a barn. We stood under the eaves so the rain dripped right onto us. I can laugh about it now, but at the time I knew it was the Worst Service Experience Ever.
9) Food & Care coalition: I’ve volunteered here a couple random times, it is a soup kitchen in
8) Donating blood: before my mission, I liked to donate blood every six weeks or so. Jessica and I even did it over the summer in
7) TOPS: Tutor Outreach to Provo Schools, where I volunteered for a semester during Freshman year. I realized I wouldn’t be a good elementary school teacher, but I loved it anyway, because the kids were fun to hang out with and talk to.
6) Enrichment teacher: my first calling, and I loved it. It was great experience and I got to know the sisters on my Freshman hall floor
5) TRC: The Teaching Resource Center at the MTC, I got to go and listen to the missionary discussions once a week for about a year. It is wonderful to hear the missionaries testify of Jesus Christ and Joseph Smith and the restored Gospel.
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3) Mission (okay, I’m double counting this experience on two lists…): maybe I wasn’t the best missionary ever, but I tried to love and serve the Russian people, who are amazing.
2) VITA lab: Volunteered in the “Volunteer Income Tax Lab.” I felt lucky to be able to help people with their taxes, it’s good to know that I can use my education not just for selfish reasons.
1) Going to the
Classes I Wish I had Taken (of course, if I had taken all these, it would have taken me 37.6 years to graduate)
10) Greek & Roman Mythology
9) More classes about other religions (Islam, Buddhism, other Christian faiths, etc.)
8) Cooking class: so that I can make more than my five basic dishes.
7) Old Testament: I did take an Isaiah class, but the books of Moses and the rest of the OT still baffle me.
6) Church History class: where better than BYU to learn about Church history?
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4) History classes: I should not have let my really boring freshman year history teacher turn me off from History. I love it, and it would have been fun to take college level courses in History.
3) Pearl of Great Price (especially w/ Stephen Robinson as a teacher)
2) A good tax & politics class: unfortunately, neither the Accounting nor Political Science departments offer a class on this subject.
1) Political economy of women: a really awesome class about women & politics, taught by two awesome professors: Donna Bowen and Valerie Hudson.
Favorite Books I Read (I’m not including the Standard Works here, those are a given)
10) Koran. Really. It’s good to know for myself that Muslim radicals completely invert the true teachings of the Koran.
9) Crime and Punishment (re-read it): A book about repentance and its complexities (at least that’s what *I* say it’s about)
8) Team of Rivals: really awesome book about Abraham Lincoln and his contemporaries.
7) Reading Lolita in
6) The Audacity of Hope: don’t get me wrong, I don’t think Barack Obama is perfect or anything, but the man can write and truly inspired me.
5) My Sister’s Keeper (by Jody Picoult): a well-written fiction book with a gripping narrative.
4) State of
3) Harry Potter: maybe it’s low brow, but I love all seven books.
2) Anna Karenina: I really like the characters of Levin and Kitty in this book, and it was good even though it’s probably the longest book I’ve ever read.
1) The Brothers Karamazov: a very Christian book that caused me to think about what I believe.
