Free at Last

Posted by Laura

I am done with finals! Wahoo! It is a priceless feeling. All of that studying and hard work and worrying and studying and cramming and... and... and studying in preparing for one last test has reached its end.

One of my favorite days to walk on campus is the last couple of days of finals. You can look at the face of someone walking by and immediately interpret how their week is going. Some are totally at peace and may have a few drips of ice cream smeared on their lips from celebrating their freedom. Others are in denial and have a strange look on their face, suggesting that they are and thinking, "I've still got time." Some are holding a study guide in their hands and would run right into you if you didn't dodge their studying path. I have even run into a few who are very open with their panic, asking their study buddy something to the extent of, "Tell me everything you know about the Great Depression in the next 60 seconds!" Yet as I was driving in the car and saw the clock strike 10 p.m., there was an immediate flow of relief that filled the surrounding air and a feeling of excitement and celebration. Ready or not, finals happened, and now they are done.

I now have six days of pure joy until I begin my spring classes, and I don't think I will have a problem figuring out how to spend them. I feel so good about "last semester," and I was relieved to see how everything really came together in the end. I feel so proud of all I was able to accomplish, and my first year has taught me that I really can do hard things. I have loved BYU and look forward to the years to come.

Hello, Goodbye

Posted by Laura

I think one of the hardest things in high school was saying goodbye. It was hard saying goodbye to friends, knowing that we were going our separate ways in life, not knowing when we would see each other again. It was hard saying goodbye to the senior power, knowing that I'd would have to painfully endure names such as "freshie" and "squashmore" all over again. It was kind of scary realizing that I was now considered an adult, technically, and was gaining much more independence than I'd ever tasted before.

And yet, with all the fears and worries, it has been exciting—something that I could never put a face value on. I have gained so much over the last year of my life. I've experienced an abundance of new thrills attending BYU. When I look back to that first campus tour at New Student Orientation, I can't believe how fast it has all gone by. It seems like I was entering as a brand new student just yesterday. And after my finals I will be retiring the name of "freshman" with hard-earned calluses from my study habits, now a few steps closer to graduation.

Life goes by so fast; it makes me realize how important it is to live in the moment and not miss out on great opportunities. Reaching the end of the semester and saying goodbye to friends, teachers, and classes hasn't gotten any easier since high school, but I think I have learned that there are a lot of hellos in my future.

The Final Crunch

Posted by Laura

Today I finished my two hardest finals of the semester: microbiology and chemistry. They were scheduled one right after the other, which made the past few days of studying hard, trying to find a balance in studying enough for both. I had my microbiology final first, and the professor surprised the class by telling us that the pretest from the first week of class would be the final. My thoughts raced back four months as I tried to recall the questions; I remembered how I had never heard any of the vocabulary or microbiology language before. It was overwhelming to be exposed to all of that information at the outset and see an overview of the material we were going to cover. Yet as I retook the pretest this morning, I understood the questions, and it made me realize how much I have truly learned and understood over the semester. It was a hard class for me and it really pushed me to work hard, but I also really enjoyed it and have already seen how relevant the information is.

My chemistry final brought back memories of the ACT. It was timed: 60 questions within a five-minute time limit. I think the hardest part was pacing myself to get through all of the questions and finish on time. The whole class jumped with panic when our teacher made the three-minute announcement, and the air was thick with tension. We have to wait about a week to get our scores, but it feels nice to have the test done with and to see how the many hours of studying paid off.

Finals are scary and stressful. It's easy to be overwhelmed with the final crunch at the end of the semester. But having made it through two semesters, I know that everything really does work out in the end.

I have loved being at a university where you can gain comfort from having class prayers; it makes such a difference. It has been wonderful to have both secular and nonsecular education in all my classes and to see how each subject relates to the gospel in different aspects.

Studying in the Spring Weather

Posted by Laura

During reading days and finals week, finding a place to study is crazy. It's like trying to find a parking spot in a BYU student parking lot at the busiest time of the day. I have had to weave in and out of study areas to find a spot that is vacant. I have found myself studying out in the boonies, in desperation, to start studying. Yet one thing that has seemed to help with this crowd problem is the nice spring weather. It's that time of the year when everyone is excited to see anything that isn't snow or rain. It feels so nice to be able to study out on the lawn and walk to different buildings in the sun. I know that the weather can play mean jokes in the spring, but I hope this nice weather stays and that we won't have to pull out our ice scrapers and snow boots again for a while.

Squeaky Clean

Posted by Laura

Something that I have learned my freshman year of college is that there isn't enough time in the day. You can have a very productive day, look at your clock and realize that it's past midnight, and still have a list of things you want to accomplish before going to bed. A lot of my classes this semester involve memorization, and I have found a new study method: if you put your papers or note cards in a plastic baggy and then tape them somewhere in the shower, you can get in vital study minutes that make all the difference. Now I can take a long, relaxing shower and still feel like I am not wasting my time.

I think every college student has different methods of multitasking while studying. I have seen people eat while studying, listen to music while studying, walking to class while studying—some have even tried to master the art of sleeping while studying. I guess everyone has their methods, but mine is squeaky clean.

The Day Will Come

Posted by Laura

As I walked out of my apartment one day this week, my roommates were watching the end of the movie The Best Two Years. It was at that part in the train station where he fulfills his companion's promise, "The day will come when you will have a fluent conversation with someone in the new language without even realizing it." As I was walking up to campus, there was a car that pulled up next to me and the passengers asked if I could explain where the JKB was. Without even thinking about it, I was able to direct them in the right direction with ease. On the rest of the walk to the library, I thought about how I had just spoken fluently to someone in the college language, and I felt so proud of how much I have learned and accomplished while attending BYU. The first couple of weeks, I had a couple of cars of people pull up to me in a similar manner, asking for directions. I would usually use the excuse that I was a freshman and told them that if they kept driving straight, they were bound to find it. I think I have gained more confidence in my campus navigation skills.

We Are "That Team"

Posted by Laura

Tonight was our team's final game in the intramural basketball season. We had so much fun this season learning from each other, celebrating each other's victorious moments, and laughing at each other's major air balls. The girls in my ward are awesome and I am so glad that I was able to be on the team. As much fun as it was, when it comes down to winning, I think we ended up being 0 and 6. I guess some would call that a consecutive losing streak, but someone has to be the team that loses in a game. We just happened to be "that team" all season.

Tonight was our best game yet. It was a nail-biter to the bitter end; we ended up losing 36–38 in the final 20 seconds, but we'd also made the best comeback our team has ever seen. After the first 10 minutes we were losing 2–16, but we slowly fought our way back into the game. I guess those coveted intramural-champion T-shirts will have to be won another season.

Enduring to the End

Posted by Laura

This past week we hit the halfway point of the semester. For me, this semester has gone by so fast, and it is a reminder to me of how short the college years really are. If you don't take advantage of this time, it will be very easy to look back with regret.

It's crazy to think that I will be done with my second semester of college soon! I made a chain for our door to count down the days until the end. I think the second half of the semester will be a lot harder than the first because there are no more breaks from here on out.

I feel so young still, but looking back, I have this great feeling of fulfillment from how much I have accomplished at BYU. I can now make my way around campus without stopping every couple seconds with a confused look on my face. I now know how to prepare myself for tests and how to take good notes that I can read again later. I can now budget my money each week and plan meals for each day. I have learned so much in the classroom, but I also have learned so much from having more independence and living in an apartment. Life is good.

Devotionals, Forums, and CES Firesides

Posted by Laura

Something that I have really grown to love while attending BYU is the opportunity I have to attend devotionals, forums, and CES firesides. I really enjoy Tuesdays; I look forward to a break from my studies to be motivated by the speaker. It's an hour in the week when you can sit back and ponder how you can do better—the changes that you need to make. Today I was able to attend Elder Robert D. Hale's CES fireside in the Marriott Center. I always feel so blessed to be in the presence of General Authorities and Church leaders, to see their passion for the gospel and feel of their spirit. I absolutely love being a student at BYU and participating in the great traditions of this school. There are opportunities that are available here that you cannot experience anywhere else, and I am so grateful to be a part of that.

Freak Out!

Posted by Laura

I loved social dance so much last semester that I decided to take the next level this semester. It is sooo much fun and is, no doubt, one of my favorite classes. Every semester, all of the social-dance classes have two huge labs in the Wilkinson Center Ballroom. All of the social-dance students come to practice and to get to know new people. At the lab there is food, dancing, and music, and a couple class sections perform.

At this particular lab, my class (section 280) was assigned to perform the cha-cha to "Le Freak." Everyone was decked out in '70s-era D.I. goods when it came time to perform. The crowd went crazy, which made it easy to feed off of their energy. It was a blast! My sister recorded about half of it and I attached the video here:

One Day at a Time

Posted by Laura

School can be crazy! Thinking about all of the the assignments, quizzes, tests, and finals that happen in a semester can be overwhelming. Just thinking about it makes my palms a bit sweaty.

This week I have four tests, one of which is a final for my computer-block class. How can I manage my time to make sure I prepare myself for each of them? You know that you have spent too much time studying diseases when you sign "Laura Bacteria" as your name on top of your assignments, or when you talk in your sleep about diagnosing diseases. It's hard to figure out how much time you need to put in for each class to make sure that you stay caught up.

I have found that the best way to do it is to focus on one day at a time. Focusing on how you are going to spend the next 24 hours is a lot easier than focusing on everything you have do to before the end of the week. 

The Hunt

Posted by Laura

It's that time of the year: people are out searching for the apartments they'll be living in next year. A bunch of girls have knocked on our door, asking for a tour of my apartment and interviewing me about the ward, the boys in the ward, rent, and maintenance. Even though it's still the beginning of winter semester, you have to start thinking about the location and the roommates you are going to live with next fall.

The apartment complex that I am living in is really competitive to get into, and the management holds its drawing for contracts in February. I have loved my apartment! Even though I am one of the minority freshman who decides not to live in the dorms, I have loved the location, the ward, the roommates, and all of the new experiences that have come with my apartment.

I've also had a few of my close high school friends, who are planning on attending BYU next year, over for a weekend. Incoming freshman often don't know how important it is to start the housing search early, whether they are looking for off-campus housing or reserving a spot in on-campus housing.

Love of Learning

Posted by Laura

At my high school graduation, a very wise teacher gave all of the graduates advice for college. He said, "Don't let school get in the way of your education." I don't think I fully understood this advice until I actually started my college classes. It can be so easy to adopt the mindset of just reading through the syllabus and seeing only the requirements for that dream A grade, and then just going through the motions to get the work done. However, I am attending BYU to get a worthwhile education, and my classes present an incredible opportunity to learn and grow.

Having a sincere love of learning makes my classes so much more enjoyable. My homework is more meaningful when I find ways to apply what I've learned as opposed to just regurgitating a list of definitions from short-term memory. I absolutely love the feeling that comes when you can tell your roommate, as she is eating a potato, that it contains more nutrient-dense potassium than the banana your other roommate is eating. I love the feeling that comes when you can help your little brother with his chemistry homework. I love the joy that comes when you work so hard that you are able to celebrate by dancing to the midnight library music. I love the feeling that comes when you understand the tricky details of microorganisms enough to know that if you lick your hands after touching the door handle, the drinking fountain handle, or the toilet seat that you could get some nasty diseases. Those are the moments that make all of the time, hard work, and lack of sleep in college completely worth it.

Modern Homework

Posted by Laura

I think I've made the adjustments needed to get back into school mode. I have my schedule memorized and don't have to look at a printed copy to find the room number. Faces are becoming familiar and I've learned a couple of names. However, when it comes to homework, things have changed.

The majority of the classes for my major require homework to be submitted online. Forget the paper and pencils—it's strictly uploading your answers, and I don't know if I like it. It's kind of scary to think that a computer is grading my homework, and computers can be ridiculous. For example, in my chemistry class, if your answer is plural, the computer classifies your answer as incorrect. Spell a word wrong or put a space in an incorrect place and CLINK—docked credit. I have never been so nervous or so unsure about my homework answers in my life. Not because I think I did the calculations wrong, but because I think I did something grammatically incorrect that won't meet the computer's standards. A lot of general and core classes are switching to online submitting; it makes me wonder if future college generations will ever know what paper, pens, and drop boxes really are.

Too Good to Be True

Posted by Laura

It was hard to wake up this morning after having the luxury of sleeping in over the holiday break. This semester all of my days start at 8 or 9 a.m., which is a bit different for me (last semester every day began at 10 a.m.). Yet, though I am not a morning person, I was able to wake up with time to spare. As I reached my first class, statistics, I noticed that something wasn't right. Every single person in the room was a girl! I hadn't started learning statistics yet, but statistically, that shouldn't happen in a math class. It turned out I forgot a zero in the room number and mistakenly entered a marriage, home, and family class. It's amazing the difference one number can make. :) Despite the confusion, I was still able to make it to the packed statistics classroom on time.

After I made it out of statistics, I had Dance 280, Church history, chemistry, and Book of Mormon. I was really looking forward to my last class, Book of Mormon, because I'd heard from multiple people that the teacher was really good. When I walked in, I was shocked. I thought that somehow, being in a very girl-dominated major, my luck had changed. I walked into a class that was 99 percent male. At that point, I thought it was definitely going to be my favorite class of the semester. But then my luck crumbled underneath me when the teacher said, "How many of you in here didn't realized that this section was an RM section?" I sheepishly raised my hand and realized that it was too good to be true. After switching class sections multiple times, waiting for an opening in the section with this teacher who I'd heard was so good, I signed up for an RM section. Luckily, the teacher was nice about it and offered to let me stay in the class, but after singing "The Spirit of God" with a class full of boys and being the only high voice, I decided to transfer.

Still, I am so excited for this new semester! I sincerely loved my classes today and can't wait to learn in them.

That Book Is How Much?!

Posted by Laura

Life is expensive. I have really learned the importance of budgeting my money while living away from home. The money that goes toward tuition, rent, books, food, and living expenses really adds up fast. When I was buying my books for the new semester, I figured out that I spent more than 25 hours working over the summer to purchase the books I need for just one of my nine classes. My lifetime of savings is being used a lot faster than the time it took to save it, yet I can also see that it's being invested in a priceless education. This makes me want to work even harder to not miss out on learning opportunities.

New Year's Resolutions

Posted by Laura

It’s a new year, a new semester, and a fresh start, and I am so excited! Having a clean slate gives people hope that they can improve something to make this year even better than last year.

Many things changed in 2008. I went from high school senior to high school graduate; from being classified as a member of the Relief Society to moving out; from starting my first day of college to to finishing my first semester. That was a lot of growing up in a very concentrated amount of time.

Yet looking back, I have loved every minute of it. Last year was full of moments when I was scared to death about what the future and moments when I was floating on cloud nine and thinking life just couldn’t get any better. I don’t know what 2009 will have in store for me, but reflecting on the time that has passed reminds me that life is good. If I follow my New Year’s resolutions, I will become a better student, friend, roommate, and person, which will make life even better.

Note: As with most other posts on the First Year blog, this post was written a year ago, hence the references to 2008 and 2009.

Gifts of a Lifetime

Posted by Laura

For the past five or so Christmases, my mom has been trying to stock me up with goods for college. She throws in a couple things that every college student needs. I have to admit, when opening those presents over the years, I always said, "Thank you," and acted excited, but in my head I'd think, “Why the heck did my mom go through all this effort to give me something that I will never use?”

Yet those college days have arrived, and I am so grateful for all of those gifts! They have made my life and college experience so much easier. This year, when I opened a cookbook and a casserole dish, I thought, “Alright, maybe this book will teach me how to not start the ward-dessert-night cookies on fire.” Or when I opened the school supplies, I knew exactly how to put them to use and how needed they were.

Even though these aren’t the kind of presents you can open up and play with all day, they are practical, and instead of just playing with them and then laying them on the shelf, I know that I will actually use them throughout my college years and beyond. I have finally reached that point in life where I can start using all of my Christmas gifts over the years.

My Christmas has been wonderful this year. I love the holiday season and all of the traditions that come along with it. I have enjoyed having a little break from school and being surrounded by my family and friends.

Finally done with my final final! Wahoo!

Posted by Laura

After many hours of studying and learning, my finals are officially done with, at least for this semester.

Finals week freaks me out. It is so nerve wracking trying to remember all of the material that you have been taught in class. All of your work and studying comes down to one final test. How do you know how much time studying is enough? How do you know where to begin for a comprehensive test? How do you survive with all of those test all concentrated in one week?

To be honest, I was pretty nervous and didn't sleep very well Sunday night. Yet, as the week went on, I was feeling more confident. It's easier to focus on studying for tests when you don't have class attendance or assignments to worry about. It makes you feel a little better walking in the library and seeing that most of the seats are occupied by wide-eyed students going through the exact same worries you are.

After my first couple of finals, I got to a point in studying when I felt that I was prepared and had done everything in my power to prepare. When all is said and done I think I was imagining the worst for finals week. However, I was surprised at how well I was able to retain all of the information that I studied. I felt so good about my preparation and grades for finals, and it feels so nice to have them done and to be able to enjoy the holiday break.

I have had such a great first semester at BYU. It's like I have been imagining and working and preparing for BYU my whole life and am finally able to live my dream. It has been full of so many new opportunities and experiences that have allowed me to grow spiritually, mentally, and socially and I have loved every second of it. I have also learned that the time goes by so fast. It's mind boggling to think that I have officially finished my first semester of college and that I have so much to look foward to. BYU is such an incredible university with a great tradition and I feel so blessed to be a student here.

What Else Can Be Said But, WOW!

Posted by Laura

Wow. What a semester! The past three and a half months of my life and time have been full of so many new experiences. From walking on campus for the very first time, lost in your surroundings, compared to taking shortcuts that get you exactly where you want to go. From introducing yourself to new faces hundreds of times, compared to saying goodbye to friends that you have learned and grown from. From opening a fresh stiff book knowing that the journey of hundreds of hours of studying begins with that first word, compared to reading the last page of a heavily used and highlighted book. There is so much that happens in a such a short amount of time.

A once-in-a-lifetime experience happened to me the last week of class. There was a American Heritage drawing that took place, where all of the names of the students who completed a course survey near the beginning of the semester were entered to win prizes. I had assumed I lost because it was so long ago, but I got an e-mail notifying me that my name had been drawn and that I won an iPod! Whoot whoot! It was so exciting, my roommates opened the Martinelli's bottle they had been saving for the last day of class and a party began. It was quite the event to see and so exciting. I felt pretty lucky that day.

As I have talked to people about finals week, I have heard lots of different opinions and contrasting advice. One of my roommates thinks it best to just buckle down and get finals out of the way, so starting at 10 tonight, she will be celebrating Christmas break. Some have all of theirs scheduled and have to be done cramming, ready or not. I had half of my finals in class last week, and the other half are unscheduled. I have it planned out that I will have one each day and be finished on Thursday. I have actually felt pretty proud, taking a step back and looking at all that I have learned in each class.

I know that my prayers were truly answered this morning as I completed my first religion final and got 100 percent on the memorization section. I hope that if I put the time and effort into studying harder than ever, then all will all work out. It has been a great semester, and I am excited to finish finals, enjoy Christmas break, and start a fresh semester with some experience behind my name.