College Life.

Holy cow! I haven't been in Rexburg for even a week yet and I feel like I have already experienced so much. I have never met so many people in my life in just 4 days and been so busy. The time has seriously flown by and I have a feeling that that is how the school year is going to be. I'm totally okay with that..I think :) So far, I love the college life! It's so different from anything else I have experienced. Everyone here at BYU-I is so nice and friendly and really easy to get along with. Everyone is here to meet new people, explore new things, grow spiritually and also learn. I love that I have become friends with my roommates so easily, as well as my I-Team. It's been so fun to just chill and talk with my roommates, we are already so crazy together. I also love how you can instantly connect with people and become friends without a problem, it's never really awkward. In fact, we already had our first group dinner. Church was also definitely different but in a good way. I'm not used to sitting in a science lab for sunday school, but hey it's still church and it's all good. You learn the same things and feel the spirit. It's also weird not hearing crying babies and being surrounded by young adults who are actually really intelligent and knowledgeable about the gospel. Oh and my roommate already got asked out by our sunday school teacher to the fireside last night and for a date on Friday. Holy crap. I guess people just can't wait around here. My room is totally awesome and the activities around here are already great and something to look forward to. I also survived my first class this morning, it was great to start with an opening hymn and song. The teacher is really nice but I must admit, I do already feel stressed and intimidated about the work. However, I know that through Heavenly Father, my family and my friends, I can do all things and that everything is going to be great. It's an experience I am learning to love :)        
                                Always,
                                        Dee

Bitter Sweet.

So this past week I have done a lot of contemplating about starting my new "adventure" to college. Thinking about all the fun and exciting opportunities and things to do there has gotten me way excited and super happy to go up to the good ole' potato state.  I am ready to experience the hype about this so called "college life". The freedom and independence I'll have, along with the responsibility and the feeling of being a grown adult, it's all so exhilarating to me. However, as I have started packing these past 2 days, it has really become a bitter sweet thing to me. Besides some minor details, I love where I live. It's beautiful, the weather is great, we have awesome neighbors and a great ward. I am blessed to have a nice house to live in and family and friends who care about me. I know my surroundings and I know where I stand and fit in. These are the things that make this experience a little bitter rather than sweet. I am definitely having mixed emotions right now, but there's no turning back! I'm anxious to see how I'll be as I get up there tomorrow and what my reaction will be as I take everything in at once. Will I cry myself to sleep at night, toss and turn, or will I be just fine? I guess time will tell and will reveal everything. I am so grateful for all the love and support and kind words I have gotten from everyone, they truly mean a lot to me. And even though I may miss some of you more than others, I am still going to miss you all. I'll  be sure to document all my experiences throughout this first week and I will be back home in no time :) Love you all!
                     Always,
                               Dee

Love.

My oh my, boy has this subject been ever so present on my mind lately. It has always been something I didn't understand and could never wrap my head around. What is Love? How do you know when you love someone or are in love with someone? What does it feel like? What is the experience like? These questions boggled my mind for the longest time. For the past year, I have had the opportunity to learn so much about this personal and meaningful topic. I guess it was one of those experiences that you look back on and realize how much you learned and had grown as a person. You're able to evaluate all the emotions and feelings you went through during that time. As I have done so, I realized that I experienced..love. And not just that, but my first romantic "true" love as they say. Gosh, does this make my heart melt or what! Gordon B. Hinckley once stated, "True love is not so much a matter of romance as it is a matter of anxious concern for the well-being of one's companion." So why am I talking about something that would be considered "personal" to others? I don't know. I guess I have just felt the need to write and express my thoughts about this. It makes me so happy to think back on it and I long for it again. It helped me to grow as a person and into a maturing young adult. I think about it so often now-a-days and love has almost become..mysterious to me. You can't describe it, you just know it when you feel it and it grows over time. I am so grateful to have experienced this, so grateful it just makes me want to cry thinking about it! This person showed me some of the happiest times in my life to this day. They become your best friend and you don't want to skip a beat without them. You also learn to love them not only for their perfections, but imperfections as well. You make mistakes together, but in the end, love is all about lifting each other up and molding ourselves into the best we can be. This person also taught me so much about this and I still learn and grow everyday as I think back onto the experiences and memories we have together. I may be 18, but I know that what I have experienced is love. Love is happy. Cherish the moments because you don't know what you got 'till it's gone.
                     With Love,
                             Dee