Beginning A Dream: BYU

     Well, this is it. I have arrived at Brigham Young University and I couldn't be happier. Of course new beginnings are always strange and sometimes when we go through them we don't exactly know how to handle it, but I think I have this new beginning covered. I know who I am. I know where I am. I know who I want to be, and where I want to end up in the future. Who can ask for a better start to a semester than this?
     One thing I have taken away from these past few transition days is this. You have to be ambitious. Talk to other people, start the conversation. Don't wait for others to start it for you. Be ambitious in every aspect of your life. One of the returned missionaries who bore his testimony in sacrament meeting today said, "Do not doubt, and if you have doubts turn them into questions, then go looking for the answers." This struck me and I knew I had to write it down. Because sometimes we do have doubts. I doubted that staying home a semester was the right thing for me to do; I doubted that I would fit in and enjoy my first few days in a new and foreign place, but you know what? My doubts were vain because of course staying home was a good thing. The Lord knew it, and even though I didn't, trusting in Him is more important than leaning unto our own understanding.
     One of the last times I was in Provo I was just beginning high school. My family and I had set out early to hike the Y Mountain and my dad and I were well behind the rest of the group. At the end of one of the switchbacks we walked up to was a wooden railing overlooking a beautiful view of the valley. He leaned over the railing and I followed suit, looking at all the buildings and cars below. "Do you know what that is?" He asked me, pointing at a cluster of larger buildings not too far from the mountain. I didn't reply but in my head I remember thinking... Ummm buildings? "That's BYU." He said. I looked at it and began to see the campus. He told me how smart he knew I was, how much he loved me, and explained that he saw me going to that campus. "I believe that if you work hard enough, you will be able to attend that university." We talked a little more and I think I cried, because the worry of beginning high school was starting to creep in. After awhile more, however, we started back up the mountain and joined our family at the end of the trail, on the big "Y." The view up there was spectacular still and I mulled over the things my father and I had talked about.
     I've given that moment in time much thought as the years have progressed. At times, with my grades and performance I saw no possibility of making it into BYU. I faltered in my hopes and lost sight of my ambition. However, near the end, I figured it wasn't too late and I knew I would have to work hard and I tried my best to do well in school and in other aspects of my life as well. In the end, I believe with all my heart I owe my admittance to the Lord. Who knew that 4 1/2 years later, I would be here, gaining knowledge and growing in spirit. This is part of the Lord's plan for me, and so I will make the best of it. Tomorrow classes begin, and I am ready.