My Pilgrimage to Provo!

I have been TERRIBLE at blogging the past few months; so much has happened since Belgium, but I've been too busy/unmotivated to blog about it! I thought my trip to Utah though was far too big to miss. It was simply amazing. I don't think there was a single thing that I would have changed about it. Except of course for me staying longer! We packed so much into three days and Kaley was such a wonderful host making sure I saw everything and kept asking me if there was anything else I wanted to do or see because she would take me there. It was so nice to meet all of her friends and her awesome ward - everyone was so welcoming and I instantly felt at home there (which didn't make it any easier to leave!). I was so happy to see that Kaley has a wonderful situation there and is having such a great time; she deserves it.

I had no idea that I was like this, but BYU showed me that I am such an easy crier! I would hit Kaley and point out every little thing around me - from the Y on the mountain, to the BYU flags all over campus, to a particularly nice stretch of sidewalk - and burst into tears. I don't think I've ever cried that much in my life! Kaley was a good sport about it and would humor me and say "Oh wow yeah that's great!" but literally I was pointing out each pebble or tree in sight. Everything was so wonderful and must have struck a certain chord in me that brought on the water works. I was just touched by the great Spirit that the school holds and everything seemed so special to me. I loved it. (even if my face was drying out from crying so much)

Well, there is just too much to write down every little thing, but here is a little summary of my awesome trip!



Friday night:
Kaley and I took a quick trip to Temple Square right when I arrived to see it all lit up. It was FREEZING but so much fun! It was so beautiful and I felt the warmth of the Spirit just looking inside the Conference Center and taking one step on the temple grounds.
Side story: When I arrived at the Salt Lake City airport, I think I half expected angels to greet me playing trumpets and everyone wearing white robes. Turns out Utah is a normal state just like any other! Although I was disappointed, I was sitting next to a man reading his scriptures in the airport so I knew I was in the right place :)



Saturday:
-Started off with a delicious Belgian waffle from The Awful Waffle with Cougar blue whipped cream for homecoming week! Enjoyed it while watching the Homecoming Parade with tons of floats and free candy
-Hit up the bookstore (where I bought WAY too much BYU apparel) and toured campus
-Saw a boy setting up a proposal for his girlfriend (usual)
-Went to Clayton's baptism which was just wonderful. It reminded me of my own baptism and just how lucky I am to have the church in my life. During the service, I suddenly had a great feeling of peace and had no doubt in my mind that being there, as a member of the church, was exactly where I was supposed to be.
-After the baptism we went to Pizza Pie Cafe! It was so much fun and of course an endless pizza, dessert, and salad buffet helped :)
-To end the night we went to (drum roll please)...the BYU football game vs San Jose State!! It was so awesome seeing thousands of members there cheering on the Cougars. It took a little bit, but now I'm a pro at all of the cheers. Another Cougar....FIRST DOWN!




Sunday:
Although it is hard to choose, I would have to say that Sunday was my favorite day. I think I literally cried the whole day. From the start, it was a wonderful day. While we were walking to church, I looked around me and saw at least a hundred (and that was only in my immediate sight!) other college students in their Sunday best walking to church to feel of the Spirit and worship together. The meetings that followed were so special and I felt the Spirit so strongly; the testimonies were so sincere and it was wonderful to hear the steadfast testimonies of the truthfulness of the Church that all of these people had.
Afterward, we had a wonderful dinner at Dustin and Moriah's (their house is so cute and homey and they're only college students!), and then Kaley I went to Temple Square! I wasn't sure if we'd be able to tour the Conference Center on a Sunday, but Kaley asked one of the volunteers and they said, "of course!" I was ecstatic. The tour blew me away. Although I have seen the Conference Center on TV numerous times, it is completely different to see it in-person. I walked into the auditorium and was instantly struck by its massive size. I hit Kaley on the arm as we walked in and the tears started pouring. I just envisioned 21,000 saints gathering in this room to learn from a prophet and apostles, and thought that this number wasn't even a fraction of the viewers around the world. It was just so powerful and truly incredible to see. The rest of the tour was very neat with the original paintings from the Book of Mormon and other church portraits and artwork, and the view from the multi-ACRE roof was incredible. We then finished off by visiting the Vistor's Center at the temple and looking around the Tabernacle and temple grounds. It was really nice.
Later that night, I was able to catch up with some friends from high school and it was so fun! I love that we can go months without seeing each other and then chat like it was just yesterday. I love those girls. We were cut a bit short by ward prayer, but it was so worth it. I hadn't really heard of ward prayer before, but essentially the ward gathers together outside on Sunday night, socializes a little bit, sings a hymn, someones shares a spiritual thought, and then we close with a prayer. It was incredible for me to see a group of college students on a weekend night singing a hymn loud and proud for all to hear. The Spirit was so strong and it just seems like such a good way to fellowship and grow together. I was really really touched.


Monday:
Monday was another great day! We...
-started off by going to a class about Joseph Smith from a famous BYU professor, Sister Black, and it was amazing; she has a photographic memory and knew so much information! Great way to start the morning.
-Hiked the Y! I made a special request to do it at the beginning of my visit and Kaley was nice and took me even though it's a straight uphill hike! The views were well worth it though and we had a lot of fun
-Ate a delicious lunch at J-Dawgs and we even put the special sauce on our hot dogs; bold I know
-Toured the spots on campus we missed and ran into JIMMER FREDETTE!! We were walking through the fieldhouse and Kaley looks to her left and goes, "Oh, there's Jimmer," in casual conversation. I almost fell over I tried to look so fast! See, BYU students see Jimmer all the time so it's not that big of a deal, but I was so excited! He was working out so I didn't want to interrupt to get a picture (I was a bit devastated but I was a good sport), but it was exciting :)
-Went to Cafe Rio with Dustin, Moriah and Christine! nom nom nom
-Had Family Home Evening which was so fun for me because I never get to have it. Basically a small group from your ward is put together to make an FHE group and you have a mini lesson, socialize, do some sort of activity, and of course have dessert. We made Halloween cards for a nursing home and told some scary stories; it was great. Again, it really touched me how a group of college students was getting together to do a service activity instead of the millions of other things they could be doing. Just so cool
-Played night games! This is unique to Kaley's ward and it is so fun! A group of people get together, wear all black, and play a game throughout campus where you have to touch certain "bases" without the person who is "it" seeing you. We would run past students coming from the library and just duck and dive behind trees and buildings like it was just a normal thing to do! For one round, we made a random guy walking through campus a base so we all had to sprint up to him and tag him and he had no idea what was going on. It was great.
-Went to the Creamery on Ninth! Yes, more food, but I was told I had to hit up all those famous places, so I did! It was delicious.

Overall, I loved everything about BYU. It is the most amazing institution in the world. There is a special spirit there that I have never felt before-30,000 faithful college students striving to live life as best they can and be active disciples of Christ, has the power to create such a sweet spirit. The majestic mountains that jut into the sky all around the university are a perfect metaphor for what the school is - a holy place protected from the world and a light on a hill for all to see and strive for. It is truly the Lord's school! I hope to one day (grad school please!) be lucky enough to go to such an amazing place. I could not have asked for a better trip.


(The mountains are so beautiful!)

Doesn't get much better than this

My teammates are freaking awesome. I have never met such amazing ladies and I have never had so much fun. It just blows my mind. We are the most random assortment of people that somehow just mesh together as if we were each meant to be on this very team at this very time. It is so crazy to me how things work out this way! We all enter the team as different people - all with different backgrounds, experiences, beliefs, and ways of doing things - but as time goes on, we actually mold together . At some point during our tenure here we let down our barriers and expose ourselves to the system and experience that is Lehigh basketball. This is where change, growth, and chemistry are born. We each bring all of our past experiences and personalities to the table, and take part in a huge game of exchanging and dealing all of our unique cards between each other. When the game is over, we leave with a new hand that is better than the first for the simple fact that it contains a little piece of everyone. Now when the time comes for us all to go our separate ways, we will have a small portion of each other to carry along wherever we go. The special bonds we formed along the way will not erase, nor can they, because we have etched them into each and every one of us. I love this!

I am so lucky to share a small chunk of time with these wonderful ladies and be able to realize early in my too-short career that this is something I should savor every minute of. Each year we have to say goodbye to a few key pieces of our group, and the time we shared with them becomes just a memory. BUT the cool thing about memories is that they last. I will always remember the times we laughed until it hurt, the times we cried and thought that things would never get better, the times we partied because we were champions and that's what champions do, the times our bodies hurt so bad that it just wasn't worth it to get out of bed, and all the times we spent hugging, smiling, and just enjoying each other. This snapshot of my life will live with me forever because it changed me forever. I've learned to be more optimistic, more compassionate, more outgoing, more loving, less selfish, and a whole lot more fun because that is exactly what the women around me were like.

This is why I'm so grateful I stuck it out through the tears and sorrow that is freshman year. I think that was a necessary initiation to see if I deserved the blessings I was about to receive. They are just too special to give to anyone, and for some amazing reason my feet stayed glued to the ground until I was able to see just how fortunate I was to share a space of time with these 15 other people. I cannot WAIT to see where these next two years take me (and the rest of this one!) and let me tell you I am excited. I only hope that I can be just as great to these lovely ladies as they have been to me, and maybe, just maybe, help them to feel even a portion of the love I feel for them.

This truly is a beautiful experience we all get to go through, an experience that is neither perfect or easy, but one that can lead to amazing amazing things. As my wonderful teammate Kristen Dalton put it:

There is no mathematical way to go about this. There is no conclusion to draw here. There is no formula that guarantees good friendships. There is only the coming back to, where our lines overlap and intersect and move harmoniously across our days. We can call this a rhythm. Or we can call it a blessing, the great friendships of this adventure.