It's the BYU Way of Life

Here is another glimpse into the BYU way of life. For those of you unfamiliar with the BYU lifestyle, do not be afraid. These concepts may be hard to accept at first, but once you understand them, you will learn to pity us. To assist you, I will first outline a few examples and explain the key components and their importance.

Example 1:
This is a conversation I overheard on the way to class today. It involves a male and a female and I got the idea that they had not seen each other in a while.
Male: Hey, how are you doing?
Female: Great! So, are you married yet?
Male: No, are you kidding me?
Female: Why not, what's wrong with you?

Explanation: This conversation includes the main topic of every discussion over heard on BYU campus. It gets the mundane details over with quickly (really caring about how the person is doing) and gets straight to the point of marriage. The guy, either doesn't want to get married or has not yet found the perfect girl. To the female, however, the real reason that he is not married yet is because there is something wrong with him. This flaw can be physical or not so noticeable, but evidently, it is there.

Example 2:
I don't have direct quotes, but I overheard this conversation today in the CougarEat. The girl was telling the guy about every date she had ever been on and whether or not she liked the date. I started listening in on the guy asking her, "So how do you feel about bowling dates?" To which she replied, "I have been on some good ones and some bad ones, it all depends." She then continued to break down the date and you could just see the guy taking mental notes. I hope he has a good memory and can read short hand because the girl was talking so fast even listening to her was a challenge. I, unfortunately, had to focus on my physics homework, but they continued to talk about dating for an hour, a whole hour. Well, I feel that I am getting off topic, but I am just going to go with the flow.

That last example led me to something that I hate to talk about and that is dating. At one point, the girl said something to effect of, "If I only got asked out on one date a year my self-esteem would be way down!" My question is, why does dating make you happy? Sure you may have a few good dates, get some free food and have a great time together. But in the end, you are left with the awkwardness of seeing an ex on campus or (gasp!) attending their wedding. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying anything at all about females not needing males, believe me, we need them. I just don't see why you need to be dating or in a relationship to be happy. I am at the time in my life where I am still figuring myself out and even I can see things that could be changed. Don't think I am bitter, either, because I assure you I am not. Dating is a great thing, but to always be dating to be happy, I just don't get. It seems to me that you need someone else to make you happy. I know that in my future I will (hopefully) fall head-over-heels in love with my eternal companion and in order for that to happen I need to date, but I will not dating to be happy or to have a larger self-esteem.

Okay, sorry for straying from the topic, but now that I have vented I feel much better. Well, there is a part of BYU campus for you. I have heard it called Marriageville as well as the Bunny Farm, you chose which one you like best. BYU is not all about dating and marriage, there is a little thing called getting an education that will be helpful for your future. But for those of you who are just working and are not in Provo, go ahead move here, and I am sure that there will be someone in the Utah Valley that will snag you. Of course, you also take the risk of being called "Wife-Hunter" or "Husband-Hunter" (thanks, Black Brothers).

New York Times Bestseller: The Ward Directory

As with every BYU single student ward, the most important publication to put out is the Ward Directory. The purpose of a Directory is to be able to contact those in your ward when you have need to. For example, get a hold of your home teachers, your FHE parents, the Relief Society secretary, your Visiting Teaching Supervisor, and most important of all, the Bishopric. The purpose of a BYU ward directory is somewhat different. I have heard it called, "The Ward Selectory", "The Menu," and my favorite, "The Meat (Meet?) Sheet". What is the point of including every one's picture, if not for dating purposes? This way, you don't have to call the entire opposite sex in your ward before you determine if you are compatible, you can just easily scratch off the ugly ones and only go for the good-looking ones. Many of these directories include their career (ie student, dentist, janitor) and what their major is if they are a student. This is to make your dating pool smaller by weeding out the stupid ones. For example, ladies, would you rather date a Mechanical Engineer that has no time for you now, but will certainly make money in the future? Or would you rather pursue an English major that can communicate well but will live in a box the rest of his life? Or gentleman, how about an MFHD major that will make a great wife and mother, or a physics major that will forever be smarter that you and can use relativity to her advantage? I understand that the questions were biased, but it is helpful to know these things. And lastly, all directories include hometown. That way, you can avoid dating someone that is from South Carolina when your from California. So when it comes marriage time, transportation costs are easier and you can move as far away from your in-laws as possible without moving to a different continent. Either that or you can just stay in Utah and avoid those awkward family reunions because I assure you, no one wants to vacation in Utah.

To sum it all up, I will tell you my recent BYU Ward Directory Activities. I filled out the paper that stated my hometown is Littleton, CO (far enough away from Utah), that my current job status is a student, and that my major was then undecided between Mechanical Engineering and Physics. The only thing left was my beautiful mug shot. A guy in my ward comes at 11PM on Thursday night with a camera. The problem? The photo shoot was scheduled without my knowledge and my evening was spent running and doing homework. Needless to say, I did not want everyone in the ward to think that I only "clean up nicely." I was told to email a picture the next day so that the Directory can be out on Sunday so the dating game can begin. Next problem - I had no good pictures unless they wanted one of me in my swimsuit or one where my face is have the area of the cross-section of a dime. Solution - I go to my BYU personal information page and send the picture that is on my BYU ID card. Yes, this picture was taken Freshman year (two years ago), but my hair is about the same length. At least it looks like me.

I know that come Sunday, I will search through that book feeling for inspiration. I just hope that it doesn't come in the way of inspiring me to run away as fast as possible.

Federer Wins - Again

I feel like I need to comment on the US Open. How can anyone be an avid tennis fan and not write about the outcome? As a true fan of the game, I will stick to the men's side. Federer beat Djokovic in a three set final. I still maintain that Federer is the best tennis player around, but my adoration with Djokovic is growing exponentially with every match I see him play. He shows a lot of emotion, but it really gets the fans involved. He lets you know when he is happy, when he is proud of himself, and when he is frustrated. Federer, on the other hand, makes everything look easy and doesn't show much of his feelings. He looked very scary in all black and had reason to be. I wanted it to be more of a match though. The first two sets were good with Djokovic having a total of about seven set points that Federer denied him with his #1 player in the world skill. How frustrating would that be? Seven set points and you were denied every single one? That put him down by two sets and the third (and final) was not as exciting. I still give Djokovic points for making it to the finals because he had never even made it to a semi-final of any Grand Slam tournament before (check my memory) and to lose to the #1 player in the final - nothing to really cry over, I am sure.

The First Week

It is Friday afternoon and I have just survived my first week of school. A new apartment, new classes, and new interests all added up to an overwhelming week.

I am taking multiple physics classes this semester and let me tell you, those physics nerds are hilarious! Notice how I don't include myself as a physics nerd, I am still trying to deny my true calling in life. I was in the Eyring Science Center today and could hear some guy going off on how cool Star Trek is. Forgive me if I am wrong, but Star Trek is just about the nerdiest show around. I will admit that I like the original episodes and that Spock is my favorite character, but my enjoyment of the show stops there. Well, I will also admit that I have looked up quotes from the show on imdb.com and have looked up plans for the Enterprise. I also happen to think that Galaxy Quest is hilarious for just making fun of the show. I do like my classes and the people in them. It is fun learning about how we describe the world and how not everything follows logic.

I am living with three new people this semester and they are great. I haven't gotten to know them as much as I would like, but my fears were put aside the second day I was there. They keep the apartment clean and neat and it has a nice feeling. A friend of mine makes his bed everyday and for a while there I could not understand why you would make your bed in the morning just to be unmade at night. It's like running on a treadmill - you aren't going anywhere! I have made my bed everyday for a week and it does make a difference. It is a nice feeling to get into a made bed after a long day. It also helps me make the transition from my daytime activities to my nighttime activities (sleep) better than getting into an unmade bed.

As far as my new interests go, well I will just say that I have gone running twice since I have been in Provo and have loved it. I was never a runner before and only ran when people where chasing me. That all changed when I ran with two ladies at work one day and signed up for a 5K. I ran that 5K (well almost the whole way) and loved it. My stepmom helped to inspire me - she is an amazing runner. She convinced my dad to buy me running shoes and let me run with the dog. I have been hooked ever since. I am still trying to get over the first hurdle and then I am hoping that I can continue to improve. I will tell you that I miss that dog, though. She was the best running partner I have had!