Graduation

 I finally did it!  I graduated last week from BYU with a BA in Communications: Broadcast Journalism.  With my mission thrown in the middle of it all, it's taken me 6 years to finish college and I couldn't be more happy.  BYU was the absolute perfect place for me and I had the most amazing experiences and made the most wonderful friends.  I almost started crying during my convocation.  Being done is so bittersweet.  I'm thrilled to not have to write any more papers or take any more tests but I will be very sad to leave it all behind.  But my future is very bright and I'm excited for everything that lies ahead of me!

Day One: Commencement

This is the part where everybody goes to the Marriott Center.  All the grads line up outside and then walk into the building in these massive lines.  I was super excited to be graduating with Skylar, Andrew, and Darin who are three of my good friends and the husbands/fiances of three of my best friends in the whole world.  We got to sit together in the Marriott Center and we even ended up the in the section our families were sitting in. We couldn't have planned it if we had tried!  We got to hear from Elder Richard G. Scott that day and he gave a wonderful talk with great advice about the future.  I loved getting to see all the grads in their caps and gowns.  I'm a sucker for traditions, especially ones with all the pomp and circumstance of graduation.  

Parents and grandparents.  

I have the best parents.  They have been so supportive throughout all my school!!  I couldn't have done it without them (and not only because they paid for everything)!

My mom and I.  

Aren't my grandparents adorable?!

I told you we all got to sit together!  It made all the waiting in line much more enjoyable.  

Andrew, Darin, Me, and Skylar.  

Molly, Brillante, Me, and Kaitlin.

Can we just talk about the amazing tights I wore?!  My mom gave me a hard time about them but I said, "The only thing that's going to show is my feet so I'm going to make a statement!"

Day Two: Convocation

 This is the part where you are with your particular college and you actually get to have your name called and walk across the stage.  For me this took place in the De Jong Concert Hall in the Harris Fine Arts Center.  We had some great speakers including Art Rascon (who is a BYU grad and award winning journalist who has covered huge stories all over the world) and my good friend Kylee Knoles!  It was so fun to be with the whole Communications Department and cheer each other on.  

Walking across the stage and everyone excited to be done!

The whole fam...the ones who were there at least.  

With the parentals.  

Love my mom to death.  

Three generations.  

Like I said, they are adorable.  

My sister Rachel and I.

Who's that handsome guy?

I had an awesome surprise!  Our good friends Linda and Aaron Orullion from out ward back in CA came to graduation!  They moved to UT awhile back and I hadn't seen them in forever!

Great professors!  Chad Curtis, Dale Cressman, and Robert Walz.

Day Three:  The Pictures We Forgot To Take On Days One and Two
We totally forgot to go take pictures with the iconic BYU signs at the entrance to campus.  So on our way out of town I threw my cap and gown on one more time and snapped these pictures.

Jimmermania

I haven't gotten crazy into Jimmermania but I can definitely appreciate a good Jimmer quote/joke when I hear one.  I laughed out loud when I just read this one:

"When you see only one set of footprints, it was then that Jimmer carried you." 

(found it here)

Seriously my favorite of the bordering on sacrilegious jokes I've been hearing ever since this was posted in the Daily Universe and the Facebook aftermath ensued.  I think this is my favorite because I served my mission in the south where the footprints poem has basically been canonized.  I kid you not...I actually had someone quote the poem to me as if it was scripture...on multiple occasions.  And there was basically a gigantic framed copy of the thing in every house I went in.  Not that there is anything wrong with this poem -- I'm pretty sure I used it in a spiritual thought at girls camp once or twice.  But it gets a bit old after a while.  So I thought the new Jimmer version was extra special.  

So what are your favorite Jimmerisms?

Quote of the Day

Just overheard as I'm walking into the library...

"Can we do the periods?"
-Girl with a scarf tied around the middle of her forhead talking to her equally stylish friend

I'm assuming she talking about the periodicals...but who talks like that? I mean really...is this just a really cool phrase that I'm completely unaware of? I have a feeling they were freshmen.

Quote of the Day

"This would be soooo much easier if you were all naked!"
-Girl in my clogging class

Don't ask...

I'm thinking about taking up tennis.

Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I walk from my apartment to the RB for my clogging class (don't mock me. clogging is hardcore.) My walk takes me right past BYU's outdoor tennis courts. Whenever I walk by I can't help but glance at the men's tennis team who practices there in the afternoons. Up until yesterday I had only seen the guys through the net-covered fence and had only gotten an obscured view of their toned chests and wash-board abs.

Well, yesterday as I'm walking to class this incredibly gorgeous man comes walking towards me carrying a tennis racket. The guy was shirtless, sweaty, and oh-so sexy. He looked so much better without the fence to obscure his bulging muscles. I seriously had no idea tennis players were that good looking -- except for Andy Roddick, who I've always known was that good looking.


Oh baby.

Anyway...the thought of those hot men running around the court has gotten me thinking about taking up tennis. Who knows I might even be the next Venus Williams. Maybe that man walking towards me, enticing me to take up tennis was really a sign that I have this hidden tennis talent.

I mean when I was like 12 I totally took a summer tennis class and I was basically amazing.

Well, maybe not amazing, but I was pretty good.

Ok, I actually kind of sucked, but that just means I've got tons of room for improvement!

And besides the sexy men there are a lot of great things about tennis. I even made a list:

Great Things About Tennis
1. It's a great workout so I would have a really hot bod.
2. You play tennis outside so I would have an amazing tan to go along with my hot bod.
3. Tennis players wear those adorable skirts so it would be an excuse to go shopping.
4. Tennis players also wear a lot of Lacoste polo shirts so I would have to buy some of those to fit in. Which means yet another excuse to go shopping!
5. I don't currently own a tennis racket, or any tennis equipment for that matter, so that's one more excuse to go shopping!
6. If I got really good I could compete at Wimbledon and I've always wanted to go to England. (And I bet British tennis players are even sexier than American tennis players.)

That's all I've come up with so far, but I think that's a pretty dang good list. This blog entry will probably spawn a nationwide tennis frenzy because of all the amazing reasons I've thought of to take up the sport.

See you all on the court!