Make Stuff Daily

Something awesome happened last month. I graduated from college. COLLEGE. Can you believe it? I'll be honest though, it was kind of sad. Leaving behind my peers, my mentors, and going out into the world with no excuses, and nothing to fall on. Scary stuff! Yes, I am happy to be done with school. Yes, there is a certain element of freedom that I appreciate. But looking back on all the years I've spent at this wonderful University, I can't help but get hopelessly nostalgic.

You know, I almost didn't come here. It wasn't even my first choice. I didn't even want to come to BYU. It just seemed like an extension of high school to me. But somehow I ended up here.

After my first year, I almost transferred to ASU. I wanted to go so bad. But I stayed. Then I almost transferred to BYU-Hawaii. I had already been accepted, and I was looking for housing and everything! But again, I decided to stayed. And boy am I glad I did. Everything happens for a reason, guys. Looking back, every experience I've had over the last 5 years has been completely necessary for me to be where I am today. The ups and the downs. Especially the downs.

I think of one particular experience. What a lot of you may not know is that I came to BYU as a cello performance major. After my first year here, I decided for a few reasons not to do that anymore. As a result, I wasn't allowed back into the symphony. This broke my heart. I never remember crying so hard in my entire life. Cello was my life! That's what I was here for! I had never not been in orchestra. I had never failed, especially when it came to cello. This is who I was. I was the girl who played cello. That's who I had been for so long, and without it, I didn't really know who I was. I was so so lost.

I call the next year my 'lonely year'. I think it's important for every girl to have a year like this, or at least some period of time. A time where they focus completely on themselves. In that year I spent more time alone than I ever had before. I lived with a girl named Jessica, who basically just let me tag along with her and her friends doing amazing things. I met so many amazing people. For example, you know the guys who used to hang out at 7/11? You know, the guys with the really huge beards who probably really creeped you out. Yeah, I know them. I went to my first haunted house with them.

This was one of the best years of my entire life. I exploded out of my comfort zone. I found myself. I figured out who I was, what I wanted, and I was really confident in those things. I spent time around people I didn't know, doing things I had never done before. At one point I even ended up on a blind date where I met a girl who told me I should do Advertising, and that's how I picked my major.

One bus route, a couple games of Truth or Dare, and a few mix tapes later, I ended up in the band, where I met some guys who ended up being some of my closest friends, family really. From there I played cello, had some AMAZING experiences, and met so so so many great people. One of them being Casey.

I wish I could share with you all of the stories I have tucked away from the last 5 years. Maybe I'll write a book one day titled "My sort-of-slutty-but-not-really college experience". Okay I admit it, this isn't the first time I've thought of that. But enough of my sappy reminiscence, you're here for the pictures.









What's graduation without a jumping picture?