College Reminiscing - A Built-In Foundation

I recently had an excuse to peruse my photos from my Freshman year of college.  I spent the following hours laughing out loud as I relived that year with a huge grin plastered on my face.  From the perspective of a woman married 13 years with 4 children, that past life appears "carefree"- no cooking, little cleaning, sleeping in, dancing every weekend, enormous amounts of time spent with friends and lots of moments of pure silliness.  Of course when I take a moment to step back and really remember what I felt and experienced during that single year, it is amazing how much growth and discovery took place as a result of a conglomerate of things:  new responsibility, balancing a greater independence with an increased reliance on the Lord, many heartbreaks {oh those boys}, feelings of inadequacy and homesickness, friendships with incredible individuals, channeling my passion for the Humanities, and so much more.

I feel privileged to have attended and graduated from Brigham Young University, the greatest university on the planet:) Go Cougars! {ok that will never die in me, its now instinctual to want to yell that every time I think of my university.}  Those years spent there helped to mold the person I am today.  For me there was no other place where I belonged.  I was a part of that university, 1 of 30,000, but a part.  I felt a rush every time classes got out and I was surrounded by the buzz and commotion of tens of thousands of college students busily going from place to place.  Ten of thousands of college students committed to living life by the same standards I believed in and lived by.  There was a freedom in that.  A freedom that came from knowing that people knew what you believed and would support and uplift you in living it.  This freedom ignited me in living my life as 'me' more than ever.  There was never a question in high school as to what I believed, but in college I didn't have to explain my choices, they were understood.  This enabled me to create friendships and relationships with others based on a built-in foundation, a foundation on my core beliefs, the essence of who I was.  From this foundation lasting friendships were developed, some deeper than ever before.  When the foundation is there, the other elements in a relationship come easier.  I thrived in that environment and want that for my children.  I am grateful to that experience each and every day of my life.

After all...how would I have met Mike?:)

{My dorm room with the infamous Skittles wall and 'List' - little did I know that it would cost me (my parents) 5 cavities when I got home.  Love my boombox, so rad!}