Bittersweet Nostalgia - College Days

I'm having a moment tonight. Well, a whole string of moments. I'm being reminded of my college days and it's making me cry. As happy as I am to be married to my wonderful husband, I still treasure all the memories of those years at college. They were very rough but also very wonderful. I lived more in those few years than I ever had in my entire life.

Snow College was where it all began. I remember I moved down the day before my birthday. My wonderful new roommates were complete strangers to me but they took it upon themselves to have chocolate cake and ice cream for breakfast for me on my birthday. Little did they know I hated chocolate cake and ice cream back then. :) We all became best friends. I remember that first semester, I was determined to excel in everything. I had a scholarship and I meant to keep it. I stayed up until at least one every single night that first semester. I remember one night we just weren't tired so at one in the morning we took a drive up the canyon. Didn't get to bed until three that night.

The classes I took were memorable. I remember having an english class from a guy who had boarded my dad when he went to college there. I remember taking astronomy and having to drive up the canyon in the middle of the night for star gazing assignments. On a motorcycle no less! I remember taking college algebra from a newly graduated professor who was only about 5 years older than we were. I had a crush on him. :) I remember taking journalism and almost flunking because I had two friends in that class who only wanted to talk and goof off. I seriously only got a 1.7 in that class. Barely passing! I remember playing footsie with one of my friends in French. :O

I met so many amazing people at Snow College. It was 90% LDS but I still managed to befriend several non-Mormon friends who I still consider my friends to this day. I remember the open door policy we had at my apartment complex. As long as the weather was nice, everyone's door was open and since the apartments faced each other, people could sit on their front door sills and talk to the entire rest of the complex. I remember dragging couches out to the lawn to have homework parties. I remember my first boyfriend, we started dating during second semester. We dated for seven months and never kissed. Talk about a great way to ease into dating! It ended up I was more attracted to his roommate than to him. Because of my darling boyfriend, I almost failed that semester and lost my scholarship. Oh well!

My second year I came back to school and met my second boyfriend, first fiance. We kissed too much. We dated from December and got engaged in June. I broke that off a week before the wedding. He was definitely not the right one for me! It was a rough year for me. I don't remember much about my classes and I was kind of anti-social. That was definitely the dark year of college for me. Because of the wedding that didn't happen, I was too poor to go to college in the fall so I started working at a printing plant warehouse to earn enough for spring semester. It may sound strange but that job was one of the best I've ever had. I worked with a whole bunch of people my age and we became really good friends.

In the spring of 2003 I started school at Utah State University. I moved in next to a couple of my old friends from Snow College. Again, I remember the crazy nights and fun times. Logan, UT was a bigger town than Ephraim, UT and so much fun to be had. I remember cuddling with so many boys during so many movies. :) I worked with the police department as a parking ticket writer. Again, one of the best jobs I've ever had. I remember a snow shoeing trip at the top of the canyon that ended with a great night at a cabin. I remember so many friends and so many fun times. I remember starting to watch my friends get married. Scary!

I remember the huge classes (Snow college averaged about 20 people, Utah State about 100). I remember getting into my first car crash in the apartment parking lot on an icy night in my dad's car. Not my fault! I remember the struggles with my beliefs and how amazed I was that I learned more outside of the classroom than in. I remember going spelunking with several friends and learning how to rock climb. I remember the guys I thought I loved and the heartbreaks I had. I remember being so excited to finally be able to take classes that concentrated on my major. lol I remember figuring out what I wanted to major in. I tried six different subjects. I remember learning to live on 20 dollars a week. I donated plasma to eat and pay my cell phone bill and that's how much they paid me every week. PB&J sandwiches and breakfast egg biscuits saved me. I remember again wonderful non-member friends, and being told I was the coolest Mormon they knew.

I remember summer internships working with plants and horticulture related subjects. The first was being a gardener and truly falling in love with my supervisor. We became very good friends and considered dating but it wasn't meant to be. My second internship was filled with days out in the sun in shorts and flip flops testing people's sprinkler systems. I became best friends with one of the girls I worked with and we spent our lunch hours watching "Buffy" at her parents' house. I lived in an apartment alone in Salt Lake City that summer which I would not recommend. Too lonely!

After 3 years at USU I graduated with my Bachelors in Horiculture. At first I was relieved to be away from the homework and poverty of being a working student but now I miss it so much. I'd go back in a heartbeat if I could take my husband with me and afford to be a perpetual student. I can't say I don't regret anything because there are several things I would have done different. But, I can say I will always treasure those years and what I learned in them. College was priceless for me.