What a ZOO...b

I am a student at the B.Y. Zoo. I know, the place many Utahns (and some others) loathe. And with good reason too.

Have YOU ever tried to drive down 800 N? If you have, most likely you had to stop your car (full stop) at least 3 times for students crossing this way and that, texting, staring at the ground or the sky or the couples getting engaged at the duck pond (simultaneously. come on. get creative boys!), paying no mind to the drivers who are late for work or frantically trying to check another Y lot for one measly open space. Ooh, don't even get me started on parking...

And the dating game. Good grief. Can you give us a little room to breathe? Do you think we enjoy the single life of sharing one bathroom with 3 or 5 other girls, getting set up on awkward blind dates that end in getting your nose broken by a guy who kicked a basketball into your face? (True story.) We don't! we wish we had our pass to the CK too: an E.C.

And what about BYU being the healthiest campus in America? I'm pretty sure that is not a direct result of the Word of Wisdom. It's the forced exercise regimen we're all subjected to. I can just imagine Karl G. or some other BYU forefather plotting it all out: "I have a brilliant idea. *German accent included* We'll put all of the buildings that aren't for athletes on the top of the highest hill we can see. And then we will put all the parking at the bottom. 167 stairs straight up to education, twice a day, builds character... and might make it more likely for them to get married." No wonder it's a regular service project to write encouraging phrases on the steps to get our psyche to endure such a trek.

But to tell you the truth, I'd walk those stairs 20x/ day and get my nose smashed all over again by a cocky jock to stay a BYU student. 

Today I crossed paths in the library with an old mission friend who grew up 3000 miles away from my hometown who made me feel like a million bucks.

Yesterday I attended church in an auditorium with stadium seating, so even at 5’3” I could see the speakers.

Last week I got to teach missionaries how God talks to us through the Book of Mormon.

Two weeks ago I met with 3 professors. Each one happily took time for me to come into their private office where they answered my questions, deepened my understanding of their subject and assignments and even took time to just chat about the life of Whitney. They have research to get to and large families to attend, but these teachers really care. Across the board, unique to this school, these renowned and brilliant professors genuinely care about the success of their students. Enough to sacrifice their time for us.

A month ago I was moved to tears in class as a panel of 1^st year teachers shared their experiences with us seniors. When they were sharing their first year struggles and the challenge of ADD little boys, angry parents, failing teenagers, and emotional students, one of the girls just simply said exactly what I needed to hear: “Pray in the moment.” I have doubts and fears up the yingyang to accompany my excitement and hope and vision for teaching, but only at BYU, would someone feel comfortable enough to be so bold as to tell me to use my one resource that will never run out – God.

Five years ago, before a study abroad and a perfectly deferred mission, I walked onto BYU campus for the first time as a student. I made the trek from Wyview past the Marriott Center into the quad between the ASB and the library. The sun was beaming and so were the people around me. This wasn’t drug-ridden, rainy, littered, depressed Thurston High School. I don’t think I was in “Kansas” anymore, Todo. I remember feeling that euphoria of becoming a part of this place, praying in class and meeting friendly people and just calling my mom up and telling her, “To heck with Disneyland, Mom. BYU is the happiest place on Earth.”

Testing center, deprivation of a spring break, inconsistent sports teams, holier-than-thou wardies, and everything else included in this zoo, I am grateful every day that I get to be a student at Brigham Young University.