The letter of the day is A

Hello, everyone. The letter of the day is A, for Awesome. As in "this blog is Awesome." Let's establish a few things... I enjoy college. I like waking up at 8:30 am. I enjoy writing my schedule for the day down in my little planner I bought with my own money. I threw away the receipt, and it felt good. I like the little paper lanterns hanging above my desk, and I like my roommate Ashley. I like setting appointments and I like eating at the Cougar Eat if I don't have time to go back home. I like saying no and I like going outside to sit in the sun because our air conditioner is rather chilly. I do not like the spinning feeling I get when I try to match up all 7 syllabi. Oh well. I have no one to please but myself. That makes up for it.

The day began with regional Stake Conference. There were half a million LDS people at the Mariott Center this morning to hear from Elder Snow, Elder Holland, Sister Beck, and President Packer. 'Twas delightful, I must say, to hear so many messages addressed directly to me. President Packer is a very funny man. Occasionally he would just start cracking up during his story about a young Elder Bednar. You know, it's comforting to see that General Authorities have a sense of humor. When you only see them twice a year, they don't have a lot of time for jokes. BYU allows them to relax and laugh a bit.

This evening, we heard from Elder Richard G. Scott at our CES Young Adult fireside. I'm a young adult, so I went to the fireside. It's fascinating the way things work out in life. At age 15, you are so close to being able to date that it's embarrassing to admit your age, because adults always say something stupid like, "Wow, almost old enough to date, huh? Are you just SO excited?" Well, I was, until you killed it with your dumb question. When you turn 16, dating becomes legal, but it's still sort of taboo because "you cannot get serious in any way shape or form", so honestly I didn't see a reason to get very involved with the whole shebang at that point. You turn 17, and prepare to finish High School. Many of your lifelong friends prepare for missions. At this point, you realize it was a pretty good idea not to get serious, because a long-distance relationship at college is like going on a diet... at Krispy Kreme. You turn 18, and now the same adults ask you more of their questions: "You're going to college? Aren't you just SO excited?" Uh. Huh. Now you move in, drudge through the shock, and buy the rest of your textbooks that weren't on the syllabus but are "required" for the one essay at the end of the year. Cool beans. And what do you know? The adults are now your friends. They ask a new question: "Are you engaged yet?" ...I'm sorry? But you just said (seriously, a second ago) "DO NOT GET SERIOUS IN DATING UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCE BECAUSE YOU WILL BE CURSED WITH LICE AND FROGS AND FLAT TIRES IF YOU DO." There is no transition. Don't date turns instantly into Get married. Now. Have you ever seen a train running at full speed try to slow down before hitting a wall 100 feet in front of it? I am in college, and there are bricks scattered everywhere. You can ignore it when the question comes from obnoxious people in other wards who have a friend who knew somebody whose cousin went to BYU one time and got engaged. You cannot ignore it when Elder Richard G. Scott tells you to buckle down and DATE. So... Who's up for ice cream tomorrow night?