What I will miss most about college is...

The last 8 years of my life I have been working towards obtaining my bachelors degree. Mind you, 2 of those years count for my mission. Nevertheless, it has been a long road. Come this Friday, the 2nd of May, I will officially have my bachelors degree in Consumer and Community Studies.

What I will miss most about my college experience is not the hours of studying or sleepless nights of writing papers, but the extracurricular activities. I was fortunate enough to spend 3 years in the Encore Show Choir, 2 years in the University Symphony and 3 years in the University of Utah Singers (For all you math majors who are going nuts cause my math doesn't add up, the group time periods do overlap).

With Encore I was able to travel to Denver, New York, Washington D.C. and Jackson Hole. I loved performing with this group. We spent hours each week putting together musical/dance collaborations to perform for LDS families all over the United States. Not only did I enjoy it, but I made lifelong friends in the process. The picture to the left is my friend Jennie Clark Hansen and I during the Les Miserables set.

University Symphony was just a way for me to continue playing the cello as my interest switched to voice. It is the night symphony at the University of Utah, which is mostly comprised of non-music majors. However, another wonderful experience. CELLO POWER!!

The University of Utah Singers was by far my favorite of the three groups. The past two summers I was able to perform throughout England, France and Spain with this choir. Along with that, I have been able to perform 5 major choral works, including, Mozart's Requiem, Durufle's Requiem, St. Matthew Passion by J.S. Bach, Belshazzar's Feast by William Walton, and Monteverdi's "Vespers". Not only did we learn those choral works, but memorized ~200 songs along the way. It is incredible to contemplate. I have never sung in a choir where the sound was so pristine and rich. I have learned so much musically as a member of the U of U Singers.

Last night was the last concert that I will perform with the U of U Singers. It was a bitter sweet experience for me. Of course I want to graduate and move on, but a part of me wants to keep singing with the Singers. I sometimes wish time would stop and allow me to keep singing with the choir. I will have to find something to fill my musical void. Perhaps a MoTab audition will be inevitable in the future.

I am excited for what the future holds, but cannot help but smile when I think of all the good times college has provided.

Kites

The wind today was crazy, so after a million rounds of "Let's Go Fly a Kite" from Spencer, we decided to do just that. We each picked out a kite at Shop-Ko. Spence went for the Eagle kite and I got the Delta Flyer.
Once we got them up, man did they soar! We had a couple of nose-dives, but all in all, a very sucessful day of kite flying!

Apartments

We have to move out of the university apartments due to the lack of tutelage we will be receiving after May, so Spence and I just spent all afternoon apartment hunting. This afternoon really opened my eyes to the many different ways there are to live. Some of the apartments we looked at were total dumps where the current tenants didn't bother to pick things up before we came to look. Other places were totally remodeled, brand new appliances, and spotless. It is amazing the many types of apartments there are out there...many are very very scary, but we are hoping to find that diamond in the rough. But for now, I'm sick of looking. I told Spence I'm not looking at another apartment until I find an ad that says "Huge 2br apartment, newly remodeled, all new appliances, AC, Dishwasher, W/D Hookups, high ceilings, huge bedrooms, lots of windows, large balcony with killer view of the city, safe neighborhood, friendly neighbors, off-street covered parking, internet/full cable package, all utilities included." Let me know if you find it.

A Job!

I'm officially a grown up! I found a full-time job! I had been looking for a post-graduation job doing something where I could use my degree. I heard alot of good things about ARUP from friends, so I applied. I first had a phone interview, then a couple of face-to-face interviews, and I was offered two positions there! I decided to take the position in the Cellular and Innate Immunology lab as a technologist. I liked the general feel of the Immunology lab and the work they do sounds very interesting! I don't officially start until May 12th, but I will start orientation/training before then. Once I get trained, I will be working the "7on/7off" schedule, meaning I will work every other week for 7 days straight. Since Spence and I are such big travelers, we decided this would be an awesome way to work full time, and still get plenty of time off for vacations! They also have some rocking benefits and my pay will be more than 150% what I'm making now! I guess going to college really does pay off. PS only 26 days left til graduation.