LAST DAY OF SCHOOL-EVE!!

Remember as a kid when the last day of school was the BEST day of the whole year?! You couldn't sleep the night before and you woke up early and got all ready. You would get to school before the bell so that you could waste the day watching movies, signing yearbooks, eating treats and doing various other useless activities with all your friends. Then, when school ended early you would walk home and lie on the couch. Maybe you'd put in a movie, or re-read your yearbook. Chances are you were bored by the end of the day. But it was the best!

In college the last day of school marks the beginning of a long and dark road of studying. One thing stands between you and that carefree feeling of yesteryear. Finals.

Fortunately for me, I only have two major finals to study for. They'll take a decent amount of studying, but with McKay in Boston this week (cheering his mom on at the Boston Marathon and visiting his brother at HBS) I'll have loads of time to hit the books.

Who knows, maybe I'll take my finals on the first possible day! I did that winter semester of my Freshman year. I was DONE by 8 pm the first night of finals. It was awesome. I stopped by the BYU creamery on my way to my best friends apartment. I picked up snacks and was ready to party. The only problem was . . . no one else was ready to party. Oh well. It was still a good feeling and a good memory!

As I sit here the night before my last day of school - which will involve BYU Singers at 12:30 and the Bible as Literature at 5 pm - I have fond memories of college life.

I've enjoyed five years in some of the best choirs around. I had a chance to sing with Women's Chorus (as a freshman), Concert Choir (sophomore and junior) and BYU Singers (senior and super-senior).

I went on tour to the UK. I met Eric Whitacre. I recorded a CD.

Love these girls!

Love Blarney Castle

Love the bus . . .

not sure about my face . . . (Eric and me!)

Coming soon . . . We Sing of Christ, Vol. 2

I took jazz piano lessons. I took classical piano lessons. I played percussion in the symphony for a semester. I performed a recital.

I served a mini-mission in the Philippines. It changed my life.

Kids we met.

Families we taught.

Streets we walked.

Views we saw.

People we loved.

I lived on campus. I lived in a house with 12 girls. I lived in an apartment with a slanty sidewalk. I dated and fell in love. I got married. We lived in a basement apartment. We bought a house.

I made life-long friends. I learned hard lessons. I slept through a final my first semester. I stayed up late writing papers . . . I stayed up late having girl talk.

I received an ORCA grant. I was a TA. I submitted a proposal to create my own major (it was rejected!).

I think my college experience was exactly what it was supposed to be. I worked hard, and I played hard. And with all these good memories melting together to create a warm glow in my brain, I'm ready to move on! I'm excited to leave papers, assignments, grades and tests behind. Ready to move on to a new chapter of life.