It's a Great Day at BYU-Idaho

Wow. I'm beat! It's only the 3rd day of classes, and I'm already wiped out. Of course, I do feel better than I did after the first day. By the time I got home after being on campus only a few hours I felt like I hadn't slept in a week! Now I just feel like an over-worked college student who is actually getting a decent amount of sleep. (But the truth of the matter is...I'm not really that over-worked. I'm just not used to this.)


I think that I'm really going to enjoy my classes this semester. They're all looking like they're going to be really insightful. I'm going to get some good information. All of my classes this semester, except my religion class, are for my minor. It is definitely a different twist on things from what I'm used to here in my college education. Sure there are some ElEd majors, but there are a lot of Secondary Ed majors as well (which isn't entirely a bad thing, because there are quite a few guys in Secondary Ed as opposed to mostly girls in ElEd). I also think that I have a lot greater appreciation for these classes now than I would have had before I served a mission and had experiences with different cultures and people from different countries, some of whom are learning English. I think my mind is a lot more open to the things that I'm learning now.


I really love the Spirit that is present here on campus. I'd forgotten what it is like. As I was sitting in class the first day, I was so overwhelmed with the Spirit. As I thought back over the past several months, I haven't felt the Spirit that strongly since I got home. It's not for lack of trying, it's just that the environment here is so completely different! What a blessing it is for me to be here at BYU-Idaho to get the education that I'm here to get!


Also...one last piece of good news...I was trying to get into one more of the classes for my minor this semester. I e-mailed the professor and he told me that there was no way that I could add the class becuase as part of the class we tutor students from other countries, and there just weren't enough students for me to be able to be in the class as well. But, I decided that it wouldn't hurt to go the first day of class, just in case. So I went to class on Tuesday and talked to him. He told me that he wasn't sure, but that I could try to go again today becuase he'd have a better idea by then. Well, after class today he told me that he had another international student add his class, which made it possible for me to add! HOORAY! I had to hold back my tears of joy! What a great blessing it is for me!

Honestly, I don't know what I've done to deserve so many wonderful blessings. I'm not that good of a person. But I am forever indebted to my Heavenly Father for opening all of these doors in my life to experiences that I never would have had if I hadn't served a mission! What a wonderful day it is indeed here at BYU-Idaho...despite the dreary, winter-like conditions outside.