The Place Where Happiness Began

 

In April I realized that we had a voucher for a one-way plane ticket that had to be used by the third week in August.

I had already bought Russ’s ticket to Utah this summer.

Boo.  And Hooray!!!

In that moment I knew what I would do—take myself to BYU in August for a couple of days of Education Week.  It was wonderful.  The classes were amazing, I loved hanging out with my sister and getting to see family. 

And I LOVE being at BYU.

I realized a couple of years ago that being on the BYU campus just makes me happy.  I tried to figure out why, and then I decided--

BYU is the place where happiness began.

 

I don’t remember much of my childhood, but I do remember that I was not a particularly happy teenager.  I was a highly stressed perfectionist, not socially graceful, one of only a few LDS kids in my high school.  While there were good moments in my teenage life it is definitely not a time I would ever want to relive.

 

Contrast that with BYU.  I still had to deal with the issues of perfectionism and on top of that get good enough grades to keep my scholarship.  But it was soothing to my soul to be suddenly surrounded by people who believed what I did—people who could have a good time without compromising their standards and teachers who taught with the spirit.   It was like heaven on earth.  (Except for that one American Heritage teacher…but that is neither nor there.)

Then I met Russ.  And the rest is history…happy, happy history complete with ping pong games, movies, watching Brigham do the funky chicken, terrible first kisses,  talking late at night, marriage,  and eventually even graduating.  Having Russ in my life made me so much happier, and that was just the beginning of what has been an incredibly happy life together.   I think it’s those feelings I remember when I walk around the campus now. 

THIS is where my happiness began…

(Pictures from our family’s day at BYU this summer.)