looking back

this week, as i boarded the train for my last final, i thought back to the beginning of college six years ago. i remembered moving in to my first apartment, my mom and i sobbing when she drove away, leaving me alone. i remembered sharing a room with a stranger for the first time (sounds skankier than it really was) and how i couldn't remember which roommate was "melissa" and which was "alyssa" for like three weeks. it was so bittersweet to sit on that train and flash through all of my experiences. i did some digging through my old myspace account and found a few pictures. warning, it's about to get nostalgic up in here.

 can't find a picture with all 6 of us, but here are my SUU 

gymnast roommies and nikki, the babe in the middle. 

we lived in eccles c 305. there was an elevator in our building. 

um, i used to fart in it almost every time right before i got out. 

snigger.

 my boyfriend alex, who drove down many a weekend to see me. 

 linds and i at albertsons, with the boys who lived across the hall from us. 

just sharing a pair of sweats. 

we practically lived at the boys apartment,

 eating frozen pizza and brownies all. the. time.

the first week of school, headed to a luau.

nikki was a college socialite who always 

tried to get me to go out with her.

yep, i dated the one with the tongue sticking out. 

for multiple years. 

(promise i'll tell that story someday. when i'm not so angry.) 

my murray friends who always came down to try to get with my roommates. 

oh we always stayed up so late! 

i remember one night, melissa, one of the gymnasts, came home super drunk

and we convinced her to do back handsprings all the way down the hall. 

headed out to go boating in st. george with our boys across the hall.

yeah, i hardly wore any clothes back then. 

my second year at SUU, with mikelle late one night. always up so late. 

that was the year alex left on his mission and i was so lonely and depressed. 

i would not go back to that year. 

military ball with my friend rory.

one of our many hiking trips to zion nat park. 

the only thing that made that year bearable, my best friend morgan moving down to cedar city. 

headed out to a friend's ballroom dance recital. 

our roommates from korea. it was my first experience living with someone from another country

and i loved it. they always fed us delicious food and taught us new words. 

ok, i have hundreds of pictures from hawaii i could put up. 

moving to hawaii was in my life's top three best decisions. 

the year i spent there changed me and taught me so much. 

to love myself, to forgive myself, to trust others again,

friendship, loyalty, love, romance, oh the list goes on and on. 

hawaii was where my healing process began. 

it would never have happened without the amazing people i met. 

and i'm going to start crying here. 

 at the beach with my besties. oh i miss these girls! 

choir concert. being in the university choir was so wonderful! 

choir party at the beach. 

so at BYUH, you aren't supposed to wear bikinis. 

i obviously didn't follow that rule, but for school functions, 

i had to have a "modest" suit. 

so i bought a swimming suit that looked like lingerie.

such a rebel back then. 

also, i was thirty five pounds heavier then. 

i dated a zillion boys. 

fell in love a few times. 

kissed a lot of dudes.

at the airport after christmas, heading back. 

my mom and i always cried. 

at the beach, like always.

my gpa went from a 4.0 to a 2.8.

in one semester. 

first real beach trip with erika dick.

the day i met alyssa herzinger. 

we had no idea. :) 

the four of us were inseparable.

for the first time in my life, i had a group of girlfriends. 

i told you i didn't used to wear clothes. 

seriously, no decency. :) 

the five of us in our laie house, winter semester. 

the sea sider, where we had disgusting lunches every day. 

north shore surf competitions, day after thanksgiving. 

the day i got swallowed by a wave in front of thousands of people

and the loudspeaker announced, "stay off the beach"

and my phone was destroyed. 

waiting at the bus stop. we took the bus everywhere.

one time, a guy asked erika and i if we were a couple.

that's how close we were, strangers thought we were in love. :) 

 one of the most perfect days. 

the gang of us after hiking that "rock" behind us. 

don't worry, it wasn't all beach. 

here we are at the school newspaper, 

workin' away. 

i think i've reached the limit of post space. U of U to follow in next post.