Saturday, December 13, 2008

Rise and Shout

As I walk around campus in my last week at BYU I suddenly am seeing everything for the first time. As excited I am to move to DC and graduate, I often feel tears coming on as I contemplate the remarkable 70's architecture that constitutes my university. As I study for the last finals I will ever take in the testing center, I feel it necessary to outline why I love BYU. So here is an ode to my alma mater.

Why I love being a Cougar

1. As soon as a leaf falls, there is member of the Grounds Crew ready and waiting to catch it up. Leaving BYU the most immaculate campus.

2. We don't believe in calling anything by its real name, instead we prefer acronyms and nicknames. And so we lovingly refer to our buildings as the Wilk, the JSB, the Swicket, the H-fac, and the Marb, among others. And although nobody remembers this building I have it on good authority that the old JFSB building (previously the Smith Family Living Center) was referred to as the Syphilis. How I wish I took class in there!

3. Bronco Mendenhall and football season. Enough said

4. As a semi-resident of the Harold B. Lee Library, my fellow studious friends and I formed the 5th Floor Family years ago. We know everyone who studies on the North side of the 5th floor and get upset when new comers think they can just take up space. There has been talk of plaque-ing the tables with our names, in our memories. I will miss the family and Harold deeply.

5. When it's warm Cecil drives around campus in a golf cart and waves to us.

6. I always feel safe. Even on Rape Hill, which I frequently trekked late at night, there are 911 alert phones placed short distances from one another. In case of an attack, just run over and push the button. I am confident that by the time someone showed up, the attacker would have just finished introducing himself and discussing his intentions. No harm done.

7. Where else can you find dear souls running around campus in socks and tivas, pulling a back-pack on rollers, and singing not-so-quietly to themselves?

8. The bells play a little diddy from Come Come Ye Saints every 15 minutes. Once a day they play a whole song, which is really impressive. And during December they play Christmas carols. It's delightful.

I could keep going, the advantages of this institution are endless. Needless to say, I love BYU.

2 comments:

Kelly said...

I LOVE it too. Sigh. How I miss Cecil and the uniquely wonderful tivo-loving soul singing student body. There's nothing quite like it.

paige said...

i'm glad you can see the good things, maybe i will when i am done with this blessed place. so glad we're blogging friends now!