I'm A Dragon Slayer

Yes ladies and gentlemen... I have gone and graduated. Or as Martha would say... I have "slayed my dragon". And boy does it feel good- because it was a BIG dragon! Although it really doesn't feel real yet. Maybe it would feel more real if I were completely done with school forever.

ANYWAY.

Elder D. Todd Christopherson spoke at the graduation commencement- He did such a good job! I've always heard about how boring graduations are- but I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it! The boredom didn't set in until the Convocation, when everyone's names were called. But hey- it is all a part of the experience right? It's not every day that you get to graduate, so I tried to soak it in as best I could.

I'm very grateful for the chance I had to attend Brigham Young University. I realize that not everyone gets such a chance- so I feel extremely blessed. This school has amazing professors who know SO much, and they definitely challenge you until you think you can't do any more. I've had some amazing classes and have learned to be curious about what is going on around the world. Going to college shows you just how much you really don't know! There's a whole world out there ready to be discovered- and going to BYU was so amazing because I was able to learn from those who have really gone and discovered things in their respective fields. It's such a unique place where you get to feel the spirit and learn so much about the world and life in general. I'm so grateful to parents who made this college experience possible.

I am so happy I chose my major of Exercise and Wellness. When I began at BYU I really had no idea what I wanted to do. NO CLUE. I had always wanted to do dental hygiene growing up, but I let myself be scared by the hard classes that I would have to take in order to get there. Sophomore year I really started to panic. "What AM I going to study?!" Then some sort of a lightbulb went off in my head.

I CAN DO HARD THINGS

Who says I can't do anatomy, physiology, microbiology, or nutrition (all classes that were said to be BEASTLY at BYU). Who says? So I took them. I started out with nutrition and physiology, and guess what? I actually did well. So then I thought- I can do the other classes, the even HARDER classes. So I did. And I survived. And I LOVED IT! (With the exception of microbiology- I won't even to pretend to have liked that class). I loved learning about the body- how it works and functions, how it protects itself, and more importantly how WE can protect IT. Seriously- our bodies are amazing! I can't help but think of Heavenly Father when I learn all about the body and how smart he really is. Honestly, our bodies are so complicated and intricate- with different parts all working together to make everything function. Yes we get sick. Yes things go wrong. But think about how much of the time it works how it should? It's crazy. I won't ever regret choosing the major I did. It helped me learn a lot about myself, and even helped me achieve my dream of being accepted into dental hygiene school (many of the classes I had to take for my major were prerequisites for dental hygiene).

Below are several pictures from the weekend. I know, I know- you probably don't care about seeing ALL these pictures. But I can't pick and choose- and besides I really want to remember this day- This day that I worked SO HARD for. And this is for me to remember, right? Enjoy!

Going to line up!

Beautiful view

Me and my everything! He definitely helped me get through this journey.

Amidst all the craziness we ran into our friend Bob- Bridger's former mission companion! He graduated from the Masters in Accounting program- impressive!

Love my grandma! It was so nice of Grandma and Grandpa Johnson to make the trip down.

Love him! Such a great man.

It was really neat to be able to graduate with Daniel. WE DID IT DANO!

Hallelujah!

Some of the Eagle crowd randomly bumped into each other after my convocation.

We had a YUMMY YUMMY dinner at Greg and Michelle Wimmer's after graduation. Seriously- these guys are gourmet cooks! Thanks Greg and Michelle!

There you have it. Dragon slayed.