Why I Chose BYU-Idaho

Lately, I have been thinking a lot about the differences between BYU Provo and BYU-Idaho (not to say BYU-Hawaii isn't just as awesome, I just never had any interest in going there at all so for the sake of this blog post, let's focus on Provo and Idaho). Growing up, I never thought much about going off to college. There are some kids who know where they want to go since before the womb. I was never really dressed up in memorabilia as a baby or grew up knowing a specific college's fight song or anything close to that. Not that there is any problem with people who grew up with that; sometimes I wish I did, but I'm glad where I ended up.

In high school, I realized "Oh, I guess I should figure out what I'm going to do after high school..." because that's what everyone else was doing. Everyone seemed to know exactly what they wanted, what they wanted to do, where they wanted to go. Then there was me, kind of stuck with not too many options. I guess deep down, I always assumed I would go to a BYU school because of how cheap it is and it would be such a NEW experience to be surrounded by Mormons instead of how I grew up: in the east with mostly all nonmembers.

At this point, it was just between BYU Provo and BYU-Idaho. I had a slew of friends who had gone to both schools and I could tell they were both different! I pretty much knew about 100% that I wouldn't get into BYU Provo - my grades and ACT score were NOT up to par for the school. I did decently well in high school, but I never pushed my potential like other kids did. I wanted to have fun and experience high school to its fullest, not stay home worrying about homework. So I didn't get straight A's in high school. Knowing this, I was never expecting to get into BYU Provo.

I never planned on even trying to get into BYU Provo. After I realized I didn't have the grades that were required, I didn't want to even try. I was just focusing on BYU-Idaho. I had such a good feeling about the school (despite the weird location) that I was just putting my trust in fate. It was cheap, a lot of my good friends were there/going there, and it was the perfect size!

But then, right around the time I was applying for BYU-Idaho, I was talking to some of my friends that went to BYU Provo. They talked up the school (as one hopefully does for their college) and pointed out the good aspects of it: I knew a lot more people there, I had a possible in for a job there, and I had a sibling at the school! I got to thinking that maybe, just maybe I could get in...despite the fact that I knew deep down that I was never meant to go there.

I applied to both! It wasn't hard, just another $35 to put the same info and send it to a different school. Then came the waiting...it was almost unbearable. Just waiting to see if you got accepted or rejected is literally one of the worst feelings! You know you shouldn't let yourself get caught up in it because then if you get rejected, it will only hurt more. But you do it anyway because it's college, you know?

Then the day came - I got into Idaho! I was so happy because this is the college I really wanted to go to!! But everyone else telling me how awesome it would be to go to Provo got me thinking that maybe I wanted to go there...until I got rejected. I cried for hours! People brought me ice cream and cards. Why was I so upset if I didn't even want to go to that school? Because rejection is probably the general public's worst fear. I lied before, getting rejected in any way, shape, or form when it's such a major stepping stone in your life is one of the worst feelings.

Eventually, the sting of rejection became less so. I realized how lucky I was to be going to college anywhere, especially BYU-Idaho. People pitied me, saying how awesome it was that I was "at least" going to BYU-Idaho. But I didn't pity myself, I was excited. If I had gotten into Provo, I would have most likely decided on going there. I always knew that I would end up in Idaho and getting rejected from Provo was just the world's way of making sure I didn't get caught up in something and make a decision that I would regret later.

That's the thing about my story though. Sure, I applied to BYU Provo, got rejected, and ended up going to BYU-Idaho. That's one of the cliches people believe about BYU-Idaho, that's it is just BYU Provo's rejection pool. But it is the furthest thing from it. I actually know a lot of people that did not even apply to Provo because they knew they wanted to go to Idaho.

 I am actually grateful that I ended up applying to (and then getting rejected from) BYU Provo. I never have to wonder, "Would I have gotten in there if I had applied?" because now I know. I know that I'm meant to go to BYU-Idaho. I'm proud! That school is AMAZING. The campus emanates such a feeling of fun, love, and peace. That school is where I discovered my true passion. It has helped me make so many memories already with so many amazing people and I'm not even halfway done.

So if you ever hear someone talking about how BYU-Idaho is just where people who got rejected from BYU Provo go, tell them they are mistaken. Sure, we won't deny that those people exist. But they come to Idaho and fall in love with the school and then are so happy they are there, it doesn't matter! BYU-IDAHO RULES. Aw yeah.


***Also, here's a shameless plug of a video I made...but don't fret, it goes along with the theme of the blog***

check out "Stuff BYU-I Students Say" here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tge00i_CKP8

The Truth About Boys & Girls

Here's the thing about boys and girls - they're both crazy in their own way. Recently, I've learned that we all see things differently. Most importantly, boys see things differently than girls and vice versa.  So what makes us so different?

Boys: they see things as direct. They don't really see the subtle hints or relational aspects of things. I have known pretty much every male stereotype and it doesn't really change at all. This is why a lot of girls call boys "dumb". For example, if a boy and a girl go out as friends and the guy buys the food, the guy might just see it as him being nice and a good friend. The girl might see it as "oh my gosh, he's buying my food?? what does this mean?! " Or another example is when a girl likes the guy and everyone and their brother can tell EXCEPT for the guy. Why? Because that guy doesn't really get the subtle hints that the girl drops. He might not be interested in her as more than a friend or even think she's interested in him like that.

Girls: we are the opposite. While a boy might see just what something is, girls see EVERYTHING else on the planet. We over think and over analyze everything! A lot of girls do this because they're insecure of themselves, even if who they are is so amazing! This is why boys call us "crazy". We're not crazy! Girls get emotional (both positively and negatively) all of the time. If you think you get the short end of the stick, try living with 5 other girls your own age. (p.s. - I love my roommates! But we all do get crazy, myself included hahaha) We just feel things way differently than guys do. For example, say a guy texts the girl first. Sure, it MIGHT mean that he is interested in the girl as more than a friend. But if the girl is using that one time he texted her first as the basis of their entire nonexistent relationship, she might need to calm it down.

So the next time you call a boy dumb or a girl crazy, try to realize that it's a lot more than that! We don't see things the same.

**Sometimes, there are just some dumb guys and crazy girls. I can't really explain what their problem is....but overall, there's a general explanation behind everyone's behavior.**

How I Became Confident

The other day, I told my friend that I used to be shy and she was dumbfounded. "You, shy? You're joking right?" No, definitely not joking. A lot of people have told me that they think that I am a confident person. I'm glad that they see me as a confident person because it seriously took a lot to be where I am today!

Everyone has issues in their life that affects their self-esteem. Mine definitely had a huge impact on me from around age 11 and I became shy and afraid of what other people might think of me if they knew who I really was. At such a young age, it's hard to think anything else.

I got to about 14 and I was still pretty shy, didn't really talk out loud to other people much, and then I became friends with some of the louder girls at church. They were so much fun! I had wanted to be friends with them for so long because I just thought they were the coolest people ever. Without them knowing it, they influenced me so much and helped to break me out of that shell that I had forced my bubbly personality into.

Slowly but surely, by age 17, I finally realized that I didn't even care that much anymore. I'd love to say that I didn't care at all, but anyone who says that is definitely lying. I pretty much tripled the amount of friends I had just because I felt better about who I was as a person. The last three years of high school were amazing but I still had so much to do to fully grow into the confident person I am today.

First year of college happened. 2000 miles away from home, so many new people, completely new terrain and humor and everything that I had grown comfortable with. I became that shy person again for the first 2 months of college and I hated it! I felt like I was back in middle school somewhat. I was afraid to talk to people or make a fool of myself.

Then finally, I met some people who I became really great friends with and I broke out of my shell again. Why was I so afraid to talk to other people? Why was it a big deal? The answer is that it wasn't a big deal. I let my self-esteem get the best of me and make me think that I was too awkward or too loud to make friends and have fun.

That doesn't even make sense! Half of my humor is how awkward I am and the other half is how loud I am! When I finally realized that, I just wanted to have fun and make a bunch of friends. So now, in my second year of college I can finally say that I am happy with who I am. I love my personality, I love that I am loud, and I love that I can make people laugh.

Because of all of this, I am proud to have had a long journey to get to where I am. I'm comfortable in who I am, what I do, and how I act. And of course there will always be someone who doesn't like you but if they don't like you, then who cares? Because I sure don't.

So here's my last piece of advice to everyone: confidence isn't being loud or funny; confidence is being true to who you are and realizing that the only way to be confident is to be happy.

:)

The Snooze Button Syndrome

Lately, I've noticed how much I actually hit the snooze button when trying to wake up. When did the snooze button become such a thing? I literally set my alarm clock earlier than I want to wake up just so I can snooze it for like 30 minutes. Does hitting the snooze button actually do anything?

I feel like the snooze button is just dumb (in my opinion) because I constantly snooze and sometimes I snooze so many times, it passes the time I actually needed to get up. I almost wish the snooze button was like a mother. 

"Mommmmmm, five more minutes"

"No, you're getting up right now!"

Because usually, that made me get up. Or it involved me getting my blanket ripped off of me so then I basically suffered hypothermia and had to wake up. 

Who in the world decided that we needed to get just 10 more minutes of sleep? Those 10 minutes will literally pretty much do nothing for you. And for a lot of that 10 minutes, you're trying to force your body to go back to sleep. It's just a never ending circle of dumb. 

Now obviously, I like my snooze button. It's nice and worn down by now. But I only like it because it's pretty much just an extension of my laziness. It does not increase my productivity by any means - it most likely hinders my productivity actually. And I think this is where procrastination starts early. We know we are supposed to do something, but we keep putting off the inevitable until the last minute and then we're rushed and stressed because why didn't we just do it before now?!

I'm not saying there aren't some weirdos out there (just kidding....but not really) who practically JUMP out of bed in the morning as soon as their alarms go off and they probably don't even know where their snooze button is on their alarm. I know I'm pretty much the polar opposite of that. I like my sleep, my warm bed likes me, and so the cycle continues. But I just WISH that I was one of those weirdos who can just jump out of bed in the morning and start doing whatever I need to. 

I guess I'm just curious when the snooze button became a thing! If the snooze button had never been invented, I wonder if how we wake up would be vastly different today. We wouldn't get accustomed to the obnoxious sound our alarms make and would wake up fully the first time it went off. 

I'm trying hard to try and rewire my brain to realize how annoying that beeping my alarm is so that it will get so annoyed the first time, it won't want to go back to sleep and I can actually get stuff done. I'm wishing myself all the luck in the world because I'm at college and I'm always tired....and let's be honest, MOSTLY BECAUSE I'M AMY SCHNECK. :)

The Typical "Prince Charming and Damsel in Distress" Scenario

So I randomly thought about this topic tonight of how guys are always supposed to make the first move on girls. I guess I don't really agree with this idea. I've never been one to sit around and hopelessly wait for some "Prince Charming" because I don't like feeling like I have to rely on someone else to be happy.** I'm a pretty independent girl (at least compared to some of the girls I've met) so I've never felt like I need to have someone right here, right now put the moves on me and make me feel special. I encountered a girl out at school say, "Never be the girl who asks the guy out or talks to him first, it makes you look bad." And in my head I was seriously basically just like, "Uhh what! Why would that make you look so bad?"

I guess I understand where girls think that if they were the one that started the conversation or asked him out that it will make them look "desperate" or something along those lines. But I think that a girl who can do those things has, for lack of a better term, some serious balls! A girl who isn't just waiting around, dropping really not so subtle hints that they like the guy. I guess you could classify them as a type of "damsel in distress", the distress being that the so-called "Prince" is being an idiot.

It always confused me when someone tells me that they like someone but they haven't really tried too hard to actually do something about it. I don't know, I've actually put myself out there before on different occasions just to see what happens and yeah, it sucks to not have what you want to happen actually happen. But I heard this awesome quote the other day, "If you never ask, the answer will always be no." That is so accurate! If you never put yourself out there, you'll always wonder! Wouldn't you rather be the person to just cut the crap and say, "hey, so here's what's up: I like you"?! I would rather be that person than the person who was too scared of rejection to actually put thoughts into actions.

A lot of girls I knew in high school never wanted to be the ones to ask guys to dances and stuff like that, which I can appreciate for sure! Of course it is always nice to have someone ask you and want to go with you. But if it's been like weeks and still no one's asked you to go, wouldn't you just rather man up, rub some dirt on it, and ask someone? It just boggles my mind when someone is like, "I'm not going to (insert event here) because I don't have a date." Well, you could have a date. Just sayin'.

I was never really afraid of asking a guy friend out to a dance. Of course, let's definitely emphasize the FRIEND part. But being Mormon in a mostly non-Mormon high school really doesn't give me many decent options for a non-friend date. But I made due and I honestly can say that I had some of my best high school memories at my school dances because I had made the decision to ask an awesome guy to come with me!

So my final advice for girls is this: You'll never know until you try and if you never ask, the answer will always be no. Don't be afraid to just go for it! You seriously will never know what can happen until you do :)

And for guys: Don't be freaked out if the girl makes the first move. Obviously, if she makes the first move, then she freaking LIKES YOU. Don't confuse it with anything else. If she makes an effort to talk to you and/or hang out with you, then she likes you. And you should be flattered! (If you're interested in them back that is. If not, eh. hahahaha just kidding. Don't lead them on, it's not cool.)

Okay, I think I got most of my feelings about this topic out. Good day, sir. I SAID GOOD DAY. <3

**Of course I'm ultimately looking for someone to be happy with, but having them in my life right at this moment does not determine if I'm happy or not.


NOTE: I'm not saying even in the slightest that guys shouldn't be making the first move. But girls, if the guy is being stupid, then seriously just cowboy (cowgirl?) up and do it yourself. Don't just sit idly by and wonder because you're wasting your own time. Okay, now I'm really done.