Sweet Nostalgia. . .

Don't you love it when things in your past life rear their head and make you all. . . um. . .pensive? Are you impressed with that word? It was most fitting for this blog!

This last weekend I was invited by some sweet friends of mine to see their sealing in the Manti Temple. I know that seems like a long trip from the great, white North but for those that know my love for Sanpete County, you can imagine the sheer excitement to have an excuse to see my old stomping grounds on my way to the temple. Ahh, sweet Ephraim.

I went to Snow College for my first two years of school and I'm pretty sure that I left a sizable chunk of my heart there. Maybe 25%? And that's a lot considering how far the rest of it needs to spread, right? I think so too. There are still a lot of people I plan on loving one day!!

Sidenote: For those of you vying for the other 75%, I can tell you that any sort of tie that you can make to Ephraim and/or Snow College will improve your chances greatly! Seriously, it's like I can't help myself.

Anyway, as we drove into the valley, I got really excited and really nervous all at the same time. What was this nervousness? It's not like I was going there to meet some long-lost love or something. I was just going back to Ephraim.

I realized that it could only be that my memories of that time in my life were so precious and exciting that I didn't want to see anything that would change them. I always want the scenery to be the same and I think I secretly hoped that even the faces would seem familiar. I have this image in my head of how it's supposed to forever be and any alteration of that may make me question those memories.

I think that more than anything else, I wanted so badly for it all to feel the same. When I think of my time at Snow and how crazy and fun and busy it was, I can't help but feel it again. Those years were some of the happiest times in my life and I think I'm still looking for things that make me feel that bliss that once came so easily.

Why was it so great? Let me tell you. And I'd like to apologize to Hannah for having to sit through all of these memories live as we made our way through the town. Hopefully, this will inspire some future Badger, some day. . .

The Crew - you won't find a group of more amazingly talented, beautiful and brilliant girls than this set that I met my freshman year at Snow. . . in all places but the newspaper room. We came from a variety of backgrounds and at the same time found the best common ground when writing about life. We wrote about boys, we wrote about bad manners, we even kissed a paper once to have our lips as our signatures. Without school, I would have missed out on some of the spiciest people in my life. We are still friends today and I couldn't exist without them.

Opportunities - while I was at Snow, I was able to be on the Activities Committee which after a long run of not participating in student government was a big confidence builder for me. I was in the know because I had to be and it made me feel great. I was so proud. As mentioned, I wrote for the paper in several facets and got the opportunity to be the Editor-in-Chief my second year at school which taught me about my love for writing, my ability to push through pain and stay up all night (literally) and how hard it is to actually have to fire someone. All important things that explain who I am today.

Lastly, ahhh, the KAGE. That tag line still runs through my head "You're listening to KAGJ-FM Ephraim, 89.5, the KAGE." I LOVED being a DJ. I had some very funny shows, so very funny co-hosts and some really weird assignments. That made me really discover my love for music and my love for sports as the Sports Director my sophomore year. Play-by-play? You bet I did! Where else can you do amazing things like that? One of the guys that I did play-by-play on is in the NBA now. Sweet action, Jackson. . .

The Varsity house is torn down now which makes me sad but that radio booth will live on forever as a place where my life unfolded in front of the public. I broadcast the news on 9/11 from that booth, all day. I saw my first streaker run past our window and hurt himself badly when he tripped and fell on the porch. Ah, memories.

Roomies - Snow was the first chance I had to learn to live with people other than my family and it was NOT easy most of the time but well worth it. I learned the value of tagging your leftovers in the fridge, doing the dishes anyway. . . even though they aren't yours, sharing space, sharing boys, sharing the bathroom. Basically, it was very Sesame Street. I learned to share.

I also learned that it is completely ok to be ridiculous - which I owe to my sophomore year roomies. They danced on bar stools in the living room, we listened to the conversations of the boys next door when they dropped my roommate off from a date, we took couches to the drive-in. . . and rode on them on the way home, they made quilts (I watched of course because I did NOT sign up for that class) that took over the entire apartment. It was all very girly and ridiculous. That's also where I learned to embrace the "girlyness" despite the fact that I did play-by-play on the weekends. because of them, I like to dress up and I love when my hair is curly, even though it takes extra time.

I learned a lot about love that year from my roommates and no, not the platonic kind. I shared a room with a most wonderful girl who worked and went to school and had an incredible boyfriend and she sacrificed so much sleep to keep her life in balance and give all things their proper attention, including him. I can't tell you how many times I woke up and found her sleeping, fully clothed, in the middle of her laundry on her bed because she was too tired to move it when she finally got home the night before. Love is about sacrifice. . . thanks Jenny.

Western Swing - this is the part where I learn how to step out of the box a bit and learn to love something new. Aren't these life lessons great?! I signed up to take a Western Swing class with my roommates and had the best time doing it. We line danced and did the cowboy cha-cha. We did the swing and, sigh, the two step. I knew I loved to dance before then but not how much. I LOVE to dance. Not just country dance although I think the two-step a wonderfully romantic lost art (hence the sigh). I love all dancing. I tried something new and found out that not only could I do it, I liked it. It was a great experience. If I would only pick up a paint brush. . . who knows!

Randomness - we did a LOT of weird things in Ephraim because we had no choice. We threw things off the stadium, we dropped a piano from a crane, we put my friend Vale in a fake jail cell until we raised enough money for a charity to let him out. Sometimes it's the unplanned, nonsensical things that make life joyous. I need to take more time to just go with the flow - you never know where it will lead.

Now it's safe to say that I didn't capture everything about my life in Ephraim and why it was so great. Most of those things are hidden somewhere in the back of my mind and will re-surface one day when it counts. I guess the point is that I really believe that great things/great lessons can stem out of what seems like nothing much. . . even in the middle of Sanpete County.