By Amelia Nielson-Stowell
For years, I always thought the Real World was what happened after college. After graduation, I would get my Real Job, live in a Real House, and start my Real Life. The days of my over-worked Daily Universe job, my small, over-priced apartment and the stress, school filled days would be replaced with a big, flashy newspaper job, a home with a white picket fence and an easygoing lifestyle.
It was truly the best four years of my life (or for some students, five or six), and I never realized the Real World was happening all around me. And I missed a lot of it because I was in such a hurry to move on.
It took my entire college career, but I finally realize the Real World is what?s happening now. It?s what happened the last four years of my life (cue cheesy graduation music). It?s what started when I left home a week after high school graduation, packed up my life and my dad drive me from Glendora, Calif., to Provo, Utah. It?s what happened at The Daily Universe, in countless apartments and roommates and through too many credits. And it will continue as I transition to a new job, new apartment and a life that won?t be bogged down with school, but highlighted with memories.
And as I leave BYU, I want to leave the students with a list that I hope will shape their Real World. This is my ?Top 10? list of things I wish I did at BYU and I hope everyone can do at least once before they graduate:
No. 10: Wrote a letter to the editor
Although writing for The Daily Universe makes staff exempt from doing this, the letters to the editor are one of the most popular sections in the newspaper. Letters are fun to write and widely read. My freshman and sophomore year, I could have dominated the page with plenty of ?shocked and appalled letters.? Voicing an opinion through the Issues and Ideas section is a fun way for any student to speak their mind.
No. 9: Painted my face for a football game.
I always thought this was tacky and probably not the most cosmetically safe thing I could have done for my skin. But school pride can make or break your experience at a football game! And hey, at least I might have been on ESPN.
No. 8: Actually attended a full football game
The 2001 BYU touchdown where the Cougars beat University of Utah? That touchdown happened in the last couple minutes of the game. And just like every other football game I?ve ever been too, I took off early. I wish ? just once ? I stayed until the end and supported the team.
No. 7: Studied on the grass
My traditional fifth-floor cubicle seat in the library was hardly beautiful and never provided me with good sunshine. While focusing might not have been that easy, at least the view would have been better.
No. 6: Ate more Creamery ice cream
Y Sparkle? Bishops Bash? Lavell?s Signature? Come on, can you get any more BYUesque than that? The Creamery is THE place where my parents always want to go to when they visit BYU ? now I know why. The traditional store brings back memories of their favorite days at the Y.
No. 5: Registered ? and passed ? a cooking class
Yes, I am leaving BYU as a LDS woman who burns toast, can?t make powder lemonade taste normal and is still afraid to touch meat. Cooking would have definitely been a useful skill, since there are not as many vending machines at my new job.
No. 4: Went to more MOA exhibits
We have a museum, with renowned exhibits, on our campus. How cool is that? When I was young, I remember coming to BYU?s Museum of Art on a family reunion to see the Dead Sea scrolls. The museum always has large exhibits, which are breathtaking to see. And best part ? most of the exhibits are free!
No. 3: Studied abroad
I got a slight taste of a study abroad program during the summer before my senior year when I went to Germany on a journalism internship for a few weeks. I became obsessed with the new culture and wish I spent a semester abroad ? anywhere ? before graduation.
No. 2: Sent my teachers thank you notes
I am so lucky that I could be in a major where my career and classes work hand-in-hand. The professors I have had at BYU and especially in the Communications Department have been amazing mentors, examples and friends. They nominated me for awards, recommended me for internships and were instrumental in shaping my future journalism career. A much needed thank you note is always a nice gesture to show a professor how much they influenced your life.
No. 1: Attended more Devotionals/Forums
Sadly, it took me until the last official Devotional to realize the few I went to in my college career were worth the extra 50 minutes of my Tuesday. I used the ?free hour? to finish projects, write papers or go home and sleep. But the Devotionals and Forums were always an interesting and worthwhile part of my week and events I wish I made a habit of attending.