It Changed My Life
In effort to record a little more of my daily life on here I wanted to share with you guys what I’m doing this next year (besides taking a million courses and trying to graduate not too far behind Ben).
Last fall I finally took BYU’s Model United Nations course (if you go to BYU and haven’t taken this, email me, its seriously the best thing you’ll ever do and you can still sign up). It met every Tuesday night for a few hours and focused on the five skills for diplomacy: . It was fun, it played to my strengths, and I thought it would look good on a resume. I decided to apply for the winter course. The fall class is basically a preparation and an audition to be apart of the winter class which consists of the actual team which spends a week competing in NYC every April.
The winter class changed my life.
I know, that sounds dramatic, and it wasn’t a huge change, but I am different today because of that course more than any single class I’ve taken at BYU. Not only was it a chance to interact with hundreds of brilliant minds from around the world (70% of over 2000 delegates were from outside the US), it really has helped me narrow down what I want to do. It pushed my work limits. In college I can’t work my absolute hardest all of the time and as a result I usually do so none of the time. But for the five days of competition in NY, David and I went from 8 to 11 minimum. There is something so uniquely rewarding about giving something everything (and it helps when you win). I learned my own capacities as well as the singular satisfaction in hard work.
Last spring I was extended the invitation to be one of five of the forty team members asked to come back to the team. I’ll be helping teach the fall course and run things on the administrative end, and come winter I’ll be back to competing.
We had our very first class last night followed by our first TA meeting. MUN alumni feel like family. As I’ve gone to all my classes this week there has been at least one in each of them, and its a glorious reunion. I cannot wait to dive into teaching, learning, and building (whether that be building myself, others, or friendships). Just the thought of NYC in April gets me excited. When I got home I was telling people that it was the most incredible thing I’d ever done, that maybe getting married was better 😉
Here’s to finding things you love,
discovering what makes you work hard,
and wanting to make a difference.
Oh, and to friends who are simply amazing.
