in my life, i've loved them all.

when i was a highschooler, i was a major choir nerd. i ate my lunch in the choir room every single day with my fellow choirfriends, became a TA for my choir director senior year, and spent hours practicing the songs we were learning in my spare time.

even though it was at times a trying and frustrating time in my life,

i loved it all.

i loved singing the national anthem with my friends at basketball games,

travelling to different schools all over the pacific northwest [and even the gigantor mall in edmonton, alberta, canada],

accompanying the jazz choir,

participating in musicals,

and, most of all, just singing and expressing myself through music each day.

my choir teacher, mrs. fennessey [or "fenn" as we liked to call her], had this tradition where the junior and senior choir members sang a song together for graduation each year. when i was a junior, i got to perform "in my life" by the beatles with some of my closest friends. i remember feeling so sad that high school was almost over [i LOVED high school] and scared that soon i'd be living on my own.

i had so many fears and insecurities about the future and, as crazy as it sounds, i just couldn't fathom ever being as happy as i had been in high school.

almost seven years after that experience, i saw a beatles tribute band perform on campus with my friend stilts.

it. was. awesome.

it was my very first tribute band experience and these guys were truly incredible.

they sounded exactly like john, george, ringo, and paul and even kind of resembled them from far away.

me and ryan danced the night away, laughed at the rapport between the band members, and marveled at how accurate they sounded.

then, they started playing that song.

and there i was, twenty-four years old, about to graduate again [this time from a university], feeling the same feelings i felt seven years before.

waves of emotion washed over me and it took all the energy within me to keep those tears from rushing down my cheeks.

i took a mental trip through the past seven years and i realized something interesting...

i didn't remember the bad times.

the photos i saw in my mental photo album were photos of laughter, joy, fun, and enlightenment.

even though going to byu-idaho has been the most trying and frustrating time of my life, much like those choir days of yore, it has also been the most wonderful time of my life [thus far].

all the anger and annoyances i've felt in my time here in rexburg simply don't measure up to all the happiness and joy i've felt. i've learned so much about myself, my beliefs, and what i'm truly passionate about.

and, in the end, i wouldn't trade those lessons i've learned for anything.

when it's all over, as the beatles say, i know i'll often stop and think about the times i've had up here.

and it helps to know that i will look back on those times with a smile, not a grimace.