In the right place

So for my feature writing class we had to write our own obituaries. Talk about morbid and weird. We all got to read/hear about each other's since there's only 7 of us in the class too. We spent the whole hour and 15 minutes talking about why we made the choices we did in including certain things. I know most of the people in that class at least semi-well so hearing what they included made a lot of sense. We all have very distinctive writing styles but actually made a lot of similar decisions. A class like today's makes me feel fantastic about the major I chose.

I wish I could write more but it's technically already past 12, aka it's already Thursday. I started this post early in the evening but left to play Rock Band w/ a bunch of boys I know. It was a quality decision. It's nights like tonight, at the very beginning of the semester, that make me so happy to be where I am. I'm surprisingly good at playing bass in Rock Band. On the medium skill level too! Not long ago I could barely play that game on easy.

Last YouTube video I watched: A Far Shore

This is me

Since I got my orange laptop cover at Christmas, it's been my goal to make it look as me as possible. Thus far I seem to be succeeding.

As if a ridiculously orange cover wasn't me enough . . . It's a somewhat eclectic mix, one that I love quite a bit. Whenever I get new stickers, as I did yesterday, I get more excited than I probably should. Yesterday's additions include Rodeo Arcade & Maker.

By far the all-time favorite sticker though is my media pass from the Real Salt Lake home opener earlier this year. One other person on campus has one of those; her name is Taylor and we're journalism BFFs so we covered the game together. The day we went to that game was the day I finally knew without a shadow of a doubt that I wanted to write sports.

Every sticker on here means something to me and represents a little of who I am. Well, except for the random green one. I don't know where I found it even but I thought it looked cool. It's by no means a comprehensive representation of who I am but I like to think people can look at it and learn at least a little bit about my personality. Hopefully they wouldn't think that's all I am, though. When people fail to imagine each other complexly we get into all kinds of trouble.

As I mentioned yesterday I did indeed spend my evening reading The Fault In Our Stars. I read it all. Cover to cover. It was wonderful. I forgot how intense and thought-provoking it was. Though I knew exactly what was going to happen, some of it felt as raw and intriguing as the first time I read it back in January. My favorite part of reading again was probably annotating. I have this weird aversion to writing in books so I use Post-It notes instead. It was probably more brilliant this time around than it was before.

It probably makes things a little inconvenient for others if they borrow my books but such is life.

Last YouTube video I watched: On Leaving [I strongly encourage you watch this video. It's especially worth your time]

Daily Universe no more

Today in the newsroom we had a little finale celebration. This happens every semester but this year's was different because today is the last day the Daily Universe will ever be, well, daily. The paper is going all-digital starting spring semester, which is pretty crazy to think about, especially for people like me who sure do love having a crossword puzzle to do. (Luckily for me the Brimhall still has plenty of New York Times every day.)

It was a great little celebration. Desk editors gave out awards. Kaye, one of the advisers, who for lack of a better term really is the heart of the newsroom, gave wonderful thanks for all the hard work that has been done this semester and over the years in the newsroom. Rich, the other adviser, said absolutely nothing but that was to be expected; I think we all would have been very surprised had he taken the time to say something. We all know how Rich feels about things without him giving a little speech. Both of them have ended semesters plenty of times before, but of course today was different because there will no longer be a daily paper. They'll be moving on in their lives and that's hard/weird to think about. I was only in the newsroom for a semester but the thought of going back without Kaye and Rich being there is hard to comprehend. To me there isn't a newsroom without them.

Perhaps the most touching part of the day was when the A&E desk editor, the inimitable Court, played guitar and sang a little song. I hung out in the "sports corner" of the newsroom and didn't have too much interaction with Court throughout the semester, but he was always good for a laugh and definitely kept the newsroom lively, so him singing was pretty much perfect.

This semester has been difficult and long but wonderful and far too quick at the same time. I spent hours and hours in the newsroom. Some days I was in there for two or three hours at a time. This was mostly by choice and it was definitely a good one. The newsroom is a magical place. I'll certainly miss going to the back of the room, to the farthest corner from the door. The sports desk people are a little out of touch with the rest of the newsroom at times, or so it seemed. We loved that, though. I think the thing that will be most strange is the fact that we won't be able to pick up a physical copy of the paper and look to see who got front page. I think everyone from the sports desk got on front page at least once, which is awesome. It was nice reading my friends' stories and seeing what great writers they are.

It's also been wonderful to see I'm in the right place. I can write and I should be writing. I am legitimately good at writing and I'll be able to do so for a career of some sort. That's definitely something writing for the Daily Universe has taught me. As a kid in my history class would say, "I can do hard things." Yes, I can. And even more exciting: I can write about sports, which is actually really exciting for me.

By far my favorite moment of the semester was going to the Real Salt Lake home opener against New York. I'd never been to an RSL game, let alone get to sit in the press box and go in the locker room to get quotes from players after the game. Without writing for the paper I never would have gotten that opportunity. I just look forward to doing more stuff like that in the future. Something awesome about the recap I wrote for it was the fact that the girl who edited it before it went online said it made her want to go to watch RSL play. Something I wrote influenced someone to want to do something. That was incredible to hear.

I'm excited to see how things go with the transition over to all-digital. Things will settle down eventually but for now it's all new and exciting. All of us writers, at least on the sports desk, are full of speculation and wonder for how things will change. It will certainly be interesting for the students writing in spring. We're all just really happy we didn't have to be the first group experiencing it.

There's something special about being the last group of kids to write for the Daily Universe, and I don't think that feeling will soon be forgotten.

Last YouTube video I watched: Disgusting Cookies - The 2012 Hunger Games

Summerfest and (more) Imagine Dragons

I found out today that Imagine Dragons will be playing at Summerfest and I am so excited! Seeing them outside is going to be AWESOME. Granted, if I can go. It's on a Thursday night or something like that. Hopefully I won't be working. Knowing how great Imagine Dragons is live, I can't imagine missing it. I seriously still feel like I'm on that concert high sometimes. I love listening to them as I walk to school. Dan Reynolds just puts a spring in my step, especially when On Top of the World plays. That song gets to me in the best way.

Summerfest is a fantastic little time of the year in which hundreds of bands play on something like 15 stages over an 11 day period. It's magical, really. The first non classical or jazz concert I ever went to was there. I saw Barenaked Ladies and it was phenomenal. I wasn't able to go to Summerfest last year because of work and the same with the year before. BUT I WILL PREVAIL. FOR IMAGINE DRAGONS.

Other than that fun stuff, which I am so very excited about, today was a pretty uneventful day apart from the fact that I got a whole ton of stuff done. I finished an essay, a research article and the binder full of research and interviews I did, and I planned what I have to study and do in the next couple of days.  I also completed my online journalism portfolio for my newswriting class. I'm really proud of it. I never used Wordpress before this semester but I quite like it.

Oh, and you may have noticed that my URL for this blog has changed. That is in an effort to seem somewhat more professional if someone legitimate comes around these parts for whatever reason. It will be pretty apparent this is not a professional blog by any means but at least they'll see its mine. That might seem like a bad thing to some people but I'm proud of my writing on here and the fact that it is so relaxed and what not. As someone who wants to probably write online for a career, I figure I might as well show all the different kinds of writing I can do.

As the semester winds down I feel like I'm thinking more about my future. I'll really be a senior once this semester is over, even though I already am one credits-wise. My time at BYU is running short. I've loved every moment of it but it's crazy to think about where I'll be even a year and a half from now. I'll basically be done with school at that point. Well, undergraduate school. I've no idea whether I want to even try grad school. Much awaits me, that's all I know.

And speaking of waiting, my best friends come home from their missions in the next two months! Jordan will be back in May and Matthew in June. I'm completely ecstatic and worried and excited and nervous all at the same time. It will just feel great knowing we're all in the same country; Matthew is just in DC but Jordan has been all the way in Scotland. DC might as well be another country while I'm here in Utah.

Last YouTube video I watched: Hot Wheels, Charmander and the Male Barbie

Front page material

I just got back from my friend's folk dance performance. It was legit and he's a stud. I don't think you'd find many other places besides here that have a big group of 20-something year old men folk dancing on a Wednesday night.

The biggest news of today is that I got on front page for the first time! Tis very exciting.

I really am pleased about it since it's the first time I've been there.

Other than that, the day has been not very exciting. I did make some delicious pasta for dinner, though. 

My brother is coming this weekend since he's all done w/ exams and such. He'll be here from, I think, Friday until Monday. It should be fun making Easter dinner with him. Basically, we're an adorable little family.

Now it's time to watch some Shaytards and read for my media law class.

Last YouTube video I watched: DC Best Of - Utah Weather

The Daily Grind

I arrived back in Utah on Tuesday night around 11, though by the time the baggage actually reached the carousel and my friend got through the mess that is Salt Lake's crazy pick-up zone, we got to our apartments just after 1 in the morning. What a day it was.

The next day, the first day of classes, went off without a hitch. I honestly feel like I haven't been gone, which is slightly disappointing, though it happens every semester. My classes are going to be a heck of a lot of work but so worth it. I'm writing for my university's newspaper. About sports too! My goal in life is literally becoming true. Granted, the number of people reading about gymnastics and swimming/diving will probably be kind of low, I'm excited all the same. At some point I'm sure I'll link to some story I write. I'll be working with a lot of really cool people, which will make the experience both easier and more fun.

The focus of basically all of my classes this semester is reading lots of stuff and then writing lots of stuff. It will doubtless be good for me but I'm nervous all the same. I mean, I like writing a lot, but I also worry that all this school writing will maybe ruin writing for me. It will only be ruined for me if I let it, I suppose, but you can probably get what I'm saying. Have no fear, I will still update my blog as regularly as I can. I figured I best be updating right away in case the rest of the month goes by, as I imagine it will, and by that time I will have (possibly) forgotten about what I've gone through at the beginning.

It is most definitely intimidating to think I'll be writing around two stories a week for the newspaper. Add on top of that other class work for the lab. Then there's my research methods class that includes a semester long project of a research article, a requirement of which is to interview 30 people on the subject. There is also my media law class, one which is basically filled with three big papers. But I can't forget my pop culture and media class, which is also writing intensive. And then there's my random history class that I wanted to take because the professor is awesome and the religious history of the United States really fascinates me; there's a few papers in that class but no midterm, but there is also a lot of reading. All of that adds up to 15 credits, which is really not that many, it's quite average really, but the classes themselves are just so full of information and stuff to learn. I imagine most of the professors are cramming stuff in, just barely getting through what they need to, and not even getting into as much detail as they would like. At this point, I'm sure it will be my toughest semester yet, but at the same time I kind of feel like it will be my worst semester of them all, just because I have no idea what to expect of the journalism program.

I'm not worried, though. It's going to be a lot of work, oh is it ever. But I can handle it. I've gotten this far and there's no going back now. And with the event that shall not be named having happened . . . Well, let's just say I have a lot of free time that was once devoted to other activities and endeavors; it's both a blessing and a saddening thought. One reason it's a blessing is because on school nights I've decided I'm going to go to bed before 1; I didn't stay out ridiculously late last semester but I'm pretty sure going to bed earlier will benefit me. One reason it's saddening is because I no longer get to do seemingly irresponsible and unnecessary things on school nights, like staying out late.

Last YouTube video I watched: Relationship Resolutions

Happiness is a choice

It's been a week now since I got into the journalism program and I don't think the feeling has quite worn off yet. There are still plenty of people I haven't gotten to tell for one reason or another, the biggest one being I don't get to see half of my friends as often as I should.

Perhaps the most exciting thing to happen so far because of getting in, well, besides getting Cafe Rio for dinner, was looking at the school website to figure out what classes I want to take next semester. Under a drop down menu that has options such as Elective and University Core were the words "Communications Journalism Emphasis." That was the first time I had seen such a thing on an official document. It felt really good.

In regard to other happy things in my life, basically everything right now is great. Classes are busy but not stressful, and most of them are quite fun. (Today was actually the last day of my tennis class, quite a shame really.) I've got friends, new and old. There have been a few dates already, all of which have been great. (I wouldn't call the going-on-dates aspect surprising, it's more so just different.) The football team has been winning thanks to the wonderful Riley Nelson. Back home the Badgers and Packers are dominating as well; plus, the Brewers just ended an incredible season of their own. And just yesterday I added three new Threadless shirts to my wardrobe. Church is awesome and I love the people I get to see every day.

Despite all of these great things going on in my life right now, it's important to remember that no matter how well things are going, happiness is a choice. Things aren't perfect in life, they never are. There are plenty of things I worry about and every day nothing goes exactly right, but I don't want to talk about that stuff, because happiness is choice. While it is easier to be happy when MOST things are going well, it's just another opportunity to choose that happiness. Make the decision now to be happy and staying happy is definitely easier. I might not always be confident in the choices I make or with what is going on in my life, but I am always optimistic. Well, maybe not ALWAYS. But USUALLY. It sure beats the alternative. I don't take credit for the "happiness is a choice" dealio, though. I mean, lots of people say it, but no one lives it quite like Shay Carl does.

So now I command you all to go out and be happy.

Last YouTube video I watched: Fast Food Pizza Cake (I think Epic Meal Time has become my guilty pleasure YouTube channel.)

I am not a failure

Today I found out that my collegiate life does indeed have purpose. The last 2 years, now almost 2 1/2, have not been a waste.

I am officially a student in the Journalism program at Brigham Young University.

This is pretty insane to think about, even now, hours after I opened my letter. Seeing the word "congratulations" was probably one of the greatest moments ever.

Everything I've done in college before now has been in an effort to reach this point. I have just accomplished a major goal. And it feels so good. It makes my final goal of actually writing about sports for a living that much more real and reachable. This is my future now: journalism. I will be graduating with a degree in communications. It's a wonderful thought.

Now that I'm in the program, and that little event is off the list of things I need to do, the next logical priority is to get married.

Not.

This post in no way reflects how truly stoked I was to be able to call a bunch of my friends and tell them the news. I wish it could. Expect other posts in the near future detailing those calls and text messages.

And hey, if you guys could fill out this survey for my advertising class, that'd be fan-freaking-tastic: Converse All-Stars (Yes, it's about sneakers.)

Last YouTube video I watched: I hate your guitar!

The US Postal Service

There's much talk of the USPS shutting down because they have no cash money.

Um, what? Of all governmental organizations, the POSTAL SERVICE is going to die out?

Besides all the rational and business reasons why this is horrible, I need the postal service. Hand written letters are my only source of communication with some choice young men. If I can't send or receive mail, that really puts a damper on my social life.

I'm being a tad dramatic because the postal service isn't going to COMPLETELY stop working but lots of people are going to lose their jobs, plenty of post offices will be closing, and Saturday delivery is going to stop.

It already takes long enough for letters to get to and from places, so this whole situation really isn't helping.

In other news, I have come dangerously close to finishing my journalism application. Literally the only things left to do are double space an essay and print it out, and I have to take an entrance exam. I'm taking the exam tomorrow. It's going to cost me $2. They make you pay to take their test, which in theory could prevent you from giving them more money so you can be in their program. I feel like that's a little unfair but right now I'd rather be in the freakin' journalism program than make a fuss about two dollars.

Last YouTube video I watched: Google the Heimlich

BEDA ends (again)

Good-bye, August. Hello, September.

School is coming along nicely. I have a varying amount of homework thus far but I haven't had any trouble getting things done and have already gotten ahead on things as well. I'm sure Friday I'll work super hard to get literally everything done I can so my three day weekend can be as awesome as possible.

The most important event of today was probably starting to study for my entrance exam. It's basically going to test my knowledge and aptitude of journalism. I have a few issues w/ this exam, the biggest one being that it will supposedly test us on current events and how government works. Civics, one might say. Here's the thing: I don't ever plan to write on those kind of current events. Ever. To me it seems like an absolute waste of time. You may think I am ridiculous to say "never ever" but that is 100% how I feel about it. Civics and government, while important, hold my interest for very short amounts of time, times which are in no way long enough to get me to write about such things. We'll see how that goes.

Today I've been in a major YouTube music phase. I've been listening to Greg Holden, Julia Nunes, Nice Peter, Chameleon Circuit, Tom Milsom, and Hank Green all day. There are just so many wonderful musicians on YouTube. I wish I could mention them all.

Another exciting thing that happened today was that I wore my booshoe37 t-shirt and got lots of compliments on it! It made me feel really special and really excited to be friends w/ Matthew. I told all of them to look him up on YouTube. I really hope they do. That'd be awesome.

Last YouTube video I watched: How to Become An Adult

Blogging every day comes to an end

This was a very interesting August in terms of blogging. I had no trouble blogging every day but still some of the posts suffered; that's putting it lightly. I guess I kind of chilled out about it and didn't worry if every single post was exciting or thought provoking. Some of them really were just a quick rundown of the particular day. With school now started it will probably be better for me not to have to worry about blogging every day. It's been such a relaxing month that to take a few minutes out to write hasn't meant anything big was sacrificed.

Today I had 3 classes: a religion one, Italian (which is every day), and tennis. My religion class is taught by the same professor from whom I had American Christianity. And in tennis we didn't even play, just got our little syllabus. I'm excited for that class since a girl from my old apartment complex is in it! We're planning a double date where we play tennis since a requirement of the class is to play 4 sets outside of class, 2 singles and 2 doubles. It's going to be a great thing.

The end of every month seems like a good time to go through a little reflection period, except at this point I do not have much upon which I can reflect. I'm just thoroughly excited for this new year, junior year. I'm an upperclassman which is incredible in and of itself. I've basically done more college at this point than I have left, something with which I am not sure I am okay. Then again, once junior year officially ends . . . Well, in that case I'll be about a month away from having one of my best friends back in my life. In that sense, I am dying for this year to already be over. The biggest thing at the moment, which I have mentioned previously, is my application to the journalism program. I was freaking out over it a couple days ago but at this point I'm feeling quite calm about it all. Once I finish writing this I'm going to work on one of the essays while watching Parks and Recreation. The way I plan to remain so calm is to keep the whole process low key: I'm taking it one day at a time, one step at a time, not worrying about the thing as a whole but rather each part of it. It's working marvelously at this time.

Thanks for reading, my friends. I hope you've enjoyed this August.

Last YouTube video I watched: ORANGE & SOY CHICKEN RECIPE ft BrettTheIntern

Edit: Might I also mention that I have over 190 posts? And that I'm only 7 posts away from 200? It seems like it was only the other day when I got to 100. This blogging thing sure is awesome. And the last official day of BEDA is tomorrow so that's one more! I figured I'd do a nice reflection post today and tomorrow I can blog about rando crap.

Classes loom in the distance

This past week has gone by incredibly fast. At this time last week, I had just gotten to Provo and was eating In n' Out. Tomorrow classes officially start for my junior year of college. So here's a little rundown of my schedule:

On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays I have Italian, persuasive writing, Spanish literature, and on Mondays only intro to advertising.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays I have a religion class, Italian, and tennis. (Yes, Italian is 5 days a week. It's only 101 so you can see why.)

It's shaping up to be an interesting semester, that's for sure. It will be a tough one, 15.5 credits, but I'm pretty sure I can handle it. The biggest challenge by far will be completing the application for my program. I will soon finally be able to say (hopefully) that I am a true journalism major. Usually I just drop the whole "pre-communications" part because it's a hassle to explain that it's limited enrollment and I haven't yet applied etc. etc. My essay is coming together nicely and I already have the creative piece done. The only things left to start are the physical application that asks about name, address, birthday, grades etc. and the journalistic work part. I've got to write something that shows my interest in a certain medium and it can be about anything. I know I want to show my love for sports but I've yet to determine what to actually write about. We can actually submit that in video form, which is something I would absolutely love to do on account of how YouTube is my second home, but I don't know if I can pull together the right kind of video with the time I have left. I'll be sure to keep you guys updated on such events as they transpire. The application and everything is due September 9th.

Luckily, I don't start class tomorrow until noon so I'm going to chill in the library like old times just surfing the web, watching YouTube videos, and preparing the written parts of the application.

Last YouTube video I watched: Wheezycon

Liveblogging from class

I've done a lot of things in class before: finished crossword puzzles, played Words with Friends, gotten 3 stars on many levels of Angry Birds, tweeted, perused Tumblr, subscribed to new people on YouTube, chatted on Skype and Gmail.

This is the first time I've ever blogged in class, though. I'm pretty excited about it. I'm currently waiting for the official start of my Principles of Journalism class; sounds fancy, eh? My professor is hilarious. He really knows his stuff. That being said, we've spent the whole semester listening to group presentations and that can get a little old. They've actually been really awesome presentations but stuff begins to wear on me, especially when people start talking about social media and are pretty much explaining to me what it does. Cue me tuning out.

So I'm not in the journalism program yet but I sure hope to be. I'll be applying in the fall and that freaks me out. It's quite daunting to think that this is my last prerequisite class before applying. I was kind of under the impression that I'd be stuck in prerequisite world forever. Now that I won't be I don't exactly know what to do, except for apply to the program, though that's a little fuzzy to me.

A little caveat now: We just found out our final exam is an essay that's due before exam week even starts. This is going to be great because if there are two things I love, they are not having a real exam and writing instead of test taking.

And now we found out that we get 10 points extra credit for completing the professor evaluations. Good thing I've already done that.

All right, time to actually start listening since class has legitimately started.