Monday, September 17, 2012

What Happens at Ward Prayer



Well, as I stated in a previous post, every Sunday is ward prayer. And, every Sunday, one lucky dorm gets to do some sort of introduction. Well my roomie Caroline happens to be one of the students in charge of ward prayer so, of course, we got to go first. We each decided to make an online dating video using some stereotypical BYU sayings. Here's what we came up with...





Monday, September 3, 2012

Sunday, September 2, 2012

The start of my BYU Experience

Well I did it. I broke down and started a blog. Here, I will be posting mainly about BYU and the extremely stereotypical things that go on. So, to begin, here are some stereotypes that are 100% true at BYU.

1. BYU is EFY, in every way imaginable. You are put into groups for EVERY activity. Games such as Ninja, The Knot Game, Giant Twister, and yes, even Duck Duck Goose are played on a daily basis. Everyone is constantly asking you your name, where you're from, and what color your toothbrush is... Seriously, If you didn't like EFY you better apply elsewhere because this is exactly it...
2. Ultimate Frisbee is the Holy Sport. Every person here plays it. On every open field at any time of the day there is a game going on. So, if you don't play, you'll learn pretty darn fast.
3. The "Ring Check" is a real thing. Even in Freshman classes I have married guys and guys with kids. You can (and I have) been paired up with a RM who has kids while I'm still trying to figure out my major... Always check for the ring so you don't get the dumbfounded look when you hear your partner mention his wife.
4. Babies are everywhere. Students with strollers have cut me off between classes and it's ridiculous.
5. Dating is STRONGLY encouraged (actually it's forced...) Each Sunday there is a thing called Ward Prayer where everyone in the same ward gets together to socialize. Part of this socialization is "Date Minute". Date Minute is where any guy can get up in front of the entire ward and ask a girl on a date. The girl then has to stand up, accept the invitation, and hug the guy. So, this does guarantee that the girl can never say no, however, it's still a pretty weird ritual... Also, quote from our Bishop (who I love by the way) "Our ward will be the ward that dates the most" Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing but it happens.

Well, as with every stereotypes, there are also some things that aren't true. Such as,
1. You don't have to be Mormon (nor are you guaranteed to be baptized) if you come to BYU. I have met multiple undergraduate, graduate, and even Teaching Assistants who are not Mormon and have been here for many years. It's just a great atmosphere and they like it.
2. Not every Freshman girl here is itching to get married. Many (as in the majority I've talked to) are pretty focused on school and aren't baby hungry.

So, even though a lot of things about BYU are crazy stereotypical and thus sometimes annoying, I love it here and can't wait for the rest of the year!