fLAWless: The Life of a 21-Year-Old BYU Alumnus

It goes without saying that these past three weeks have been crazy.

In the last three weeks I have studied for and taken finals, packed up my apartment and moved into a house, driven to St. George for the wedding of one of my best friends, and, most importantly, graduated from BYU.

Well, I didn't fully graduate. I walked, but come the end of June I will be completely done. Fully graduated. BYU alumnus.

Holy crap, BYU alumnus?! Only old people have that title! I'm 21, for goodness sakes!

Graduation was a pretty bittersweet experience for me. I realize that graduating from an institution such as BYU is a pretty awesome accomplishment, but at the same time I still feel like there's so much more to do, so much more to learn. The bottom line is this: I'M NOT READY TO BE DONE YET.

This leads me to the main questions that have been stuck in my mind ever since I realized my time left here is short: Did I take advantage of my education? Did I utilize my resources to their greatest potential? I'm not talking about grades; heaven knows I didn't get the most stellar marks in my classes. What I'm talking about is educational opportunities available to me outside of the classroom. Mark Twain once said, "I have never let my schooling interfere with my education." Did I follow that same mantra?

While there are a few resources I could have better utilized to enhance my education, I feel confident in saying I took advantage of what I had. I participated in clubs and organizations, I traveled, and I made many friends and learned many lessons along the way. I became more aware of who I am, but more importantly, I gained a greater understanding of who I want to become.

If anything, my experiences at BYU have taken my love of learning and turned it into a passion. I no longer see education as being a piece of paper that says I have aptitude in a particular field; it's much more than that. I now perceive the empowering nature and eternal value of education. I have witnessed the ability that education has to change peoples' lives all over the world in the same manner that I myself have been affected and improved by the knowledge of others. Learning truth is a divine principle that all benefit from, and education is the means by which that truth can be revealed.

So, here's to becoming a lifelong learner, dedicated to improving myself and helping those around me achieve their dreams. It is time to do better. It is time to BE better.

I think Gandhi said it best: "Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever."

And live forever, I shall.