The Y

Andrea, Holly, Allyson, Steffany, and me at the beginning

 My roommates and I had this brilliant idea one night that we wanted to hike the Y. So we planned when we were going to go and decided that it would be fun to watch the sunrise once we made it up there. We all rolled out of bed early one Friday morning (as you can tell from the pictures), and drove to the trail head. We were all excited since none of us had ever hiked it before. Before long we were stopping to rest and to take some pictures. As we continued to hike up the mountain, we realized that we wouldn't get to see the sunrise because it was rising on the other side of the mountain. When we finally made it to the ginormous Y, we sat down on it and took some more pictures. The view from the top was absolutely beautiful! That morning was a very good bonding experience for us as roommates. And it was also an excellent workout!

Us on the Y!!

 

Steff and I 

From best friends in 2nd grade to college roomies :)

     Once upon a time in Cody, Wyoming, a new family moved into a house by mine during the summer. My siblings and I, and one of my little brother's friends, decided to go over to their red house and introduce ourselves. There was a girl, named Steffany, who was going to be in the 2nd grade, just like me! Although we didn't have the same teacher in 2nd grade, we still became friends and ended up with the same teacher in 3rd and 4th grade! During the summers we would have lemonade stands and other random adventures. During the school year, we would have tetherball tournaments at recess and both compete to be the smartest kid in class. We were best friends and were always hanging out together coming up with many fun, but random, games. Even though she moved away after 4th grade, we still kept in contact and visited each other during the summers.

     Little did we know, that several years later we would be rooming together in Provo, Utah and that we would both be attending Brigham Young University. At first I was a little worried because we hadn't spent more than a few days together since 4th grade! That was a long time ago, and we both had changed a lot! Those worries soon faded as we almost immediately picked up right where we left off.
     Sometimes we like to do weird things! We like to run really funny with really high knees and then jump into walls. We also like to stay up really late because we are both professional procrastinators and Facebook stalkers. :) We also like to reminisce back to the good old elementary days! Looking back now, I am so thankful that we stayed in touch and that we decided to room together. She is a great friend and is always there for me! Not a day goes by that she doesn't make me laugh! Another thing that we like to do is get hot chocolate from Maverik at midnight and Krispy Kreme Donuts at 2 am. We have created many memories together this semester, and I am looking forward to next semester when we will have two classes together! I just love my roommate and best friend. Her name is Steffany Beddes.

Facebook Drama: BYU vs USU

I found this argument hilarious and thought that others would enjoy reading some of these comebacks. Facebook drama makes me laugh! :) Enjoy!!! (These are all direct quotes! The only thing changed is the names of those who were involved)

USU Student #1: Frustrated with the people blaming the student section for the loss last night. Frustrated with the administration trying to ruin the spectrum magic. Let me tell you, the three minutes we sat in silence was the longest three minutes of a basketball game EVER. I love my Aggies, win or lose. So here's to a new season, and a new winning streak at home, starting NOW.


Random person: Is it true that the students were mad about/protesting the fact that the USU president issued a letter of apology for the crowd being inappropriate and rude?


No, we protested the fact that the administration was monitoring our cheers so much that we weren't allowed to point or say "stupid."


BYU STUDENT 1: Maybe if the USU fans wouldn't have acted so inappropriately at the BYU game, there wouldn't be problems with your administration monitoring your cheers. 


BYU STUDENT 2: Your student section took bad sportsmanship to a whole new level...also known as immaturity!


It's college sports. BYU knew how crazy USU gets and coming into the Spectrum they should have expected it. But that's not even what this is about. We could care less about a stupid apology letter. But then again, if BYU can't take the heat, they shouldn't come here. It's a little immature of BYU to call us immature and "classless." I'm not going to argue about it because I could care less about BYU.


So you're saying because it's college sports it's okay to have no sportsmanship? There's a difference between having school spirit and attacking the other team's players for something so personal. And this is about BYU, because if it wasn't for how your fans acted at that game you guys wouldn't have forced your administration to have to babysit you. 


USU Student #2: I don't feel USU fans acted inappropriately at the BYU game, I just feel the BYU fans and players are a little overly sensitive. We fans are NOT players, we don't have to have 'sportsmanship'.


So you admit that your fans don't have sportsmanship. Classy. 


If we would have done this to ANY other school, there wouldn't have been a problem, but because BYU is so uptight and worried about their PR, they freaked out on us. Davies is going to get a heck of a lot more heckling from other schools because BYU is BYU.
HAHAHAH! (Lists two peoples names) There we go again! BYU FANS CALLING US CLASSY! What the heck is it with BYU fans thinking they're SOO much more classier.


The thing is you guys wouldn't do that to any other school. If any LDS guy on any other team was going through the repentance process for something like that, I guarantee you wouldn't make fun of them. Maybe there's a reason BYU fans keep saying you don't have class. Because you don't. 


USU Student #3: Saying classy is in itself not classy.


Well for one, if there was an LDS guy on another team having to go through that, he would 1. Still be playing because it;s not against the rules at any other college and 2. Not receive heckling for that because no one would ever KNOW. BYU chose to make Davies probation and the reason behind that public knowledge, so now they need to deal with the fact that people are going to heckle Davies for that. Instead, they cry and whine that we were rude and "classless." GET OVER IT. Seriously.


No, we go to a school that doesn't dictate what we can say, wear, drink, and worship. Sorry we have the freedom at USU to express ourselves anyway we like. And furthermore, BYU announced to the entire nation what Davies did. EVERY opposing team that comes to the Spectrum gets heckled. BYU was NO exception.


And THIS is why I chose Utah State over BYU.


Did you even get accepted to BYU?


haha standard response


I didn't even bother applying because I made up my mind about USU a LONG time ago.


If you've argued with one Cougar, you've argued with them all. 


Ain't it the truth USU Student #3? Hahaha.


The same can be said for Aggies. Honestly, though, we chose BYU because we want to live by the Honor Code, not because we have to. Davies messed up and fixed it, so why do you feel the need to harass him for it? And you can't say you chose USU over BYU if you didn't even get accepted-whether you applied or not.


Quit trying to argue on Facebook, it's a waste of your time. Shouldn't you be reading your scriptures or something?


Oooh, good one. You're LDS, too, so you should be reading yours just as much as I should. 


Seriously, quit wasting my time. 


Can't think of any more comebacks, can you?


This is good.


Oh no, I've got plenty. But you might find them offensive and ask me to issue an apology.


Oh, were you going to make it personal and start a rude chant about my sex life? You're right, keep it to yourself.


Thought so.


When you get kicked out because of the Honor code and it gets picked up nationally on  ESPN and other networks we'll give you a yell


Random Person: ^^ this chicks a beezy. You're saying we aren't classy? Well at least we don't look down at people saying they aren't smart enough to get accepted into BYU...so take your unwanted attitude back to Provo. Kthanksbye(:


You're not supposed to have a sex-life if you go to BYU...


BYU Student #3: Dude, what's with all the hate? like, seriously. This isn't like a high school rivalry anymore. we're adults who go to Universities. Also, universities are about education, not sports. BTW, i go to BYU and I have a very good sex life... Just saying :)

Personal Narrative Final Draft

I Had the Time of My Life, With You

I was nice and cozy in my newly finished senior quilt, when I began to hear voices and movement around me. As I rolled over to see what time it was, my eyes squinted automatically as the bright sunlight shone down on me through the window. Once my eyes adjusted, I saw that my mom, grandma, and two little brothers were already awake. It took me awhile to remember that I was in my grandma’s room at the Assisted Living Center in Butte, Montana. I sat up on the pull-out bed as I stretched, and I was tempted to curl up in a ball and go back to sleep for a little while longer. However, that thought was interrupted as my mom told me that I needed to get in the shower and get ready for the day. After breakfast, we were going to head out to Whitehall, Montana, where there was an old-fashioned train bridge where we were going to take some senior pictures. Before getting in the shower, I decided to check my phone that had been charging on the other side of the room.

I had a text from my best friend, Jessie, asking me if I had heard the news. As I replied to that text, my mind was racing with the different possibilities that she could have been referring to. Right after I pressed SEND on my black Envy 2, my phone began to vibrate vigorously in my hands as I received several texts from some of my other friends. As I opened one of the texts, my eyes read over a couple of words that I never thought I would see. My legs became Jell-O and I fell to my knees as my world seemed to come crashing down on me. I checked the messages over and over, hoping and praying that I had somehow read it wrong. Tears rushed down my face as my mom came quickly over to me.

“Lyndsey! What happened?” my mom questioned as she wrapped me in hug. At that same moment, my little brother Trevor had read something on Facebook and knew exactly what was wrong.

Through many tears and in-between sobs, I tried to tell my mom what was going on, but all I could get out was, “Tylor. Killed. Car. Accident.”

            Jessie shared the details with me through text messages because she would start crying again if she tried calling me. After receiving the few details that were known at that point, I hopped in the shower as an escape from the dreadful texts that were being sent to my phone. My tears mixed with the water pouring out of the shower head, and my head was pounding. At that point, I didn’t even want to read the messages that were sent to me to offer comfort and words of support. All I wanted to do was throw my phone out of the window and wake up from this awful nightmare. How were any words supposed to provide the comfort that I needed at that time? The attempts seemed pointless. My best friend, Tylor Burke, had just been killed in a car accident, and there I was in Montana, five hours away! I got out of the shower and put on my maroon legging outfit that I had planned to wear for my senior pictures. The person that stared back at me in the mirror, however, did not look like she was ready to go take pictures. The girl in the mirror had glowing green eyes that were bloodshot, a blotchy skin tone, and red streaks that began at the corner of her eyes and continued down her face. She looked like a mess.

            “Lyndsey, do you want to come down and help me serve donuts and coffee downstairs? I am in charge this week and need some help,” said my grandma from the other room.

            “Sure Grandma! I would love to help you! Just give me a couple of minutes to finish brushing my hair,” I said trying to sound willing and excited. We both ignored the way my voice shook that didn’t quite match my attempted enthusiasm. I really did want to go help her; I was just not in the most social mood at the time.

While I finished brushing my long, brown hair, I tried to get my emotions under control so that I could go down and help my grandma. I thought that it might help me get my mind off of things for a while, so I headed downstairs arm in arm with my grandma who was wearing her favorite red sweater. 

Several people began to show up, and I greeted them with a forced smile. “Good morning! Would you like any coffee or juice to drink?”

I tried to stay busy making sure everyone’s coffee mugs stayed full and that they had the right flavor of donut available at their table. As people would ask my grandma who was helping her, she would introduce my brothers and me.

            “These are three of my wonderful grandkids. That is Trevor over there, and the other younger boy is Torey. And that is Lyndsey. She isn’t really in her cheerful mood like normal because one of her best friends was killed in a car accident this morning,” said my grandma time and time again.  Somehow, she always managed to add that fact onto the end of every introduction.

During these moments, I tried to stay strong, but they usually resulted in me walking very quickly up the stairs and into the seclusion of my grandma’s room.

“Is grandma telling everyone down there about Tylor?” asked my mom as I entered the room with tear-filled eyes.

“You know her too well!” I said as a little smile crept across my face, the first real one that had appeared all morning.

            A few days later as we were on our way home from Montana, we had to drive past the exact place where the wreck had happened. When we drove past it, I saw the torn barbed wire fence where the car had broken through, and car parts seemed to be scattered everywhere. It seemed as though a totally new dam that I didn’t know existed had broken inside of me, and the tears were falling down my face faster and faster. Looking at that site, it seemed as if a piece of me was missing. I was only 17, and it was impossible for me to think about going through the rest of my life without one of my greatest friends by my side. Senior prom, graduation, his 18^th birthday, and college were just a few events that he would never get to experience.

*     *     *

            Sitting at the table in my new apartment, eight-and-a-half hours away from all of my friends and family, I began to go through some of my old pictures. I see pictures of Tylor and me wearing our matching outfits on twin day and our pictures from prom, and I can’t believe that it has now been seven months since the car accident that took his life. Coming from the other room, I hear my phone go off indicating that I have a new text message. As I go to get it I hear my ringtone: “Long live the walls we crashed through; I had the time of my life, with you”. For a split second, I hope that I will see ‘NEW MESSAGE from TYLOR BURKE’ on the screen of my phone. Reality hits me as I see that it’s just another reminder for our ward activity. Reading the new message I realize that our lives can change at any given moment; the change can even be caused by one short text message. 

Tylor and I at Prom 

Randomness at BYU :)

So today my friend and I heard and saw some random things while walking around on campus. I thought that I would share some of these comments and things that we saw:

• A boy and girl were standing by some lockers talking and the boy said, "I think that I am more of a Regis, rather than a Jay Leno. Well as he was walking away, me and my friend decided to say Bye Regis!! And to our surprise, he totally turned around!! We quickly turned our heads the opposite way, and laughed so hard.

• My friend and I were sitting in Chemistry class when we saw the girl sitting in front of us updater her Facebook status to, "Boys, when having doubts about kissing a pretty girl, give her the benefit of the doubt." She then cited the person who said that quote and then added Anyone think I'm pretty??
• Also, while my friend and I were sitting in Chemistry we saw this boy walk in and he is wearing a bright yellow shirt with Pikachu on it. I turn to my friend and tell her these two jokes: How do you get Pikachu on the bus? You Pokemon (poke him on)!! and then Why don't you take a Pokemon to the bathroom? Because he might Pikachu (peek at you)!! My friend loved those jokes. So anyways, after class we were walking, and we see the boy wearing the Pikachu shirt just a little ways in front of us. My friend, told me that I should go tell him one of the jokes, and so I did. He didn't find it very funny though! All he said was "O. My. Gosh." He like didn't laugh or anything, and then I felt really stupid! But me and Franny both got a good laugh out of it! 

Personal Narrative Draft

I was nice and cozy in my newly finished senior quilt, when I began to hear voices and movement around me. As I rolled over to see what time it was, my eyes automatically squinted from the brightness of the light that was shining right down on me. Once my eyes adjusted, I saw that my mom, grandma, and two little brothers were already awake. It took me awhile to remember that I was in my grandma’s room at the Assisted Living Center in Butte, Montana. I sat up on the pull-out bed as I stretched, and I was tempted to lay back down and go back to sleep for a little while longer. However, that thought was interrupted as my mom told me that I needed to get in the shower and get ready for the day. After breakfast, we were going to head out to Whitehall, Montana, where there was an antique train bridge where we were going to take some senior pictures. Before getting in the shower, I decided to check my phone that had been charging on the other side of the room.

I had a text from my best friend, Jessie, asking me if I had heard the news. As I replied to that text, my mind was racing with different news that she could have been referring to. Right after I pressed SEND on my black Envy 2, my phone began to vibrate vigorously in my hands as I received several texts from some of my other friends. As I opened one of texts, my eyes read over a couple of words that I never thought I would see. My legs became Jello and I fell to my knees, and my world seemed to come crashing down on me. I checked the messages over and over, hoping and praying that I had somehow read it wrong. Tears rushed down my face as my mom came quickly over to me.

“Lyndsey! What happened?” my mom questioned as she wrapped me in hug.

At that same moment, my little brother Trevor had read something on Facebook and knew what was wrong.

Through many tears and in-between sobs, I tried to tell my mom what was going on, but all I could get out was, “Tylor. Killed. In. Car. Accident”.

            Jessie shared the details with me through text messages because she would start crying again, and it would be too hard. After receiving the few details that were known at that point, I hopped in the shower as an escape from the dreadful texts that were being sent to my phone. My tears mixed with the water pouring out of the shower head, and my head was pounding. At that point, I didn’t even want to read the messages that were sent to me to offer comfort and words of support. All I wanted to do was throw my phone out of the window and wake up from this awful nightmare. How were any words supposed to provide the comfort that I needed at that time? The attempts seemed impossible and pointless. My best friend, Tylor Burke, had just been killed in a car accident, and there I was in a totally different state. I got out of the shower and put on my maroon legging outfit that I had planned to wear for my senior pictures. The person that stared back at me in the mirror, however, did not look like she was ready to go take pictures. The girl in the mirror had glowing green eyes that were bloodshot, a blotchy skin tone, and red streaks that began at the corner of her eyes and continued down her face. She looked like a mess.

            “Lyndsey, do you want to come down and help me serve donuts and coffee downstairs? I am in charge this week and need some help,” said my grandma from the other room.

            As I finished brushing my long, brown hair, I tried to get my emotions under control so that I could go down and help my grandma. I thought that it might help me get my mind off of things for a while, so I headed downstairs arm in arm with my grandma who was wearing her favorite red sweater.  As people began to show up, I tried to stay busy as I greeted each of elderly people with a smile and asked them if they would like any coffee or juice. As people would ask my grandma who was helping her, she would introduce my brothers and she never failed to mention the fact that one of my best friends had been killed just that morning. During these moments, I tried to stay strong, but they usually resulted in me walking very quickly up the stairs and into the seclusion of my grandma’s room, where my mom would be waiting with her arms outstretched.

            A few days later as we were on our way home from Montana, we had to drive past the exact place where the wreck had happened. As we drove past it, I saw the torn barbed wire fence where the car had broken through, and car parts seemed to be scattered everywhere. It seemed as though a totally new dam that I didn’t think existed had broken and the tears were falling down my face faster and faster. Looking at that site, it seemed as if a piece of me was missing. I was only 17 and it was impossible for me to think about going through the rest of my life without one of my greatest friends by my side. Senior prom, graduation, his 18^th birthday, and college were just a few events that he would never get to experience. Even though it has now been seven months since the accident, every time my phone vibrates, I still expect to see his name pop up on my screen.

            These months without him have been very hard, but I have learned to view life with a new perspective. Although so many people have told me that I need to take advantage of every day that I wake up and every opportunity that I am given, it was reassured to me during this time. None of us are ever guaranteed another day. Nobody knows when there time here on this earth will expire, and that is something that we will never have control of. We need to live our lives to the best of our ability and need to learn to make the most of every situation we are put in. Our lives can change at any given moment; it can even change from just one short text message.

Temples

Last Tuesday I had to opportunity to go to the Provo Temple and participate in baptisms and confirmations for the dead with a couple of my friends. We were there for a couple of hours that morning, and then I went back to my apartment and finished packing, and then headed to Wyoming for Thanksgiving break. I never realized how convenient it was to live only five minutes away from the temple, because growing up we always had to drive two hours to get to the Billings, Montana temple. The Saturday after Thanksgiving, was my home wards scheduled youth trip. Our wards session was at 8:00, but everyone was encouraged to be there at 7:45 to meet all together in the distribution center. That meant that we would have to leave our house at 5:30! Even though we knew we would have to get up super early, we were too involved in playing games Friday night that we didn't get to bed very early. It seemed that just a few seconds after I had shut my eyes, my alarm was going off telling me that it was 4:30. I got up and got in the shower and got ready for the day. My littlest brother Torey, just turned 12 in October, so this was going to be his first time in the temple. He was very excited! As he was getting dressed in his church clothes, he came into my room and asked me if the socks he was going to wear were white enough. I couldn't help but smile as I told him that they were perfect! After two hours in the car, we finally arrived at the beautiful Billings Temple. Torey was all smiles as he walked out of the temple and he said that he couldn't wait for the next temple trip. He was also excited that we would get to see him pass the sacrament the next day! I am so proud of my little brother and the good choices that he is making! I am also thankful for the opportunity that I have to be only 5 minutes away from a temple so that I can go there more often!

Torey in front of the Billings, Montana Temple

This last summer as I was the primary pianist in my home ward, I loved hearing the primary kids sing with excitement the words to I Love to See the Temple. " I love to see the temple. I'm going there someday to feel the Holy Spirit, to listen and to pray. For the temple is a House of God, a place of love and beauty. I'll prepare myself while I am young; this is my sacred duty. I love to see the temple. I'll go inside someday. I'll covenant with my Father; I'll promise to obey. For the temple is a holy place where we are sealed together. As a child of God, I've learned this truth; a family is forever."
I really do love seeing many different temples, especially at night when they are all lit up. They seem to stand out even when they are surrounded with so many tall buildings. I know that we are capable of doing the same. Even when surrounded by so many worldly things, because of the Light of Christ that is inside of us, we can stand out and be examples to everyone around us.

The Billings, Montana Temple