Last Week of School as an Undergraduate!

 12 April - 18 April 2021

Monday: I slept in and had no desire to leave my bed. I decided to listen to the conference talk by the prophet. While he discussed faith, I decided that if I couldn't get up for myself, I would get up for the Lord. I would exercise faith by making my bed, eating breakfast, and studying my scriptures. It sounds a bit pathetic, but when times are tough, you really have to rely on the Lord for your motivation and strength. I also realized that whatever I do with my future, I just want it to be serving the Lord, because I find the most joy and fulfillment when I am actively serving and working for Him, on His behalf.

Tuesday: I went to the Harman building to work on assignments and attend my last Family Process class. In the evening, I had a temple recommend interview with a member of the stake presidency. I was running a bit behind, so I jumped on my uni and zoomed down there in my dress. Afterwards, I went over to my friend Alyssa's house to hang. We talked and then went to Smith's to get potato chips to snack on. When we got back to her place, we watched old Studio C videos. One of her roommates also danced to Taylor Swift for us, which was super funny, since she'd made the routine up with her sister when they were eight.

Wednesday: I went in person to my last class as an undergraduate student! It was a PS100 review. I shared my crazy theory to the professor after class about how God could reside inside a black hole because not even light can escape, and "light attracts light" so all the light is attracted to Heavenly Father, and also they must be able to move faster than the speed of light to cross planets and galaxies and stuff. It was also a super rainy day, but I decided I didn't need to bring an umbrella or a rain jacket, so I got a bit soaked. That evening, I attended a PES club activity where they had dinner for the students to grab and thank you letters we could write to a professor. I was surprised that a couple of the people there remembered who I was. I wrote a note to my Family Process teacher.

Thursday: Whitney got back into town and asked if I wanted to study at the Harman building with her. Since I had no desire to do anything that day on my own, I agreed and went down in the afternoon. I ended up taking a test for one of my classes, scoring 100% and getting it out of the way.

Friday: I went down to the Harman building again and saw Whitney there (even though we hadn't arranged ahead of time to study there). I didn't say "hi" because she was intently staring at her computer screen and I didn't want to distract her if she was in the middle of a final. So when she got up to get more water, she was surprised to see me! Haha. I took two more finals, then job hunted for a bit. Then Whitney asked if we could go to Sam's Club so she could buy snack foods, so we went and I spent waayyy too much on snacks and such, but oh well. At least I will have snacks to bring with me when I take the rest of my finals!

Saturday: I studied in a quiet room in the Wilk. It's a memorial/reflection room, with only one other person in there. I took another section of my physical science exam and did about the same as I did on the previous one. I am confident I will end the class with an "A" though, just like I did with all my other classes! I also had a great chat with my sister Lucy, who called to hear about how I had once picked the locks in an escape room to get out. It made me feel good that she was so impressed and had a lot to talk about with me. My roommate Claire left for vacation, so I helped her with cleaning for a bit.

Sunday: I went to bed early last night and slept in super late... today I felt really horrible. Just angry at the world, distracted. I didn't want to read my scriptures and got distracted easily when I tried. It was just not my morning. But I was grateful for the opportunity to take the sacrament and have a fresh slate. Also, I am grateful that I asked my roommate if she would scratch my back and she said yes. I sometimes crave physical contact and it really helped me feel more connected and loved today. I called my parents that afternoon and they were already on the phone with Sean. It was really hard to hear what Sean was saying, but he seems to be doing well. I told them I was having a hard day and my dad said to go on a uni ride, walk around campus and say hi to people, and to make gluten-free cookies to cheer myself up. I did the first two (bringing a friend with me on the walk). It did make me feel better, and it was cool that I was able to answer some of Alyssa's questions about serving a mission because it is something she is thinking about doing. I also got invited by one of my ministering sisters to go to a CFM guitar night.

Much love,

Emily Burnham