What I Actually Learned in College

Well, Wednesday I finished my last final ever. Don't you dare ask me what my final grade was... All you need to know is that it was better than my midterm. But I was literally so excited I was shaking. I really don't get that way when I'm happy... so I must have been really happy!

Today I'm feeling nostalgic, seeing as I actually wept when I walked out of the Tanner Building for the last time. So I thought I do a blog post about what I actually learned while I was at BYU.

• It is possible to make yourself sick out of stress. I have given myself headaches, migraines, stomach problems, and sinus infections out of stress. 
•  I now know how to kill spiders by myself without screaming. I still run as fast as I can to the toilet though (and flush twice to make sure they are really dead).
• I know that I don’t understand how girls work. I DON’T UNDERSTAND MY OWN SEX. I’m so sorry, males of the world.
• I know how to sleep with earplugs comfortably for a year. Gotta love freshmen roommates.
• Just because people got into BYU, does not mean they are smart. Trust me, I graded some of the most obscene offenses of the English language. And we have spell check!!! Come on!
• I know that being friends with someone is way easier than being roommates with someone.
•  Just because someone is a return missionary doesn’t mean he is a great guy.
• Just because someone isn’t a return missionary doesn’t mean you should judge him for it.
• Girls who go on missions are sometimes really cool, and more often kinda weird.
• But really, people in general are awesome. I believe people are genuinely good. 
• Assets = Liabilities + Equity (this one got pounded furiously into my head)
• It's probably better to operate on no sleep than to operate on less than 5 hours of sleep. 
• Having your roommate's alarm go off to music in the morning is much more annoying than having a buzzer go off. 
• People will be nice to you if you are nice to them and make them feel special. 
• The Harvard Business Framework of Marketing- the 4 C's (Company, Competitor, Customer, Channel), Segment - Target - Differentiate - Position, the 4 P's (Place, Promotion, Product, Price), and Customer Acquisition - Customer Loyalty - PROFITS. 
• Simulations of businesses are dumb. No one should ever let three/four college students run an entire business by themselves without supervision. 
• Try new things! You never know what you might have an unsuspected passion for. Like humanities (art, architecture, sculpture), Texas, and power tools. Haha
• Kleenex make an acceptable substitute for toilet paper when your roommates forget to buy toilet paper. 
• You always run into people you don't want to see the day you don't shower/get ready in the morning. 
• You never run into the people you do want to see on the days you look the cutest. 
• Sometimes you just have to drive and think. Sometimes you end up at the temple, sometimes you end up 6 hours away at home, but it's good to get away and separate yourself from the situation.
• You really don't appreciate people until they leave. Or you are leaving. 
• Group projects can be really great if you have an awesome group, or they can be miserable if even one person doesn't do their job. Most of the time they are miserable.
• Don't let people tell you what you can't do. Prove them wrong. 

      But in all seriousness, I learned a lot in college. Mostly I learned how to be a grown-up and how to make long lasting relationships. People are the most important while we are on this earth. The lives we touch will be infinitely worth more than the money we earn. I do believe that gaining knowledge is important, and I did learn a lot while I was at school. But most of what I learned in class fell out of my head after I took the final. I know the friendships I forged will last much longer than the knowledge I gained. 

      I learned to how be the best version of myself. I know how to be happy no matter what the circumstance. I learned that even though I have a deep passion for marketing, I also have a passion for teaching. I LOVED being a TA, and now I want to get a PhD and be a professor someday. 

      So as I'm packing up my books and clothes today to move back home for the last time, I can't help but think how much of my life will be forever changed by my time at BYU.