Purpose

This week, I've been thinking about all God has entrusted me with.

Time. Talents. A body. Scriptures. Temples. Family. Friends...
Enemies. Opposition. Likes and Dislikes. Strengths and Weaknesses.

And He expects me to do what???
Keep the commandments. Share my testimony. Continually improve myself. Serve others.

Why does He even care? Why does He want me to succeed? After all, there are plenty of other people in past, present, and future, who could live up to all this. Someone's got to be the weakling, right?

Wrong.

That's the beauty of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. No one HAS to be the weakling. We are all weak as human beings, but when we apply the Atonement of Christ to our lives, we can be made infinitely more strong. We can conquer anything, and I do mean ANYTHING. Sometimes we feel on top of the world, and other times we feel 20,000 leagues under the sea in a sinking submarine.

This is how I like to think of it:

God has everything in His power and control. His gift to us of life and everything else I mentioned is like giving someone a brand new, bright red Ferrari. Only, it's not just anyone; it's an inexperienced, partially blind fifteen-year-old in the streets of Chicago. Pretty dangerous, ay? Well, yes. But the owner of the Ferrari has given this boy the appropriate eyewear, a driving instruction manual, and all of the other resources he needs to safely maneuver his way through the city. If the boy uses those resources, he has a much bigger chance of coming out unharmed than if he relies on his poor sight distance and lack of perspective. The owner wants the boy to be safe, knows he can do it, and has the best insurance plan out there to cover whatever may happen.

The Lord is rooting for us! He wants us to be successful, and to help ensure that, He has provided us with scriptures, with the Holy Ghost, with people to help us along the way, and most importantly, the Atonement of Jesus Christ.

For this, I am eternally grateful.






Welcome, Class of 2018



That's me in the yellow t-shirt. You don't see?

 Well, Camp Vandy is over. Orientation is coming to a close and life is just getting started. Classes have begun and the class of 2018 is spending every waking hour buried in books, modules, and calculus tutorial videos. Or something like that.
Actually, that's not even close.
Sure, there are classes, but there is so much free time around here, it's hard to even focus on working! There is so much to do on campus...people to meet, buildings to explore, people to re-meet, new games to play, walks to take (if it weren't so darn hot! Seriously, outfits are only getting one wear until we stop sweating through our clothes before 2 pm every day.) There have been welcome parties, like the one Friday night in the student center after a concert by every performing arts group on campus. I'm excited to audition for the Vanderbilt Concert Choir this week - I've been singing a lot and my roommate probably thinks I'm weird. (She'll learn.)

 

I'm not sure I've ever seen a legitimate band such as this (Magic Man) perform in person.
What have I been doing with my life?

Or the party Saturday night at the Country Music Hall of Fame. Whoever is in charge of freshman activities definitely pulls out all stops. We've been told by upperclassmen to enjoy the special treatment while it lasts. Security wouldn't let me play Elvis' solid gold piano, but they would let me look happy in front of his "Solid Gold Cadillac." I'll take what I can get.



On a different subject, classes have begun! I still can't get over the fact that "going to class" means less than an hour of sitting and taking notes, with 75% of the learning outside of the classroom.  It's incredible.  Today is one week since classes began, and I have somewhat of an idea of what each class will be like: lots of reading.


Of course, reality set in. But I'm loving it! 

Naturally, moving 400 miles away comes with its own set of challenges. I miss friends and family. I miss having a solid "Janette-work," as my dad likes to call it, of people I know and can really talk to. I miss being able to drive to Cook-Out at all hours of the night and get cheese fries and a chocolate Oreo cheesecake milkshake (idea creds to Isaac). I could make a much longer list of things I might miss about home, but it turns out that that's not such a good idea. Instead, I've made a list of a few things I love about being here.

1. It's a new start.
2. I have made some absolutely incredible friends. (It's hard to believe I've only known them for a week or two.)
3. I can be out as late as I want. Of course, I still text Mom & Dad to tel
    
   l them I'm in as I always have, but now I mostly do it to let them know that I am livin' the life.
4. The daily selfie exchange between me and my siblings at different points in the day. I'm so grateful for technology.
5. People are so friendly and accepting. Sure, part of that is people putting their best foot forward just as I am, but there's a reason Vanderbilt was named the campus with the happiest students. (link).
6. Is Commodore Cash the same thing as Monopoly Money, and what is the equivalency ratio to Schrute Bucks? 

A few nights after my roommate moved in, it was 9:30 and we were both ready for bed.  And then we thought, "wait a second, this is college. Aren't we supposed to, like, do things at night?" We determined that an acceptable time to go to sleep was 10:00, so around 9:45 we took a power nap to make it to 10...and woke up the next morning. Alas.

 

Today in economics, a buzzing, flying insect landed on me for at least seven seconds. It may have been my scariest moment since being targeted in the band-wide game of Assassin.

 

This is me next to Martha Rivers Ingram, after whom the
freshman Commons was named. This one's for you,
Martha Jane!

Maybe this is the end of the rainbow.

I'm very grateful to be here and really try to make the most of every day. I know that this is where I'm supposed to be right now, and that the next four years will bring blessings, discoveries, challenges, and plenty of surprises.

 

As Gordon B. Hinckley said,

"Do your best, and be a little better than you are."

 





The Beginning of the Beginning

I have been in college for approximately two days. I am attending Vanderbilt University in hopes of earning an honorable degree and continuing on to graduate school. I might become a lawyer; I might become a psychiatrist; I might drop out of school and sell used cars, but that's less likely. Coming to Vanderbilt is the very first of many steps I will be taking over the next few years to set my life on track and become a unique, independent, self-sufficient adult.



5:00 am selfie with Charlotte on August 12

 


Landing in Nashville at 8 am

My lovely helpers, Martha Jane and Mom :) They were
so sweet to stay and do most of my unpacking
while I went to band camp.



Did we buy enough stuff?

 

As I said, I have been in college for about two days.  I moved in on Tuesday, August 12, the first day of band camp. I loved my high school band experience, unique as it was, so much, that I had to try the real thing in college! So I am officially the synthesizer (electronic keyboard) player for the Spirit of Gold marching band! I can't believe I'm actually a full-on member of a marching band! Anyway, this band is particularly cool because it is made up of students from Vanderbilt, Belmont, Trevecca, Lipscomb, and other surrounding colleges. In the past two days, we have learned an entire pre-game show and started stands music (those of us in the front ensemble get to play the cymbals! I am so excited!) I love practicing in the stadium, in front of 60,000 invisible people. I can not wait to perform on game day! August 28, ESPN. Don't miss it. I have made some great friends, especially within my section, gotten sunburned, gotten sassed by my instructor (somehow I come across as snarky...) and learned how to beat anyone at rock-paper-scissors. It's 95% guaranteed and science. I will win.


Did I mention we get to wear Vandy baseball caps to march?
 I do love hats.

 

 



Hank Ingram dorms, a/k/a "Hotel Hank"

 


MJ helping unpack. I appreciate her help, but she better
know I saw she stole my Cheez-Its!

 


Enough space to live, not enough to let it get messy



I've noticed the influence of my friends and family on me through things I say, do, or think about.  I've also noticed similarities between people I know from home and those I am just now meeting.  I'm grateful for an incredible high school career, full of instructors who cared for and mentored me into becoming sure of myself as an individual.  It hit me yesterday that I am accountable to myself. That's it. If I want to go explore campus, watch Netflix, or go out for pancakes at 2 in the morning, I can.  There are no room checks, no hall sweeps, no taking away phones for misbehavior, none of that. I am accountable to myself and, as my own hardest critic, I'm going to keep myself on the straight and narrow.  Of course, the fact that I'm not in high school anymore means that school doesn't have to play clean versions of songs, and instructors can do as they please (which will hit home even more once classes begin August 20.) Finally, I've cemented my belief that you can never eat too many Tootsie Rolls, and I know my Grandma Mackay would back me up on this. I may have to restock sooner than I thought.

Band has been my entire waking life since Tuesday, and it has been a blast. At the same time, I am thoroughly excited for my roommate to move in on Saturday with the rest of the first-years, for classes to start, for my first time getting lost, for the homesickness, for the many FaceTimes of the future, for church, and all else that is to come.  It's nice to be in a new environment, not knowing anyone, and able to make a completely new name for myself.  It helps that no one knows anyone either - everyone is just out to make friends and have the best experience possible. I'm so grateful for the friends I've made here and those back home with whom I do and will keep in contact.  Here's to the beginning of a great four years!