I would probably spend my time traveling the world
With finals going on, I'm probably crazy for saying this, but I'd be a student for the rest of my life Where would you want to travel first?
I think Madagascar Thats funny Do you enjoy learning then?
I really do.  Besides, it would give me more of a chance to learn languages.  And why Madagascar?
Nature is so fascinating to me and the specimens found there are so diverse and unique. I also am intrigued by the culture that Ive seen.
That's really cool!  I'm guessing you're studying biology or some sort of scientific field then?
Just a passion, actually Im studying industrial design. And you language or linguistics?
Linguistics.  Not gonna lie though, I'm doing it like, 98% out of sheer pettiness.
Haha how so?
Well, the reason I learned every single one of my languages was because I was too petty to listen to people when they told me not to do something. So linguistics kind..of....happened as a result.
That's hilarious, I'm like that in a way. How many languages do you know? And which ones?
Are you? How so?  And I speak 6: Scottish Gaelic (the useless one), Russian, Arabic, Hebrew, Spanish, and (of course) English.
Ill often do things that people say I cant do, just out of spite. Like if someone says a class is hard, ill likely take it to just show them that I can do it. Thats imoressive Impressive*
HA! I can relate. "That's a horrible idea. You shouldn't do the thing!" "I DO WHAT I WANT!"
Exactly, Haha it happens pretty often
It's one of those things that makes you question why you do this to yourself.  But are we smart enough to STOP doing it?   .........not really, no. After Madagascar where do you think you'd want to go? (Remember, if money isn't an object, neither is reality.  I say you're allowed to include fictional universes.)
Thats an interesting way to look at it Um, let me think a second Some of the first that came to mind, the Harry potter universe where magic actually exists. Or the marvel universe. Then for reality china
So questions for all of those: Harry Potter Universe, I'm assuming you'd HAVE magic.  What house would you want to be in and why? Marvel Universe: would you want to replace one of the super heroes?  (And favorite, because there is a right and wrong answer here) China: weirdest food you'd be willing to eat?
Harry Potter: Id want to be in the gryffindor house, because I feel like Id get along better with them more so than the other houses. Also id have a chance to meet harry himself :)
Is that where you realistically think you'd be sorted too then?
Marvel: I dont think Id want to replace any, but I could obsess over real people rather than fictional characters. I really like Dr. Strange and  Captain America I think so for the sorting And in china im pretty open to trying things I worked with Hmong people and you were never quite sure what they were going to feed you
On a mission?  Were you in Minnesota/Wisconsin?
Yeah, I was in California
Ohhh ok.  I had a friend who was in Minnesota and the poor guy had to learn Hmong in one transfer from a dictionary. His mission president had kind of a wonky sense of humor.
Pretty much the same, they switched me my last 3 months
OOF.  That sounds moderately exhausting.
It definitely was
"Dear Heavenly Father, I don't know what I did to offend you, but I'm really sorry."
Hahaha I definitely had that feeling, but it was a really good experience and I was humbled pretty quick
Um YEAH, no kidding! And I mean, I've noticed that people are willing to forgive a lot of grammatical mistakes in people learning their language.  They're just happy to have someone to talk to. Not always, but usually.
This is true, they were a fun people
Sounds like it!  I'm sort of envious tbh.
And honestly most speak a fair amount of english Why? Youve got so many language down?
I went English speaking on my mission and I've always been a little salty that I wasn't allowed to learn something else haha.
Haha oh okay I wanted to learn spanish for my mission then it was english with a curveball at the end
And linguistic curiosity: when you say most speak English, is it kids that learned bilingually or older people who learned english as a second language? Well, the Lord works in mysterious ways.  Did you speak spanish pre mission?
Most older knew very little english and spoke purely hmong, then middle age were bilingual, and very few youth spoke both they mostly knew english with enough hmong to get by. Missionaroes generally knew more Hmong than them Im familiar with spanish, half of my family is Hispanic But I've never fully learned, just like the hmong kids
That's pretty common in multiracial populations.  It's sad, but it's just politically easier to speak the majority language or the language of economic power, and that leads to language decay in most communities.
Yeah, its sad. I hope the culture is preserved. The Doctrine and covenants and pearl of great price are being translated in Hmong so there must still be enough
It's still spoken in other parts of the world, so the culture should be preserved in some form or another, but you're right to worry a bit. Anyway....cheerier topic of conversation: why industrial design?
Its a blend of art and science/math and has a decent outlook on career
So is there an area specifically you'd want to focus on? Or is specialization not really a thing?
I guess you could specialize in a certain line, like furniture, car, or tech Not really, just where work is available
That makes sense.  Smart. So do you have a favorite thing?
I think tech, like a camera or something like that
That sounds like fun!  So you'd be finding a balance between form and function, yes?
Exactly! Most people assume its architecture
I have a friend who graduated in Industrial Design.  She's basically the coolest person I know.  Unbearably hipster, but SO FREAKING COOL.
Haha yeah thats the usual type of design student What is she doing with it now?
She was actually teaching at BYU for a while.  Now I think she found a company to work for full time, but I can't remember what it's called.
Thats way cool nonetheless Where do you want to go with linguistics?
Yeah, she's actually adulting sucessfully
An impressive feat XD
Right?  I must learn her ways hahaha
Im still working on that myself
Yeah me too, but I still have a while.  Hopefully
How much longer do you have in chil College*
I'm actually just starting my MA, so a while.  However long it takes to finish my thesis.  You?
Im just getting started, so a while
So you don't HAVE to be an adult yet! Yay! Oh, hot tip: if you manage to get a job at the BYU Store, you get free textbooks
Oh dang, thats a good deal Did you work in the BYU store?
I did.  If you don't mind people, it's not a bad gig
Yeah, that would be sweet. I was was thinking of getting a job next fall
It's actually easier to get a job there if you start about 2 weeks before education week.  So if you're in town in the summer, it would be worth looking into.
Oh that might work, ill be getting back in august. Thanks for the advice and tips!
No problem!  I actually need to get going.  Good talk though :)