Hi! What's the best thing that happened to you this year?
I don't know. You? I think the best thing that happened is that I passed my physics exam. How sad right?
I got married!
Nice!
No that's a great thing to be happy about!
That's a happy moment!
I took a required class for my major that I high-key struggled through and I was so happy just to have gotten my D and passed the class!
That's great! Did you have to retake the class?
Are you a physics major? Nope thankfully! I just needed to pass it
Heavens no
What are you studying?
I can't do physics to save my life. I'm studying electrical engineering. Which is way harder than I expected. But for now that's what I'm doing with my life. What are you studying?
Ha what's the difference...? Just kidding! I'm studying music so everything beyond that is all the same to me
Between a physics major and electrical engineering?
The same level of hard I mean!
Gotcha.
It's all just a bunch of really hard math and science right?
They are definitely the same level of hard. And music is hard for me too, I play the bass.
So were you just fulfilling a general with your physics class? Oh nice, that's a great instrument!
But I haven't played in a while.
When did you first start learning?
Yeah, my physics class is just to fulfill a general. I started learning the bass in 5th grade. So it's been a while.
Fun, are you almost done with generals?
Nope. I'm just getting started.
That's way cool, the unfortunate thing about string instruments is that you have to start them young to be halfway decent at them so I missed my chance But you didn't! You could still go on to become a professional bassist! Is this your first semester?
Yep, this is my first semester.
Exciting! And how is the college life treating you?
Yeah you do have to start young to play a string instrument but I didn't take it seriously enough. College life is insanely fast paced. I don't think classes are that hard but the amount of time I have and the amount of work I have to do is impossible. I actually don't enjoy college at all. But I guess I will buckle down and get it over with. What about you?
No kidding, I definitely miss high school and how much slower things are there...I have one class where I have a comprehensive test every two weeks That would never happen in high school! College isn't the only route! There are definitely other options available! But it also does get better the further along you get into it
And those tests probably cover multiple chapters! In high school two chapters was a lot but here we do 2-3 chapters in a week and take a test every two weeks. How am I supoose
I had a slightly easier transition I think because I moved out of my house the second half of my senior year then started at BYU in the spring so I had some time to get used
Supposed to master the material In that amount of time?*
to everything. I've only got three semesters left thankfully! Yes exactly no kidding! It's insane the amount of material you have to cover at such a quick pace. There's no extra time to spend on stuff you don't get, you just hope for the best and move on
That's awesome that you only have 3 semesters left! You've survived! I definitely try to hope for the best and move on. Although sometimes to best comes back to bite. The best*
Ha I haven't survived yet! I still have three more to go...we'll see if I make it... C's get degrees am I right?
C get degrees! So true! I live by that motto currently.
There are things that are way more important than grades, like relationships with family and friends, mental health, money, and food. So there's nothing wrong with some C's if your priorities are in the right order I think
Yeah, I need to balance life a little better. I actually put all my time into studying and I'm still not doing as well as I would hope. But I guess with time things will get better. It just takes so long to get all the work done. And when I feel comfortable with the work load they throw on extra projects and tests that are impossible to complete in the required time. It's so hard to work, have friends and study. I don't know how people can manage it all.
It's a pretty crazy schedule, there are tons of demands on students' time and a lot of pressures they have to face
There's a ton of pressures.
I'm really sorry you're having a tough time...I know this isn't super helpful but I promise it gets better! It just usually takes some trial and error to figure out how to
And there's a ton of  opportunities but so hard to enjoy them because of the demands on time.
balance everything in a way that puts the most important things first but still allows you to get everything done that need to get done
I'm glad it gets better! I like that.
It seems crazy that you can have a life in school but you get used to it and it gets easier and easier each semester What opportunities do you wish you could enjoy?
That's good that you've reached a balance. I think it would be nice to have time to exercise, hang out occasionally with friends, dating is a nice one too. Also, learn cool things on my own, not just about what I'm studying. Maybe learn about investing in stocks and mutual funds would be cool. Or even just extra time to make really amazing tasting foods. That'd be a bonus. And healthy of course. But time limits the healthy factor sometimes.
Ha I had a pretty good balance until I got married! My husband is great and I love being married to him but it's another thing I have to budget time for!
That's so true. It's definarely important to take time as a couple from the little experience that I have seen.
All those things are super important and totally doable! I guess you just have to decide the most important things to you and then do them in the order of importance
And I'm sure he appreciates the time you take too
For example you could spend an hour nitpicking an essay to bring it from a B to an A or spend an hour with friends or making good food, still get a good grade, and not suffer
Yeah it's definately important to make a list of priorities like you are saying.
any mental health setbacks because of that
I think that's a good trade off.
Sorry you're probably tired of me giving you all this life advice that might not be event hat helpful! It just frustrates me when people are suffering because of the
It's so hard not to fix the essay though because you know you are able to fix it. And you choose to get that grade not because you can't do it but don't have time.
over-emphasis that society has placed on academic achievement and the idea that your self-worth is tied to that
Yeah that is difficult.
Time is like any other resource, it's the same as doing poorly because you didn't have the knowledge or didn't understand the concept or didn't study well If that makes sense
No, I think you are helping.
Well good! Don't sacrifice your mental health for a grade, it's never worth it!
Yeah, that makes sense. I think you are right. Mental health is definitely more important than a grade. Since grades really aren't most of what life is about.
Definitely, you don't want to graduate and have to deal with the effects of pushing yourself too hard in college
So true. I see your point. Well...thanks!
Sure! Hope things get better for you!
I hope so too! I definitely push myself too hard in almost everything I do.
Yeah that's a common problem of BYU students I think...there's nothing wrong with trying hard and doing the best that you can, it just has to be in a healthy proportion Had you always wanted to go to BYU?
Yes, I've always wanted to be here but it's hard to want to stay.
Oh cool, did your parents come here also?
Yes they did. And my grandparents I think. So it goes way backx Back*
And yeah I definitely went through that phase too but it for real gets better as you make friends and get a handle on the college life Oh wow that's a major BYU legacy! Are your family around here?
Nope. They actually live pretty far away. I'm sure with more time I'll get used to school.
Are you heading home for Thanksgiving? I'm sure you will!
Nope. That would be nice but I think my family is coming for Christmas. I do have grandparents and cousins that live close which is nice!
That's too bad, but at least you'll see them in two months or so! Are you and your family pretty close?
Yeah we are very close. And my brother goes to school nearby so I should get to see him sometime.
Do you have a big family?
Fairly. It's not that big though compared to the size of families there have around here.
And where do you fall in your family?
I'm the oldest. So I'm the guinea pig for everything.
Oh yeah that's the roughest spot to be in!
But I haven't been home for a while, I was living outside the country. So I'm used to living on my own. But it is a huge culture shock.
I'm technically #2 but my older sister never moved out so I'm closer to #1 and it's a struggle Oh cool, where were you living?
I lived in Spain. It's a cool country. Lots of fun stuff to do. So you have a lot of the same guinea pig problems, right? That would be difficult.
Nice, did you get to see lots of cool stuff?
A few things. Not a whole ton because I was so busy working all the time. I didn't have a lot of free time.
Yeah most of the guinea pig stuff, both of my parents come from fairly traumatic family backgrounds so they didn't really have any idea what a functional family looked like
But there are a lot of cool cathedrals and buildings.
And are you fluent in Spanish then?
That can be really difficult for normal family life. I'm sorry. I have some experience with that. Yes I'm fluent in Spanish. And that probably makes it hard to think of what your future family might be like. It that true?
My parents did the best they could with what they had is how I look at it, they were dealt a bad hand and are just trying to make things better for us than they were for them
That makes sense why they would do that.
It can be hard I guess, my husband's family is way more functional so I'll draw a lot from them I think, I've know them for 5 years or so I'm pretty familiar with them Interesting, what are the major differences between Mexican Spanish and Spain Spanish?
And parents can only do that best they can with what they've got. With Spain Spanish and Mexican Spanish. The Spaniards are very vulgar in how they express themselves and they also are very correct grammatically in how they speak. Mexican Spanish is a little more relaxed in how they speak I have to go! Have a great day! Thanks for your advice