When I start at Brigham Young University in the fall, I am going to be ahead of the game. And I am not just talking about credits. Even though I have taken 11 advanced placement courses during high school, it is not the calculus or world history I have learned that I think will give me the biggest advantage. It is really the things I have learned about myself, others and the learning process itself that have prepared me most for the college experience.

Growing up, I had a football mentality.  From the time I was 5 years old, I breathed and ate the sport of football.  Instead of watching cartoons, I watched Sportscenter.  In my playing years, I had the heart, but unfortunately never had the God-given talent.  God had a purpose for everything I went through in high school, and He is not finished with me yet.

As a freshman, high school felt like a new and exciting experience, with many faces that I had grown to know in my two years at Strack Intermediate, as well as many fresh faces that I would come to be very close to. But there was one person who had attended Strack with me for those two years that I had never met, never seen and only heard of a handful of times. Fall semester of freshman year in Mrs. Franks’ English class I met Jordan Yost, who would grow to be one of my best friends.

I believe that tolerance is not only the highest result of education, but also an essential part of it. I consistently hear that people need to “keep an open mind.” However, I find that this notion goes a tad too far. The problem with having an open mind lies in the fact that other people will walk by and try to fill it with their own ideas. This is obviously not conducive to developing one’s own opinions or to achieving this tolerance that is to be aimed for.

Looking back on childhood, I believe the period of my education I felt most comfortable with was my time in preschool and kindergarten. In those critical years, teachers focused on allowing my young mind to flourish by rewarding creativity and ingenuity instead of punishing incorrect responses or chiding me for not sitting still. There was time allotted every week for P.E., dancing, music and recess, along with all the basic core subjects. And in those core subjects, lessons were taught through inventive means, interactive projects on enthralling lessons in vibrant color, I was able to relate to or take active interest in.