The (Horrible?) Unknown!

This has really just been an amazing week for me!  I don’t think I would have guessed when this week started that I would be where I am now.  We all probably have times where we are surprised by the way life goes, and I have been surprised by the this past week has gone and the direction I am heading in now. 

After finishing my mission I was pretty worried about my schedule and what classes I should take.  I wanted to take classes I would enjoy, and at the same time I wanted it to be something which the Lord could use the talents I have and help me to develop others.  I feel strongly earning my undergraduate in Neuroscience is something which will help me in the future.  I have been specifically looking at going into education.   I am not decided what level I want to work at yet (higher education or something else), but I was thinking a technical background of sorts would be helpful with so much being done online these days.  This semester I had signed up for an IT class, and was looking at doing an IT minor.  However, after being in the class a few days, I realized IT was not where I needed to be.  Monday started, I knew I needed to choose a minor.  I felt strongly I should be in the class starting a minor this semester, but I had no idea where or which class I should be in.

I said a prayer, asked for help, and then went back to square one in looking for classes.  Square one for me was opening the page that had a list of undergraduate minors offered by BYU.  I narrowed it down to three that seemed like they might work and read about them online.  I formed some opinions, and then went to ask for advice.  I have gotten into a habit of going straight to the professors and asking them for help.  They seem to have the final word on things anyway.  The first place I went was the IP&T office, which is a graduate program I was looking at applying to after my undergraduate degree.  As mostly happens, instead of narrowing things down the professor I talked to gave me three new ideas, and then sent me on to someone else.  To make a longer story just a little shorter, I talked with professors in five different departments.  Some gave me more advice about graduate schools (even though I was asking about minors), others offered little to no help at all, and others were amazing.  One of the most helpful was actually talking with my Dad who works in Computer Science (not at BYU).  It seems a miracle to me that I was able to get help from so many professors in such a short time-especially without having any appointments.  By Thursday I had finally narrowed it to two options—either the IT I was already in, or CS (computer science). 

I was hesitant about choosing the CS minor.  First, I did not know a lot about CS in general, and second I was worried about how hard it would be to catch up after missing the first two weeks of class.  I decided I would go to the CS class on Friday and talk with the professor after to see what thoughts he had on adding the class late or not.  I was surprised that one, I stayed awake for the whole class; and second, I was interested in what the professor was saying.  I had looked him up already online, and despite the picture, he actually was a pretty nice guy.  (Isn’t that unique . . . someone is different than an initial judgment based on appearances?)  The professor told me I was free to sign up for the class, and I had actually done so just in time.  Friday afternoon the first lab for the class was due.  I spent most of Friday afternoon in the lab working and learning from the TA’s.  I also had help from my Dad.  At the end of it all, I found that the strange confusing thing I had not understood before was now making just a little sense.  I found that not only could I understand just a piece of it now, but a whole world seemed to open up, and I found I did enjoy it! 

I think at the end of it, what I really learned is that the things that seem foreign or odd can many times end up being things we enjoy.  Sometimes in life I have wished I would be able to see how things would all turn out.  But, if I had seen 6 years ago that I would be minoring in computer science, I am sure I would be thoroughly disappointed and maybe slightly depressed.  Most often I don’t see what I need to do until it is time for me to do it.  I like the quote “When the time for action has come, the time of preparation is over.”  We don’t always know what the future has in store for us, but I know as we rely on the Lord He will make sure all things work out for our benefit.  We might not know all things, but in my opinion, that is just as it should be.  I can enjoy life now, with everything I have, and I know as I rely on the Lord, as the future comes I will have more to be grateful for.