Help?

Any Cougars out there happen to know what was in BYU Sparkle? They don't make it anymore and if memory serves it was some concoction of cranberry juice, orange juice and Sprite??? I can't remember for sure though so I'm hoping someone else does.

Mucho obligado in advance for your help!

To BYU, With Love

Yesterday I read an article in The Chronicle of Higher Education that really got me thinking. The article was about how Miami University of Ohio sends Valentine's Day cards every year to its "merger" couples. A merger couple is one formed by the marriage of two alumni or current students. Based on informal surveys, Miami believes they have one of the highest percentages of alumni marrying alumni which is about 14% of all graduates.

So of course I had to consider my own alma mater BYU. Brent and I met there and are both alumnus. My parents are, two of my sisters and their spouses are, as far as I know almost all of my BYU roommates married BYU boys. I was excited when Chelsea and Tyler came to mind (she was a Cougar and he was a Ute) but then Brent reminded me he subsequently got his Master's at BYU. Okay, so they're out. The SNCP? I'm pretty sure they're ALL BYU alumni (although I couldn't remember for sure about Sara). In fact, the vast majority of us--three of the five couples--came from the same ward. Then I tried digging deeper and thought through my mission companions. There was one, Gaylynn whose spouse went elsewhere. Other than her, if they went to BYU, their spouses did too.

Hmmmm, let's take a look at my current ward... I was able to think of two others: Scott and Mindy attended BYU, but their spouses went elsewhere. Brent's side of the family is a bit more diverse. His parents are both BYU alumni but his brother and sister married non-BYU people. Yet again, Brent reminded me that if we expand our definition of BYU to include all campuses, not just Provo but Hawaii and Idaho, then that knocks out his brother who's wife went to BYU Hawaii. So technically that leaves just his sister. Now that I think of it, my sister-in-law did her undergrad at BYU but both she and my brother ended up at the University of Iowa where they met. That brings my total to roughly half a dozen. If I thought really hard I'm sure I could come up with a couple dozen but after racking my brains for a while it was clear BYU people tend to marry BYU people. Even Ashleigh and Ryan from So You Think You Can Dance both attended BYU!

Miami believes part of the reason they have such a high merger rate is because of their relatively remote location which fosters a close-knit campus. Hmmmm, so what's BYU's excuse? Provo is anything but remote and I don't know if you could accurately measure raging RM hormones of a chaste people who are more than ready to tie the knot. But I still think that has something to do with it. Perhaps this is a bit controversial, but I also think BYU students purposely look for other BYU students to marry. Let's face it, there's a prestige to attending BYU and it's nice to have that accomplishment and experience in common. And nowhere on the face of the earth are you as likely to find someone who shares your values and beliefs than BYU. Not that it doesn't happen... In fact, many of the merger couples I know didn't meet at BYU; that connection was made later.

My POINT is that Miami seems to think they have one of the highest "merger" rates of all schools. Based on my informal survey of the BYU folks I know, the Cougars absolutely have to have a much, much higher rate than 14% (Brent's guess is 60%). It's actually harder for me to think of an exception to the merger rule than someone who follows the rule! Another point of this article is that couples are much more likely to give back to the university than couples where only one person attended Miami--a difference of 25% to 15%. Interestingly enough, the BYU alumni office called Brent and I just a couple of weeks ago asking for a donation which we were happy to make. We have fond memories of the place and will continue to support the institution.

So the only question remaining is: where's my Valentine's Day card from BYU???

Overcoming

American Heritage 100 is a required class at BYU. If you are a transfer student, no other history class will substitute. You HAVE to take their version of American history. I did horribly when I took it and got my lowest grade ever of a C-. This was also the semester I returned to school after my mission. My formerly BFF roommate suddenly hated me, my job in the Financial Aid Office was temporarily closed and I found myself making ends meet on the swing shift as a janitor in the Wilkinson Center. My dates were lackluster to say the least and nothing seemed to be going right. I had the hardest time trying to mesh the lessons learned from the mission with my living reality which left me depressed and quietly crying myself to sleep pretty much every night.

That poor grade has always been a black mark on my academic career not to mention my transcript. It's always nagged at me and made me feel like perhaps I didn't belong at a prestigious institution like BYU. A couple of years ago my company had a presentation on their tuition reimbursement plan and I got to hear from coworkers who were taking classes part-time from places like the Harvard extension center and even pastry school. The course didn't even have to be related to our job! It just had to be from an accredited university and part of a degree or certificate program. If my company would foot the bill, I thought, why not try retaking that blasted American Heritage course? I had nothing to lose... not even the tuition. So I signed up for it.

I don't know what the hell I was thinking (pardon my French). I signed up for this colossally difficult course (the independent study version is much, much harder than the one offered on campus) while I was working full-time, chasing a toddler and pregnant. To truly succeed in this course I had to read the chapter, re-read it, fully complete the study guide which was many pages long and then write 2-5 essays after a brief multiple choice quiz. I could do one, maybe two chapters a week and I was fried by the time I was done. One benefit of taking it at this time in my life was being IN Boston. Now I really appreciate why it's called "The Cradle of Liberty" from the Boston Tea Party to the Model Constitution to Shay's Rebellion. I learned SO much! Now come the accolades for my sweet so sweet husband.

To help me out, he would take responsibility for Liesel as soon as he was home from work. I shut myself in our bedroom to study and listened to him play with Liesel a couple of rooms away. Brent tirelessly quizzed me to prepare for my lesson submissions and let me summarize chapters to him so I could ingrain them in my own mind. On Thursdays, I stayed at work late to work on my study guides and lesson submissions. The submissions were particularly arduous and each one took a minimum of two hours to complete. When my parents and sister were here over Christmas, Brent cheerfully entertained them while I hunkered down to complete the last of my lesson submissions. He never complained... not once. When I whined about how hard it was, he expressed nothing but faith in me and kept urging me on. He was truly a gem.

The comprehensive final for the course was worth 40% of my grade. I had to review lessons that I'd studied months before when I wasn't plagued with morning sickness and the innate memory loss that comes with pregnancy. Again, Brent quizzed me tirelessly and patiently corrected me. He gave me a hug and a kiss when I went to take the final at the local Sylvan Learning Center and told me I'd done everything I could do. He was right... the results of my final came in today and I got 97% with a 96% for the entire course. I aced it. And I've been grinning like an idiot ever since. Not only will we be able to get reimbursed for the money spent on the course, but I've proven to myself I CAN do it and I AM smart. That may sound ridiculous, but I truly believe some of the biggest obstacles we face are the ones we put in front of ourselves. I've just overcome this one and right now I'm feeling like I can accomplish just about anything.

Bracket Schmacket

It all started when we picked our alma mater to win in the first round. Somehow it felt disloyal not to (ahem JANEAL :)). We're true blue, through and through and thought our Cougars, who turned out the likes of Danny Ainge, would win at least ONE game.

As I researched the teams to complete my bracket I tried to use my "third eye" to find my champions. When I heard Syracuse beat UConn in a six overtime game I thought I'd found it. A team with hunger. A team that could take down the giant. My underdog that would surely win it all (this is America after all) and secure my bracket.

So BYU fell almost before they started. One of my coworkers even stopped by my desk to convey his condolences. As you can see Liesel was pretty torn up about it as well. Then Arizona won (WHAT?!?!?). Then it was just a blood bath with Memphis, Duke, Wake Forest and Pitt losing. My brackets are obliterated. There's almost no point in watching anymore. What really kills me is seeing Brent like this. Basketball is his thing, and it's like the game just spit in his face. It's so sad... so very sad.