Extra Extra! Kaycie is a BYU Grad!

Wow...it has been quite awhile and SO much has happened! I do have much to update on and I apologize if this post gets semi-long. I will try to be short in everything, but we shall see...:)

So first of all...the most exciting thing to happen in my life most recently is that I am DONE with school. A Bachelor's Degree will soon be in my hands! That is so weird, but so amazing!! When the heck did I grow up? I'm the baby. I go to preschool...not college. But I sure did go to college. And I was so privileged to go to the greatest school in the world. I love BYU with all my heart. It has provided me with the most amazing experiences. When I came to BYU I was just a little girl. I feel that I have grown up quite a bit. Yes, I still have my baby moments, but I have learned so much in my time at BYU.

Some of my favorite memories from BYU are:

*sporting events

*Club Style

*the CougarEat

*dorm life

*creating the friends I will have for life (these are not your average high school relationships :)

*Religion courses & teachers

*Cosmo (is the man.)

*dances

*General Authorities coming to speak

There is SO much to say about BYU. I LOVE BYU and I am so proud to say I am a cougar. I am so grateful for tithing money so that the way was provided for me to come and I am also so grateful for parents who paid for tuition and books. I seriously get overwhelmed with joy when I think of my BYU experience. I had the hardest time of my life while being here, but I will always look at BYU with such a fondness. On the up side...I am done with homework, tests, quizzes, papers, assignments, and stupid group projects where there is always someone who is a slacker! It feels great!

In other news...I love Christmas and Christmas time! It has been a blast this season. I got to decorate my house with my roomies, throw an ugly sweater party, and go to Temple Square. All grand things!

In other other news...I love Alex's family! The majority of his family lives nearby. His mom's parents, his dad's mom, his sister and her family, aunts, uncles, cousins...it's great. Until the last few months I was not close with any of his family. He was obviously close with mine since he served his mission on the fabulous island of Hilton Head! However, it feels so great to become tighter with his family too. Everyone is so kind, loving, and genuinely interested in knowing me. The outpouring of love has been much appreciated.

And lastly...some sad news. One of my girls at New Haven got discharged yesterday. She was already planning on flying out today to go home for Christmas, but was supposed to come back on the 2nd. However, her parents told her yesterday that they could no longer afford it and that money was way too tight. (New Haven is A LOT so unless insurance or government is paying for it, that is quite a feat to pay every month.) Her parents felt bad having to pull her, but they had no other option. I found out right before I went on shift and when I got on shift they were having a goodbye meeting for her with our house. I have not seen some of the girls cry like that. She was quite a leader in our house and lots of girls looked up to her so the house is really going to take a hit with her absence. Gosh, I love her. SO much. She was one of the first girls to get close to me and she and I have so much fun together. It still feels surreal. I think I'm in denial. I still don't believe it. Last night was so hard. She was there and was upset. She is one of the girls that actually wants to be at New Haven. She sees how much she has grown in the last 6 months and wants to finish the program. It just sucks cause there are girls who have the money, but could care less. It makes me sad/angry. She deserves to be there and I wish so badly she could have stayed.

I had a rough time saying goodbye to her. I still cannot believe she is not coming back and I cry every time I think about it. I love her so so so much and I really hope she sticks to what she has learned at New Haven. She has the potential to do amazing things in her life because of her strong influence. I have never been more grateful for the bijillion pictures she took of herself/herself and me/herself with others/herself more on my computer. I will cherish those photos forever. If you can't tell I'm so sad...

Anyways, on with Christmas! (p.s. my Alex left on Monday and I may have been a wreck. I'm not ok with all of these goodbyes....at least he's coming back. :)