The Final Sprint of the Long Haul

This weekend seemed as good as any to give an update on how life is going so far. The two major things that I have been working on lately is my schooling and with my relationship. There are other little things as well... Things like what to wear in the morning, being able to schedule time to try and go to the temple, finish up scholarships and making sure that my internship for this summer is actually going to happen and that the internship isn't just a word of mouth kind of thing but that it is actually officially taking place. Anyways, if I was going to move past my day to day decision of whether I am waking up to the sound of "Snap! Crackle! Pop!" or if it is going to be a bowl of Wendell's Cinnamon Toasted Crunchiness, I am going to give you a real update on what you would be expecting if for some odd reason you were hoping to hop into my shoes and see what it would be like to be me right now.

The big stress recently is college. I have a lot to do and a lot to figure out in the next few weeks. I am starting to figure out what tests I need to take and what I need to do to apply to graduate school. This involves me taking the GRE and GMAT this summer and getting fantastic scores on them and also the miracle of doing well in my classes! My grades weren't exactly starting off the best this semester and with four out of five classes all riding somewhere in the "C"-range, I knew that there was some change in order. For the most part, I have chewed and clawed my way out of the hole I made for myself and I think by the end of the semester, I should end up with okay grades. My classes are just very difficult and when i explain my situation to my professors they basically either laugh or ask why I would set myself up like this for the third to last semester... and sometimes I just don't know how to respond. Let me explain. No, there is too much. Let me sum up:

I am at the point in my major where I am starting to take graduate or pre-graduate level courses of which this semester I am taking two (next Fall semester I will be taking only these types of classes so I think it will be a total of four... oh joy). Then there is my religion class that allows me to breathe and is a huge source of revelation and I have a wonderful professor. Lastly I have my two science classes that I think I need to take to apply for graduate school: anatomy and organic chemistry. Anatomy is straight memorization of terms and is basically a very hard yet interesting foreign language class. We get to look at the insides of dead people... if that isn't cool then I don't know what is! Then there is my organic chemistry class... it is the tool medical schools use to weed out the students that wouldn't cut it in the long run. And I am deciding to take all of these classes at the same time? No wonder I make my professors laugh in pity. And on top of that your grades always take a dive the semester when you begin to date your future spouse.

I said it... my future spouse. Tatiana and I have been doing really well! Don't get me wrong, the relationship can feel strained at times because of the distance, the time difference and the lack of being able to be with one another, but overall I couldn't ask for things to be better. A little strain on any muscle including the heart helps it grow and makes it stronger. Still, I don't know how we are able to pull it off because it is a rarity for us to miss a single day without Skyping. I send her daily emails and little private messages and posts on Facebook and to a variety of other inboxes and we just love and miss each other something fierce. It has been a blessing to see the growth we are both experiencing. And even though not everyone in Australia is happy with the change, everyone that really matters to us has been there when we needed them. We have had to do a lot of soul searching, praying and reading our scriptures a lot, making time to go to the temple, and we are so very grateful for all the love and support we have received from friends and family alike.

My friends here at BYU cut me a lot of slack when it comes to class notes, homework, and all the time I spend talking or thinking about her. Then there is my family. They are continually coming up with ideas of how to make things easier, wanting updates on our latest conversations, and I think there is always someone putting our names in the temple every week. When I think about the situation on the other side of the pond, it is basically the same story. Tatiana and I have talked about when to possibly have a wedding and some of the details that go with that but overall it is still only talk. Mostly because I haven't taken the time to buy a ring and propose but I want to get to know her more and get to know her family before I take their little Tatiana away from them. I prefer to think of it as she is pursuing her dreams in America and they gained a pretty cool son-in-law instead, but again I need to meet them before anything happens. With that in mind, Tati has begun warming her family and friends up to this whole idea and I am so grateful for the responses she has had. If anything, this whole experience has reinforced to me how important the family is in our lives. I don't think we would be able to do this without them.

The biggest thing is that it isn't over. School, waiting to see her again, a lot of things have to happen and a lot of things are always changing but from my perspective it is all for the best. I just need to always take the time to recharge my batteries and then put my head down and keep going. This whole adventure feels like the long haul, but at the end of every race there is the final sprint and it is there where we find out how great our desire is. We have to push through all the way to the end and if we do our very best, we will in the end feel the peace, joy, and love that we have always been looking for.