So you know how I said I gave up on creative titles, well I decided to start doing my titles in different languages. THANK GOODNESS FOR GOOGLE TRANSLATE.
So last night I got home from Rexburg after driving 14 hours straight from Rexburg on 3 1/2 hours of sleep and one bottle of Coke. And quite frankly, this was by far the best semester I have had yet. I had so many ups and downs, so many trials, and so many difficult moments where I just wanted to give up but I also had some of the most amazing memories ever. This semester really tested me and made me contemplate a lot of stuff but I managed to make it through and make it the best semester yet. The friends I made, the teachers I had, the grades I got, and the memories I made. All of that combined, made for an amazing semester.
I wanna first mention my friends. Oh boy, where do I start. Let's begin with my roommates. Thomas Landrith, my room roommate is a totally awesome dude. We went to the gas station at 1:30 in the morning one time because we were bored and wanted a soda. As we were jaywalking across the main street, a cop rolls by and just keeps driving, good times. He is such a hilarious person and I loved being around him. I can't compare him to my other roommates because I loved all of them too, but he was an amazing roommate. Then there is Fernando, who would often drive me places when I needed a ride and was super cool. I loved hanging out with him and Thomas. We had so much fun together especially when the three of us went to get drinks and then watch the NBA finals and stayed up until 4 AM watching horror movies. Yeah, we got kinda scared but it wasn't too bad. Anyway, I did a ton of stuff with them and we always had a blast. My other roommate is Joseph and he was pretty cool. Didn't do too much with him but I know he's a great guy. Christian was never home but he got engaged and that was cool. But, I still did see him a ton during the semester and we always had a great time when we saw each other. Then there is Tyler, a super awesome person. I loved hanging out with him. Half the semester involved us collecting the empty toilet paper rolls and would put them in each others rooms. Then it stopped, however, I went home for the weekend and he managed to put them all on my bed and put my mattress sitting on top of it. I don't know how he did it but he managed to do it. All together we had an amazing semester. We all went to Big Juds one day after going to the river and we got food. Man, it was a great semester. I loved it and I love my roommates.
Ok, be patient guys. I know the title is about prayer but we will get there. I have a really good story that goes along with prayer. I was also gonna speak about friends and my FHE sisters this post but I'm gonna write another one with those because that might be a lot.
Anyway, I wanna talk about my teachers. Let's start with Brother Gardner. He is such an amazing religions teacher. Brother Gardner gave that personal touch to his students and always tried to connect with them every day and made me feel included in class. He had such a positive and uplifting attitude that made me want to come to class every day. I'm so glad to have had him and for the influence he had on me. I will never forget how awesome he was. The next teacher is Sister Nelson, my American Epidemic teacher. She was so funny and so fun to talk to. She always made class enjoyable and was really easy to get along with. I loved having her as a teacher and all the fun stuff we learned in the class. Oh and she nicknamed me Barefoot Mike (long story), so it's always fun to have a nickname. My other two teachers, Brother Christenson and Brother Fisher, were great. I didn't get super close to them but I managed to get a B in Fisher's class and then an A in one of Christenson's classes and a B in retaking bio in his class. Overall, I loved my teachers this semester and had such an amazing experience with them.
So here's the point where we get to prayer. As we can recall, fall semester ended with me getting a 63% in Biology and I had two C's, one B, and one A. That semester ended in failure with a 2.6 GPA. This semester I decided to retake biology because I don't give up and decided I would give it a second chance. In addition to that, I had my religions class (fairly easy), bio orientation (pretty much show up for attendance), a class about China, and then The American Epidemic (health class). This semester was the turning point. If I did good in bio then I was keeping it as my major, if I failed then I was going to find a new major. I started the semester really well and got an 86% on my biology exam which was 24% higher than the first time I took the unit one exam. I got high scores on the first exams for my other classes. However, I started getting into my same habit of not studying and not doing the study guides. Grades kept dropping in both biology, The American Epidemic, and although I didn't try in my China class, I somehow managed a 90% all semester. As the semester draws nearer to an end, I have two A's, a B, and two high C's. This is where I turned towards prayer.
I'll make a timeline for how it went.
The Monday of the last week of school, I was preparing and just excited to get school over with. I had a test for China that was due Tuesday. My China tests, however, are usually difficult and awkward to study for so I never studied and that's why my test scores kept dropping on each test. I decided that I needed to pray and that that would help. I had five exams ahead of me and I was taking one exam a day. Tuesday- China, Wednesday- Unit 5 bio, Thursday- Unit 5 The American Epidemic, Friday- Bio final, Saturday- American epidemic final. I prayed for every test and prayed that I would study and pass each one so that this semester was a success.
Tuesday rolls around and like I said, I didn't study for China but went to take the test. These test I take fairly quickly and I was always concerned that I didn't do them correctly. I walked in sat down, and said a quick prayer asking Heavenly Father to give me guidance and help on this test. These exams were computer exams with written responses so I usually didn't find out my scores until later on. I walked out feeling fairly confident that I did good but also really nervous that I failed. A few days later, I checked my grades and I got an 88% on the test and passed the class with a B+. So I get ready for the test Wednesday but I usually don't study for bio exams because I'm an idiot. I walk to the library, sit down, said a prayer again asking for help with studying and that I would be able to retain the information and remember it for the test. I studied for a straight four hours, while also starving, and then decided to take the test. Once again, I sat down and prayed for help on the test and that I would be successful. I honestly just poured my heart out asking for help on this test because I knew I needed my grade to be bumped up. I ended up getting a 78% on the exam, which is actually a good thing. I knew that putting myself out there and taking it so many times and asking Heavenly Father to help me would make me successful. Oh and don't let me forget that last time I took that exact exam I think I got like a 46% on it so I improved significantly. I was so happy that while I was walking home I was smiling the whole entire time and just feeling so good. I was on a roll. So I'm feeling happy Thursday, knowing I have another exam and feeling confident. I was going to study for this one for like five hours but didn't feel like it so I skimmed my notes and went for it. As I sat down, ready to take the test, I also said a prayer. This time, I just asked to do well and that I would get higher than a C. I didn't care what I got, I was just hoping for something decent. That test I ended up getting a 90% on!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now hold on here, not only is that my highest exam score in the class but the highest exam score ever in the testing center. I couldn't contain my excitement at that point. I think I might have quietly screamed YES inside the room that shows you the scores and then I walked home. I saw a girl from my class and couldn't help but brag because I was so happy. I felt bad because she didn't do as well but I couldn't contain my excitement. We both wished each other luck on all remaining tests then went on our way (pretty sure we're friends on Facebook, but I don't know if I sent the request to the right person but whoever it is, I'm friends on Facebook with one of the girls from my class). I have two more exams but they make a turn for the worst which I'll explain next paragraph. Lesson here is that PRAYER IS A POWERFUL TOOL. I know Heavenly Father listens and answers our prayers. He is there for us and he wants us to succeed. However, YOU HAVE TO APPLY YOURSELF. I knew I wasn't going to magically do well on those exams if I didn't study. I studied for four hours for biology and trust me, I would not have done so well if I didn't study. You have to do your part in order for Heavenly Father to do his part.
Sorry, for such a long paragraph. That's partly why I created a new one. So I'll finish this off quickly. Friday, I didn't study as much, I wasn't focused and said screw it. I glanced through my notes but to be honest, it's kinda hard to study for all of the content from the past three months. So I went to take the test and got a 52%. BUT, that is 21% more than what I got last time I took the final and I passed the class with an 80%. Although, I said if I did well, I wouldn't change my major, I still did because I don't want to take stupid chemistry. I changed it to communications with an emphasis in PR and I'm taking some Elementary Education courses because I'm stuck at a crossroads of what I wanna do in life. Later on Friday, I was just chilling and realized that I didn't want to go to campus on Saturday and what not. I decided to give it a try and take my American Epidemic exam. I grabbed my notebook and walked over there, quickly glanced at my notes, said a quick prayer, and took the exam. I ended up getting a 69% on the exam, which isn't too bad. I knew that I could've done much better but just didn't apply myself. I ended that class with an 81% and I felt really accomplished.
This semester turned out to be great. I had so many amazing memories, I made so many new friends, hung out with all my old friends and just had a huge blast. My GPA went from a 2.6 to a 3.05, so I'm quickly working my way up and will hopefully be able to continue to raise my GPA throughout my college career. I am forever grateful for this semester and all the amazing learning experiences. Everyone made this semester amazing and I can't wait until the fall semester to be even better. Thanks to everyone who still reads this and takes the time to read about my life. Means a lot, love you all.
