Joy Prior
When I first came to Brigham Young University I was like most freshmen, shocked. I was shocked with how much my professors expected of me, how grand the buildings were, and I honestly remember wondering how on earth so many intelligent people could fit into such a small space. Although I feel like I truly embraced the wave of new experiences there were three organizations: Adopt and Grandma, Pow Wow, and the Kennedy Center Field Study group that I am exceptionally grateful I became a part of on campus.
My adopted grandmother Clara has become one of my close friends. It started when my roommate needed to accumulate community service hours for American Heritage class credit. She wanted to visit the old folk’s home, and seeing as she does not have a car she convinced me it would be a good idea if I drove her. Why not? I thought to myself, community service once a week cannot be so bad. Now, five months latter I feel like it would be insulting to call visiting Clara ‘community service’, because our visits mean so much to me. Clara is my friend, and unlike most the people I talk to on a day to day bases she is not stressed about tests, is not looking for a date on Friday night, and she is not complaining about a professor. I visit Clara at least once a week for an hour or so. The doctor thinks that I am her granddaughter, but Clara and I keep it our little secret that I am just a friend because it is just too funny when the doctor comes in and talks to me like I am her granddaughter. He points his finger at the little charts and asks me if I have any questions. Once he leaves Clara and I laugh at ourselves like we really did something worth laughing about. I am so thankful that I know Clara, and realize that even though I have told her she will never know how much it means to me that I have a friend I can confided in outside of my family and peer group.
I joined the Pow Wow club and will be performing as part of the Native American hoop dancing group in March. When I first went to the club meeting I was expecting it to be a normal ‘club meeting’ with free food, and a quick spill about how and why you should join. The people in charge were pretty smart though, because the first time I went they gave me a set of hoops and made me write my name on the list. Now I felt committed, and I started going to two hour practices twice a week. At first I felt misplace because I am Irish, blue eyed, blond haired, pale as can be, and “everyone else” had at least seen hoop dancing before. It felt like such a stretch out of my comfort zone. I decided I wanted to not simply know the dance steps but to become a part of the group. My goal was to learn everyone’s name. It only took a few practice to remember learn everyone’s name, because everyone seemed just as determined as me to make our practice more than memorizing dance steps. After being called hoopster, perfecting my electrical tap wrapping skills, and hitting myself in the head with my hoop multiple times I feel a part of something six months ago I did not even know existed.
If it was the posters, flyers, or the presentation from the random man in my class that got me to one of the field study formal presentations I could not tell you. All I can tell you is that in that December meeting I became determined to go to Mexico. I wanted to go this spring and summer, but after realizing that I only know enough Spanish to tell someone the weather, and that I have not taken any classes in my major I decided to go Spring and Summer 2011 season. I have learned how to take the personal responsibility to plan a specific goal. To further my oral Spanish this Fall and Winter semester I want to live in FSLR housing. While preparing for my field study I have learned that I enjoy families, people, and the visual arts. One of the major things I have learned while exploring what I want my project to be about I understand the importance of networking. It is the short conversations with someone in the arts department who sends me to someone in the sociology department that is really helping me to realize how interconnected all points of scholarship are. I realized two things. One being I want to be a part of a circle of people, who share ideas, compares notes, and information with one another. The other is that I want to give people opportunities to learn more, just as the students working at the Kennedy Center, the professors who answer my questions, and the secretaries who tell me where to go are giving me an opportunity that I could never achieve on my own.