School Days

I attended Lake Ridge Elementary school in Magna Utah. I was always a shy quiet boy and did not have a lot of close friends at school. I did have friends in the neighborhood, but we were not in the same class in school. That is not to say that I was left of activities. For the most part I enjoyed elementary school. There were two activities held every year that stand out. The Halloween costume parade was always exciting and also a little terrifying for me. Being shy and not liking to stand out, marching through the school in costume was not my favorite, but I did really like seeing everyone else in their costumes. In the spring each year the school held the "Spring Fling" dance festival. Everyone in the school did something. Each grade normally did something together. Of course this produced the same two emotions for me as the Halloween parade. I attended Brockbank Junior High for 7th through 9th grade. As with almost all junior high students I had no idea how little I actually knew. In junior high I made a couple of life long friends. Ron Nay and Neal Petersen. Even though they really were not close friends with each other. In 9th grade I took a typing class. Even though I could never type fast enough to get an A in the class, I have always been grateful for this skill. I attended Cyprus High where I seemed to just do just enough to get by. Ron and I did take auto mechanics all three years, in fact the last two years we took a three period auto mechanics class. The main thing I learned in this class was that I did not want to be an auto mechanic. I really didn't like being greasy and dirty every day. I didn't like parts that get stuck and won't come off or bolts that are put in a place where your arm really just couldn't reach. I enjoyed seminary every year and have great affection for my teachers and the testimony they brought with them. After high school I planned to just work until I would go on my mission. I got a job in a warehouse which I found to be a really bad environment. Many of the warehouse staff were pretty hardened. The UPS driver would come everyday to drop off and pick packages and chew me out. He said I needed to get out of there and go to college. I was lucky enough to get a part time job and M & M Prescription Service in the fall. This job came just in time for me to start the fall semester at the University of Utah. In starting at the U, I got a rude awaking. I had just floated by through high school and had no study habits. Floating by just didn't work at the U. I had to do homework. I had to study. I had to take notes in class. This was all new to me. My grades were just ok, but the experience was really important for me. I worked at the pharmacy and attended two semesters at the U while I waited to turn 19.