First Day of College!

My first day of college. Wow. I really never thought this day would come. I had dreamed about it since I was like, 5 but I never thought time would rush by me so quickly and get me here. When I got the SOMOS scholarship I was ecstatic...but the joy was bitter sweet. I had maintained a constant dream of moving out of state for college and living somewhere exciting, different, somewhere NOT Utah :S and then I found myself in this situation, with the amazing opportunity to go do my undergrad years for FREE. The difficult thing about this situation was something that I had already begun to realize by the time I filled out most of my University of Chicago application: if I got in, how the heck was i going to pay for school? Here's the thing about my parents: they are the most selfless, self-sacrificing people in the world when it comes to their kids. I know they would have never been able to afford the tuition, but they would have given me everything they could, even if it meant some major sacrifices on their part, major sacrifices that wouldn't even make a dent on my tuition bill (and the tuition bill I had drawn up in my head would have had big portion payed off by financial aid). So I got the scholarship. and I prayed. and I received my answer.

I chose to come here. I didnt know what I would expect. I reminded myself that getting in debt for undergrad school is careless and stupid (especially when you have an ivy league on your mind for grad school :S) , and I reminded myself that Westminster is a solid school with a pretty prestigious reputation (especially in Salt Lake, where most people cant stand the sound of the letters B-Y-U uttered sequentially, lol). I felt good about it. You know, I had accepted that I would be living in Utah for at least 3 more years.

And then it happened. I walked on campus today, my first day of college. And I realized something real amazing about Heavenly Father: He KNOWS me. I'm getting teary as I write this because its such an amazing thing that I have completely come to rearlized: Heavenly Father knows me 1000 times better than I know myself. Everything I didn't know I wanted, everything I knew I wanted is right here. Somehow, HF knew. And he put me here!

My teachers are amazing. They are funny, bright and so completely willing to help their students be successful. The campus is small, cozy, but so full of LIFE! I have never seen so many friendly, helpful people in my whole 18 years of existence. I love the feel of the library, the SUSHI (all i can say is DIVINE), the book store, the computers, the smell....I love it here!!!!!!!

so yeah, I had an amazing first day of College :)

Until next times my luvs!
Ellie

Confession #10: Westminster College is awesome.

When i got my full ride scholarship to go to Westminster, i had to consider a lot of things before accepting. I mean, i was applying to 5 out of state schools that I was DYING to go to and accepting the scholarship would mean postponing my plans on moving out of state (i say postponing because i WILL GO TO AN OUT OF STATE SCHOOL FOR GRADUATE WORK! plus i have my mission...) and that was a real tough thing to let go of. I talked to my counselor about it and she highly recommended that i go there (she loves small colleges and says that they are the best and cater the most to their students) and so she was the first to really start convincing me. And then their was Helen (if you don't know her, she's the college and career lady-she actually was the one that told me about the scholarship). She told me "Elizabeth, you have been given a great gift, don't take it lightly." Well, they obviously knew what they were talking about, I mean, that's basically their whole career. But honestly, i left it up to God. I prayed and PRAYED and Prayed...and then i got my answer. And if it felt so right!
This week i signed up for my classes. I declared my major (sociology) and am double minoring (philosophy and political science). This is so exciting!!! I feel on top of the world...I already know so many people that are dedicated in making sure that i take the right classes and the right teachers...its been amazing. I mean I'm so pumped that i even want to triple minor! In Spanish, so its not like it'll be hard or anything. But still, i don't even know if you can triple minor ;) All i'm saying is that things happen for a reason. I don't know why i have to stay in state, i don't know what i am supposed to learn but i guess I'll find out soon enough.
Until next time...
Elizabeth

Confession #7: I've got some pretty big dreams.

Have you ever sat on your roof on a dark, windy night and just stayed there, staring at the stars and wondering just what your future holds? no? well, I have. Often, actually. Sometimes I just like to sit and dream; dream about college, family, a mission, marriage, success, children...but this time, it was different for me. I didn't dream. I cried. Why? Just look at these pictures...





School, marriage, family...they are all important. But the more I learn about these kinds of things, about war, poverty, abuse (I have IB to thank for that), the more I realize that I somehow have to find a way to help out. How? I don't quite know. I plan on joining the Peace Corps once I get my bachelors degree....the only problem with that is that I also want to serve an LDS mission AND I want to go to grad school AND I want to have a family...but I can't quite figure out what is more important. Here's what I do know: there are so many families out there in the world that with $3 they can eat for a month. FOR A MONTH! and they dont even have that. Thats, like, pocket change to most of us. There are so many kids suffering and being neglected right at this very moment. I feel so useless, so ungrateful and so powerless. I want to do something about it, but I just don't know how. Not knowing how is giving me anxiety and I'm starting to get a little desperate. And that is why I cried, because I have some pretty big dreams that seem near impossible.

Confession #3: I Got a Full Ride Scholarship to Westminster College

I just recently found a copy of my SOMOS Scholarship essay that I sent in this last September. Many people have asked me if they could read it and so I am posting it here for anyone thats interested. This is a REALLY rough draft (and by rough i mean ROUGH! It's full of grammatical errors and run on/fragment sentences. I lost the final draft...it was saved on my computer hard-drive, which my father cleared without telling me...but that's a story for another day...) of it.
So anyway, here it is...read it at your own risk


Ever since I was a little girl, my parents taught me to dream. Everything was possible, the world was waiting for me to make decisions and grab hold to the many opportunities that were waiting for me. Nothing was beyond my reach, so I grew up with BIG dreams.

I was an inquisitive child. Always asking questions, always wanting to know why. I needed to know, I couldn’t rest until I knew the answer to all my question! In fact, at the end of 4th grade, my teacher gave me the award “Miss. Why”. For me, learning is what I love to do. It defines me. It is what wakes me up at 5:30 every single morning. It is what has inspired me to take the toughest classes that Provo High has to offer. Knowledge is invaluable to me. Nothing can ever top the feeling I get when I understand something.

However, learning hasn’t always been easy for me. Math has been a struggle, and with two parents working all day in order to maintain us “financially stable,” I couldn’t get much help at home. Every day in middle school I had to go in for lunch and get help or ask my friends to explain my impossible math homework. This is what separates me from most other teenagers my age: I get things done, I work hard and I somehow make everything work out in the end. I am determined to change my life and to change my parents life as well. They sacrifice so much for me, and sometimes I don’t think I say ‘thank you’ enough.

In the 10th grade, my family moved from Provo to South Jordan. To say I was devastated is an understatement. I was planning on starting my International Baccalaureate Diploma my junior year. I knew that this was the best education I could receive in high school and that if I didn’t do it I would be missing one of the best opportunities of my life. After much begging and pleading, I somehow managed to convince my parents to let me continue to go there. Every morning I get up and travel the 27 or so miles to go to school. My dad drives me every single morning to a bus stop on his way to work. When I said my parents sacrificed much for me, I wasn’t using the term loosely.

Provo High has offered me so many opportunities and options. Not only does it have the best educational program (i.e. International Baccalaureate), but it also has many other opportunities as well. In the 10th grade I took a class called ‘Latino’s in Action’. The Latino students who join go every other day to an elementary and middle schools to help other Latino students that speak little English and are struggling with school. It was empowering to help other students and to know that because of you, they might have a completely different outlook on education.

Provo High also has numerous clubs. I have been French club president since freshman year and have loved every minute of it. I am also involved with Arabic club, M.E.S.A, F.B.L.A, F.C.C.L.A, and C.A.S club. Outside of school I volunteer at the South Jordan Library and am a current member of my church choir. Being involved in so many after school activities has helped me become more social and over come my weakness: being shy.

Like I mentioned earlier, education is one of the most important part of who I am. I am taking six I.B classes. Even though I love every minute of every class, I wont lie and say that it’s easy. I have homework that takes up almost all of my time every single day. However, I know it will be worth it. I plan on attending a great university after high school because i want to continue with the best education possible. I am going to major in psychology, get great grades, study for the MCAT and get a top score, so that I can go to medical school at Yale University. I know it wont be easy, but I also know that I will do it.

In closing, I want to explain why I, Elizabeth Cohen, am the best candidate for the U.B.H.L scholarship. I will do whatever it takes to get a higher education. I am determined, ambitious and intelligent. I never quit and won’t start now. I have what most other students don’t have and that is a passion for knowledge. I am honest and a hard worker. If you choose me, you can rest assured you that you wont be let down.

Thank you for this opportunity,


Elizabeth Cohen

So that's it folks!

Until Next time!
xoxoxoxo
Ellie