Hello everyone! My name is Michaela. I love Tangled, and the New Testament... And next semester, I am going to study abroad at the BYU Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies! Today marks 50 days until I fly to Tel Aviv. To celebrate, here's my first blog post! (:
I wrote this entry in my journal the night I received the news. It's a little silly and dramatic, but i was excited(:
April 17th 2013:
Today
was a monumental day in my life. I
have been accepted into the BYU Jerusalem Program! I applied last month and it
feels like i’ve been waiting forever.
It was the most beautiful
feeling. I came home and ran
straight for the mail key and back to the mailbox. In my haste, I forgot what apartment number I had lived in since August. Apartment 207. I turned the key, and found one envelope inside. An envelope that would change my world forever!
I was shaking, because I had hoped it
would come today, but I didn’t quite believe it. I wanted to go inside to read it...But I wanted to open it alone, so I
stood there in the grass behind the mailbox, and started to open the
envelope. I was trembling so much,
it took me several tries to finally tear it open.
And
at that moment, I was scared.
Terrified, that the dream that had been mine for so long would never be
reality. And in some ways,
terrified that it would become
reality! [TANGLED MOMENT: the part on the boat where Rapunzel's dream is about to come true, and she says "what if it isn't all I dreamed it would be? ... And what if it is?" and Flynn says "that's the best part, then it's time to find a new dream"... okay. sorry back to reality.]
When that feeling
overcame me, I dropped to my knees and cried and prayed to the Lord for
strength. I asked my Father to
strengthen me and give me courage for whatever answer He was going to give
me. Yes or no, I needed His help.
And then I opened the envelope.
Inside it said in bright bold words,
“Dear Michaela,
I am pleased to announce that you
have been given initial placement on the 2013 Fall Semester Program at the BYU
Jerusalem Center for Near Eastern Studies.”
Through the tears, I saw that I had been
accepted, and I cried and laughed and hugged the papers and ran upstairs to my
room. India asked me, “Did it
come?” I said yes, trying not to smile, trying to be neutral. My mom and dad had to be the first to
know. I had to tell them first.
I dialed the number with shaky hands
and Mom didn’t pick up. India
tried to read the papers clutched to my chest. She said “It’s a packet!! They wouldn’t send you a packet if
they said no!”
I calmly told her that that was my
first assumption when I pulled it out of the mailbox. I hadn’t realized it, but that was my first thought when I
saw the packet, after thinking “It couldn’t be. It’s here.” But in my haste to open
it, all that was forgotten.
Mom
picked up the phone and said hello.
India read on the page “I am pleased to announce” and flipped out. I said “MOM! I GOT IN!! I GOT IN! THEY LET ME IN!!! I’M GOING TO
JERUSALEM!!!!” and started bouncing and hyperventilating and hiccupping and
sobbing. It was all so
surreal. I didn’t quite believe it
yet. Mom told me congratulations
and hurried downstairs to tell Dad, who was in the dental office with her at
the time. She couldn’t understand
me at first, but she knew since I was screaming, it had to be a yes from the JC
Admissions Department. She was so
excited with me and was so happy for me.
I called Allie after that and told
her. She was at a review for one
of her finals. Then Devin came
over and I told him. And then I
sat down and wrote Katrina [my best friend on a mission in Arizona] a letter, telling her all about it. And then I went all around Wyview, telling my friends. A lot of my sweet, wonderful friends had been waiting for the news. I would knock on doors and wait, still shaky with the news. Andy or Natalie or whoever would open it and I'd tell them “I got into the Jerusalem Center!!” and i'd get lots of hugs...they could just feel me shaking
like a leaf, almost crying, half-laughing with joy. It was absolutely precious. I called Grandma and Julie and Grandmother and everyone i could think of. It helped me realize that this was real, that I was finally going. It's been my dream since I was a little girl. Well, since I was fourteen, but i've always been little (; Anyways, that’s all for tonight!
Thanks for visiting my blog! I can't wait to start posting pictures of my adventures. Don't get too excited now, there's still 50 days left.
Love always,
Rapunzel.
