i'm not using my degree... and other stories

I would just like to take the time to post a little something I've learned recently: 

It's ok to graduate from college and not do anything with your degree!

Although I graduated in Advertising in April from BYU, I am currently working at the BYU Student Health Center as one of their full-time receptionists. Now I'm someone who felt like it was a waste of a degree and money if I didn't have a job in my field. But after my internship I realized there were only a few specific things I liked to do in advertising, and all of them were hard to get, and none of them were in Provo. Since Spencer still has 2 more years at BYU I realized it just wasn't worth it for me to spend the hour 1/2 round trip commute to Salt Lake or Park City everyday, where the jobs I was interested in were. After I realized this, I had to take a long hard look at myself and ask "Am I a complete failure if I don't use my degree?" "Will people be disappointing in me or look down on me?" After discussing this with my mom she reassured me that I wasn't a failure, and that it was the degree that mattered, not what you do with it, and that I should be proud of myself for finishing college. My mom even told me after the fact that she was surprised I graduated from college, and thought I'd drop out a couple times.

 I'm very proud to say that I endured 5 years of a bachelors degree and have come to realize that there is no right or wrong path in life. We aren't all meant to do the same thing. Some of us didn't even go to college but that's fine too. Between the fact that there were no jobs in Provo I wanted, and that I know I want to be a stay at home mom eventually, and that Spencer still has a million years left of school (because he wants to go to med school); I knew I needed a job that paid fairly well, provided me with healthcare, and was something that I could survive several years while he was in school. I'm currently reading the book "White Girl Problems," by Babe Walker and she said something that made me realize we were soul sisters: 

"Until that moment, I'd assumed that my life would just go on as it had been going. I'd buy a lot of clothes, marry Leonardo DiCaprio, get divorced, get scary skinny, get fat, and then die. I never saw myself as a career girl."  


Amen Babe. Amen. I love my job at the health center. It's one of the first jobs I've had that I don't complain about constantly. But I just want anyone who is still trying to find their path in life, or has questioned themselves, to know that if what you are doing feels right, and if you feel satisfied with your choice, then DO IT!  

Now for pictures from Lake Tahoe! 

Mini golf with the fam. Spencer's mom as the dog cracks me up EVERY TIME! 

Looking at vintage boats

Scary tubing with Spencer

Don't mind me, I'm just putting on my sunglasses.


If you haven't been to Tahoe, GO! It's like no other lake. The water is as clear as glass and there are these cool boulders both under the water, and above it. I went snorkeling and paddle boarding for the first time there and it was so beautiful. Thanks Hansen's!