Saturday, June 14, 2014

I DON'T EVEN KNOW HOW TO PROPERLY EXPLAIN HOW MUCH I LOVE BANKSY (OR, IN OTHER WORDS, UTAH PT. 2)

 
 
Not even a week after our first trip to Utah, I got an email telling me that I had made it into the final round of interviews for a position as one of UVU's Wolverine Ambassadors. I heard about this program earlier this year and instantly knew that I wanted to be a part of it. The Ambassadors give tours of the school to prospective students and parents, run the school's social media, and travel to other states to promote UVU and recruit students at high schools and colleges, among other things.
 
The application process was pretty intense (10 essay questions say whaaaat?) so hearing this made me SO happy. I couldn't believe that I had made it through to the next round! The catch? The final interviews were in person interviews, being held on campus. So back to Utah I went!


Now, here's something you should know about me- I am the biggest Banksy nerd ever, and that's not an exaggeration. I could go on and on about Banksy and street art and graffiti and the likes, and I often do. So when my mom suggested we spend our free day before interviews began in Park City, I was all for it. Because, hello? Banksy!


 
Don't let this face fool you- I was so excited that I literally almost cried when I first walked up to this Banksy. I know, I know. Art is just cool, you get me?  
 
 
And of course there were selfies involved. After we took these pictures I looked over them and asked my mom if she felt like they were borderline sacrilegious? She just laughed.
 


I woke up early the next morning, even though I wasn't supposed to be at UVU till later in the afternoon, because I was so nervous. I don't get nervous about things very often; I can give speeches with ease and strike a conversation with just about anyone, but for some reason my heart dropped deeper and deeper into my stomach as the day went on. I went to the mall with my mom but couldn't even focus on the clothes, and then we went out for lunch and I couldn't even eat. I have never been this nervous for something in my whole entire life.

 
As soon as I got to UVU all my nerves went away. The people there were so nice and so fun. Being around them made me want to become an ambassador that much more! Over the course of two days we had group interviews, one-on-one interviews, and then we did a bunch of fun get-to-know-you-games and impromptu dance parties. It was such a blast.

 
 
That night we stayed in the apartments with the current Wolverine Ambassadors. We stayed up alllllll night playing guitar and laughing over first kiss stories. We had so much fun.


Once it was over I was so sad to leave! It was honestly one of the best weekends of my life. Spending time with such amazing people made me want to be a part of this organization even that much more. I walked out of UVU and thought, I cant not be a part of this. This program was made for me, you know?  


Afterword, my mom and I tried out Waffle Love! The place was beyond adorable, but nowhere near as good as Waffle Window. (Or maybe I'm just partial to Portland, who knows...)



A bunch of artists were painting this huge mural on the other side of Waffle Love, so we went over and checked it out. It turns out they were all in a painting club, and most of them were some kind of art professor at either UVU or BYU. They were all so nice! We talked about everything from our love for art to how I'm planning on majoring in art education to instagram. One even asked me what I imagined the color of Moses' eyes to be. I responded with "a striking blue" and he said, "Yes. I was thinking the same thing" and went over to the wall and painted Moses' eyes blue. (And that, ladies and gentlemen, is my provo claim to fame ;). Talking with these guys made me feel like maybe studying art and education, two fields that are not always looked at highly, wasn't such a crazy idea after all.



And guess what? I made it!! After 4 loooooooong weeks of anxiously awaiting a phone call and religiously checking my email, I finally heard back. I am so, so, so excited to attend UVU and represent the school as a Wolverine Ambassador!

See ya in a few months, Utah!