Mizzou

I haven't been a college student in a real university for almost two years. It's good to finally be back in school. I transfered this semester to the University of Missouri, commonly called Mizzou. There are some definite positive points:

1. They only accepted credits where I passed. All my failed classes and withdrawn classes are wiped away. Also, they just took the best grade if I took a class more than once. Overall, my transcript looks a lot better now.
2. I got in-state tuition, so it only costs double what BYU cost me. Not a bad deal.
3. They have a nuclear medicine program, so when I'm done with my undergrad, I'm done with school. No post grad work to get the same thing.
4. They have a pretty cool nuclear research reactor where I have my radiochemistry lab every week. Only a couple universities in the country have one of those.

After living in Provo forever there are some things to get used to back here in the wonderful state of Missouri. Allow me to list some:

1. The black people are actual African Americans. It felt like every black guy in Provo was from Kenya or somewhere else in Africa. It's nice to have real black people around again. I missed them.
2. Swearing. The teachers swear, the students swear, and it's no big deal. I haven't once heard the words "oh my heck", "flip", "snap", or "oh mylanta!"
3. References to beer, sex, porn, and drugs are rampant. Monday mornings it's a guarantee that people in class have a hangover. I walk from class to class smelling cigarette smoke.
4. There is a conspicuous lack of 19-21 year old boys in Provo. This is because most of them are out as missionaries. Also, it's not uncommon to have 26-28 year old guys still doing their undergrad. Most of the students here are 18-22 years old. I'm an old man here.
5. No one is married. They're young and their experiencing life outside of home for the first time and they've got other things to occupy their minds (refer to number 3 for those things). People see my ring and do a double take. Very uncommon.
6. No mountains, no desert, no Mormons. July 24th is not special. You don't go skiing. You don't conserve water. We got 18 inches of snow here on Tuesday. It's a very different scene from BYU.

Now, I liked BYU. It's a great school. I would have graduated happily from there if I had bothered to put any effort into it. I like the happy Mormons in their little bubble in the area they've affectionately named "Happy Valley". It's a good environment full of good people. That being said, I grew up in Missouri and it's my favorite state. And although I don't in any way participate, it's kind of nice to be back in the real world around all this screwy stuff that happens. It makes me remember why I'm glad to be a Mormon.

Anyway, Jacob at Mizzou signing off.