My Path: Brigham Young University Before Mission

I am going to do this in two parts. The first is the path I took when I was at Brigham Young University before I left on my mission.

Wyview

Before I start, I have to tell you how I got into Wyview housing especially where I moved into. I was looking for an apartment very late in August. Classes have started already but I had some problems so I had to drop all my classes and give my room I already reserved to someone else. However, I was able to resolve the problems so I added whatever classes I could add. (I took both of the Book of Mormon classes.) The housing, however, was still a problem because the room I had was already taken and I couldn't figure out where I was going to live. I went to the on-campus housing office and they told me that there was a room that just opened up at Wyview. I was thrilled to hear that news and took it. That's how I got to room with Ian, Eric, and John. Why did I tell you this story? Because I got to get into Wyview because one of the guys who lived there was found dead in the bathtub. Because of this incident, two of the guys who lived there switched the room with Eric and John, but Ian stayed. There used to be an article on BYU website but I couldn't find it since it was a long time ago.

Ian Jones was my room-roommate. He's the one who got married few weeks ago and I was his groomsman. He was a MDT (Music-Dance-Theater) major so I got to hear him sing all the time. I also got to see him in his tights getting ready to go to his ballet class. He got me into playing guitar, The Last Five Years, Parkour and Free Running. He also invited me and Eric Ehrenzeller (different Eric than my roommate) to his family's thanksgiving dinner. Ian is very talented. He is an actor and a songwriter. He was in a Training Table commercial  and in a movie called "Saving Sarah Cain." He also wrote a song for his wife, April, called "Waiting for April." (I think) I am so grateful that he was my room-roommate because he motivated, without him knowing, me to pray and study the scriptures.

Eric Riggs (or tall Eric) was my another roommate and had an awesome taste of music. I learned to love Reel Big Fish and Flogging Molly. He just got married also. He was a fun guy to be with. He would have all these awesome ideas on what we could do that night. The way he talked and the words he used show what kind of person he is. (Sorry, Eric if your paragraph seems way too short for you. It's not that I don't like you. I just combined all the memories about you with other people.)

John T. (Troche, maybe) was a roommate who was not a member of the Church. I actually don't know how to spell his last name unfortunately. He was a catholic and the only reason why he came to BYU was to not burden his mom with tuition because his parents got divorced. He was probably the only missionary opportunity I had before my mission. Maybe not the only one but he was someone I really cared about. He met with sister missionaries but at the end he told me that unless the Church comes out and says what they have done in the past is wrong, he would join the Church. He also had problems with facsimiles in the Book of Abraham. I was really sad, no, the word "sad" doesn't describe how I felt. I felt like my friend died in an accident. I felt like I was useless. If I knew more about the Gospel... If I knew all the answers... Perhaps, he was a huge motivation for me to serve a mission. I don't know where he is and how he's doing. I called him when I came back from my mission but he never returned my call.

We are moving onto friends I made during this time.

Eric Rigg and Eric Ehrenzeller

It's funny how Eric Ehrenzeller (or short Eric) came to the same apartment I was staying at after the mission. He lived in an apartment above me during my Freshman year and when he came back from his mission, he moved into Brownstone where I was staying at. Pure coincidence or the tender mercy of the Lord. He had the craziest ides ever to hang out at night. The most fun I had was when we got razor scooters and did tons of shenanigans like setting a dumpster on fire, making noise bombs, and throwing bottles full of paint to a wall. He made me realize that being different is not a bad thing at all and he's a very smart guy who loves logic and philosophy. Some of them rubbed off on me. I love talking to him about my opinions and philosophy in life because he would help me expound on that. He's the person who will always be there if I ever need someone to rely on and to talk to.

Alex

Alex Whitlock is a character and also he had a car out of all of us (exception of Ian). He would also come with us to do some mischief and also go to Sushiya, all you can eat sushi restaurant. Eric, Eric, and Alex had an eventful night when they were out to find a place to set some noise bombs. They were driving around and stopped at a parking lot to figure out where to go, then suddenly, three cop cars blocked them in a triangular shape so that they couldn't go around them. Funny part was, Eric R. had a bag of all the bottles that were ready to be used on his back and Alex had a bright orange ski mask by the shift. The cops walked toward the car and started to ask them what they were doing. Apparently, there was a bank nearby, and somebody had tried to break in and set the alarm off. The cops saw Alex, Eric and Eric driving around that block and thought that they were pretty suspicious so while they parked at a parking lot, the cops decided to question them. Of course, when they found out that they were just BYU students, they let them go.

Joseph

Joseph Seeley moved in when the Winter semester started. Honestly, since I didn't know him, I thought he was pretty weird (no offense) but now I love him to death! He used to love everything European (maybe not everything) but I got a letter from him while I was at the MTC that he was going on his mission to South Korea. That was awesome! When he came back from his mission, I was able to talk to him in Korean and we got to enjoy some Korean food together. Also, his MTC companion was one of my companions while I was in the Korean program on my mission. Very cool. He and I used to meet together every Friday (during the Winter semester) before I had to work and we would just talk about what was going on with our lives. Now he has a girlfriend so he doesn't have time for me. Haha I am really happy for him though.

Tess

Last person, maybe, I want to talk about Tess Fontanetti. I met her through Ian because she used to be his girlfriend. She also lived in Wyview so I got to see her quite often. I have a really cool story that had happened. At this time, I've been praying for an opportunity to serve others for few days. One day, I was coming back from school and she was sitting outside of her apartment so I decided to talk to her. Ian had recently broken up with her so I knew she was a little down. We didn't talk about much interesting. I remember talking about my family. I came home and later that day, Ian came home and told me something very interesting. He told me that Tess has been praying for someone to talk to at that time and I happen to pass by to answer her prayer. What's really cool about it is that God also answered my prayer. I think I told this story few times on my mission. When I went into the MTC, she came to send me off (or in) with one of her and Ian's friends. Now she's going on her mission to Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

This is just a story that is kind of sad but funny at the same time. There was a crosswalk that connected from Wyview to the stadium parking lot. We used that all the time because it saved us time as we walked to campus. One night, I was coming home from a class and saw the road going toward Wyview was closed and there were an ambulance and some cop cars. I didn't know what was going home until I got home. As soon as I opened the door, Eric, Alex, Ian, Eric and Joseph (I don't honestly remember who were there) yelled, "Kyoo! You are alive!" Apparently, there was an accident and someone had died at that crosswalk. That person was wearing a jacket that looked exactly like mine so when one of them saw the jacket on the ground, they thought it was me who got hit by a car. After the incident, they closed the crosswalk altogether. We petitioned but they still closed it.

I had the opportunities to hang out with all of them after our missions and I love them so much. Some of them have moved on with their lives by getting married and having girlfriends and so on but they are still my buddies and I will always remember them. It wasn't just a coincidence that I got that room where a guy died. It wasn't a coincidence that Eric R. and John switched rooms with the other guys. Because of certain events, my life has turned and met these amazing people to discover myself and figure out for myself what kind of a person I want to be.

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