Roomates
I had some awesome roomates this last year. In the course of the year, I had three permanent roomates and four temporary roomates. I'll explain as I go through them all.
Nate
Nate was one of my temporary roomates. He started out as a roomate, but he couldn't handle our total lack of order in our apartment. There were some problems with an apartment in another part of the complex, so Nate volunteered to move down there. It wasn't a bad deal for him, as he got his own room in the move. Nate was an Returned Missionary (as was I) who served in the Mexico City Mission (I think).
Mike
Mike was another temporary roomate, and was also an RM. He served in Brazil, like me, and so we already had something in common. Mike was a great guy, but also had a difference in lifestyle than the rest of us. Jesson's personality clashed completely with Mike's personality. Mike had a certain way he thought an apartment should be, and the rest of us were completely opposite of that. His way was actually healthier, but we couldn't handle it, so he moved at the same time as Nate to the other apartment. That apartment was always much cleaner whenever we went over there, and they all seemed to get along great, so I'm glad everything turned out better.
Dallan
Dallan was our roomate the second semester. He'd just returned from his mission in Norway, and despite our initial reaction; as put by one of our roomates, "Imagine Bill Gates with black hair," Dallan was a big party animal. He was fun to be around, and was a master at Gran Turismo!
Josh
Josh was our final semi-permanent roomate. He came in second semester as well, and was an RM who served in Honduras. Josh was a big guy who could play football, but was really a nice guy. I didn't get to know him or Dallan as well as I should have, as I didn't spend as much time in the apartment my second semester (read on to find out why).
Now for the full time roomates, or the 'Preemies'
'Preemie' is Mormon Slang for Pre-Mission. It means a young man, usually college age, who hasn't served a mission yet. Preemies and RM's are two different species. Remember that this isn't exactly true for everybody, but this is the generalization. Preemies are seen as more fun-loving, and RM's as more serious. Preemies are irresponsible and RM's are responsible. Preemies are messy and RM's are clean. Preemies like girls and RM's are a little afraid of them. Preemies have more energy and RM's are a little less active. While Preemies are looking to have a good time with girls, RM's want a more meaningful relationship. Basically, Preemies make good boyfriends and RM's make good husbands. And like I said, this is just a generalization, but this is the accepted mentality at Ricks.
My three other roomates were Preemies, which says a lot about them. You may wonder why I got along with them so well. Well, as my roomates put it, I didn't act like an RM. As a matter of fact, they gave me the title, "Honorary Preemie." I wasn't sure that this was a good thing at first, but then I found out that it meant that I was more fun-loving than the 'typical' RM, and wasn't afraid of girls either. Basically, preemies are a bunch of clowns, so I fit in perfectly. Anyways, on to my roomates.
Parr
Parr was our resident computer nerd. I'm not being mean; this is a title he gave to himself. He was a computer science major, which meant that he'll make a lot more money than I ever will, but at the same time, will have to live with being a computer nerd for the rest of his life. Parr was on the computer most of the time, although he did play soccer with us. Like everyone else in our apartment, he was nothing like he seemed. He was from California, and had the blonde surfer dude haircut, but acted nothing like that. However, he was the only one of us to start the year with a girlfriend, so he couldn't have been an absolute computer nerd. I just got word that he will be going to the United Kingdom somewhere on his mission. Good luck!
Jesson
Jesson was our resident farmer skater Canadian. While this may sound like an oxymoron, it is. Jesson was into roller blading and wore baggy pants, but was a agricultural business major. He'd done this sort of thing before he got into college, so it was logical for him to keep going in the same field. Unfortunately, most of the ag business majors had grown up on farms in Idaho, and were actual cowboys, and so Jesson did not fit in at all. As he put it himself, when he walked into class the first day with his skateboard strapped to his bag, he noticed that he was the only one in the class that wasn't wearing Wranglers. Jesson was our third soccer player roomate (Parr and Jesson were the captains of our intermural soccer team), and through our soccer team he met Rachel, his future girlfriend. Jesson's motto for his mission was, "go Spanish speaking or go home." Looks like he got his wish, going to the Guatemala, Quetzeltenago (sp?) mission.
Brandon (A.K.A. Lance)
Brandon was our other Canadian roomate. Both he and Jesson were from Calgary, and were friends back home. But Brandon wasn't much like Jesson. As a matter of fact, it was difficult to describe Brandon. On the surface, he was a shy, quiet guy, but I think he was probably the craziest one of us all when there was no one else around besides the roomates. Somehow, both Brandon and I got the nickname of Lance, and we got along great. Both of us started out as superheros, so we had something in common, and eventually we ended up rooming together. Brandon was also the biggest Star Trek and Star Wars fan of the apartment. I really can't say much more about him, since he sort of defied description. LLMM: We're International Baby! We're even more international now, because Brandon will be going to the Paris France mission.
Friends
When I was at Ricks, I didn't form that many good friendships. I had a lot of aquaintances, but only a couple of really good friends. But the friends I did make were very important to me!
Rachel
Rachel Foulger is another Oregonian, so automatically, we had a common bond. And even better than that; we met her while playing soccer. After a while, she was on our intermural soccer team, then dating Jesson for a while, and we became good friends, even after she and Jesson broke up. We helped each other through hard times, and went and played in the snow or went places to talk whenever everyone else was too lazy to go anywhere. She was always ready to go out and have fun, which fit my personality perfectly. Rachel was tons of fun to hang out with, and was always there for me when I needed someone. I'm very glad that I got to know her, and I hope that someday I'll be able to see her again.
Maria
There's no way I can really say everything I'd want about Maria. She was, above all, my best friend at Ricks. My first semester, I was very lonely at Ricks. I could never find anyone besides Rachel that I could really feel close to. I dated quite a bit, but it never worked out with any of the girls that I went out with. I wanted to find a friend that I could be completely happy being around, but it never seemed to happen. But after the second semester started, I met Maria. I originally met her at a juggler's club meeting, since she was friends with Josh, the head of the club. I helped her learn how to juggle, and was happy when she came to the Club Dance (a Ricks College dance, where all the college clubs set up booths to recruit new members). I was helping with the Juggler's Club booth, teaching people how to juggle, showing off my unicycle skills, etc, but once Maria came, I think I spent almost the entire night with her, giving her pointers on how to juggle. It was actually just a good excuse to be around her.
Later on that night, I invited her to come down to the coffee shop, but then one of my friends showed up and needed me there, so I told Maria that we'd have to go out some other time. But after that night, I almost started dating this other girl for a couple of weeks, and didn't see Maria for a while. Things didn't work out with the other girl, and I when I went back to the Juggler's Club, Maria was there again. Delighted, I asked her out, and we made arrangements to go out on Friday the 28th of January.
From that day until the end of the semester, the only days I didn't see her were two days when I went to visit my sister in another part of Idaho, but even then, I made it a point to make sure and call her. We did everything together. We went and played in the snow, we hung out in the coffe shop, we sat on the apartment balcony and froze together, we sat next to the Ricks College sign and had hot chocolate, we went to concerts, and we even drove all the way to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, one Saturday just for the fun of it. She shared with me her favorite places in Rexburg and I shared my special places with her.
All of my roomates were sure that we were going to get married; as a matter of fact, one of my roomates bet me that I'd be engaged by the end of the semester. But neither Maria or I wanted that. We just both needed a friend, and we were perfect for each other. I know that she was the friend that I was looking for, and I'm glad for every second we spent together.
Sadly, the semester drew to the end, and it came time for us to say goodbye. That was the hardest part of leaving Ricks for me. The positive side is that she lives within a couple of hours from BYU, which means that I'll be able to see her again soon. I've been writing her the entire summer, and we are still going to be friends, but she still lives far enough away where I won't be able to see her as often as I'd like. I don't know what will be the end of our story, but right now, I consider her one of my best friends. I feel so fortunate for having gotten to know her. She's an absolutely wonderful person.
Various views of Rexburg and Ricks College
These are just a few images from my collection of photos. I don't have a separate photo album of just pictures of Ricks, but here's a few from my other collections.
Here's me in front of the Taylor Religion and Humanities Building.
And here's one of me juggling in front of the Manwaring Student Services Building, where the dances are held, the cafeteria is located, and where you can find the bookstore.
Here's me at the only Ricks College Dance that I went to (Maria was my date).
This is where you can find the Official Ricks College's Website.