BYU Corruption?
Wednesday night my wife, Sister Nectar, sat in the lobby or common room of Rosie’s dorm. Earlier that day Sister Nectar had helped move in Rosie’s stuff, and now my wife sat finishing the dress she had been sewing for Rosie. There were some buttons to put on, and the hemline to do. Sister Nectar is very good at sewing, and takes a lot of care in doing it right.
As Sister Nectar sat sewing she had an opportunity to observe some of the other girls in Rosie’s dorm. Sister Nectar was not impressed. Yesterday when she called to talk to me she said, “I don’t think Rosie is going to fit in very well in her dorm.”
Alarmed at hearing this I asked, “Why not?”
“Well, Rosie is not like the other girls here. The other girls are so … giddy and giggly. They seem so superficial and immature. And the way they dress is so … worldly.”
“Hmmm,” I thought. “That doesn’t seem to say much for BYU nowadays. Maybe those other girls just come from worldly places, and after they have been at BYU for awhile they will improve.”
Rosie is still only 17, and the thought that her dorm mates looked immature by comparison was disturbing to me. Rosie is such a fun-loving, vivacious person – the life of the party - with a number of very close friends; yet in comparison to some, I suppose she does seem serious and mature. She is a straight A student. She has never been “boy crazy.” She loves classical music. She reads her scriptures faithfully and keeps a journal. She was a dedicated Laurel class president. She is strict in her observance of the Sabbath. She has always dressed in a very modest, conservative, and appropriate style, thanks in part to her mother.
“I’m just hoping that BYU doesn’t corrupt Rosie,” my wife replied.
Wednesday night my wife, Sister Nectar, sat in the lobby or common room of Rosie’s dorm. Earlier that day Sister Nectar had helped move in Rosie’s stuff, and now my wife sat finishing the dress she had been sewing for Rosie. There were some buttons to put on, and the hemline to do. Sister Nectar is very good at sewing, and takes a lot of care in doing it right.
As Sister Nectar sat sewing she had an opportunity to observe some of the other girls in Rosie’s dorm. Sister Nectar was not impressed. Yesterday when she called to talk to me she said, “I don’t think Rosie is going to fit in very well in her dorm.”
Alarmed at hearing this I asked, “Why not?”
“Well, Rosie is not like the other girls here. The other girls are so … giddy and giggly. They seem so superficial and immature. And the way they dress is so … worldly.”
“Hmmm,” I thought. “That doesn’t seem to say much for BYU nowadays. Maybe those other girls just come from worldly places, and after they have been at BYU for awhile they will improve.”
Rosie is still only 17, and the thought that her dorm mates looked immature by comparison was disturbing to me. Rosie is such a fun-loving, vivacious person – the life of the party - with a number of very close friends; yet in comparison to some, I suppose she does seem serious and mature. She is a straight A student. She has never been “boy crazy.” She loves classical music. She reads her scriptures faithfully and keeps a journal. She was a dedicated Laurel class president. She is strict in her observance of the Sabbath. She has always dressed in a very modest, conservative, and appropriate style, thanks in part to her mother.
“I’m just hoping that BYU doesn’t corrupt Rosie,” my wife replied.
posted by Nectar | 7:33 AM
6 Comments:
Well, I'm sure any other university would be much worse (but then again, they wouldn't be Mormons, so it wouldn't be as corrupting).
The nice thing about BYU is that there are plenty of people. If Rosie doesn't fit in with her roommates, she'll still be able to find her kind of people.
I think she will be okay.
Man. I wish I went to BYU. That's one of my regrets; that I wasn't in the right "frame of mind" to WANT to go to BYU. Now that I'm older, I WANT TO GO TO BYU, but I'm too old.
Sadness.
Who says that you are too old, noelle?
One thing I've found is that water finds its own level. The dorms can be a very fun experience and allow students to live closely with people who they wouldn't necessarily choose to be their friends but who become their friends anyway. Rosie will find people who she has a lot in common with and may find that she gets along great with people who she didn't think she had much in common with.
College is a great time to discover oneself. Rosie will likely do a lot of self discovery and the other girls in the dorm will also do a lot of self discovery and maturing (though some of them never will actually grow up...).
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