Genki Gold

“Death, taxes and childbirth! There's never any convenient time for any of them.” -Gone with the Wind I felt as though I was finally becoming an adult. I was filing my taxes as an independent with my husband. It was a first for the both of us. We thought, as poor college students with a mortgage, we would be eligible for a small return or at least break even. We were wrong. As soon as our tax accountant crunched the number we still owed in taxes, I was doing the math in my head. We are already living on a strict budget. We have a big trip to Italy planned for this year. This big number would be a speed bump for sure.  I felt pretty angry to be honest. This felt like a punishment, and I did not understand why we deserved it. How could the US government demand more from university students? In my mind, I saw every unfair thing that had happened to us since getting married. I know life is unfair as is, but I felt that those that should be fair--namely the executive branch of t...

I love traveling. Brigham Young University's class scheduling is not very conducive to my love. This winter semester of 2018, there are two holidays. Presidents' Day Weekend and a single day for Spring Break. Three days bestowed to me for Presidents' Day Weekend are enough to go anywhere. My spirit and flesh were willing. But I stayed in town instead. I maximized my time to study and do homework. I didn't sleep in. By Monday night, I felt accomplished because of all the school work I had done. Come Tuesday, and I get a less than perfect score on my Japanese midterm. I cried as soon as I knew. I wasn't crying over the less than perfect grade, but over the wasted travel opportunity. If all my hard work only added up to an average grade, the time I spent at home studying was a waste. I should have gone out of town this weekend, enjoyed myself, and I likely would have ended up with the same grade. Why am I studying Japanese? The department is small. The fu...

Disclaimer: If you don't know what the BYU Honor Code is, scroll to the bottom of this post!** I think “honor” is the wrong word for BYU’s code of conduct. Honor is public. Honorable people are popular and applauded. Does Brigham Young University really want its students living the Honor Code just for the glory of it? No one will ever be recognized for how well he or she lived the Honor Code. Heaven knows the infamy that follows those who disobey it. Still, there is no reward, scholarship, or accolade for those who obey. No good deed goes unpunished, and there is no honor for those who live the Honor Code. One person cannot be more honorable or moral than another, for this is all relative and personal. Nobody on earth has ever been praised for how good or moral or honorable they were. Even Jesus Christ, the only perfect man to walk the earth, denied being good. When a man called Him “Good Master,” Christ replied swiftly: “Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one,...