Dare You To Move

Welcome to the planet
Welcome to existence
Everyone's here
Everyone's here
Everybody's watching you now
Everybody waits for you now
What happens next?
What happens next?

I dare you to move
I dare you to move
I dare you to lift yourself up off the floor
I dare you to move
I dare you to move
Like today never happened
Today never happened before

These are the opening lyrics to "Dare You to Move" by Switchfoot.  I don't know what the song is actually about, but to me, it means that I have many opportunities, but I am the person who seizes them.

In 2008, my best friend got married.  At the time he and his future wife were students at BYU.  We spent most of the week with him.  As Amber and I walked together around the BYU campus, we both felt like we missed out on something, because neither of us left town to go to school. Both of us had some kind of dream of going away to school and in fact both of us had opportunities out of high school. But for our own reasons, we didn't make the move.  I asked her, "what do you think if we just up and moved here to become students?" We both chuckled at the thought.  Amber was close to finishing her associates and working.  I was also doing some school, working, and managing a few rental properties. The biggest thing was my parents.  I am an only child and there's a lot of things I help them out with.  There's no way we could do it.

In 2011, things changed quite a bit.  I no longer managed any rentals. We both finished up our associates degrees. Most importantly my father wished to live in Cambodia after he retired in mid 2012.  Leaving my mom to live with Amber and I.  So, we started making plans to move into my parent's townhouse (I actually bought it for my parents and I to live in, well before Amber and I even met. But we decided to live somewhere else when we got married and let my parents stay there). Or we could sell the place and rent somewhere else, because I bought it when prices were high and it was well under water by this point.

We visited my cousin (who's like a big brother to me) in Florida in November.  He's a dentist now.  Being the oldest among the cousins, he was always willing to offer up his opinion. Driving back home from Disney World, we talked about what my career plans were.  I said I was planning on going back to school.  He asked why I don't go to BYU?  He heard that its a good school and he knew a few professionals that were alumni there.  I told him, he was nuts. I have a job and my parents to think about.  It then occurred to me, that the job was good but not great.  And the situation with my parents would be changing soon. 

When I returned home from vacation, I applied to BYU immediately.  I didn't apply because I didn't want to go.  I applied so I could stop thinking that there was a chance.  I didn't think my grades were that great, nor was I a gifted athlete or a budding artist of any kind.  I knew plenty of smarter and more academically advanced people who could not get into BYU.  How would I get in?  But there was always that lingering feeling that if I didn't atleast try, I would always regret it.  I tried my best though.  I got letters of recommendation and had my essays reviewed and scrutinized over and over. Then came the wait.

I painfully waited for over three months.  I was suppose to get an email.  My phone helped the torture, every time I got an email, I anxiously checked everyone of them. Finally on February 23rd I got the email:

Dear Tony:

Congratulations! You have been admitted to Brigham Young University to begin Fall 2012. Through your preparation and personal achievements, you have distinguished yourself from a very strong group of applicants. We believe you will make a positive contribution to the BYU community. It is a great pleasure to welcome you to our campus to pursue your educational goals.

What happens next?

What was I thinking?

Vancouver, Washington

I will be attending BYU in Provo, UT in August and starting the 2012 Fall Semester. I have lived in Vancouver, Washington my whole life. (less the two years in Long Beach, California for my mission).  I went to school here, married here, and started a life for my family here. I bought a house, even bought a rental house.  My mom was planning on moving in with us in the summer.  I even started a new promising job last year. And my wife is expecting our second child in September.  What was I thinking?

Provo, Utah

I don't want to lay out all the reasons why, but we knew it was the right thing to do. If it were someone else that said they wanted to sell their houses, quit their job, and go to a place that they've only visited, I'd tell them they are nuts. As we make plans for the greatest change in my family's life, I've come to terms that its easily the nuttiest thing I've ever done. 

I wanted to start this blog to share with you, my friends, what the next few months and years will be like for our family. Maybe you can learn from our triumphs and failures. Maybe you can give us some advice on uncluttering, moving, being a student, and living in Utah. Maybe I'll actually keep up with this blog (I've had two earlier attempts over the years).I hope you enjoy the ride.