Day 07 - A picture of someone that has had the biggest impact on me

There are many people that have come in and out of my life that have made an impact on me. I learn from everyone I meet and ever situation I am in. Sometimes they help me realize that I never want to live my life the way they do, and sometimes they inspire me to be better. Whether it is for the good or the bad though, every person that enters my life changes me.

About 5 years ago a girl came into my life by default. I signed up for the Connections class at Utah State and about a month before I actually started it, I got an email from my peer mentor.

Her name is MJ Tran. 

Inside joke... She loved sheep, She always threw it into conversations and randomly sent me texts that said nothing but.. "sheep".

MJ's job was to make sure that everyone in her connections class was transitioning to college ok. That they liked their roommates and classes and that they were getting involved and loving utah state. Retention was the reason she was hired and she did a good job. 

I had a rough first semester of college. I moved in with my 3 best friends and we didnt do well living together that first year. There was drama and i hated it. Only I had no one to turn to because the people that i would tell my problems to were the problem. So I turned to the only person who i felt cared about what I was going through. MJ.

We emailed about once a week, and when I say email... i am talking novel emails. I told her everything I was going through and she gave me advice and listened to my complaints. In november she made the suggestion that I try out for the A-team. So i did. She put in a good word for me and I got the job. That is when life turned around. We became really good friends (because she was on the ateam again, so I saw her all the time).

I probably would have left utah state after that first year if it wasnt for the Ateam. I met some of my best friends that summer and even more importantly I met myself. I learned who I was and for the first time I didnt know anyone... so I could be whoever I wanted to be. I lived up to the person I was inside my head and I broke out of my shy little bubble i had been living in my whole life. I owe it all to this girl.

I have now been friends with MJ for about 5 years and we dont talk as much as we use to, but I can honestly say that she is one of the most selfless people I have ever met. She knew what it meant to serve others without any expectations in return. You could call her in the middle of the night and she would be there to help you. She is also one of the most positive people in the whole world. She taught me how to laugh and to find joy in every situation. I remember her calling me one day right after she got in a car accident and she was already laughing and joking about it. (for those of you that know how low my standard is for what I think is funny its all because of this girl.) I still look up to her alot and feel like I owe alot to MJ and I will always be so grateful to her for being there for me my freshman year.