The Typical BYU Provo
Student
I never thought that I would end up at BYU and to be honest it
was probably my last option. I heard about all the stereotypes and I definitely
placed all the BYU students in the single story, which is so common for those who
have never experienced BYU. The most common things I heard about BYU were
standard. Everybody gets married after two weeks of dating, everyone is
judgmental, everyone is self righteous because they got accepted to the
University and it’s a sheltered school with too many rules. Although I had
never even been to Provo before in my life, I believed 100% that everybody at
the school was that way. This video shows perfectly how I felt everyone was at BYU.
What people don’t realize is that most of these stereotypes are
the exception to the rule. In my two years at BYU I have only met a handful of
people that have gotten married after a few weeks of dating. The honor code
with all the rules provides an environment that is safe and fun for all the students
who chose to live those rules. Although we do compare ourselves with each other
quite a bit, I believe everyone is really trying to be as least judgmental as
they can be. These messages deter people from wanting to come to the school.
For example, my sister didn’t want to come visit me because she said she didn’t
like the “scene” in Provo. She ended up coming and by the end of her time here
she told me she wished that she had chosen BYU.
I’m not saying that there aren’t self righteous students
here that believe they are extra special for attending this University. However,
I am saying that not all of us want to get married after 2 weeks or even 2
months of dating. We all don’t live inside a bubble that shelters us from the
big bad world. BYU provides an environment that healthy, competitive and fun. Yes,
we do want to get married but not all of us wish to have kids and start a
family our freshman year of college. There is a single story that happens to
students at BYU but you have to be a student here to understand the stereotypes
are not all true.
Ya, people are shocked when I tell them I dated my wife for 3 years.
ReplyDeleteTypical Brovo. This was a great blog article.
ReplyDeleteYour examples are funny Jarom. And really true... It is interesting how this prevalent this story is. Statistically, not even a majority of BYU students date for a few weeks and then get married. But because more do that here than other places, it becomes part of the BYU dating single story.
ReplyDeleteThis was a great article. I loved that you addressed this stereotype.
ReplyDeleteI heard all these stories too before I applied and got accepted to BYU and I was pleased to find that mostly none of them were true and that the school exceeded my expectations for a fun social atmosphere.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny how people laugh and call me a typical BYU person getting married off.. But I've knew my husband for 5 years before we got married. How come even the people that know that still label me as that BYU student?
ReplyDeleteI experienced the exact same thing and dreaded coming here, but through my experience I have learned to love it here, and meet a vast array of people. I have also had to defend myself against this stereotype to where I finally understand how frustrating it is!
ReplyDeleteHaha great article and such a true stereotype!
ReplyDelete