Coming out of high school where I never had a date, I entered junior college in California with fear and trepidation. Would I ever have a date? What was wrong with me? How do you go about attracting the interest of an eligible young man? Then I was introduced to blind dating by a friend of mine named Buddy. He set me up with a guy that he thought I would really like. Turned out my blind date was the student body president of my junior college, and his last name was Love. Talk about an eventful first date and one nervous young eighteen year old! Although we seemed to click on our first date and had lots in common, we were from different religious backgrounds. I was Mormon, and he was Episcopalian. (Photo of me on left at sweet sixteen.)
We dated for several months, had many long religious discussions, and then my new boy friend decided to try BYU in Utah to check out Mormonism. This was a shock, but he did transfer the next semester. A bigger shock to me was after he left; I found out from others that my first real date was engaged. His fiancée was going to college back east. They had decided to go out with others to see how they really felt about each other. This was my first dating experience! Needless to say, we broke up, and I don’t know if he ever married the young lady he was engaged to-probably not.
Welcome to the world of dating games! More challenging social experiences followed with fellows who didn’t share my standards or beliefs until I joined a religious fraternity-sorority at my junior college called Lambda Delta Sigma. Members were LDS students who enjoyed wholesome fun activities. Finally, I decided it was time for me to transfer to BYU in Utah if I was serious about finding someone to date and marry in my own faith. (Photo of my roommates at BYU, I'm the 4th from the left.)
I also decided to change my college major from Engineering to Dance. Now that is quite a switch! Even though it would mean leaving the wonderful weather of California and returning to the four seasons in Utah, I was excited about the possibilities of pursuing a new major that I loved. Saying goodbye to the professional ballet world forever, hoping to meet my Prince Charming and live happily ever after, I returned to Utah.