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A wise choice — 1967


Between my freshman and sophomore years of high school, I secured a job as a bagger (bag boy) at Reams grocery store.  Not long thereafter, a position as checker became available, and I was chosen for the job.  I was honored, and worked hard to memorize the prices of thousands of items in the store.  I loved my job and the prestige associated with it, and I took pride in working hard.  I started my sophomore year and continued to work in the evenings at Reams.  I was taking biology, algebra, and chemistry, as well as some other required classes.  My homework time was severely limited due to my job, and I recoiled in horror when I saw my score on our first chemistry test – 66%!  I obviously had to make a choice.  At few times in my life have I faced a crossroads more important or consequential than this one: money, a job, and a motorcycle, or good grades, homework, and a chance at a university scholarship.  After some serious soul-searching and some wise counsel from my parents, I tendered my resignation at Reams, immersed myself in studies, and never looked back.  It is a decision I have reflected on many times, and how very different my life could have been if I had chosen the other path.  Three years later I graduated from American Fork High School with a 4.0 grade-point average, a solid foundation in mathematics and science, and a four-year academic scholarship to Brigham Young University.


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