What irritates me:

Have you noticed how most everyone is proud of the places/cities/states where they grew up? They think it was the best place ever and that their hometown is better than your hometown. That may be true, no way of knowing. And I know there are some amazing places out there, but Utah is one of them too! Ever since I have moved out here, everyone at school has bashed on Provo, “The Bubble”, and Utah in general. I used to join along, but then I actually started getting out and doing things, and realized Utah is actually awesome. And Provo isn’t bad either.

Why?

Let’s start with Utah in general.

It’s absolutely gorgeous.

The mountains are beautiful. Driving through the canyon is always remarkable. The streams and waterfalls are endless. The wildlife is incredible. The blue skies against the rocky mountains never cease to amaze me.

There’s a variety of landscapes.

We’ve got the rocky mountains, the plains, the salt flats, the lakes, the red rocks, the forests. There’s a reason why so many films are made in Utah, you can’t find all of this so close everywhere!

So much to do!

Outside, you can ski, snowboard, hike, mountain bike, go to a rodeo, canoe/kayak, fish, boat, the list seriously is endless as are the places in Utah to do all those things. Inside, there are museums, concerts, restaurants, and shows.

Moving on to Provo.

Granted if you are not LDS, this would be a strange place to live. But it’s a college town, and the college happens to be the #1 cold stone sober college in the Country. But isn’t that why you wanted to go to BYU? I know I wanted to enjoy a few years in a place where I could be around people with similar beliefs and standards so I could survive some of the hardest years ahead of me. So, let’s just get the “boring” description of Provo out of the way, because the only reason people call Provo is boring is because we are just lacking the crazy parties with all the drinking. And if you call Provo “boring” because you think there’s nothing to do, then maybe you should get out of your apartment and start being proactive.

We have concerts, hiking/biking trails, clean entertainment, a dollar movie theater, lots of restaurants plus a variety of interesting spots on Center street, a campus full of free/cheap activities including an International Cinema that plays great movies every week, bowling allies, lots of places to grab some dessert, malls, parks, monuments, tandem bike rentals, a lake with a boardwalk, crazy mormon dance parties, a temple, festivals, and farmers’ markets.

There’s a lot to do here, and yes, Provo is unique, but stop saying there’s nothing to do in Utah! You don’t have to love it as much as the place you grew up in, but give it some credit! Anyone with me?

It feels good to finally get all that out!

Now, enjoy these photos of some of my favorite times in Utah!