A Year in Salt Lake

Moving to Salt Lake was probably the most daring thing I've done in my life.

I'm not kidding; the last time I'd been in Salt Lake, I was eleven and going to the Olympics with my parents. I had never really been here before. I'd never seen the University of Utah, and I had no clue what my apartment was going to look like. I truly moved here on a whim; Portland wasn't working out, and I wanted somewhere bigger than Boise, so (with the suggestion of a few friends) I picked Salt Lake.

I'll never forget coming around a bend near Tremonton and seeing the Wasatch for the first time. It was love at first sight; I'd never seen mountains so breathtaking before in my life. I'll never forget driving down South Temple for the first time on that hot, muggy day in June and seeing the view I now see every day. My father and I carried my belongings up those god-awful stairs, and I was in love with my apartment. It was quirky, and it was old. It had personality. I moved there without having ever seen the building previously.

I had no preconceived notions about what my experience would be like, and maybe that's what made it all so great for me. I came here because I hadn't liked Portland or Portland State, and I've never been so happy about a choice made at random. Instead of envisioning all of these plans for the future, Salt Lake was a kind of blind restart for me, absent of anything I'd planned.

Living here has taught me a lot over the last year, too. I've learned that living in the moment, with few expectations, is better for a person than trying to live for the future. I've learned from the Mormons that taking yourself too seriously just makes you look ridiculous. Most importantly, I've learned that when something isn't working for you, you have every right to change it.

I've loved this last year of living in Salt Lake. I'm sure there were moments I didn't like, but I don't remember them. Enjoying the adventure of living here has been so much more important to me than dwelling on the little things that go wrong. I love Utah, and I love Salt Lake. It was an impulsive choice that paid off, and I am so glad I had the balls to take that chance.