Utah

Whenever I fly west it’s to be with my immediate family in California, but I decided 2010 was the year to travel stateside a little more and see extended family. A friend’s wedding provided the perfect reason to drop in on Utah, and I was shocked to realize it’d been 5 years since I’d been back. The more I thought about it, the more I realized how many people I wanted to see—family, friends from my study abroad, friends from DC, etc. It was such a short trip, but so great to see people.

I’d like to say it felt good to be back, but at first it just felt weird. I’ve noticed that when I don’t see someone, in my mind they’re “frozen” and don’t age, and that a place I’ve visited shouldn’t change while I’m away. It startled me at first to realize that my cousin’s kids were now teenagers. When they were younger I was cool simply because I was older and in college. Now, I had to earn “cool” status. And visiting a friend included hanging out in BYU student housing—complete with cinder block walls. That was startling for the opposite reason: the apartments really haven’t changed.

Walking around campus made me nostalgic and confirmed that I’m in a different chapter of my life, and I kept wondering where all the teenagers with backpacks came from—could freshmen really look that young?

Here were a few of the highlights (in chronological order):

• Attending my cousin’s daughter’s folk dance concert at BYU
• Attending the lighting of “The Flaming Mustache” statue outside the BYU Museum of Art (no, they don’t let you roast marshmallows on it and yes, they get asked that question a lot)
• Learning to play the ukulele in the HFAC as part of a student’s final project
• Janet’s wedding reception—she looked so lovely, so radiant, and so happy! Also great to catch up with a few friends from my study abroad and meet their children.
• Seeing Elder L. Tom Perry walking down the street on my way to attend Music and the Spoken Word with a DC friend.
• Family Home Evening with extended family—some I’d never met

All in all, an excellent trip and hopefully it won’t be another 5 years before I return.


author’s note: for photos, see my facebook album