If you follow me on social media, you may already be tired of my photos of Utah. However, there are just so many gorgeous views, that I instantly knew I had enough content for several blog posts. (Kirsten, the friend I was visiting, is definitely laughing in glee at this fact, if she is reading this.)
I often get comments, that I am always traveling or going all over the place. Sometimes, I feel a little guilty about this; however, in talking with my counselor recently I realized that for me traveling is self-care and rest. It’s about the adventure and experiencing new places and how different people live. It just so happens that I have a lot of people in my life who either live in convenient places or have jobs with good travel perks. Because I love travel and my friends, anytime I have the opportunity I jump on it. This isn’t a travel advice blog, but if it were, I would say don’t be picky about your accommodations and make (and stay) friends with people who live in other states and countries!
This particular trip was extra special because I got to visit a friend from undergrad that I had not seen in over a year. We both were/are math people and have stayed in touch while going through our different math grad programs. This year she’s out in Utah doing an Americore job and as much hiking as she can on the weekends. Our love for outdoor activities made this a perfect trip during COVID. Also, since she’s been there for almost a year and we have similar tastes in activities, she had so many awesome recommendations.
A Few Adventures Around Utah
Utah is the well known Morman capital of the world. We spent a little bit of time in Salt Lake City and what struck me was the amount of flowers outside the Mormon buildings (temple, office buildings, conference center). I also gradually noticed, the flowers are arranged in a more flowers the better, any color goes, sort of manner.
Alien Plants 
Office Building Just for Morman Purposes 
After walking around downtown, we decided to go for a scenic drive. It was the heat of the day, and even though Utah is a dry heat and has a pretty good breeze the sun is intense. Along the side of the road, I saw a sign that said waterfalls and saw a lot of cars. Kirsten and I easily decided to stop and take a look. Sometimes the best views are unplanned.
It was so cold! 
Life Updates
In case anyone is wondering I made the official decision while at L’Abri to leave the math PhD program with my Master’s and enroll in a program to get my Master’s in Counseling Psychology. I took some online classes while in Virginia and absolutely loved them. I can’t wait to move out to Seattle and attend the Seattle School of Theology and Psychology; however, due to COVID all my classes are online right now. Therefore, before I get to explore the Pacific northwest; I’m going to spend a year in the much more afordable Georgia living with my parents. Honestly, not the adventure I would have chosen in my early twenties; however, through a series of events I start a new job tomorrow where I will be teaching a sixth grade math class and working in the lunch room at the school I went to growing up. The time difference is going to let me work in the morning and take my online classes in the evening. I still have a month before my classes start, but I’m super excited to meet my sixth graders tomorrow and happy to be around Georgia this year for some of my Georgia friends’ big life events.
Instagram Worthy Quote
I’m excited for my classes to start back because I am terrible at making time to read otherwise. However, I did order Christian Wiman’s book My Bright Abyss. It is full of poems and meditations about religion, particulary Christianity. I find it intrigueing because Wiman does not dance around tough subjects, tough emotions, and the frustration of questions that seem unanswerable. Amelia, my tutor at L’Abri, led an excellent lecture where we dicsussed excerts from this book. I can’t wait to read the whole thing, but for now I will leave you with a line that stuck out to me.
“How astonishing it is, the fiercesness with which we cling to beliefs that have made us miserable, or beliefs that prove to be obviously inadequate when extreme suffering – or great joy – comes.”
In counseling, I’ve come to realize certain beliefs I hold, mainly negative ones about myself, are not true and even harmful. It’s surprising how a small thought can have such deep roots and be coorlated to other misguided beliefs. It is interesting also to examine the way culture and one’s environment coupled with personality have worked to create or reinforce certain beliefs. I know those were some abstract sentences, but maybe these thoughts will ring true with someone else. Maybe we can all be brave enough to challange some of our beliefs. Lately, I’ve seen a theme of learning how to differentiate Biblical values from cultural (in my case Southern) ones. It can be a bit daunting or scary at times, but also a bit fun when I treat it like a mystery.
Well that’s all for now, folks. Love you, bye!
My Life in A Variety of Places 