Utah is Beautiful

I couldn't help but smile on my way to campus today because it is so beautiful outside. This has been the most gorgeous and perfect fall in my last six years living in Provo. It amazes me how warm the weather has been...and that the gorgeous fall leaves still grace the trees and walkways on campus. I think it must be Provo's way of bidding me farewell. The fall colors have been SO amazing this year.

In September, we took a backpacking trip to Silver Lake with Long & Lillie. The views were breathtaking.

I'd never seen so many colorful trees in my life. In Oregon everything is green all the time, but only green. In Utah, the trees are green, yellow, red and orange. It's so beautiful and something that I wish for everyone to have a chance to see.

I am really going to miss Utah. I can't believe how much it's grown on me...I remember how much I hated Provo and couldn't wait to get out. Now I'm in denial that we're actually leaving...and I keep thinking about how much I will miss all the people I have grown to love here. And the mountains. I can vividly remember the first time I saw the mountains during the day on BYU campus. They shocked me and I couldn't grasp that they were real. I was convinced that they were part of some huge painted backdrop. I thought they looked fake and I hated that they blocked and limited my view, but at the same time I was mesmerized by them and would take photos of them from my dorm window.

Taken from 622 T Hall in Deseret Towers. September 2005. Remember this view Corie?

Today when I was leaving the JFSB a little after 5pm, the sun was setting and shining on the mountains. It was so beautiful and I had to stop. It's so amazing how close they are to campus. Whenever I leave my building they are there, waiting. Something I can always count on. I love looking at Mount Timp as I'm walking past the library...especially when it's covered in snow and turns pink at sunset.

BYU is so beautiful and I am going to miss so many things...the students stopped in their tracks with hands on hearts while the flag is being lowered...the smiling and almost too-cheery BYU student faces...I'll even miss the pathetic PDA couples. Where else do you find that? It's an incredible place. The place I met my best friends...the place I met the love of my life...the place I found myself.