Logan

I've lived in Logan for the past four and a half years. It's been a pretty crazy ride. I'm moving tomorrow, and while I'm excited for a change, I'm going to miss some things about this Logan town.

While in Logan, I attended Utah State University. I was an art major, and planned on graduating with my BFA. That....didn't exactly pan out, but I had some amazing experiences while going to school. I learned how to paint from an amazing professor, Carolyn Cardenas. I think we had the most difficult beginning painting class in the history of the school, but it was definitely worth it. I learned how to build my own canvas stretcher bars and paint like the masters of old. In that class, I found that painting was a way for me to fully express myself. It became my escape from other stresses and worries in my life. Since that class, I have devoted part of my life to art and painting. Being able to paint and using art as a tool to express myself has actually helped me through a lot of tough situations. I may not ever graduate from USU with a BFA, but I do not consider all my hard work and late nights in the art building a waste. I learned so much from my art classes, and am so grateful that I had the opportunity to pursue art for as long as I did.

This is a reproduction painting I did in my beginning painting class. The original painting is by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner.

While I loved my art classes, there were other courses I took at USU that were less than fun. Here's a warning to everyone considering a degree in sociology: DON'T DO IT. I took two sociology classes, one of which I barely passed (part of that was because my teacher spoke an alien language that absolutely no one understood). I accidentally ended up in a three-thousand level sociology class my last semester of school. It was excruciatingly hard. Now, I love learning, and I love reading and doing analytic studies. For a time I actually considered being an English major. But the things I read in that sociology class were so confusing. It would take me 4 hours to read a small article and answer a few questions about it. One night I literally banged my head against the wall for quite some time, in an effort to get my brain to understand what I was reading. It didn't help. I ended up with an incomplete in that class, because halfway through the semester I experienced major depression, and basically checked out of life for a couple of months. 

I had some hard times while in school, but I also had some really great times. I met amazing people that became my close friends, I went on some dates (I know, right?!?), and I danced like Michael Jackson in front of my entire class. (True story.) I really love USU. The campus is beautiful, the people are crazy cool (mostly), and the whole college atmosphere is just fun. All in all, I'd say my college experience was a great one.

This is from a date I went on. We finger painted, and then put the paintings up in Old Main so people could vote on who had the best painting. I totally won. Guess which one is mine?

School does things to you. Bad things.

A Mexican Christmas party? Yes please!

I went to quite a few demolition derbies in Logan, because my brother-in-law participates in them. I love derbs.

Sometimes when you are in college, things happen. Things like this.

I got into a really nasty car accident my first year of college. But it turned out fine!

uh....

I've done some pretty crazy things here in Logan. Miranda and I went on treasure hunts in the dark all over Logan, especially by our house where there are factories and fields. We pulled a pallet out of the frozen river and dragged it home, we explored Smithfield Canyon and found a creepy altar made out of sticks and a blanket, we had many close calls as we crossed the river using fallen trees, and we almost got her car destroyed many, many times. It's been so awesome living with my sister. She's my best friend, and without her I would probably be dead. Miranda has saved my life on many occasions, mostly when I was so depressed and suicidal. She's an amazing person, and I've had so much fun with her up here. I'm also very grateful that my sister Maryann has been up here in Logan with me. She's super fun, and also an amazing person. She probably gets sick of me visiting her all the time....but ooohhh welll!

Miranda and I on one of our many mountain hikes. Don't mind our awkward poses...

I just really love us.

One thing I love about Logan is that you can drive for 10 minutes and be in the mountains. I have grown to love, love, LOVE the mountains and forests up here. I went on so many hikes by myself, going off trails and exploring random caves and cliffs. I've had lots of crazy adventures in the wild. One time my friend and I went on a hike to look for the perfect tree so that we could wrap cool Tron lights around it. We got lost, and wandered around without a trail, in dense wilderness, getting scratched and beat up, without water, for who knows how long. Upon stumbling onto a trail, we found some leaves with dew on them and promptly sucked the water up off of the leaves. Hahah, that was definitely a new experience for me, but it was so fun. We finally found the perfect Tron tree a few weeks later, and spent all night in the chill mountain air wrapping lights around this tree. It turned out amaaaazing. We got home late (early?), grabbed some Micky D's, and sat in the car listening to Weird Al until 3 am. Weird Al is even more hilarious at that hour. I went extreme snowshoeing in negative temperatures, found a super creepy hobo dwelling in the mountains, and climbed insanely tall trees and attached solar charged lights to the top of them. (Did you ever drive past Second Dam in the dark and see small lights up on the hill? Yeah. Super, super, SUPER cool.) I love the mountains, but the ones in Logan are especially gorgeous. I'm going to miss them for sure.

I took this picture while on a hike up Right Fork. After this hike, the only pictures on my phone were pictures of trees and leaves. Hahaha!

The thing I'm going to miss very most about Logan is being so close to my sister and her family. Lia and Enna are my cutest best friends. They make everything happier and better (unless they are grouchy and crying. But  if that happens, I just hand them off to their Mom. The joys of being an aunt!!). I love those girlies so stinking much. I realize that Logan isn't that far away from Kaysville, but knowing that I won't be able to just go see them whenever I want to makes things hard. I'm going to miss those girls a TON. However, my other sister is moving up to Kaysville area from Vegas in a couple of months, which means I'll be able to see her and her cute boys more often. So that should soften the blow of moving away from these cuties. BUT STILL. 

Living in Logan has had it's ups and downs, just like anywhere. I almost killed myself a few times because of how cold it gets. Haha, just kidding, that was my depression, not the cold. BUT REALLY, IT IS SO COLD. For like, ten months of the year. It's going to be weird, moving back home. I love Kaysville, but living on your own does have its benefits. Anyway, I guess this is my last hurrah for Logan. I'll be back and forth, but I don't think I'll ever live here again. It's been a pretty great place to live, but it's time to move forward.

Here's to new adventures.

xoxo, Saralyn