I had to tie in religion somehow, so perhaps I have found a religion that works for me: running.
I started an 8 week program of walking/running intervals and I am now on week 3. Yesterday I had to run for 4 minutes, walk for 3, 4 times and I loved it! I find myself feeling like I can continue running, but I make myself stop, remembering that this is suppose to be a lifestyle change, not a quick fix.
The same goes with the eating. I still sit down at the table at home when I eat and Saturday night that meant sitting there eating a Skor bar, 2 bowls (maybe 3) of Lucky Charms and some Skittles...not the healthiest of late night snacks, but the next morning I was down another 1/2 pound. I suppose a lifestyle change would include not having those foods in the house, but on a positive note at least the candy was the single serving kind, not the big ole bags I use to consume!
Back to running...I just glanced at the remaining weeks' intervals and felt my heart speed up. I cannot imagine running for 9 minutes straight and doing it 3 times, but I hope that when I get to that point, I'll be ready! I love being on the campus of USU early in the morning and having that time as total ME time. If I can just convince Lucy not to chase the ducks that sometimes hang out up there, my new religion would be perfect, but ya know, some people (Lucy) just can't take their religion in moderation!
Monday, May 10, 2010
Sunday, May 9, 2010
Just Me
I love having guest writers, because it is so much easier to post their pieces than write my own and they offer perspectives I do not have of life in Utah.
A friend of mine posted a link to this blog on her FB page and someone commented that people are people wherever you go and that Utah is no different than any other place. I agree, people are people and you'll run into those with whom you agree and those with whom you don't.
I disagree that Utah is no different than any other place. I have lived in 5 other states: Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Texas, Michigan and New Jersey (though N.J. doesn't really count since I was only 2 when we moved away) and Utah is unique in a variety of ways. Of course the obvious is the beauty of Utah, none of the other states in which I've lived can compare, although sadly, now none of them can compare to the pollution experienced in the winter, too.
Utah is also unique because one religion is extremely dominant. I pulled up The Association of Religion Data and in 2000 it lists 73,571 out of 91,391 persons as being members of the LDS Church. This fact brings with is some unique aspects and I am not going to say they are all good or all bad, just unique.
Each person living in Utah has their own experience and perspective and the latter is formed by many different components, religion being only one of them. I do not think whether or not one is part of the dominant religion alone determines a person's perspective, but I do think it plays a part, as a person's religion affects their perspective everywhere. I can also say that in my experience a person's religious affiliation has not been such a topic of conversation as it has in Utah. Many times, within the first few minutes of meeting someone, it comes up - and yes, sometimes I am the one who brings it up.
If you disagree with this, if you think Utah is just like every other place, please let me know. That is what this blog is suppose to be about (most of the time, sometimes it's just postings of my dogs or weight loss or motherhood) - a format for differing views to be represented that hopefully allows people to see things from another's perspective.
I want to add that I actually love the fact that religion is the big elephant in the room in Utah, because I have been able to have conversations with people here that I don't have in other places, because in other places religion is just not something people talk about so casually. Of course on the flip side is the fact that I feel religious affiliation is too often used as a form of judgment too soon in Utah and in other places it is something that may come up much later in an already established relationship, so bears less weight.
A friend of mine posted a link to this blog on her FB page and someone commented that people are people wherever you go and that Utah is no different than any other place. I agree, people are people and you'll run into those with whom you agree and those with whom you don't.
I disagree that Utah is no different than any other place. I have lived in 5 other states: Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Texas, Michigan and New Jersey (though N.J. doesn't really count since I was only 2 when we moved away) and Utah is unique in a variety of ways. Of course the obvious is the beauty of Utah, none of the other states in which I've lived can compare, although sadly, now none of them can compare to the pollution experienced in the winter, too.
Utah is also unique because one religion is extremely dominant. I pulled up The Association of Religion Data and in 2000 it lists 73,571 out of 91,391 persons as being members of the LDS Church. This fact brings with is some unique aspects and I am not going to say they are all good or all bad, just unique.
Each person living in Utah has their own experience and perspective and the latter is formed by many different components, religion being only one of them. I do not think whether or not one is part of the dominant religion alone determines a person's perspective, but I do think it plays a part, as a person's religion affects their perspective everywhere. I can also say that in my experience a person's religious affiliation has not been such a topic of conversation as it has in Utah. Many times, within the first few minutes of meeting someone, it comes up - and yes, sometimes I am the one who brings it up.
If you disagree with this, if you think Utah is just like every other place, please let me know. That is what this blog is suppose to be about (most of the time, sometimes it's just postings of my dogs or weight loss or motherhood) - a format for differing views to be represented that hopefully allows people to see things from another's perspective.
I want to add that I actually love the fact that religion is the big elephant in the room in Utah, because I have been able to have conversations with people here that I don't have in other places, because in other places religion is just not something people talk about so casually. Of course on the flip side is the fact that I feel religious affiliation is too often used as a form of judgment too soon in Utah and in other places it is something that may come up much later in an already established relationship, so bears less weight.
Friday, May 7, 2010
Guest Writer: Kathy Parish Gilpin
Before I copy Kathy's post, I have to mention that she attended a prom with my hubby, and she's from Pennsylvania, like me, which I find amusing! Thank you Kathy!
I moved to Utah from Pennsylvania when i was in the fifth grade and lived there until I was 21 ish. As the predominant faith in Logan, Utah is the LDS Church I definitely did not blend in with the locals. At that time I didn’t even know what a Mormon was so when kids would ask me if I was a LDS I would respond with is that a good thing? On another note I had no clue what a stake house was, when I was asked about which stake house I went to in my mind I was thinking steak house and I wondered where they were hiding the Brown Derby restaurant. Stake houses and wards are the way the church divides up neighborhoods so that different congregations can go to the same church at their allotted time slot I guess, i can’t honestly remember now how all that works and I could be entirely wrong.
Aside from one girl telling me she could not play with me because I was not a Mormon all the others were just like kids anywhere except most did not know what double dutch jump roping was. There was not much talk of faith and affiliations in the fifth grade, we were all just trying to get through that “Growing up and Liking It” movie without giggling and the interest focused more on tetherball, riding bikes or sledding depending on the season.
My first few weeks were spent living in the Baugh Motel while my folks were waiting to close on the house they made an offer on. My first day of school at Wilson did not go as well as one would like. The well meaning principal introduced me as a straight A student and told the others to watch out for me...gee, um...thanks? When we finally did move in to our home on Cliffside my first two friends, Kim and Miesha were eager to meet the new girls and welcomed us with open arms. It was a pretty great neighborhood to live in and as probably the only non-Mormon kids on the block we were invited to a lot of church activities of which I went to a few, had a great time but never did convert.
Because of my history of living in Utah whenever people find out I’ve lived there I am often asked if I am a Mormon. I will constantly be answering that no, I am not LDS nor have I ever been LDS. I will forever be defending Utah when people make assumptions that if you live in Utah you must be a polygamist. I will gladly point out how beautiful it is there, how much the community really takes care of their own. Case in point, our non-LDS neighbor down the block broke his back and the neighborhood LDS church ward made sure his driveway was shoveled or the grass was cut and the family had casseroles brought to them to help them get through those tough days regardless of their family’s affiliation with the church. You don’t see that everywhere so i am grateful to grow up in such a community.
I am now living in and loving Oregon but I have my moments when I think to myself that I could easily move back to Utah. The biggest reason being my brother and sister who both live in Salt Lake City. I have moments here where I miss the big mountains and the beautiful, powdery snow. I miss all that snow shoveling. Really.
I moved to Utah from Pennsylvania when i was in the fifth grade and lived there until I was 21 ish. As the predominant faith in Logan, Utah is the LDS Church I definitely did not blend in with the locals. At that time I didn’t even know what a Mormon was so when kids would ask me if I was a LDS I would respond with is that a good thing? On another note I had no clue what a stake house was, when I was asked about which stake house I went to in my mind I was thinking steak house and I wondered where they were hiding the Brown Derby restaurant. Stake houses and wards are the way the church divides up neighborhoods so that different congregations can go to the same church at their allotted time slot I guess, i can’t honestly remember now how all that works and I could be entirely wrong.
Aside from one girl telling me she could not play with me because I was not a Mormon all the others were just like kids anywhere except most did not know what double dutch jump roping was. There was not much talk of faith and affiliations in the fifth grade, we were all just trying to get through that “Growing up and Liking It” movie without giggling and the interest focused more on tetherball, riding bikes or sledding depending on the season.
My first few weeks were spent living in the Baugh Motel while my folks were waiting to close on the house they made an offer on. My first day of school at Wilson did not go as well as one would like. The well meaning principal introduced me as a straight A student and told the others to watch out for me...gee, um...thanks? When we finally did move in to our home on Cliffside my first two friends, Kim and Miesha were eager to meet the new girls and welcomed us with open arms. It was a pretty great neighborhood to live in and as probably the only non-Mormon kids on the block we were invited to a lot of church activities of which I went to a few, had a great time but never did convert.
Because of my history of living in Utah whenever people find out I’ve lived there I am often asked if I am a Mormon. I will constantly be answering that no, I am not LDS nor have I ever been LDS. I will forever be defending Utah when people make assumptions that if you live in Utah you must be a polygamist. I will gladly point out how beautiful it is there, how much the community really takes care of their own. Case in point, our non-LDS neighbor down the block broke his back and the neighborhood LDS church ward made sure his driveway was shoveled or the grass was cut and the family had casseroles brought to them to help them get through those tough days regardless of their family’s affiliation with the church. You don’t see that everywhere so i am grateful to grow up in such a community.
I am now living in and loving Oregon but I have my moments when I think to myself that I could easily move back to Utah. The biggest reason being my brother and sister who both live in Salt Lake City. I have moments here where I miss the big mountains and the beautiful, powdery snow. I miss all that snow shoveling. Really.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Guest Writer: Stacey
To start off and just get it all out there, I’m a Democratic Mormon, Pro Gay marriage, I don’t think that religion or the government should be involved in a person’s choice to have an abortion, I see R rated movies and I drink tea. So what, some of you may say! It’s a big deal in the LDS church and there are few and few and far between of us that feel this same way and that are active in the church. I didn’t start out this way and my parents and I do not agree on everything I said above. One brother and I feel and believe the same things and my other brother and I couldn’t be more opposite than we are. I grew up in Logan, Utah and I lived there until I was 21 and then moved to Provo, Utah. I was married in the Logan Temple to a return missionary, which for a long time I didn’t think I would ever do. I think my parents and a lot of people that knew me wondered the same. I have friends that are not LDS and also friends who have left the church, who ask me every so often why I’m still part of the church or why I believe in it when I support gay marriage and abortion. I really don’t have a perfect answer for them and I’m sure it’s one that never makes sense to them either. I have issues at times with people in the church but I believe the gospel. That might be a lame reasoning (to some) but it’s who I am and how I feel. It works for me and for my family. I don’t feel that I’m hurting anyone by being a member of the LDS church, I’m accepting of everyone and hope they are the same of me. That’s all I ask. I have to separate the issues I have with the church from how I feel when I’m at church and with my church friends. I don’t put the two together. I can’t explain it any other way. I believe that if my LDS friends and my non- LDS friends were to get together, we would all get along. I choose friends that treat others with kindness and acceptance and that are just all around good people.
Like I said above, I grew up in Logan, Utah. My parents were never completely active. If there were something else to go do on Sunday, that’s what we went in did. That included movies, parties with family or going out to dinner. Things that some Mormon’s would say are big no-no’s on Sunday. I felt close to the church though and I felt something special about it. I didn’t feel like I fit in with the people in my “ward”. I never really got along with the other girls in my church and that lasted from elementary up to High School. When I was in 4th grade my parents decided to move me from the elementary school in my neighborhood up to the elementary school on USU campus. I am forever grateful for that decision. I made some of my best friends there and friends I’m still in contact with. I made friends with kids that were from Korea, Spain and India. They were all different religions as well, Buddhist, Muslim and Catholic. I loved it; my new world was exciting, bright and fun. I tried new foods, listened to new music and it was eye opening to me. I think it was going to school there that really shaped how I look at people now. I finally realized that there is this whole other world outside of the Mormon culture and life and that it’s good and that I could learn from it.
When I was in the end of Middle School I found drugs and alcohol and it was fun. It was another eye opener. Unfortunately because of it I looked at school as being only social and I didn’t pay as much attention to it as I should have. I do regret it now to a degree. There are things I wouldn’t change about that time but also I think I could have made more of myself if I had paid less attention to when the next party was and a little bit more on getting good grades and being more involved. I still went to church on Sunday even though I had been out partying the night before but then so did a lot of other kids in my ward. I have a good friend that I’ve known since we were Brownies. She is a great person and as far as I know has never had a drop of alcohol in her life. She is a friend that has been supportive of me from day one, even when I was being an idiot in High School.
I barely graduated but thanks to a nice vice principal and an amazing English teacher I made it. I went on a study abroad through Logan High School to Germany and after that the travel bug was born. It was another chance to see life outside of Utah and to meet some wonderful people. During this whole time I had stopped going to church and I felt some freedom for the first time. After coming home I went back east to Rhode Island to be a nanny for a family in Providence. It was supposed to be for a year and I quit after 5 months. Families back east love to have Mormon girls for Nannies. Almost every nanny I met was from Utah and a Mormon. I didn’t have a great experience with my family but I loved being on the east coast. To cut a long story short, the father of the family I worked for made a pass at me during their celebration of Rosh Hashanah at their home and in front of family. The next day I quit. Living on the east coast and traveling around was the only good thing about that experience.
After getting back from the East Coast I returned to USU and for the first time I was happy to be back in Utah. The same friend I mentioned above that I had known for a long time introduced me to some friends that were going to Taiwan to teach English. This was in April of 1988. I had no idea where Taiwan was at the time and I didn’t even have money to buy a ticket. When I mentioned it to my parents they thought it was a bad idea and I should just stay in school and stay at home and earn money. I can still remember a couple weeks after that they asked me one night if I was still interested in going to Taiwan and if so they would help me buy a one way ticket. I would have to earn my return ticket from teaching English. A few weeks after that I had my passport and ticket and a group of about 10 of us boarded a plane for Taiwan. None of us spoke Mandarin or even knew anyone to contact when we got there. It was exhilarating. I know I’m going off topic here, this is supposed to be about Utah. I’ll get back there, I promise. I thought going to Taiwan would be this great summer of being able to go into bars and order drinks and not have to feel pressured to go to church. The funny thing is that by the time I was ready to go back to Utah I had stopped drinking completely and I had started going to church again. I think being able to go to church on my own and not feel pushed to do so made a big difference. I also stated writing my friend (a guy friend who was on a mission) more seriously and our letters changed from being just casual day to day stuff, to wondering what the other would be doing long term.
One thing I’m sad about is that during this change in myself I didn’t know how to balance friends that were active, those that weren’t and those that weren’t LDS. Caring about the church, finding out how I felt about all of it and who I was a lot to figure out at a young age. I feel like I pushed some friends away. That’s a regret of mine luckily with time; we are now back in touch again. Yeah for FB. When I got back to Utah the letters to my friend kept getting more and more serious. He got home from his mission in December; we were engaged in February and married in June. Fast, I know. I like to remind people that we were good friend for 5 yrs before that. He was my best friend for a long time before getting married.
Now 21 yrs later a lot has changed. We had one biological daughter and adopted two kids, a boy and a girl. We lived in Provo for a few years, then to Northern California and now in Washington State. I’ve become stronger in my beliefs living outside of Utah. We’ve been lucky to live in areas where there are other LDS people that are open in their beliefs like we are. I’ve met some pretty amazing non-LDS people and amazing LDS people while living in California and in Washington. Not to say there aren’t amazing people in Utah, because there are. I have great friends in Utah and I miss them dearly. I’ve met people through FB, like Heather and I hope to meet her in person one day. I don’t know if this made any sense. I’m grateful for what my life has been like so far and all the people I’ve met through it and I look forward to whatever is coming my way. I miss Utah, the scenery and my family. I thought I would end this jumbled blog by listing some things I love about Utah by their seasons and the things I miss the most about Utah.
Fall-Driving back from Salt Lake and going through Sardine Canyon. Apple Cider from Zollingers in October. People burning leaves in their yards. Seeing some snow on the peaks of the Wellsville mountains but not ready for it yet.
Winter-Waking up to snow and hearing the heat kick on before getting out of bed. Even though it’s cold, the crunching sound when walking on frozen grass. Fires and having hot cocoa. Christmas Eve in Logan.
Spring-Snow on Easter. Rolling eggs down old Main when there isn’t snow on Easter. Tulips coming up at my parents house. The promise of summer in Logan and all over Utah.
Summer-Thunder storms. The smell of rain on hot cement. Cool summer nights. Camping all over Utah. Logan Canyon, need I say more? Bear Lake and Raspberry shakes.
Like I said above, I grew up in Logan, Utah. My parents were never completely active. If there were something else to go do on Sunday, that’s what we went in did. That included movies, parties with family or going out to dinner. Things that some Mormon’s would say are big no-no’s on Sunday. I felt close to the church though and I felt something special about it. I didn’t feel like I fit in with the people in my “ward”. I never really got along with the other girls in my church and that lasted from elementary up to High School. When I was in 4th grade my parents decided to move me from the elementary school in my neighborhood up to the elementary school on USU campus. I am forever grateful for that decision. I made some of my best friends there and friends I’m still in contact with. I made friends with kids that were from Korea, Spain and India. They were all different religions as well, Buddhist, Muslim and Catholic. I loved it; my new world was exciting, bright and fun. I tried new foods, listened to new music and it was eye opening to me. I think it was going to school there that really shaped how I look at people now. I finally realized that there is this whole other world outside of the Mormon culture and life and that it’s good and that I could learn from it.
When I was in the end of Middle School I found drugs and alcohol and it was fun. It was another eye opener. Unfortunately because of it I looked at school as being only social and I didn’t pay as much attention to it as I should have. I do regret it now to a degree. There are things I wouldn’t change about that time but also I think I could have made more of myself if I had paid less attention to when the next party was and a little bit more on getting good grades and being more involved. I still went to church on Sunday even though I had been out partying the night before but then so did a lot of other kids in my ward. I have a good friend that I’ve known since we were Brownies. She is a great person and as far as I know has never had a drop of alcohol in her life. She is a friend that has been supportive of me from day one, even when I was being an idiot in High School.
I barely graduated but thanks to a nice vice principal and an amazing English teacher I made it. I went on a study abroad through Logan High School to Germany and after that the travel bug was born. It was another chance to see life outside of Utah and to meet some wonderful people. During this whole time I had stopped going to church and I felt some freedom for the first time. After coming home I went back east to Rhode Island to be a nanny for a family in Providence. It was supposed to be for a year and I quit after 5 months. Families back east love to have Mormon girls for Nannies. Almost every nanny I met was from Utah and a Mormon. I didn’t have a great experience with my family but I loved being on the east coast. To cut a long story short, the father of the family I worked for made a pass at me during their celebration of Rosh Hashanah at their home and in front of family. The next day I quit. Living on the east coast and traveling around was the only good thing about that experience.
After getting back from the East Coast I returned to USU and for the first time I was happy to be back in Utah. The same friend I mentioned above that I had known for a long time introduced me to some friends that were going to Taiwan to teach English. This was in April of 1988. I had no idea where Taiwan was at the time and I didn’t even have money to buy a ticket. When I mentioned it to my parents they thought it was a bad idea and I should just stay in school and stay at home and earn money. I can still remember a couple weeks after that they asked me one night if I was still interested in going to Taiwan and if so they would help me buy a one way ticket. I would have to earn my return ticket from teaching English. A few weeks after that I had my passport and ticket and a group of about 10 of us boarded a plane for Taiwan. None of us spoke Mandarin or even knew anyone to contact when we got there. It was exhilarating. I know I’m going off topic here, this is supposed to be about Utah. I’ll get back there, I promise. I thought going to Taiwan would be this great summer of being able to go into bars and order drinks and not have to feel pressured to go to church. The funny thing is that by the time I was ready to go back to Utah I had stopped drinking completely and I had started going to church again. I think being able to go to church on my own and not feel pushed to do so made a big difference. I also stated writing my friend (a guy friend who was on a mission) more seriously and our letters changed from being just casual day to day stuff, to wondering what the other would be doing long term.
One thing I’m sad about is that during this change in myself I didn’t know how to balance friends that were active, those that weren’t and those that weren’t LDS. Caring about the church, finding out how I felt about all of it and who I was a lot to figure out at a young age. I feel like I pushed some friends away. That’s a regret of mine luckily with time; we are now back in touch again. Yeah for FB. When I got back to Utah the letters to my friend kept getting more and more serious. He got home from his mission in December; we were engaged in February and married in June. Fast, I know. I like to remind people that we were good friend for 5 yrs before that. He was my best friend for a long time before getting married.
Now 21 yrs later a lot has changed. We had one biological daughter and adopted two kids, a boy and a girl. We lived in Provo for a few years, then to Northern California and now in Washington State. I’ve become stronger in my beliefs living outside of Utah. We’ve been lucky to live in areas where there are other LDS people that are open in their beliefs like we are. I’ve met some pretty amazing non-LDS people and amazing LDS people while living in California and in Washington. Not to say there aren’t amazing people in Utah, because there are. I have great friends in Utah and I miss them dearly. I’ve met people through FB, like Heather and I hope to meet her in person one day. I don’t know if this made any sense. I’m grateful for what my life has been like so far and all the people I’ve met through it and I look forward to whatever is coming my way. I miss Utah, the scenery and my family. I thought I would end this jumbled blog by listing some things I love about Utah by their seasons and the things I miss the most about Utah.
Fall-Driving back from Salt Lake and going through Sardine Canyon. Apple Cider from Zollingers in October. People burning leaves in their yards. Seeing some snow on the peaks of the Wellsville mountains but not ready for it yet.
Winter-Waking up to snow and hearing the heat kick on before getting out of bed. Even though it’s cold, the crunching sound when walking on frozen grass. Fires and having hot cocoa. Christmas Eve in Logan.
Spring-Snow on Easter. Rolling eggs down old Main when there isn’t snow on Easter. Tulips coming up at my parents house. The promise of summer in Logan and all over Utah.
Summer-Thunder storms. The smell of rain on hot cement. Cool summer nights. Camping all over Utah. Logan Canyon, need I say more? Bear Lake and Raspberry shakes.
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