Why I love C-City.

Sometimes you may come across people who will say to you: "Why would you want to live in Cedar City? It's so small and boring." You may have even wondered these things yourself before you visited this little town. However, as anyone who has lived here can tell you, it's definitely the opposite of boring. Here are the top five reasons I love C-City, in no particular order.

1. The location. As I said in my last post, we live so close to so many awesome things. National parks, St. George, lakes, campgrounds, hot springs... you name it, we are most likely near it. Even Las Vegas is only two and a half hours away! I've spent a few nights seeing the lights down there myself.

2. Activities. Even if there's not something to do on campus (which there almost always is), there are plenty of things to do around Cedar. There are three movie theatres, one of which is a historic discount theatre where you can see shows for so cheap. There's a bowling alley and an old school skating rink, and in the winter there's an outdoor ice skating rink as well. There are plenty of hills for sledding and ice blocking, and tons of fields and parks for playing sports. It's basically impossible to run out of things to do.

3. The outdoors. When I say this, I don't only mean the national parks and hiking that are around. There's so much to do even in the boundaries of the city! There are running and biking trails that are surrounded by gorgeous scenery. A few campgrounds are less than 20 minutes away, and if you're in the mood for a bonfire, grab some friends and take them to one of the many spots that are nearby. Even in the winter, Cedar is gorgeous, because while we have similar temperatures and snowfall to the Salt Lake Valley, we don't have the inversion.

4. The shopping. You might be thinking, "Where on earth would you go shopping in Cedar City?" but let me tell you, there are some pretty cool stores! We have Rue 21, Sports Authority, Famous Footwear, and other popular stores, but we also have some real gems down Main Street. There is a shop that has an old fashioned soda fountain inside, as well as multiple thrift stores, a comic book shop, a used book store combined with a fantastic coffee shop, and many others. You'll have to check them out for yourself!

5. The food. Trust me when I say there are some amazing restaurants around here. It's hard to pick my favorite between Centro (wood-fired pizza), Brody's (amazing and authentic Mexican food), Boulangerie Marie (cute little French bakery), Pastry Pub (to-die-for Shakespearean sandwich shop), and all the other eateries around Cedar. There are even steakhouses tucked into Cedar Canyon and of course we have the new drive-thru soda stops that have been the craze lately. I spend way too much money eating out but it really is so worth it.

So, hopefully you have the chance to spend some time getting to know Cedar City. Maybe you'll find some hidden treasures that even I don't know about!

Here we go.

The first couple weeks of school have taught me a few things.

1. Not reading textbooks is not going to fly this year. Three quizzes a week on chapters from the book do actually require you to read the book. I learned this lesson the hard way.
2. Between going to school full time, working 24 to 40 hours a week, ambassadors, homework, working out, and maintaining relationships, I am not going to have a lot of free time, so it's extra important to keep life balanced.
3. I cannot and will not survive on popcorn chicken from T-Bird Grill. Healthy eating must be done.
4. That being said, that new Mexican restaurant called Brody's is to die for. I highly recommend you try it out.
5. I feel like this is the beginning of a semester's worth of panic attacks as I try to decide where and if and what graduate schools to apply for. I'm ready to graduate but at the same time I'm nowhere near ready to graduate.

If anything, though, number five has taught me one thing: I'm going to be stressed a lot, and I'm going to want to freak out a lot, which at times may be justified. But I've come to the realization this week that when these feelings come, sometimes the best thing to do is ride them out - whether that's metaphorically or by actually going out for a long bike/car/scooter ride. After all, everything will work out in the end, and if it hasn't worked out, it's not the end.

Where does the time go?

Well, here I am on the second floor of the library, with rain and hail beating down on the huge skylight, contemplating how it came to be that I have just started my last year at SUU. I still remember my first day here vividly: moving into Cedar Hall North with three girls I had never met, being nervous I would get hopelessly lost on the way to my classes, and feeling really small in a really big world.

Now, I'm a senior and my time is waning in this place I have learned to call home. I now know the best time to get Tiki Shack to avoid the lines and the easiest place to enter the sheep tunnels. I know not to go camping at Three Peaks when it rains and where to get the best chapstick in town (hint: True T-bird night). And I know that my third and final year in Cedar City is going to be the best one yet.

I spent the summer in Cedar this year instead of going home to northern Utah, and it was endless amounts of fun. Between shifts at work I snuck in trips to Southern California and Salt Lake City, soccer games, and hikes on hikes on hikes. I'm going to let you in on a little secret: there's nowhere better for hiking than southern Utah. With Zion, Bryce Canyon, Cedar Breaks, Snow Canyon, Kanarraville, and Kolob Canyon all practically in my backyard, I never ran out of adventures. I highly recommend that you use what's left of the warm weather to get out and explore some of these places!

Kanarraville Falls

The C Trail

Zion National Park

The Narrows

It was kind of weird when school started, to be honest. There was no big "move-in day" like in years past. One day I was just hanging out around town, and the next day school had started. I could not have been more excited! The first day of class is always a little nerve-wracking, whether you're a freshman or a graduate student. I spent an embarrassing amount of time picking out my First Day Outfit and then taking my annual First Day Photo.

I couldn't wait to be back at school and see all my friends again, and meet all the new people who are experiencing SUU for the first time. I was pumped to start a long-awaited Harry Potter marathon with my roommate and best friend who I met freshman year in Cedar Hall and have lived with ever since. The thought of riding my Razor scooter around campus made me grin from ear to ear. I was eagerly awaiting wearing red on Fridays.

Then, suddenly, school was in full swing. I've had papers to write, quizzes to take, chapters to read, Welcome Week activities to attend, people to see, places to be. It can get overwhelming pretty fast. Which is why I'm here, in the library, already in the second week of school, taking a deep breath and thinking about how I'm going to make this year incredible. I know there's nowhere else I would rather be and I can't wait to see where it will take me. Hopefully you feel the same!

Last first.

Today was my last first day at SUU. I don't know how I got here.

It seems like just yesterday when I was walking around campus the Sunday before school started figuring out where all my classes were so I wouldn't get lost. I didn't have to do that this time obviously (although I did have to ask someone what building "TH" is the abbreviation for). It seems like just barely when I was stalking my future roommates on Facebook and thinking I was going to be the only white girl in my room in Cedar Hall... who knows why I thought that. It definitely does not feel like it's been three years since I made the decision of where to come to school because the first commercial to come on after General Conference was for SUU, and that was clearly a sign.

It's amazing how much I've progressed since freshman year. Who knew that I would live in France for a month; become a Presidential Ambassador, a reporter, and an event planner; have to get glasses (you didn't even know I wear glasses did you?); develop a love for hiking; and think things like sheep tunnels, a tiny reservoir, or a snow cone shack are cool places to be on a Friday night? I've gone from a kid nervous about moving to a new place and making friends and getting good grades, to a slightly older kid terrified of making decisions and entering the grown-up world. But that's all part of life I guess: being scared of stuff and then doing it anyway. That's how we all grow.

Anyway, I guess it's just hard to believe that in eight months I will (assuming everything goes according to plan) be the proud owner of a bachelor's degree and be leaving this little town I have come to love so much over the past two years. Which means these next eight months should probably be pretty kick-ass. Bring it on, senior year!

The narrows.

Last weekend I got to cross one of my biggest summer bucket list items off: hiking the Narrows. Which meant I got to spend 6 hours between the walls of a canyon and up to my knees in water looking at this kind of gorgeous scenery. It was truly one of the most humbling experiences. Also, I got to wear really cool socks.

There were many highlights which included trying to eavesdrop on the conversations of French people, being up to my waist in water because I'm so short, thinking there was going to be an orange grove around the corner because someone peeled an orange, getting laughed at when I fell in the water, laughing at Colby when he almost fell in the water, doing parkour, getting hounded by some dad about where we went hiking, and mainly just taking in the beauty that is really right in our backyard.

If you get the chance to hike the Narrows, I highly recommend you take that chance! Next up: Angels Landing!

Honors.

From July 10 to 20, I had the opportunity to leave the world behind and become a counselor for the Governor's Honors Academy. Long story short, this is a nine day leadership camp at SUU for excelling high school seniors. I attended it myself at the age of 17, and this year I was able to return as a counselor.

For some reason I entered this experience not expecting to learn anything new, but just to help these kids learn about themselves and where life could take them. After all, I've already been to GHA so what else could it really teach me? By the end though, I'm pretty sure I learned more than they did about how to be the best person I can be every day, set and achieve goals, and start on the path to accomplishing my dreams (as soon as I figure out what those dreams are).

Here is a compilation of some of my favorite quotes from the speakers I got to experience:

"When they told me I couldn't do it, I said, 'you watch me.'" - Cyndi Gilbert

"Everything is always changing but it doesn't matter. You deal with the cards you're dealt every day." - Steve Gilbert

"If you have an idea, and turn it into a dream, and plan it and live with it until it succeeds, it will succeed." - Fred Adams

"Remember, working eight hours a day at something you don't love is hell." - Fred Adams

 "The 'good life' is always a beginning, not an ending. It's getting there, not being there. It's on the side of the mountain, not the top." - Don Gale

"Don't be normal." - Bruce Crankshaw

 "By changing our thoughts, we can change our lives." - David Litchford

There really are no words to accurately explain how GHA changed me and how it continues to change everyone involved every day. But, as Andy Andrews so eloquently put in The Noticer: "Life is a little like dessert. Keep your fork, the best is yet to come."

When the communication major disappears from social media.

I've realized something recently. I'm a communication major. And I've given up on social media.

Those of you who know me well know that I'm addicted to Twitter. And Tumblr. And Vine. And Instagram. Or at least I was.

This summer though, I don't know what's happened to me. I've posted a total of like five blog posts this summer if you count this one, and all of them have been extremely sorry excuses for blog posts that are only intended to keep my blog alive (including this one).

I used to be funny on Twitter and get lots of favorites and stuff. And then there's the quality of my tweets this summer:

• Currently ODing on Oreo ice cream
• It's summer and I just spent like 2 and a half hours in the library. I need to rethink my life choices.
• Pretty fortunate that I didn't crash my car today.. It would be embarrassing if my cause of death was "eating a cinnamon roll while driving"
• Haven't tweeted about my life in a week so I'm not sure if it even existed or not...
• Had a dream I ran a 5k and woke up with sore hamstrings...mostly I'm concerned how sore I'll be if I ACTUALLY run a 5k
• Exhausted and haven't showered in days... This is what summer is about right? #work #allthetime
• At least I've been getting paid to do stuff like look at dead stuffed animals.
• Seeing as I wasn't driving all over the state of Utah today it's about time I got some things* done! (*3.5 hours of watching Netflix)
• You know you've hit rock bottom when you text your mom because you're bored. And then she doesn't even text back. #loserstatus
• It's a sad day when you're 20 years old and still get asked for ID every time you try to buy medicine or spray paint. #stilllook16

Not only are none of these funny but they also demonstrate the fact that while my goal this summer was to get in shape and eat healthy, I've done nothing but dream about running, eat cinnamon rolls, and work, which apparently includes getting paid to look at dead animals. Why did I tweet about that?

The only thing that has actually remained kind of in my life is Instagram. That is, if you're dying to see landscape picture after landscape picture with the hash tag #utahgram, cause that's all it is these days.

So yeah, case in point. I don't know what's happened to me. Maybe everything will return to normal in three weeks when school starts. Or maybe I'm just that weird girl who became a comm major because she likes to write but is kind of quiet and socially awkward and now doesn't even use social media and is a total outcast in the public relations/advertising world that she hopes to find a career in. Okay, that's a little extreme. I'm sure I'll see you guys on Twitter and Insta sometime soon. I mean, as soon as I find another cool landscape or something.

PS. Follow me! @shanndelier on Twitter and Instagram.