I have this great system with the social network site, Twitter. Once a week I log on, and I check up on all the people I am following, it can be a lot of fun! I often only browse my feed until I have had enough of the 120 character updates to make my head cry out in frustration, but sometimes I will read a full weeks worth of retweets, quotes, political rants (yes, they can be made in under 120 characters!) or even just rants. It is enjoyable for me to do this, and also a great way to shut down for the evening.
This week though, I made the mistake of doing something different. Trending right now is, you'll never guess, Utah. Yes, Utah, the beautiful state which I call home. I am not often open about my feelings towards Utah, and my desires to stay here the rest of my life, though I can let you in on a little bit of my secrets. I like the weather in Utah, I like that it is unpredictable and that it is usually in the mild category (January, February, July and August excluded). I like the mountains, and how I have so many options for just about anything that I want. I really do enjoy the fact that alcohol is much more monitored here than anywhere else. I lived in Germany and Austria, where alcohol flows, and I like the strict rules. And I really really like the people of Utah, sometimes Utah County does scare me, but I do love the people!
So, imagine my surprise when I click on the trending word "Utah" expecting to find fun stories about the olympics, which were there, but instead I find tweets telling the world how fed up with Utah these people are. The, "I just cannot wait to leave Utah" or "It would be worth losing everything I had to get out of Utah" tweets that drive me NUTS! I have never understood this mentality. I get it, there are a lot of Mormons here in Utah, so what? Or the inversion in Salt Lake, yes it is bad and yes I would like to see it go away so that I don't die of Carbon Monoxide poisoning later in life, but I only ever hear about it when it is present. People, Utah has an incredible economy(see footnote a), a 12.8% poverty rate (footnote b), Incredible universities which are affordable, and let us not forget: beautiful national parks, lakes, world class ski resorts, mountains, sand dunes, salt flats (which are constantly being used for Hollywood movies, third Pirates of the Caribbean anyone?) and a big fricken lake that is full of Salt!
(Just for fun: http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865596522/How-would-Utah-do-as-its-own-country-in-the-Winter-Olympics.html)
In all, I love Utah. I understand that some people want to get out, and they are entitled to their opinions, and I also understand that people disagree with many of the Utah government officials, and I respect their rights to be entitled to an opinion. I just wish that people would stop to realize the great gift they have been given which is this state. I love it! It is and will always be home. No other state can take that title away from it. And even Germany, though I love it so much, could not take away the title of home.'m sorry for the rant, but I felt the need to get it all out.
Oh, and on the topic of Twitter... http://youtu.be/xuuUToffs-E
footnote a: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/money/56921108-79/utah-economy-forbes-business.html.csp
footnote b: http://www.spotlightonpoverty.org/poverty_data_map.aspx
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