It Happened During 'Holy Ground'

Amanda and I went to a Taylor Swift concert at the beginning of June. We had been waiting for this concert since last November. You should have seen us when we entered Salt Lake City the morning before the concert and saw all of the semi-trucks with Taylor Swift's face all over them. Our smiles were huge...and so were the screams coming out of our mouths. It was finally happening!

As soon as we entered the Energy Solutions Arena, we went on a hunt for the Taylor Swift shirts. Our lack of preparation for this concert was surprisingly high. We didn't even have a red shirt to wear. But that's okay. We managed to find cute "Red Tour" shirts there. So happy!

We found our seats as Ed Sheeran was opening the concert. He's so amazing. When he finished, Amanda and I tried taking selfies, if you will, of ourselves at the concert. The girls next to us noticed and offered to take the pictures for us. They were so crazy! As we were trying to find a good spot for a picture, one of of them climbs over the seats to stand far enough away to get a good shot. "This is Taylor Swift!" she said, "Anything is possible!" And she was right. Anything was possible.

The second song Taylor (we are on a first name basis now) sang was "Holy Ground" and it was spectacular. Just saying. But, anyway, during the song, I decided I wanted to take a picture with my phone. My phone was in Amanda's bag. I reach down, grab the bag, and start to look for my phone. The amount of stuff that girl can fit into that tiny bag is amazing. Anyway, as I'm pulling out my phone, something else flies out of the bag. I honestly thought it was a twenty dollar bill (or something of equal importance) so I start trying to catch it as it falls down into the people below. Keep in mind it was dark. I turn to tell Amanda about the money I dropped and she has this shocked look on her face. "What? What was that?" I asked. "A pad. We dropped a pad into the audience at a Taylor Swift concert." Well then. That's slightly embarrassing. 

"How do we come back from that?" -Amanda

"We don't. Just act normal." -Me

"Normal? I can't believe you." -Amanda

We had tears in our eyes from laughing so hard. If someone were to drop a "sanitary napkin," as the ladies bathrooms call them, into the audience, it would be us...or me, whatever. The people that it dropped onto picked it up and then quickly dropped it to the floor again looking back at us for a brief moment. Sorry guys. Maybe next time we will all be lucky and it will actually be a $20 bill floating from the bag.

The Detour

"Hey, you wanna go look at birds?" -Parker

"Okay. Why not?" -Me
"Really?! Okay. Take these." *hands me binoculars* "You'll look more legit." -Parker
"Oh boy." -Me

Two weekends ago, I had the chance to ride down to Provo, Utah with one of my best friends. This trip should have taken four hours...tops. How long did it take us? About twelve hours. This is not because we broke down, ran out of gas, or had to run back for forgotten items. No, there were no legit reasons such as these. It took us this long because we stopped caring about the clock, the destination, and the constant reminders from Amanda letting us know that we were taking forever. Instead, we tossed all of that aside and enjoyed one of the most beautiful parts of Utah I have ever seen. 

When we decided to venture out into this "Migratory Bird Refuge" (what?), I had no idea that this detour would be exactly what I needed. Too often I find myself wishing I were elsewhere. I find it hard  to see the beauty in this place. I'm used to old churches, giant ice cream cones, cobblestone streets and fairytale castles. What I'm not used to is the endless plains of dirt and sand, crazy winds, and cows floating down the river. I constantly dream of Germany, New York and sometimes even Florida. 

On this drive, I looked around and realized there is beauty that can be seen wherever you are. You just have to embrace your surroundings...appreciate them. Sometimes you have to take a time out, open your eyes, and breathe. Be thankful for where you are and be thankful for the people around you. Stop rushing through life anxious to get on to the next part. Enjoy the ride.

And, for the record, I could totally see myself going birdwatching again in the future. It's so peaceful. Okay, that took a great effort to admit. I'm going overboard. Maybe I'll just say I can see myself photographing birds again in the future. Yeah, that sounds more like me.