Downtown Provo

                     

This is my first time back in Provo in two years. My husband and I lived in Monterey, California, and San Angelo, Texas before moving back to Orem three months ago. This was a fun experience to compare where I've been and where I am now. Downtown Provo is old and rundown, but it reminded me of Monterey in some ways. The feeling I got walking through the town was that it was unique, corky, and while it is decaying, there is beauty to be found and hope to be felt. I first noticed a little, green house. It was an average house and then I discovered the door was about three feet off the ground with no stairs leading up to it. I thought of the family living there, maybe they are superstitious of stairs? Or it's just a work in progress. Either way it seemed to fit in with the corkiness and symbolized the town, not perfect, but still uniquely beautiful. Next, I walked by a beautiful church and upon further inspection found it had stunning stained glass windows. The two I found most powerful were side by side, one was of St. Francis of Assisi and the other of a girl tending to her horse. I was puzzled at first as to why these two images would be next to each other but after pondering I interpreted it to mean that we can be just as powerful as Francis of Assisi was and we too can create relationships with all kinds of living things, other than just human beings. Down the road from the church there are a bunch of buildings with glass windows. I was inspired by the inside of Aveda and thought how cool it would be to work somewhere with positive messages constantly surrounding you. This was a more modern area of downtown Provo and I liked the mix of old and new coexisting, just like in all aspects of life. My next "discovery" was one that surprised me. I had been to Zeek's many times but never noticed the side of the building covered in images of shakes, pies, and sprinkles. Zeek's is in the middle of two very old and weathered buildings and the wall seems to shout at you, "give me attention, validate me!" And I had never seen it before. I stared at it for a few minutes and the colors lifted my spirits. As I was walking away I looked down and saw a spray-painted smiley face. It was just a little reminder to stay hopeful, and to find beauty in brokenness. My time spent in downtown Provo left me wanting to explore and discover more beauty and uniqueness in all aspects of my life and in the world around me, especially in places I might not usually look.