As this school year comes to an end, so does my time at Boise State University and my beloved hometown. There hasn’t been a day since I started school that I haven’t gone without the views of the beautiful mountains. However, in a few short months that will change. For the better majority of my life, my world has consisted in Boise. When I was in middle school, I started thinking of Boise as a bowl. A bowl that contained everything, but my heart always wanted to know what was outside of that bowl.
It has been a privilege to grow up in such a wonderful city. A city that gave me freedom. I would spend my afternoons riding my bike to the library, and my weekends playing soccer or going to festivals with my parents. Boise brought my culture, a culture that is all its own. My family spent our free time going to festivals, hiking, and being outdoors. For a long time, summers meant the River festival which consisted of ice cream potatoes, hot air balloons, and face paint. Following would be the Art in the Park, were I spent my time running around the rose garden with my friends. My parents and I would walk around the tents looking at all the different art that exists. Ending the hot summer days was the Hide Park street fair. My most prized possession when I was 5 was the .50 cent ring my father bought me, not once but twice because I lost the first one to the monkey bars. All of these things quickly developed a childhood like no other. In a single day, we would go skiing in the morning and watch my dad cross the finish line at his mountain bike race in the afternoon. Growing up in Idaho, I learned to respect the world we have. Don’t walk on muddy trails, read and respect the river, and don’t litter. Everyone around me had such pride for the mountains we had, and the city we lived in.
I didn’t always dream of going away. In fact, for a period of time, I dreamed of going to Boise State. I couldn’t wait for the day that I started college. There was nothing more exciting to me than being able to say I was a Bronco. However, as I got older I realized that there was more in the world then this town. Growing up, I saw a lot of different places: California, New York, Virginia, Oregon, Alabama, Washington, and they all made me eager. Eager to see what this world had to offer. When I was in high school, I wanted to be anywhere but here. I couldn’t wait to leave. However, leaving isn't as easy as packing up your car and waiting until it breaks down to start over. When it came to applying to schools, they all seemed so far away. So I started college at Boise State, but I never really planned on staying long. Something was drawing me away, but it wasn’t my time to go.
I can never thank this city enough for what it has given me and the people it gave me. It gave me one of my best friends, who never fails to be there for me, support me, and tell me how incredibly stupid I am being. It gave me a high school full of teachers who always encouraged me to chase my dreams. It also gave me a college that for two years shaped me, and it gave me a sorority that gave me a home inside my home. These are all things I am going to greatly miss, and they are things that I couldn’t be more thankful for. However, despite all of these things, it is time for me to go.
This town watched me grow, watched my priorities change. It also saw a lot of very dark and painful points, it watched a boy drag my heart around every city block. And it watched me outgrow it. As much as I love this place, it can only offer me so much, and I have exhausted it all. So now it is time to say goodbye. A goodbye that isn't easy to do by any means. Outside of this city is outside my comfort zone. There will no longer be people who can pick up my mess, and faces will stop being so familiar. But outside of this city is also space to grow, to spread my wings, to learn different things. It’s time for new face to become familiar faces. It’s my time to go. There is so much in this world that I can’t wait to see. I am so eager to reach for the highest mountains and so humbled to know I have climbed the ones here.
Don’t worry about me, because one day I will be back. And I can’t wait to see everything you accomplish while I am away. I will truly miss you and everyone who is nestled in your beautiful city, but for now this a goodbye.
With love,
A free spirit