O-town dreams big

My little sister said she prays for me because I live in Ogden. People cringe when I tell them I was looking for an apartment around 25th Street and Adams Avenue a few weeks before two women were shot and killed in the same area. I don't mean to burst your bubble, but some consider Ogden to be Utah's very own Gotham city. In fact, some days I feel like I'm the only one living here. When you ask people in Ogden where they are from, it seems like everyone is from South Ogden, North Ogden, Washington Terrace or even East Ogden, though we all, suspiciously, have the same zip code. I want to know how Ogden got such a bad reputation. Just turn on the TV. Sometimes it seems like everything bad on the news happens in Ogden. But that's not the most accurate picture. There are plenty of good things going on in our dear old O-town that pass through without much notice. Good things happen daily, and will keep happening. Ogden has a rich history, but who's to say those were the glory days, and these aren't? Thanks to some very determined individuals, Ogden is moving forward - whether you like it or not. Maybe we'll always have the smell of dog food, but Ogden is changing. Ogden has big plans for the future. Sports companies, entertainment options and restaurants are rolling in. This potentially means more jobs, and an influx of cash into a city in need of revenue. It also means more ways to enjoy the place in which we live. Just wait, in a few years, granola-eating hikers may flock by the thousands to our mountains, and snowboarders and skiers may even sit down together singing "Kumbaya." You may not dream of streets paved with recycled Tevas and rivers of Gatorade, but there are people who dream big for our city and that, in itself, is very reassuring.