This essay, by Kylee from Air Academy High School, is one of the top five finalists for our scholarship. Be sure to share your thoughts in the comment section below this post!
Why I Think Colorado Springs is a Great Place to Live:
Colorado Springs seems unlike any other place in the world. The city is large and thriving, yet still maintains its nature oriented feel. As a native of Colorado Springs, I know first hand the unsurpassable values the city has to offer. Perhaps without anything to compare my home to, some may argue my opinion is biased or incomplete. I argue the opposite, however, as I have had my entire live to formulate my opinion on the matter. A lifetime of wonderful experiences exclusive to the great city of Colorado Springs leaves me with one conclusion only: This is truly an incredible place to live.
Initially, looking at the city from a perspective purely concerning enjoyment, there are innumerable activities to participate in on any given day. As a teenager in Colorado Springs, a plethora of options exist to choose from when deciding what to do with friends. Many of these activities involve physical activity, making the city itself very unique. One of my favorite social activities is hiking and hammocking. Everyone packs up their hammocks and a few snacks, and hits the trails in search of a scenic location to hang out and listen to music. The city is anything but scarce of hiking trails, and nearly anyone’s house is minutes from an exceptional hike. Renowned wonders such as the Incline, Garden of the Gods, and Pikes Peak allow residents to frequently enjoy places others might only see once in their lifetime. The Springs also holds a variety of environments, from the cute downtown area of Manitou Springs where kids can take pictures or grab a cup of coffee, to large shopping complexes where kids can spend the day at the mall or the movies. My personal favorite, climbing gyms, are frequent throughout the city. When in Colorado Springs, you’re never more than 5 minutes away from an adventure, and often life feels like a vacation.
Many opportunities to get outside exist right here in Colorado Springs, but another feature of the city lies in its location with respect to other accessible adventures. For instance, the city is just hours away from a handful of ski towns, and a day trip up in the mountains occurs frequently among residents in the Springs. Summer activities such as water rafting, camping and outdoor climbing are just a short car ride away, and there’s never a shortage of things to do no matter the season.
The joys of Colorado Springs would hardly be complete without mentioning the breathtaking views available in nearly every direction. Despite the larger city feel of the area, nature is notably prevalent everywhere, and the views leave nothing to be desired. From the awe inspiring mountains to scattered forests and rivers, you’re never without a background for a quality photo. While it is sometimes easy to take the beautiful mountains for granted, the drive to school rarely seems like anything but a privilege when surrounded by this uniquely splendid landscape.
Additionally, the word “perfect” comes instantly to mind when thinking about the weather in Colorado Springs. Although some may find the weather sporadic and unpredictable, this frequent change spares all boredom. One day, the sun may beam down, providing a comfortable 70 degree day, while the next day might bring cloudy rain showers or even a blizzard. Summers in Colorado are pleasantly warm, while winters are cold but far from unbearable. Surprisingly frequent snow storms provide adequate snowdays for the students of Colorado Springs, and some of my favorite days have consisted of sledding down the slope of a nearby mountain. The comfortable weather throughout the summer allows residents to enjoy outdoor activities nearly every day, promoting a healthy and active lifestyle.
Yet another service the city of Colorado Springs provides the people who live there is the high altitude. While this may seem like an inconvenience to outsiders, residents know that the altitude keeps them in top shape. If a runner travels nearly anywhere else in the country, the lower altitude will allow them to run with ease. Living at altitude eliminates the struggle many others feel when they travel to places with a higher altitude. Without any extra efforts, living in Colorado offers substantial benefits to athletes, or anyone looking to enjoy physical activities.
Most importantly, the active vibe of Colorado Springs makes it an incredibly enjoyable place to live. On any given drive, a Coloradan might pass at least 5 runners and countless bikers out taking in the fresh mountain air. While such sightings might seem scarce elsewhere, active residents are plentiful in any weather. This active environment also incentivises clean practices such as biking to work or spending time outside picking up trash.
Currently, I am a part of a club at my school called “Keep Colorado Green”. This organization promotes collecting trash from neighboring parks and hikes, creating a cleaner place for public enjoyment. Such programs can be seen all over Colorado Springs, along with other environmental initiatives such as solar panels or composting. There is definitely an emphasis on environment awareness where I live, which is not only incredible, but also unique among other U.S. cities.
Colorado Springs is somewhat of a military city, as the US Air Force Academy and both Army and Air Force bases are located here. This means that a continuous influx of new people come to experience the wonders of the city. Throughout high school, I constantly got to meet new students and make new friends each year, as their parents moved for their military jobs. Unfortunately, this also meant losing some friends as they moved away throughout the years, but keeping in touch with them and hearing about their new experiences allows me to see a wide variety of culture as they move around the world.
I feel truly blessed to live in the great city of Colorado Springs. There is something for everyone to enjoy here, no matter their interests. The accessibility provided by a larger city coupled with beautiful scenic views and a plethora of outdoor activities make Colorado Springs one of a kind. For these reasons and many more, I am proud to call this place my home.
Kylee is an absolute joy to be around. She is incredibly kind, hardworking, and puts other first.
Kylee seems like a great candidate for this scholarship!
Love the essays and the pictures 🙂
she is mature motivated and such a hard worker
Amazing essay!! Super thoughtful.
Kylee is an exceptional young woman as clearly demonstrated by this essay.
Wow this really highlights all the great reasons to love Colorado Springs- especially the great outdoors!!!
Your passion for our city is so inspiring!!
Kylee this is so good and true! Good luck!!
Go Kylee! Colorado is not heaven but it’s very close to it!
This essay really paints a picture of what it’s like to live here in Colorado Springs!! You’re spot on with everything about the city and your writing is beautiful!
Kylee is an amazing person and i believe she deserves this scholarship!
From working with Kylee in band last school year, i know she has the commitment to make it through the long run.
Please choose her!!!
I love her pictures, they really make it personalized. You can tell she really loves Colorado!
Great work, Kylee! You hit all the charm points of Colorado and made it sound like the best place to live!
the sweetest and smartest person i know, wrote an essay that explains all my love for my favorite place in the world.
What a great summary of our amazing town. You covered so many of my personal favorites. I’m not a native..but you make me wish I was!
Amazing! Sums up our city perfectly
I am Kylee‘s grandfather known to her as Pa. We have been visiting Colorado for over 20 years but just moved here in February of this year .I agree with what Kylee says about the springs and her essay . Colorado’s chamber of commerce should publish Kylee‘s essay for an advertisement. It will probably draw more people to Colorado Springs.
Kylee deserves this scholarship!! (:
Good luck!!
Excellent write up that really captures the vibes and opportunities of the Springs
Kylee’s essay is well written and touches on multiple important topics
Kylee is one of the most genuine people I have ever met. Very generous and always kind towards anyone.
very inspirational!!
Nice and articulated well. Highlights the great parts of Colorado Springs.
Love you Kylee!!!!
I loved reading about the wonderful city of Colorado Springs. I sounds like the perfect place to live!
Best of luck! You deserve this Kylee!
I believe Kylee would be a great candidate for the scholarship. Her love for her city and the environment is exemplified by her involvement with “Keep Colorado Green.” This club promotes collecting trash from neighboring parks and hikes, creating a cleaner place for public enjoyment for all citizens of Colorado Springs. She showed her love for her home town through making it a cleaner place.
Great article! I agree great place to live.
What an amazing essay! A scholarship is very deserved. Makes myself more appreciative for my home place as well. This essay is very well written and surely answers the prompt in an interesting and relatable way. Good luck to Kylee receiving this scholarship opportunity, as it should be given to someone with as an incredible essay as her.
All the subjects you covered about outdoor Colorado Springs is exactly why I love the Springs myself! You make me excited for summer!!
The energy and positivity expressed in this essay is an example of the person Kylee is! She makes Colorado an even greater place to live!
What a riveting essay! She illustrates Colorado so well.
Great job!
Beautiful Colorado described perfect in a well written beautiful essay.
Wonderful and honest essay that resonates with anyone who grew up in Colorado Springs
I totally concur! I lived in Colorado Springs for three years and absolutely loved it. As a military kid, I’ve lived across many states, countries, and continents, and I totally agree with the points Kylee made as to why Colorado Springs is great. Nowhere else I’ve lived have I found such an incredible community spirit, based in the love of the outdoors and desire to make life an adventure. And of course, I miss the outdoor activities and kind people the Springs had to offer. Thanks Kylee for making me reminisce to my time there!
Kylee is a beautiful soul who has the beautiful gift of loving everyone around her 🙂
Kylee is a beautiful soul with a beautiful gift of loving everyone around her 🙂
Kylee has written a wonderful essay about our community.
Love this so much!
If I didn’t already love Colorado Springs, I would after reading Kylee’s essay. Kylee has always been creative and very hard working. She well rounded, as you can tell from her essay; but also an excellent student. She loves her hometown which is evident by her essay. As college approaches, she is very excited about her chosen field of study and I can’t wait to see what area will be her focus. I’m very proud to say I am Kylee’s grand mother. 😊
Kylee’s essay captures the feel and vibe of Colorado Springs. It is a well-written description of what life is like in this wonderful town. As a 30-year resident of the Springs I was pleased to read all of the wonderful things I have heretofore taken for granted about the Sorings.
Kylee’s essay reminds me how lucky I am to call the Springs my home. This why I vote for Kylee’s essay as my choice for the scholarship award.
This essay makes me want to move to Colorado Springs!
Kylee’s a colorado kid through and through, can’t wait to see what she does next.
I have reviewed each essay, and I feel that Kylee’s definitely displays the most effort, as well as being the most comprehensive of the subject, Colorado Springs… Her essay would be an excellent ad to promote tourism for this city! Therefore, I vote for Kylee’s essay as #1…
Well done Kylee!
Awesome essay!
gooooo kylee!!! woohoo!
I love that Kylee is giving back to her community by Keeping Colorado Green!
Wow Kylee, it sounds like you take advantage of all the amazing things to do in Colorado Springs. I wish more kids would do the same, instead of hanging out indoors on their phones. Nice work! You live in an amazing city, and based on your essay, you obviously appreciate the beauty and all it has to offer!
Kylee captures what it is like to live in Colorado Springs perfectly!! Great essay!
Beautiful descriptions of Colorado Springs, I wish I had grown up here, this truly is an incredible area we live in. Very well said!
This one is the best!
I love CS as well. She expressed the whys well
Kylee is an outstanding individual with compassion for the environment and kindness with her peers.
Such an amazing essay! It makes me want to live in Colorado Springs so badly! It is definitely a good representation of our beautiful city and Kylee definitely deserves this scholarship.
Kylee’s essay is very well thought out and descriptive! I thoroughly enjoyed reading Kylee’s essay; it made me really appreciate even more living in Colorado Springs. I vote for Kylee!
I enjoyed Kylee’s essay the most. It was spot-on for the outdoor activities and natural beauty of Colorado Springs.
Kylee’s essay is very well written, capturing the beauty and outdoor orientation of Colorado Springs. She was one of the hardest working, kindest, and more selfless students that I have ever had in my 26 year career.
Kylee’s essay was very well written, capturing the beauty and outdoor orientation of Colorado Springs. Kylee was also one of the hardest working, kindest, and most selfless students that I have ever had in 26 years of teaching.
Kylee is a wonderful young lady!! Great Essay!
Kylee highlights the best of the Springs; our outdoor opportunities right in our city are amongst the best anywhere in the world. Even in some of the characteristics that could be portrayed as negative (weather, lack of oxygen, etc), Kylee spins it into a positive.
Kylee is an incredibly intelligent, emotionally mature, and hard working young woman. She has an energy for life that is contagious. Her ability to connect ideas through her excellent vocabulary and appropriate syntax is impressive to anyone privileged to read her thoughts. She will achieve great things in higher education and is well-deserving of this award!
Colorado Springs is amazing!
Kylee has grown so much in the last four years. I am so excited to see where she goes from here!
Great essay, Kylee! You have my vote.
Amazing, beautifully written essay of life in Colorado. Her love for her home can be contagious, as well as her smile.
Kylee’s essay certainly captured the essence of our wonderful city. She covered the key reasons and filled the essays with specifics that make Colorado Springs unique. Great job, Kylee!
Great job, Kylee!
Kylee’s essay is awesome! I will be moving there soon and it is very exciting how many things I have to look forward to do. She is a great candidate for this scholarship. She is a top student, but as you can see, she is very well rounded. Good Luck, Kylee!!!
Kylee is not only an incredible writer, but an incredible person who embodies the adventurous spirit of Colorado.
Kylee Weis…what an amazing young lady. I have watched Kylee grow up right in front of my eyes. She is truly a blessing to all she meets. I really enjoyed her essay about Colorado because we truly live in a beautiful state. She is driven, hardworking and fierce. She is attending college in a field that is near and dear to my heart, Neuroscience. I believe she will be very successful in college, she will excel in the Neuroscience industry. She has a kind and giving soul.
Kylee deserves this scholarship.
We have lived in Colorado Springs for 30 years and I totally agree with Kylee!
Kylee is right on in her essay.
This essay makes me want to move there! Oh, I already did.
I couldn’t agree more about why Colorado Springs is a great place to live. This is a well written essay pointing out all the reasons why we love The Springs. For me, it was also a reminder that we should not take it for granted, but to appreciate and enjoy it to the fullest. Thank you for your wonderful words. Great job!
I share Kylee thoughts about The Springs.
She is a wonderful young women and would be a
great representative of your scholarship and the Springs
Wow makes me want to move to co spgs or at the very least visit
Kylee is a wonderful person, has a good heart, is both talented and a hard-worker and is very deserving of good things to come her way.