September 30, 2013

From Minnesota to Metro Stations

Sep. 30, 2013 at 08:00 AM | By Laura Kyle | Comment Count

Red . . . orange . . . yellow . . .

The colors and station names on the metro, once completely foreign to me, are now a part of my everyday vocabulary. The rumbling sound of an oncoming train, the flashing red lights in each station, and the occasional aroma of burning rubber have somehow become small reminders of just how far from Minnesota I am. Hobsons Education Advocate - Laura Kyle

Roughly 1,265.4 miles according to Google to be exact.

When I accepted a three-month internship (read Laura's first installment) in Washington D.C. during April of my senior year, I didn’t consider that in just a matter of months I would be thrown into a new place where I knew very few people. I would have to navigate not only street names and metro stops, but also life away from family, friends, and all that was comfortable to me. Suddenly, I was thinking to myself: “I’m not ready for this.” After 22 years of living forty-five minutes away from home, never using public transportation, and, to be honest, never outside my comfort zone, I was about to start my journey into the so-called “real world.”

Fast forward one month later; much like starting freshman year, I am now immersed into D.C. life and all it has to offer. I have shopped and eaten from food trucks in Eastern Market, explored the brightly colored jewelry, local art, and sounds of music playing on the streets of the capital, visited world renown museums, and cheered on baseball superstars at Nationals Stadium. I’ve experienced D.C. culture.

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My time in D.C.. has simultaneously been the most incredible, exciting, and transformative event in my life while also being an entirely lonely, sad, and terrifying one for me. It has become a time for self-reflection, contemplation about my future, and not to mention some really great people watching. I might not have a clear picture of what the next phase in my life is going to look like and that’s okay. Because, amidst the hustle and bustle of D.C. life, I have found peace and, dare I say it, comfort, in the fact that though I may not initially have felt “ready” to leave home, I made it.

From Minnesota to Metro Stations

Sep. 30, 2013 at 08:00 AM | By Laura Kyle | Comment Count

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