My urban experience...

I dont' know if you all know this but I moved to Filet (Philly) permanently this July.

I'm back at Drexel University, working full time and I couldn't be happier. 

Last summer I spent my time interning and loving living in a city. 

Read: I drank Slurpees twice a day and discovered the wonders of food trucks. 

Even though I lived my whole life in Northern Virginia, I went to undergrad and graduate school in really small towns. 

So living in the middle of a city was super different. 

When I went back to Harrisonburg for my last year of grad school 

I basically spent the majority of my time kicking rocks around saying how stupid everything about everything was, and how I wanted to go back to the land of cheese steaks 

for.ev.er.

Now that I'm here and I'm never leaving 

I'm adjusting to city life in a way that I didn't last year. 

For instance, I mainly stuck around the university and didn't venture out in the city much. 

I also ate free meals every day thanks to my internship. 

I never had to really grocery shop. 

If I needed anything I just went to Target. 

What I'm saying is I didn't eat fresh or local. 

My first grocery store experience in the city was a little overwhelming. 

Every turn was a new surprise. 

Literally, the aisles are in weird diagonals, and Depends are in the same aisle as the cupcake mix. 

DEPENDING on who you are that seems like an odd pairing to me. 

See what I did there?

No?

Fair enough. 

The most terrifying piece about living alone in the city?

The possibility of intruders?

Nope.

Choking on your food and no one being able to help you?

Nope.

Caving in to getting a cat named Chunk a Chunk?

Kind of but nope.

 

THE GIGANTIC BUGS YOU FIND HANGING OUT IN YOUR LIVING ROOM LIKE YOU INVITED THEM TO YOUR "CRIMINAL MINDS" MARATHON?

 ABSOLUTELY.

I'm not kidding y'all. 

I live in a nice place. 

I love it. 

It's homey. 

I'm making it my own. 

But the first time I saw this city bug in my apartment I immediately reached for my inhaler. 

It was gigantic.

 When I told my best friend Sara K. what I had been through, I'm pretty sure it looked and sounded a lot like this: 

She then assured me that what I had just experienced was all a part of my urban adventure. 

Part of this adventure now involves me entering every room in my house like a potential perp is waiting to cut off locks of my hair. 

I'm positive that one day I'm going to come home to this scene:

(Alien bugs drawn to scale)

At that point I'm going to say "F it," sit down, have a cup of coffee with them and tell them about my day. 

That's when I'll know I've truly embraced my new city lifestyle.