I fished my phone out of my back pocket, the screen illuminating as I read the time. It was already nearing 11 p.m. and the sun had hidden beneath the horizon hours ago. I spent the entire day wandering the streets of the city, trying to memorize its every detail. Major intersections, dark alleys, cute coffee shops; I drank everything in like I was going to be tested on my ability to recall the location of the nearest trash can. I had only finished moving in the day before and took the first chance I had to get out and about, but now, Ignoring the ache in my legs, I started the journey back to my apartment. Despite my own fatigue, the city felt more awake than ever. I wound my way through crowds of people, each one living their own life. Not a single face was familiar, and yet I felt a connection with every person I passed. Each one, a whole individual, and yet we had all been drawn to the same city. We all experienced the same big crowds, and honking cars. Each of us so incredibly different yet somehow the same.

Walking home after my first day in the city, I felt an energy in me. Like a ref had his gun in the air about to start a race or the first time I drove in the car alone. The electricity of something about to begin hummed in my veins. I didn’t know what was coming, but I was ready. I had waited my whole life to leave home, finally, live as an individual. Now stood at a cross-section of potential futures, the circumstances were almost comical. It all seemed so cliche, a small-town girl moves to a big shining city and has life-changing adventures.  But cliches exist for a reason and shining in the neon spotlight of billboards, I finally felt like the main character in my story.