Patiently Awaiting A-Town

Have you ever tried to explain Arlington to someone who has never been here? Just a heads up: it’s nearly impossible. This past August, my parents and I packed up the Pilot and headed down to Colonial Williamsburg to pursue some higher education shenanigans at the College of William and Mary. The phrase “culture shock” comes to mind, and yet seems wildly unacceptable for describing what I found upon my arrival. My home was Arlington, in Barcroft neighborhood, a stone’s throw from Ballston, and a short drive from the strangely pretty city filth of the District.

“So you live in the suburbs,” someone said to me after the standard whoareyouwhereareyoufrom conversation of newly acquainted and painfully awkward college freshman. (Or maybe that’s just me? Even more awkward…)

Trying to explain that I would never in my life refer to Arlington as “the suburbs” was like trying to explain the concept of single digits in the morning on a Saturday to a college kid, and this little fun fact totally blew the girl's mind. But actually. She could not fathom that I did not live in a city, but did not have a huge yard reined in by a lovely fence with a winding driveway leading up to stone facing. You meet people from all over the place your freshman year of college. People can be from Chicago, New York City, or Sweetgum, Alabama (real place!) but no one really knows Arlington like “Nova Kids” (semi-affectionate nickname given to northern Virginia students by out-of-state students.)

So it’s been a year now, a school year at least, and I’m left in my dorm studying for finals patiently awaiting my return to Graceland when I can lose myself in the hustle and bustle of Ballston and all the other Arlingtonian gems. This summer will be a complete and unadulterated celebration of the urban suburban anomaly that is my hometown.

Check back in a little bit for more tastes of A-town upon my return May 11! (uh...providing I’m still cognitively functional post-finals – fingers crossed people- I’m watching someone set up an actual shelter complete with clothes, food, and water in the library right now. This is not a joke, this is Sparta.)

Xs and Os,

Justine