Becks and the Cities

This past May, I graduated from Wake Forest University with a Master of Science in Business Analytics. It was an unusual end to the program, and sadly I wasn’t able to graduate in-person with my classmates. I can probably speak for everyone and say how surprised we were to leave for spring break and never return to a normal classroom setting. Although we made it work, it wasn’t how any of us imagined it. At this time, there is a planned graduation scheduled in October, but I’m not sure how that will play out. Homecoming for my Alma Mater was canceled during the same time.

Despite the unusual circumstances, I moved to Maryland. During a pandemic. There were several tours with moving companies that were virtual. Many conversations included, “Can you see this room? Hold on, I’ll reconnect to the wifi.” After selecting our moving company, we packed up and that was that. Within two weeks, we were in our new place in the city. Although Baltimore isn’t a large city to most, it’s still much larger than my hometown in western North Carolina. It took me a while to fall asleep the first few nights, and I’m not sure if it was due to the excitement of a new place, the noise outside, or the lights coming in through the window. Probably a little of everything.

I don’t start my new job until mid-August, so I had a few months to settle in. You get to know your apartment pretty well when you’re there practically 24-7. I’ve mostly painted, worked on building this site, and walked around Fells Point. We did manage to go to the beach in Delaware a few weeks back with Tristan’s family and made a trip home to see my family in North Carolina. There was a brief week and a half (ish) where we tried to complete the Chloe Ting 2-week work out challenge. Yeah, didn’t happen. Other than that, we’ve just been inside- living it up.

Our pool opened up a few weeks ago with a limited capacity. I have to admit, this has been the first time in a longgggg time I’ve had nothing to do (like work or school). I’ve fallen back in love with reading (just for fun!) and tanning by the pool. On the plus side, there isn’t much competition to grab a seat on the weekdays- of which I am always available. I feel kinda spoiled right now. I’ve listed the books I’ve recently read below.

Shop: Where the Crawdads Sing, A Man Called Ove, The Girl on the Train

“Loving someone is like moving into a house,” Sonja used to say. “At first you fall in love with all the new things, amazed every morning that all this belongs to you, as if fearing that someone would suddenly come rushing in through the door to explain that a terrible mistake had been made, you weren’t actually supposed to live in a wonderful place like this. Then over the years the walls become weathered, the wood splinters here and there, and you start to love that house not so much because of all its perfection, but rather for its imperfections. You get to know all the nooks and crannies. How to avoid getting the key caught in the lock when it’s cold outside. Which of the floorboards flex slightly when one steps on them or exactly how to open the wardrobe doors without them creaking. These are the little secrets that make it your home.”

Fredrik Backman, A Man Called Ove

If you’re from Baltimore, let me know what places I should check out once things start to return to normal! Also, what book should I read next??