Predeparture

I was born in Maryland. I grew up in Maryland. Now in my first year in college, I am still in Maryland.

Don’t get me wrong: I love my home state. I grew up in a half-rural, half-suburban town, where I learned to drive a snow plough in the winter and a powerboat in the summer. My second home is the small city of Annapolis, where I learned to sail and parallel park. I have attended conferences and concerts in nearby Washington, DC, and now I wake up in a big city every day as a first-year college student in Baltimore.