By: Hope O’Brien
Never could I have imagined waking up every morning and walking out of a small condo on the corner of Fillmore only to have to look up to see the buildings around me.
Though only 25 miles from my small suburban hometown, the city of Phoenix has become a sort of second life for me. The short and homey neighborhoods were traded in for the built-up apartment buildings. Calming strolls through the local park became short walks from place to place.
In the city, everyone seems to communicate through fast paced glances in concrete hallways. Old neighborhood get-togethers are now brief meet ups for coffee under the dorms cozily located on Taylor Street. It once seemed as though everyone knew me, but now the city has a way of making faces once known seem like strangers. Yet, even through these short hallway greetings, there are the people within this city that stick. It is these people that make the city seem more like my little suburban community, the people who rather than sending a glance in a hallway will greet you and ask how you have been. Small encounters made personal by people who have a true and honest sense of caring. These are the people of the city that make it more than just its buildings and bustling streets.
In the suburbs of Chandler, everything runs at a slower pace. A day can seem like it will go on forever, yet in Phoenix the days seem too short. As I run from class to class and from building to building, I am reminded of the extensive amount of possibility that this city provides. Being from a place where the only activities to take part in included going to either the movies or a park, the city has provided me with more than I can ever imagine.
But why? What brought me to this jam-packed concrete jungle?
I found myself deserting my calm and slow suburban life for opportunity. Walking away from the comfort of home will never be completely easy, and yet the promise of being able to chase my dream lured me away. With internships around every street corner, and a state of the art building to house all my dreams and aspirations, Phoenix has become a home away from home. In chasing my dreams, I went from the suburbs to the city.
Copy Edited by Heather Cumberledge
