A New View

Posted June 19, 2015 by Hayley Botnen

Summer has been a bit of a whirlwind. I’ve finished two classes, I’ve been doing an internship and volunteering, and my roommate just moved back across the country. She moved out here with me from Montana, and I’ve loved having her here. Before she left, we managed to sneak in a last minute trip into the city. We checked out spots along the Freedom Trail, and it was interesting to see history in a place where I have grown accustomed to living. Once I got used to being in the city and used to treading the same path (or same couple of paths) every day, I stopped looking around me. I stopped seeing what I was going by every day.

I think it’s easy to fall into the trap of “oh I see that every day, it’s no longer interesting”. Ever since that walk along the Freedom Trail, I’ve been trying to remember that everything is interesting. Every person has a story. Every object has a history. It’s nice to approach each day with curiosity and delight. It’s hard when it’s early or I’m tired or it’s rush hour and everyone is thinking about themselves, but when I manage to notice something new, it’s delightful.

Tonight I visited the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum for Thirsty Thursday — a night where you can get a drink at the museum and visit and explore. It was a fun event. However, for me, the best part of the night was later on. My friend and I had stopped for dinner afterwards, and when we exited the restaurant, I had her direct me to the nearest T. While we were walking, I felt completely lost. It was dark, the city lights were bright. It felt like the big city for the first time in a long time. And then I realized where we were. It’s a street I walk down at least once a week to volunteer at my school. It looked entirely different in the lights at night. It was magical and beautiful in an entirely different way than in the morning.

All the Best –

Hayley