I had just turned 21, and was still figuring out what it meant to "go out" in Baltimore, and somehow ended up borderline force-feeding taquitos to a guy I'd just met on the curb of a 7-Eleven. Yes, really. That curb, those taquitos, that laugh, it all somehow became the start of a story I didn't see coming.
I grew up in New York, where sidewalks are crowded, your parents are louder than the city itself, and the nearest patch of grass might as well be a mirage. Coming to Baltimore for college was...different. I've been here for three years now, attending Loyola University Maryland as a Biology and Writing Major, and in that time I've had more adventures than I ever imagined: nights out that ended in curbs with convenience store snacks, mornings spent figuring out why Miss Shirley's is always packed, and far too many Maryland Mudd milkshakes from The Charmery, making it my go-to spot for a pick-me-up no matter the weather. For the first time, I could touch some actual grass, make my own decisions, and figure out who I really wanted to be, all without someone monitoring my every move.
That Labor Day Weekend, armed with a combination of freedom, excitement, and maybe too much confidence, I went out with my friends. And that's when I met him. He had just gotten to Maryland, working in Bel Air for about a week or two, and somehow ended up on that curb with me eating taquitos. He obviously wanted to know more about me after my oh-so-unique compliment on his mismatched earrings and my insistence to buy him taquitos and bananas.
Baltimore quickly became my "home base". Whenever I travel to see him, from Maryland to Pennsylvania to North Carolina, I always start here. Flights, trains, or questionable Uber rides, Baltimore is always the beginning of an adventure.
Looking back, Baltimore wasn't about being "raised" or having some epic coming-of-age story. It was about freedom: the freedom to stumble around a new city, eat too many taquitos, talk to a guy I barely knew, and somehow find out a little more about myself in the process. Between my studies, my friends, my adventures, and the random nights that turn into stories I'll never forget, Baltimore has given me experiences I never expected. It's chaotic, it's weird, it's funny, and it's mine. It's the city that made what most would deem an ordinary curb outside a convenience store feel like the start of something bigger than I could have imagined.
Baltimore might be just another dot on the map for most people. But for me, it's where I discovered who I am when no one is watching, where I laughed too loudly, ate questionable food choices, and accidentally fell into a long distance love story that keeps me traveling across state Ines every few weeks.
Who knew that freedom, grass, biology labs, writing assignments, and taquitos, could all lead to this? Only in Baltimore.
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