I, however, was so very wrapped up in my new volunteer life (which is both like and unlike the "real" world to which I referred) that I had forgotten to do that, until now.
Today, on a cold, rainy, fall afternoon (one of my favorite kinds of days), all that I wanted to do was to go curl up somewhere cozy and journal, with some hot tea. My only stipulation was that I needed to leave my living space.
At Le Moyne, that space would have been my room, and I could have happily gone to the lounge, or to the library, or to a friend's place, and I would have walked there.
In Philadelphia, there are not random "lounges" where one can sit for extended periods of time indoors without attracting undue attention to oneself. Or, if there are, I haven't found them yet (there is a "Memberz Only Lounge" - spelled just like that on the sign - near our house, but I don't think that's what I am going for). The Philadelphia Free Library has 54 branches, but only one branch is open on Sundays, from 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm. And I don't have twenty-five peers at my disposal to entertain and to be entertained by.
I ended up crouched on the floor of the Barnes and Noble in Rittenhouse Square, no tea, for a couple of hours. My bum was a bit sore, but I did feel good at the end of all of it, truly.
In having gone to Barnes and Noble, I am more fully able to appreciate my house for what it is. In leaving Le Moyne, I have come to cherish my alma mater even more.
I tried the best I could to appreciate Le Moyne for what it taught me and brought out in me, and some days, I did better than others. Last fall, however, when I visited campus and was walking around at night, I relished ever more profoundly the kind of privilege I was exercising.
Only at Le Moyne could I walk back from the Science Center to Harrison Hall at 2:00 am by myself without thinking twice about my safety (although in retrospect, that was not one of my better life choices - the late night walking alone part).
Only at Le Moyne could I sit in the Den and read or write without having to buy anything.
Only at Le Moyne is the library open for more than four hours on a Sunday.
BUT!
Both at Le Moyne and in Kensington, I have been able to come to know many wonderfully fabulous people.
Both at Le Moyne and in Kensington, I have been challenged to grow in ways that I never thought possible.
Both at Le Moyne and in Kensington, I have been given the opportunity to learn so much, in traditional and extraordinary ways.
Both at Le Moyne and in Kensington, there is overwhelming beauty, if you look for it. And I don't mean pretty scenery, I mean bursting-and-radiating-from-the-cracks-in-the-pavement beautiful.
And one day, I'll miss Kensington as deeply as I miss Le Moyne.
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