I’ve been here at UMBC, in Baltimore, for almost four years now … but today I realized how much more there was to do here! I mean, I’ve known about the Baltimore Collegetown Network and a lot of other B-more area organizations, but I guess there’s always so much to do at UMBC that I never venture out and explore the city as much as I should.
Every year, I participate in the American Diabetes Association walk (5K around Federal Hill), but this year I captained our first ever Honors College Step Out for Diabetes Team and the walk was today! Even though our team ended up being pretty small (only three of us walked this morning), a lot of people in the Honors College helped us fundraise and we ended up raising almost $400. 
Still, I think the best of the morning for me was really seeing B-more for the first time. I’d gone on some excursions for American Studies classes to study the changing landscape of the city, so when we were walking around, one of the other team members and I ended up talking about those lectures and really getting a chance to see the city again from that perspective. Nerdy, I’m sure, but really interesting!
Then this afternoon, my friend’s birthday party was at North Point Park. When we were there, it amazed me that there was anything even remotely that pretty so close to downtown! We were by the water and a couple of guys went swimming in the bay and other people skipped rocks while the rest of us barbecued. It was just really chill and fun.
The moral of the story is, this is my last year at UMBC and I’m just now starting to get to know all of these great places in B-more. For all its flaws, it really does deserve the name Charm City …
