Author: Tory Gobat, SEAS’10
The other day, my parents drove in to Philly in my dad’s pickup truck, a trailer in tow, to help me pack away most of what I own for moving. I pointed out my toenails to my mom. The night before, I had painted them a shiny royal blue (taking up time I could have used for packing…). She said, “Those make you look like a city girl to me.”
Six years ago, I was amidst my complex search for the “right” college. Part of the challenge in this quest was trying to find an institution that would allow me to pursue a major that was neither common nor clearly defined. I wanted something to do with computers, and graphics, but not too artsy since I rather lack talent in that area… Also, I wanted to be part of a marching band. During high school, I played in one and only grew to love that experience more and more. It became a must-have college criterion.
I didn’t have too many other preferences in college features, except I was sure I did not want to be in a city environment. Having spent my whole life in one house in a small town, surrounded by nothing much but other small towns (and some shopping centers), city life seemed to be a big, scary, and unsafe experience.
Flash forward to this past spring. It’s freezing cold, and I’m late. Stalwartly positioned on the familiar corner where Locust Walk becomes Locust Street, I peer up 40th Street, hoping to see for the golden display on a city bus reading: “40 2-LOMBARD.” Over time, I’ve learned that certain SEPTA buses are off schedule sometimes, but I’m hoping one might be coming soon. I’ve made an amazing number of trips on SEPTA now: buses, trolleys, and subways. I haven’t patronized a wide variety of routes, but navigating those I do take has become second nature. In fact, I’ve just purchased my June 2011 monthly pass, demarcating completion of my first full year of regularly riding SEPTA.
Every day, I swipe and step onto a SEPTA vehicle of some kind; crossing paths with numerous other city dwellers. “City dweller.” Is that who I am now? Penn provided my fledgling urban living experiment. It wasn’t an easy road: my first subway ride into Center City was made on the command of a friend, who dragged me to Chris’ Jazz Café because I had to see and write about a live jazz performance for the Jazz Style & History course I was taking. I realize now that my ventures off campus over the years remained relatively few in number and limited in scope.
Nonetheless, the Penn environment was the stepping stone I needed. I was (and still am) in love with the beautiful campus area surrounding Locust Walk. There, I felt protected from the streets when I so desired. But the bounding streets (34th, Spruce, 40th, Walnut) were of course just a block away in any direction, and I crossed them daily.
For the past year after graduation, I resided with fellow Penn students/grads of my same year, just a couple blocks west of campus. Starting June 3 though, I will be a new resident of Center City. Leaving University City for Center City feels like the final step in detachment from Penn — certainly not that I want to be away from it. But one of my key motivations for staying (i.e. living and working full-time) in Philadelphia was to explore the city much more fully than I had done while living on campus. I have since made some progress and am eager for more; settling in this new spot will be one more step along the way.
So, am I a city girl now? I don’t think I can totally claim that title yet (and perhaps not for awhile). But I do know that I am truly enjoying the process, and am grateful for the critical part that my Penn experience has given me.
College Green. Located directly in front of College Hall, this statue of Ben Franklin has been seen by hundreds of thousands of students, alumni and staff, and serves as the legendary inspiration behind the split button.
Frankly Penn 