A comfortable bed. A room with a cozy feeling. A delicious meal. Many things can make you feel at home in a new place, but nothing quite compares to the feeling you get at your grandparents’ house.

I’m fortunate to have two sets of grandparents that live in two different places, so I have the privilege of having family in Houston, TX, and in Washington, D.C. Although it’s farther away, I still consider Washington, D.C. a big part of my life.

In addition to having grandparents living in the area, I was born there, (which is partly why my parents started calling me by my first and middle initial). I took my first steps there, saw my first circus there and discovered snow there.

Even though I live far away now, I still worked my first paid job in Washington, D.C., and I’ve made friends from working there and going to camps. The job was at a roller skating and ice skating camp, which was odd because walking on my own two feet can be too much for me sometimes, not to mention skates. The kids at the camp saw me struggling, and surprisingly no one laughed at me (to my face). At the end of my first week I earned myself the “Good Effort Award.”

Every summer I went to D.C., I went to a camp with other kids my age. Now, whenever I go back , I’m excited to see my old friends.

One of my favorite things about D.C. is the amount of opportunity for spontaneous, adventurous activities. The last time I was there, I rode a paddle boat with one of my friends through a river that ran through the national mall. The best part was resting in the middle of the river with the national monument on the right, Lincoln Memorial on the left and the river water reflecting the whole scene back like a developing polaroid.

One of the best places to be is the National Harbor because you never know what you’re going to run into. One day, you might see a soul circus with members from around the world. The next, a motorcycle show, or a giant outdoor tailgate party for a soccer match. You may even see a girl on an eight foot tall unicycle (which may have inspired a unicycling hobby that I later picked up). These things are all the norm for national harbor.

Although some may think that the personality of people who live in the South is better than people on the east coast, I think they are both very hospitable. Washington D.C. is on the border line that separates the rich culture of the southern United States from the liberal, bustling northeast. Because of this, DC feels like a southern city with its people and food, yet it’s still a diverse city with people milling about from all over the world.

I have gotten to know Washington, D.C. well from my experiences going there. I have lots of memories with my family and friends up there and I feel like they are close to me despite being hundreds of miles away.