Coming full circle

(This post goes in conjunction with the one previous.)

So Mr. Miner and his group came on Wednesday. After months of waiting for this day it finally came and went and was something to be remembered.

We met up at the American History Museum. I heard him coming before I ever saw him. Mr. Miner's voice is distinctive and not something you argue against. He gave me a hug which made some of his students standing near us do a double-take. Then he introduced me as one of his former students. "Wait, you live here now?" was someone's reply. "Why yes, yes I actually do."

We walked around and I met some of his students. Nice kids. Good kids. Kids that didn't look all that younger than me. They would ask history questions and Mr. Miner would take a few minutes and answer all of them, he would continue to teach them, and they would listen. Just like it used to be with me.

He hasn't changed at all.

A student came up and asked if she could leave the building and walk to the Lincoln since she was leaving a day early and would miss seeing all the monuments. Mr. Miner and I decided to take a cab with her the short distance and show her the Lincoln, the Vietnam, and the Korean memorials. The day was overcast and misty. It was also a Wednesday and in the middle of the afternoon. I have never been to those memorials with so few people it was amazing. There were only a small handful walking around. They were almost empty.

We got to talk a little more, about my job and his, and our families. Even after all the hundreds of students he's had he remembered details about my life that I appreciated.

After re-joining the group we headed to the National Portrait Gallery. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I walked the long halls with Mr. Miner and we chatted some more. I told him what ultimately drove me to moving to DC, how I needed to get away from memories in Utah and Idaho and start a new life after a hard breakup, and how the thought I'd had six years previous had stuck with me, the thought that it'd be cool to move to DC one day. It was then that it hit me, I'd come full circle.

After an awesome Chinese dinner at Tony Cheng's in Chinatown I walked with the 40-student group back to their hotel in Rosslyn and got to talk to the students for a couple minutes. I told them my story, my ambitions, the reasons I'm here, how I got here, and how much I love it. I gave them pieces of advice that I wish I'd understood better at their age. I told them to work hard and be a leader. I told them to do everything in their power to live abroad and see different cultures and peoples. I don't them to set their sights high and never think they can't make it.

I hope I was a role model.

The night was over. I said goodbye to Mr. Miner again, shook his hand, told him that if I'm around next year I want to meet with his group again, told him I'd stay in touch, and then headed back to the metro and ultimately to my apartment. I'm grateful for days like this. Days when I can see my past and where I came from. Mr. Miner is someone that I will always respect and admire. I hope I can reach the potential he's always seen in me.

Why yes, yes I actually live here....and I love it.

Mr. Miner and I on the day of my high school graduation

Reunited after six years