A Looming Sense of Place, and A Reluctant Acceptance of Commitment

Well here we go again.

I have accepted a permanent position with the United States Department of Transportation, in the Office of the Inspector General's office. I applied for this position a while back, and after an interview, and some background checking, I have made the cut, and they offered me the position. It is a full-time position in the DOT headquarters in the beautiful Navy Yard/Ballpark area of DC. The offices are right by two of my favorite parks in DC, and the job is working on the audit side of things to evaluate the effectiveness of different transportation projects throughout the United States. Here's a view of the Anacostia Riverwalk and The Yards park, right south of DOT headquarters:

Because I've take a permanent position for the foreseeable future, the imminent questions of my decision to root in DC are coming to the forefront of my mind. Commitment is sort of terrifying for me. This time round it is doubly terrifying because I actually, genuinely, like the place I am in.

National Airport as seen from the Metro Station.

I have a desire to travel, and to see new and exciting places. But I also have a fascination with being a citizen of this limboland of a District, and the "impartiality" it holds by being governed by the federal government. (Although citizens are pushing for statehood in conjunction with the national election!) Everything here is so... "official". Back in Model UN in middle and high school I crafted a love to look to higher powers, rules, and regulations as a standard and guide for the "right" thing to do. Being in DC puts me in the center of the highest law in the land, and everything here, from the architecture, to the very people walking on the streets, reflects the fact that the buck stops here. (At least on a nation-state level. Internationally, that's a different story.)

Protests and tourists on Pennsylvania Avenue.

Yet my admiration for the "official" has shown me that it is systematically flawed, and needs to change. Thankfully we live in a country where, even though it may be extremely difficult, change can happen, and does happen. My experience in AmeriCorps showed me that all that is "official" is not "right", and that we need to help change the system to ensure the betterment of government for all people. Maybe that's why I am here? Maybe I've subconsciously chosen to be at the heart of the highest level of government to push for the change I want to see?

The Capitol at Sunset

I've started to pay attention more to the Metro system, and to become invested in why it is failing the populace so much. Little did I know moving here, I would be privy to using one of the worst maintained major public transportation systems in the United States. And I didn't bring a car, so it's definitely in my interest to make sure the rails are running well and are safe. It's amazing how broken Metro is right now, and how the "Nation's subway" has become old, dirty, and corroded. There are literal fires all across the system, routine red light violations, and more derailments and near miss collisions than I would feel comfortable talking about less I scare more people from using the system.

The designers must have engineered the system to look brighter in pictures than in real life. This is Friendship Heights station, one of the best maintained stations I've ever seen in the system (probably because it serves boutique, high-end luxury shops and hotels straddling the border between Maryland and DC.)

But I am becoming more and more committed. Thankfully, I've started making friends through the local DC Unitarian Universalist church (All Souls), and many of them are committed to making DC, the country, and the world a better place. I've also started finding community in them and the UU church, and that makes me much more content among this time of establishment, especially moving into the cold dark winter months.

So where do I go from here? I'm moving into a new(ish) chapter, starting a new position, and committing myself to a new city. Yet, my inner hopes and dreams fight against settling. Who knows though? Even though I was in the Northwest for two years (two years? Still can't believe I was out there that long), I ended up moving on from there. I've only been in DC for five months, not even an entire year, so there is still much, much more ahead. But as I said, I do really like it here, and, even though I can't quite explain it, I have an intense drive to start working for this transient urban megalith. I've nestled into a place I really, really, enjoy, and I find myself drawn to fight for it, and to make it better.

Heart of the local Mount Pleasant neighborhood. Possibly a place I may look to move one day. I love the Hispanic influence and population which has focused and moved into the neighborhood.