Exploring the Unknown

Willy Wonka's secret supply in Boston; me and my giant jaw breaker

Remember a few blogs back where I said I couldn't find any candy shops in Providence? Well, whatever you can't find in Providence, you can find in Boston. Especially a whole shop that is dedicated to selling mass amounts of candy and ice cream cones with enlarged cones and three scoops of ice cream. The only thing that I'm wondering right now, is why I never came here as a child. Probably because I'd be screaming at every corner out of shock. 

I woke up all prepared and ready to get to Boston. The only thing that I didn't have prior to my trip were plans. I had no idea where to go or what to do there. All I knew was that I just had to get out of my dorm and explore the east coast more, since I would be leaving in less than seven days. I met with Tayler and Kelly outside of the Ratty for breakfast. Sadly, the Ratty is closed on weekends. So instead of walking all the way towards the other side of campus to get to the V-Dubb, we decided to buy some donuts and coffee at Starbucks. 

Quincy Market

I dozed off during the hour long drive from Providence to Boston, but woke up with more energy to explore. We started off slow, but slowly progressed. Kelly and Tayler went with their friends, and Ying and I went with ours. We walked through the bustling Quincy Market, filled with a million food stores. We ended up on the other side of Quincy, where the sun cooked us up with its UV rays. Without any sense of direction, we decided to follow the Boston "Freedom Trail" (which was a red line on the sidewalk). After a while, the trail disappeared and the line was cut off. 

Hand-made plush toys

Our group of ten split up at the H&M store and went our own separate ways. Marisa, Avery, Ying, and I decided to walk to the infamous aquarium of Boston. After spinning in a various amount of circles, we finally reached the wharves of Boston. Tickets to the aquarium were $24 which were a little over the price range for the others. Instead, we walked back to the food trucks and the business tents by the aquarium. We passed by an amazing plush toy shop where all the plush toys were hand-made by this one woman. Her husband would draw the designs out, and she would sew them together. After lunch back at Quincy Market, Ying and I decided to go exploring on our own. We actually attempted to go to Paul Revere's Mall and see what it was all about, but it was impossible to find. We ended up going along the wharves and back. There were also a lot of street performers at Boston including a Navy singing group, break-dancers, acrobats, jugglers, and even a guy who dressed as a Roman solider who gave fortunes for a dollar. 

Boston was an amazing place to visit on a perfect, sunny weekend day. Looking back, Boston had a bit of a San Francisco vibe. There were polite people and rude people. There were crowded areas and empty sidewalks. Some places were filled with shops while others were unoccupied. Both Boston and San Francisco have their own diverse sections in the small space of the map they fill in. Boston just felt to lively and energetic; the kind of places I like to spend my weekends at. They were more shops than you can count and more street performers than you can take pictures of. One of the things I would want to go back to do is  to go to the aquarium. Although I wasn't able to explore all of Boston, I still had an amazing time trying new things and going to new places. 

Sightseeing in Boston

In summary, I think one of the most important lessons that I've learned here during my time in the east is not to be afraid of the unknown. It takes a lot of guts to try new things, like testing my independence in a college setting. At the same time, we learn to solve problems that are thrown at us by ourselves. Sure, people can help by giving you that extra push along the way, but it's really up to you whether or not you're willing to do it. Like many others have said: I am given a choice. I can choose to sit in my dorm all day ,watching old TV shows and maybe go over to CVS to buy some chips to make the movie more entertaining. Or, I can choose to hop onto that bus to Boston and explore places that I may never come back to. Everywhere I go, I always tell myself, "How often am I really going to come here?" and it reminds me to make good use of my time. This might sound a little bit conceited, but I am grateful for the extra push that the Ivy League Connection has given me. At the same time though, I am glad that I made the choice this morning to get off my bed and to hop onto that bus to Boston. 

The Fantastic Four: Ying-An, Me, Marisa, and Avery (That's not a statue behind us. It's a person)