Where has the time gone? Five years ago today, I moved to Washington, D.C. – a bright-eyed, fearful, but excited young adult ready to take on the world.

It was two days after the best day of my life – my Savannah State University graduation. I was the first in my immediate family to ever graduate from college, and boy did it feel good. Not because I was the first in my family to reach this goal, but because of what it meant for my family. When I walked across the stage, I wasn’t walking alone. I was “standing on the shoulders of giants,” with the right foot on the shoulders of my blood line, and the left on all the counselors, teachers, professors, mentors and people who have poured into me both intellectually and personally.

What a tremendous feeling – one hand reaching out to receive the most prestigious award at SSU., the “President’s Second Mile Award,” and the other to receive a diploma which signified confirmation that I had just become a college graduate.

Two days later, still on that emotion high, I hit 95 North with apprehension and excitement ready to conquer graduate school. Not long after I settled in my new place with my fellow Tiger as a roommate, it hit me: I was an adult with real world adult responsibilities. I now had bills…like real bills! So I had to find a job and find it quick. Yes, I had the graduation money (you know the money in the congratulations cards?). With the $20 here, $50 there, and if you’re lucky you might just get the big 100 -dollar bill? Yea, I had that, but that was going to run out quick, especially in D.C. With only three months to go before I started graduate school, I realized I had to mature fast and take care of business!

I also realized that yes, Manassas, Va. was a part of the DMV, but it was nowhere near American University or civilization for that matter. Luckily my roommate found someone to replace me. So I moved to Silver Spring, Md. with other SSU Alumni. I was grateful that I had that small safety net of familiarity. After all, I was 10 hours away from life as I knew it.

I hit the ground running. I had a few stumbles and setbacks, but I didn’t stop running. My family, both, biological and my Tiger family were rooting for me, so I couldn’t stop. There was a time during grad school that I had to call home (SSU) to ask for a little help with getting software for school. “You got it. Make us proud Ms. Andrews…Tiger Pride,” said Michael Cherry, Lab Technician for the Communications Department of Savannah State University. I thanked him, hung up the phone and broke down in tears. I was so grateful for him and all of my other professors at Savannah State University. What other institution would go to those lengths to help their FORMER students? I didn’t know, but I was glad that my HBCU did! It was moments like that, that kept me focused and grounded while being in a program that didn’t have a lot of people who look like me or had the same views as I did.

Over the last five years, I earned a graduate degree, interviewed the staff of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, started my own small business, and launched a website for a district-wide initiative for young males of color. My passport has been stamped twice (Dominican Republic and Bahamas), I went to my first professional basketball and baseball game, took pictures in the Redskins locker room, voted for the first African American President of the United States, shook hands with the mayor, worked out on the National Mall, ran my first 5k and skinny-dipped in another country. I also survived getting laid off from a job that I loved, having no place to live, a failed engagement and the infamous Snowzilla!

I wouldn’t change these last five years for anything. I’ve grown so much from just being in this city. I’ve learned resilience, patience and the importance of hard work and valuing friendships. I’ve also learned the importance of keeping only those who wish you well around you. I am nothing with out my support systems. It’s ok to outgrow friends, it happens. I’m grateful for them, all the doors opened and closed and the experiences this place has given me. Here’s to the next five years or maybe the next city!