Haley Rae's Blog

  The world is full of beautiful places, and as you might expect, my answer is a well-known city, or rather, an island. Capri, Italy, feels like living inside your iPhone camera on full vibrance. Everything is saturated with color and light, almost too perfect to be real. The flowers that spill along the roadsides seem to bloom for you, yellows, pinks, oranges, and deep reds so bold they make rainbows look dull in comparison. The air smells faintly of citrus and sea salt, and the waves that crash against the shore glisten in the sun, the iciest, cleares t bl ue I’ve ever seen. A kind of blue that feels like it only exists here.   The people are kind in that quiet, familiar way, warm, welcoming, but fiercely protective of their island. It’s their pride, their home, their history. And you can’t help but admire them for it. Capri isn’t just where they live, it’s who they are. It’s in their impressions, their way of life, their art, and in their cooking.   And t...

  I sat in the passenger seat, a strange feeling, letting Jake drive my car. I tensed at every tap of the gas and brake, a clear testament to my need for control, especially driving through the chaos of downtown DC. Ambulances and police cars blared past us, their red and blue lights flickering what felt like every ten minutes. A similarity to Baltimore but for a different reason. Pedestrians darted across streets without warning, and cars slowed to admire the beauty of the monuments lining the city.   The city's hectic energy clashed with my constant urge to stay in control, yet beside me, Jake exuded this steady calm that made me feel safe. I turned up the country music, trying to drown out the noise of the city, a city I could see myself calling home one day, maybe in the distant future.   We drove toward Dupont Circle, where our VRBO waited on a quiet corner. Our first little trip together, the first of many, we hoped. On the way, we passed pieces of history: ...