I left for the airport 3 hours before my flight was scheduled to leave. Little did I know it would only take me half an hour to get to the airport, check-in, and get through security.

As I wait for boarding to begin, I feel compelled to reflect on my time in NYC.
I didn’t know what to expect when I arrived here at the start of summer. The city seemed so stimulating, I didn’t know how to get around, I hadn’t spent a lot of time with my other Moxies, and I was getting over a head cold. Still, I jumped right in. I got used to the permanently active nature of NYC. After getting lost several times, I learned how to read a subway map. I came to know and love the other Moxies. My cold eventually went away.

Furthermore, I got to know NDWA and the wonderful people that work there. I learned about the domestic worker movement and I began to appreciate it for the remarkable, intersectional, and inspiring movement that it is. I read more feminist theory than I thought I ever would.

During Moxie seminars, I learned from people that are very different from me. I found my voice, and learned to participate more in group conversations rather than simply absorbing what others say.

I realized that I love to have passionate, intelligent conversations, and that it is okay and sometimes preferable to disagree. I volunteered at Choices, a women’s reproductive health clinic, which is not something I necessarily would have predicted at the beginning of the summer. And I’m so glad I did because it gave me the chance to have meaningful conversations with people’s whose views are different from mine. I also got to know New York, which was a great experience. So many museums!

Now, as I’m about to leave, I find that I’ll miss NYC–the city itself, but also the people at NDWA and the other Moxies. And of course, I know I can keep in touch, but it won’t be quite the same. That being said, I do feel ready to move on. This summer was great. I’m so thankful I could be a part of this program, but I feel ready to take what I’ve learned here into my life at home, school, and beyond.