why we love city lights

i know its late in the day and i really should get out of bed. i have cheerios to eat and a parking ticket to call on, but words are on my heart right now.

i was driving through downtown minneapolis the other day - well, i wasn't the one driving, my dad was. we had just entered one of those underground tunnels on the freeway. the kind that is lit by strangely gold-orange colored lights and has no-passing lanes. they're usually short, only a thirty seconds or so tops; you race along with six or seven other cars, somewhat suspended together. i remember, as soon as we entered that tunnel, i felt the strangest sense of peace.

the contentment continued as we burst out the other side and minneapolis grew in angles over our heads. i couldn't figure it out for the longest time, the whole ride back actually. and then, just as we were pulling into the driveway, i realized it was the lights. the city lights calm me.

growing up in the suburbs, i would never have considered myself a city girl; in fact, i actually feel like i belong more so in the country (with it's wide open spaces and fences and forests). but now that i've been at college for a year and a half and met my share of wonderful people from various backgrounds, i've realized that i'm more 'city' than i bargained for. i buy scones, i can drive one-ways with ease, i know about all the art museums and orchestra hall, i love driving around lake of the isles, i love coffees and cafes and the traffic outside. the list goes on, but there are many aspects of the city that have somehow situated themselves inside me.

i was discussing this with amy the other night and telling her how i loved the lights and not just because they were beautiful, and she said she could relate.

"I think it's from when we were little," I said, "I just remember it being nightime and sitting in the backseat while we drove."

"Yeah I remember that too, except with my sisters."

"I think it was just comforting, knowing I was safe. Nothing could get me, I was with my parents and it was safe."

"That's it. That's why we love city lights."