In Philadelphia, you run into history around every corner.
Independence Hall, where the signing of the Declaration of Independence took place. The Liberty Bell, a State House bell that become a nationwide symbol of freedom and protest. Elfreth’s Alley, where the American flag, the Stars and Stripes, was born.
In Philadelphia, I found myself running into my own history, too. I wasn’t looking for ghosts, or searching for shadows of my younger self, but they were there all the same, almost impossible to avoid.
I shouldn’t have been surprised, really. Philadelphia has played what you could call a defining role in my life. Eight years ago – give or take a month or two – I arrived in Philadelphia for the first time, a nervous-but-excited exchange student who had never been to the USA before, and had never lived in a city.
It was on returning to Philadelphia for BlogHouse, an intensive four-day professional blogging workshop, that it hit me.
Crossing the Ben Franklin Bridge, the skyline laid out before me, the thought occurred to me that my year in Philadelphia was quite possibly the catalyst that started it all: the love affair with living abroad, the move to China, the blogging, the transatlantic relationship that became a marriage.
That year, my overarching feeling was that anything was possible. Maybe it was the naivety of a 21 year old, or the side effects of that American Dream positivity. Whatever the cause, it worked: I spent that year starry-eyed and full of dreams. (But even in the wildest of these dreams, I don’t think I could have imagined what the next few years would have in store, online and off.)
Maybe that wide-eyed optimism is what made returning to Philadelphia this month a little bit like stepping back in time.
BlogHouse, something of a bootcamp for bloggers, reignited that same optimism and confidence in me too. When you’re surrounded by your ‘tribe’ – by people who love what you love, who do what you do, who understand what it’s like to work (or try to work) in this fledgling yet flourishing world of blogging, it’s hard not to be optimistic.
The workshops we attended were invaluable, and opened my eyes to the strength of the industry. Our mentors have been doing this for years – some for a decade – and have expertise in different areas. Instagram and Pinterest, Snapchat and video, storytelling and photography, WordPress and SEO.
(Attending the latter workshop felt a bit like sitting in on a particularly difficult Maths lesson, but it was refreshing to have my mind focused on something so completely different to what I usually do.)
And it wasn’t just the practical aspects of BlogHouse that inspired, but the personal ones too.
It was the chats with fellow bloggers about our goals for our businesses (because that’s what our blogs are, at the end of the day). It was the conversation with my mentor, Sherry, that set creative sparks firing in my brain, leaving me too excited to sleep, even while cocooned in the fluffy pillows of the Sonesta Hotel.
It was the laughs, the jokes, and the deep conversations about life, love, and travel that came from the intense summer camp-style experience of being in one another’s pockets for four days straight.
At BlogHouse, I discovered another side to blogging, and another side to Philadelphia too.
Eight years later the city – and I – are different. But with the help of the tourist board, Visit Philly, I caught a glimpse of Philadelphia’s cool side.
They introduced me to the 2nd Floor Brewing Company in Old City, where craft beers are created on the premises, and then the Independence Beer Garden, where food and drinks dance at the edge of history (the Liberty Bell sits right across the street). Through Context Travel, I learned about some of the city’s best food – like Federal Donuts – and tidbits of history about the place the tour company calls home.
Off on our own, a group of us found a beer garden by the Delaware River, spruced up with hammocks and fairy lights.
With Anne and Rachel, I slurped gelato and gorged on pork rolls and ambled through the pretty streets of Society Hill, one of the oldest neighbourhoods in Philadelphia. Another group of us grabbed cheesesteaks at Cleavers, and capped off the night with cocktails at a local speakeasy, Franklin Mortgage and Investment Company.
The weekend was a snapshot of a city I used to know, like meeting an old friend you’ve lost touch with over the years. The BlogHouse experience was action-orientated and inspiring – I left with a notebook crammed full of hand written notes, a to-do list as long as my arm, and so many ideas my mind feels as if it can’t quite hold them all in.
Maybe most importantly, I left with friends, with a community. “Welcome to the family,” said Lisa Lubin, one of the mentors, on our last day. “It doesn’t end here.”
She’s right: it doesn’t end here.
Philadelphia and BlogHouse reminded me that sometimes, all you need is a little bit of optimism (and hard work) to get off the ground. You see, dreams do come true. Coming full circle to Philadelphia, where my past met my present, proves just that.
The BlogHouse 2016 ‘graduates’ in Historic Philly (photo courtesy of Lisa Lubin).
A huge thank you to the BlogHouse sponsors: Visit Philly, Sonesta Philadelphia, and Context Travel, and our mentors, Sherry Ott, Lisa Lubin, Anne Lowrey, Cailin O’Neil, and Lisa Ghisolf.
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Have you ever returned to a place that had a big impact on you, like I did with Philadelphia?
Let me know in the comments below – I’d love to hear about your experience!
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Your pictures are awesome! I live in Philly now, and I love your description of it!
Julia
http://www.thephillyphotoblog.com/
Thanks so much Julia! That means a lot coming from a Philly local 🙂
BlogHouse was seriously the most inspiring workshop ever. I need to come and visit you soon! Me, you, and Danielle still need to craft a pitch. 😉
It was so inspiring – I have so many ideas to work on now 🙂 And yes, you have to come visit – that would be so much fun!
I love posts like this – the ones that come full circle, where you learn something or embark onto another episode of life. I”m so happy that I was able to meet you there and I think you (and your blog) have a ton of potential. I can’t wait to see where you take it!
Thanks Sherry 🙂 And thank you so much for all your help and inspiration – it was so great to meet you at BlogHouse!
Although I’m not prone to succumbing to the fourth deadly sin I do have a twinge of envy of your easy style and ability as a journalist and blogger. Having spent my career formulating words with meticulous care over their legal or political meanings I find I have to work very hard to make my words sound informal and storylike.
Have I ever returned to a place that had a big impact on me? Yes, New Zealand, to the extent that I went back and lived there 6 months of the year for 9 years. On the other hand years ago I went back to a village I’d stayed in as a young child. It had changed beyond all recognition and I drove through and blanked it out. The older I get, though, the greater the number of places to which to return and re-kindle memories: Chester, Florence and Sienna being three that spring immediately to mind. Having spent a lot of time in Berlin before and just after The Wall came down I’d love to return there.
PS I like the bag: Lo and Sons by any chance!
Thanks for the kind words, Graham! (And yes, that is the infamous Lo and Sons bag!)
I can’t imagine what it must be like to return to somewhere you grew up and for it to have changed so much – I think I would be heartbroken if I returned home to Eagleton and that was the case. And spending time in Berlin around the time The Wall came down – that must have made for some interesting stories!
Oh Philadelphia looks lovely. Always wanted to go. I’ve been to the other ‘older cities’ of the east coast like Boston and Washington and I would love to see Philly too. I was in Pittsburgh in April and I didn’t like it much, but Philly looks much nicer. And a blogging ‘workshop’ of the sort sounds so great. I need to hang out with more bloggers 🙂
Philadelphia is such a great city, I definitely recommend visiting! It feel less ‘proper’ than DC and Boston, if that makes sense – more laid back, but still with all the historic spots to explore. And yes, BlogHouse was amazing! They accept international applicants, by the way, if you’re interested for next year 🙂
Going back is so good. I really want to head back to Hamburg and Yamaguchi – two important cities for me! Loved reading about your Philly reflections and so glad you enjoyed Bloghouse too! ✌️
It really is! I don’t often return to places I’ve visited, because there’s always somewhere new I want to see, but going back to Philly was amazing! And BlogHouse was great – you were right 🙂 !