Hello to everyone who is reading this. My name is Bailey and I’m a Raleigh Fellow. This is my first blog post. Admittedly, I do not know what to write about for this blog post. As I’m typing, I’m thankful for the red squiggly line that let’s me know I’m a bed speller. I’m also thankful to have learned how to spell “admittedly”.
It’s pretty difficult for me to capture everything that I’ve experienced over the past three weeks in one blog post. There’s been a lot of love, a lot of fun, a lot of meeting people, a lot of being tired from meeting people (please don’t take it personally people that I’ve met, you’re all so lovely and I’ve loved meeting you all), and a lot of “new”. New city, new job, new friends (shoutout my new friends), new house (shoutout Jason and Mary Young), and even a new dog (shoutout Boots Young). I think change is good. It’s taken me a long time to come around to that.
Undoubtedly one of my favorite things about Raleigh Fellows so far is meeting the people that I will spend ~a lot~ of time with over the next eight months. I’m excited to learn more about my other friends doing the Fellows program here in Raleigh. I was going to refer to them as “the other Fellows” but that didn’t feel right. It’s abundantly clear to me the gift that it is to have strong community directly after graduating and moving away from my college town. Josh, Jenna, Joe, Skip, Emma, Evy, Lola, Ryan, Celeste, Elijah, Tessa, Bryan, AG, and of course, Ashley… thanks for being here.
One of my biggest goals since being in Raleigh has been to find a good place to get a meal. I know that there are so many great places to eat, but I’m looking for one with a specific kind of personality. Somewhere that isn’t trying to do too much. Somewhere that encourages people to come as they are. I have this dream of owning a sandwich place in New York City, located on a street corner. It would have breakfast sandwiches and lunch sandwiches. Ideally I would hire someone with a thick northern accent, who knew how to make sandwiches really well. He would go by “Marty”. There would also be a high school student who would stop by my sandwich shop everyday, lay down a five dollar bill, take his sandwich that was carefully constructed minutes before opening, and go to school. That dream of mine is never gonna come true because I don’t think that I’ll ever live in New York City, but my more realistic dream of finding that kind of eating establishment in Raleigh is very much still alive.
I recently went to Tookie’s with a small group of my friends. When I walked in, I felt like I had gone there my whole life, even though it was my first time eating there. The owner, Deborah (married to Tookie himself), treated us as if she’d known us for years and knew we were coming. They served their sweet tea in a plastic pitcher that sat beside the drink machine. Knowing what you now know, I don’t have to tell you it was good sweet tea for you to know that it was good sweet tea. Tookie’s is located beside a gas station convenient store. I want to go there everyday. That said, if you know any other restaurants that are adjacent to Tookie’s, let me know please.
My song recommendation for this post is “Solid Ground” by Barrett. I’m excited for the next eight months in Raleigh.
Love, Bailey