The Nashville Challenge
I've been in Nashville about 10 days so far, and I've loved every minute of it! Transitions are hard, but knowing that I'll be here for a set amount of time has helped. I want to make the most of the two months that I have here since I know they will fly by.To do that, I've decided to challenge myself to do something new, something uniquely Nashville, something that I could only do here each week of my time in Nashville. This might get a little hard during the weeks that I'm working on VUceptor training and CommonVU orientation (my main responsibilities with my internship), but I've also decided that those automatically count as new and unique experiences since those are things I've never done and only happen at Vanderbilt!This challenge actually started last week, unbeknownst to me. Last week my mom stuck around a few extra days and we tried plenty of new restaurants, and we also did my favorite thing so far: we saw a show at the Grand Ole Opry! We drove by a sign that said Old Crow Medicine Show was going to be at the Tuesday night Opry, and she remembered that they sing Wagon Wheel, which happens to be one of my favorite songs, so it was exciting to be able to get tickets and head to the show after work last Tuesday. It was her first non-classical concert experience, so we had a ton of fun.The Opry is a really cool experience because it's a live radio show and gives you a taste of seven to eight artists instead of hearing one artist for the entire two hour show. I enjoyed seeing a variety of different musicians and of course loved singing along to Wagon Wheel live and in person at the end of the show. The musicians ranged from Opry newbies to Opry greats celebrating over 50 years of membership, so it was an amazing show. In addition to Wagon Wheel we heard a touching rendition of a Pete Seeger song by the Secret Sisters, Rocky Top by Bobby Osborne & The Rocky Top X-Press (a classic!), and a host of other great songs. It was truly a memorable experience, right down to getting drenched in a storm on the way out.
I'm excited to see what other new things I'll try in the coming weeks! It will be interesting exploring a new city on my own but I think this will be a fun way to challenge myself to get out and see Nashville in my free time.