Introduction to Where the Planes Come In

Welcome to the Idiot's Guide to Atlanta!

What I know so far:

Atlanta, Georgia, is an incredibly diverse, Southern city whose suburbs sprawl far beyond I-285 (a gigantic road encircling the heart of the city and known as the Perimeter) and back into history. Atlanta serves as

• the birthplace of Martin Luther King, Jr., famed civil rights leader;
• the residence of Margaret Mitchell, renowned author of novel Gone with the Wind;
• the central hub for many of America's airlines;
• the most popular destination for African-American travelers;
• location of Stone Mountain, one of the largest monoliths of exposed granite in the world;
• the site of the largest 10K race in the world on Peachtree Road;
• the origin of Coca-Cola in 1886;
• the capital of the U.S. state Georgia;
• operations area for over 135,000 businesses, 28 counties and 110 municipalities.

What I plan to do and find out:

I have the exciting privilege of living quite close to Atlanta for roughly two months with sweet, adventurous friends who are fellow Robertson Scholars. That's right--I represent the Robertson Scholarship (see site below) and will be actively working on the qualities of courage, collaboration, ethical principles, intellectual curiosity, leadership and a commitment to helping others and the community. Let me know if you've got tips or questions about anything I post--I definitely would be thrilled to receive comments, be they questions or compliments.

About the title...I should hope I'm not an idiot, but I've certainly accomplished quite a few idiotic feats whilst here in Atlanta (so far we have a tally of walking five blocks in high heels down a sketchy neighborhood and under a dark bridge and bringing queen-sized and single-sheets for a full-sized bed). As many others say, you've just got to laugh at yourself and learn from it. To put it simply, I'm here in Atlanta (and in life) to learn and to act on what is right, so I plan to chalk these experiences up to tuition and share them with yall.

Sources and Places of Interest for You:
Robertson Scholars
Atlanta's Historical Heritage
Fast Facts about the ATL
More stuff than you wanted to know, but I enjoyed it

P.S. I'm using the font "Georgia" for this site--how apropos. Yay! :)

Back to the abbreviated Idiot's Guide to Atlanta