Atlanta (Mostly) in Color

I spent the winter of 2021 living in a hotel on the north side of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport during an internship with Delta TechOps. I was 26 at the time, transitioning from the military back to civilian life. When I reminisce about that time in Atlanta, I like to make the usual common jabs toward the city that elicit agreement and laughter from folks. The traffic could be atrocious, and there were certain parts of the area that I was advised to stay away from (advice that I was careful to heed). In reality though, I remember it far more fondly than I care to admit. Atlanta is an amalgamation of a near innumerable amount of small to midsize cities, many of which are as large as my own home mid-size city in Alabama, and I count that as a strength, not a detriment. It was an entire world all its own to explore for a guy with a car and nothing but time to burn.

I love aviation and I miss it dearly, even though I'm more skilled in the career field I ended up in afterwards. I enjoyed every minute I spent working at Delta, but when the internship ended and I received the job offer, I knew that there was no way I would be able to afford to live in the area on the wages offered (Delta was still recovering in the death throes of the pandemic). I ended up taking a job back home in Alabama making nearly twice what Delta offered me, and was able to live with my parents for a while to boot.

While I don't think I made the wrong decision, I really do miss Atlanta. I'm not a very social person and historically have been a bit of a homebody, but I didn't spend much time in my room when I was there. There was always something to keep my interest. There were parks in abundance, mixed use developments, and downtown style areas in droves that were great for walking and candid photos. Great independent coffee shops were a dime a dozen and many of them roasted their own beans. One of my sundry hobbies is film photography (mind you that I am no professional), and Atlanta was never lacking for shops to buy camera gear, film, and developing chemicals, nor did it ever deprive me of material to shoot. All of these photos are shots I took that winter (and developed/scanned in the hotel room).

I can't help but wonder what the four years since would have looked like and where I would be at this point in life had I decided to stay on at Delta. When I left, Delta's maintainers were awaiting a pay increase that was rumored to raise many pay categories upwards of 40-50%, and from what I heard those raises came not too long after I left, so it is plausible that I could've made the financials work. I won't go as far as to say that I regret not taking the job, but I often think about that winter, unable to answer to subtle yearning in my heart for the taste of city life I received there. Most people that know me would likely be surprised to hear this, but I do have an internal drive and desire for change. Were you to take a survey of how I've lived my life since graduating high school, it would be readily apparent that I can't seem to sit still for more than a few years.

I'm starting to feel the pangs of restlessness return to my bones.