Maybe you think the heart of D.C. is the monument in Washington Mall or you might think it is the Congress or the White House. But I think the heart of D.C. is not just one place, I think it covers all the busy streets that spell out life. It is the crowd of people who walk through Wisconsin Avenue and shop endlessly beneath the warm summer sun. It is the busy streets that are blocked by traffic and are filled with important people, people who live their lives right by the capital. The heart of D.C. beats by those who live around it and walk by it everyday. The people of D.C. are what make the heart beat, whether they’re the homeless, who perform and make music, or the interns who attend jobs while studying at GWU, or the bus drivers who drive through the city everyday, life beats because of everyday people who live there.
I’ve walked through D.C. on many occasions. I love walking over Key Bridge and looking down below at the Potomac River, watching boats pass by and the water below my feet; icy when it’s winter and fresh and warm when summer arrives. Although I may be a foreigner, I also grew up in a city. I did not live in a city where freedom rings; I lived in Tehran where people constantly demonstrate for freedom. But no matter what culture or what nation you come from, if you’re a city lover like me, you probably know where the heart beats…