Darby - I am New Orleans

As a young New Orleanian, I have learned to appreciate moments but also live life.  Here, unlike in any other city in America, I was exposed to things I never thought someone at the age of 16 would experience.  One of my favorite memories that happened somewhat recently would probably have to be Superbowl Sunday last year when the Saints brought New Orleans their first championship.  The reason this has to be one of my favorite memories is because of the atmosphere of that day as well as the fact that it didn’t matter that you didn’t know most of the people you high-fived or hugged.

For Superbowl Sunday, I spent my entire day in the French Quarter, not getting home until about 3 in the morning.  My cousins had gotten a hotel room, and we were about a block off of Bourbon Street.  From the hotel, one could hear the excitement coming from Bourbon, whether it was about the fact that the Saints had gotten to the Superbowl or the fact that they had just WON the Superbowl.  When my mom and I decided that we were going to walk Bourbon, we got there and could barely move.  Anywhere else in the country I would have been annoyed but in New Orleans and on this day, it was exactly how it was supposed to be. 

Later that night, we all got back to the hotel for the game, where I was reminded just how special the city of New Orleans really is.  Every time the Saints put points on the board and every time the defense or offense made a phenomenal play, I found myself hugging a random person in the room out of pure joy.  None of us there could believe what we were witnessing.  We couldn’t believe that it was the New Orleans Saints who had finally given us, the city, a Superbowl. 
Darby, age 16