DowntownThere is a common phrase; all good things must come to an end. As a senior in college, I’m not sure I would consider my approaching graduation an end of a good thing, however, it is an end to an experience I will never forget. I have only 8 more classes to complete until I go out into the world to put my knowledge I have learned over the past 16 years into effect. To me it is closing a part of my life as a student, and as a Cincinnati resident. I came to this city for an education and I will leave as soon as that is complete.

While sitting around thinking up a term that would best sum up my feeling about my narrowing time left I was continuously drawn to the common bartender term “Last Call.” While bars typically are not the best place for inspiration to set in, the term perfectly encompassed the fact that this is my last chance to document and investigate the city I have called home for the past three years before this part of my life comes to a close.

There is a lot that needs to be tackled in such a short time, however my goal is to take the bad with the good, focusing on the positive and negative aspects of the city. Before I made the move down from Toledo I can vividly remember my nerves building up after all the less than pleasant things I had heard about Cincinnati. Riots, gangs, shootings, the list goes on. Coming from a suburban neighborhood I was, for lack of a better term, sheltered to this type of lifestyle. However, when I got settled, I realized that maybe there is more to the Queen City than meets to eye, and ear. There is a lot of good that helps neutralize the bad.