A worthy read from the New York Times this week is this essay from a Seattle writer about personal discovery as a single, Mormon woman living here in the city and one particular visit to Capitol Hill that helped her find her way.

Single, Female, Mormon, Alone
By NICOLE HARDY
Published: January 7, 2011

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OF all the places I felt sure I’d never go, Planned Parenthood topped the list. Because, you know, they perform abortions and give condoms to kids, or so I’d been warned. Yet one spring afternoon found me in its waiting room next to a teenage girl, who was clearly perplexed by the intake form and likely bound for an uncomfortable, humiliating four minutes in the back of a borrowed Chevy Chevelle.

But what did I know? I was a 35-year-old virgin, preparing for my own “first time,” which, incidentally, didn’t happen until I was well into 36. more…

Later in the essay, she writes, “My first act of open rebellion was to go see “Brokeback Mountain” in Seattle’s rainbow-striped Capitol Hill neighborhood with a pair of lesbian friends.” Check out the rest for an inspiring reminder of Capitol Hill’s strength to reveal new paths and reinvent new ways.