Mid-20s, loud knights, quiet lessons and a big city

First, dear readers, I owe you an apology. My column has been suspiciously absent these past few weeks. Contrary to popular belief, I was not lost in the Washington Metro system, recruited by a secret government agency or permanently distracted by museums.

Life simply got busy.

May was a whirlwind.

For starters, I celebrated a birthday and officially turned 24. I am now firmly in my mid-20s, which feels like a strange place to be. I’m old enough that people expect me to have answers, yet young enough that I still call my folks when something makes a weird noise.

One of the highlights of the mo...