I take the bus to work. And my route makes a stop at one of the most iconic landmarks in the world, the Golden Gate Bridge.

For a long time I took this for granted. The bus would make its stop and I’d continue to stare at my phone or read my book. I didn’t take a moment to look up.

I had seen the bridge dozens of times as a kid with my family and as an adult with friends. I allowed my familiarity to remove the magic of the place.

But a few months ago, I met a stranger on the bart train and found myself playing tour guide during her seven hour layover. (You could read more about it here, Familiar vs Ordinary).

She was in such awe to look across the bay at the deep orange structure spanning the waters. And in our time together I was reminded how we often mistake the familiar with ordinary.

I’ve lived in the Bay Area my whole life and never walked across the bridge. The close proximity and easy accessibility robbed me of an earnestness to make the walk. It would always be there if I ever got to it.

But after that night touring the city and seeing familiar things through her fresh eyes, I promised myself I would make the walk. And I did. Remembering to appreciate the bridge and the views across the bay that it provided.

I walked the bridge by myself, without distraction, at my own pace. I let my fingertips brush the railing, I reached up to touch the bridge cable, I stopped to stare out at the water. It was an intimate time between myself and my city.

Now when I take the bus, I remember to look up when we reach the stop to the bridge. I take a moment to appreciate being from a place.

By looking up I’ve also noticed the visitors on the bus. The ones seeing San Francisco for the first time, the ones who’ve never seen the bridge apart from a photo, the ones who have traveled from afar to find wonder.

They crane their necks to look through the window and catch their first real glimpse of the most photographed bridge in the world. They are so eager to get off, they point and stare, lean into each other and whisper their first impressions in a foreign tongue.

It reminds me that there is wonder where I am, others can see it. I can too if only I take care to look up.