I want to leave this place while we are still on good terms. While I still feel love in my heart for this space, this place, that has encapsulated so many of my successes, my errors, and my growth. I transformed here.
Leaving my hometown of Tucson, AZ in January of 2008 was one of the best decisions I ever made. There's something incredibly empowering about thrusting yourself out of your element of comfort and branching out into the unknown. The trials and tribulations, the hurt, the happiness. It's been one helluva journey. I feel like everyone should leave their hometown at some point, it doesn't have to be forever. It's equal parts of oh-shit scary and exciting, but in the end, you'll be incredibly proud of yourself for navigating through it.
The Bay Area has been a beautiful playground to me for the last 5&1/2 years. The diversity of people, the greenery, the iconic Golden Gate Bridge, the vast infinite ocean and the beauty of the bay, the rolling hills, the steep San Francisco slopes, were blissful. But yet every moment savored in this little world of mine has come tagged with a feeling of a void in my heart. It's been bittersweet. I can't say that northern California ever truly felt like home. The question, "When and how will I leave?" has always loomed over me pretty much since I got here. My only regret is that I never actually lived in the city of San Francisco, that had the potential to be a fun experience and a part of me feels that maybe I would have found a sense of home in that beautiful city. But I digress.
The past five years have been transformative. I sometimes lost the best parts of myself only to later regain them back. I've grown by leaps and bounds. I've made friends that became family, and I was fortunate to work in an environment that helped cultivate and mold me into the person I am today. I teetered with the idea of going back to live in Tucson, but I'm a city girl at heart. I like the forward thinking attitude of big cities, the busy hustle and bustle, and the creative energy.
My new journey starts on Saturday, August 24. (I'm here already! This post was written far too early.) I packed up my embarassing amount of crap and trekked to the City of Angeles, that's right, Los Angeles. I've always felt a pull and gravitation towards LA. Since I was 16, it's felt like a friend, calling me, waving it's hand trying to usher me in. I've decided to finally take the invitation and stay awhile. I want to see if this gravitation, is going to lead to a place that finally feels like home. Bye, bye Bay Area. Good tidings to you, we had a good run, but it was time to part.
The last couple weeks have been very intense and hectic. It's been go-go-go but I'm excited. I'll be posting more often once I'm better situated.
