1 year.

I have lived in New York for one year now. That is the longest I have ever been away from Nokomis. In October of 2007 I was dating a girl from Canada and planning on going to Flagler in St. Augustine. Then Larry Mayo invited me to New York for a long weekend. I spent a little over 24 hours in the City, staying at Lars' loft in SoHo, and knew that I had to move there. I got back, applied to every good school in the City and waited. I was still writing for the Sarasota Herald then, making decent money and enjoying the title of "journalist." My acceptance letter came while I was covering a holiday concert at a retirement home in Venice. I broke up with the girl, lost most of my friends and talked my brother into driving me up. That was a year ago.

Since then I feel like I have changed in a million ways. But, after coming home and spending time here again, I feel very much like the same person. This is good and bad. I am still gregarious, though not to the same level I used to be. I still try to please everyone, though not as much, I hope. But, I feel like a little more of an asshole now. And that's good.
In the next year I will graduate from College and apply to graduate school. I will spend the summer somewhere quiet and bright or cold and dark with Elle and try to write something worth enclosing in the applications to several Ivy League schools.

I guess the point of this ramble is to say that we all have the ability to move on. The only thing that holds us down is us, our fears and uncertainties. I have always preached the virtue of remaining uncomfortable, of always moving forward and not settling down, but have rarely practiced it. New York was my step in that direction and it has been a very affirming experience.

If you are unhappy where you are, pick up and leave. Break up with your boyfriend or girlfriend. Blow off your credit card debts. Take out a student loan or sell all the shit you really don't need. Get on a plane. Move somewhere that you have never been where nobody knows you. Start over. We only have one life, but within that life are a million chances to turn it around.

In the words of GB:

Yesterday you were on my back just to get my time.
I guess it's not as precious as it seems.
Because I found the time for hangin out and talkin on the phone.
What should i expect, now that my time is free and you're nowhere to be found.
Next time i'll try, for the first time in my life.
It won't pass me by.
Procrastinate it can wait, i put it off. let's start today my room's a mess and i can't get dressed.
I gotta be out by eight o'clock.
Deep inside i know the answer.
Well there's no time like the present and i'd like to hang out but who doesn't.
I've made enough mistakes for this lifetime.
Now i'm here to make amends.
Next time i'll try, for the first time in my life.
It won't pass me by.
Procrastinate it can wait, i put it off. start!