Well, this is awkward

I certainly have some explaining to do.

It was almost exactly two years ago that I posted my break up letter blog post with California. I don’t think that I’ve read through that post again until now. It’s very interesting to look back through my own words and see what my mindset was two years ago when I about to make a pretty significant life change. It’s pretty clear now that I was just a young, uncertain lad still trying to figure out what to do with my life. I’m not claiming that I’m all that different today, but I’m pretty sure that I’m two years older and two years wiser now.

If there’s one thing that I’ve learned in the past two years is that you need to take opportunities when they are presented to you, otherwise there’s a very good chance you might not get another shot. I had the opportunity to move to New York City two years ago and I took it because I knew the older I got the more difficult it would be to make that drastic of a change. New York City is a wonderfully unique, lively, surprising and beautiful city. I wanted to experience that kind of energy before I got old and crotchety and desired a lawn so I could yell at kids for being on it.

Okay, maybe I’m getting a little ahead of myself but you see what I’m getting at.

The point is I got to live in the greatest city on Earth for a substantial amount of time. How many people get to say that? But all good things must come to an end. I will be moving back to California to take on a new role at Google. I’ll be joining the Google News team as UI Designer. My last day in NYC and first day back in California will be July 24.

Would I have preferred to stick around NYC a couple more years? Absolutely. I love it here. My original plan was to live in NYC for at least three years, preferably four or five. I feel like you could live here your entire life and still barely scratch the surface of everything this city can offer. I knew I couldn’t live here forever, though, and when a really good career opportunity became available that happened to be back in California, I felt that if I didn’t take it I might miss out.

I know that I may have been a teeny bit vocal about my dissatisfaction with living in California the last time, but I honestly feel the situation is significantly different this time. For one, my financial situation is much better now. I can afford to live on my own, do some traveling and enjoy more of the nifty things that California has to offer. I also feel like I’ve grown up quite a bit in the past two years. I’m no longer in the post-college panic, constantly wondering what the hell I’m doing with my life and worried that I’m wasting precious time. I’m much more content with taking things one day at a time now and enjoying life as it comes. I’m optimistic that my second stint in California will turn out much better than my first.

I’m also not going to put any self-imposed duration goals on my second stay in California. If I have a reason to leave at some point in the future then I’ll leave again. And if I have a reason to stay then maybe I’ll even stay forever (gasp!).

One thing’s for sure, using “One thing’s for sure” is a great way to end a introspective piece of writing like this one.

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