Somewhere Between East and West

When I first made the big move to L.A., I remember thinking to myself that I would only be gone for a year. I thought of it as just another one of my study abroad trips, only this time I would be gone twice as long and only half as far. Not to mention, that the upcoming year was to be one of hard work, determination and undisturbed concentration. I had made the decision to go back to school before I had even finished my initial college degree and in order to do so, I had signed away my life to Sallie Mae in the form of loans I would be paying off until the age of 46. Between my full time student schedule, my four internships, and my part time job, there was little time left for making lifelong friends. Sure, I had become friendly with a few co-workers and fellow students, but none that I was calling up at 11 o'clock at night to tell about my 4.0 gpa for the semester or the cute guy at Starbucks that asked for my number.

The thing is, it didn't really bother me all that much either. I don't think I really had the time to care, to tell you the truth. Besides, I had my "real friends" back home that I could call or text when the important things came up. However, a year later when I found myself with a full time job offer ( more to come ) and a full time relationship ( much more to come ), things began to change. A year turned into two years in the blink of an eye, and the word "home" had slowly begun to switch coasts. Do not get me wrong, a big part of my heart will always lie with my friends and family back East. To this day when we get together it is as if no time has passed at all. We talk as if we were continuing a conversation from the day before and act as if we will be seeing each other again in the days to come.

Yet, when you are MIA for 85% of the year, it is hard to remain as up-to-date and involved in someone's life as you once were. Hell, I lived with my best friend at one point and while to this day, we still talk regularly and visit each other when funds and time permit, we will never be as close as when we shared a wall back in Apt 7212 the year before our college graduation. It is not a sign of a declining friendship, but rather just a part of life. As we grow up and try to find our way in this crazy world, we must sometimes travel a great distance to follow our dreams. Unfortunately, this sometimes results in distancing ourselves from those we once found closest as well.

At the same time I began having a hard time with the idea of drifting further and further from my childhood friends, I was realizing that the preoccupations of both my educational and career goals had somewhat stunted my west coast friendships from flourishing as well. Visiting a new city and finding people with whom you can grab a coffee or catch a movie is simple enough, but building a life in a city thousands of miles from home with people you can call at 11 o'clock at night to talk about the business you want to start or the man you want to marry, well, that's not as simple.

So here I am, somewhere between east and west, between friends and strangers.