At least once in every person’s life, there is a defining moment. A moment they’ll look back on with the ability to pinpoint the exact circumstances under which they made a decision that would change everything.
And I have a feeling that this is my moment.
Next month, I’ll be packing up my belongings — a whole house full of memories — and moving to Philadelphia to begin a brand new career at Anthropologie. My love affair with Pittsburgh is officially coming to an end… but what a great love affair it’s been.
I moved here in the fall of 2009, young and naive and anxious to experience a city for the first time. I threw myself in deep. I made a few forever kind of friends and I lost my narrowed views on the world; I’ve experienced great joys and I’ve survived the deepest hurts; I’ve both hated and loved this city with a fiery passion. I grew up here, in the truest sense of the phrase. It was in this city that I really became my own. I learned more about myself here than I have anywhere else, and I’m proud (and grateful) of the woman I’ve become in Pittsburgh.
But now, it’s time for the next chapter. Like every book lover knows, the end of one chapter and the beginning of another opens up endless possibilities. It’s impossible to know what’s coming next — anything could happen — and that both thrills and terrifies me. I’ve had friends who have picked up and moved their entire lives across the country, and while I’m only moving five hours east, I’m still leaving the comfort of a place I’ve called home for so long.
To Pittsburgh and the people that I love here: I’m so grateful to have known you. And, for the sake of a cheesy cliche, it’s not goodbye, it’s see ya later.
Stay tuned for my first installment of The Pittsburgh Philadelphia Food Diaries.
Tiny Tales 