Williamsburg...

So...back in high school I was struggling with one of the toughest choices a 17 year old has to deal with, which color quarter water, where to go to college. Long story short, it was down to two choices: SUNY Binghamton and NYU. I had always wanted to live in the city, NYU was a prestigious college, and I would have the freedom of leaving the nest while maintaining the comfort of only being a train ride away. In my head this was the clear choice, but then you learn that someone has to pay for school...and the program NYU had at the time would be 5 years long w/ 2 of those years being at the Stevens Institute in Jersey. Those negatives coupled w/ the offer of a new car from my parents made it easy to open myself to other opportunities. Enter Bing! From what I remember it was the best SUNY at the time, and I had a distant cousin who was going to school there, so I got invited for BMW, their "Multi-Cultural" weekend. Basically their way of attracting children of color...and it work. Mostly because I met a lot of cool people, had waaaay too much fun at the weekends' parties, and saw the appeal of having a closed campus. Since then the idea of city life was always just a dream, a "one day maybe." Especially when Life flies by and you look in the mirror to realize you're 30 years old with a wife, child, pet, and mortgage to pay. But the best part of Binghamton was finding my beautiful wife, and recently she reminded me that just because something seems difficult or dreamlike doesn't make it unattainable; which brings me to the point of this post. Last month we made the move to the Williamsburg area of Brooklyn, NY. It's not Manhattan, but in all honesty, it's kind of better...at least for us and for now. I'm getting my city-life experience in a way I never would have expected. The quarters are close yet I feel free, we have no land but my son has many parks to choose from, the drive is a little longer but remarkably I haven't even noticed, and finally it's helping me focus on the people and experiences important to me. I've always known things don't make me particularly happy, yet we've amassed quite a collection of STUFF. I'm learning to corral all that and really focus on what I need to make me happy...my loved ones. So...yes, it was an unusual move to some people, others think "ooo isn't that neat/trendy," and yet others think, "what a great idea, get it out of your system now!" But to me its more then just a move, it's a helpful reminder of who I've always wanted to be, a realignment of being in a sense, and I have no clue if this will be a one year thing or a 50 year thing, but I am absolutely loving it and taking it one day at a time. As much as it would be great to know what the future holds, I'm focusing on the here and now, and that's all I want to think about. Here's to my new home, Williamsburg!