She might not be here when I come back
During college, I interned in three different cities: New York, Chicago, and San Francisco. I figured I could experience each city and then move to the one I liked best to start a full-time position after graduation. I chose San Francisco and moved here with a backpack, knowing no one. That was almost five years ago, and now I’m ready to move again. I love San Francisco, but I also want to live other places. I want to experience a few more cities before I choose somewhere to settle down for the long run. I love San Francisco, but I know I can always come back. But what if San Francisco meets somebody else while I’m gone? What if I move and live somewhere else and it’s not as good and then I want to come back to San Francisco but by then she’s married? Part of me thinks I’m not ready to commit to one city for the rest of my life. Another part says I’m taking San Francisco for granted and forgetting how wonderful it was in the beginning. When we use to get smoothies on our lunch breaks. When we finally went on our first date to our coworker’s Christmas party. When we read the menus in the windows on Fillmore. When we painted canvases on the kitchen floor. I bought my plane ticket months ago. The train has picked up speed. It would take a lot to turn the car around now. Santa Fe, Phoenix, San Diego—but I might never find another city like San Francisco.