Now & Then

In order to understand how far back my love for Buffalo goes, I'd like to flashback and share with you just how long I've wanted to live in this city full time. Growing up in a small town called Batavia (literally smack dab in the middle of Buffalo and Rochester), I always knew I wanted to live in a bigger city, but also find that balance where I could still be close to friends and family that settled close to my hometown. (If I am being *totally* honest, I wanted to go to move to NYC after high school and study journalism at NYU, but I digress).  I always gravitated to Buffalo more than Rochester (the sports teams helped, as did the incredible architecture around town). I made the "leap" and moved to Buffalo for college at 19 after a year and a half at a community college in Batavia, but my lack of direction with a major the first time around made me leave university (and Buffalo) with my tail between my legs for my hometown again. I tried two more school programs, and even switched universities, but my indecision was costing my parents a lot of money (sorry, mom and dad!) --so I decided to move back in with them and work until I figured out my path. After many years of working jobs in Genesee and Wyoming counties, mostly miserable because I wasn't doing what I wanted career-wise, I landed a gig back in Buffalo, but continued to commute from Batavia. After crashing on friends couches in Buffalo for far too long when I didn't want to drive back and forth after a long work day, I hopped on Craigslist and searched for apartments in my desired neighborhood in town. I landed on the west side, close enough to Elmwood Village and downtown, but far enough away from astronomical rent prices. After I lived here a few months, I decided to take the leap and apply to school one more time, and finish my BA in English once and for all. I knew that it would be really hard, as I would be a 30-something undergraduate back on campus, but I figured if I had finally sorted out an apartment and was living here anyway, I'd give it a shot. Flash forward to today, and I'm seven weeks away from commencement. Walking across that stage, degree in hand, will be incredibly bittersweet, and I am thankful for all of the bumps along the way that ultimately lead me right where I always wanted to be: in Buffalo. 

---