Neighborhood

Up until now, every city I've lived in since I finished school has felt just uncomfortable enough that I knew I wouldn't stay longer than the job I currently had. I never even considered keeping my apartment through last summer and finding a job to pay the bills in Buffalo. Also a factor in these cities was that I had virtually no friends, aquaintances or otherwise outside of work (except for the bartenders we saw all the time), and my few good work friends would be leaving after the season, too. This year, however, I can sum up the change in this simple sentence: I see people I know at the grocery store. (And not because I had to drive them there.) I love this! Friday afternoon, I saw Mindy from church choir at the Walgreens, and this morning I ran into one of my dancers Lara and another choir lady at the Kroger after church. And I realized that it's little things like this that add up to make a community. And without these things, we're just strangers shuffling through life with no interpersonal connections and no reason to pursue them. So, having learned these things about myself and about this city, I so very much wish to stay here next season (though with a raise, cheaper rent, and possibly a roomie) because for the first time in 3 years, I finally feel like I belong.