Leaving Las Vegas
Two years and a day ago I arrived in Las Vegas. I had been living in San Francisco, had muddled through a depressing spring and early summer, and then had met Victor while he was living in San Diego. He invited me to move to Vegas with him. I agreed.
I arrived that first day with excitement and hope for a new start, a feeling that was quickly tempered a few days later when I caught him in a lie... unfortunately the first of many. But somehow we made it through a year and a half, and when we split up, I thought that I'd stick around and make a life in Vegas. I was in school, working on my pre-reqs for a physician assistant program, and sticking to that path seemed like the way to go. (One great thing about moving to Vegas has been starting school and figuring out what to do with the rest of my life, no small thing.)
That was eight and a half months ago. While I've had some good times here, I've also spent a lot of time on my own, doing my own thing, unsure of where this path was leading. I've ran off to San Francisco for many a weekend; I was spending time with my old circle instead of building a network here. There have definitely been opportunities to do so in Vegas, and too often I've chosen to let them slide by. I'm feeling that now: missed opportunities.
It's been hard to invest the time and energy into being a good friend here when I've been so uncertain as to how long I was staying. That's been a mistake, because while I was here I could have just been here. And I've come to see how much I do need the support of friends, especially as I navigate my way towards a new career. I'm feeling the call of established ties and the desire to be close to those who know me well already.
San Francisco, of course, will always be home, but it can be a bit too much sometimes--too many things to do, too many friends with tempting offers--and I'm hesitant to try to be a student there, lol.
Portland is home, too, and a bit more low key and easier to manage. And since my top choice for school is there anyway, it seems like the way to go.
Today I'm just trying to decide when: do I stay and complete another semester at UNLV, or do I move sooner?
Either way, I'm leaving Las Vegas in 2009. It's just a matter of when.
I arrived that first day with excitement and hope for a new start, a feeling that was quickly tempered a few days later when I caught him in a lie... unfortunately the first of many. But somehow we made it through a year and a half, and when we split up, I thought that I'd stick around and make a life in Vegas. I was in school, working on my pre-reqs for a physician assistant program, and sticking to that path seemed like the way to go. (One great thing about moving to Vegas has been starting school and figuring out what to do with the rest of my life, no small thing.)
That was eight and a half months ago. While I've had some good times here, I've also spent a lot of time on my own, doing my own thing, unsure of where this path was leading. I've ran off to San Francisco for many a weekend; I was spending time with my old circle instead of building a network here. There have definitely been opportunities to do so in Vegas, and too often I've chosen to let them slide by. I'm feeling that now: missed opportunities.
It's been hard to invest the time and energy into being a good friend here when I've been so uncertain as to how long I was staying. That's been a mistake, because while I was here I could have just been here. And I've come to see how much I do need the support of friends, especially as I navigate my way towards a new career. I'm feeling the call of established ties and the desire to be close to those who know me well already.
San Francisco, of course, will always be home, but it can be a bit too much sometimes--too many things to do, too many friends with tempting offers--and I'm hesitant to try to be a student there, lol.
Portland is home, too, and a bit more low key and easier to manage. And since my top choice for school is there anyway, it seems like the way to go.
Today I'm just trying to decide when: do I stay and complete another semester at UNLV, or do I move sooner?
Either way, I'm leaving Las Vegas in 2009. It's just a matter of when.
Labels: Las Vegas
posted by michael at 2:14 PM
Subscribe to this RSS feed
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home