I Do Not Like Mondays

Years ago, I found myself with a bachelor’s degree and felt stuck in my smallish hometown. It just seemed there wasn’t much opportunity for me to use that degree and get a related professional position. So I up and left! Was it a good choice?

I moved to the Washington, D.C. area and would spend the next dozen years there. I found the opportunities I was looking for, and ended up commuting in and out of the city every day from Arlington, Va. I explored a lot and had many adventures, including traveling abroad and all around within the U.S. on numerous occasions.

Just about every weekend it seemed, I would go in to D.C. to check out events and locations or do some photography of the multitude of things there to take photos of, so I got to develop that skill personally as well as in professional use.

Eventually, my wife and I would move back north to a smaller city, pursuing other opportunities. We’ve remained in that area ever since. It’s been rewarding all around, and a life I couldn’t have had unless I made that initial leap to the D.C. area.

But my siblings and immediate family all remained in the same area I had left some years back, and even where we are now, we’re still at a bit of a distance from them. I travel back to see them and find there’s a whole segment of life I haven’t been a part of in the same way as the others. It’s kind of a mixed bag of things, some positive and some not as positive.

So now I wonder at times about being closer to home again. It would be something of a full circle… a homecoming to my old hometown, or somewhere more near it. It’s certainly a bittersweet sensation to imagine doing so. When I’m back home, there’s nostalgia for many things coupled with an appreciation for the (different) area where I live now.

Life, however, is short, and these kinds of decisions are significant ones and bring big changes. What about you? Did you leave the area where you grew up, then likely living at a distance from old friends and family? Or did you stay put where you were, remaining in that home town or city? What do you think is the best choice?

One thing is for sure: all the good things you have stem from the enormous tree of decisions you’ve made throughout your life, and changing any one of those choices or actions, if significant enough, could potentially change where you are now. And as I’ve said before, don’t take one single good thing you’ve got for granted! Be grateful for all you have.

Content © Aaron G. Marsh