Bye, Florida

 It's bittersweet to be leaving Florida, after six years of calling it home.

I never thought I'd leave. 

But when you love what you do, you have to go where the work is, and where the opportunities are. 

Despite growing up on Long Island, I never felt like home there. When I moved to Tampa in 2012, I immediately felt a sense of belonging that I had been looking for. 

I moved to Santa Monica for two years after graduating college, and wanted to come home. I didn't feel like I fit in with the culture of pretending.

To say goodbye, I wanted to recap the memorable moments that have happened here: the good, the bad, the ugly.

• Meeting friends that quickly became like brothers and sisters to me, and will be with me for life

• Graduated college a semester early, and on the Dean's list, while spending the majority of the semester in the hospital

• Having the opportunity to work for the man who inspired me to pursue journalism as a career. (How many people get to say their idol is also their boss?)
  
  
• Organized a school supplies drive for the kids in Charlotte County

• Breaking my nose (in three places. Yep, lesson learned, the bloody way.)
  
  
• Getting to live with two of my best friends on two separate occasions. Having a roommate you work, live, and hangout with and still get along is a blessing. I still don't know how we made it happen, sometimes

• Getting my tonsils out (finally! amid a pandemic, nonetheless)

• My article about eating disorder recovery and misconceptions about the disorder on the front page of the Sunday Tampa Bay Times

• Adopting my Buddha 

• Fell in, and out of love
  
  
• Learned what I will never tolerate from a man

• Took a road trip to Atlanta with my best friend for my birthday to see John Mayer

• Got to live close to my mom again and have monthly weekend visits
  
  
• Buddha made best friends in Finn and Lucy, something that was so sweet to witness, and heartbreaking to separate

• Took a day trip to go hiking in the Everglades (not as cool as I imagined)

• Got to teach my own boxing class, something I had wanted to do for a long, long time
  
  
• Picked up rollerblading, and skated over 150 miles since the pandemic began
  
  
• My best friend asked me to be a bridesmaid in her wedding

• Felt for the first time in a long time truly free from the wrath of my eating disorder and exercise addiction. Intuitive eating and exercise helped me immensely 

So many more amazing memories, that I'm probably forgetting off the top of my head. I can't wait for this new journey and to create new memories in Arkansas. Here's to the future, though Florida will always be my home.