The end of an era

Almost a year ago, I graduated from college. That was the end of a big chapter in my life. A few months later, I moved out of my college apartment — another closed chapter. Shortly after that, I moved to Charlotte and started a new chapter in my career.

Next month, in the face of a new and exciting adventure, I'll be closing yet another chapter of my life. Over the past nine months or so, I've been traveling to Harrisonburg fairly often to visit Ben. First it was twice a month, then once a month when I moved to Charlotte. Well in a few short weeks, Ben is moving down to the Queen City.

This is Ben, for those who don't know.

On top of that, a handful of the people I frequently see while in Harrisonburg will be leaving as well. Funny enough, two of them are moving to other parts of North Carolina.

Ben is from the Harrisonburg area, so he'll continue to visit home and, when possible, I'll visit along with him. But for the most part, I'm closing the chapter on my time with Harrisonburg.

The friendly city has been a critical part of my life for over four years now, and a lot of the person I am today is due to the experiences I had in Harrisonburg. Whenever I visit, I'm reminded of where those parts of me came from. But even when I won't be regularly visiting, I feel confident that I won't forget the impact this town had on me.

It's not all sad. It's okay to close the window on one part of life when carrying on to the next. I already had this experience in a sense when I first graduated, not quite realizing I would still have an ongoing relationship with my college's town — it would just be an entirely different relationship, as a frequently visiting alumni.

I think in a lot of ways, this phase was just what I needed. This grace period allowed me a year of gradually getting Harrisonburg out of my system, more or less. I'll still want to visit whenever possible, but I've let go in necessary ways. I loved college, and I loved the town my college was in. But I also love where I'm at now.

Going forward, I'll enjoy what Charlotte has to offer. Then, when I visit the friendly city, I'll be able to reflect in peace and joy about how far both the city and myself have come since we saw each other last.