As graduation approaches and this undergraduate chapter of my life comes to a close, I can hear duty calling from Los Angeles, California. As a filmmaker, moving to Los Angeles has been my dream for as long as I can remember. Yet when I look back on all of the things that Florida has offered me in the last few years, I realize that moving 3000 miles away is going to take more mental preparation than I originally expected. Here are all of the things I’ve learned while preparing for my cross-country move:
I really don’t need this much stuff.
In an attempt to conduct a cheap and seamless move, I have made it my goal to be able to fit all of my belongings in my tiny but mighty, compact car. Yet standing in my apartment and peering out onto all of the things inside it, it’s occurred to me that I have an insane amount of stuff. There are drawers I haven’t opened since move-in day, boxes that have been sitting in my closet since the start of the year, products under my sink that I know I’ll never use… Of course, my only option was to conduct some serious spring cleaning—but even while purging my closet and cabinets and untouched drawers, I found myself hanging onto things I knew I didn’t need—packing movie tickets, old birthday cards, and filled notebooks as if they would come in handy in California. As I placed them into my keep pile, I felt as silly as it seemed. I knew it didn’t make sense, but it felt as though getting rid of them would mean getting rid of the people and memories that I have accumulated during my time in Florida. I had to push past this urge, however. My car can only hold so many mementos, but I knew that my mind could hold an endless amount of memories, my heart could hold a great deal of people, and no number of miles could ever take that from me.
Distance is just a number.
Part of growing as a person means broadening my horizons.
Two years ago, I was in a similar situation as the one I am in now—feeling an intense nervousness over moving to Tallahassee. Despite the fear, my move to Tallahassee brought me more friends, more opportunities and more memories than I could have ever thought possible. So, when I feel that pang of nervousness over moving to California, I remember how I felt when I moved to Tallahassee, and how much I would have missed out on if I had skipped this opportunity. This thought alone lets me know, in my heart, that California will provide me a great deal of room to grow.
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