I was born and raised in Brooklyn, so leaving New York in June 1999 meant leaving the family, friends, and routines that had shaped my life. It was hard to go, even though I knew I was ready for a new chapter in Los Angeles.
My girlfriend flew out to help me make the move west. What she did not know was that I was also carrying a private plan: I intended to propose during our trip.
That made the journey more than a change of address. It held two feelings at once—the difficulty of saying goodbye to the life I knew and the excitement of beginning something new with the person beside me.
Looking back, that is what I remember most. The move was a line between two parts of my life, but I did not cross it alone.