I moved to Key West. Once I get my license plate and driver’s license switched over, I’ll officially be a local. Upon making and sharing this decision with family and friends a flood of questions and unsolicited advice came in.
Questions:
Why Key West?
Did you get a job down there?
Where will you live?
Is this the final move?
Advice:
It’s super expensive down there.
Key West is just a party town.
Summers are way too hot; you won’t like it.
Parking is a nightmare.
Don’t live in Key West. Live on Stock Island or Up the Keys.
Don’t get the Key Disease.
Finding a reasonable place to live is impossible.
All these questions and words of wisdom, I know came from a place of love. It came from people who I care about and care about me and have either never been and truly experienced Key West or have only been for a short visit. Or who will tell you Key West is never a place they would consider living.
I get it. I take it all as tokens of love. While some of it was slightly discouraging and none of it surprising (literally the friends I told, I knew their advice before I even had the convo with them about the move.), I didn’t let it phase me.
Why? How?
Because moving to Key West wasn’t a rash decision. It wasn’t an impulsive move. I literally had been thinking about this move or at least entertaining the idea for roughly 6 months before I even told anyone. I didn’t even tell anyone until 3 months before the move. That’s right, I’ve been thinking about moving to Key West for 9 months, and if I’m truly honest with myself the idea has been in my head since the first time, I set foot on her shores. There has always been something about this salty city that intrigues me. As if she’s always been calling me home.
Thus, though my decision seems rash, unplanned, and slightly irrational, I promise you friends it is not. This move, like all the others, while not understood even by me, feels like the exact right next step I need in my life.
Maybe it’s Hemingway calling me to be the writer I’ve always wanted to be. Maybe it’s Cuba telling me to come for a visit. Maybe it’s the Gulf suggesting I finally become the salty sailor I’ve always flirted with becoming. Maybe it’s the Southern Most Point inviting me to get lost for a little while and really lose touch with the rest of society.
I’m not exactly sure what she is calling me to do. All I know is Key West has been calling me for some time. She’s whispered my name for too long, and now she is finally demanding I listen.
She already feels like home. I already feel like I belong. She has a small-town feel about her that I’ve missed from Tennessee and Bourne mixed with the island vibes I’ve always chased.
I’m excited about this journey. I’m excited to see what creative talents pour from me along the way. I’m excited to share this all with y’all. I know I’ve been saying that for a few weeks now, but truly I am.
A major shadow I’ve always carried is being too much, too loud. Good girls are seen and not heard after all. I was trained to stay small from a very young age because that’s what good Christian girls were…small, obedient, pleasant. My true authentic nature is not small, is not obedient, and is more sassy than pleasant. These are characteristics I typically hide from the world. Unless you are a close friend of mine, you do not realize just how rebellious my heart truly is or how feisty I can get.
Over the past 5 years, I’ve shaken up my entire life on more than one occasion. With each decision bringing me closer and closer to who I truly am, and being unapologetic about just who I truly am. Thus, it is time. It’s time for me to share all the things that terrify me to share with y’all.
I’m sure I’ll upset some. I’m sure I’ll be pushing some buttons. I’m sure people’s perspectives of me will change. All of this is okay with me now. I’ve become exhausted from trying to be the person everyone thinks I should be. I’m finally choosing to be the person I truly want to be. I’m choosing to be the person my 17-year-old self couldn’t have ever dreamed of being.
Stay tuned my loves! It’ll be a bumpy ride, but it’ll always be worth it!
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