Part One: Prepping for Departure

Last night, one of my best friends (and Fitchburg native) asked me to document my "Exodus" of Fitchburg- what it is like to leave the city you were born in and the city you love. I am so connected with this city (see my half-asleep, grammatically incorrect ode to Fitchburg in my other blog, Estrogenet, here), and this is going to be a difficult journey, but one that I look forward to.

From my birth on December 16th, 1989, to today, August 14th, 2008, when people ask me where I lived, I said "Fitchburg", very proudly (even though I kind of live in Townsend). That's almost nineteen years of being a girl in the 'Burg. I've seen a lot of changes as I've grown up here, and I feel very connected to this city.

Tomorrow, in the wee hours of the morning, I will get dropped off by teary-eyed parents at Logan Airport. I feel like I'm being sent off into the world, pushed out of my comfort zone. I am so lucky to have three solid deep friendships there, and many other acquaintances with the potential for becoming deep, so I have a safety net. I will live in New Orleans, but my home will be Fitchburg. That will always be where I'm from.

Last night, I called my fellow Tulanian and Dallas native friend crying. I told him all about Fitchburg's problems and that I didn't feel ready to leave. I hadn't finished my work here- I felt like I was quitting. I had earlier expressed this "I'm not ready" feeling to the friend that convinced me to start this chronology. They both told me that I am moving onto another adventure, and Fitchburg will always be here for me. I can always come back. I don't want to become Fitchburg's prodigal son that comes back once a year, but eventually, I want to spend more time here. It's hard to be away from the city I grew up in, but I need to open a window somewhere else. Experiencing another developing city will help me come back and let Fitchburg develop. So many positive changes have happened this year, and I look forward to reading the Sentinel online (unless they deliver to NOLA? Just kidding) and finding out what's new. Keeping in touch with my Charter folks and seeing how the school I have been involved with since it had dirt floors and had another year to open its doors for the first time.

Leaving Fitchburg will be hard, but I can't wait to come home with a new level of experience under my belt.

<3may