The Decision

I was visiting my parents in Ohio and sitting in their living room on an impossibly hot July day several years ago when LeBron James announced his decision to take his talents to Miami. The reaction to the The Decision by Cavs fans was heard round the world. People in Ohio freaked the fuck out. The local news paper, in highly dramatic fashion, published a nearly full page photo of the reactionary faces of the members of one of his fan clubs - a group of grandmothers. Grandmothers, for crying out loud. Does it get any sadder than seeing a bunch of grandmothers looking shocked and disappointed?! Some people were more angry than sad and they expressed their anger by burning jerseys bearing his name in the streets. Upon hearing the news, my Dad laced together a line of obscenities so long it could have circled the globe several times.

My own reaction was a bit different though. As a life long Cavs fan and supporter of LeBron James, I did not immediately feel sad, angry, or disappointed. I felt brief shock, followed by a complete understanding. LeBron wasn't leaving Ohio because he hated it. LeBron was leaving Ohio because he needed to discover more. He needed to experience more. He wanted to get out of the bubble that is Akron, Ohio because the idea that life was different in other parts of the country was not lost on him. Okay, maybe he thought he'd have a better chance to win a championship in Miami. In fact, I'm pretty sure that was the number one reason. And maybe I'm the one projecting all of these thoughts onto LeBron's situation because these are all the things I felt when I decided to leave the town where I grew up to move to Chicago. 

I did not want to leave because I hated Ohio or I hated my family. I wanted to leave because I had the desire to grow. Previously to moving to Chicago, I had always taken the easy road, or the path of least resistance. Challenge scared me, so I avoided it most of the time. Even though finishing college in four years was challenging, I chose the least challenging major, for instance. My decision to move to Chicago was going to be the biggest challenge of my life, and I needed to prove to myself that I could do it. 

I've been in the city for nearly 14 years, and I can say without reservation that the big city does not make life easy. The big city does not allow you to take the path of least resistance. I've struggled a lot while living in Chicago, but I've changed a lot too. I'm a stronger person because of my struggles, and I don't think I'd be the person I am today if I never risked it all to move so far out of my comfort zone.

Despite the grind and grit of city life, being away from my family for 14 years has definitely been the hardest part of living in Chicago. I often find myself wondering what more I have left to do in Chicago, or if it's finally time to wrap things up in Oz and click my heels to head back to Kansas.

In fact, I have such a strong desire to move back to Ohio to be closer to my family that I'm predicting I'll make the move within the year. I've been weighing this decision for several years now, and I finally feel in my heart that it's time. I truly feel as if I came, I saw, and I conquered the big city. There is plenty I'll miss, plenty I won't, but nothing beats the fact that I just want to be with my family.