Friends,

This weekend I’m moving my entire life west to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. I’ve been accepted into the teacher’s certification program at the University of Pittsburgh. I’ll be taking prerequisite courses beginning immediately with the June summer term and then starting the one year program in the fall. I’m excited about this move because of how easily the pieces fit together. As soon as I executed the first moves, this plan started rolling on its own. Friends offered their help and support and everyone let me know that they thought it was a good decision. This plan had a lot of little pieces, from taking steps to get into school, finding a place to live and finding a way to get everything I own out there. There were a lot of steps and a lot of expenses, too, but with the help of others, so far it has been easier than I imagined.

There are definite advantages to my move west. I’ll be working toward a career that I am excited about. I cannot teach in PA without a piece of paper that says I’m qualified. I am living with a roommate in a city with a lower cost of living. This will hopefully help me tighten up my budget and make strides toward eliminating my debt. I have many friends and family back home, including a baby boy who will be calling me “uncle” as soon as he is able to speak. It will be great to reconnect with some friends I haven’t seen in a while and become a daily part of my family’s comings and goings again. I’ll be happy to see my parents, brother and sisters again and I can be in much better touch with them this way.

I’m a list maker. I’ve had a few lists on the cork board above my desk for several months. The first was a general list. It had three items on it:
1) Get into Pitt
2) Find a place to live

3) Find  a way to get around
As of this weekend all three of these will be checked off!

I have one more list that I’d been building over the last few months and checking off over the last few weeks. It was a list of things to do and people to see before I leave. I have to sincerely apologize if I haven’t gotten to you yet. I’m trying really hard to see everyone before the move and it has not been easy to do along with working and packing. I’ve checked a lot of people and places on that list, and if we got together for the first time in a while, thank you very much for making time for me. If I haven’t gotten to you yet, I promise I will try or I will make sure I see you when I return to Philly later this summer.

I am grateful for the fun things I’ve been able to do within the last few weeks. I’ve made it to Boston, New York and the Jersey shore. I’ve gotten to meet so many important and interesting people during Philly Beer Week. I’ve gotten to brew beer, drink rare brews and meet brewers and industry professionals from Germany, Norway, England and the West Coast. I’ve represented Brauhaus Schmitz at the opening ceremonies and been their proud standard bearer in lederhosen.

In the throes of all this busyness, one thing has become abundantly clear to me: I will miss being here. Philly has been my home for the last seven years. Those years were so immensely important to my growth that I can really say I’ve come into my own here. I’ve made so many friends and I will miss them all. On the other side of that coin lie the friends I’ve left behind in Pittsburgh who I will now be able to see regularly. I’m extremely lucky to have made new friends everywhere I’ve been but it makes one thing quite difficult- the impossibility of having everyone you love together in one place at the same time. I feel I’ve come close at times, but this is one wish I know I will never see come true. Friends, if you read this please know that I will miss the fun and spontaneity of being just a short walk or subway ride away. I will always value your place in my life and hope that we are all moving forward toward whatever it is that makes us happy.

Sincerely, thank you.