'Yes, each new day in suburbia brings with it a new set of lies. The worst are the ones we tell ourselves right before we fall asleep. We whisper them in the dark, telling ourselves we're happy, or that he's happy. That we can change, or that he will change his mind. We persuade ourselves that we can live with our sins, or that we can live without him. Yes, each night before we fall asleep we lie to ourselves in a desperate, desperate hope that come morning - it will all be true.'

- Mary Alice Young, 'Desperate Housewives'

I miss being in a city. Pollution in the summer, finding shelter from the wind against buildings during the winter, the constant clamor of cars and mass transit and women's shoes on pavement.

My family moved around a lot when I was a kid, finally settling in the suburbs of Columbus, Ohio. When I was fifteen, I started taking classes at a local community college in Columbus, and came into my element. I started encountering panhandlers and street performers all by myself! (Before Columbus, we'd lived in Bucyrus, not exactly a great metropolital center.) My classes were filled with adults who couldn't tell I was a kid, many of whom were from very different backgrounds than myself.

Now, I am back in a cown town. The people are lovely, but there is a lot missing from my existence, like good mass transit. As I wrote in a letter to an old friend about a month ago:

Last year I went to Cincinnati on my own, and spent several hours just walking around with my camera. It was a Saturday, and I saw two wedding parties, one street performer, and these two buildings that were just beautiful standing next to one another; one was yellow and one was blue, they were old and run down and had this comfortableness that appeals to me a lot. I miss old buildings right next to new ones, and crazy people on the street shrieking about one hallucination or another, and being polled by the Communists, and Carl's Jr. And I want to be close to people who can tell when the gears are turning in my head.

So, that is why I want to move to Salt Lake. I know it's akin to academic suicide, but at this point my main concern is in becoming a better person, and that is tricky when I'm in a place I find deeply dissatisfying. My basic needs for socialization and energy aren't being met, so the plan is now to move.

I have spoken, all depart.