I love Rochester.
And this love didn’t come into being from complaining; it came from exploring and experiencing this place that I’ve lived my whole life.
Yes, I am almost ashamed to say that I used to exist among the crowd that I will call the haters (for lack of a better label). I was down on this city. I thought that there was nothing cool happening, that most of the people were boring or not worth the time, and that my life would be infinitely better if I moved somewhere new and started over fresh. I was convinced, thoroughly, that I needed a new start in a new (and probably bigger) city.
Then I started exploring Rochester. I mean exploring in every sense. I started treating Rochester like I would treat somewhere new: not too many presumptions, just a lot of excited energy. I looked into trying yoga, I wandered around a lot more, I went to food and coffee places I’d never been to before, checked out where art and writing happened, made myself open to new people. And what do you think happened? I fell in love.
Not too many months ago I had resolved to get the fuck out of here as soon as my lease was up. I had decided there was nothing new happening here and that my identity would forever be stuck in whatever I had done leading up to this point. Then I finally realized what the more enlightened folks already knew: your world and your happiness are what you make it. Sure there are contributing factors: your basic human needs, your person problems and battles, your limitations. But, beyond those factors, a lot of what happens depends on you and how you think about the places you exist in.
To me, I only see Rochester as a place that is growing and changing and becoming what we want it to be. I see Rochester as place full of loving and exciting and passionate people. I can’t wait to finish school and find time to make the things that I want and help nurture the communities that I think are important and necessary.
EDIT: And what’s even more exciting and energizing for me is watching this same feeling happen among the people I know and have recently met. I feel like LIFE is coming together for a lot of us, and we’re all starting to gravitate towards one another without even meaning to.
