Hello Seattle (again)

How can everything be the same and yet different? It can make you feel insane to know that things are 'true' yet 'true but slightly different.' That's how my return to Seattle has felt.

Seattle and I have a storied history; it was the start of my life and also the end of one. That might sound a bit dramatic, but it can't be overstated how much this city has shaped me. For all its faults, I couldn't see myself anywhere else in the U.S.

Now I find myself building a new life in this city for the third time. The first time was in 2009, when a provincial, arrogant, and angry Andy thought he could force his way into the world and make his mark. By the grace of the universe, I'm glad that didn’t happen because no one would have wanted or benefited from whatever mark I was trying to leave at that time; I was barely equipped to deal with the consequences of my own actions.

It would be another decade before I tried again in 2021, this time with a more focused mission of grad school. Now, on the edge of 2024, I am once again returning to this city, taking over a decade of change in both me and Seattle, and deciding what the next steps for my future are. Will my vitamin D deficiency finally get to me? Thankfully, I can buy supplements in bulk at Costco now. Thanks, America.