Humility and Humidity.

These are the two things I’ll remember most. I mean, who can forget what it feels like to get inside a parked oven and nearly burn yourself on the seatbelt? But as Houstonians, we chose to be here, not because it was easy, but because it was a place we could call home. And now, after 22 years of swimming in your air, it’s finally time for a new chapter. In November I accepted a job at Plaid Technologies in San Francisco as a Software Engineer where I’ll be working for the foreseeable future. I’ll be living in Berkeley with the homie Mike. So even though the Bay Area summer feels like a Houston winter, minus the rain, and the glamour of Silicon Valley glows upon every screen, I’ll be wearing that Humility and Humidity as my badge of pride: a sheriff’s badge with a big bold H in the middle.

It took awhile to appreciate Houston. Undoubtedly, it was the slowest of burns.

Houston was never about glamour or glory. Houston got shit done. I realized this when I was 18, as I dreamed of seeking finer environments for college. But I stayed, reluctantly. I wanted the metropolitan life, the temperate climates (a winter would be cool). But I stayed, unsatisfied. I berated Houston for inadequate public transport. I complained endlessly about the climate. I lamented the endless sprawling. So, ungratefully, I stayed.

And with that attitude, there was no way that I could make the best out of the situation. Fortunately, it was the situation that made the best out of me. The lack of public transport gave me the space for reflective drives. The summers built fortitude. The sprawl gave me the diverse village that it takes to raise a stubborn overconfident child.

So now, as I depart with humility in my heart and humidity in my eyes, I look back at the communities that have shaped my life and reflect on all the blessings they’ve given me. There’s no place I would have rather grown up, and no group of people I would rather share my home with than my fellow Houstonians.

Luv ya HOU