Ten Years

I moved to Phoenix, Arizona December 21st, 1997.  Yesterday makes ten years. It was probably the biggest decision of my life.  But it was also the best.

I was living in Lubbock Texas going to school at Texas Tech University.  Lubbock was a city of 200K people located in West Texas.  Lots of churches and high school football was a way of life.  It was a place I never really fit in.  I had graduated from high school and was going for a degree in computer science at Texas Tech. 

I remember being pretty unhappy at the time.  I had no money and school seemed a waste.  The CS program was really small and didn't have enough computers.  My room mate was having drug problems.  It wasn't really that bad but I really got angry at him about something.  I bought a pad lock and locked him out then he moved out.  I had a girlfriend that I was in love with and she was very supportive but could only do so much. 

I think my dad suggested moving to Phoenix and it was just a natural choice.  I had lots of family here and I was familiar with the area.  It was really a sudden decision, that yes I want to leave my life here and start again. 

Maybe it was because I was young and didn't know how big a decision it was.  Growing up in an air force family I was used to moving around. 

I didn't realize how much my life would change.  In that first year alone I changed so much.  I transferred to Arizona State University.  I bought a laptop and starting hacking on Linux.  I lived with my grandparents and benefited from their life experience.  I got a job in collections calling people about late payments.  That was an experience. :)

Since then I've built the life that I always dreamed about.  I have almost nine years experience writing software for a living.  My talent for computers has paid for everything that I have.  I have little doubt that I could work anywhere and do anything. 

I own my home, have very little debt, and plenty of real savings.  I have a dog that makes me smile every day.  I have a room mate that does the same.  There are great people in my life, both friends and family. 

Looking back I wish I could thank my 19 year old self.  He made a great decision.