If you don’t know, now you know. I’m moving to California. I’ve been to Southern California many times since I graduated from college two and a half years ago, and it makes sense to be there (for now). I’m hyped! So hyped.
That being said, I’ll miss North Carolina dearly. I love this place, for its pros AND its cons. NC has almost anything you could want, save desert and legal weed. Family is here. Friends are here. But the journey continues...
When it gets down to the last two weeks living somewhere, you really start to appreciate things on another level. I’ve been more intentionally feeling happy about the people I’m with, the places I visit, and the experiences I have. Of course, skateboarding is a huge part of my life and has shaped who I am in some ways. So I focus on that. A lot.
So… The other day, during and after a really fun and exhausting mini ramp session, I found that feeling (again) of pure skate fun/stoke/hype/warm fuzzies/whatever you wanna call it. And I was reminded that that feeling is so different from those I get from any other past times. The skateboarding culture and community is all-inclusive. It’s positive. It’s working with what we’ve got. ‘Cause that’s all that really matters. If you find yourself in a foreign country, without any fellow English speakers, you will (usually) find skateboarders. And you can communicate with those people on some level without language. Skateboarding is a language.
You know when you see a skateboarder that has poured at least 5-10 years of his/her life into skating that you can relate to them immediately. You’ve both tried the same trick 200 times in one day without success. You’ve both fallen and injured yourselves more times than you’ll ever remember. And you’ve both come back to skateboarding again and again - because it’s fucking awesome. The progression, the freedom of space, the challenge, the brotherhood. It’s all so unique from anything else, even other board sports like surfing.
California will be a new chapter in life and within this skateboarding family, and I’m looking forward to it. After this recent session, connecting with people I already knew and those that (after my whole life in NC and 7 years in Raleigh) I did not know, I was reminded of how skaters are. I’m proud to be one. I’m proud to know so many. I’m glad to have it in my life and to have learned so much from it.
Thank you skateboarding. Thank you friends. Thank you North Carolina.
Cross-country trip updates are not far off.
- 7Ply Epic
That being said, I’ll miss North Carolina dearly. I love this place, for its pros AND its cons. NC has almost anything you could want, save desert and legal weed. Family is here. Friends are here. But the journey continues...
When it gets down to the last two weeks living somewhere, you really start to appreciate things on another level. I’ve been more intentionally feeling happy about the people I’m with, the places I visit, and the experiences I have. Of course, skateboarding is a huge part of my life and has shaped who I am in some ways. So I focus on that. A lot.
So… The other day, during and after a really fun and exhausting mini ramp session, I found that feeling (again) of pure skate fun/stoke/hype/warm fuzzies/whatever you wanna call it. And I was reminded that that feeling is so different from those I get from any other past times. The skateboarding culture and community is all-inclusive. It’s positive. It’s working with what we’ve got. ‘Cause that’s all that really matters. If you find yourself in a foreign country, without any fellow English speakers, you will (usually) find skateboarders. And you can communicate with those people on some level without language. Skateboarding is a language.
You know when you see a skateboarder that has poured at least 5-10 years of his/her life into skating that you can relate to them immediately. You’ve both tried the same trick 200 times in one day without success. You’ve both fallen and injured yourselves more times than you’ll ever remember. And you’ve both come back to skateboarding again and again - because it’s fucking awesome. The progression, the freedom of space, the challenge, the brotherhood. It’s all so unique from anything else, even other board sports like surfing.
California will be a new chapter in life and within this skateboarding family, and I’m looking forward to it. After this recent session, connecting with people I already knew and those that (after my whole life in NC and 7 years in Raleigh) I did not know, I was reminded of how skaters are. I’m proud to be one. I’m proud to know so many. I’m glad to have it in my life and to have learned so much from it.
Thank you skateboarding. Thank you friends. Thank you North Carolina.
Cross-country trip updates are not far off.
- 7Ply Epic
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