Past
You Get What You Give
I advise anyone moving to a new city to learn how to date a city. Building a relationship with a place is just like building a relationship with a person. Be genuinely interested, don't make assumptions, ask deep questions, explore, be open to surprises. Most importantly, treat the city how you want to be treated. The best years of my life here were when I gave my time, love, and energy to this magical place. It was returned to me tenfold. You get what you give.
As soon as you think you know the city, switch it up and send it. You will find entirely new sides you never knew were there. I moved five times in seven years, and every time I went to a new area of town, it was a totally different experience. During COVID, we were uniquely challenged as we were regulated to our block. Similar to dating someone for a long time, you can begin to think you know everything about them. It's easy to lose that curiosity; your view of them becomes static. If you can push past the allure of novelty, you can unlock a whole new level of love. As a mentor once said to me, "A person who experiences a daily sense of adventure on their own block is the richest person alive." In COVID, regulated to our block, our love for Portland went to the next level.
At the end of this past summer, we moved out of Portland. To be fair, we stayed far longer than planned, and I'm so glad we did. I thought I would be in Portland for only a year or two and ended up being there for nearly seven. Mollie for almost four. As I used to say, just because you're done with Portland doesn't mean Portland is done with you.
Portland was a profound teacher for both of us. We lived so many lives there. We met so many spectacular people and had so many surreal experiences. We learned how to materialize our imaginations with boundless space to explore. From products, to shows, to spaces, to ourselves. We actualized many of our dreams there and, in the process, discovered even more things worth dreaming about.
This past year was particularly interesting because neither of us worked at Nike's Campus in Beaverton anymore; we were in Portland full-time for the first time. While we both came to Portland to work at Nike, we had accomplished our exploratory goals there, and it was a beautiful final year of appreciation for the city, on its own terms.
Although we aren't in Portland anymore, it was the longest we'd lived anywhere outside of our hometowns. Portland will always feel like a second home to us. Ultimately, we realized it was too far from our homelands to set roots, but its spirit and the lifelong friends we found there will be with us forever.
For everyone we met there who befriended us, loved us, cared for us, laughed with us – THANK YOU. Your freedom, flare, and kindness are unmatched. So much of our love for Portland is because of our love for you.
Portland, we love you, until next time.